It sounds like we are headed to the capital of the world's largest military dictatorship, not Boston.

The security measures are becoming more and more evident as the convention nears. At the FleetCenter, the authorities began a full security lockdown Saturday morning in a driving rainstorm. A double barrier of steel fencing was erected around the convention hall. Private cars and trucks were banned from the nearby network of streets called the Bullfinch Triangle. National Guardsmen in camouflage were stationed at the nearby Haymarket subway stop. In the latest addition to the security plan, eight Air Force F-16 fighter jets have been called in to patrol the skies.

In the well-to-do Beacon Hill neighborhood, street garbage cans have been removed from their metal hoops to prevent bombs from being hidden, leaving residents to complain that trash is piling up. On Thursday, transit police began random inspections of handbags on the subways. The Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a warning that some unknown group might want to attack the television satellite transmission trucks setting up around the FleetCenter and at picturesque locations like Faneuil Hall, but gave no specifics. At 8 p.m. on Friday, the last train for the duration of the convention left North Station, which serves 25,000 commuters a day.

Coast Guard and police patrol boats will cruise the harbor. The police have equipped themselves with exotic devices like a gun that fires clusters of ball-shaped containers of pepper irritant for dispersing crowds.

This should be interesting. Chicago in 1968 may be tame by comparison. We should probably bring flak jackets. The best advice may be this, coming from a downtown paralegal:

You should definitely wear sneakers, because with all that's going on you never know when you might have to walk a lot.

This is ridiculous. How can the Court allow it? This will be the shame of Boston:

An area designated for organized protests appears enclosed by mesh and chain link fencing near the site of the upcoming Democratic National Convention, in Boston, Wednesday, July 21, 2004. A new federal lawsuit has been filed against the city over the fenced-in protest area that has been called a 'demonstration zone,' and a 'free speech zone.'

From an editorial in the Boston Globe today:

US District Judge Douglas Woodlock also split the difference Thursday when deciding two lawsuits brought by civil liberties activists. The judge, wisely, will allow antiwar protesters access to Causeway Street tomorrow for what is expected to be the largest protest march of the week. But disappointingly, Woodlock left intact the pathetic coop, complete with razor wire and netting, that is to serve as the designated protest area during the rest of the week. Yesterday, lawyers for the protesters appealed for redress to the US Court of Appeals, and a three-member panel of judges agreed to review the case and additional filings on Monday morning. Clarity must be brought to Woodlock's decision, in which he refers to the protest zone as "an affront to the idea of free expression" yet, fearing violence, allows it to remain.

The FBI is warming up to its new role as a preventive law enforcement agency. It has begun knocking on the doors of those they expect to be protesting at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions and asking questions and giving warnings to the occupants inside. Where? Denver is one place. From today's Rocky Mountain News:

Law enforcement officers visited several Denver young people Thursday to warn them against committing violence at the Democratic and Republican national conventions. "This is part of an ongoing FBI investigation with the Joint Terrorism Task Force," Colorado FBI spokeswoman Monique Kelson said Friday. "That's all that we can comment right now."

Some of those receiving the unwelcome visits called the ACLU:

Mark Silverstein, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Colorado, said young people living at two locations in Denver reported the visits to the ACLU and that similar visits have occurred elsewhere in the United States in recent days. He said officers told the Denver young people that they were visiting "protesters and anarchists."

"It's an abuse of power, designed to intimidate these kids from exercising their constitutional right to protest government policies and associate with others who want to protest government policies," Silverstein said.

Sarah Bardwell, one of those visited, said the six officers and agents who knocked on her door asked these questions:

Dave Winer has set up Convention Bloggers where you can read all the convention bloggers (credentialed, non-credentialed and blogging delegates) in one place.

Feedster has set up this site with the current day's blogging entries from "official" DNC bloggers (yes, we're included.)

Beginning Sunday night, Technorati and CNN will have this site operational, providing research and analysis for Democratic National Convention coverage.

Joe Trippi and others will be blogging the Convention for MSNBC's Hardball at a new blog called the Hardblogger. MSNBC's full convention coverage is here.

If you're blogging the DNC, and you're not on these lists, feel free to add a link to your blog in the comments--using the html instructions in the comment box.

We know. So many pundits, so little time. Read as many as you can though, because we are all different and each of us brings our own unique perspective to the main event.

People for the American Way will be hosting a panel on the Supreme Court at the DNC next week in Boston. Titled "Four More Years or Forty More Years," this is one event we encourage everyone to attend.

The current Supreme Court is closely divided on basic constitutional issues, with many key cases being decided by 5-4 or 6-3 votes. The next President is likely to nominate two, three, or even four new Supreme Court justices who will have a huge and long-lasting impact on constitutional rights, liberties and legal protections. People For the American Way’s panel, “Four More Years or Forty More Years?” seeks to educate and mobilize progressive voters around the future of the Supreme Court.

It will be held on Tuesday, July 27 2004, 9 am - 11 am, at the Boston Marriot Copley Place, Salon E. So far the panelists will include:

Ralph G. Neas, President, People For the American Way
Alec Baldwin, PFAW board member
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-TX-18
Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-TX-20
James Carville, political strategist

We think they should add some practicing lawyers to the panel.

We wish we were making this up, but we're not:

The FBI said on Friday it was investigating "unconfirmed information" of a possible attack on media vehicles during the Democratic National Convention, which begins on Monday in Boston. "The FBI has received unconfirmed information that a domestic group is planning to disrupt the Democratic National Convention by attacking media vehicles with explosives or incendiary devices," the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Boston field office said in a statement. ...spokeswoman for the Boston FBI told Reuters that the bureau had notified media organizations of the probe because they were potential targets.

This is one way to keep the nation riveted to the convention next week.

The Seattle Post Intelligencer has this article on the importance of the Democratic Convention to the Kerry-Edwards bid to take back the White House. After describing the Convention's four themes, one for each day, the article notes:

And in an effort to reach the largest possible audience, convention organizers are counting on the Internet. Bloggers will be credentialed for the first time, and their Web reports will assume large roles in carrying the message, although whether it is the message the Democratic Party wants disseminated remains to be seen.

Policy discussions will be kept to a minimum and celebrities will come into the mix as organizers hope their star power will attract usually uninterested views. As in other recent conventions, Boston will become party central, with more than 200 official and unofficial events scheduled over the four-day gathering....Much of Hollywood is expected to decamp to Boston for the week. It will be an eclectic crew -- among those likely to attend are Ben Affleck, Sean Astin, Larry David and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

By attending the convention as a credentialed blogger, we hope to convey to our readers the energy, solidarity and resolve of those present to make the Kerry-Edwards win a reality. We want you to feel like you are there with us-- that we're your eyes and ears. We want you to get caught up in the swell of optimism and determination. We can take back the White House and Congress. Only a Kerry-Edwards win will preserve the integrity and independence of our Supreme Court and federal courts. A Kerry-Edwards win is essential to protect our civil liberties and rid us of Attorney General John Ashcroft.

We still need some help with the financial part--if you can kick in a few bucks towards our trip, we'd greatly appreciate it. If you've already given, you should have received a thank-you email by now. If not, let us know.

Amazon (anonymous)

PayPal

And whether you've contributed or not, feel free to e-mail us with what you would like us to cover.

Daily Kos reports that Margaret Cho has been uninvited from a DNC-related event . Markos is angry. From the press release:

Margaret Cho has been "uninvited" to perform at the Unity 2004 event which is taking place at Avalon, this coming Monday, July 26, around the Democratic National Convention. The Human Rights Campaign is one of 10 GLBT groups coming together July 26 at the nightclub to "celebrate GLBT strength and unity." Asked to headline the event, Cho was preparing to preview material from her new State of Emergency tour as part of an unpaid benefit performance. She has since been "uninvited" by a spokesman for the HRC, who cited "a potential media firestorm" and referenced the recent criticism of Whoopi Goldberg's routine at a Kerry fundraiser.

Mark Giselson at Norweigianity responds with an update to Pastor Niemöller:

First they came for the Dixie Chicks, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a musician and I don’t like country music.

Then they came for Whoopi Goldberg, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t an African-American with a Jewish surname.

Then they came for Linda Ronstadt, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a chubby hispanic with a closet full of gold records.

Then they they were given Margaret Cho, and I approved because they would have come for her next anyway, so why not speed up the process and just get it over with…

One feature we will incorporate as part of our blogging coverage of the Democratic National Covention is what we call "random media notes" -- interesting snippets we find from various sources. Here's our first roundup:

Update: Michael Moore will appear at a screening of his ``Fahrenheit 9/11'' at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline. The screening is for members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,150 of whom are delegates. Also, Moore will speak Monday to the Congressional Black Caucus. [Hat tip to F-911 Blog]

• The Arab tv station Al Jazeera has secured space in a press skybox at the Fleet Center and will have 16 staffers providing live coverage of the convention.

• P. Diddy will be reporting live for MTV's "Choose or Lose" campaign.

• You can catch Janeane Garafalo doing standup comedy Saturday and Sunday nights at Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway in Somerville. She'll be covering the convention live all week for Air America Radio.

• Al Franken will be speaking at a breakfast for the Maine delegation.

Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich will endorse John Kerry Thursday at a rally in Detroit. Kucinich's spokesman said:

"The congressman looks forward to appearing with John Kerry tomorrow and unifying the Democratic Party in support of Sen. Kerry's winning bid for the White House," Gordon said Wednesday night.

Kucinich is scheduled to speak Wednesday night at the Democratic convention in Boston. The entire list of speakers is here.

The Wall St. Journal reports in tomorrow's edition that the Senate has passed a resolution urging the Supreme Court to resolve sentencing issues created by its Blakely decision (subscription only):

Members of the Senate passed by unanimous consent a resolution asking the Supreme Court to resolve questions over the constitutionality of the federal sentencing guidelines. The House is expected to consider the measure this week.
The bipartisan resolution, rare at a time when political acrimony is running high, shows how critical the subject is considered to be. Its passage means that all three branches of government -- legislative, judicial and executive -- have requested expedited action by the Supreme Court to provide clarity to its ruling last month.

CNN has big convention coverage plans--check out this press release--of particular interest to weblog readers is the announcement that it has paired with Technorati:

“BlogWatch” – CNN.com’s up-to-the-moment review of numerous Web logs covering the convention marks a first for convention coverage using Technorati, the leading monitor of blogs.

Reviews? Or will they just be listing the blogs that link to posts of the convention blogs? We'll wait to see what MSNBC and Fox News have planned before declaring CNN the go-to station for convention coverage.