O.K., to get a true feel for the crowd size, I went to the following link (provided elsewhere on Salon): http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6534919

It shows a YouTube clip from CNN taken live at 12:56 PM, at the height of the "protest." It's taken from what appears to be the roof of the Capitol Building, or somewhere close. In the photo, the crowd is limited to the area up to the Reflecting Pool; past that, the crowd is, at best, sparse. And in the area up to the Pool, there are obvious open areas, meaning the crowd was definitely NOT shoulder-to-shoulder.

So I then used the Google satellite map of the area and made some very rough calculations. It's about 1,000 feet from the steps of the Capitol to the Pool; the width of the fan-shaped area is about 600 feet at the widest. I'll figure the area as a square for simplification of the math. That comes out to about 600,000 sq. ft. or just under 14 acres. At 2 million, that's a density of 143,000 people per acre (an acre is approx. 208x208 feet.) At 1.2 million, that's 85,700/acre. Absolutely no way that either of those figures are anywhere near reality.

At 500,000, it's 35,714/acre. Again, no way. At 50,000, it's 3,500/acre. Still unlikely, but nearer the realm of possibility.

If you want me to take into account the people the other side of the Pool, I'll say that the area in front of the Capitol is smaller (because of the fan-shaped area) than the rounded numbers I used, and therefore the density is actually higher and therefore even less likely. And as noted elsewhere on Salon, there were other events on the Mall at the same time, so not everyone in the photos were part of the protest.

Also, in 1973 I was at the "Summer Jam" at Watkins Glen racetrack along with about 600,000 other people, and have seen photos of that crowd. So I know what 1/2 million people look like. This teabagger crowd was nowhere near the size of that one. Heck, I've been in the crowds of 105,000 at Ohio Stadium for Ohio State football games and those are easily double the size of that one in D.C. as shown in the pictures.

The hysteria over the dangers of having these bad guys in prison on U.S. soil is, well, hysteria. There is a SuperMax prison 1.52 (according to MapQuest) miles from my parents' house; since its opening in 1998, not one prisoner has come anywhere near close to escaping. And believe me, most of the prisoners already there would scare the bejeebers out of those Gitmo guys.

How do you think those Aryan Brotherhood dudes will react to Afghans and Pakis? The Gitmo guys would be begging to go back after a few afternoons.

Actually, they can't come in contact. During construction, my parents watched the cells being trucked past their house. They are individually made from reinforced concrete and bolted together like a giant Lincoln Logs toy. They spend 23 out of 24 hours a day in their cell and are never allowed contact with another prisoner. Absolutely no chance of escape.

To True2Blue:

I've been driving VWs since 1987. My first one, a 1987 Golf GT, I bought new for just under $10,000. I had nearly 300,000 (yes, that's right, 300,000) miles on it before it was ready to give up the ghost in 2004. Even then, I could drive it for four hours with ease and without any back pain; when driving my parents' Oldsmobile that cost 50% more, I had to get out every two hours just to stretch my back. The cheaper car just was better designed--better ergonomics. It handled better, rode better, and got 50% better gas mileage. And it lasted a whole lot longer, too.

In 2004, I replaced the '87 with a used '94 Jetta, which had cost about $14,000 new. Six months later, I rented one of your "famed" Sunfires for a week while on vacation. In short, it was a piece of crap. After just 45 minutes on the road, I had to get off the road and stretch. The cockpit design just plainly sucked!!! Uncomfortable seats, bad steering wheel placement, poor line-of sight, you name it. It had just a few thousand miles on it, yet it rattled and squeaked worse than my GT when it 200,000 on it. The VW's design was and is greatly superior. And they cost just about the same. The VW drive and ride is far, far superior to the Pontiac. And if I change my oil every 3,000 or so miles, just like in my '87, I'll probably get close to 300,000 miles out of it, too.

So don't call me a moron, you moron!

Yes, Bernbart, many Republicans were pro-choice. Including Daddy Bush, during the primary against Reagan. It was only when Ronnie Ray-guns picked him as VP did he suddenly become pro-life. Just as he derided most of Ronnie's economic policies as "smoke and mirrors," until, of course, he was on Ronnie's side. The "Mother of all Flip-Flops," if you ask me.

OK, for all you bad-guys-behind-every-tree types, this ruling does not set these guys free in the streets of New York or Miami or Wheeling, WV, it merely means they get their day in court. It just means that their guilt needs to be proven.

And if they truly are guilty, what do Bush/Cheney and all you right wing ranters have to worry about? Prove they really are guilty. If you can't, you have no reason or right to hold them for six+ years.

Oh, I get it now! You can't prove it, at least for most of them, so you don't want to be embarrased--more approproately shamed--in the eyes of the world. Especially with election day coming up. Like the old Saturday Night Live bit: "Things that make you go HHHMMMMM!!!"