My Head Hurts

The New York Times sums it up succinctly:

WASHINGTON, April 28 - The House and Senate broke a lengthy impasse over federal spending Thursday night, narrowly adopting a $2.56 trillion federal budget for 2006 that aims to trim the growth of Medicaid by $10 billion over five years, add $106 billion in tax cuts and clear the way for oil drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge.

See, now, I'd have gone for the "taking care of sick people and stop giving money back to fat cats" option. At the very least they could have been slightly less generous on the give-backs, and funded Medicaid. They'd still have $96 billion for tax cuts. But no. And, of course, caribou don't make campaign contributions, so they're out of luck, despite the fact that a slightly higher fleet fuel economy standard would save more oil than ANWR holds.

This budget agreement is being hailed as a vote that shows how serious the Republican Congress is about cutting the deficit. I'll say!

The whole "make the poor suffer while aiding the rich" thing brings to mind an excellent opinion piece by Jack Hitt a few days ago that asked "What would Jesus Filibuster?"

The Jesus who speaks in the Gospels is nothing like the fuming Republican Jesus I see on TV now. Jesus was a leader who understood that ambiguity and doubt are not to be feared but are, simply, facts of life that a great teacher exploits to guide his followers on their own paths toward conviction and belief.

Here is a quote from Jesus that you almost never hear: "What do you think?" It's right there in the Bible. Jesus asks this question all the time.

One parable Jesus taught was this one, from Matthew: "What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' And he answered, 'I will not,' but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, 'I go, sir,' but did not go." Jesus' disciples all strenuously raised their hands. They knew the answer! The first son was the most virtuous!

Whereupon Jesus (whose sense of humor is underrated) replied: "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you."

What does that parable mean? Frankly, I am not sure. I have my own thoughts, but they all feel tentative, and I can only hope I'm right. Jesus doesn't accuse his disciples of being wrong; he just mocks the easiness of their quick answer.

There's more. And it makes a better read than the transcript of last night's press conference. My head hurts enough already.