Escape From The Everyday

For some reason, I have retained this phrase from my youth: "It's kind of like putting a porcupine in charge of a balloon factory." I'm not sure from whence this little gem came, but it finally has a home as I read that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is visiting Iraq. Perhaps he thought that actual gunfire might be easier to dodge than the allegations that he lied, forgot, or is just plain bad at his job. Now he is over in Iraq to meet with department officials who have been there to help fashion the country's legal system.
Gonzales also was an author of U.S. policy on the treatment of prisoners abroad and a 2002 memo saying the president had the right to waive laws and treaties that protect war prisoners. Maybe this guy is best suited for a job in the Middle East. His vision of the world is somewhat different from what shows up on the nightly news. Gonzales said, "I am pleased to see firsthand ... the progress that the men and women of the Justice Department have made to rebuild Iraq's legal system and law enforcement infrastructure." This was his assessment of a country in the midst of sectarian lawlessness that would make Tombstone, Arizona jealous. Like most things happening in Iraq these days, I guess we just don't understand it the same way that the pinheads in charge do. From here it looks a lot like anarchy. Welcome to the Balloon Factory, Mister Porcupine.