Yup, they were. A small group of about ten people were standing around next to a busy street in an area I pass on the way to my office holding "Peace" flags and home-made signs like "$87 Billion for What?" Same place they'd been when they were demonstrating during the build-up and the early days of the Iraq invasion. They weren't blocking traffic or anything like that, just standing around making a spectacle of themselves. Dopy, but harmless. And I must say, the temperature is 4 degrees Fahrenheit out there right now in suburban Boston, and that's before wind-chill, so they are dedicated if nothing else.

It amazes me that people could be out protesting at this late date. Regardless of the what one may think of the WMD or terrorism debate, a real humanitarian can't possibly have missed the mass graves? They can't possibly begrudge the Iraqis the expenditure of billions of dollars in American Taxpayer money to re-build their country? They can't possibly think it would be better to abandon Iraq right now could they? And these are just a few of the purely humanitarian arguments for not running away now.

One woman was standing at the corner with her arm raised, waving at passing cars. The trouble is, she wasn't moving her hand or arm at all. I just couldn't resist the irony, so I raised my arm in return, and as I passed I heard her shout, "Thank you!"

I don't think she quite understood that all I was doing was returning her Fascist salute.