More Good Apples in Another Bad Barrel?

Final Tally Awaits the Police and Protesters

An excerpt:

Allegations that the post-arrest screening site at Pier 57 was unhealthy or unsafe, or that prisoners were denied food or water, are untrue," Paul J. Browne, a spokesman for Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, said in an e-mail message. He added that "there is no evidence that the Police Department purposely held demonstrators any longer than necessary."

All told, the police say they arrested 1,821 people, the most at any political convention. Of those, 56 were for felonies, 282 were for misdemeanors, 1,480 were for violations and 3 were juvenile arrests.

Few people, including those who were held for long periods, suggested yesterday that the police used excessive physical force, but many complained bitterly of their treatment once they were locked up.

Ok... But they were given food and water, right?

Wendy Stefanelli, 35, who works as a stylist for "Sex and the City" and other shows, said that she was arrested when she tried to stop a police officer from beating a protester, but that she was not demonstrating herself. She spent several hours with other arrested people on a bus, where one man with Crohn's disease suffered from a burst colostomy bag.

"He was throwing up all over the back of the bus," she said in an e-mail message. "The entire bus begged the officers present to please get medical attention to this man. They completely ignored us."

So, the cops didn't beat the people in the "holding tank," but a woman was arrested for trying to stop a beating on the street. Or so she says. Sex and the City was a pretty liberal show you know, no family values at all.

But I digress. Crohn's disease is nothing to sneeze at. I cannot imagine the agony that man must have been in, and I cannot imagine the unpleasantness the others on the bus were forced to contend with.

So the post-arrest screening site at Pier 57 was safe. Too bad that's not the only site in question.

Ms. Lopez said she visited the Manhattan district attorney's office, where things appeared quiet as many protesters entered the system. "We know that at least 450 people were being detained," Ms. Lopez said. "Therefore, the office of the D.A. shouldn't have been empty when I visited him."

Is she suggesting that the protesters should have been in the DA's office? Or maybe it should have been stormed by attorneys representing the protestors? How much you wanna bet the attorneys were stuck on a bus somewhere? Or simply detained with the rest of the protestors?

Mr. Bloomberg has consistently denied that the conditions at the pier were poor, adding that it was clean and that people were provided food inside. "It's not Club Med, don't make any mistake about it, and it's not supposed to be Club Med," he said last week. "And I don't think there's anyone in the city that wants to make it Club Med. Which I used to go to all the time and I always found great! This is not supposed to be great."

Oh, isn't Bloomberg cute? Can't you just hear the smirk on his face? Aren't we all so happy to hear that he found Club Med to be great on all his trips there. Isn't that funny! Because last time we went, we loved it too! Oh wait. We're not part of the 4% of this country that can afford monthly allergy meds or blood pressure meds, to take our kids to the doctor, get our automobiles repaired, or occasionally enjoy a vacation at the Finger Lakes, never mind Club Fucking Med.

But wait!

Norman Seabrook, president of the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, said that he thought the pier was better than some jails he has seen, and that he would be the first to complain if his officers were working in a poorly maintained facility. "They would not be happy going through Rikers Island," he said, speaking of the protesters. "The rats, the roaches, the mice, the alleged rapes and sodomies. They should count their blessings. Many of the protesters were not from New York City, and they should just go on their way."

IT'S A PIER WHERE PROTESTORS ARE BEING DETAINED, NOT A PRISON!! THESE ARE NOT RAPISTS AND MURDERERS, THEY ARE TAXPAYERS EXERCISING THEIR RIGHT TO ASSEMBLE, SPEAK FREE, AND PROTEST!

Hm. Club Med. It seems to me there's a long, loooooong continuum between Club Med and Riker's Island. But then, that's Bloomberg for you,and a lot of other pushy politicians. They maintain that it's either My Idea or THIS OTHER BAAAD idea over here - NO other options!! None!

Middle Class, Mike. It's called MIDDLE CLASS. People who don't need to drive BMW's to feel that they have arrived in society. People who are perfectly happy in a 6-room house with their kids. People who value the basic, simple things in life: a job they can feed, house and care for their family with, without a commute that makes it impossible to ever have dinner together or ever make it to a softball game or school play. Vacations spent with family, not celebrities. People who are proud to pay taxes because we are proud to live in, for all it's problems, the greatest country on earth. People who aren't looking for a free ride - we're looking for a fair one.

Can you say the same, Mike? Can Cheney?

When New York City refused to offer the permits to protestors, New York was called "un-American." There have been some other horrific events that occurred in the past year that were also called un-American. And the same group of people have been involved every time.

This isn't politics. This is humanity. As if I didn't have enough ideological reasons for my vote.

Oh crap. Look what I just did, a political post. Damn. I swore I wasn't going to do that... I guess on this flooded morning when I'm stranded on the Upper West Side, looking around me at the blue-collar workers cursing and sneezing in the wet, watching the non-resident yuppies riding by in their Lexi while talking on their cellphones, reading this article just pushed me over the edge.

FYI: I moved two years ago and never updated my address with the voting department. I've fixed that now and am waiting for my new Voter Registration card to arrive in the mail. When's the last time all of you moved? Did you re-register? If not, go here and update your address! And phone, and everything else. Don't give anyone any reasons to deny you your entry to that little booth with the levers.

Update: NY1 has been talking about this all day. Glad I'm not the only one who thinks this is crazy. I heart sassy Pat.