Justice Bedsworth, Homeland Security, and the Peter Principle Collapse in a Heap of Ice Chips

If U.S. Supreme Court Justices can rise above their Green Bag bobblehead replicas, and state court judges survive becoming piñatas, then surely the Department of Homeland Security can survive Justice Bedsworth’s forked tongue (and the Peter Principle)?

“Weaponized Snow Cones,” by Justice William W. Bedsworth, A Criminal Waste of Space, February 2012:

“I am not cut out to be an administrator. I have neither talent for, nor interest in, things administrative.

This admission has caused much weeping and gnashing of teeth in the Governor’s Office, since it means they’ll have to choose someone else for the Presiding Judge gig at our court – and Tommy Lasorda has already turned them down…..
….
The job just requires skills I don’t have. Exhibit A: I have a life-sized papier mâché piñata in my chambers. (There was a guy at the swap meet who would make you a piñata of anything for $50; Kelly couldn’t resist.) Perfect replica, right down to the beard, cowboy boots, silver-framed glasses, and six-pack abs.

I thought I had the perfect idea: We get piñatas made of all the judges on our court. Then, after oral arguments, we hang ‘em up outside the courtroom and charge the attorneys $100 to whack ‘em with a stick. I figured we’d be the only court in the system that would make money….” [Link to full column.]

Just in case you’ve made it this far: Lowering the Bar website