Inside St. Paul's Xcel Arena Sarah Palin was celebrated as a barrucada, a no-holds-barred politician in stilletos or as she said of herself (within the context of a hockey mom), a pitbull with lipstick. All the while we reminded again and again that John McCain was a "maverick", who stood up to the forces of oppression by surviving torture at a POW in Vietnam. 

Outside the situation was completely different. 

These are images from a video clip that happened by complete accident. I had noticed the police coming up the slope to my left and thought how odd it was that there were so many and in such military like formation. Why were they there all together at once instead of cycling and mingling around the crowd, making sure that everything was OK with the participants of the rally?

Well, we now know why they weren't there to "mingle" and keep the peace. They were there to conduct not only two warrantless arrests, but by their behavior, to instigate a riot.