Future

Once upon a time there was a high school. It was a beautiful high school, and rich in history, being more than 200 years old, and everybody in town wanted to attend it.

With its fine roots in liberal education and the almost unprecedented power over their own destinies that it bestowed upon its students, it was unlike any other high school in the district, or indeed, the state. At the turn of the last century, whole families, many of them Irish and Eastern European, moved across town so that they'd be zoned for it. The high school welcomed them with open arms, but the students weren’t so kind.

It is my sad duty to report that many of these new students were beaten up, or had their lockers vandalized. Thankfully, things settled down, and the high school was once again a harmonious whole.

In the 40s, there was a shameless and dangerous power grab by a school superintendent a few districts over. He was intent upon eventually absorbing every school in the state into his district, under his control, and decreeing with a wave of his hand who could stay and who could not.

Fortunately, the president of the student body, a well-liked disabled guy named Frank, worked tirelessly with the other schools until the superintendent was voted safely out of office.

But our story begins about fifteen years ago with the election of a Jock to Student Body President.

The Jock was a nice guy, everybody liked him, and there was no denying that he had charm. He was a great guy to grab a burger with, and, whoever you were, you felt like the Jock knew where you were coming from. At this time - actually, to this day - the Jock was going steady with someone who defied high school logic.

Judgment Day

Saddam is gone.

(Unless you subscribe to an X-Files style last minute switch, and he really is on an island somewhere planning to live out his US funded retirement)

After watching the various conversations in the Bloggo-sphere its evident a wide range of opinions are well represented. Some say capital punishment is wrong in all cases. Some say its wrong to “celebrate” the death (or any death). Some say he had it coming. Some say he should have been tried in an International court. Some say he should have been held to account by his own people, yet the court that did hold him to account was a puppet court of the US. Some say a hundred other things in a hundred different styles. Some say it was all fair and square.

Some say he has now met his maker and let God sort it out.

He was judged by his peers, his friends, his enemies, his family, his God – himself. Judged by as many different methods as there are people doing the judging by whatever formulae happens to be in fashion by the people and at the place and time.

Rather unreliable method of measure if you ask me. Yet wars are fought over it, and more often than not in the name of God.

By carefully watching BBC CNN FOX DRUDGE etc etc he was not turned over to local Iraqi authorities, he WAS turned over to local Iraqi authorities, he was buried in Tikrit, he WAS NOT buried in Tikrit, he was a tyrant who deserved what he got, he was a puppet of the US and the true villains were let off scott free, and numerous other versions of the story. I’m sure the history books will sort it out.