i'll bet you a dollar it was a taxpayer funded operation:

Sheehan reported, in an email,

"As I walked toward my room, I noticed that the door was opened with the security bolt blocking the complete closing of the door. I knew immediately that I had not left the door open, and I double checked to make sure it was the right room because, as a frequent traveler, I have been known to forget my room number, but it was the right room.

I was upset at first thinking that housekeeping had made a mistake and left my room open and I was worried that something might be missing. So I walked into my room and bigger than life, there was a man standing by my desk holding the room phone with a screwdriver in his hand!

I immediately said; "What the hell are you doing? Are you putting a bug on my phone?" He looked like he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar and stammered out: "N--no, we are having problems with the phone." I told him to get out of my room because my phone was fine and I called the front desk and the person at the front desk stammered something out about "problems" with some of the phones.

This room was reserved soon after we got to Denver last night because the room we had was inadequate for 3 people. The room was reserved under my campaign manager's name with a CFC debit card. By the time we left for the march, it could have very well been ascertained that I was the one in this room, and the room we did reserve could be bugged, also. I am confident that that's what was happening when I walked in on the "maintenance" man"

You don't come in the room with a screwdriver if there are problems with the hotel phones. You do it electronically, through the system or you hook up a new phone.

ht the WonderBra, who put it up on her blog recently. cointelpro for evah!

When it comes to unblocking traffic, there is no such thing as excessive force.

many bystanders were hit by it, including tv anchors-- http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/0...

they said on tv that the group was on its way to where a fundraiser was--i think at the hotel they locked down.

(we should be thankful it wasn't tasers, i guess--this is probably the least lethal thing the cops could do, given their orders)

mass arrests and indiscriminate use of pepper spray (based on most reports that i've seen) seem to be quite a bit "excessive"...

for example, according to this report (
http://www.denverpost.com/politicswestne... ), riot police closed in, blocked and used pepper spray on hundreds of peaceful protesters (who had a permit!) and "created havoc".

innocent bystanders - including an Albany County legislator Wanda Willingham ( http://wnyt.com/article/stories/S556467.... ) - were hit by pepper spray and had to be treated by paramedics.

from http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?s... :

Roughly 100 protestors were arrested late Monday night and those unable to post bond will have their first court appearance.
...
"There were three or four hundred people on the sidewalk, perfectly within their rights to be on the sidewalk. We were illegally detained and we may bring suit against the city," said Mark Cohen of Recreate '68. "I don't know why else they would put on gas masks," Cohen said. "We had minors in there; we had older people in there. They were scared and I don't blame them. And there was no reason for this, no reason in the world." "We've been peaceful the last two days," said activist Larry Hales. "[The police] are the ones who have escalated the situation."

here's another firsthand account from the Denver Post: Young protester shares arrest experience, describes night of detention