The Joke’s on us.

Okay, I'm listening to one of the left-wing Limbaughs on Air America and don't you just know but a right wing nut calls up with the sky is falling and only Bush can hold it up rant. If Bush goes down you can count on being shot by a foreign sniper when you go out to get your morning paper. What is worse, is that the day Bush is incarcerated for playing war president with real cluster bombs and nifty drone aircraft, the Chinese will be in Peoria changing the God-given Wal-Mart sign to a bunch of them squiggly things they call writing. Litigation, Terrorists, and Chinese -- oh my!

While it used to be worth a giggle or two, the war on terror is a joke that is starting to wear. Even liberals haven’t wised up about it yet. I've been pondering trying to figure the source of American ignorance in the matter. I have the notion that this ignorance starts with Americans thinking that they won't die unless someone else makes them die. That is why Joe and Jane American can sit and watch Fox news about the latest subway bombing and go, "oh my God -- let's give Halliburton another 50 billion bucks!" Here's the funny part: Joe and Jane American finish off their six-pack of Bud, flick off the TV with their remote, get off their Fox watching coach, light up a Marlboro and Virginia Slim and drive 10 miles to McDonald's for supper... Eh? What you mean you don't get it?!

Okay, I'll explain. Your chance of being killed by terrorists is something less than being killed by lightning. Now, when was the last time you were struck by lightning -- let alone killed? Ha! I thought so. Now don't you think it would be funny to spend a few hundred billion dollars on a war on lightning? Wouldn't you think someone was pulling your leg even if it was hyped on Fox news?

I don't get me wrong. I'm just as happy as the next guy to smart bomb and torture dangerous people, but I like to get my money's worth. Cost benefit wise we would come off better if we smart bomb fast food joints and liquor stores, and tortured tobacco and advertising executives. But, seriously folks, I know that America is still the home of the brave, because millions of us get up every day and face the things that really kill us without giving it a second thought, or maybe even a first thought. If you are worried about being shot look around you. Statistically speaking your chances of being shot by someone you know far outweigh an encounter with a terrorist. If you are worried about chemical attack look at the tailpipe of your car, or the stuff being sprayed on your neighbor's lawn in the spring. If you are worried about biological attack, ponder your next big Mac, or your next cigarette. In point of fact we are all much more likely to die by what we eat, drink, smoke, or drive, and yet we managed to live with that every day without getting hysterical. Why get hysterical over terrorists? Tell your politicians that the joke is over -- no more money for wars on terror!