ÎPassion' is director's interpretation, not truth

There is something strange about those who see Mel Gibson's "Passion" and declare, "This is what really happened." It seems that the most sadistic and impossibly prolonged flogging of all time may be assuming the status of "the" canonical version.

How do they know this? I checked their sources and found the Gospels contain about 350 verses describing the time from the arrest to the death of Jesus. Of these, seven verses mention mocking; five mention beating, slapping or striking; three mention a crown of thorns; three mention spitting; three mention flogging and two threaten an unspecified punishment. You'll note that flogging accounts for less than 1 percent of the original story, considerably less than in Gibson's version. [Read article]

Fully in Tact

Last weekend, one of my friends from back East paid me a visit. In my excitement, I wanted to give her the whole Tucson experience: a campus tour, getting robbed by a homeless man, getting whistled at by a Ford Explorer full of drunks, eating fake Mexican at Chipotle. You know, the works.

And we did do some of those things, but the highlight was spending Saturday on Mount Lemmon. Let me tell you, though · it's not just something you decide to do on the fly. The mountain is a wild space just barely tamed by asphalt and sweaty men in orange construction vests; lurking behind every picnic table and informational sign is danger. Extreme danger. [Read article]

After Sept. 11, 2001, the words "illegal immigrant" assumed an ominous meaning in America's lexicon. Mourning morphed into anger, and as bin Laden remained elusive, the search for a scapegoat culminated in a disgusting new brand of discrimination toward people who appeared to be of Arab descent. In Dearborn, Mich., a city with a large Arab population near my hometown, hundreds of people were senselessly interrogated by immigration agents seeking "inside information." [Read article]

This week's winners ... and losers

A bomb ÷ Classroom nudists. As one letter writer suggested, exhibitionists like Matthew Kramer, a former student who showed up naked to a philosophy seminar last week, detract from the artful professionalism of seasoned ÷ and weathered ÷ streakers.

The bomb ÷ Current and future ASUA senators coming out of their cave to attend the Arizona Board of Regents tuition hearing. The catch: Most of them happen to be campaigning for office. Maybe someone should remind them that the regents can't vote in the upcoming Associated Students of the University of Arizona election. [Read article]