
So what's this I hear on Air America Radio and later read in hte New York Times? Well, here are the first three paragraphs from the actual story, no I did not make this up:
Thinking about smashing windows or overturning cars during the Republican National Convention? Think again: that will cost you a discounted buffalo chicken salad from Applebee's or a cheaper ticket to see "Tony n' Tina's Wedding."
In a transparently mercantile bid to keep protesters from disrupting the Republican National Convention later this month, the Bloomberg administration will offer "peaceful political activists" discounts at select hotels, museums, stores and restaurants around town during convention week, which begins Aug. 29.
Law-abiding protesters will be given buttons that bear a fetching rendition of the Statue of Liberty holding a sign that reads, "peaceful political activists." Protesters can present the buttons at places like the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Sex, the Pokémon Center store and such restaurants as Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too and Applebee's to save some cash during their stay.
Click on the New York Times link above to read the entire story.
Does Bloomberg really think that this is the reason that people will not do crazy things in protest of the RNC? Well, I don't think so. I think if people want to smash windows and flip cars and whatnot, I don't think they're concerned with discounts on Broadway shows. Charlie Brown once said: "Good grief."