A sad and embarrassing day for Florida. Especially the people of the 3rd District of the US House of Representatives. Our esteemed Representative, Madam Corrine Brown has gone off and let go with her loose cannon of a mouth...again.
Wednesday she, along with other members of the Florida delegation met with State Department officials regarding the crisis in Haiti. Ms. Brown, a democrat with a capital "D" and exclamation point for emphasis, sitting directly across from Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega, tore into him, screaming into her microphone. According to Fox News she accused "Republican leaders of being "racist" in their policies toward the Caribbean nation, which is almost entirely black, and called the president's representatives "a bunch of white men."
But that wasn't enough for the outspoken Ms. Brown. After Mr. Noriega reminded her of his heritage to which Ms. Brown retorted, "You all look alike to me."
Come on Corrine. Had a Republican/Conservative white man made a similar comment you would have been first in line to call for his resignation and call him a racist of the worst kind. Of course had a Democrat/Liberal made such a "slip", you'd given him a pass. Professional courtesy, you know.
But no, this time it was Corrine. Our champion of racial tolerance and equality displaying the ugly evil of racial discrimination.
Ms. Brown has issued an apology, of sorts. It's actually more of an excuse. She says it was a "heated exchange." Reportedly it was more of a one sided diatribe than an exchange. In her "apology" Ms. Brown states, "It wasn't meant to be a racist comment. I was speaking of the delegation that came over from the State Department. They brought no females; no one of color came over in that group."
In her official statement Ms. Brown says, "my comments, as they relate to white men, were aimed at the policies of the Bush administration as they pertain to Haiti, which I do consider to be racist." Really? Seems you responded to Mr. Noriega, a Mexican-American, as you looked around at Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Mario Diaz-Balart, who are Cuban House Representaives from Florida. The comment was directly aimed at these men, not an ambiguous administration.
Spin it how you may Corrine, you showed your true colors Wednesday. Admit it, you are racist. Worse, a racist with no self-control. The folk of the 3rd District should call you...gone.

..., I've needed some time to digest the emotional and thought provoking experience that is "The Passion of the Christ." I have never felt such ache and pain, such revulsion, such...emptiness and ...guilt. That it was for...me that He suffered through the brutality that is the Roman scourging...the cross.
I have understood and known for years of the brutality of the Roman Empire. They were not known as a kind hearted, soft and cuddly civilization. The Romans were well known in their time as the most violent of men. They took no thought to killing and maiming. It was their way of life. Yet to intellectually know that is one thing. To visually experience it another.
To see what Jesus bore at the hands of other men who whole heartedly enjoyed what they were doing. To see the flesh ripped from His body, even though I knew it was special effects. To see the loss of blood, of dignity, of life itself. Most people will ask why? And Jesus answered that question, "No one has greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (Joh 15:13 MSG)
I reached the point in the film where I was too numb to cry, though I felt as though I could do nothing but cry. I cringed as the whip bit into He flesh and held as the soldiers pulled back on it. I felt like I was violating a truly intimate moment as mother, Mary, and son, Jesus beheld each other for the final time.
But I knew the end of the story. The Resurrection would not have been possible without the Crucifixion. The head of the serpent not crushed had not Jesus' been "wounded and bruised" (Gen. 3:15)
This is a turning point event. Not necessarily for civilizations or nations, but for individuals. All who see "The Passion..." will be affected. Most probably they will see what they expect to see. Richard Roper, Chicago film critic expressed concern that the critics "brought their agenda" to their reviews. See the video if it is still available under FNC Interviews, "Mixed Reviews."
When Bill O'Reilly asked him, "people will ask is it worth their two hours" Roper responded "yes...it is a very strong, important and challenging film." As Bill said, it is a difficult film to view and all who see it will do so bringing their own baggage but if you go with the attitude of "'what am I going to learn from this?' then it is certainly worthwhile." I say, more than worthwhile, life changing.

If you are a regular visitor to this blog you may have noticed the two new badges, Atom and Bloglines. Blogger has implemented (or maybe they had it before and I just found it) a service to provide an automatic "XML" feed for member blogs.
If you aren't familiar with the term, it is a relatively new phenomena where news feeds can be made available in a simple text format with links to the underlying article. It makes for configuring a news feed to an individuals personal interests without having to wade through the tons of news and information available on the web.
Blogger converts a clip of each blog using Atom, then using Bloglines, you can configure a list of blogs that are of interest. I've just begun using the service and find it a quick way to review the ruminations of others as they opine and report. There is a huge list to search that includes lots of big name blogs like World Magazine, Terry Mattingly, Jewish World Review and on and on. Subjects cover the spectrum from computing to news and politics, religion, decor and design, you name it someone is blogging it.
And if on the off chance you find a niche no one is blogging, you can start your own using Blogger. If you're interested, click on the Bloglines link to check it out and subscribe, there's no subscription fee.
Tomorrow Karen and I will be heading to the theatre to see Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. I anxiously anticipate the experience, yet I have a feeling the experience will be profound beyond words. I'll try to jot down my thought afterwards.

I haven't watched CBS's 60 Minutes in a long time. My work schedule just won't allow me the luxury of staying up late enough for it. Still, I remember when I did get the chance, I enjoyed watching Andy Rooney go off on some tirade that often kept me snickering, if not out right laughing.
Maybe just as I am seeing the effect time is having on me, Andy's also losing something as he hits his mid 80's. While I'm sure he thought his commentary Sunday was funny, there also was a barb, and this time I had to wonder about Andy.
I wonder about his spiritual journey. Does he have one? Has he experienced a life changing encounter with the God of the universe? Does he know the deep peace of being committed to something, to someone so much bigger than himself that you can barely grasp what it, who He is. So much so you are compelled to take on faith the enormity of it all?
Certainly Andy has had a long and colorful career in the news business. His life experience far exceeds my own. But I wonder, is he ready for the greatest experience one could imagine? Is he ready to meet his maker, to stand at that moment in time and know he is prepared for the most important commentary of his life? He is, if he has knelt at the cross. I pray if he has yet to do so, he will. Even at 85, a cantankerous old journalist can know the tender heart of God, if he will set aside the cynicism and open his eyes and heart.

The debate continues over the presence of WMD in Iraq. Some dare to question if there ever was any, despite the decades of documentation. David Kay threw a cloak over the discussion, saying there was historically, but he didn't find any WMD stockpiles. This amid statements to the contrary, both his and those of other experts.
Perhaps, as so aptly stated by Rolf Ekeus in World Magazine, we are looking for the wrong thing. His sources indicate that Saddam's regime was abandoning stockpiling WMD for developing the ability to quickly produce it. As Rolf puts it, "focusing too much on what he calls the hardware, or actual WMD stockpiles, rather than evidence of a more sophisticated program to produce just-in-time weapons."
He believes Charles Duelfer, David Kay's replacement as head of the inspection team, will focus more on the "software" rather than the "hardware" of WMD. Perhaps this will help to shift the discussion away from actual ability to intent. In criminal law, intent to commit a crime is as chargeable an offense as actually committing the crime.
With Saddam in our custody, perhaps we should, as Michael Ramirez in the LA Times put it so aptly and bluntly in this editorial cartoon, "Look no further."