Wild Goings-On in Nation's Capital

Is it any wonder that folks outside Washington think the nation's capital is a zoo?

Item: Three years after soldier Pat Tillman was killed by friendly fire in Iraq, the Pentagon tried to come clean by naming high-ranking officers who bungled the matter.

At first, the Defense Department played up Tillman's celebrity to depict him as a hero fighting evil. It was long after the tragedy that the truth was revealed.

Tillman was the pro football player who gave up a huge salary with the Arizona Cardinals to go to war.

The Tillman family wants a formal investigation by Congress. They are entitled to it.

Item: A Justice Department official opts for the protection of the Fifth Amendment rather than testify in a congressional probe into the firings of U.S. attorneys. Monica Goodling's action comes after the White House and her department vowed full disclosure in the controversy.

A lawyer for the government taking the Fifth to avoid self-incrimination boggles the mind. And a White House spokesman claimed the poisonous atmosphere by Democrats makes it justifiable for her to duck questioning. You don't know whether to laugh or cry at such a ridiculous claim.

Item: Probably the biggest tax cheat in history avoids paying back the government for millions in avoiding income taxes. The reason: The Justice Department cited the wrong statute in bringing the criminal case.

How could this happen? In a few weeks, you and I will file our federal and state tax returns. Many of us will have to pony up some money to both jurisdictions.

At times you have to agree with the old saw that in our nation's capital it is impossible to organize a two-car funeral.