Oh, my. Well, the good news is that my last test was taken, and that the official part of my second year is done. The other news (also good news, from my point of view) is that I asked for an extension on my exegesis paper, so I could get the most out of it. And that's what I'm doing now.

I'm glad I have something utterly wonderful and absorbing to do these days. Otherwise I would have to pay more attention to the news, and I don't think I could stand to do that.

All I can think, looking at the horror pictures from Abu Ghraib is that this is my tax dollars at work, my good name as an American out there in the world. Dear God.

I don't care if John Kerry will be a "great president" or not. I feel I have a moral duty to do everything I can to support his candidacy because the people who are in power currently are, in their own parlance, "evildoers." Presidents and administrations are responsible for what happens on their watches. John Kennedy understood that, and took responsibility for the Bay of Pigs (even though he could have blamed it on the CIA.)

If the Administration sloughs responsibility off on "a few miscreants" which they seem determined to do, it's the ultimate in irresponsibility. The fact that much of what was done at Abu Ghraib seems to have been within interrogation guidelines -- while many of the human beings treated in this fashion may have been arrested by mistake -- makes me wonder uneasily if we toppled Saddam, or just replaced him.

Anyway -- back to Genesis 50: 14-26. It's the reconciliation of the brothers, and the death of Joseph. I feel a special affinity for the Joseph story, and it is a privilege to spend time delving so deeply into a portion of it. If I find something useful about reconciliation (and I think I will) I'll share it here.