Lynndie England vs. John Belushi

When I put up my last post, I was worried that the punchline – a reference to Rush Limbaugh's comparison of Abu Ghraib torture to fraternity pranks – might be a little overplayed. Thank God for torture prober James Schlesinger, who again invoked this appalling analogy at today's press conference:

"There was sadism on the night shift at Abu Ghraib, sadism that was certainly not authorized," Schlesinger said. "It was kind of Animal House on the night shift."

Most media outlets are treating the report [pdf] as a major slap to the Pentagon, with headlines full of "sadism" and Rumsfeld's tarnished reputation. The Animal House remark shows how seriously the U.S. government takes Abu Ghraib. If these probes are only going to trivialize torture, then it would be better to just call them off now, save the money, and retain some vestige of shame.