This time next week, the Republican National Convention will have started and the 250,000 protesters will have protested not in Central Park but on the West Side Highway. Mayor Bloomberg brilliantly said that if a West Side Jets stadium were built, then protesters could go there! Clever - now can we see your time machine, Bloomby? We know you have one some where.
Here are a few more Convention related links:
- New Yorkers keep getting hints that we should be leaving the city, but we abide by the philosophy that what doesn't kill us will make us stronger...er...
- Newsday reports that convention handlers have the delicate job of making sure that Giuliani, Pataki, and Bloomberg don't cross each others paths too much...oh, we love city and state politics so much.
- Mayor Bloomberg's swank Upper East Side townhouse is a protest magnet! Last week it was police officers and firefighters, this week it's yippies. According to the NY Times, the yippies were pretty tame, calling him "Bummerberg" and offering Krispy Kreme treats to the police.
- Starbucks employees are told not to wear their barista uniforms off duty, as corporations worry about protesters. NYPD will have more officers outside the 'buck and McDonald's; hopefully the workers won't be too harassed, as they're just trying to make a living.
- The NY Times looked at the different ways protesters are getting the NYC...Gothamist has visions of hitchhikers with signs that say, "Need to get to NY to yell at Republicans," or "Need to support GOP!" on the different sides, to target the message to certain vehicles (Prius gets the protest message, while a big gas-guzzling SUV may be the GOP sympathy vote).
- The New Yorker devotes some ink to the convention: William Finnegan on our city's Republican past, a new Bush quiz, Louis Menand on how voters decide, and, in print only, a guide from the Daily Show team about "What Government Best Suits You?"
- The President may only be in the city for one day, confirming that he really does hate New York. Well, Gothamist just made that up, but it's good fodder for George Bush jokes.
- Georgia Governor and Democrat Zell Miller is the Keynote Speaker, with the theme of the convention Fulfilling America's Promise: Building a Safer World and a More Hopeful America. Gothamist has not the words for that theme...
- Check out Gotham Gazette's convention site.
