Throwing Shoes At Bush

Muntadhar al-Zaidi literally threw his shoes at George W. Bush.

From Iraqi journalist throws shoes at Bush in Baghdad:

A man identified as an Iraqi journalist threw shoes at -- but missed -- President Bush during a news conference Sunday evening in Baghdad, where Bush was making a farewell visit.

Bush ducked, and the shoes, flung one at a time, sailed past his head during the news conference with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in his palace in the heavily fortified Green Zone.

The shoe-thrower -- identified as Muntadhar al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist with Egypt-based al-Baghdadia television network -- could be heard yelling in Arabic: "This is a farewell ... you dog!"

While pinned on the ground by security personnel, he screamed: "You killed the Iraqis!"

Bush, never one to resist an opportunity to prove that he is an insensitive clod, joked about the incident:

Al-Zaidi was dragged away. While al-Zaidi was still screaming in another room, Bush said: "That was a size 10 shoe he threw at me, you may want to know."

I hope that Muntadhar al-Zaidi is not punished severely for this. He is not responsible for killing, maiming, and destroying people’s lives. Bush, on the other hand, is. Bush is the one who should be punished.

What would it be like if Muntadhar al-Zaidi has started some kind of movement? I imagine a future where Bush is inundated with shoes everywhere he goes for the rest of his life.

On the other hand, or foot, the Justice Department has found a way to throw some figurative shoes at George W. Bush.

From Justice Dept. Times Cases For Obama's Arrival by Ari Shapiro:

Some lawyers who have worked at the Justice Department for years say they are delaying certain cases in hopes that the Obama administration will give them more attention than they received from the Bush administration.

That is especially true in parts of the Civil Rights Division, where the Obama administration's priorities are expected to be very different from those of the current administration.

Civil rights prosecutors also say they are dusting off old investigations that have sat untouched for years. They hope new leaders will take interest in those old cases, which makes some companies that have long been under investigation nervous.