If you don’t know about Waymo, the autonomous taxi service, now’s the time to learn, because it’s coming to a neighborhood near you. Maybe not now or next year. But inevitably, like death and taxes. Except it’s more fun, more fun, that is, unless you’re the one guy in 10,000 who gets stuck in a rogue AI vehicle with a software glitch that won’t stop driving and won’t let you out until its battery runs down. But hey, nothing in this life is perfect.

So on a recent visit to our oldest son and his family, my wife and I drove around San Francisco in a Waymo AI taxi. It was an impeccably executed, quite astonishing experience. Waymo actually works. The good news is that there was nobody at the steering wheel to fiddle with the radio, abduct one’s daughter, curse the traffic, or daydream about getting even with that idiot at the office.

That’s also the creepy news. There was nobody at the steering wheel.

Waymo is a game-changing technology in embryonic form. It currently operates in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, and Atlanta. New York and Philadelphia are in the planning stage. Dallas, Miami, and Washington are scheduled to start service next year.

It’s tempting to hope that some of our nation’s more irritating leaders might disappear down a wormhole in an AI taxi with a mind of its own. But that likelihood is extremely low. The vehicle software is already too reliable and relentlessly getting better. In fact, driverless AI helicopter taxis are just around the corner. And that’s not a joke. For those who doubt, check hereand here. After all, what could go wrong riding a giant battery at 3,000 feet without a pilot?

Continued below.

Well hurry up!

‘New traditionalist’ designer of churches James McCrery has been chosen for the new project.​

President Donald Trump has commissioned architect James McCrery — a prominent figure in the revival of classical architecture and a designer of some of the most beautiful “new traditional” Catholic churches in the United States — to design a new White House ballroom.

The White House announced plans last week for the construction of a 90,000-square-foot building, with a seating capacity of 650 people. The current East Room can only accommodate 200 guests.

The selection of McCrery Architects as lead designers for the project and the accompanying architectural renderings offers a clear signal of the project’s stylistic direction. The firm is “well-known for their classical architectural design,” the release noted.

Continued below.

Some Christian and conservative organizations are expressing optimism that President Donald Trump may rein in “debanking” — a practice in which financial institutions have allegedly cut ties with people or groups for their religious or political beliefs.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 5 that the White House drafted an executive order that would instruct regulators to investigate financial institutions accused of ending relationships with customers for political reasons.

According to the report, the draft would direct regulators to determine whether the institutions violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, antitrust laws, or consumer financial-protection laws and subsequently issue monetary penalties, consent decrees, or take other disciplinary action that would apply.

Jennifer Morse, a Catholic who leads the Ruth Institute, told CNA she is “glad to see the Trump administration addressing the debanking issue.”

Continued below.

The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) reported that the bishops of the Democratic Republic of Congo are demanding justice following the massacre perpetrated by a group linked to the Islamic State on July 26-27 at a Catholic church in which more than 40 people were killed or injured.

That weekend, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked Blessed Anuarite Parish in the Diocese of Bunia, killing 37 young people and wounding six others who were participating in a vigil marking the 25th anniversary of the Eucharistic Crusades movement, according to ACN.

The bishop of Bunia, Dieudonné Uringi, told ACN that after the massacre, “many people were traumatized. When the adults found out, they came immediately to see what had happened.”

So far, no one has been arrested, and the prelate lamented that law enforcement did not react appropriately: “The police and military were not far away, but they didn’t act in time. They should have intervened more quickly to protect the population.”

Continued below.

On the morning of Sunday, Aug. 3, nine people working at an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, were kidnapped. Among them was a lay missionary and a disabled child, barely 3 years old.

According to the pontifical news agency Fides, the orphanage is located in Kenscoff, a town on the outskirts of the capital. It is run by the international charity Nos Petits Frères et Sœurs (Our Little Brothers and Sisters) and houses more than 240 children. The other seven people kidnapped are employees of the institution.

The kidnapped missionary is Gena Heraty, who has worked in the Caribbean country for more than 30 years. According to Fides, she was inside the orphanage when the criminals broke in, taking her and a disabled 3-year-old child.

In recent months, Haiti has been engulfed in a spiral of violence unleashed by criminal gangs operating freely and controlling approximately 80% of the Port-au-Prince area.

Continued below.

A state appeals court in Texas this week affirmed that Attorney General Ken Paxton will not be permitted to question the leaders of a Catholic Charities affiliate at the U.S.-Mexico border amid an inquiry into illegal immigration.

The state 15th Court of Appeals said in an Aug. 4 ruling that Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley has cooperated sufficiently with the state’s investigation into the charity. Paxton’s office has been conducting broad inquiries into allegations that nonprofits have facilitated illegal immigration in the state.

Prosecutors were not entitled to a “pre-suit deposition” from charity leaders, including its executive director, Sister Norma Pimentel, the court ruled.

Rather than “an uncooperative or evasive organization,” the Catholic charity has been “responsive to [Paxton’s] requests,” up to and including extensive documentation and a sworn testimony from Pimentel, the appeals court said.

Continued below.

Its a powerful idea thats being proposed as a moral good in the world which completely subverts biblical teachings and Gods laws and order. Its power in that secular ideology such as humanism or egalitarianism uses a nobel and moral causes which appeals to peoples sensibilities.

To argue against that all people should have the same rights and opportunities can make one look cruel and hateful. But that is exactly how satan works. He will never use an obviously evil way to decieve people.

Basically this is a metaphysical and spiritual battle about how humans, relationships, families and the world is ordered. Either according to self referential truths based on experiences and feelings of identity as being the god and moral measure. Or God.

We see all the other ways, the copycat and alternative ways that human ideas have created with their own versions of what Gods creation and order should be.

I think once secular society rejected God they also rejected His norms in favour of socially contructed one that I think have been designed to rebel against God. Because it seems this is not about what is right but what one believes ideologically.

timewerx said:

What everybody else don't know is that these particles are A LOT heavier and possibly many orders of magnitude heavier. "Natural" quantum states prevent interaction with the vast majority of that hidden weight and for good reasons.

We're only seeing its "leaked mass".

Should all the elementary particles in your body reveal all its hidden mass you'll turn into a black hole!

Not to be confused with dark matter.

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Um...

Mass is mass. No one has discovered and anti-mass subatomic particle. The aggregate of all that makes the total mass of the object. If someone weights 190 pounds (86 kilograms) and was compressed to a black hole, the event horizon would be r = 2GM/(c^2) = 1.277 x 10^-24 meters from the center. If I can read the result of a web search clearly, a hydrogen atom has a radius of around 2.5 x 10^-11 millimeters, which would be 2.5 x 10^-14 meters. Even an electron has a radius about about 1.4 x 10^-15 meters.

As a general rule, it takes more mass to form a black hole. Much, much, more...

Father, we lift this brother up and ask you give him an oil of gladness. That hope and joy would flood his spirit and mind. That you would give him wisdom for his purpose and future. Help him to overcome his health and career issues. In jesus' name

DaisyDay said:

Bush's proposal is terrible. People can set up and maintain private funds for themselves now. Too many people are very bad at investment so the diverted SS funds would not alleviate poverty among geriatrics. In addition, Bush's proposal would have allowed people to withdraw, not merely borrow, the funds for emergencies - which impoverished people tend to have.

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Yes taking out cash is a bad option for a retirement fund. The point though is if you divert social security money to private funds, the current seniors will have to be paid using what is borrowed from the markets. That huge of increase will require higher interest rates. Thus full on privitization is basically impossible. Bushs proposal was for a modest %, i think 10 or20% of your social security. The other issue is social security as is has some elements of redistribution. Higher wage earners get less back as a percent than they pay in.

John G. said:

Are you sure about this?
I tend to view all Anglican / Episcopal churches as liberal.

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From what I understand two main issues of women ordination and SSM which includes the ordination of gay and lesbian priests and bishops in SSM have caused a schism in the Anglican world communion.

As a result the Anglican Church in North America was created which primarily aligns with more conservative views as opposed to the Episcopal churches. In more recent times due to the ordination of gay and lesbian priests and bishops more splits have occurred such as the Anglican realignment and the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches. Which declared "impaired communion" with the Church of England and no longer recognised Justin Welby as "first among equals" among the bishops of the communion.

Also the Diocese of the Southern Cross in Australia. The Ai overview mentions they are conservative Anglicans have formed a breakaway group due to disagreements over issues like same-sex marriage and biblical interpretation. This new diocese aims to provide a space for those who feel alienated by more progressive views within the existing Anglican Church.

It seems to me that over reccent decades there has been a gradual trend towards conservativism due to these issues and especially the issue of SSM and gay and lesbian priests and bishops. I think this pushed some over the edge and in doing so they are reaffirming more traditional positions altogether,

Eight months ago, in December of 2024, the Lord had me write a devotional on this passage of Scripture in which he had me share some of my own testimony of how God did this in my life, how he led me to “enlarge the place of my tent” and to “lengthen my cords” and to “strengthen my pegs.” And this is something that he has me share periodically as a testimony to how he wants to work in all of our lives, not all in the same ways, but how he wants to stretch us and to move us to do what he has planned for us.

My Story

Most of my life was spent in the confines of the institutional church teaching ladies’ Bible studies and/or ladies’ Sunday school classes or singing in a church choir or an ensemble or doing special music or helping out in the church office doing secretarial and administrative kinds of work. But I also taught ladies’ Bible studies in people’s homes and in neighborhoods. And I worked alongside my husband in young adult/college ministry which we did out of our home into our community, and we did that together for 7.5 years.

But then the Lord called me to “enlarge the place of my tent” even more, and he called me in 2004 to write out on my computer what he teaches me from my times spent with him in his word each day, and then to place these writings on the internet, so that “a herald” may “run with it.” So I have been doing that for most of the past 20 years. And these writings go out to people across the globe who live in many different countries. So that is definitely “enlarging my tent” beyond the local institutional church and my home.

After 7 years had gone by, in 2011, he then called me to write simple and biblical songs of faith in Jesus Christ for the encouragement of the body of Christ. I had never done that before, so this was stretching me even more. And I did that for nine years before my voice finally gave out. But two years prior to the ending of songwriting, he had me begin writing poetry (without music), and I’ve been doing that for 7 years now. And then he had me write two short books of personal testimony, self-published on the internet.

Then, beginning in 2020 he had me begin to do Video Talks, which I did on and off for a couple of years, but they began to increase in frequency in 2022. And then he had me begin creating Christian memes with short messages. So, in each one of these different endeavors he was having me “enlarge the place of my tent” even more, and stretch myself even more, for much of this I had never done before and would never have imagined myself doing. And all this can only be done in the power of God, under his guidance.

Now I am not claiming absolute perfection in all of this. I share what I understand the Lord is teaching me, out of obedience to my Lord, and I open myself wide for you to challenge any of this if you believe I am in biblical error, according to the teachings of Scripture, not according to humanistic philosophy. For we are to test everything and everyone to make certain that what we are hearing is of God and that it is not of the flesh of man, especially if what is being shared is instructional for our personal benefit.

And I do not close the door to the Lord stretching me even more, if he so desires, and if he wants me to “enlarge the place of my tent” even more, if it would be his will, and if it would please him. So even now I am praying that if the Lord has something new for me to do that he will let me know, and that he will direct my path, and that he will show me the way in which he wants to lead me in this to “enlarge the place of my tent.”

So, I hope that what I have shared with you encourages you to “enlarge the place of your tent,” too, and that you will share the message of the gospel of our salvation from sin with the people of the world in writing or talking or singing or via whatever means the Lord gives you and equips you and leads you. But please make sure that what you are sharing is the truth of the gospel and not the half-truth gospel being passed off as the gospel today.


Your Servant Witness

An Original Work / March 13, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Humbly I bow, Lord, before You,
Bringing my requests to You.
May I listen; hear You speaking.
May I follow You in truth.
Gently lead me in Your service.
Guide my steps and strengthen me.
Fill me with Your love and mercy.
May I live for Thee!

Let me be Your servant witness,
Telling others of Your grace.
May I always share the gospel
With those I meet face to face.
May I show the love of Jesus,
Caring for the needs of men;
Be Your servant witness always
For my Lord, Amen!

My desire to be like Jesus,
Living for Him ev’ry day.
May I obey all His teachings
Given me, so I’ll not stray.
Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master.
You are the King of my heart;
Follow You where’er You lead me;
Not from You depart!

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How He Stretches Us
An Original Work / August 7, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Rescued One said:

The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity.
psalm 5:5 nkjv

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That doesn’t answer my question.

RDKirk said:

I'm not sure about the government actually owning hospitals (at least not all of them), but for sure healthcare should be made non-profit.

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What would the non-profit look like? Otherwise - I am sure! Australian governments own 51% of our 700 hospitals.

The data was in decades ago.

Didn't Trump's BBB just write 18 million Americans out of the healthcare system? What a backwards move! Tax cuts for his billionaire mates while pushing tens of millions of poorer citizens nearer to poverty and death. That's immoral! That's revolting!

I'll share some data first - and then the story about when my son had cancer.

ALL Australian citizens get a Medicare card. It's part of our government ID.

We go to the doctors more, earlier, get treated earlier, and nip many problems in the bud earlier and cheaper.

Unlike America - we cover the entire population at just over HALF the cost. ​

U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2022: Accelerating Spending, Worsening Outcomes

How Does the U.S. Healthcare System Compare to Other Countries?

Check the wiki sources:

Healthcare in the United States - Wikipedia

Decades ago my 5 year old boy had Leukaemia (blood cancer). ​

I often shudder when I imagine being in America.
For various reasons we had no private health insurance at the time.
Adjusting for inflation - his treatment today might have been about $400k to $500k!
I might have had to borrow from the bank and sell my house while acting as full time hospital carer. As it was I suffered awful carer burnout during that 6 months - ended up on the wrong anti-depressants myself - it was rough. But if I'd had to sell my house etc to PAY for his treatment? It might have done me in!

We practically LIVED in Westmead hospital. No one wants to have to do that - but as far as hospitals go it's modern, clean, and attractive with attractive indoor gardens as well as outside gardens and grounds and walks. There's a few kid's entertainment rooms etc. (Being trapped in the hospital for so long was where my boy first REALLY learned to love computer games. He had some at his bed, and some in the Captain Starlight room.)

The government owning and operating all this as a service is about caring for the population, not gouging them for cash when they're hurting the most! ​

Imagine being able to HALVE your healthcare costs! That could save $1 TRILLION a year - and no overseas aid programs or National Parks staff etc would have to be cancelled! ​

d taylor said:

So is this like appointing a pope.

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It's similar, yes. Anglican churches, like the Catholic church, are organized into dioceses, with a bishop in charge of each diocese. In the US, there are about 2-3 dioceses per state. Wales has 6 dioceses. Anglican churches in other countries are similarly organized regionally.

In many countries there are larger regions that contain multiple dioceses. The person in charge of these larger regions is usually called an archbishop. In the case being discussed in the OP, Wales has an archbishop who is the chief pastor overseeing the entirety of the (Anglican) Church in Wales, and that's the office we're discussing.

"In charge of", here, is a combination of administration and pastoring, as I mentioned earlier. We've come a long way from feudal Europe, so bishops and archbishops aren't like kings. But someone has to set policy and to make sure rules are generally followed and to resolve disputes and to make sure the diocesan budget is in order, and so forth, and that's part of the job of the bishops and their staff. There's also a pastoral role, giving spiritual guidance to the diocese and celebrating sacraments like Confirmation and Ordination.

There are two large differences between the Anglican Archbishop of Wales and the Pope: 1) The Pope is the chief bishop of the entire Catholic Church, whereas the Archbishop of Wales oversees a much smaller region. 2) Anglicans don't have any sense of infallibility of their bishops and archbishops. Bishops do their best to teach and minister faithfully, but we understand that they are flawed human beings like everybody else.

Hans Blaster said:

Same gaudy garbage, different continents. Ugh.

what kind of ball room doesn't have movable partition walls or an open ceiling grid for lights?

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One that's in a 1792 mansion rather than one that's in a 2025 convention center.

Pommer said:

He’ll make for a fine Senator.

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Or maybe a president "Better put some ice on that "

Christsfreeservant said:

Based off Psalm 119:1-48

How blessed are those who walk with Jesus,
Who walk with Him in all His ways,
Who listen, follow all His teachings,
And in their hearts they do not sway.

They seek the Lord with all their being,
Intent on keeping His commands.
They love the Lord, to be His witness –
Spread the Gospel to many lands.

By faith in Jesus, died to their sins,
So they can walk in righteousness,
And live pure lives by keeping His Word,
So they not wander from His plans.

They live like strangers to what’s worldly,
In keeping step with Christ each day.
Even when the world’s against them,
Still from their faith they do not stray.

They are not perfect, Christ reliant
To guide them now each step of way.
But to our Lord they’re not defiant,
For die they to their sins each day.

Forsaking what is purely evil,
They walk by faith in His commands,
Incline their hearts to all His teachings,
And turn their eyes from all God bans.

By faith they endure man’s reproaches,
For they put their faith in God’s Word.
They’re bold in sharing truth of Gospel
With all who Gospel have not heard.

An Original Work / August 6, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

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Thank God we CAN be perfect in Christ.

8/5 Ozark Alabama

Minister Monardo said:

To say I can't do anything without Christ is essentially to say that you won't. What a strange, unrealistic attitude?! What has man done without Christ? Time to realize that you can't do anything truly meaningful without Christ informing you as to His Good, Acceptable, and Perfect Will.
How can anyone say they have done anything beyond the natural, if all that they have done is within the realm of man?
Cannot any man build a media empire? Why claim to be Anointed if all you have done is talk on TV and radio, podcasts and YouTube channels? If your will is to do the Father's, you don't get to wait until you feel qualified.
So what did Paul mean "I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me"?

Philippians 4:
11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned
in whatever state I am, to be content:
12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.
Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be
full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Does this sound like ambition, or contentment?
And yet verse 13 has been used countless times to encourage
people to go out and try to do something wonderful for God.

This is the Word of the Lord to a blessed one.
Jeremiah 45:5 And do you seek great things for yourself?
Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh, says the Lord.
“But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.”

This is not the same as waiting with long-suffering
to witness the wonders of God.
Jeremiah 33:3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you
great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

This is the fruit of truly abiding
John 15:
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit;
so you will be My disciples.

The ministry of intercession is without stumbling blocks
of pride, false modesty, and selfish desires.

Ah, Contentment, could that be a worthwhile goal in this
time when the nations are trying to grab up what remains
of earth's resources? Let them have it! Get out of Babylon, now.

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This prayer is always answered: May thy will be done.

Tulsi Gabbard compromised US Intelligence sources and methods.

[But hey, who cares if sources are compromised or our allies refuse to share information in the future? Creating a political distraction outweighs our country's security. ]

"Gabbard, with the blessing of President Donald Trump, overrode arguments from the CIA and other intelligence agencies that more of the document should remain classified to obscure U.S. spy agencies’ sources and methods, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity, like others interviewed for this report, because of the matter’s sensitivity.


“I almost felt like I was going to get in trouble for having read that document,” Larry Pfeiffer, a former senior CIA and White House official, told the podcast “SpyTalk.” “Sources and methods could be easily inferred in almost every instance. … I don’t know if I’ve seen a document of that sensitivity so lightly redacted.”

“The desperate and irresponsible release of the partisan House Intelligence report puts at risk some of the most sensitive sources and methods our Intelligence Community uses to spy on Russia and keep Americans safe,” Sen. Mark R. Warner of Virginia, the Senate Intelligence Committee’s ranking Democrat, said in a statement. “And in doing so, Director Gabbard is sending a chilling message to our allies and assets around the world: the United States can no longer be trusted to protect the intelligence you share with us.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/08/06/gabbard-russia-report-cia-trump/

Have you heard about the plan to grow pork in rice?