Reading about Bush's plans for the convention in Sunday's New York Times, it was hard not to gag.

And after months in which Mr. Bush stressed issues of concern to conservative supporters - from restrictions on stem cell research to a constitutional amendment to bar gay marriage - the convention will offer its national television audience a decidedly more moderate face for the president and his party. If "strength" was the leitmotif of the Democratic convention in Boston, "compassion" will be the theme in New York, marking the return of a mainstay of Mr. Bush's 2000 campaign, party leaders said.

Bush and compassion. Go together like a horse and carriage, no?

How about his strategy for dealing with the protesters:

Drug Policy Alliance is working on placing a series of ads titled "The RIGHT Response to the War on Drugs" in the New York Sun and Roll Call during the Republican Convention, with quotes like:

"...I wouldn't be surprised if in 10 years or so you saw the conservative coalition come out for an end to drug prohibition." -- Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform

"Can any policy, however high-minded, be moral if it leads to widespread corruption, imprisons so many, has so racist an effect, destroys our inner cities, wreaks havoc on misguided and vulnerable individuals and brings death and destruction to foreign countries?" -- Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize Winner (Economic Science, 1976), Presidential Medal of Freedom (1988)

If you're one of the conservative commenters on TalkLeft, go on over and read the reasons conservatives should be opposed to the drug war. In a nutshell, the drug war amounts to unwanted government intrusion, has too high a price tag and is disasterous foreign policy.

[link via Drug War Rant.]

The news has been filled with articles about the FBI expecting violence from protesters at the Republican convention in New York next week. The New York Times reports on the anarchists--and on the tactics police will use to try and prevent violence.

Even anarchists who are against violence are warning of trouble and admit that they are planning acts of civil disobedience, including blocking intersections, staging "chaos on Broadway'' when the delegates attend Broadway shows on Sunday night, holding a "die-in'' near Madison Square Garden, sneaking into parties and other functions and generally harassing the 4,853 delegates and alternate delegates.

What do the anarchists believe in?

Definitions vary but most see anti-capitalism as the bedrock of their ideology. They question and disdain authority and hierarchal government as corrupting and intrusive in personal affairs. "Neither slave nor master'' is a common slogan. Some are zealots; others see anarchism as a way to raise awareness of problems like hunger, greed and materialism.

Say Hello to the new RNC blogger aggregator where you can read the posts of the bloggers covering the Republican Convention and protests by blogging live from The Tank.

Also bookmark Cosmopolity, which has the latest info on the Tank bloggers and events. TalkLeft is going to blog from The Tank along with the other anti-Bush oriented bloggers.

The real story for TalkLeft will be the action in the streets--the protesters, the security, the riot police and their attitudes. I'll have my digital camera, tape recorder , ipod and laptop. I have recruited two volunteers so far to capture the images on the streets, so TalkLeft can upload and bring them to you as they are happening.

Do I need help to do this? Yes, it's not cheap to spend a week in New York City.... If you're in a position to assist, you can do so via

• PayPal.

If you'd like to donate anonymously, use

• Amazon.

Both are secure. Many, many thanks. So, why blog from the streets?

Ted Rall writes a very funny article about New Yorkers' reactions to the Republican invasion of their city next week--and their intended plans to ensure the delegates get lost as much as possible:

Rejecting ex-mayor Ed Koch's call to "make nice" with the party that used the deaths of 2,801 New Yorkers--most of them Democrats--for everything from tax cuts for the rich to building concentration camps at Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib to invading Iraq to enrich Dick Cheney and his fellow Halliburton execs, some groups are encouraging liberal-minded New Yorkers to volunteer for the city's squad of official greeters.

Creatively altered maps of streets and subways will be handed out to button-clad stupid white men. Other saboteurs wearing fake RNC T-shirts will direct them to parts of town where Bush's policies have hit hardest. Rumor has it that prostitutes suffering from sexually transmitted diseases will discourage the use of condoms with Republican customers.

Given that New York City is so predominantly Democratic, you have to wonder why the Republicans chose it in the first place for their convention. The last time the Repubs convened in New York was 150 years ago. Here's the explanation:

As the Republican Convention in New York approaches, so does worry over the planned protests. Liberals, TalkLeft included, hope the protesters avoid violence. It will only help Bush. Altercation reprints this normally subscription-only article in The Nation by Todd Gitlin and John Passacantando that explains why violent protests will hurt the Democrats' chances of success:

The Bush Administration plainly flunks. The Bloomberg administration has proved its small-mindedness. But we who oppose Bush face our own tests. If, as the whole world watches, rioters hijack the protest, the fine intentions of millions will have been canceled by the behavior of a few. Let dissent with dignity win the day and let us get on with a more perfect chapter of American history.

Liberal bloggers will be plentiful in New York during the convention, providing coverage of the protesters. I'm hoping it won't turn into a re-run of Chicago, 1968. But I also want to make sure the media doesn't over-emphasize a few bad apples and ignore the mostly peaceful protestors. That's reason enough to go.

Check out the official New York Convention page--welcoming peaceful protesters. There's even a list of planned protests and anti-Republican parties and performances. [links via e-mail from KBand.] The message to protesters, according to the Washington Post, is shop 'til you drop.

Noah Shachtman at Wired News and Defense Tech reports on plans by activists to hack Republican websites during the convention:

So it's no surprise that hardened electronic activists are planning to jam up the servers of georgewbush.com, rnc.org, and related websites, once the Republican National Convention gets underway on August 29. "We want to bombard (the Republican sites) with so much traffic that nobody can get in," said CrimethInc, a member of the so-called Black Hat Hackers Bloc.

The Black Hat Hackers Bloc is hoping to cause a whole lot more trouble when the Republicans start to gather in New York. The groups will be targeting not only GOP computers, but "e-mail, faxes and phones, too," CrimethInc said, as well as unspecified "financial disruption."

The New York Times today has a lengthy article on the FBI's recent visits to those they think may be political troublemakers at the Republican Convention. The story first surfaced in the Rocky Mountain News at the time of the Democratic Convention. We wrote about it here.

The FBI says they are just calling on those they think may be involved in criminal acts, not those who just might want to express dissent. Several of those who received the lawmen's visits disagree. From today's NY Times article:

"The message I took from it," said Sarah Bardwell, 21, an intern at a Denver antiwar group who was visited by six investigators a few weeks ago, "was that they were trying to intimidate us into not going to any protests and to let us know that, 'hey, we're watching you.' ''

Who's behind this new intrusion? According to the New York Times, which has obtained documents, it's the Department of Justice:

Time Magazine provides a guide with highlights of the protest activity that will occur in New York during the Republican Convention. Here are a few of the more intriguing ones:

GREENE DRAGON The week before the convention, this street-theater group will re-create Paul Revere's Ride, pedaling down Lexington Avenue on bicycles outfitted with cardboard horse heads, shouting, "The Republicans are coming!"

AXIS OF EVE Demanding an end to "political cover-up," about 100 women draped in American flags and wearing anti-Republican "protest panties" will perform a "mass flash" on Sept. 1

Time also mentions that New York police and firefighters may go on strike during the convention. I'm not buying it. Mayor Bloomberg will never let it happen. Any more than the Boston mayor let it happen there. Nor would Bush.

Every day we learn of more bloggers heading to New York for the convention. Jesse and Ezra of Pandagon, Markos of Daily Kos; NYU Journalism Prof. Jay Rosen of Pressthink; Matt Yglesias and Zoe are going. Mad Kane, Anna of Annatopia (who will be blogging for Majority Report of Air America Radio), Matt Stoller. You can follow blogger related events at the RNC Tank Blog.

Having covered the Democratic Convention as a credentialed blogger, it occurred to me, why stop there? So, TalkLeft applied for a press pass to cover the Kobe Bryant trial in Eagle. I received this e-mail today:

Good Afternoon Jeralyn, Your application has been approved and is good to go. Credentials are available for pick up on the Justice Center grounds beginning at 7:15 a.m. each morning on days when proceedings are scheduled. You must present a photo identification to receive your credential. Credentials are valid for the duration of the proceedings in this case.

Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised. TalkLeft has followed every development in the Kobe Bryant case since the date his arrest was announced. I'm a frequent commentator on the case on TV, and often quoted on it in national newspapers. But still, this is not a credential that's attached to any of the networks or newspapers -- it's in my name for TalkLeft. I think it's very cool.

It may not make bloggers journalists, but it does confirm we're media.

Check out A Student Pundit's Venture Into Poli-Cyberspace in the Chronicle of Higher Education. It's an interview and profile of Pandagon blogger Ezra Klein about his blogging at the DNC in Boston. It's available free to non-subscribers for five days, so read it soon.

There is now a blog about blogging the Republican Convention at The Tank. Apparently, this is about a $10,000.00 project. One of the sponsors just backed out and secondary sponsors are needed.

We had our funding source pull out unexpectedly about two weeks ago, and have been scrambling since then to come up with the $10,000 necessary to make all this happen. The Tank is letting us rent the space at-cost for the entire week for only $4,000, plus we need to print up signs, flyers, etc. starting next week. We're looking for sponsors who can underwrite part or all of the cost.

Organizations can sponsor one or two of the events (the Progressive Tourism Bureau, Blogger Alley, or the evening social events), or help with as little as $1,000. We'll give sponsors placement on the flyers, signs, etc. and they can put informational materials on tables at the event, though if we can cover the costs without doing that it'd be even better. If you have ideas for who might be interested, comment or email alpert@gmail.com.

Here's what will be happening at The Tank during RNC week, and it's much more than just a blogger alley. And read Zoe on what blogs will bring to the coverage-- using one of her own experiences with media coverage of an Iraq war protest in New York last year as an example.