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Granted, we can all be thankful if Crosby, Stills, et al. choose not to rework their 1968 Chicago protest anthem this year. But the massive protest being planned for this summer's Republican National Convention is already shaping up as even larger -- and potentially more contentious -- than that watershed event.
The largest of the over 20 protest permit requests this far has come from United for Peace and Justice, the umbrella group which helped sponsor many of the largest Washington and New York anti-war protests of the past two years. Officially, UPJ organizers say they expect 250,000 people; unofficially, the group is hoping for over a million. Given the timing, location, and the fervor of many of the country's Bush-haters, they might just get it.
What they won't get is any help from the city. Republican mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration has refused UPJ's application for a permit to assemble in Central Park, saying that 250,000 people would damage the grass. This is the same park, mind you, that held over two million for an anti-nuclear concert and rally in 1982. But not to worry: none of the other 20 groups has gotten a permit yet, either.
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