# Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally will not be political (& other Tea Party nonsense) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 26, 2010, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517 "2010-08-26T11:13:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/281 "2010-08-30T15:27:37Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > > [@Clothahump](#): > > > > Your own bible, the [Huffington Post](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/t/parks-service-estimate-of_22378094013.html), is reporting 300-325,000 from a Park Service estimate. > > “Reporting”? That’s a fucking Twitter post. Right. And HuffPo reported it as being factual and accurate. Draw your own conclusions about their level of accuracy in their stories. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/282 "2010-08-30T15:28:19Z")
As if numbers turn idiocy into truth. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/283 "2010-08-30T15:29:51Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I mean, what terms do you want to run across when figuring out estimates on pretty much anything? “Margin of error” or “sheeple?” > > Wake up … um … people who resemble sheep! Who’re you gonna believe, her or your lying arithmetic ? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/284 "2010-08-30T15:31:16Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > WTF, dude? He was just making an observation about what the protesters think. And he’s probably right. And I was making the observation that I don’t give a rat’s ass whether some hypothetical rally attendee feels their viewpoint is validated simply because it’s being discussed negatively here. Anyway, that’s all; not making a federal case out of it or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/285 "2010-08-30T15:31:48Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > So let’s do our own estimates. But let’s be conservative (heh, heh) in the estimate. Check out [this site](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2579726/posts) and scroll down to the aerial photo. Note that the area around the reflecting pool, from the Memorial on down, is packed with people, including people out in the trees on the right. The estimate that has always been used is that it takes nearly 200,000 people to do that. In addition, note that the open area to the left is packed with people; we can’t see from this shot how many are out in the tree area past it. That open area holds another 150-200,000 people. So from the aerial shot, one can estimate 350-400,000 folks. But since we’re being conservative, we’ll say that they weren’t standing elbow to elbow and let’s knock 15% off the numbers. That gives us approximately 298-340,000 people there. How do you expect anyone to take you seriously in your estimation-fu if you don’t throw in a “sheeple?” ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/286 "2010-08-30T15:34:37Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > > [@Clothahump](#): > > > > So let’s do our own estimates. But let’s be conservative (heh, heh) in the estimate. Check out [this site](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2579726/posts) and scroll down to the aerial photo. Note that the area around the reflecting pool, from the Memorial on down, is packed with people, including people out in the trees on the right. The estimate that has always been used is that it takes nearly 200,000 people to do that. In addition, note that the open area to the left is packed with people; we can’t see from this shot how many are out in the tree area past it. That open area holds another 150-200,000 people. So from the aerial shot, one can estimate 350-400,000 folks. But since we’re being conservative, we’ll say that they weren’t standing elbow to elbow and let’s knock 15% off the numbers. That gives us approximately 298-340,000 people there. > > How do you expect anyone to take you seriously in your estimation-fu if you don’t throw in a “sheeple?” Can’t we just take fox’s guess and quarter it? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/287 "2010-08-30T15:36:54Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Can’t we just take fox’s guess and quarter it? Only if we are allowed to hang and draw it first. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/288 "2010-08-30T15:46:08Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > So let’s do our own estimates. But let’s be conservative (heh, heh) in the estimate. Check out [this site](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2579726/posts) and scroll down to the aerial photo. Note that the area around the reflecting pool, from the Memorial on down, is packed with people, including people out in the trees on the right. The estimate that has always been used is that it takes nearly 200,000 people to do that. In addition, note that the open area to the left is packed with people; we can’t see from this shot how many are out in the tree area past it. That open area holds another 150-200,000 people. So from the aerial shot, one can estimate 350-400,000 folks. But since we’re being conservative, we’ll say that they weren’t standing elbow to elbow and let’s knock 15% off the numbers. That gives us approximately 298-340,000 people there. Hmmm, I look at these [pictures](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/8/29/897319/-Beck-rally-crowd-size-by-the-numbers) and the term “packed” is hardly the word that comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/289 "2010-08-30T15:48:08Z")
How much do you have to count off that for, shall we say, “non-believers” there for amusement and heckling value? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/290 "2010-08-30T15:48:29Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > > > Yes, they are morons. And so are you. You are a fucking clueless idiot masquerading as a moronic buffoon. Your statement above is either wrong or a lie. And no, I won’t give you time to retract it and tell us which one. > > > > The National Park Service never gave that estimate of crowd size for this event. NEVER. I can state unequivocally that they gave NO ESTIMATE of crowd size at any time. You wanna know how I know that? > > > > Because the National Park Service hasn’t given out estimates of crowd size since 1997. Asshole. Idiot. Ignorant twat. > > > > STFU already and let knowledgable adults have a discussion. > > I just love it when the namecalling starts. One of these days, you might learn that an ad hominem attack is an open admission that what was said was true and correct. You can’t refute it, so you attack who said it just because you don’t want it to be that way. Thanks for agreeing with me and publicly validating what I posted. That you think you have accurately described anything in that previous paragraph shows just how truly deluded and mentally deranged you are. I _did_ refute your claim. Your claim is false. > [@Clothahump](#): > > Your own bible, the [Huffington Post](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/t/parks-service-estimate-of_22378094013.html) Not my bible. Nice strawman you built there, tho. > [@Clothahump](#): > > , is reporting 300-325,000 from a Park Service estimate No, they aren’t. It’s a twitter feed, and the Park Service never gave an estimate of this crowd’s size. NEVER. Didn’t happen. > [@Clothahump](#): > > If that really came from the Park Service What part of “it did not come from the Park Service” isn’t clear to you? > [@Clothahump](#): > > I will grant you that is an unofficial estimate; they quit doing official estimates ever since the controversy over the so-called Million Man March back in '97; the Park Service gave a realistic number and the march organizers threw a tantrum over it because it was way too low for them to accept. Wait. So you know that the Park Service doesn’t do estimates, but you are still clinging to this as being an estimate from the Park Service? Were you kicked in the head by a mule? > [@Clothahump](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > The Park Service has used the same methods since it began counting rallies on the Mall from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. Officials take pictures from a helicopter that flies along the sides of the Mall and then, using a grid, take into account the number of people per square foot. > > [http://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/21/us/federal-parks-chief-calls-million-man-count-low.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1](http://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/21/us/federal-parks-chief-calls-million-man-count-low.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1) > > So let’s do our own estimates. But let’s be conservative (heh, heh) in the estimate. Check out [this site](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2579726/posts) and scroll down to the aerial photo. Note that the area around the reflecting pool, from the Memorial on down, is packed with people, including people out in the trees on the right. The estimate that has always been used is that it takes nearly 200,000 people to do that. In addition, note that the open area to the left is packed with people; we can’t see from this shot how many are out in the tree area past it. That open area holds another 150-200,000 people. So from the aerial shot, one can estimate 350-400,000 folks. But since we’re being conservative, we’ll say that they weren’t standing elbow to elbow and let’s knock 15% off the numbers. That gives us approximately 298-340,000 people there. > > Thanks for playing, **Bo**. It’s always amusing to see someone crash and burn in such a spectacular manner. I don’t really give a rat’s ass about your, Clothahump’s, estimate, since you prove over and over again that you have a tenuous grasp on reality at best. If you’ll go back, you’ll see that I’ve said nothing about the size of the crowd, only about your supposed source for your “information”, which is really just wishful thinking twaddle dressed up in fake authority. The only crash and burn here is you, but you’re too fucking stupid to feel the flames, let alone put them out. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/291 "2010-08-30T15:49:51Z")
87,000 or 600,000? Who knows. At least both CBS and Glenn Beck can both agree that there were three African American attendees. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/292 "2010-08-30T15:50:49Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > > > “Reporting”? That’s a fucking Twitter post. > > Right. And HuffPo reported it as being factual and accurate. Draw your own conclusions about their level of accuracy in their stories. Except a) that, as stated previously the National Park service doesn’t do crowd estimates and b) I’m absolutely certain you would never accept this completely unverified Twitter post if it were ‘reporting’ (and frankly, the term reporting doesn’t even apply) on a gathering of liberals. Meanwhile, your only other support seems to be an unverified board post on **Free Republic** , containing a small, low-resolution photo for which you make all sorts of extrapolated and unverified number claims. Maybe that’s good enough for you, but I require a bit more credible evidence than that. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/293 "2010-08-30T15:51:00Z")
deleted - too late ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/294 "2010-08-30T15:51:41Z")
You know what’s most disappointing? This would have been the perfect opportunity for Sarah Palin to restore America’s Boner, right in front of the Washington Monument. Alas. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/295 "2010-08-30T15:52:07Z")
Lefties love tightly packed crowds, gives us a chance to share cooties and cop a feel. Righties tend to spread out more, because paranoids need more “personal space”. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/296 "2010-08-30T17:06:29Z")
Oh mi gawd, I may have enjoyed some performance art? [http://wonkette.com/417903/pregnant-demon-annoys-teabaggers-at-glenn-beck-picnic](http://wonkette.com/417903/pregnant-demon-annoys-teabaggers-at-glenn-beck-picnic) -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/297 "2010-08-30T17:16:40Z")
Post didn’t need to be made twice… -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/298 "2010-08-30T17:20:09Z")
Oh, I beg to differ. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/299 "2010-08-30T17:28:43Z")
> [@villa](#): > > 87,000 or 600,000? Who knows. And who cares? I didn’t need a rally and aerial photography to tell me there’s a shitload of angry, inarticulate white Republicans out there. They haven’t exactly been shrinking violets, too bashful to voice their opinions since Obama was elected. It was only noteworthy in the clown car sense: yep, you sure did pack a lot of clowns into there. _\_ ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517/300 "2010-08-30T17:29:30Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Lefties love tightly packed crowds, gives us a chance to share cooties and cop a feel. On the other hand, fucking in the mud takes more square footage than standing with a “Moran” sign. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-becks-restoring-honor-rally-will-not-be-political-other-tea-party-nonsense/551517.md?page=16)