A whiff of anti-Semitism seems to be in the wind these days. Kevin Drumm has more on the smearing of George Soros.
On a more positive note, I decided to answer the haters another way. I went and stood with SF Voices For Israel and waved a big Israeli flag at demonstrators for several hours yesterday. I'm sunburned but it was worth it. It feels like too many people these days know what they're against, but not too many people know what they're for. It felt good to go stand for something - in this case, Israel.
Most unexpected note from the rally: At one point a contingent of Soviet Jewish émigrés started singing the Russian national anthem (which I only recognized because it was sung in The Hunt For Red October). I have no idea why they were singing it and it didn't seem to quite fit into the proceedings, but it was touching in its own way.
Most personally uncomfortable note: About 20 or so Freeper types showed up with American flags, Bush bumper stickers and "Vote Arnold" t-shirts, and mostly anti-communist signs. I felt a little weird standing next to them, knowing that on just about every other issue we completely disagree.
