Forgot all about it

Denver's Columbus Day parade, that is. Until yesterday, anyway. Put in a call to Rick SaBell, the organizer, to see if anything was up, protest-wise (nothing was posted on the Colorado AIM site), but he didn't return it. Luckily, the Post has an anemic account of an anemic parade:

Denver's Sons of Italy Columbus Day Parade, scheduled to go as long as four hours, lasted barely 40 minutes this morning.

There were a few protesters:

Even the group of protesters was on the smallish side and were difficult to hear across Broadway except for a few with microphones.

Did Benjie get arrested?

Sons of Columbus President Rick SaBell said the parade was larger than past years and broke a record for the number of parade entries.

"We've got all three ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria," he said. "We're gaining momentum. Our goal is to restore the history and luster of the parade." . . .

Only been to one, and that was in the heyday of the protests, but the parade itself was pretty unlustrous.

The most prominent feature of the parade were columns of gleaming motorcycles, from classics to elaborate custom-built bikes, that revved their engines to drown out protesters.

Yeah, they did that in 2005 too.

A ring of police surrounded the small group of protesters on Broadway.

"Kick cracker bums off Indian land," said one sign.

"Columbus go home," a few dozen people chanted.

Here's a little Malkin-fodder:

Protester Antonio Moreno said Colorado is occupied Mexican land.

"This isn't your land white man," he yelled into his
microphone. . . .

Yeah, racist. But the parade was so boring the reporter had to focus on some woman's apparently gimped-up little dog:

Connie Truax's toy schnauzer Lacy was terrified by the cannons [at least they weren't crap cannons] just before the parade started. But when it got moving she charmed the few people scattered along the parade route.

A Tom Tancredo supporter, Truax pushed a wheelchair with Lacy and a stuffed Uncle Sam aboard.

"He needs a little help now-adays," she quipped.

"Now-adays"?

But her favorite candidate for governor was also under the weather.

"Tom couldn't be here. He has a terrible cold," she said.

Fascinating.

Update: Did Benjie get arrested?