Yesterday I accidentally stumbled into an anti-war rally in Palo Alto. I didn't wade in but I still noticed how quirky it was. I'm not the only one: the Mercury News reported on it.

• "Palo Alto neighbors Marcia Croft and Margaret Schmidt, both in their late 50s, said they haven't done this since college."
• "An organic espresso bus parked cater-cornered from the plaza sold several hundred cups of organic macchiatos, lattes and cappuccinos made with soy milk."
• "People carried balloon animals twisted into circular peace signs. Children scribbled peace slogans on the pavement with chalk."

The Merc also says "The suburban rally had a diverse turnout, indicating anti-war sentiment is resonating with an audience much broader than activists living in large cities." Maybe so, but there could be another reason: this was as much picnic and street festival as rally. It looked fun to me.