On the final day, the Republican National Convention delegates will hear from the candidate, John McCain. That much seems certain, though by 10 p.m. on Wednesday, the official convention Web site advised only “check back soon” for Thursday’s schedule. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is also expected to speak, along with about a dozen GOP notables.
Outside the convention, protesters plan on filling the streets again. The Anti-War Committee announced a coalition rally at the State Capitol, beginning at 4 p.m., and a march to the Public Viewing Area at the RNC at 5 p.m. The marchers do not have a permit for that time. While the convention’s theme-of-the-day is “Country First: Peace,” the theme of the march is “No Peace for the War-Makers.”
Katrina Plotz and other speakers at a Wednesday press conference insisted on the “connection between the war on the poor and working people of Iraq and the economic war on the poor and working people in this country.”
“Throughout the RNC, the Xcel Center has been closed to the thousands of people whose lives are most affected by the plans and decisions of the politicians. The police presence in St. Paul this week has been designed to scare and silence those who are speaking and acting against the Republican agenda. We will not be intimidated. It’s up to us to gather in the streets and converge on the Xcel Center to reject five years of unjust war in Iraq and demand justice at home and abroad.”
Earlier in the day, Youth Against War and Racism (YAWR) is calling for a walk-out by area high school students at 11 a.m. They plan to converge on the state capitol, and participate in an antiwar puppetry festival and theatrical arrest and mock trial of the war criminals meeting in St. Paul.
On the other side of the river, the “American Politica Sideshow: Weird and Wild,” a day-long sideshow of speakers, discussions, performances and Art on Wheels, is playing at the Weisman Museum, 333 E River Rd, East Bank U of M campus, in Minneapolis from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
And on Harriet Island, a Peace Island picnic and concert will begin at 1 p.m. and run to 8 p.m. Activities include performance by some well known artists, sing-a-longs, artistic displays, kite flying, checking out the Trueblue massive TV screen and making a giant peace sign with people.
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