War! What Is It Good For?

The war on drugs continues to increase our jail and prison population, which is now at 2.2 million people. Conspiracy laws, combined with draconian mandatory minimums, continue to put record numbers of women (many mothers) behind bars, with the number of women incarcerated in state and federal prisons rising four percent from 2003 to 2004, more than double the 1.8 percent increase among men.

Meanwhile, the so-called "war on terror" continues to be a war on freedom. FBI agents, who are currently telling Congress they can be trusted to not abuse a renewed and expanded PATRIOT Act, have apparently been spying on Americans without the required paper work and oversight for years. Agents have obtained copies of people's e-mails after a warrant expired, seized bank records without proper authority and conducted an improper "unconsented physical search," according to newly released documents.

In Iraq, we inch closer to the milestone of 2,000 U.S. soldiers killed, the number of deaths it will apparently take for Cindy Sheehan to chain herself to the White House fence. A coordinated attack today by "liberated" (and yet still outraged) Iraqis left 16 dead and 22 wounded.