Lots of political stuff in my head right now, though I'm going to do my best not to dwell on it. I've been trying to think of polite ways of stating my concerns, and I'm having trouble doing so. I have that banner about responsibility in free speech over on the right for times like this - I know I have to rein it in, maintain self-control, and retain a sense of cosmic scale. That's hard for me right now.

[Big ol' chunk of messy, angry screed deleted]

Jesus said that I need to have compassion for the people whose seemingly thoughtless words and ignorant claims make me so angry that I want to, I don't know, rend a pig in twain with my bare teeth. He said that I need to be willing to pray for my enemies and those that wish me harm; even though I have never stood face-to-face with a terrorist, as a Christian and an American there are many in the world who would do me such harm. I admit that I am a sinful man, and one of my many sins is my unwillingness to forgive these people right now, or to think of them with any compassion at all. Pray for me, that God will soften my heart and give me that compassion. I want to do what's right - not just because it's the Right Thing to Do, but because I want to see things as they truly are, and I want my heart to be in alignment with my Creator - and now more than ever I find myself mystified and awed by those Christians who have faced real oppression, torture, and hatred, and have reacted to it with the unfathomably deep love of Christ.

Hopefully, that finishes me off. Well, at least until Sean Penn returns from his fact-finding mission in Iran with a no doubt glowing review of happy, kite-flying Iranians and their benevolent but deeply offended theocracy. Praise be for wealthy American actors, or else I'd never know what to think.