Avenge me, son.

So, the Simpsons went 'Into the Wild' in a half-assed RV. Needless to say, this inevitably leads to Homer being pin-cushioned with trank darts. Before he drifts into dreamland, his last words are that ever-trope of mythology:

"Avenge me, son."

Whether fodder for crack comedy writers or bible-scale tragedians, those three words have launched countless tales. Happily, we are currently at the end of one.

The minty-fresh President of the United States signed a president-type paper today. It gives notice to that weird American outpost in Cuba. All the desperate orange-y men will have to leave chain-link-0-land and go elsewhere. One can only hope it's to a more humane place. Crawford, Texas, maybe? They can help clear the...sage...or whatever the hell it was that 43 was pushing around down there.

The other president-y thing signed today was that declaration of 'No More Torture, Thanks.' Bill O'Reilly's head may explode. He LOVED that 'enhanced interrogation' stuff. At least, when I could get through the spittle aimed at the camera as he blew hard, that's what it looked and sounded like. But whaddya expect from that guy?

Nah, you can't blame Bill. He's not really a journalist. And it's those punks that have some questions to answer. For instance, in the course of eight blighty years, not one of their number, to my knowledge, raised the following:

"Why would you authorize a practice that your own father, the Hero Pilot, might have been subjected to in WWII?"

After all, waterboarding has been recognized as torture for some time. As such it's been repudiated in the strongest language possible and further, prosecuted against. Yet...

The mythological pull of filial vengeance was stronger. And the will to persevere towards its icky conclusions - wherein senior and otherwise respected lawyers can put a primature on crushing the testicles of a child if 'The President says so'.

Nice work, fellas.

Conditions were created - and seemingly encouraged - such that low-hanging fruit - a few bad apples, if you will - can claim to be simply following orders and ably take the fall. Hannah Arendt - not that she was much for fun - would have a field day with that one.

The epic fail is over, thank the seven sisters. The era of stupid Roman vengeance is passed. And now that it is, Homer wakes up from his traqui-delic stupor.

"Thanks for the vengeance, son".