Loads of Democrats have made sport of the color-coded terror-threat warning system from practically the moment it was instituted by the George W. Bush administration. Turns out, though, that at the DNC, Dems have a color code of their own. A red pass gets the wearer to the podium, while blue works backstage, green grants floor access, and dark or light purple designate hall passes for, respectively, "honored guests" and "special guests" -- titles apparently bequeathed to make them feel better about being at the bottom of the Pepsi Center pecking order. Color us amused. -- Michael Roberts