Good Morning

It’s a Saturday and so there is no pressure to get the day started. I’m taking it easy of course…but I always do! And this morning I’m enjoying my second cup of coffee while I browse through the news of the day. Now that is more like work than relaxation to a lot of people, but I enjoy it. The house is quiet for now; Karlee and Kyle are asleep in the television room, but they are early risers and so I think we will soon be enjoying waffles with butter, syrup and laughter with our grandchildren. Or maybe I can talk Kyle into trying some chocolate chip pancakes?

Here are some of the headlines…

Bush Approved Eavesdropping, Official Says
President Bush has personally authorized a secretive eavesdropping program in the United States more than three dozen times since October 2001, a senior intelligence official said Friday night. “There is no doubt that this is inappropriate," declared Republican Sen. Arlen Specter

What’s really odd here is that the courts have always allowed this when asked…so why didn’t Bush ask?

Senate Rejects Extension of Patriot Act
Republicans spurned calls for a short-term measure to prevent the year-end expiration of law enforcement powers first enacted in the anxious days after Sept. 11, 2001. "The president will not sign such an extension," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and lawmakers on each side of the issue blamed the other for congressional gridlock on the issue. Well, that’s certainly productive.

House OKs Bill to Tighten Immigration Laws
But lawmakers left for next year the tougher issue of what to do with the 11 million undocumented people already in the country. Yes, when the going gets tough, the tough (lawmakers) get going…on vacation.

The House legislation, billed as a border protection, anti-terrorism and illegal immigration control act, includes such measures as enlisting military and local law enforcement help in stopping illegal entrants and requiring employers to verify the legal status of their workers. It authorizes the building of a fence along parts of the U.S.-Mexico border. Requiring employers to verify the status of their employees has always been a requirement, but never enforced. This administration would rather build a wall around the U.S than enforce a law that could possibly cost businesses some money.

But it put off consideration of a guest worker program, which President Bush and many in Congress say must be part of a lasting solution to the illegal immigrant crisis.
And they are right. But not enough congressmen are brave enough to face this issue. They are quite content to cater to the demands of businesses that use the cheap labor of illegals.