Some of the stories coming out of Minnesota this week are enough to make my stomach turn, especially after the appalling arrest of an ABC News producer in Denver last week as they attempted to videotape Senators and lobbyists emerging from a reception.

The biggest one this week is Democracy Now's Amy Goodman getting arrested--along with two of her colleagues--for obstruction and riot charges and then released.  Goodman and her team had been reporting on the 'preventive' raids of activists and independent journalists by police before the RNC started.  The video is an ugly scene.

This morning, we ran a full page ad on the back of the Denver Post convention section called "Democracy in Distress."  Check it out here.

This same morning, Rep. Robert Wexler spoke at the Progressive Central forum in Denver and if I hadn't known better, I'd have thought he was reading from the ad and from our Recapture the Flag campaign agenda to restore the rule of law and the Constitution.  Apologies for the shoddy video quality, but it's worth watching just to hear Wexler hitting the bulls eye on torture, executive privilege, inherent contempt for Karl Rove, and other examples of executive abuses of power that should not stand as precedent for future administrations.

I handed Wexler a copy of the ad after he spoke, and he was pretty excited by it.  Here's hoping we find a few more like Wexler in Congress ready to join us and take back our democracy.

On a tangential note, Denver has been enlightening, worthwhile and sometimes fun, but I am ready for a full night's sleep again.

In Denver, it's easy to get the feeling that the telecom companies are funding this convention.  And it's pretty close to true.  AT&T, Qwest, Verizon, and Comcast are heavily invested in the Denver DNC, and are similarly paying for a good chunk of the RNC next week.  If you want to see a big special interest buying its way further into the halls of power, you've got it here.  And anyone who cares about the future of the media, the internet, and the election system in this country should be getting mad.

On the ground in Denver, it's the little things that catch your attention - like almost every delegate has a lanyard around their neck that says "Qwest Qwest Qwest" (see the pics).  When half the people you see have a Qwest band around their neck, you notice.  And it gets in your head.

And then it's the parties.  Of course, folks like me can't get in - but delegates, elected officials, lobbyists and their staffs usually can.  AT&T is hosting a reception virtually every day, sometimes several.  (Check out Sunlight's Party Time blog for some great coverage of the convention parties.)  Yesterday I went to see who was at the AT&T-sponsored luncheon for "western delegates" only to get turned away at the door and informed that the event had been moved to a different fancy restaurant on the other side of town.  Tuesday night I wandered past a private event sponsored by Verizon for Iowa delegates; they had reserved a café on the main drag through town and locked out the public, as you can see from the photo.

Those are the obvious images, but what's less visible to the naked eye is more significant.

Day Two at the Big Tent started sleepily, but the place is hopping now.  Sen. Ken Salazar stopped by and did a long round through the place -- including a short hello with Bob Edgar (see the pic).

I caught Salazar on his way out (no picture) and introduced myself.

Before I could get out my question, "Will you support public financing for Congress?" Salazar cut me off: "Common Cause! Campaign finance reform.  I want to do something about campaign finance reform," he said.  A little surprised, I thanked him, said we're working on public financing, and handed him a flyer about the Fair Elections Now Act.  Getting a moderate Senator like Salazar on board would be terrific for our prospects to pass the bill next Congress.

Check out the footage of Glenn Greenwald and Jane Hamsher attempting to talk to attendees of a swanky AT&T sponsored party last night.

AT&T's name is littered across both the DNC and RNC party lists as a host of lavish receptions as well as a major donor to both conventions' Host Committees.  AT&T has a lot at stake in Congress in 2009.  Smells wrong.

Earlier today I sat in on a panel at the Big Tent on climate change.  Featured among the panelists was Robert Kennedy Jr., along with Prof. David Orr and others.

While the conversation focused on global warming and the policy solutions--capping carbon emissions, ending the subsidies for fossil fuels like coal and gas, investing in renewables, and strengthening our electric grid--the panelists were in agreement and a couple, including Kennedy, got into the political reasons why we haven't made progress on virtually any of those fronts.

I'm spending the week in Denver at the site of the Democratic National Convention, along with several other Common Cause staff.  We're helping to lead a full day on media and democracy issues at the Big Tent, home of bloggers, independent media, and other activists, which you can view through a live web feed.

We'll also be watch dogging the many lavish parties to see who's trying to buy access and influence with lawmakers, and contributing to the Party Time blog of the Sunlight Foundation.  We'll be urging candidates to sign the Voters First Pledge for public financing of elections and to Recapture the Flag by committing to restore the rule of law and the Constitution.

Keep an eye out here for updates from Denver.  Here's one to start off, with a quick look back to a week ago.