Your flag decal

... won't get you into heaven any more.

Pulled up to a stoplight yesterday behind a massive pickup whose driver had a red, white, and blue chip on his shoulder. It wasn't the flag stickers on his tailgate.

It was the other sticker that said, "If my flag offends you, call 1-800-LEAVE USA."

Offends me? It's my flag too, buddy, even if I value it as a symbol of the Constitutional republic, not as a sacred tribal talisman.

If people are giving this guy the finger, I'm sure it's because of his driving, not his flag stickers. Or maybe it's because he's driving the type of low-mileage vehicle that makes oil so expensive in dollars and blood. In fairness to him, though, he did have a tool box in the bed, so he may really need a big-ass truck, unlike most pickup owners.

Screw the troops

Duhbya is still pretending Petraeus is in charge of keeping troop levels escalated, Gates is saying that he's going to shorten tours of duty, and the Joint Chiefs want more boots in Afghanistan.

The numbers don't add up. Hey, this is Bushworld, after all, where all the math is fuzzy, and all the accountability falls low in the social classes.

But something will subtract down, and that'll wind up being the time between tours.

"Hi, hon. Nice to see you kids. Mom, Dad, I wish I could've been here when you were in the hospital. Sorry, hon, gotta go back over there. Connecting on Southwest. Love you all."

In the words of John Prine, your flag decal won't get you into heaven any more.