Rachel and Ray Thompson, both 29, drove with their four kids from Indiana. Both are fans of Glenn Beck and criticized President Obama for fanning the divisions in this nation.
"There are a lot of divisive issues in this country that need to be addressed in the way Dr. King addressed them and [Obama] has failed to do that," Ray Thompson, an electrician, said. "From a multi-racial family, I say shame on him." (Ray is white; Rachel is African American.)
"He does have an awesome power to do something about it, but he is not. He is just sitting back," said Rachel, a massage therapist. Neither was troubled by the timing of the rally -- on the anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech. They said the speech King's niece Alveda King gave was the most uplifting of the day.
-- Annie Gowen
Counter-protesters carrying a King "dream" and Beck " nightmare" banner are stationed on the north side of the Lincoln Memorial, opposite 23rd Street NW.
The crowd has occasionally shouted "USA, USA" or "Glenn Beck, Glenn Beck" against them. A few Beck supporters are arguing with counter-protesters but mostly they are being ignored.
-- Robert McCartney
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A counter-protester, Ben Thielen, 32, a District public-policy worker, caused a stir with a sign that said, "It's because of the 1st Amendment that Glenn Beck can spew his filth on the steps."
People walking by yelled at him "Who do you work for?" and "Nice hate speech!"
Then Thielen engaged in a long debate with another federal employee, age 47, who would give his name only as David, about whether an Islamic center should be built near Ground Zero -- David was against it, Thielen for it.
"What a waste of sperm!" David said when he walked away in disgust. Then a gray-haired woman accosted Thielen and tried to rip the placard out of his hand, screaming, "No signs! No signs!" This was a reference to the event's organizers' hope that political signs would not be displayed, although "Don't Tread on Me" flags are being waved at the event.
"She just came up to me and said 'No signs!' and clawed me like a wild animal," Thielen said, showing off red marks on his arms.
-- Annie Gowen
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D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Pete Piringer said rescuers have evaluated several dozen people on the Mall for conditions including bee stings, twisted ankles and heat-related issues, including several asthmatics and diabetics.
Several people were transported to the hospital, but none had conditions considered serious or life-threatening, Piringer said.
-- Clarence F. Williams
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Scott Garvin, an officer of the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers union local in Maryland, stood near the monument steps, handing out fliers with a photo of Martin Luther King Jr. and the headline, "Don't Tarnish the dream."
The union's concern: Chinese masons who Garvin said have been brought in to work on the construction on the King memorial on the Mall when some U.S. masons are unemployed.
-- Amy Goldstein
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When former Alaska governor Sarah Palin mentioned John McCain, Steve Richardson, 72, of Denver shouted, "John who?"
Richardson, who attended last year's 9/12 rally, said, "I just think McCain was a better airman than a politician."
-- Amy Goldstein
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In the rear of the rally, hundreds sprawled in the shade of shadow cast by the Washington Monument and a nearby tree.
Scott Hackney was under the tree with his wife, four kids and his in-laws. They drove 24 hours nonstop from their home in Nocona, Tex., after hearing about the assembly on Glenn Beck's television show. Hackney, 37, a construction worker, said the biggest crowd he'd been in before was at a football game.
"We just wanted to be part of this," he said. "Just to be among a group of people expressing patriotism and a return to traditional values. I can't even hear anything. But that's okay. Just to be here sends an important message: that the backbone of the country is the family. Messing with the definition of family is dangerous. Strong families make a strong country."
-- Carol A. Morello
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