For disclaimer purposes, know the following things:

1) I am a very, very liberal blogger
2) I will keep politics out of this blog as much as possible, but
3) Sometimes these things are just too important, and I have no where else to write about them.

This week in St. Paul, the Republican National Convention is taking place. This, in and of itself, is not a big deal. What is a big deal is the way the Republicans have treated the convention as an excuse to stomp on the Constitution, by limiting the freedoms of speech and press with a force that seems to far outweigh what is right or reasonable. The St. Paul police department has arrested hundreds of demonstrators and reporters (including Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and, apparently, a New York Post reporter who shouted "For Christ's sake, it's a Republican paper!" before being hauled away). As far as I can tell, and for reasons that I will never understand, no major news outlets are carrying the story. It is our job to bring this news to the people. All day tomorrow, I will be wearing a sign that says "FREE ST. PAUL". I hope those of you who are brave enough to stand up to this foolish tyranny will join me. Don't just stand by. This is how we got where we are in the first place. Write your Representatives, your Senators. Make sure that they know that we know they are paying attention. For us to be successful, our elected officials need to know they are accountable to the people that elect them.

For those of you that are interested, check out the Democracy Now! clip below:

• The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter