For once, the math is quite simple. The United States has invested 300 billion dollars for the War in Iraq. There are almost 300 million people in the United States. This means that every person in America represents $1000 spent in the name of Liberating Iraq. One Grand. Every man, woman & child. One grand spent on the Iraq War. I'm not talking about taxpayers, war hawks or Republicans. I mean EVERYONE. One thousand dollars.

My town of my youth has about 30,000 people. That's $30,000,000. The little cow-town I grew up in represents THIRTY MILLION DOLLARS toward the Iraq War. Holy Frijoles! Okay, there's a lot of Republicans, rednecks, and flag-waving Americans in that town, but let's not forget that we are talking about EVERY American. Every prisoner in jail, every protester, even Cindy Sheehan still represents one grand toward the war effort.

Just follow the money. Just think if Saddam Hussein was still in power, and we had an extra 300 billion and change to throw around. Obviously, we wouldn't just hang on to it. To save & plan is not exactly the American way these days, so let's assume we had to spend the money. Soooooo, let's play a little game.

Let's pretend this is not a Representative Democracy where we have to tolerate & accept the decisions of our leaders. Let's assume that it is a Direct Democracy. Due to the magical crystal ball we acquired from an evil wizard, we realized that Saddam Hussein was full of hot air, there were no WMDs, and our Axis of Evil was just three backwards countries that posed very little threat of massing a true attack against America. We also knew that going to war for four years in Iraq would cost around THREE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS (F.Y.I.: Dr. Evil only asked for 100 Billion Dollars).

Because we're the greatest nation on Earth and all in favor of Direct Democracy (remember this is just a game), our benevolent Christian Samaritan of a leader George W. Bush decides to make his greatest contribution to the American people: Every man, woman & child is allowed to donate one thousand dollars to the charity or institution of their choice. You can not keep the money or spend it directly on yourself. Because we are all good upstanding citizens of The United States of America, we can select one donation of one thousand dollars to practically any type of organization in the world.

Now remember, this is a gift. No investing in the stock market or conniving tricks to funnel the money back to yourself or your loved ones. No splitting the money up either. Let's face it, one grand is not a ton of money and to split it up between groups gets less beneficial and more confusing. It's one grand, not ten Franklins.

Let's see. What are some possibilities? Well, there's that Katrina thing down in New Orleans or Tsunamis in Asia. You can't go wrong dropping a grand on that. How about your church? Yeah, you can drop a grand on your religion. After all, religions are all about giving and helping others, right? Soup kitchens, homeless shelters. That's a good way to go. The arts? Sure, theatre, music groups, local festivals. Education? Well, why not. Maybe your alma mater or local school system. Those kids could learn something other than reading, writing & 'rithmetic. Medicine? All right, donate toward some cure for cancer or leukemia or what have you. That's nice. Environmental groups? All right. Local Police & Fire Departments? You're pushing it, but yeah, go for it. Political parties? Um, let's stay away from things like that, shall we? We're trying to unite folks. Anyway, you decide. You know what will make you feel the best.

As individuals, it doesn't seem like much. One thousand dollars toward some charity or volunteer organization. Kind of like one vote doesn't seem like that much, right? But you put 300 million thousand-dollar donations together, and watch how much our society would change for the better.

Watch the value of the dollar rise. Watch the good feelings and personal pride swell in our citizens. Watch the good vibes rise above our everyday struggles. Watch many of our social issues improve. All with millions of thousand-dollar donations.

To make this come true, all we have to do is go back in time and stop the Iraq War from happening. Let the President know what will happen and how much it will cost. Show him it's a lot easier to defeat terrorists with benevolence and charity than brute force and occupation. I'm sure he'll see there's a better choice than war, right? P.S. You won't get the Iraqi oil if you go to war.

300 billion dollars and counting. That's what this war is costing America. Trying to create a fledgling democracy with people who don't speak English (and more to the point, that we care very little about), who don't work well with others, and as result, Americans and Arabs are dying EVERY SINGLE DAY! Oh yeah, and after $300 billion invested, it's still going to get worse before it gets better.

I would have much rather played the thousand-dollar donation game.

Chris Jungle would have dropped his grand on a local theatre.