It’s tough to understand exactly what point Marie Kolasinski is trying to make by flying the flag upside down at her Piecemakers craft store in Costa Mesa.

She told reporter Alan Blank it’s because America is “in distress” and that it has lost its values.

Uh, well, OK. I guess we are in distress. It’s hard to argue against that. Out-of-control debt and joblessness certainly bear witness to that point. Have we lost our values? We sure have. America has become a generally fat, lazy, stupid and debt-ridden country. I could list the reasons how, but just take a look at the TV listings if you really need proof. I’ll propose Paris Hilton’s new show as Exhibit A. The video game “Grand Theft Auto” is Exhibit B. In all seriousness, though, even worse is the drip-drip of disturbing revelations about torture emerging as the clock winds down on the Bush administration.

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