"Al-Qaida, al-Qaida, al-Qaida this, al Qaida-that ..." punctuated with an occasional somber wag of the head, my friends, and the chiller: "9/11."

(May we note parenthetically, George W. aka Pinocchio Flight Jacket thinks war is "romantic" and those who put their butts in the line of fire should appreciate the opportunity. That's why his daughters are volunteering. No?)

My friends, to hear John Wayne McCain tell it, the "war" is going swimmingly, and those who think it is merely somewhat less of a mess than it was last year and the three years before that are, well, Democrats.

My friends, a reality check.

Whatever Iraq is, it isn't a war. It's an occupation of a sovereign state following an invasion justified by irresponsible exaggerations of the "solid" evidence of weapons of mass destruction -- and yes, outright lies. Recently, the Pentagon itself (wonder of wonders) investigated the administrations claims of ties between Iraq and al-Qaeda and found there were none. Neither was there a link between Saddam Hussein and Sept. 11, 2001.

It is sad, my friends, that impeachment proceedings have not begun against this egotistic president and his more egotistic vice president. John Wayne McCain McBush would win my respect if he would advocate that in his stump speeches.

My friends, the U.N. inspectors were in place. To the irritation of the neo-conservative puppeteers, the U.N. crews were finding nothing. Moreover, they were saying so. The job was costing a meager $100 million -- a year. Hans Blix estimated that finishing the job would take one year. For 2008, the estimate is $400 million plus -- a day.

Keep those facts in mind.

My friends, this country is more than $9 trillion in debt and on the edge of a fiscal whirlpool, thanks to the arrogance and idiocy of this administration. The occupation of Iraq didn't help. For 2007 alone, the cost to U.S. taxpayers was $138 billion. For 2008 alone, taxpayers will pay an estimated $170 billion. The government's estimate for the five years, well over $500 billion. That's the tip of the iceberg.

We've not been told the present and continuing cost to treat veterans for physical and psychological wounds in the coming years, nor the cost of replacing military equipment. Neither has the incredible material damage to Iraq been quantified as expense. Presumably, that bill falls to the lucky Iraqis (whoever that is.)

But, my friends, the money is a pittance compared to the blood and guts -- not only of our own young men and women but of Iraqis. For our troops, 4,000 U.S military deaths and the 30,000 wounded, many tragically, are only part of the horror. For our troops, how many with PTSD -- the psychological damage of combat?

Of Iraqi dead and wounded only estimates are available. A conservative guess is 90,000 are dead and very likely several times more, and the number of wounded much higher -- not just willing combatants but innocent women, children, old people. And, for what?

My friends, John Wayne McCain McBush says we are winning. What is it we have won?

• Are we more respected for having approved torture?
• Exactly how is it we are protecting our freedoms at home by occupying Iraq?
• Do we have more friends in the world?
• Are our borders more secure?
• Has winning the oil lottery brought us cheaper gasoline?
• Are our civil liberties secure?

Through a self-destructive mix of hubris and paranoia, have we sought an empire at the expense of our republic?

Well, my friends, mebbe we should think that over.