Reality as once upon a what-if

Is it me, or do these news story leads currently linking from the Yahoo front page seem a bit like one of those "What if" historical movies you saw as a kid? You know, like what if we'd lost WWII? Or, what if the Russians had invaded?

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday came under mounting international pressure to close its Guantanamo prison... United Nations special envoys said the United States was violating a host of human rights, including a ban on torture, arbitrary detention and the right to a fair trial.
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WASHINGTON (AFP) - US government lawyers say inmates held at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay cannot challenge their detention by invoking the US Constitution.
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OSLO (Reuters) - Backers of the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol renewed their pleas to the United States on Thursday to do more to fight global warming...
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Since when did the other guys become the good guys fighting for justice and liberty? Since when did we lose so much of our fabled American gumption that we'd preemptively cede save-the-world bragging rights? What's this world coming to? Or, rather, where'd it go? Superman, where are you? Batman? Webslinger?