Tropical Depression Four became Tropical Storm Dean today.
Ivan certainly was terrible, but there is no way to tell how mean Dean will be. It is interesting to note that they originated in about the same spot. For now, we just keep an eye on it and make sure we are ready for another Big One.
From Congressman Jeff Miller:
Although I am overseas visiting our military in Iraq and Afghanistan , I wanted to update you on an important event that occurred this past Saturday, August 4.
Due to extreme pressure from our Intelligence Community and the public, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi allowed the House of Representatives to vote on S.1927, the “Protect America Act.” This bill passed the House 227-183 despite “no” votes from the Speaker of the House, the House Majority Leader and Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. The President signed the bill into law Sunday, August 5.
This new law addresses deficiencies in the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and will make us safer. The Director of National Intelligence, retired Navy Admiral Mike McConnell, wrote the following on August 2:
“The bill must not require court approval before urgently needed intelligence collection can begin against a foreign target located overseas. The delays of a court process that requires judicial determinations in advance to gather vital intelligence from foreign targets overseas can in some cases prevent the rapid gathering of intelligence necessary to provide warning of threats to the country. This process would also require in practice that we continue to divert scarce intelligence experts to compiling these court submissions. Similarly, critical intelligence gathering on foreign targets should not be halted while court review is pending.”
After reading the above words of Director McConnell, I am still amazed that it was so difficult to bring the “Protect America Act” to the floor for a vote. Even more amazing is that within hours of the House of Representatives passing this bill, Speaker Pelosi sent a letter to two key Congressional Committees asking them to draft new legislation for September to effectively undo the bill.
I support and accept the fact that in some instances, our government may monitor communications coming into the United States from a suspected Al Qaeda member and vice versa. The interception of many forms of electronic communications is not a new concept for our nation. American Presidents have authorized similar policies throughout our history. These are necessary actions to protect the American people and our homeland.
I assure you that if someone in the United States is talking to a member of the Al Qaeda organization- I want to know why and I think you do as well.
Last week, I was trying to watch the children while their mother grabbed a few much-deserved Z’s. Isaac became fussy, probably wanting to eat, I reasoned. Trying to delay the inevitable waking of Mama, the Maker of Food, I set him up in the baby swing. No dice. Isaac kept fussing.
Andrew and Esther knew what to do. They covered him with their ample supply of McDonald’s Beanie Baby bears. Before I knew it, Isaac was asleep!
LarkNews.com
When a church subscribes to Virtual Pastor, each person in a congregation helps “shape” their pastor by entering likes and dislikes into a response box during services. This live feedback is fed into the company’s servers and helps to change the pastor’s sermon topics, hair style and more in following weeks. The result is a pastor perfectly tailored to the will of the congregation….Different churches have produced widely differing results. A congregation in Huntington Beach, Calif., adopted the Virtual Pastor model last year. Within weeks their on-screen pastor stopped wearing suits and started wearing Hawaiian shirts, shorts and flip-flops.“We loosened him up quite a bit,” says one congregant with a laugh.
The pastor also stopped preaching expository sermons in favor of topical sermons like “How to Make Life Matter” and “Surfing through Paul’s Greatest Hits.”
Though the above is just a parody, it reminds me of how often we pressure real-life pastors into preaching what we want to hear.
II Timothy 4:3
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
United States Congressman, Jeff Miller
MILLER ASSAILS DEMOCRAT TACTICS ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION VOTEWashington, DC (August 03, 2007) - Last night, House Democrats used strong armed tactics and deceitful maneuvers in order to defeat a Republican motion to the Agriculture Appropriations bill which would bar illegal immigrants from receiving any federal funds for employment or rental assistance.“The Democrats simply refuse to stop illegal immigration – so much so that they’re willing to cheat in order to win a vote,” Miller said. “I have never witnessed such a blatant disregard for House rules and parliamentary procedure.”
After the vote was gaveled, the votes stood at 215-213 and the Republicans claimed a win on their motion. Democrats, however, argued the measure was deadlocked at 214-214 and failed. Under Republican protests, they quickly proceeded to the final passage of the bill. But Republicans quickly discovered that there was no longer any record of the controversial vote and immediately charged Democrats with erasing the bad result. This sparked a chorus of angry protests from the Republicans, yelling “shame” on Democrats, while they returned fire with angry volleys of their own.
The ability of Congress to fulfill its Constitutional duties to the people depends on the presence of clear rules and an expectation of a fair vote count,” Miller added. “I don’t think the Democratic leadership delivered either of those last night. I think this marks an unprecedented low for the House Democrats.”
A video of events that transpired during last night’s proceedings can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQJYiGFkDX4
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