Rally Report

The Rally to Restore Sanity didn't really go as planned, despite the fact that my only plan was to see the rally.

Here's the original post.

Pros: the weather, the cleaner-and-more-polite-than-your-average-rally crowd, signs made by said crowd, sincere apologies for foot treading.

Cons: I could kind of hear Stewart and Colbert, and when I put my camera in the air and zoomed in a lot, I could take a picture of a distant stage and then look at it wistfully.

After spending a couple of hours just trying to get to the back of the rally, I got kind of hungry and thirsty and claustrophobic and bored and ended up just watching it on TV.

These were some of my favorite signs and ralliers:

Rally to Retore Sanity (and/or Fear)

I'm so excited about this un-rally and I have no idea why. The first rally to restore sanity and/or fear might be a hilarious stew of people who think politicians at either extreme need to chill out, or an awkward, aimless time (kind of like middle school).

When: October 30th, 2010, 12-3pm

Where: Washington DC, East end of the National Mall between 3rd and 7th street. Primary public entrance = 7th Street NW between Constitution and Independence Avenues.

What it has morphed into:
I don't exactly know if anything is planned for the rallies. Jon Stewart doesn't even seem to know what's going to happen [Larry King excerpt]:

KING: Who will be speaking other than you and your pal?

STEWART: You're saying we should have planned speakers?

KING: There are no speakers?

STEWART: Oh, Jesus. What --

KING: It’s just a bunch of people rallying?

STEWART: What exactly -- what would you --we got things planned. It's going to -- it’s going to shock maybe not even just this world, other worlds. Maybe aliens.

Colbert's agenda is based on shaking up Stewart's...

"America, the Greatest Country God ever gave Man, was built on three bedrock principles: Freedom. Liberty. And Fear — that someone might take our Freedom and Liberty. But now, there are dark, optimistic forces trying to take away our Fear — forces with salt and pepper hair and way more Emmys than they need. They want to replace our Fear with reason. But never forget — 'Reason' is just one letter away from 'Treason.' Coincidence? Reasonable people would say it is, but America can’t afford to take that chance."

Officially, Stewart calls it "a rally for the people who've been too busy to go to rallies." Unofficially, the only thing that I can solidly count on being there is the port-o-loo that King gave Stewart the other night:

Worth Checking Out: Colbert's "Spooky or Dooky" costume contest page. My favorite is the Swine Flu Avenger: