At least 75,000 (or upwards of 1.5 million Americans by some accounts) marched in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Sept. 12, against the Obama Administration, the Democratic-led Congress and out-of-control big government in general.

It was one of the largest citizen-demonstrations in the nation's history.

But the liberal media largely ignored the protest or worked overtime to spin the story as some fringe-element demonstrating against a black president.

Some of the best (and unbiased coverage) of the event could be found in European newspapers, argues Investor's Business Daily.

"When Americans have to turn to the foreign press for truthful reports of the size of popular protests in Washington, it's time to wonder: Are we dominated by "state-run media"? the newspaper asks.

From the editorial:

When a million people travel to our nation's capital to object to excessive government spending, and the taxes they have to pay to sustain it, it constitutes a grass-roots force to be reckoned with.

But underestimates of the crowds by the so-called "mainstream media," along with their focus on the most extremist signs and slogans they could find (gun rights, for instance, or the president sporting a Hitler mustache), gave administration officials an opportunity to downplay the march's significance.

Read the full editorial, "Taking It To The Streets," at the newspaper's Web site.

I was pleasantly surprised with The Associated Press' coverage of the March on Washington on Saturday, Sept. 12. The wire service, which largely ignored the Tea Parties throughout the year, moved a lengthy article and more than a dozen photographers of the protest. Also, it did not downplay the turnout, putting right there in the lead that "tens of thousands" of Americans marched against Obama and his big government schemes. You can read the AP story and view photos of the event at The Mercury's Web site.

From CNSNews.com:

"I believe there is a new center in American politics around the idea of what we call 'pocketbook conservatism,' " said Matt Kibbe, president and CEO of FreedomWorks, one of more than a dozen conservative organizations sponsoring the march.

Americans from all walks of life have already pledged to show up, Kibbe said, with virtually every one of them telling organizers the same story: " 'I've never shown up at a Town hall meeting, I've never shown up at a protest, I've never even talked to my congressman, but I have to show up now because things (in Washington) are out of control,' " Kibbe said.

This will likely be the largest gathering of fiscal conservatives ever, according to Adam Brandon of Freedom Works.

CNSNews.com - Organizers Predict Thousands of Tea Party Activists Will Attend Saturday’s March on Washington

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The Mother of All Tea Parties is about to hit Washington, D.C.

Americans who believes in limited government, want to see lower taxes, less government and more freedom are invited to join the March on Washington scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009.

The 9-12 March on Washington national coordinators are FreedomWorks.org; TeaPartyPatriots.org; and Grassfire.org/Resistnet.com

They are being supported by a who's who of conservative, anti-tax, libertarian, free-market and patriotic organizations.

POLICY BLOG has a information on buses scheduled to take Pennsylvania protesters to the event.

From the official protest Web site:

"It's time to take the tea party movement directly to Washington, D.C. Please join thousands of local organizers and grassroots Americans from across the country as we gather in our nation’s capital to deliver a message to the politicians: Enough!

We've had enough of the out of control spending, the bailouts, the growth of big government and the soaring deficits. And we reject the future tax increases to pay for all of this spending and debt down the road. We are gathering on 9-12-2009 to deliver our message in person that we’ve had enough!"

For more information, visit http://912dc.org/

On this Memorial Day Weekend, a guest column by Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council about the significance of the holiday:

Where Poppies Blow

Until about 40 years ago, Memorial Day was observed -- not celebrated -- on May 30 every year. Eager Cub Scouts would work their way through the crowds at small town parades selling bright red artificial poppies. In reviewing stands, graying veterans would salute or place their hands over their hearts as high school bands marched by. Often a young girl would be called upon to read the World War I era poem "In Flanders Fields" that describes the poppies blowing row upon row among the graves of fallen warriors of the Great War.

You can gain a real appreciation of Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery. There, soldiers of the Third Army, the ceremonial "Old Guard" will place little American flags on thousands of well-tended graves. Visitors will be told the story of Arlington, how Col. Robert E. Lee paced the floors of the Custis-Lee mansion back in 1861, praying and pondering. He had to decide whether to serve in the U.S. Army to which he had dedicated his life or to leave the Union with his beloved Virginia. The terrible Civil War that followed for four long and bitter years helped to fill thousands of graves at Arlington, once Lee's beautiful hilltop home.

When the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was dedicated in 1921 at Arlington, President Wilson spoke as a Bible was included among the objects placed in the cornerstone of this sacred space. Today, 24 hours a day, Tomb guards march their appointed rounds, honoring those who have fallen to defend our freedoms. The bumper sticker dates from our own time, but the sentiment it expresses goes all the way back: "America -- land of the free because of the brave."

Americans have always loved their country. We love our country still. And we have a special reverence for those who gave what Lincoln called "the last full measure of devotion."

Even today, with casualties in the War on Terror mercifully coming down, there are still flag-draped caskets returning regularly to Dover Air Force Base. There are fresh graves being filled daily at Arlington -- and across America. So great is the call of America that even foreigners feel its pull. The Marquis de Lafayette -- a brave hero of our Revolution -- took home to France enough American soil to bury his earthly remains.

In recent years, Memorial Day has become the occasion for sales at the mall, cookouts, rock concerts, and days at the beach. Our fallen heroes died for this America too. They knew that a certain lightheartedness, of ever-youthful exuberance, is a part of what it means to pursue happiness. It is for all of this, the paths of laudable pursuit, the fruits of honest toil, that America stands. May we always be worthy of those who died to give this America to us.

Matt Bruce, writing at The New Media Journal.us, reminds us why we celebrate Memorial Day.

From his poignant column:

From the current War on Terror, to World War's I & II, along with Vietnam, Korea, Grenada and even the Spanish American and Civil War's we honor the memory of all of those who have died serving America in our Armed Forces so that we might now all be free and safe ...

To those of us who have survived serving in the Military during combat or peace, we take the time to stop and remember those brave young men and women who served right along beside us who are no longer with us ...

We also all look forward to what their sacrifices have done in helping keep America the greatest Country on the face of the Earth ...

A Country that people are willing to risk their lives crossing hundreds of miles of desert just to get in to ...

Let's remember why we celebrate Memorial Day because so many have forgotten the real reason ...

We are not Democrats, Republicans, Conservatives or Liberals on Memorial Day. We are all Americans honoring those who did not return home to be able to celebrate with us ...

So we celebrate and honor those who died protecting our great Country, the United States of America...

Read the full column, 'May We Never Forget The Reason ...' at The New Media Journal

Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan offers a tribute to America's war heroes, past and present on this Memorial Day Weekend.

From her column:

The category of military hero — warrior — fell off a bit, in part because of the bad reputation of war. Some emerged of heroic size — Gens. Pershing and Patton, Eisenhower and Marshall. But somewhere in the 1960s I think we decided, or the makers of our culture decided, that to celebrate great warriors was to encourage war. And we always have too much of that. So they made a lot of movies depicting soldiers as victims and officers as brutish. This was especially true in the Vietnam era and the years that followed. Maybe a correction was in order: It's good to remember war is hell. But when we removed the warrior, we removed something intensely human, something ancestral and stirring, something celebrated naturally throughout the long history of man. Also it was ungrateful: They put themselves in harm's way for us.

She devotes the column to Alvin York, Audie Murphy and Chuck Boyd, but this is a time to honor everyone who has served their country.

Take a few minutes to read it.

Check out Those Who Make Us Say 'Oh!' at the newspaper's Web site.