Mass protests are scheduled to take place in the Mile High City during the Democratic National Convention. No surprise there. The War in Iraq has fueled a lot of passion amongst people in this great country. The transparent war crimes the Bush / Cheney / Rummy / Ashcroft regime has committed and the Democratic Congress' failure to make any substantial progress in bringing the troops home from Iraq will be the main siren songs for protest groups. Other issue-related groups have also circled the Aug. 25th start date on their calendars.

Mass protests often turn ugly when disgruntled persons gather without clear leadership. The destruction of private property that ensues makes the symbolic movement counterproductive. Denver is recruiting police from the surrounding cities to help patrol the area. There will reportedly be a large section barrier restricting protesters from traveling within a mile of the Pepsi Center, where the convention will be held. 

Millions of protesters in 2002/03 took to the streets around the world to voice their opposition to the Iraq War. (Not surprisingly, the US Mainstream Media treated the relatively peaceful, organized marches with contempt and cynicism.) These massive demonstrations showcased the ability of people to march together to support a single cause. Maybe it didn't stop the US from going treasure hunting in Iraq, but it likely stopped the US from bombing Persians in Iran.
From the looks of it, the DNC protests are probably going to be more like the latter. A group calling themselves "Recreate '68" has taken the lead  in organizing marches, sit-ins and other activities. The leader of the group Glenn Spagnuolo, has been trying to secure permits for protests, which he received for some days, but not others, and overnight camping permits for city parks, which he hasn't received. Denver city officials have been very calm in their rhetoric, stating they don't want lines of police officers across the city that will provoke the violence.

After following Spagnuolo's recent activities around the city, he doesn't seem up to the challenge of leading a mass demonstration. The group doesn't have a focused message or motto. And it's not clear whether or not their intentions are to recreate the pandemonium of the 1968 DNC riots in Chicago or to actually accomplish an objective. He's no Vietnam protester, he's no Abbey Hoffman.

The best we can hope for is that Spagnuolo does the ground work and then gets kicked aside come convention time by someone who knows what they're doing. Otherwise this city is going to have it's own category on YouTube.