(Originally posted in Greater Democracy)

This afternoon, I explored the city, trying to get a good feel for what is going on with the convention. I stopped in Bryant Park to use the open wifi, and check my email. There was an interesting email from Jock asking to what extent New York is currently Baghdad on the Hudson, “a city occupied by a power elite who treat the residents as second class citizens with fungible civil rights. The way the occupiers have redefined NYC, it now has its own very own "Green Zone" -- just like Bagdad. A bubble of fantasy and dogma dictated "reality".”

There was something that resonated with me about that. Just like the Two Americas, it seems as if there are two New Yorks, one in which people try to go about their daily lives and the other that the Republicans are visiting.

When I was in Boston, I went and hung out in the lobbies of various delegations. It was a great way to get a sense of what was really going on. The delegates and dignitaries would pass through the lobbies. You could pick up information about what is going out through out the day.

Here in New York, it is different. You can’t get into the lobbies unless you are staying in the hotel. The delegates are pretty removed and isolated from New York. It is easy to get information about demonstrations, but not about what is going on for the delegates.