did we get our money's worth?

the US government has been holding osama bin laden's dead sister's brain for years now, stored just for an occasion such as this.

according to a news report amongst the deluge of news reports following the assassination of the erstwhile evilist man in the world, and evil incarnate, the late bin laden sibling was eviscerated with the utmost respect for islamic law and tradition, so that her body parts could be used for DNA testing when the famous brother's remains would one day be scrutinized for a geraldo rivera TV spectacular -- like al capone's vault...

can we be serious for a moment? now that the hyped-up hoopla is beginning to subside, and the euphoria of our over-the-top celebratory binge has begun to wear off, the shell-shocked realization has set in -- that nothing has changed, and the USA continues its descent in a death spiral.

it was not enough in this spectacle-starved freak show to simply wax this creature of our dark imaginings with a hellfire missile fired by a pilotless drone. no, the hired assassins were brought in, a daring helicopter raid executed with military efficiency.

the last time we saw a mission completed with this kind of gung-ho determination was when the hijackers flew jets into the twin towers and the pentagon -- and they weren't even uniformed military.

or so we're told.

it was a hell of an operation, and it'll make a hell of a movie. in place of shooting a guy in his pajamas, we can have the apocalyptic last stand of the white hats against the black hats, and in this version of the story there's no ambiguity about who's who.

the last time osama bin laden had made a splash in the US media was when he endorsed the reelection of dubya bush back in november, 2004. even then, he was fading from the scene, replaced by other aspirants to the dark pantheon of america's sworn enemies. eclipsed by saddam, and soon to be overshadowed by zarqawi, it's tough work keeping atop america's enemies list...

yet somehow, osama endured while the others lost out in the elimination round of this most insidious form of the survivor franchise.

meanwhile, the empire has grown wobbly during the long, drawn out search for our nemesis -- the one who seduced us into joining this orgy of death and destruction that has gradually drained the treasury and shown us at our most un-idealistic. along the way, the world has gradually lost interest in the US' wailing and caterwauling about every little slight. instead of strength and self-assurance, the US has demonstrated that it is just another basket case, a banana republic.

nobody loves you when you're down and out.

the US has proved it can kill anybody it likes, but it can't stop gasoline from going to $4 a gallon, or even $5 or $6.

the wealthiest, most powerful nation in the history of the world could've ended in a better place than this, needing to kill its own creation just to buoy public spirits during a lengthening and deepening period of economic decline. osama is just an example of how this country treats its friends: a bullet to the head when one has outlived one's usefulness.

when you lose your job, your home is foreclosed on and you have to apply for foodstamps, it will be well worth asking, did we get our money's worth from our investment in this CIA asset from the 1980s?