A day after Ted Kennedy addressed the Democratic Convention in Denver, the Kennedys gathered at the historic Brown Palace Hotel in Denver to remember another Kennedy, Ted’s brother, Robert F Kennedy. He was assassinated 40 years ago, the night he won the Los Angeles Democratic primary. After the event, I sat down with his son Robert F Kennedy’s son, environmental attorney Robert F Kennedy, Jr. He spoke about torture, impeachment and the most poignant memories of his father.

Democracy Now! is back at home in New York after two weeks on the road. We traveled to Denver then to St. Paul to bring you our special coverage: Breaking With Convention: War, Peace and the Presidency. We grilled politicians with tough questions and exposed the backroom corporate suites. We deployed our reporters into the protest-filled streets to broadcast voices of the silenced majority. Today, Part I, with a recap of our coverage of the Democratic Convention in Denver, from the suites to the streets to the convention floor.

Civilian deaths in Afghanistan from US and NATO air strikes have nearly tripled from 2006 to 2007, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch. Air strikes killed at least 321 civilians in 2007, compared with at least 116 in 2006. The tally for this year is expected to be even higher. We speak with Kathy Gannon, an award-winning Associated Press correspondent who has covered Afghanistan and Pakistan for over two decades. [includes rush transcript]

Ramsey County prosecutors formally charged eight members of the RNC Welcoming Committee with conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism. On Thursday, other members of the anarchist group held their first press conference. One local activist accused the police of beating and torturing him in jail. [includes rush transcript]

We speak with Sami Rasouli, an Iraqi American who grew up in Najaf. He left in the late 1970s and eventually moved to the United States and settled down in Minneapolis. In November 2004, nearly thirty years after leaving Iraq, Sami returned home to help rebuild his country as director of the Muslim Peacemakers Team in Najaf. He is back in Minneapolis now on a visit from Iraq and joins us in St. Paul. [includes rush transcript]

In an interview on Democracy Now!, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher blamed a group of 400 to 500 alleged anarchists for creating unrest in St. Paul over the past week. Fletcher also admitted local police authorities had infiltrated and spied on local activists, including members of the RNC Welcoming Committee, for over a year. We play his remarks and an excerpt of a press conference, where members of the RNC Welcoming Committee spoke to the media for the first time. [includes rush transcript]

As John McCain accepted the Republican presidential nomination inside the Xcel Center last night, nearly 400 people were being arrested on the streets of St. Paul, including more than a dozen media workers. Among them were Rick Rowley of Big Noise Films and Democracy Now! producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous, who had been arrested on Monday while covering another protest. They were handcuffed and detained for about an hour and a half before being released and issued a citation for unlawful assembly. [includes rush transcript]

Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff was sentenced Thursday to four years in jail for corruption and tax offenses. Abramoff is already serving a nearly six-year term on unrelated charges. The new sentence will be served at the same time, meaning he will not spend any extra time behind bars once his original sentence ends in 2012. We speak with journalist Peter Stone, author of Heist: Superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, His Republican Allies, and the Buying of Washington. [includes rush transcript]

Democracy Now! is broadcasting from Saint Paul Neighborhood Network, here in St. Paul, Minnesota, where Arizona Senator John McCain accepted the Republican presidential nomination last night at the Xcel Center. We play an excerpt of his address. [includes rush transcript]

The Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities, like last week’s Democratic convention in Denver, is largely funded by big corporations. We try to go inside the suites at both conventions, and speak to Colorado Senator Ken Salazar and MSNBC pundit Tucker Carlson. [includes rush transcript]

Peter Stone covers lobbying, campaign finance and other issues for the National Journal. We ask him the inner workings of the Republican Party and the key players and financiers behind the scenes. [includes rush transcript]

Media Matters fellow and American Prospect columnist Paul Waldman says Sen. McCain’s image as an independent maverick able to take on powerful interests is enabled by a complacent media that overlooks the facts. [includes rush transcript]

Arizona Senator John McCain accepted the Republican presidential nomination last night, promising an agenda for change and taking on entrenched interests Washington. [includes rush transcript]

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin accepted the Republican vice-presidential nomination last night in front of a roaring crowd at the Xcel Center. Many view McCain’s selection of Palin as a nod to the evangelical right. We speak to Shannyn Moore, an Anchorage-based radio talk show host who closely follows Alaska politics. [includes rush transcript]

A decade ago, Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr was serving as a Republican congressman from Georgia and led the Republican drive to impeach President Bill Clinton. Since then he has become a vocal critic of the Republican Party, the war in Iraq and the erosion of civil liberties. Barr joins us in St. Paul. [includes rush transcript]

The Ramsey County Court has begun to slowly process and release some of the nearly 300 people detained over the past few days. Democracy Now! producer Anjali Kamat reports. [includes rush transcript]

Two days after several journalists were arrested covering the RNC protests, including three staffers at Democracy Now!, county and city prosecutors held a press conference in St. Paul. Amy Goodman was there to question them about the crackdown on journalists. [includes rush transcript]

Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill goes inside the RNC to take the pulse of what delegates think and how Sarah Palin has spiced up an otherwise sedated affair. [includes rush transcript]

Police in St. Paul are being accused of continuing to intimidate a group of video makers that traveled to the Twin Cities to document police misconduct during the Republican National Convention. On Saturday, police raided a home where members of the I-Witness Video collective were staying. Members of the group were detained for over two hours. The building’s landlord forced the group to move out yesterday after police armed with batons and a battering ram entered their living space for a second time. [includes rush transcript]

Ramsey County prosecutors have formally charged eight members of a prominent activist group with conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism. The eight members of the RNC Welcoming Committee are believed to be the first persons ever charged under the 2002 Minnesota version of the federal PATRIOT Act. The activists face up to seven-and-a-half years in prison. We speak with the father of one of those charged and the president of the Minnesota chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. [includes rush transcript]

We speak to former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, currently free on bond while he appeals a conviction on corruption charges. Siegelman says he’s the target of a political witch hunt directed by former White House Deputy Karl Rove. More than sixty former state attorneys general have called for a congressional investigation into Siegelman’s case. [includes rush transcript]

In these last few months of the Bush administration, as we continue to discuss the war in Iraq and the possibility of an attack on Iran, we turn to a man who was a UN weapons inspector inside Iraq in the 1990s: Scott Ritter. We speak with Ritter about Iran, Joe Biden’s role in the lead-up to the Iraq invasion and much more. Despite being a registered Republican, Ritter is backing Barack Obama. [includes rush transcript]

One day after the historic Poor People’s March in St. Paul, we speak to the group’s national organizer, Cheri Honkala. She’s a longtime organizer and director of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union in Philadelphia. [includes rush transcript]

Thousands of supporters of former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul gathered last night in Minneapolis for a counter-convention to show support for the Libertarian-leaning Texan congressman. During the primary season, Paul placed second or third in twenty states, but he was barred from speaking at the Republican National Convention, reportedly because he would not change his position on the war in Iraq. During his speech in Minneapolis, Paul refused to endorse his fellow Republican, John McCain. [includes rush transcript]

Outside the Xcel Energy Center, thousands of people filled the streets of St. Paul for a rally and march organized by the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign. Rick Rowley of Big Noise Films reports. [includes rush transcript]

On Tuesday morning, St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington held a news conference where he spoke about the nearly 300 people arrested in a police crackdown on protesters a day earlier. Among them were several journalists covering the protests in the streets, including three of us at Democracy Now!—Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. Amy Goodman questions Harrington about the arrests. [includes rush transcript]

Senator Joseph Lieberman was given the headlining spot during the Republican National Convention on Tuesday. Lieberman, a close friend of McCain’s, dismissed Senator Barack Obama and urged Democrats to switch sides and support the McCain-Palin ticket in November. Former senator and GOP presidential hopeful, Fred Thompson, also spoke. [includes rush transcript]

At the first full day of the Republican National Convention, President Bush addressed the floor via a satellite feed from the White House. During his speech, President Bush compared progressive critics of his administration with the North Vietnamese who captured John McCain and held him as a prisoner of war for over five years during the Vietnam War. [includes rush transcript]

After more than five-and-a-half years behind bars, Palestinian professor and activist, Sami Al-Arian, has been released from prison. Immigration authorities released him on bail on Tuesday after they failed to explain his continued detention pending a trial for refusing to testify before a grand jury about a cluster of Muslim organizations in northern Virginia. But while he is out of prison, Sami Al-Arian is not free. He must remain under house detention at his daughter Laila’s residence in Virginia, pending trial. Laila Al-Arian joins us from Virginia. [includes rush transcript]

Democracy Now! speaks with Geoffrey Millard, chapter president of the IVAW in Washington, D.C.; David Bellavia, vice chair of Vets for Freedom; and Steve Russell, founder and chair of the group Vets for Victory. [includes rush transcript]

We return to the streets of St. Paul, where more than one hundred members of Iraq Veterans Against the War held a rally on Monday. The antiwar vets marched to the site of the Republican National Convention. Jacquie Soohen of Big Noise Films filed this report. [includes rush transcript]

Max Blumenthal of The Nation reports last week, while the media focused almost obsessively on the DNC’s spectacle in Denver, the country’s most influential conservatives met quietly at a hotel in downtown Minneapolis to get to know Sarah Palin. The assembled were members of the Council for National Policy, an ultra-secretive cabal that networks wealthy right-wing donors together with top conservative operatives to plan long-term movement strategy. [includes rush transcript]

Gena Berglund of Minnesota Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild discusses the police tactics, including the targeting of journalists and use of excessive force on the street. On Monday, officers in riot gear fired rubber bullets, teargas, pepper spray and concussion grenades at protesters and journalists. [includes rush transcript]

Hurricane Gustav slammed the US Gulf Coast just west of New Orleans on Monday but has now weakened to a tropical depression. According to the National Hurricane Center, Gustav remains a flood threat as it moves over central Louisiana. Forecasters also warn that another storm, Hurricane Hanna, could hit the Gulf Coast by midweek. [includes rush transcript]

Democratic Congress member Keith Ellison of Minnesota has been back in the Twin Cities this week closely monitoring the treatment of protesters and journalists at the RNC. He joins me now in St. Paul. [includes rush transcript]

More than 280 people were arrested here in St. Paul Monday, the opening day of the Republican National Convention. Among them were several journalists covering the protests in the streets, including three of us at Democracy Now! Amy was detained trying to question police officers about the arrests of Democracy Now! producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. [includes rush transcript]

Republican candidate John McCain has shocked political analysts and even members of his own party with the selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential nominee. The forty-four-year-old Palin becomes the first woman to ever run on a Republican presidential ticket. Her surprise choosing came as a shock to political observers who hadn’t even put her in contention. Palin has been Alaska’s governor for less than two years. Prior to that, she served as mayor of Wasilla, a town of less than 10,000 people. [includes rush transcript]

Democracy Now! runs into New York Times columnist David Brooks at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. We get his reaction to Barack Obama’s nomination acceptance speech in Denver, John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin for the vice-presidential nomination, and the effect Hurricane Gustav will have on the Republican convention. “McCain should go down to New Orleans, grab onto a light post Geraldo-style and do the speech sideways, holding on while the wind blows him,” Brooks says. [includes rush transcript]

The protests against the Republican convention have barely begun, but the police have already begun their crackdown against anyone perceived to be involved the demonstrations. Police in the Twin Cities worked with federal officials to detain dozens of activists and conduct a series of coordinated raids on a number of locations. Among them was Democracy Now!’s Elizabeth Press, who was detained, along with several others, in a house raid on the video collective I-Witness Video. Press files a report from the streets of the Twin Cities. [includes rush transcript]

The private military firm Blackwater Worldwide is seeking personnel that could possibly be deployed into areas affected by Hurricane Gustav. We speak with Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill, who first broke the story of armed guards working for the private security firm Blackwater being deployed in the streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. [includes rush transcript]

Nearly two million residents have fled from coastal Louisiana and New Orleans as Hurricane Gustav heads towards the Gulf Coast, but tens of thousands have also left coastal Mississippi, Alabama and southeastern Texas. Hurricane Gustav has also jeopardized this week’s Republican National Convention in St. Paul, where Republican officials are already scaling back the RNC program. Despite the Bush administration drawing widespread criticism for its response to Katrina three years ago, the levee system in New Orleans remains vulnerable. [includes rush transcript]

On Sunday, Veterans for Peace, a large national organization made up of veterans of every war, from Korea to Vietnam and Iraq, led a protest in the streets of St. Paul against the Republican National Convention. Among the members of Vets for Peace, there is a sizable contingent of Vietnam War vets. So, too, is the man they are demonstrating against: the presumptive presidential nominee John McCain. Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill files a report from the streets of the Twin Cities. [includes rush transcript]

We catch up with Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central, in St. Paul airport. Stewart discusses Barack Obama’s nomination acceptance speech, John McCain’s decision to tap Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, Hurricane Gustav and much more. [includes rush transcript]

Armed groups of police in the Twin Cities have raided more than half-a-dozen locations since Friday night in a series of “preemptive raids” before the Republican National Convention. The raids and detentions have targeted activists planning to protest the convention, as well as journalists and videographers documenting police actions at protests. [includes rush transcript]

Nearly two million people have evacuated their homes as Hurricane Gustav heads towards the Gulf Coast. The Category 3 storm is expected to make landfall by midday today, with winds at 115 miles per hour. The evacuations come just days after New Orleans marked the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Gustav has also jeopardized this week’s Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Republican officials are already scaling back the RNC program. We go to New Orleans to speak with independent journalist, Jordan Flaherty. [includes rush transcript]

While Barack Obama spoke before over 84,000 people at Invesco Field, many residents of Denver gathered elsewhere in the city to watch his speech. Democracy Now! goes to the historic African American neighborhood of Five Points to get reaction from residents who converged to watch a live telecast in a tent set up by the organizers of the Denver Jazz and Blues Festival. [includes rush transcript]

Part II of our interviews with spectators and delegates inside Mile High Stadium in Denver, where Barack Obama addressed more than 84,000 people in the largest crowd at a Democratic convention in US history. [includes rush transcript]

In his historic acceptance speech, Sen. Barack Obama launched a sharp assault on Republican presidential rival John McCain and President Bush. Obama accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination before a record crowd of over 84,000 at Invesco Field in Denver. [includes rush transcript]

We discuss the significance of Barack Obama’s historic presidential nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic convention with Michael Eric Dyson, a professor at Georgetown University, where he teaches theology, English and African American studies. He is also an ordained Baptist minister and the author of sixteen books, including April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Death and How It Changed America and Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster. [includes rush transcript]

Democracy Now! goes to the Mile High Stadium, where Barack Obama addressed more than 84,000 people in the largest crowd at a Democratic convention in US history, surpassing John F. Kennedy’s acceptance in 1960 at the L.A. Coliseum. An estimated 25 million people watched Obama on TV. We get reactions from the endless lines outside to the stands of spectators to the delegates on the stadium floor. [includes rush transcript]

Senator Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination last night before a record convention crowd of over 84,000 at Invesco Field in Denver, becoming the first major party African American presidential nominee in US history. Obama’s nomination speech came on the forty-fifth anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington. We play an excerpt of his address. [includes rush transcript]

The Democratic Party is preparing to pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King today ahead of Barack Obama’s nomination speech. While Obama is expected to reference King’s speech tonight, one of his longtime supporters is urging him to also draw on the political rhetoric of African American women, including Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Barbara Jordan and Shirley Chisholm. We speak with Melissa Harris-Lacewell. [includes rush transcript]

Protests against the Democratic National Convention continued Wednesday as members of Iraq Veterans Against the War led an unpermitted march to the Pepsi Center to call on Barack Obama to back an immediate US withdrawal from Iraq. The march began at a concert by the rock band Rage Against the Machine sponsored by IVAW and the Alliance for Real Democracy. Rick Rowley of Big Noise Films files a report from the streets. [includes rush transcript]

While Sen. Barack Obama made a surprise appearance at the Democratic National Convention in Denver last night, he was not the only presidential contender in town. Independent candidate Ralph Nader held a rally Wednesday at the University of Denver calling for an end to the corporate control over the presidential debates. When Obama selected Joe Biden to be his running mate, Nader dubbed Biden the “MasterCard Senator” because of his close ties to the credit card industry. [includes rush transcript]

Sen. Joseph Biden headlined the third night at the convention as he accepted the vice-presidential nomination. Biden accepted the nomination with a speech that linked Republican John McCain to the foreign policies of President Bush. We play highlights of his address. [includes rush transcript]

In an exclusive interview with Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill, Congressman Henry Waxman, chair of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, calls on Sen. Barack Obama to cancel the private military firm Blackwater’s Iraq contract if Obama is elected president. Serious questions remain about what Obama will do with this massive private shadow army in Iraq. [includes rush transcript]

Five minutes into a screening of the new documentary Trouble the Water, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin walked out of the theater. Democracy Now! producer Anjali Kamat reports. [includes rush transcript]

Actor, filmmaker and a well-known political activist, Danny Glover talks about the challenges ahead for activists, regardless of who wins the White House this November. And on the eve of the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Glover talks about Trouble the Water, a new documentary he executive-produced. [includes rush transcript]

The formal nomination makes Barack Obama the first African American major party candidate in US history. The historic moment came after Senator Hillary Clinton walked onto the floor of the convention hall and asked Democratic delegates to suspend their count and approve Obama’s nomination by acclamation. [includes rush transcript]

Former President Jimmy Carter was removed from Monday’s speakers’ list in what appeared to be a last-minute change. The move immediately fueled speculation Carter is being sidelined for his outspoken criticism of the Bush administration and Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Amy Goodman asked Carter about his apparent demotion in the halls of the convention center. [includes rush transcript]

John Edwards’ recent admission of an extra-marital affair effectively removed him from the 2008 campaign and jeopardized his political future. With his and his wife Elizabeth’s absence goes the Democrats’ leading voices on poverty in the United States. Chris Chafe, who served as a senior adviser to Edwards’ campaign says, “This is about a movement…We have to continue moving forward with all the values and strength and the policies and the leadership he brought to this race.” [includes rush transcript]

Actress Daryl Hannah is in Denver this week to attend the Green Frontier Fest and other environmental events around the Democratic National Convention. Over the past twenty-five years, Hannah has starred in dozens of films, including Blade Runner, Splash and Kill Bill. But besides the big screen, Hannah can often be seen on the frontlines of various environmental movements. Last year, she traveled to Ecuador to meet with indigenous groups suing Chevron to stop contaminating the Amazon, and before that, she spent three weeks camped in a tree in a South Central farm in Los Angeles. [includes rush transcript]

A UN probe in Afghanistan has backed claims of a massive civilian death toll from a US air strike last Thursday. The UN mission in Kabul says investigators found some ninety civilians, including sixty children, were killed in the attack. Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill goes inside the Democratic National Convention to ask lawmakers about Barack Obama’s foreign policy plan to deploy an additional 7,000-9,000 more troops to Afghanistan. [includes rush transcript]

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, is being accused of violating federal election laws by urging its employees to vote against Senator Barack Obama in the November election. Last month, the Wall Street Journal revealed Wal-Mart has been warning its managers that an Obama victory would lead to unionization at Wal-Mart stores. A coalition of prominent labor groups recently filed a complaint against Wal-Mart with the Federal Elections Commission. [includes rush transcript]

Former presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich delivered one of the most passionate addresses Tuesday night. “Wake up, America! We went into Iraq for oil. The oil companies want more,” Kucinich said. “War against Iran will mean $10-a-gallon gasoline. The oil administration wants to drill more, into your wallet. Wake up, America! Weapons contractors want more. An Iran war will cost $5 to $10 trillion.” [includes rush transcript]

On the streets of Denver, outside the suites of the convention, Iraq Veterans Against the War organized a dramatic re-enactment of the raids they participated in while serving in Iraq. They called it “Operation First Casualty.” [includes rush transcript]

Nearly 600 people were arrested this week in a massive immigration raid on an electrical equipment factory in Laurel, Mississippi. The raid is now being described as the largest in US history, topping the May raid on a meat-processing plant in Postville, Iowa. [includes rush transcript]

As Hillary Clinton delivers a prime-time address on the eve of Barack Obama’s presidential nomination, we host a roundtable discussion with Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United