What Bush's invasion could have bought

In case you missed this piece (as I did), here's a link to a New York Times piece that puts the $1.2 trillion spent on the Iraq invasion into real terms:  the health care, education, medical research, a global immunization campaign for children, reconstruction funds for New Orleans, the implementation of the 9/11 Commission's security recommendations, etc., that this administration could have used our money for.  Instead, tens of thousands of Iraqis & Afghanis and 4,000+ US citizens are dead, tens of thousands more people are severely damaged, the US's standing in the world is an embarrassment, and the US economy is tanking.

Somehow, a $600 check so I can go out and stimulate it doesn't make my day.

Tonight, my husband and I are going to a reception for UNL's visiting writer-in-residence Tim O'Brien, who's been here for two weeks teaching a master class to our grad students, and I'm curious to hear his take on what's happening now. 

And here's Jason Furman in Slate with some budget recommendations for the next administration.