We’ve mentioned Lee Camp’s performance at the DNC in Denver a time or three, and our friends at Eccentric Production/Zero Coordinate have now posted it for your viewing pleasure. Funny stuff - enjoy…

Full Story »

As noted a couple weeks ago, the S&R team hooked up with the crew from Zero Coordinate and Eccentric Production at the DNC in Denver. In addition to their invaluable help in shooting the Lee Camp interview, we also worked together in covering the Returned Soldiers/Rage Against the Machine/Tent State march on the DNC.

Natalie Ashodian and her team have now produced a powerful video from that march, and for those who only read about it (or, as is more likely the case, given how little attention the mainstream press paid to it, never even heard about it in the first place) this coverage is extremely important. Full Story »

We’re still trying to make sense of the spectacle that was last week’s DNC in Denver, and the same goes for many of the city’s residents. Our friend Karl Christian had some thoughts on the proceedings, and has agreed to let us repost this article, written on Day 2 of the DNC.

beerkitty has a lot more photos here.

This is actually not my first political convention, but my third (2000 in Philadelphia with the Republican Convention and 2004 in Boston with the Democratic Convention.) I just always happen to live where the political action apparently likes to move to. Full Story »

On February 23, comedian Lee Camp appeared on FOX News, where he proceeded to sound off on the hosts and their audience.

“What is Fox News?” asks comedian and activist Lee Camp on the air. “It’s just a parade of propaganda, isn’t it? It’s just a…festival of ignorance.”

Obviously Camp is a man with some political convictions. He’s also a very, very funny guy, as he demonstrated during the recent DNC festivities in Denver. Appearing with several other noteworthy names (SNL’s Fred Armisen, Sam Seder, Eugene Mirman, and the guys from BarelyPolitical.com, to name a few), Camp stole the show with a set that touched on everything from whether America is ready for a black president to whether we’re ready for Miley Cyrus.

Afterward, Camp made a few minutes to answer some questions for S&R and its readers. Full Story »

This represents the final bodies from Katrina, the last unknown victim of Katrina. This represents the pain and suffering.

— New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin; Laura Maggi of The Times-Picayune reported that “[s]even people who died during Hurricane Katrina were interred Friday morning in one of six mausoleums created to hold the remains of those who were not identified after the storm or whose families did not claim them; Aug. 29.

People are bringing five or six suitcases. We want to carry more people and less luggage.

— St. Charles Parish Emergency Preparedness Director Tab Troxler as residents of New Orleans and surrounding parishes begin evacuation of the Gulf Coast as Hurricane Gustav approaches; Aug. 30.
Full Story »

All links go to photos.

Our little outfit was issued one hall pass and one perimeter pass at the beginning of the convention. Our esteemed leader Sam was able to fandangle an extra hall pass for Thursday and we heard that our perimeter pass was now upgraded to an arena pass.

Full Story »

He’s the man who caused Sep. 11, war in the Gulf, a million Iraqi deaths and probably mad cow disease too. Of course I’m talking about Evil Incarnate, consumer advocate and political gadfly Ralph Nader.

As evidenced by the comments to my piece on him way back when, he’s still roundly feared and loathed by countless Democrats for supposedly helping George W. Bush, no matter how indirectly, steal the 2000 election from Al Gore and allowing everything that followed to pass. Well, he’s running for president again, and his anti-bigwig rhetoric has grown more pointed and caustic, just as the general lefty revulsion for him and his supporters has. Full Story »

I was walking up the 16th Street Mall this morning when I got stopped by a man offering me a small newspaper called the Denver Voice. It’s a paper written in large part by the homeless, about the homeless, and sold on the streets of Denver by the homeless. For a suggested donation of $1.00, I got a metaphorical smack upside the head, and an article inside the the Voice brought made it smart even more. I hadn’t even noticed, and my lack of noticing was something unusual. Downtown Denver is missing something.

Where are the homeless? Full Story »

video and editing  by JS O’Brien

Street theater is a traditional medium of political dissent, but the protesters at the 2008 Democratic National Convention might do well to look to the Denver police for a lesson in clear and effective improvisational performance.

This just in from Jack, who’s on the scene with the Tent State crowd:

Tent State is about to march from the Coliseum down Brighton and Broadway to the DNC. Rage is walking with them. Looks like 4,000 people or more.

This could be fun. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: A group of police in riot gear just offloaded near Blake and Broadway, which is in the anticipated path of the marchers.

I hate to sound a negative note, but it’s time to call a few DNC attendees on the carpet.

Word flying around the waiter and bartender network in downtown and LoDo is that the DNC crowd isn’t tipping very well. (Sorry, no names or locations here - you’re just going to have to trust me.) I’ve talked to several bartenders and wait staff at multiple places and they’re seeing a lot of 15%ers. Which is to say, people who are throwing down the default amount from a decade ago.

Said one waitress at a popular spot not far from the Big Tent, “they’re tipping okay, I guess, but they’re not really taking care of us.” Full Story »

ITEM! 16th Street Mall is fashion central for everyone who is anyone in the Democratic Party. If you are coming for the convention, there is no escaping the 16th Street Mall. It’s the place to see and be seen. First off, you’ll need to get your bling. Buttons, T-shirts, signs, chants and fliers. But remember you are never fully dressed without a lanyard. You can have your press passes, IDs and credentials. But it’s the convention hall pass that completes the outfit.

What is that? You are not even planning on going to the convention today? Well, don’t you make the fashion faux pas and take that little badge of belonging off. You must wear it proudly and always. But don’t worry. You won’t be alone. A quick walk up and down the Mall and you’ll see fully 20% of the population showing that they can get into a certain arena any time they wish.

But they’re not the only one showing off their street cred. Full Story »

An unknown candidate, a gathering of Minutemen, Bob Barr (or maybe not), and immigration.  Do progressives have anything in common with these people on this topic?   Well, maybe.  Just a bit.

DNC08, day one observation: there’s just way the hell more going on that we can cover. There are 11 of us, and I’m not sure we could do what we feel like we ought to be doing if we had 111.

It’s especially tough because S&R isn’t and never has been about being the firstest and the fastest. We rarely scoop anybody. Instead, we like to digest, to ponder, to reflect, to think as thoroughly as we can and finally produce something that takes the reader deeper. But today - there’s so much that the team has covered, so many people we’ve talked to, so many pictures we’ve taken… When it comes to information coming in, it’s been like drinking from a firehose. Full Story »

So, the Minutemen are in town agitating about securing our borders. We’ve been thinking about the idea of a border fence for quite awhile and up until recently we were adamantly opposed. For one thing, it seemed unlikely to work, and for another, anybody who’s been to a Home Depot lately can tell you that fencing is expensive as hell.

But now we think we’ve been convinced. Good fences make for good neighbors, goes the old adage, and we now believe that a border fence would go a long way toward solving any number of immigration-related problems. Full Story »

Scholars & Rogues is looking forward to meeting as many DNC attendees as possible - we aren’t the official hosts of the convention, but a lot of us live here in Denver and we’re excited about the prospect of introducing you to our town.

We’re also pretty excited that Lime, one of the greatest restaurants in a town full of great restaurants, has agreed to host the S&R crew for the duration. Denver is going to be a circus and there’s not going to be a lot of real estate available to us humble blogger types (although the Big Tent is one of the best ideas ever - thanks Markos, thanks Google, and thanks to all the other sponsors who have made it a reality). Full Story »

Every city I’ve visited has animals that make the city home. Denver’s urban wildlife is more interesting than many other cities for two reasons. The first is simple geography - the city sits on the margins between the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains, and so not only does Denver see animals from both, there are also major migration routes for birds that track right over Denver. In addition, the Front Range of Colorado has a long history of supporting greenbelts and undeveloped open space and many animals use these undeveloped areas as refuges and as corridors to get deep into the city.

Denver’s western and southern suburbs push right up into the foothills, exposing residents - and delegates who are being housed in area hotels - a much wider variety of urban critters than you might be used to. Some of the animals will be common, others not so much, and some could potentially be dangerous if you plan on hiking in the mornings. Here’s a run down on some of the animals you could encounter on your visit. Full Story »

As delegates pour into Denver for the Democratic National Convention, a local theater company is bravely sticking its neck out for the city’s political junkie guests.  This first edition of Scholars and Rogues News, our assault on Web TV, explores the Bovine Metropolis Theater’s talents, motivations, and deep emotional illnesses.

And now, a few more things that didn’t quite fit into other articles, or that arrived late, or that we forgot, or whatever. The fact that these are all being lumped under a miscellaneous category doesn’t mean they’re not well worth the time and effort. So here are some scattered thoughts about food, neighborhoods, recreation, sports, shopping and more. Full Story »

We had a request for some recommendations on good breakfast places, and there’s good news - DNC attendees have some very good options close at hand.

Racine’s, which is located in the Governor’s Park neighborhood just off Speer, is about as good as it gets. Full Story »