And so it starts...  As the DNC kicks off in Denver, I arrived at my office this morning at the Civic Center to discover this:<br /><br />&quot;DENVER - An abandoned backpack found on the roof of the Civic Center bus station was detonated early this morning.  An employee with the Regional Transportation District had reported finding a suspicious package on top of the Civic Center bus station at Colfax Avenue and Broadway around 3:30 a.m., according to John Hahn, a spokesman for the Denver Joint Information Center.  The package - an abandoned backpack - was found near the stairs going up to the adjoining building. Denver police responded. &#39;They detonated the package there,&#39; said Hahn. &#39;They followed the standard procedure to render the package safe. The situation is taken care of and everything is back to normal.&#39;  It was not known what was inside the backpack.&quot;<br /><br /><br />I also heard the &quot;Recreate &#39;68&quot; and other protest groups got an early start yesterday by blocking some of the busier streets in downton Denver, including the 16th street mall; which is lined with storefronts and served by free shuttle buses that run up and down all day long.  The shuttles had to shutdown.  It&#39;s gonna&#39; be a long week, folks.<br /><br />