Was it worth it, George?

Who says American's aren't paying a price for the war? The Congressional Budget Office this week reported that the cost of the Iraq war over the next decade is $2.4 trillion - or $8,000 for every man, woman and child in the U.S. And while the collective monetary burden we will be sharing is nothing compared to the sacrifices of those with family members serving in the armed forces, the amount is staggering. Start thinking about on what we could have spent that money over the past four-plus years, and you get a painful picture of this president's mixed-up priorities.

For example, the National Priorities Project estimates that over 8 million teachers could have been hired for the cost of the war, or over 22 college million scholarships provided. That's no surprise: When you start to think about the number 2.4 trillion, you begin to realize how much it really is. And then you start to wonder about not just the monetary cost, but the opportunity cost of the war.

How many people could we have insured, so that people without health insurance stop burdening those with it? How many schools could we have built to give more childen a better chance? How many more police officers and firefighters could have been hired, so that our cities could be as safe as possible?

How much of that money could have been spent to put down the national debt, which was projected to be gone in our lifetime before Bush took office but has since ballooned due to his economic policy of slashing taxes while starting wars? How much of that money could have been put into biochemical research and development, to help America regain its footing in the world of science and develop alternatives to oil? How much could have been spent developing an economic policy that rewards businesses that provide a living wage, rather than outsource to third-world countries and hire illegal immigrants?

With that kind of money, how strong could we have made the bridges in Minnesota, or the levees in New Orleans?

When you factor in the non-monetary costs of the war - less American security, more terrorists, and diminished American leadership and prestige in the Middle East and around the world - the Iraq war starts looking less like a net-negative and more like an all-negative. It starts looking like perhaps the single-worst foreign policy decision in the history of the United States.

And when you come to that conclusion, there remains only one question: Was it worth it, George?

Other, more entertaining, notes

On a lighter note, update on me: I moved into my new apartment in Pleasanton last Friday. It's a cool place with only one drawback - it's adjacent to the railroad tracks. I'm starting to get used to the trains going by all the time, though (Here comes one now!). Waiting for the roomate to move in, since he's providing the bulk of the furniture...

Scrubs began its final season last night, which I unfortunately missed since our DVR hasn't been hooked up in the new place yet and I don't have a VCR. Some people laugh when I say this is one of my favorite shows, because I think it's been so mistreated by NBC that it's become somewhat of a joke among TV fans who don't watch it. The simple fact is that when Friends, Frasier, and Will and Grace ended their runs on NBC's Thursday night comedy block, Scrubs, which then became one of the network's longest-running sitcoms, was abandoned to ever-changing, less-watched nights of the week, and then relegated to a mid-season replacement while newer, less proven shows were fast-tracked to the glory of "Must-See-TV." And while those shows, such as Joey and Coupling, were failing miserably, Scrubs was garnering Emmy nominations every year and even won four Humanitas prizes.

NBC last year finally put Scrubs, in its comedy block, but only as a last resort (it had been originally slated again as a mid-season replacement). The network runs it at 9:30, claiming it drains viewers, which is ironic because the fact that NBC never gave it a fighting chance is the reason why nobody watches it. It's a shame, because it will probably be regarded as one of the better comedies created. It deserves to go out strong, so if you're a fan of the other NBC Thursday comedies, do yourself and the show a favor by sticking around after The Office.

Finally, if I was still on the East Coast working at Manhattan College, I would have definately planned my fall travel such that I would have ended up in Scranton, Pa. this weekend.