Gathering of Eagles crowd estimate 30,000

Michelle Malkin reports the National Park Service estimate of the Gathering of Eagles crowd at 30,000!  I'm waiting for the mainstream media to report this...... Considering the much lower than expected turn out of the anti-war protesters, this should be headline news.  This from the New York Times:

As they gathered before the march, the protesters met what several veterans of the antiwar movement described as an unusually large contingent of several hundred counterdemonstrators. Many were veterans in biker jackets who said they had come to protect the nearby Vietnam Memorial, citing rumors that had circulated among veterans groups that the demonstrators planned to deface it.

I must say those New York Times reporters are really hound dogs when they're covering a story.  Just ask the first person you see.  Michelle's take:

Pure bullcrap. Yup, the journalistic standard-bearers of the NYTimes relied on "several veterans of the antiwar movement" to give them crowd estimates of the Gathering of Eagles. It's the domestic equivalent of MSMers relying on dubious Iraqi stringers to provide them with war coverage while they sit in their comfy Green Zone offices in D.C. and Manhattan.

Fox News reported the Eagles were there in equal numbers.  I guess that's the new math.  Or fuzzy math. 

Kit at Gathering of Eagles has a video up and will have pictures a little later.

Judging from the links at Michelle's, there were many, many bloggers there and they all have stories to tell and photos.  I'm sure she will be updating throughout the day.

I was unable to go to Washington so I spent the day watching the coverage on T.V.  Needless to say the great majority was on the anti-war protest, with CSPAN covering their speeches start to finish, with just a short mention of the Eagles at the end.  I'm biased, for sure, but in my opinion the screaming and screeching of the anti-war speakers did not help their cause.   Any sane person watching would no doubt be turned off by the over the top, anti-America hatred they spewed.