Well, everything is turbo-charged in America, yes? It's the American way - dream big, work hard, live fast, fight mean.

And here we've lived up to our national expectations: In less than three years, we've managed to set up a puppet government that surpasses Saddam's record on human rights violations, at least according to former Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi.

[LONDON, Nov 26 (Reuters) http://www.alertnet.org/the news/newsdesk/L26654863.htm ]- Abuse of human rights in Iraq is as bad now as it was under Saddam Hussein, if not worse, former prime minister Iyad Allawi said in an interview published on Sunday.

"People are doing the same as (in) Saddam Hussein's time and worse. It is an appropriate comparison," Allawi told British newspaper The Observer.

What took Hussein decades to perfect, we brought to fruition in record time.

Am I bitter? Yes, I am bitter.

How bitter? This bitter:

In the Desert

In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said: "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter-bitter," he answered;
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."

-- Stephen Crane

Really, this has depressed me so, I think I should just go to bed.