1. First of all, since we ARE the city that helped bring the country (and the world) Barack Obama, so…perhaps our turn-out for this FOX News-driven event might not be as large as it would be, say, deep in the heart of Texas or looking away (somewhere) in Dixieland. I’d estimate that the crowd I saw down in Kluczynski Federal Plaza was maybe 1/500th of the size of the famous Election Night gathering in Grant Park (that Tyler and I roamed separately)…and maybe even only a fiftieth of the ’92 pre-Election Day crowd I joined in Daley Plaza to watch and listen to then-candidates Clinton and Gore get the Chicago faithful charged up. Call it maybe a few hundred…eh, maybe approaching a thousand, tops…

2. There were plenty o’ signs a-waving in the crowd – about taxes, tea, patriotism, and various slogans that Dr. Paul might approve of (but would likely SPELL better and more consistently)…but, sadly, the mostly-GOP-led pretend grassroots gathering still strongly reflected the fact that – duh! – when you apparently distribute fake handmade signs for your minions to brandish, you should at least try to vary the handmade-ness of said signs. All of these suspiciously similar signs were clearly the results of some little homework project among a likely smallish group of true believers. When will the conservatives learn that true grassroots movements are difficult to fake? AND that these "astroturfing" attempts they make are so laughably obvious?

3. Speaking of signs, the one that stuck with me AND bugged me the most read: "I AM JOHN GALT." A few thoughts about that:

A. No, you’re not. B. OK – well, I hope you’re having fun following a fictional character created by someone (long dead) who, apparently, couldn’t even properly spell her own first name… C. You know what? Since you probably read "Atlas Shrugged" when you were an impressionable 17 – no doubt, at the urging of some righty teacher or professor (maybe during the Reagan or Daddy Bush years), does that mean that I should be walking around toting a sign that says "I AM HOLDEN CAULFIELD"? How about "I AM BILLY PILGRIM"? Hmm – maybe even one that says "I AM A GOY NATHAN ZUCKERMAN"? Nah, all that just means is I had far better taste in formative literature than they did… D. Yeah, right, Mr. "Galt"…I’ll bet you pulled yourself away from your vastly creative profession, where you are – no doubt! – a leading figure in your field that the world just could not do without. Oh wait, I don’t remember Galt ever saying "Do you want fries with that?" or "The venti is the largest size" or "I’ll go see if we have those in your size…" E. NO, YOU’RE FREAKIN’ NOT!!!

4. Um, I do so hope that someone explained to these grumpy, vaguely directionless protestors that the tax rates they are complaining about are – indeed; of course – the ones enacted under President George W. Bush, NOT President Barack Obama…

5. And, of course, as we’ve tried to inform them – several times! – will someone PLEASE send a note up the ladder of blind, semi-pointless, "Well, we must do SOMETHING, right?" opposition and let them know to try to fully research nasty, sexually related slang terms before they label their little "movements." I mean – "tea bagging," huh? What – did they first reject "Dirty Sanchez," "Cleveland Steamer," and "Rusty Trombone" as handy, colorful names for their protests? (Coming soon: The "Dirty Sanchez" clean-up of immigration laws!) Like I’ve pointed out, next time maybe they should just ask former PA Sen. Rick Santorum if he truthfully cringes every time he thinks about one of his kids later Google-ing their own last name…"But, Dad – it says something about a resulting foamy and disgusting mixture of lube and…" Ew!