God's blessings on America would be good. I'd ask for prosperity, generosity, intelligence, opportunity, and peace.

Apparently some people think of other divine blessings. Like the Bronze Age Hebrews, they pray for God's blessing in war.

From McCain's Website, we learn his position on Iraq: "I know the pain war causes. I understand the frustration caused by our mistakes in this war. And I regret sincerely the additional sacrifices imposed on the brave Americans who defend us. But I also know the toll a lost war takes on an army and on our country's security."

McCain says that Obama's policies would "lose" us this war in Iraq. This has puzzled me no end. What does it mean to "win" a war that we should never have started in the first place?

Who, exactly, are we fighting ? now that there are no WMDs, and the link to al Qaeda is shown to be another Bush-Cheney lie, and the White House doesn't like the way democracy is going in Iraq so that excuse is down the drain too? We're fighting "insurgents"? What does that mean?

Would that be anything like the American freedom-fighters of the 1770s, or Nelson Mandela's relentless drive for native black parity with Afrikaner-whites?

"Our goal is an Iraq that no longer needs American troops," McCain's Website states. Isn't it interesting that Iraq now "needs" the troops that devastated it in the first place? No, I'm not bashing the troops.

They are honor-bound to obey a commander-in-chief who has blatantly put the interests of his rich buddies far above any interests those soldiers have in life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness.

And how exactly is McCain proposing to pay for his ongoing war, not to mention the staggering debt incurred by his presidential mentor? I haven't yet found out.

I see tax cuts for everyone in his plan ? especially corporations, as if tax cuts were at all relevant to retaining U.S. jobs (hint: they're not) ? but I don't see a plan for paying down the debt or financing more war.

Oh well, God bless America! Honestly, if you can't come up with a viable plan, you can always invoke the deity. And you can bet that God wears an American flag lapel pin.

George Carlin was in town last year for a show at the Gallagher-Bluedorn. He seemed off his game, reading from notes, losing his train of thought, not getting the same stressed-out laughs as in olden times. As it turned out, he died some months later.

But that night, Carlin got on a roll with his "God Bless America" rant. If God blesses America, shouldn't God also bless Puerto Rico, Thailand, Norway, Rwanda, and Venezuela? While we're at it, why not bless Afghanistan, North Korea, and Iraq too?

Why do Americans think they are God's chosen ones? And really, why would we think God cares who wins a football game, a golf tournament, or a wrestling match?

It was rapid-fire funny ? and it set me to thinking. It appears to be an anthropological fact that many religious people (as opposed to spiritual people) tend to believe that God is on their side in all of their endeavors and desires, even the most trivial or venal. Janis Joplin immortalized this attitude with her wonderful riff, "Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?" Reverend Ike, a 1970s televangelist, used to shout to cheering congregations, "I don't want my pie in the sky, bye and bye! I want it right here! Right now! And so do you!" Then they would all pray for a bigger piece of the pie.

All those "God Bless America" bumper stickers that seemed to multiply a million-fold after 9/11 ? what do they signify?

The righteous invoking the powers of deity against the godless foreigner? But this is always the position of extremists, whether Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, or anything else.

Besides, Muslims believe in the very same God that Christians and Jews believe in, so why wouldn't God bless Iran?

How could anyone possibly believe that God wants us to "win" this war? I'm not saying that McCain believes it, though he may ? but many of his ardent supporters do.

Why would God choose to favor war-mongers?

Of all the mind tricks human beings are capable of playing on themselves, self-deception ranks as among the most destructive, and religious self-deception is a remarkably persistent type, especially when coupled with extreme patriotism. I'll have more on self-deception in another column, God willing.