Neighborhood Fable.

L and H live in the same house. It's L's house, but H lives there, too.

Their next door neighbor is I, who is newer on the block. It was a big scandal when I moved in 50 years ago, because for as long as anyone could remember, it was P's house. Now P rents the basement. The neighborhood didn't approve of this, but in the interest of peace, they've all learned to live with it. Also, I is heavily armed.

Well, recently the feud between I and H has heated up again, they're actually launching rockets at each other. I claims it's retaliation, but it's poor L who is really suffering, the beautiful cedar house going up in flames. In the interest of humanity, I has warned L's kids to leave. Plenty of L's children have died and are dying.

Well, the entire world has noticed the warfare between H and I, and they are all screaming stop stop stop cease fire cease fire. All except for Condoleeza Rice, who prefers that the warfare continue until a more permanent solution can be reached. Keep killing each other, and wrecking L's house, until you figure out how to get along. I'll try to swing by next weekend, she says, sternly.

Is Ms. Rice a parent? A homeowner? Does she understand... stuff? She should, she's a university professor and a concert pianist. But let's be real. Take a hard look at her, and you'll see she's carrying another man's water. A stupid, stupid man.