The United States taxpayers have paid an estimated $357 Billion thus far in this Iraq debacle, the National Priorities Project reports. Remember when the President said in 2003 that he was sending $74 billion to pay for the war? (as in the whole thing!)

The amount of money spent in Iraq (of which billions have gone missing or stolen), the United States could have:

* hired SIX million new teachers
* built THIRTY-FIVE THOUSAND new schools
* hired EIGHT million new police officers
* bought a years' worth of gas for every American
* paid for my culinary education

Now, when you hear the Government say we can't fund a higher minimum wage, or provide universal health insurance, or teach our kids a thing or two, I wonder...

In the roughly 90 seconds it took you to read this little blurb, we spent $500,000 in Iraq. Good grief.