What a difference a year makes

This week is the one-year anniversary of the Democratic take-over (at least on paper) of both houses of Congress--but lest we forget, it's also been 12 months since Bush gave Rumsfeld the old heave-ho.

And how's it going for Rummy these days? Well, let's see:

This week the Washington Post released a truckload of his legendary micromanaging memos--called "snowflakes" by their hapless recipients, who got anywhere from 20 to 60 per day--showing the Full Rummy, from bigoted boor to PR meddler to tinpot philosopher.

Through a spokesperson, Rumsfeld made known his displeasure with the release of these memos. But however embarrassing they might be for Rummy in the short run, at least their publication won't force him to high-tail it across any international borders to avoid prosecution:

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld fled France today [October 29th, 2007] fearing arrest over charges of "ordering and authorizing" torture of detainees at both the American-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the U.S. military's detainment facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, unconfirmed reports coming from Paris suggest.

U.S. embassy officials whisked Rumsfeld away yesterday from a breakfast meeting in Paris organized by the Foreign Policy magazine after human rights groups filed a criminal complaint against the man who spearheaded President George W. Bush's "war on terror" for six years.

Under international law, authorities in France are obliged to open an investigation when a complaint is made while the alleged torturer is on French soil.

So now we can add France to the list of countries Donald Rumsfeld dare not set foot in openly. America couldn't be more proud.