I finally figured out what to do with Saddam Hussein

[jmowreader]

Let's not execute him.

Let's not jail him for life.

Let's let him out of prison and give him a job in the federal government.

(No, I'm not serious. They need to find a nice prison scullery somewhere on the West Coast--the one at San Quentin will do--and have Saddam wash dishes there until he dies of natural causes. No, getting shanked in prison does NOT count as natural causes.)

Compared to the members of the latest list of Bush recess appointments (which you will find at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x55074), Saddam is supremely qualified. Saddam, unlike almost any of the people on that list, has worked in the public sector. He's not a defense contractor, he didn't raise half a million dollars for the Republican Party, and he's not a Bush crony.

When you consider that Saddam did what no Middle Eastern dictator has ever done--kept his country from turning into a theocracy--he's got to have some serious political skills. Look, the guy's a fucking thug, but all Middle Eastern leaders, and most of the Bush administration, are too.

So let me see...appointing a bunch of George Bush's unqualified friends to high government posts, or putting Saddam in charge of the Federal Railroad Board. Which is worse? And you know what they say about dictators--they know how to make the trains run on time.

[...of J.Temperance]

1. Well, either that or lets give Saddam his own Reality TV show n/t

[jmowreader]

4. People would WATCH that. I think you're right.

A better reality show would be "The Toady."

Fourteen freepers would compete in a series of tasks. One would get fired each week. The last freeper standing receives a $250,000 contract to be a Bush Toady for a year. (On edit: the thirteen fired freepers would all receive four-year contracts to serve in Iraq as infantry.)

[...of J.Temperance]

6. They would

Your idea is very good..."The Toady"...you need to sell your idea to a network and fast :)

[enigma000]

2. President? n/t

[jmowreader]

3. He was born in Iraq, so he can't be President

There are plenty of jobs he could fill, though...

I think he'd probably be okay at the Bureau of Reclamation. This agency's job is to supply water to the arid regions of the American Southwest. Iraq has a similar situation--most of the people and the water are in different places there. He's had to deal with water management issues, although the way he dealt with them is one of the charges he's up on. Three-quarters of the American people don't even know this agency exists, although it's a very important one, and seven-eighths of the people who know about the agency neither know nor care who runs it. Therefore, stick Saddam there. No one will ever know he's working for the government.

[enigma000]

5. He might do something "outside the box"

You want water? Try Canada. Lots of lakes in the Western provinces and the territories. A proactive go-getter like Saddam, with the military resources of the US government, could make a land grab. He's fought for oil so why not water?