Civilian deaths reported between 104,000 - 114,000 according to Iraq Body Count.

American troop deaths: 4484
American casualties: 33,186
http://antiwar.com/casualties/

Original estimated cost of the war $50 - $60 billion
Amount spent as of October - $800 billion +
Final estimate including equipment replacement & troop treatment for injuries and PTSD: $4 - $5 trillion
Christian Science Monitor

We’d ask if it was worth it but we know the answer. What a sorry waste of money and human life.

For the last few elections, the American electorate has been remarkably reactive - first against Bush, then for Obama, then against him, then against core GOP ideas. It’s been a topsy-turvy time unlike others in recent politics. Incumbents are increasingly vulnerable even as parties become more desperate to support them. And more and more, ballot initiatives are ruling the day.

The two big ones yesterday were both Dem wins - overturning the GOP’s anti-union law in Ohio and soundly defeating the Personhood Amendment in Mississippi. A less publicized initiative in Maine had voters thumbing their noses at GOP efforts to end same-day voter registration - a heartening occurrence since the GOP has made a mission out of limiting access to the polls.

Add in holding the Iowa State Senate - the last buttress against GOP craziness in that state - and replacing AZ State Senate President Pearce, author of the odious immigration measure, and you have more signs the electorate likes the middle way best.

Will this be the moment people point to as the change in direction back towards the Democrats? Perhaps, but let’s not forget that a year is forever in politics. Even worse, the devastating nature of the Dem losses in 2010 will be reflected for a decade in gerrymandered seats - nothing was more important than holding statehouses and legislatures last year and we failed at that. So the likelihood of the Dems taking back the House - a political must for this country’s future - can be termed very difficult at best.

It’s a long way to go. At least, we know that the electorate is not crazy - even in Mississippi. But this has all been playing defense and you don’t win without some offense. Will Obama bring the big guns or will the electorate snap back into populist Tea Party rage? It’s too early to tell, no matter what the prognosticators today will be saying.

Back in 2006, Congress forced the Postal Service to pre-pay future retiree benefits to the tune of $5.5 billion a year for 10 years. Not coincidentally, from that moment on the USPS’ financial position has deteriorated quickly. Now a bipartisan group of Senators wants to extend the term to 40 years and to refund $7 billion in overpayments. This would allow the service to remain solvent and manage its cashflow - the alternative is the USPS going bust as soon as next summer.

The hiccup, of course, is the House, which is saying we can’t afford to give back the $7 billion. They also want to establish a financial control board that could result in layoffs rather than the buyouts proposed in the Senate bill. While the existence of their bill does show a basic understanding that something needs to be done, as opposed to say fixing infrastructure, the unfortunate slash and burn nature of their “cut at all costs” must be avoided.

It’s time for Americans to stand up for their postal workers. They’re working for us day in and day out - time to return the favor.

The Onion got in some trouble this week when it tweeted about shots fired in the Capitol then followed up with more tweets about Congressmen taking kids hostage. Apparently only some people saw the subsequent posts and soon there was a bit of a panic, not to mention a very unhappy Capitol police force already under scrutiny for the shooting of Rep. Giffords earlier this year. Too bad a very cheeky story got lost - the commentary on Republican hostage taking, now routine - in the misinformation and false hysteria.

Speaking of false hysteria - a specialty of Internet nutcases - the latest one was “Muffingate” which Bill O’Reilly trumpeted even on Jon Stewart’s show (shockingly, he was uninformed about the falsity of the story). You see, the government was wasting your tax money by paying $16 for muffins at a conference for the DOJ. Problem is, it wasn’t true. Hilton Hotels later confirmed that the $16 was for continental breakfast including tax and they had just printed the word muffins there. Oops. Meanwhile a search of stories about this fake controversy showed only about 1 in 5 outlets bothered to post correct information. Gee thanks media.

Then there is the march on Wall Street or whatever the people protesting downtown Manhattan think they are achieving three years too late. On Friday news spread like wildfire that anti-corporatist meowers Radiohead were going to play a show in solidarity. The problem was - it was completely wrong. No concert in spite of the rapid proliferation of tweets announcing the show.

It would be nice if everything we read was fact-checked and properly sourced, but alas we live in a world of rapid information (and disinformation) spread. The end result is going to be increasingly false stories taking hold in our national psyche. Thanks Internet, that’s just what a dangerously uninformed populace needs - more rumor, innuendo and outright lies.

Gadhafi is nothing if not a crafty bastard and this latest move to sneak out of Tripoli rather than face his doom the way, say Hitler did, is telling. He never cared much for his people and now he’s preparing to launch a guerrilla insurgency from tents somewhere in the deserts of Libya. This is not good news as the rebels needed to capture him - and his son Saif - in order to end the bloodshed. In retrospect, and not surprisingly, they muffed the operation by charging ahead without securing every possible escape route. As a result, the colonel escaped and they have to expend energy cleaning up pockets of pro-government troops. This will take longer and result in more damage and bloodshed, not to mention delay the seating of a new government in the capital.

I will give Gadhafi credit - he survived this longer than I thought he would and his manipulation of the media was entertaining to watch. Of course when the writing was on the wall, he did what all rats do, scurry into a hiding place and wait to reappear. Sadaam learned this and directed the insurgency for a time until he was captured - serving as the spark that ignited a bloody civil war. Unfortunately for the Libyan people, Gadhafi has the same plan.

Rest assured, he’ll be smoked out of his hole someday soon. But in the meantime, he’s going to inflict maximum damage.

Perry, of course, is a worldclass nincompoop who pretends to be a cowboy and talks tough - witness his comment about carrying a concealed gun or not on a campaign. Bad enough he’s a fundamentalist Christian who famously asked for Texans to pray for rain in April just as the worst of the drought set in (and stayed) then had a miserable failure of a prayer rally that didn’t fill up even though it was free. Now he reveals himself to be a knuckledragging cro-magnum man who believes Ben Bernanke should be beaten and that there are “gaps” in evolution. Instead he is a proponent of intelligent design, which is the opposite of its name - neither intelligent or even particularly well designed. This “theory” is pure bunk backed not by science but by the fictional works of nomadic tribesman who wandered in the desert. But Jesus apparently spoke to him one night and now he’s hooked. This kind of stuff may play well in Texas but it’s a recipe for national disaster, not to mention a guaranteed turn off for a majority of voters.

But what about the Texas miracle? Ha! Revealed as a sham built on taking government stimulus funds and the added employment of 100,000+ government workers - while the rest of the country shed 400,000! That is a miracle. The fact that his state leads the nation in low wage jobs and in workplace injuries means he’s well on his way to the Third Worldification of Texas. His corporate minders will love that, but there is no way he is going to do that to America. Sure, it’s nice to step into office as oil booms and the state expands its population but his house of cards is built on budgetary tricks and he’s looking to get out of dodge before the next budget reveals devastating education cuts. Too bad for him, he’s gonna wind up right back where he came from.

Apparently the word is getting around right quick about Texas two-step. He’s getting heckled in NH for pushing secession and the Wall Street Journal is looking for saner GOP candidates. Welcome to the party Governor. Don’t burn out too fast - we like to see Mitt Romney shake in his boots and we would love - love! - to see you or Congresswoman Bachman head up the crazy party ticket. We want our Congress back.