Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Listen Carefully Now...



"...answered every question he could possibly answer - honestly answer - in a way that increased my confidence in his ability to do the job." Implied: The rest of the questions he just responded, "I don't recall," rather than be caught in a lie later.

So far as AG Gonzoles' abilty to do the job, the President doesnt' seem to have a handle on what the AG's job is. According to the DoJ website, the mission of the Department of Justice is: To enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. Apparently Bush thinks it's the AG's job to cover the administration's behind as another White House counsel. Maybe he should check "the internets".

By the way, the lead Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee says this: "As long as he's the attorney general, I will continue to deal with him," Specter told reporters in Harrisburg, Pa. "But whatever he has to say I will take with more than a grain of salt."

When a friend can't believe you, you know you're in trouble. When the chief law enforcement officer of the country can't be trusted by his friends, can you trust his boss?

Friday, April 20, 2007

This was the look on my face...


...as I listened to AG Gonzales' testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. It was a perplexing performance! It's hard to describe how frightening it is to have our nation's Justice Department in the hands of such a buffoon. I was rewarded with all of the expected "I don't recall, Senator" lines.

But the two highlights for me were when he picked a fight with Arlen Spector, the ranking minority member, A REPUBLICAN! The second was when Senator Coburn said he should resign for the same reasons Gonzales claimed he asked some US Attorneys to resign...mismanagement and bad judgement.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Beat vs. Tempo

These two words are commonly used interchangeably, as if they are synonymous. Musicians know they are closely related but not the same at all. The easiest way to understand the differences between these musical concepts is to consider the characteristics of a healthy heart.

A healthy heart produces a steady pulse when the body is at rest. A pulse is measured at a certain number of beats per minute. The number of beats per minute supplies the measurement of the speed, or tempo, at which the heart is beating.

When the resting person becomes more active, the healthy heart continues with its steady beat, but the number of beats per minute increases. In other words, the tempo of the heart speeds up.

We have all learned from watching primetime medical shows that if a heart begins beating unevenly, it is called cardiac arrhythmia or “heart out of rhythm”.

The similarities and differences between beat and tempo have come to mind this afternoon as I have had a few moments to consider the reasons behind the sudden drop off in the number of my posts.

Upon reflection, I believe I’ve been experiencing a sort of “cognitive arrhythmia” resulting from rapid fluctuations in the tempo of daily events. Holy Week observances and Easter celebrations produced a flurry of activity. The following week, required focused attention to some important issues but at a much less frantic pace. This week, I’ve had to “defibrillate” the brain, shock it back to the “normal sinus rhythm” of life. Maybe it’s time for a mental metronome or a pacemaker for my pumpkin head.

P. S. : Thanks for the encouragement, Jester.

Friday, April 06, 2007

Check out this excerpt

From a commentary written by Roland Martin.

In fact, I've grown tired of people who pimp God. That's right; we have a litany of individuals today who are holy, holy, holy, sing hallelujah, talk about how they love the Lord, but when it's time to walk the walk, somehow the spirit evaporates.

A couple of years ago I took exception to an e-mail blast from the Concerned Women for America. The group was angry that Democrats were blocking certain judges put up for the federal bench by President Bush. It called on Americans to fight Democrats who wanted to keep Christians off the bench.

So I called and sent an e-mail asking, "So, where were you when President Clinton appointed Christian judges to the bench? Were they truly behind Christian judges, or Republican Christian judges?

Surprise, surprise. There was never a response.

An African-American pastor I know in the Midwest was asked by a group of mostly white clergy to march in an anti-abortion rally. He was fine with that, but then asked the clergy if they would work with him to fight crack houses in predominantly black neighborhoods.

"That's really your problem," he was told.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Quick Post

Blogitch's scratching nails have been clipped by Holy Week activities and Easter celebration preparations. I want to take a second to post a link to a discovery that my broadband friends might enjoy. Worship.net provides a 24 hour web stream of worship music that I run using Windows Media Player in skin mode in the corner of my screen. There is a good variety of titles and styles. The downside is that it is the same feed as their satellite network which means occasional commercials. Still, you might want to check it out.