2,000th U.S. soldier dies in Afghanistan

Yet another grim landmark has been reached this week, as the 2,000th U.S. soldier died in Afghanistan. Over 3,000 NATO troops have died during this decade-long war, and countless civilians have been killed by both enemy fighters and American and NATO attacks.

In Iraq, where some 3-4,000 American troops are still stationed, nearly 4,500 troops died, while modest estimates put Iraqi civilian deaths at well over 100,000.

The U.S. has committed to remain in Afghanistan for another ten years following the official NATO withdrawal, scheduled for 2014.

'Don't know much about history...': 'U.S. History Lesson' video removed from YouTube

Hmm...seems the "U.S. History Lesson" video of high school kids stumbling through a few questions from the test taken by applicants for U.S. citizenship, which I reposted here, has been removed from YouTube by whoever first posted it. Maybe a little too scary even for the World Wide Intertubes. Or maybe the firestorm it created was just too hot for the poster. Scariest part being that most of these kids didn't even care that they couldn't answer these few basic questions.

Here are a few of the questions that were just too hard for these "students":

What Democrat is running for President of the U.S.?

(No clue. One kid guessed Romney.)

Who is Vice President of the U.S.?

(Again, no winner. Dick Cheney and Hillary Clinton were as close as anyone came.)

What countries border the U.S.?

(Guesses included Florida, Texas, and Maine. But you guessed it, no winner.)
Name a country that begins with the letter U.
(Utah seemed to be the concensus, but Utopia also received an honorable mention.)

In what war did the U.S. gain its independence?

(Blind stabs into the murky darkness of history included WW I, WW II, the Civil War, and the Cold War. No one answered correctly. One kid kept asking, "In what aspect?"--whatever that meant)

How many stars are on the U.S. flag?

(51? 52? who knows? whatever...wait, just got a text.)

Updated 6/17/2012