IN ST. LOUIS, Rallying Against Russ Carnahan.

CHARLES MARTIN: Tens Of Thousands Protest ObamaCare At Capitol, Legacy Media Not Interested. “It would appear that a decent estimate for the size of the rally by the end was at least 30,000 people; tweeted estimates in excess of 40,000 seem a bit high.”

REPS. SPACE & MATHESON WILL BOTH VOTE NO. I’m also getting email reports that Rep. Lincoln Davis’s (D-TN) office is saying he will vote no, though I haven’t been able to find a published report to that effect.

UPDATE: A “no” from Rep. Glenn Nye.

ANN ALTHOUSE: President Obama’s lackluster speech to the Democratic caucus. “I watched this live, and I was struck by the dullness of the crowd as they listened to words that were supposed to stir them up.”

UPDATE: From the comments: “The crowd was dull because people who know they are going to their own slaughter usually do have that stunned, dull demeanor as they turn their glazed eyes toward their executioner.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Fake Lincoln quotes?

NOW FOR SOME REAL POLITICAL VIOLENCE: Pies-in-face attack roils anarchist-vegan world. “An ex-vegan who was hit with chili pepper-laced pies at an anarchist event in San Francisco said Tuesday that her assailants were cowards who should direct their herbivorous rage at the powerful – not at a fellow radical for writing a book denouncing animal-free diets.”

DOES CLYBURN OWE TEA PARTY PROTESTERS AN APOLOGY? The bogus racism card has been played so often that I no longer find such charges very credible. I’m sure, however, that, true or not, they’ll be played much more loudly than the indisputably true statements about the antiwar movement.

UPDATE: Reader Rob Kleine writes: “All the focus on the anti-Obamacare protests has me wondering: Are there any pro-Obamacare protesters? Or is the Emperor truly w/o clothes?” I think there was an anti-war protest today in DC, too, but if there were pro-Obamacare protesters I haven’t heard about ‘em.

And several readers note a conundrum for the media — since they ignored the anti-ObamaCare protests, it’ll be awkward for them to suddenly start running stories about charges of racism at those nonexistent protests.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Short on hate: “The rally earlier today on the West Lawn in opposition to the health-care legislation before Congress had all the fingerprints of a somewhat organic celebration of democracy. There was a pretty focused message, but mostly displayed on handwritten signs. . . . As I walked around, if it weren’t for the congressmen and some right-wing organization types speaking, one might think people had gathered for an Independence Day celebration. There were smiles and babies and families and goodwill. Now and again I would run into some lone guy responding to a speaker with ‘then we’ll dismantle the government.’ But that guy also got weird looks — and not just from me. I was struck by how few mass-produced signs there were. Many groups might try to take credit for the rally, but concerned Americans are responsible for it.” Lots of pics at the link.

Plus this: “Those gathered today, among many others across the country and in Washington who oppose this ill-conceived legislation from a condescending, patronizing administration — will not be giving up tomorrow. Because Monday is another day. And so is the first Tuesday in November.”

And, by way of contrast, here are some photos from that antiwar rally today in DC. Note the Soviet-nostalgia T-shirt. But guess which one the press will cast as “extremist?”

UPDATE: Reader Mwalimu Daudi emails:

Given the fact that the Members of Congress alleging this incident are among the most ethically-challenged, we can probably be safe as dismissing this as a last-second effort blow a little obscuring smoke. Don’t be surprised if this is a hot topic of conversation Sunday on the media round-table shows and disappears Monday.

However, I predict it will not go away entirely. Look for this to surface again near the November elections.What will be important to remember is that the media will have made zero efforts to investigate this between now and whenever they choose to recycle it. The “incident” will simply be reported as Gospel truth, since it fits the official media Narrative of Tea Party as racist/homophobic terrorists.

It’s all about the narrative. And Prof. Stephen Clark emails:

In following this, I’ve noticed the uptick in slurs of various kinds toward the Tea Party protestors. Now, I’ve watched all this for more than 40 years and as true racism has ebbed, that old charge remains the first and last option of the intellectually weak. If Congressman Clyburn, experienced the taunts and insults he claims, his anger is understandable. And yet, to indiscriminately tar all those present with same awful charge, given reports I’ve read and pictures I’ve seen, is not something to which, I believe, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have stooped.

I’m quite sure, from my memory of the time, that Dr. King experienced the rawest form of racism and would know it when he saw it. I’m equally sure, as a man of faith and good will, that were he to support the pending legislation, he would make his case on the merits of the legislation and would find no need for blanket and baseless charges in response to opposition. He was a man of grace. The most appropriate response to those whose lack of grace has been most evident is to note that they defile his memory, his work to unify our country, and his abiding love for us all.

Regardless, the sun will rise again on Monday – for everyone.

Indeed.

MORE: Smears debunked by video.

DANIEL DREZNER: The political economy of pressuring China.

AT AMAZON, a clearance sale on jewelry.

POLIWOOD: Tom Hanks, Hollywood, and Anti-Americanism.

SOME POSSIBLE constitutional challenges to ObamaCare.

WANT TO GET PJTV ON YOUR IPOD, IPHONE, ETC.? Subscribe to PJTV.

WIRED LOOKS AT the future of money. Transferring money over Twitter?

“WE MAKE ‘EM UP AS WE GO ALONG:” I’m guessing that this Alcee Hastings video will appear in a few political ads this fall . . . .

Background here. And doesn’t it say a lot about this Congress that a guy who was kicked off the bench for corruption — by a Democratic-controlled Congress, no less — is now on the Rules Committee?

IS AMERICA READY TO LEGALIZE PROSTITUTION? Tracy Quan and Janice Crouse debate.

My take: Who needs to legalize prostitution when we already have Congress?

“GEITHNER MADE THE LEAP.”

THE MILLION FOLLOWER FALLACY: Audience Size Doesn’t Prove Influence On Twitter, according to researchers.

TWENTY DEMOCRATS WHO ARE STILL ON THE FENCE over ObamaCare.

BRITISH BOY RECEIVES pioneering stem cell surgery.

AT AMAZON, patio, lawn and garden markdowns.

REPORT: Deem and Pass is dead; keep the no-mentum going.

THE JOY OF DATING NERDS: “My girlfriend is a magnificent nerdess, a tornado of wonder. And even better, we have complementary nerd fixations, like comic books and politics. My life, however, is vastly improved by her own idiosyncratic pursuits. Everybody wins when everybody shares.”

INTERNET PRODUCES new generation of activists in China.

KILL A TREE for Congress. “Before testifying before a House Science subcommittee, witnesses were asked to provide (in addition to the electronic submissions) 55 hard copies of the final written testimony, 55 hard copies of a short narrative biography, two hard copies of the curriculum vitae, and two hard copies of a completed witness financial disclosure form.”

THE SCARY WORLD OF Garden Sculpture.

HEH: “Obama’s dedication to passing this spectacularly flawed and unpopular health care bill appears to be based on the assumption that the American people like a winner even if the victory comes at their expense.”

ANN ALTHOUSE HAS MORE PICS FROM THE WASHINGTON, D.C. PROTEST, courtesy of Meade.

UPDATE: More blogging here.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Anyone who’s there, Charlie Martin would like to know the width of the crowd (“between Penns and Maryland, or wider?”) and depth for purposes of estimating size.

MORE: Still more coverage at TigerHawk.

Also, a reader emails: “You want to know why I think most media outlets are frauds? There are 30,000 people in Washington, DC today protesting the health care bill right now. It’s not a headline on any of the main news outlets websites. Fail.” Fox is covering it on TV.

ANOTHER PICTURE OF THE DC ANTI-OBAMACARE TEA PARTY PROTEST, courtesy of Randy Barnett’s cellphone.

Meanwhile, this protest in Kansas at Congressman Dennis Moore’s office looks a lot chillier. Brr.

WHAT CONGRESS NEEDS: More law professors.

ANN ALTHOUSE: Michael McConnell states the constitutional problem with the “deem and pass” more clearly and concisely than anyone can explain what the “deem and pass” is. Is that a clue that something really devious is going on?

BYRON YORK: Rules Committee Meeting Descends Into Chaos. “Obviously, Democrats are performing such strange contortions because many of their members are scared of voting for a bill that will likely mean defeat for them in November. But their attempts to avoid responsibility have created some very basic problems.”

PROTESTING OBAMACARE IN WASHINGTON: Reader Barrett Cunningham sends this photo and reports: “It’s an incredible turnout Glenn, and people just keep coming.”

And reader Alan Poston sends this pic and reports a crowd estimate of 30,000 was given at the scene. Not sure of the source.

UPDATE: Here’s another pic from Randy Barnett.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Another pic from Randy Barnett:

Blackberries, iPhones, etc. sure make blogging these things easier.

On crowd size, Randy emails: “They announced 25K about 15 minutes ago. I cannot see side to side but it goes solidly from steps to pond and then around to the other side of the water. Before things got started it was full between the 2 walk ways leading up to Capital. Is now wider than that but I cannot see the edges from where I am.”

Photos from high vantage points, or descriptions of exactly how far the crowd spreads in various directions, would be much appreciated.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Another from Barnett, this time facing south.

And Randy emails: “Been reading your posts. Speaker just said, ‘The President is like a used car salesman. We tell him we don’t want to buy what he’s selling but he won’t let us off the lot.’”

IN THE MAIL: From Judith Shulevitz, The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time.

RASMUSSEN: 44% “Strongly Disapprove” of Obama; only 43% approve of Obama at all.

23% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-four percent (44%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -21. That matches the lowest Approval Index rating yet recorded for this President (see trends). . . . Overall, 43% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President’s performance. That also matches the lowest level yet recorded for this President. Fifty-six percent (56%) disapprove.

Will the press start talking about “the increasingly unpopular President Obama” any time soon?

FROM JOHN HINDERAKER, a series of controversial propositions. Including this one: “The smartest person whom most Americans see on a regular basis is Simon Cowell.”

MEGAN MCARDLE: Arizona Kills SCHIP, Puts Medicaid on a Diet. “On the eve of the possible passage of a health care bill, Arizona has provided a glimpse of our possible future by shutting down its SCHIP program and booting a bunch of people out of Medicaid. . . . The reason this is so troubling, of course, is that the new proposed health care plan gets about half of its coverage expansion through adding people to Medicaid. The state side of this expense doesn’t show up on the books as a government expenditure (neatly enabling the bill to get a lower CBO score), but someone in America has to be taxed to pay for it, and there is a big problem when tax revenues fall short of the required expenditure.”

GUY SORMAN: The Euro In Crisis: In Greece and elsewhere, statism proves riskier than free markets.

FASTER, PLEASE: A Cheap, Portable Wound-Healing Device.

RATINGS: With a little luck, MSNBC might catch up to the Hallmark Channel.

GREG MANKIW: A Warning About The CBO Scoring.

There has been a lot of talk lately about the CBO scoring of the health bill. Here is one thing people should understand about their numbers: When they estimate the budget impact of a bill like this, they assume the path of GDP is unchanged.

Recall that the bill raises taxes substantially. Some of these tax hikes are the explicit tax increases on capital income to pay for the insurance subsidies. Some of these tax hikes are the implicit marginal rate increases from the phase-out of the insurance subsidies as a person’s income rises. Both of these would be expected to reduce GDP growth.

Indeed, to be very wonkish about it, these tax changes could have especially large GDP effects.

Not positive ones, either.

KEITH HENNESSEY: A New $29 Billion Gimmick In The Reconciliation Bill.

STRATEGYPAGE: “In a new effort to increase overall capabilities, the U.S. Army is now screening reservists to weed out underperformers.” Plus, increased money going to State Defense Forces.

VIDEO from an “impromptu” Tea Party protest outside Jan Schakowsky’s office.

IS TEA the new coffee?

MEMO TO DAVID FRUM: It’s The Spending, Stupid.

HMM: India Raises Interest Rate to Fight Inflation.

Also, Australia Raises Benchmark Rate to 4%.

UPDATE: Business Week: India’s Interest Rate Rise ‘Sign of Things to Come’.

U.S. rates, on the other hand, are supposed to stay low.

ANN ALTHOUSE: With the entire C-SPAN archive up on-line, what was the first thing I wanted to re-live?

LOOKING FOR WAR ON TERROR NEWS? Check out Fred Pruitt’s Rantburg.

NEW YORK TIMES: Doubts About Diversity Training.

UPDATE: From TigerHawk, the rest of the story.

GRANDPA MUNSTER comes out in favor of ObamaCare. Funniest billboard yet, though I think it’s a Photoshop.

CHANGE: More multigenerational families living together. “Driven partly by job losses, more multigenerational families are choosing to live together as ‘boomerang kids’ flock home and people help care for grandchildren or aging parents.”

OBAMAVILLES SPREAD: Number of People Living on New York Streets Soars.

NEW YORK TIMES: Fundraiser for Obama and Clinton Admits Fraud:

A wealthy businessman who raised money for leading Democratic Party politicians, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, pleaded guilty on Thursday to defrauding three major banks out of $292.2 million in loan transactions, Reuters reported.

Hassan Nemazee, 60, who once ran a private equity firm, admitted in Manhattan federal court to defrauding Bank of America of more than $142 million, Citigroup of $74.9 million and HSBC Holdings of $74.9 million to pay his debt to Citigroup.

Then there’s all the money he got people to donate based on “hope, change, and a new kind of politics . . . .”

DON SURBER: “Hey, what George Bush could not accomplish in 8 years, Obama has accomplished in 14 months.”

IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID: Video: Obama Confronted at Pep Rally By Disgruntled Unemployed Worker.

A REPORT FROM THE SAN ANTONIO TEA PARTY:

I would like to tell you about what happened to a small and orderly group of private citizens when we tried to visit the local office of Rep. Cuellar. We were bringing over 300 letters that were urging the congressman to vote NO to the healthcare bill now under consideration in the House. The staff closed the office and left the building in order to avoid meeting with us. In order to make certain that the staff had the letters we had to slide them under the door. I have attached a photo of one of the citizens sliding the letters under the door. . . Notice how this “Radical” is cleverly disguised as middle-aged business man!

They’re tricky that way.

AT AMAZON, it’s the Friday Sale.

IBD: Teague To Vote No; Pelosi’s Margin Now Zero.

WAR AGAINST PHOTOGRAPHY UPDATE: Photographers and Police: A First Amendment Clash.

SHOCKER: Federal Employees Bombarded With Obamacare Email Pitches. Is this legal?

HEATH SHULER WILL VOTE NO ON OBAMACARE.

UPDATE: Also Joseph Cao, according to this report.

BOEING COMPLETES DESIGN of shipboard superlaser.

JOE HICKS: An ObamaCare Surprise: Racial Preferences?

More from John Leo.

MEGAN MCARDLE: BUY NOW, PAY LATER:

If we pass this thing, no American politician, left or right, is going to cut any of these programs, or raise the broad-based taxes necessary to pay for them, without any compensating goodies to offer the public . . . until the crisis is almost upon us. I can think of no situation, other than impending crisis, in which such a thing has been done–and usually, as with Social Security, they have done just little enough to kick the problem down the road. The idea that you pass a program of dubious sustainability because you can always make it sustainable later, seems borderline insane. I can’t think of a single major entitlement that has become more sustainable over time. Why is this one supposed to be different?

Because they really, really want it.

TURF WAR: Best Lawnmowers of the Year: Comparison Test.

YOU TALKING TO ME?

COMING SOON: The Augmented Reality Windshield? “The enhanced vision system would monitor a driver’s eye and head movements via sensors located both inside and outside the vehicle. The display would then overlay enhanced views of the road on top of the actual scene visible through the windshield. GM hopes that the augmented reality (AR) windshield display can allow drivers to view GPS directions without looking away from the road, and cope with difficult driving conditions in fog or at night.”

OUT OF STEP WITH THE TIMES: Legislation to ban assault weapons passes Illinois House committee.

ORIN KERR: Is the Supreme Court too conservative? Not according to the public, it seems.

BOEHNER: Make this a roll-call vote.

OBAMA’S HEALTH CARE SPEECH IN FAIRFAX: “If the Washington Post’s report is correct, and 8,000 people turned out, the real news is that two days before the big health care vote, Obama couldn’t fill a 10,000 seat arena at a university with 30,000 students (albeit many part-time), in a state and county Obama won, with many of the seats undoubtedly taken up by Democratic activists from the D.C. area.”

STIMULUS: Caterpillar: ObamaCare Will Cost Us $100 Million In The First Year.

MATT WELCH: David Brooks Surveys Economic Wreckage, Redoubles Patriotic Battle Against the “surge in vehement libertarianism.” Sorry, but whatever’s wrong with this country doesn’t stem from a surplus of libertarianism . . . .

And if we face a “devastating crisis of authority,” it’s because the many authority figures Brooks has been sucking up to haven’t been up to the job.

UPDATE: A reader emails: “So David Brooks is worried that libertarians are going to take over and……leave him alone?” Yeah. Where’s the percentage in sucking up to people like that?

PENNSYLVANIA REP. JASON ALTMIRE SAYS HE WILL VOTE NO.

BYRON YORK: Dems Waste Time in House As Vote Search Goes On.

C-SPAN VIDEO: Message to Bart Gordon: Don’t Trade Your Health Care Vote for NASA Administrator Job.

Bart Gordon’s Response: How Dare You Call Me A Sellout.

UPDATE: Bart Gordon: That $100M that got put in the bill before I changed my vote isn’t a “special deal.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Report from the Anti-ObamaCare Protest at Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s Office.

HAVE A JOB? Don’t Expect A Raise Anytime Soon.

COMING SOON: Netflix streaming for Wii — and iPhone?

SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER: The Insta-Wife snapped this on Lyons View this morning.

JOHN STOSSEL: Politicians Smother Cities. “Why do some cities thrive while others decay? One reason is that some politicians smother their cities with the unintended consequences of their grand visions, while others have the good sense to limit government power. . . . But the politicians haven’t learned. They still think government is the key to revitalization. While Indianapolis privatized services, Cleveland prefers state capitalism. It owns and operates a big grocery store, the West Side Market. Typical of government, it’s open only four days a week, and two of those days it closes at 4 p.m. The city doesn’t maintain the market very well. Despite those cost savings, the city manages to lose money running the market. It also loses money running golf courses.”

JOE BIDEN: “We’re going to control the insurance companies.”

PUBLICITY: YouTube: Viacom secretly posted its videos even as they sued us for not taking down Viacom videos.

BARTON HINKLE: If you disagree with me, you’re mentally ill.

A BOMB-DISPOSAL ROBOT that you can carry in a backpack.

CALLING YOUR CONGRESSMAN TO COMPLAIN now counts as “harassment?” What thin-skinned lily-livered losers we have in Washington. Glad somebody stood up to this one.

TRANSPARENCY UPDATE: Federal Reserve must disclose bank bailout records. “The Federal Reserve Board must disclose documents identifying financial firms that might have collapsed without the largest U.S. government bailout ever, a federal appeals court said. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled today that the Fed must release records of the unprecedented $2 trillion U.S. loan program launched primarily after the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. The ruling upholds a decision of a lower-court judge, who in August ordered that the information be released.”

SHOCKER: NY Times and Wash. Post Say CBO Numbers on Obamacare Don’t Pass Smell Test.

Megan McArdle: “I think this is a fiscal disaster waiting to happen. But no one on the other side cares.”

UPDATE: They certainly don’t want to talk about it.

RED MENACE: Stop the Ug99 Fungus Before Its Spores Bring Starvation. “90 percent of the world’s wheat has little or no protection against the Ug99 race of P. graminis. If nothing is done to slow the pathogen, famines could soon become the norm — from the Red Sea to the Mongolian steppe — as Ug99 annihilates a crop that provides a third of our calories. China and India, the world’s biggest wheat consumers, will once again face the threat of mass starvation, especially among their rural poor. The situation will be particularly grim in Pakistan and Afghanistan, two nations that rely heavily on wheat for sustenance and are in no position to bear added woe. . . . The pathogen has already been detected in Iran and may now be headed for South Asia’s most important breadbasket, the Punjab, which nourishes hundreds of millions of Indians and Pakistanis. What’s more, Ug99 could easily make the transoceanic leap to the United States.”

NOVEMBER IS COMING: Protesting outside Obama’s “final” health care rally in Fairfax, Virginia today.

MAX BOOT: No way to treat a friend. “Why is the Obama administration so hard on Israel — the most liberal and pro-American country in the Middle East — when it’s so soft on its despotic neighbors?”

GOOD NEWS ON SEX AND THE OLD: It’s never been better.

OPERATION DEM RESCUE: The St. Louis Tea Party will defend Democrats who vote “no” on Obamacare.

Meanwhile, Tennessee’s Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen tells Tenn. delegation the state can’t afford ObamaCare. And here’s a target list.

UPDATE: A Tea Party reader emails:

There is going to be a video town hall tonight night in Pittsburgh from 7 to 9 with Bachmann and other brave conservatives . The NRCC is hosting and the Pittsburgh Tea party movement are coming in mass to this .Congressman Jason Altmire is on the fence between “yes and no” , there hasn’t been a ton of love between Pittsburgh Tea party and the RNC , but today they are fighting a common enemy .

Altmire is going to be under grass roots pressure all day at his offices , tonight our girl Bachmann will bring more pain . This event breaks those long standing rules of “don’t mess with my district” , small aspects like this can be the difference between a yes and a hell no vote . Lets once again help the folks on the front lines , we are hitting critical times where every single vote will count .

Stay tuned.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Dee Grant emails:

Hey there Prof. Reynolds!

FYI, I’m an Illinois resident who just tried to contact Melissa Bean to say vote “no.” Her DC line was busy; your readers in the 8th Congressional District might want to ring her home legislative office at 847-517-2927.

I asked the flunky who answered the phone (1) why anyone would believe this bill would be constitutional; (2) why she had a problem voting “no” on principle; and (3) why she wanted to make it even more expensive for me as a small business owner to employ people in her district as a consequence. He just kept robotically repeating, “she hasn’t made a decision, she still is reading the bill.”

Well, she won’t be voting at all, then, given its length . . . .

IN THE MAIL: From Lee Harris, The Next American Civil War: The Populist Revolt against the Liberal Elite.

REASON TV: Reason Saves Cleveland: The Final Episode.

TAXPROF: House Health Care Bill ‘Dangerously Expands IRS’s Power’.

DOCTOR ZERO: The Terms of the Deal. “When Barack Obama tries to convince you to accept a government takeover of the health-care industry, he is making a promise he won’t be around to keep. ObamaCare’s job-killing taxes are front-loaded, but in order to fool the Congressional Budget Office into giving it a respectable deficit score, its benefits are delayed for years. Even if Obama wins re-election, he would complete his second term long before the program was completely phased in… and no external authority exists to compel either Obama, or his successors, to honor the promises he’s been making. . . . It would be a horrible mistake to accept a deal with the creators of history’s most staggering natonal debt, based on assurances they will place your interests ahead of theirs, for decades to come. As Darth Vader memorably explained to Lando Calrissian, the State can always alter the terms of the deal, and your only recourse will be praying they don’t alter it any further.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Moorfield Storey!

MICHAEL SILENCE TO ABC NEWS: From “This Week” to “Last Week?” “So let me get this straight. At a time when TV viewership is moving right, (see Fox News), and interest is more focused on domestic issues like, oh, say, health care and spending, you decide to hire a liberal to focus more on international news.”

WHITE DEATH: The Sniper Who Killed 700 Soviets in 100 Days.

POLL: Obama tied with Huckabee and Romney.

SLATE: Forget alpha and beta — now it’s the Omega Males. And we’re not talking Charlton Heston here, either. . . .