I was inspired by a fantastic article published by the Sietch Blog called Bending Swords Into Wind Turbines, so I decided to bring together some data to share on the opportunity costs associated with the ongoing war in Iraq.

Just to be clear, I’m not espousing any political position. I’m only interested in coming to an understanding of what alternatives we are forgoing by spending money, effort and lives in Iraq as opposed to spending them on something else. We’re talking about a whole boatload of money here, so it’s nice to know what else we could be getting for our dollar.
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I thought that might get your attention. But it’s true. Today Bush is going to undergo a colonoscopy and before he goes under he’ll be signing over Presidential power to Cheney until after the operation.

The procedure will be supervised by Dr. Richard Tubb, the president’s doctor. It will be done by a team from the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md. Because the president will be under the effects of anesthesia, Bush has elected to implement Section 3 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, making Cheney acting president until Bush indicates he is prepared to reassume his authority.

During Saturday’s transfer of power, the vice president will be at his home on the Chesapeake Bay in St. Michaels, Md., about 45 miles east of Washington, Snow said.

The 2002 transfer was only the second time that the Constitution’s presidential disability clause was invoked. President Reagan was the first to invoke the Constitution’s 25th Amendment since its adoption in 1967 as a means of dealing with presidential disability and succession.

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