A frequent contributor to this thread told me recently about an HBO documentary called Baghdad ER. I spaced that out completely until I heard the producers being interviewed on NPR, and I was compelled to watch.

My wish is that "Baghdad ER" would be mandatory viewing for every person in the country over the age of 17. The movie is apolitical, and is not overtly pro-war or anti-war, except for one scene in which an Army chaplain mentions "this senseless war."

I, of course, turned it into a pro-troop, anti-war movie in my own mind, and recommend it the strongest possible terms.

Most of us have been asked to sacrifice nothing for this war, and I would urge you to watch this movie and ask yourself, "has Iraq been worth it, in terms of blood and treasure?" Some intelligent people say that the jury is still out on that question; that history will be the judge. But I don't want to wait for history; I have enough information today to tell you my opinion.

Between Abu Ghraib and Haditha, we have given the terrorists the ultimate recruiting tools for the next generation, and it only cost us a couple hundred billion dollars, not to mention the lives and the limbs. What a bargain. What an incredible bargain.

Think what a couple hundred billion could have bought us in clean-technology research to wean ourselves from foreign oil.

OK, rant over. Back to work.