"I just came back from spending four-plus hours with the Don’t-Tread-On-Me crowd at our nation’s capitol. Expect a full Reason.tv report later, but my snap impressions:

* Big crowd. Do not believe any description that says "thousands." If there weren’t at least a healthy six figures there, I will permanently revoke my head-counting license.

* Nineteen out of 20 signs were hand-made. My favorite was "Stop spending our tacos. I love tacos." The most popular were variations on "Don’t tread on me," "You lie," complaints about Obama’s "socialism," warnings about the 2010 elections, references to the deficit or big spending, critiques of Obamacare, and (especially) cracks about various czars (including not a few that equated czars with Soviet Communism). Godwin’s Corollary was satisfied on multiple occasions, including "Hitler gave great speeches, too," "the Nazis did national health care first," and someone comparing Obama’s 2009 with Hitler’s 1939 (alas, we didn’t get to ask him whether America was about to invade Poland). Michael Moynihan did have a nice chat about George Marshall with the fellow holding a sign saying "McCarthy was right." There was an "Obama bin lyin," "Feds = treason," "Birth certificate," and "Glen Beck for president." Greatly outnumbering such things were references to the constitution, taking our country back, and so forth. 

* Chants on the march included "Shut down ACORN!" and "Boot Charlie Rangel!" and "Don’t tread on me." There was not a single "Hey Hey/Ho Ho" in evidence. Songs included "Glory Hallelujah" and "My Country ‘Tis of Thee." The most moving chant might have been when we walked past the Newseum, with its ginormous carving of the First Amendment on the side, and the crowd spontaneously said "Read that wall! Read that wall!"

* There were some Obamas-as-Grim-Reapers, some weeping statues of liberties (and weeping Founding Fathers), and a sprinkling of V-for-Vendetta masks. The End-the-Fed, read-The-Fountainhead quotients were extremely marginal.

There’s more…

http://reason.com/blog/show/136041.html

Here’s the aerial view of the protesters in DC yesterday.

(Via @ScottWGraves)

UPDATE: Insta-lanche!  Thanks for the link, Professor Reynolds!

MORE: Related: Awesome coverage and pics at The Corner.  Also, check out the pics from Capitalist Coffee and the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper, which I linked to earlier, here.

ANOTHER ONE: On that note, Professor Reynolds asks “Why is the British press more honest in its reporting on this stuff than the American press?”

I think that Obama’s failure would prove the American press wrong on so many levels that it would further accelerate the collapse of Old Media in the U.S.  Also, from a more human standpoint, it must suck to see yourself as part of a cultural elite and to be reminded of how little influence you have on most Americans.

AND ANOTHER ONE: The Corner’s Mark Hemingway links with related content.  Thanks!  Also, check out this aggregation of videos at Shout First (Who also linked here.  Thanks!)

http://rhetorican.com/2009/09/12/time-lapse-aerial-video-of-912-protestors/

You decide.

Here’s what matters to me!  ACORN

After Census Severs Ties, ACORN May Face Scrutiny of Housing Grants

"Conservatives have cheered the Census Bureau’s decision to sever ties with ACORN because it had lost confidence in the group, but the hidden-camera videos that prompted ACORN to fire four workers this week could raise more questions about the federal funding ACORN receives for housing outreach.

ACORN Housing Corporation received $1.6 million to provide housing services to low-income communities in this fiscal year, ending Sept. 30, according to USASpending.gov, a federal government Web site for tracking government grants.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development Grants has given $8.2 million to ACORN in the years between 2003 and 2006, as well as $1.6million to ACORN affiliates.

HUD could not be reached for comment.

The hidden-camera videos, released this week, showed workers in two separate ACORN housing offices apparently helping a couple posing as a pimp and prostitute evade the IRS and apply for an illegal housing loan for a brothel. A 25-year-old independent filmmaker, James O’Keefe, posed as the pimp in the undercover expose, which was conceived by a friend, 20-year-old Hannah Giles, who posed as a prostitute.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the offices shown in the videos had received any of ACORN’s federal grant money for housing services.

The Census Bureau notified ACORN on Friday in a letter that it is severing all ties with the group for all work having to do with the 2010 census.

"Over the last several months, through ongoing communication with our regional offices, it is clear that ACORN’s affiliation with the 2010 Census promotion has caused sufficient concern in the general public, has indeed become a distraction from our mission, and may even become a discouragement to public cooperation, negatively impacting 2010 Census efforts," read a letter from Census Director Robert M. Groves to the president of ACORN.

"Unfortunately, we no longer have confidence that our national partnership agreement is being effectively managed through your many local offices. For the reasons stated, we therefore have decided to terminate the partnership," the letter said.

ACORN responded Saturday by blaming FOX News and conservatives for fueling the controversy.

"By its actions, Fox is not a news outlet but rather an advocacy organization for rightwing interests that seek to defeat healthcare reform and stymie solutions to the foreclosure crisis," the group said in a statement to FOXNews.com. "That said, with regard to the Census, ACORN has always said it would encourage full participation in the decennial count, and we will continue to do so."

ACORN chief organizer Bertha Lewis claimed that the videos capturing her former workers were "doctored, edited, and in no way the result of the fabricated story being portrayed by conservative activist ‘filmmaker’ O’Keefe and his partner in crime."

Lewis said ACORN will take legal action against FOX News and those involved in the making for the videos. ACORN offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, among other places, were also targeted, she said.

"I am appalled and angry; I cannot and I will not defend the actions of the workers depicted in the video, who have since been terminated," she said."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/12/census-victory-conservatives-target-hud-funds-acorn/

Keep up the good work, Glenn Beck!   As the compliant Obama media continues to not report the news…we know you are working hard to bring the truth to the American people.   Even the Brits are reporting what the in the tank for Obama news channels are NOT reporting.  

Wahington D.C. fire department said there were all of 60 to 70 thousand protestors yesterday. Now the republicans are lying about the numbers and saying millions. They always seem to be on the wrong side though. Check out the actual vote break down on their beloved medicare. http://www.ssa.gov/history/tally65.html The republicans love their medicare now but they voted no on it. Personally I am sick of the lying and twisting of facts. Faux news lies and lies and these people eat it up. Whats up with the protesters in black hoods? Did the KKK change hood colors?

Glenn Beck is a ranting moronic idiot. Anyone who supports a person who has fantasies of murder and any station that would allow the showing of such fantasies is utterly irresponsible. Abraham Lincoln must be rolling in his grave. He would be ashamed of you all. I personally am ashamed of my fellow countrymen who want to bully and scream and have no time for discussion. Around the world you look the fools you are.BTW you all look the fools you are to us also.