Consider it Broughten

More soldiers have died in Iraq. The U.N. is no longer irrelevant. And, despite the fact that 70% of Americans believed it, W says that Saddam had no connection to 9/11.

That last bit proves, if nothing else, that W really doesn't listen to the 'focus group' of the American public whether it is in his favor or not. In March he told we 30% that we were wrong to question the attack on Iraq, and now he's telling the 70% who thought it was justified that they are wrong, too. Now that we are in too deep, losing too many casualties, and stretched thinly enough with both troops and equipment to keep logistics officers mumbling in their sleep at night.

My opinion? What is happening is that reality is finally crashing down. The unreality started with 9/11. It was beyond our scope. Things like that don't happen here. But that sense of being detached from reality was, for me at least, definitely extended with events like the passage of the Patriot Act. Any one of our Founding Fathers would have denounced it as the UN-Patriot Act since it clearly violates so many of the founding documents of our country. (Oh, you know, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution - tell me if any of these ring a bell for you....) By September of 2002 I wouldn't have been fazed if the news had announced, "Santa Claus is having an affair with the Tooth Fairy. Film at 11." It was all so freaking weird anyway.

But oh, how the mighty have fallen. There will be no aircraft carrier landings today. No swaggering declarations to, "Bring 'em on!" The reality of the world has quite clearly said, "Consider it broughten."

(For those of you who aren't fans of cheesy teen films like I am, the title of today's post is from the movie "Bring It On".)