Maddie was building a castle out of blocks on the living room floor, and she overheard political!Joy and I talking about Iraq, etc. She asked:

"Is Iraq bad or good now?"

"They're on our team, now." Mental correction. "We're on they're team. We're helping them."

"Then who are we fighting?"

"We're helping Iraq fight two other countries with bad governments: Syria and Iran."

"Why are they fighting Iraq?"

"Because they don't like the new government in Iraq. They're afraid of it, and they're trying to ruin it."

"Oh. And we're helping Iraq against those other guys?"

"Yep."

"Okay."

As I stepped outside, I heard her singing "God Bless America", which I don't know if she's ever even heard at home. Must have learned it at school, so at least it's good for something.