I'm amazed at how many facets there are to the execution of Saddam Hussein. On the grandest scale, it symbolizes the entire history of American involvement in Iraq. Sleazy. Cheap. Barbaric.

It also represents the complete loss of credibility of the Bush regime. The long decline began with the "Mission Accomplished" stunt in May, 2003. Bush in his flight suit, and now Saddam in his oversized noose. Such theater Shakespeare could only dream of.

Saddam indeed became an entertainment figure on U.S. television, with his courtroom disruptions making for better drama than the networks could come up with in their boring offerings. Far more entertaining than Bush, I might add.

On another level, Saddam's hanging points out the absurdity and malevolence of capital punishment. The hooded executioners taunting him until the end, the clumsiness of the procedure, and the macabre atmosphere spoke volumes of the immorality of the practice.

At its best, capital punishment is still premeditated murder. Someone has to be hired to deliberately kill another human being. The message this gives to society is that it is okay to kill other people as long as you have "justification." Of course, justification is in the mind of the beholder.

And on yet another level, the execution sets a precedent for punishment of political leaders. If killing one country's president is acceptable, why not others? A Pandora's box may have been opened. Once you have warmed people to the practice, they might develop a taste for more. I believe life without parole at hard labor would be the appropriate punishment for the Bush crime family, but the tide of history might be moving in another direction.

And finally, Saddam's execution may bring about many unintended consequences. Many writers, including Robert Fisk, Eric Margolis, and Robert Parry, are lamenting that the Bush gang wanted Saddam silenced, lest he reveal what he knows about American complicity in the gassing of the Kurds and Iranians, the help he was given in developing weapons of mass destruction, and various other crimes. The hanging was so crudely and hastily carried out that the revulsion it has generated may lead to a full airing of the secrets the Bush gang wants to keep hidden.

One thing can be said for sure. Killing Saddam is no cause for celebration at the White House.

I forgot to mention another aspect of Saddam Hussein's execution. In the past week three famous people died - James Brown, Gerald Ford, and Hussein. They are all equally dead. If death is a penalty, then they all suffered it equally.

Maybe if the death penalty were given a different, more accurate name it would have less appeal. Like intentional introduction to the next realm of existence. None of us living on the material plane knows what the next level is, and it can be a great temptation to think we have control over it. The real appeal of the death penalty is the power to kill. To commit premeditated murder, and get away with it, even be praised for it.

It is one of the weirdest ironies imaginable. Saddam Hussein, one of the most zealous and sadistic mass murderers in human history, being the catalyst for reform of our attitudes toward capital punishment. The grisly execution posted on the Internet shows the practice for what it is: legalized murder.

It was a pretty thrilling game, and Boise State showed real character for hanging in there when the momentum kept turning against them. The creative play-calling did much for making the game the most interesting and enjoyable I have seen in a long time.

Most impressive to me was Boise State's coach, Chris Peterson. He didn't do the usual head coach thing of being angry, impatient, lofty, and unsmiling. He was relaxed, serene, light-hearted, and smiling. For anyone who ever played a high school or college sport, he was the coach we wish we would have had. We all could have been contendas.

As far as meaninglessness, what do any of these games mean anyway? "National champion?" Big deal. Intercollegiate sports are supposed to be part of the educational experience. Athletic competition is supposed to be a character builder. For a phenomenon that has gone too far already, a game of relentless spirit and originality is a healthy breath of fresh air. That has a lot more meaning than a "championship" game that rewards the worst characteristics of our culture: reduction of all values to money, corruption of our youth, and the bastardization of higher education into a platform for professional bread and circus.

I liked it better when the bowls had their own character and tradition. Last night I heard several times the game referred to as the Tostitos Bowl. No mention of Fiesta. Whatever happened to the Bluebonnet Bowl? I think it now has the boring name "Texas Bowl." The "Capital One Bowl?" Please. Next we'll have the Halliburton Bowl. Woops. Better not to give them any ideas.