Good ol' Amy Goodman (of Democracy Now!) was unlawfully arrested at the Republican National Convention. Watch the video here. The militarized response to protest is out of control, has little to do with "security," and everything to do with the suppression of dissent. The mainstream media has once again rolled out the usual suspects—"anarchists," "agitators," etc.—to justify the overboard response (strange how they are always on the side of the police when even journalists get caught up in the false arrests and violence) but it's as plain as the nightsticks in the Minneapolis police' hands: it's unjustified, illegal, and it's sick.

Not to mention expensive. For the RNC, the city of Minneapolis received a $50 million "security grant" from the U.S. Department of Justice. (See the story here.) $560,000 was to go to a "command vehicle." $1.9 million for "chemical irritants"—which means pepper spray, which, by the way, is banned by the Geneva Convention (they can't use it in war, just on American citizens). And where does all the other money go? Good question. But do we ever get to see the books?

Why is this such a non-issue, when it's such a huge issue?

Police attack peaceful protesters at the WTO protests in Seattle, 1999.
Police attack peaceful protesters at an FTAA protest in Miami, 2003.
Police attack journalists at a pro-immigration rally in Los Angeles, 2007.

Etc., etc., etc.