Rummy goes bye bye

It’s been confirmed by the medical examiner that Florida botched an execution this week, essentially having to execute the guy twice. The first time, the needle was stuck not into the vein, but all the way through it, so that the chemicals went into his flesh, burning it. Jeb Bush suspends executions until March. Elsewhere, a federal district judge continues a suspension of executions in California, saying that its lethal injection regimen is so painful that it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. In the last 3 executions here, the prisoner may have been conscious (but paralyzed) when the hot shot went in.

On his way out as secretary of war, Donald Rumsfeld went on Fox, took some pot shots at the UN, Kofi Annan, at Old Europe, which he decried for spending less than 2% of their GDP on the military, which he blamed on their aging populations and the fact that “They have large numbers of Muslims in their population”. He said for I believe the third time this week that Bush is the “victim of his success,” because 9/11 “caused our country to recognize there was a problem, a threat; that we were vulnerable, that we as free people, by our very way of life, put ourselves at risk, and our openness. And the farther we get away from September 11th, the less concern there is about that threat.” I’m suddenly reminded of Bob Dole in 1996, repeatedly asking “Where’s the outrage?” Bushies keep asking where’s the mindless fear they used to such advantage. Asked his greatest regret, he said, “Oh, goodness. I guess that one would have hoped that the -- Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts would have been concluded more rapidly.” He “guesses” that one would have hoped that. Guesses. And on Abu Ghraib, he again blamed the “midnight shift,” who ignored his clear instructions to treat prisoners humanely, “And it just was -- you know, look at what happens in the United States in any given day and any given night in any given city -- some very bad things happen.” Naked human pyramids? Only if the given city is San Francisco. “Human beings are not perfect. ... And that’s not what our country does.” Really? Because I’ve seen the pictures.

And then it was party time! Or at least a “full honor review,” whatever one of those might be. Bush said of Rummy, “We’ve been through war together.” Sure you have. Said, “He took ballistic missile defense from theory to reality.” Did you know we can shoot ICBMs down now? When did that happen? And Bush gave him his highest accolade: “It was easy to understand him.” There we agree. It was easy to understand Rumsfeld. He was a douchebag.