Commentary

The (continuing) banality of evil

Some American soldiers who used to guard Saddam Hussein found him to be a friendly, talkative “clean freak” who loved Raisin Bran for breakfast. He can also apparently scarf down a whole bag of Doritos in 10 minutes. Here’s the article. Maybe it should be filed under “cheesy” instead of banal, but we’ve long known that Saddam is also a romance novelist whose titles include The Fortified Castle and Zabidah and the King, which tells the tale of a lonely king who falls in love with a beautiful peasant woman who reminds him that his subjects need his strict laws. And there’s also that musical drama critic, Kim Jong Il, author ofââ?¬â??among other titlesââ?¬â??On the Art of Opera: Talk to Creative Workers in the Field of Art and Literature.