Milestones: My World Good, Real World Bad

I was in a pretty good mood this morning — not only was it nice to have a relaxing three-day weekend (including a moderately successful backyard barbecue/pool party that Pam and I hosted on Sunday), but today marks our youngest daughter’s entry into kindergarten. As much as I cringe at the thought of my sweet littlest girl going out into the wide world of elementary education, I know she’ll have a wonderful time. I can’t wait to get home tonight and hear all about it. (Of course, today is also our oldest daughter’s entry into the third grade, and while I am equally proud of her, the milestone just doesn’t carry quite the same degree of import.)

And then, on the way in this morning, I heard the news that the (American) death toll in Iraq has now reached 995. And whatever negative consequences it can deliver to the vile excuse for a human being that is George Bush, I really don’t want to be thinking in any way positively about the no-doubt-upcoming “1,000 dead” milestone. Somehow, I can’t help thinking that that mark will have more of an impact on public perception of Bush’s utter incompetence than the war’s skyrocketing costs, the 12,000 Iraqi dead, or the ever-expanding “quagmire.”

UPDATE: Looks like as of this afternoon, we’re up to 999 Americans dead.