FEARS ABOUT CLEVELAND – AT 12:53 P.M. ET:  The Republican convention begins in Cleveland a week from tomorrow.  Fears of violence are growing.  From McClatchy:

As the Republican National Convention approaches, several security experts, convention attendees and even the prospective protesters fear that Cleveland might erupt into violence reminiscent of the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, where an estimated 10,000 protesters showed up to oppose the Vietnam War. Confrontations ensued between police and protesters that left hundreds injured and resulted in nearly 600 arrests.

“There’s a potential for that to happen,” said Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington research center. “There’s a lot of agitation on both sides.”

A turbulent political season fueled by the unpredictability of Trump supporters and opponents already has resulted in violent clashes at campaign events in San Jose and Burlingame, California, Chicago and Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Cleveland government and law enforcement officials insist they’re ready to host the 50,000 convention visitors, 15,000 media members and thousands of protesters expected to descend on the city and keep them safe. The city has sought to triple the size of its 1,600-member police force by recruiting officers from Ohio and other states.

Cleveland will be adequately staffed, Police Chief Calvin Williams wrote in an open letter on the department’s website and Facebook page Wednesday. “Our officers have trained with many partnering agencies at the local, state and federal level to ensure that the highest safety standards are maintained.”

The city’s municipal court is clearing jail space to process up to 1,000 people per day, Cleveland.com reported. Government officials increased Cleveland’s liability coverage from $10 million to $50 million to better protect it against damage from protests or other potentially violent acts.

“Given the climate nationally and internationally, the risk assessment was higher than it’s been for other conventions,” Cleveland Finance Director Sharon Dumas told The Associated Press last week.

COMMENT:  The governor is John Kasich, an opponent of Donald Trump.  I have no idea how that might figure into convention plans, but I thought I'd point it out.

I'm concerned.  Trump is a prime target of leftist demonstrators.   His convention will be a target.  The left is all fired up over policing.

There are definitely people out there who want to return to the 1960s.  They think it was a great era.  It was, if you had the intellectual maturity of a 12-year-old.  That's pretty much the level I see on the left today.

July 10, 2016