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christ died for our sins 

you can't see it well but there's razor wire and satellite dishes on the buildings that are constant inspiration. For some reason when I'm thinking my eyes always go there. odd. 

The bit of green from my window. Not much but it reminds me that things grow in this concrete jungle. 

I am simply amazed by this statment by President Bush given to Air Force cadets in Colorado a couple weeks ago: "Some who call themselves realists question whether the spread of democracy in the Middle East should be any concern of ours. But the realists in this case have lost contact with a fundamental reality: America has always been less secure when freedom is in retreat; America is always more secure when freedom is on the march."
I am usually not disposed toward commenting on statements made by Bush. My thoughts concerning him don't reeally matter. I voted for him in 2000 because frankly I hated the alternative. Now I'm ashamed and I won't make that mistake again. I think of Bush as curmudgeon. A hapless victim of his surroundings. I don't think of him as a real leader. But when he mouths words such as these, whether he wrote them or not, he becomes a demagogue of a larger ideological evil. And statements such as these really scare me. I mean we're talking the big "F" word here. . . as in Fascist. And I don't say that lightly.
A week ago Bush was being interviewed on TV, and I'm embarrassed because I can't remember by who, oh yeh Tom Brokaw, anyway, I really liked Bush's replies. They comforted me. Questions that made him seem like he wanted to go to war were quickly answered with "War is always a last resort. I hate war." And it all sounded so good, so nice. Asked if he could see how people could worry about the end result he answered that yes, if he didn't believe the end result would be a better world then he too would be despondent.

So yes, he's got such a hopeful agenda. It seems that finally we're going to undo all the wrong in the world. We're going after the evildoers and we're going to free the Middle East for democracy and if we just trust Bush and his team the world will be fine, and yes we can be assured that God is on his side. But no, this isn't a radical Theocratic agenda its very simple 'cuz they attacked us not we them and we're just gonna finish the job now.

Trouble is I pay attention to the news in the Middle East. And while Bush has his wonderful end in mind based on a strong Military and the good intentions of newly freed governments, the same Israeli government continues confiscating Palestinian land for the good of democracy. And the US keeps slapping hands and saying "Oh behave won't you?" Wink wink nudge nudge. "Let's see what those new Apaches can do." Israel has been for years our democratic model in the Middle East. What hope does that offer for our brave new democratic order in the middle east?

 

I found this ad at Book Expo America this year and its just so God-awful I had to mark it up and post it. Some Christians will stoop to all manner of untruth to sell books. And it works! 

I watched "House of Sand and Fog" (Jennifer Conally/Ben Kingsley) last night on DVD. I've got to say its the most astounding movie I've seen since I can remember. I watch a lot of movies--one every night. But I can't ever remember seeing a movie that dealt with how our living spaces effect our lives overall. And in that way I see this movie as a parable of what's happening in Israel/Palestine right now. Basically the movie follows the lives of two very different people thrown together over ownership of a house. As it was said in the extra features on the disc, at so many points both parties have ample opportunity to end their struggle and keep things from spiraling out of control. In the midst of their desparation they keep confronting each other to give up. Kindnesses are shown repeatedly. Mainly by the Iranian family in control of the house for the young woman (Jennifer Conally) who claims rightful ownership. In my studies of Israeli--Palestinian relations there are so many parallels. There must be hundreds of organizations attempting to bring people together and humanize the struggle. If it bleeds it leads, its true. But the same issues do not go away. But this movie as parable demonstrates, what is the land truly worth? What is this sense of place worth in blood? Can cooler heads prevail? There's a wealth of nuance in this conversation. Are other's catching the power of this movie for that discussion? I hope so. I guess I'll go do a web search.