PRO-WAR PROTESTERS ARE FINALLY CATCHING ON to the importance of costumes. No stilts yet, but check out the guy dressed as Bush carrying the heads of Osama and Saddam on a platter. In the old days, if you saw a guy in a Bush mask, he just had to be a lefty protester. Now, you can’t be sure. That’s semiotic warfare for you . . . .

And it seems clear that talk radio is starting to do for the pro-war side what Stalinists are doing for the anti-war side:

Two weeks after antiwar demonstrators marched on the world’s capitals, a crowd of more than 7,000 gathered north of San Antonio on Saturday to salute U.S. troops.

Meanwhile, thousands more jammed into a downtown Houston plaza, cheering and waving flags, also to support the troops.

Both events were organized by radio stations owned by Clear Channel Communications Inc., the San Antonio-based media conglomerate.

Well, better conglomerates than communists.

UPDATE: Reader Lee Goldston emails:

Let me tell you that the weather here on Saturday was high 40s to low 50s, foggy and drizzling all day. Miserable.

If this paper reported 7,000, you can bet that was the most conservative crowd size estimate they could get.

Although there was a teaser about the story at the bottom of the front page, the story itself was below the fold on B 1.

Well, that’s miserable by San Antonio standards, but I’ll bet it was a lot nicer than Cleveland. Though it was much nicer here in Knoxville.