I tend not to write much about Iraq, because what can I say that has not already been said. But my heart is breaking. About the incalcuable waste of lives, precious resources, money and time. President Bush is committed to keeping troops in Iraq through 2008, just enough time to kill thousands more Americans and tens of thousand Iraqis. Then dump it onto the new Democratic President so he can say he didn’t lose.

All this waste is because George W. Bush can’t stand to lose. Like some bully on the playground who won’t stop shoving his fist in your face. His father and mother issues are so deep and labyrinthin, that we need a current day Shakespeare to paint its full picture.

My children’s future, our children’s future, the future health of our planet, the survivability of our culture is at great risk. I’m not really an optimist by nature but since it’s my kid’s lives at stake, I’d better become one. We can wake up. We can stop this insanity through our voting power. And we must turn our attentions to the urgent matters at hand: ending the Iraq war. Building peace talks with the Israelis and Palestinians. Using every means of diplomacy at our disposal to reverse America’s steep decline in the world’s opinion — the result of our dangerously ignorant and incompetent President. Invest in alternative fuels. Vote for universal health care. The list can go on for a while.

Our first female speaker, Nancy Pelosi, brought the children of lawmakers up to the stage at her swearing in. Right on girl. Because the world is not ours any more, it’s theirs.