MSNBC, the RNC, and Rice Park

MSNBC and NBC News gets a well-deserved thrashing in the latest National Review, the cover story is titled, "Barack Obama's Pet Peacock."

With the exception of the work by Joe Scarborough and maybe a couple of others, the last-place cable news network has taken a turn to the far-left, and clearly gets inspiration from web sites like the Daily Kos (no link from me) for story ideas.

But with this post, I'm here just to comment on the network's presence, and how it served as a lightning rod for lunacy during the four days of the Republican National Convention. As the network typically does at political conventions, it set up shop outdoors. In St. Paul they chose Rice Park, which is less than a block from the Xcel Center, where the RNC proceedings took place.

As they day wore on, the park would get more crowded. The picture on the upper left was taken at 10am in the morning. The people on the right, each of them Ron Paul supporters, positioned themselves so their conspiracy theory banners could be seen on MSNBC. Just in case that didn't work, the Paul-ites--there were about a dozen of them, chanted, "9/11 was an inside job." I wasn't hanging out in Rice Park a lot, but it looks like the third day of the convention was they day they chose to spew.

PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, was at Rice Park. I don't agree with their message, but I like the way they presented it. Quiet (the person in the pig suit didn't say a word), but with a sense of humor. I mentioned Larry Sinclair, pictured on the right, in an earlier post. He makes the claim that he is a former gay lover of Barack Obama. There were some bizarre people in Rice Park, including Sinclair, but I spoke with him briefly, and he seemed, I repeat, he seemed quite sane. He discussed his dubious story in a sane-sounding, measured tone. Sinclair made attempts to have his poster come into view of the MSNBC cameras, but he wasn't obnoxious about it like the Paul-ites. Earlier this week I wrote about Code Pink's visit to Rice Park--Sinclair tried to engage them with some dialogue, but they weren't interested.

I was going to ask Sinclair who he was going to vote for, but then I got nervous that someone might snap a picture of me with him, so I thought it would be best that I move on to something else. Such as the gentleman in holding the neon yellow sign.

He was not a supporter of Code Pink, he warned the denizens of Rice Park, redundantly, that "Witches and wiccans have entered here." But this man is not a John McCain Republican. He announced to anyone within earshot that John McCain was an adulterer. I noted to a Republican operative standing next to me that McCain should sue, because he is in fact a former adulterer.

Okay, so this guy doesn't like McCain. Surely he's pleased with Sarah Palin's choice as McCain's running mate. If she's not pro-choice, then no one is. Palin gave birth earlier this year to a baby that she knew beforehand had Down's syndrome. What does this guy with think of Palin? She's a witch too.

When there are not political conventions in town, statues and a beautiful fountain (behind neon guy) are the most noticeable features in Rice Park. St. Paul has blessed the world with two cultural greats. F. Scott Fitzgerald, best known for his masterpiece "The Great Gatsby," and Charles M. Schulz, creator of the comic strip "Peanuts," were both St. Paul natives. Shulz has a number of his characters depicted in bronze throughout the park, and Fitzgerald is honored with a life-size statue.

Fitzgerald came from the wealthy part of St. Paul--Summit Avenue. Schulz, a barber's son, grew up in an apartment above O'Gara's Bar in a less prosperous part of the Minnesota capital.

MSNBC has left St. Paul, as has the Republican National Convention, and most of the crazies. But the statues remain.

Technorati tags: Politics RNC St. Paul elections MSNBC F. Scott Fitzgerald Charles M. Schulz Larry Sinclair culture Minnesota Ron Paul PETA