The city wants to look its best when the world comes to town this summer so it's cleaning up, dressing up...and deftly arranging to keep its less attractive citizens out of sight.I must be talking about Beijing's preparations for the Olympics, right?
Well, no. The city in question is Denver, Colorado. And when the Democrats come to the Mile High City for their political convention, officials hope to have swept from public (and press) gaze, the homeless. But nobody's going to be thrown into jail or trucked out of town -- those are Beijing methods of dealing with undesirables (i.e. the poor, the religious, the politically dissident).
No, Denver is just sending the homeless to the movies. And the zoo. And, of course, to that perennial favorite of the homeless, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. In addition, several of the shelters will expand their hours. Big screen TVs are being donated to these places as well to keep them entertained...and out of camera range.
And, not too surprising, there will be a voter registration drive at shelters and health clinics "to ensure that metro area homeless people have access to the polls in November."
The scheme is being defended as "a more sanitary and humane way to take care of people." But those backers of the plan do not explain why such entertainment hasn't been provided before the convention. Nor why there are no plans to continue it after the Democrat coventioners leave.
