At least 10,000 people

converged in Portland today, without so much as a peep in advance from the local media. Since John Cole wonders why people did it, I think I'll tell him: it shows that there is indeed deep anti-war sentiment in this country. Sure there's lots of flakes, but they're not neo-nazi skin-head types. They're peaceful. Sure many of them are misguided. But you know what? They're closer to the right path than the other side.

I took part in today's demonstration not because of Michael Moore, but because of Gwynne Dyer, or more to the point, his ideas. Dyer notes in his book War: The Lethal Custom lots of little things that should give people who seriously support the military pause. Among them is the inexorable math of the conflict, the fact that Bush played right into bin Laden's hands in invading Iraq, and that all these damned conflicts over oil eventually do nothing but weaken those countries thirsty for it.

But that book hadn't been reissued way back in 2003; I was against the war because I thought basically you'd get an Iraq-sized intifada out of it, and that's pretty much what you've got now.

Any fool could have seen it when the US media breathlessly reported that the Iraqi army was "melting away" - anybody who didn't say "Holy shit! They're going guerilla!" doesn't know squat about recent military events.

And so it is.

So, John, a few of us folks who actually know something were there then, and are then now. And we weren't wearing tie-dyes.