STOP GOVERNMENT SPYING

I spotted the sign while I was riding the free 16th Street Mall bus Tuesday morning. A big sign with a simple message: “Stop Government Spying” held by a smiling man with bushy gray sideburns in a “I (heart) Big Brother” T-shirt.

About 11 hours later, while walking down 16th, I spotted the same guy holding the same sign, this time assisted by a younger woman. He had a friendly smile and didn’t look like the kind to yell in my face with a megaphone. So I decided to find out why he was doing this for hours on end on the streets of Denver.

His name is Ben Masel, and he comes from Madison Wisc. He’s a long-time activist and veteran of many protests and various causes. When I told him I was from The New Mexican, he said he was at a drug reform conference in 2001 that then Gov. Gary Johnson attended. I’d covered that same conference.

I later learned that he’s announced his candidacy for the 2012 U.S. Senate race in Wisconsin on a pro drug-legalization, pro-civil liberties platform.

“I’m doing this partly in the hopes of influencing President Obama,” he said, “But especially to try to influence members of Congress passing through with the sense that we need some legislative fixes for the massive erosions of our privacy. My own representative, Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) stopped and posed with us an hour ago.” Masel said Baldwin will sponsor a bill to create “an affirmative privacy right in cell phone location data, which apparently belong to the phone companies to deal with however they like.”

Masel said he’s faced no harassment from police or passersby in Denver. But he’s forced some “free speech issues” with business owners who have tried to remove him from sidewalks. "I've backed each of them down,” he said.

When some security guards tried to have him removed from in front of a downtown hotel, Masel said, the manager came out to discuss the problem and eventually the manager agreed with Masel’s right to protest on a public sidewalk.

Masel also was protesting a party Sunday at the Mile High Station thrown by AT&T for the conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats. Some left-wing blogs have criticized the party noting that most the Blue Dogs voted to immunize telecommunication companies for their participation in the Bush administration's warrantees spying program.

The cops tried to remove him, but Masel said a Denver police lieutenant was “smart enough” to know he had a right to protest on a public sidewalk. Masel said he agreed to stay in one spot and not block passerbys.

Maureen Warfield, who was helping Masel hold the sign said she’d just been there for a short time. “I was just walking up and down and I saw this awesome sign,” she said.

Warfield is from Castlerock, Colo., who said she’s been downtown every day during the convention, sometimes with her children. On Monday, she said, she was in front of a MTV Rock the Vote performance with a sign that said "Screw Iraq, Fight for freedom in America."

“I’ve got four kids, I’m a stay-at-home-mom and I’m sickened by what’s happening today,” she said.

Masel said he’s planning on protesting the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn. next week.

GOV. RICHARDSON STORY

Almost forgot to post my link to my story about Gov. Bill Richardson in this morning's paper. It's HERE.

And check out this tidbit from MSNBC about Richardson taking a "shot" at that other Bill.

T. BOONE LOVES DEMS

DENVER — U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, speaking to New Mexico delegates to the Democratic National Convention at breakfast Wednesday, said Republicans are starting to use “swift boat” tactics against him in his race for U.S. Senate.

A few moments later Udall introduced the next speaker, a Texas oil man who in 2004 helped financed the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth -- an organization that infamously attacked presidential candidate John Kerry with some claims that turned out not to be true.

But T. Boone Pickens, a lifelong Republican, wasn’t there to talk about partisan politics. He was there to speak on The Pickens Plan, his ambitious agenda for alternative energy. He’s been running national television commercials for the plan.

Pickens wants to spend $1 trillion on wind-turbine farms for power generation and use natural gas to fuel automobiles. Pickens claims the proposal would cut the amount the country spends annually on foreign oil from $700 billion to $400 billion.

Pickens told the Democrats that his plan differs with Al Gore’s call to switch to electric automobiles within 10 years. He said it would be more realistic to use natural gas for cars for the next 20-30 years. “Then we’ll get to Al’s plan.”

Those attending the breakfast responded enthusiastically. After the talk many Democrats crowded Pickens to shake his hand and pose with him for photos.

Asked how it felt to be fawned over by all these Democrats, Pickens said, “It’s great. I like people who like me.”

Although Pickens was quoted in April by The Wall Street Journal Online that he was supporting Republican presidential candidate John McCain, PIckens said Wednesday after his talk that he’s staying out of the presidential race to concentrate on his energy plan.

Speaking of bipartisan, in New Mexico Pickens has hired a couple of top Democratic strategists — former Bill Richardson campaign manager Dave Contarino and former Patricia Madrid campaign manager Caroline Buerkle — to promote The Pickens Plan. Pickens plans to speak at a town hall forum in Albuquerque on Sept. 10.

So did Udall, who is running against Republican Steve Pearce for Senate, commit a faux pas by mentioning swift boats? No, said his campaign manager Amanda Cooper. “T. Boone’s cool with it.”

WALKING BACK

People walking out of the Pepsi center headed for downtown were treated to a weird cacophony of anti-abortion zealots, t-shirt hawkers and one guy sellin bottles of water for just a buck.

I couldn't resist recording it. Click the icon and bring the noise:

CONVENTION CACOPHO...

But these guys were a lot more fun.

JIMINY CARTER!

I just shook hands with President Jimmy Carter who was walking through the Pepsi Center Hall.

After I shook his hand I decided to try to get his picture, but he was moving prety fast for a guy in his 80s. But then he saw Sen. Pat Leahey, D-Vermont and stopped to chat. By this time, a small army of people with cameras had popped up from nowhere. Pretty good crowd, but not as big as the one in Boston in 2004 when Dre 3000 of Outkast dropped by the convention.