Below is a revised version of this speech by Barack Obama on 9/12/12. My changes are in CAPS. Enjoy!
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Remarks by the President on the Deaths of U.S. Embassy Staff in Libya
Rose Garden
10:43 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Every day, all across the world, American diplomats and civilians work tirelessly to advance the interests and values of our nation. Often, they are away from their families. Sometimes, they brave great danger.
Yesterday, four of these extraordinary Americans were killed in a TERRORIST attack on our diplomatic post in Benghazi. Among those killed was our Ambassador, Chris Stevens, as well as Foreign Service Officer Sean Smith. We are still notifying the families of the others who were killed. And today, the American people stand united in holding the families of the four Americans in our thoughts and in our prayers.
The United States condemns in the strongest terms this ACT OF TERRORISM. We're working with the government of Libya to secure our diplomats. I've also directed my administration to increase our security at diplomatic posts around the world. And make no mistake, we will work with the Libyan government to bring to justice the TERRORISTS who attacked our people.
Since our founding, the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths. We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. But there is absolutely no justification FOR TERRORISM. None. NATIONS EITHER STAND WITH US AGAINST TERRORISM OR THEY STAND AGAINST US AND WITH THE TERRORISTS.
Already, many Libyans have joined us in doing so, and this TERRORIST attack will not break the bonds between the United States and Libya. Libyan security personnel fought back against the TERRORISTS alongside Americans. Libyans helped some of our diplomats find safety, and they carried Ambassador Stevens’s body to the hospital, where we tragically learned that he had died.
It's especially tragic that Chris Stevens died in Benghazi because it is a city that he helped to save. At the height of the Libyan revolution, Chris led our diplomatic post in Benghazi. With characteristic skill, courage, and resolve, he built partnerships with Libyan revolutionaries, and helped them as they planned to build a new Libya. When the Qaddafi regime came to an end, Chris was there to serve as our ambassador to the new Libya, and he worked tirelessly to support this young democracy, and I think both Secretary Clinton and I relied deeply on his knowledge of the situation on the ground there. He was a role model to all who worked with him and to the young diplomats who aspire to walk in his footsteps.
Along with his colleagues, Chris died in a country that is still striving to emerge from the recent experience of war. Today, the loss of these four Americans is fresh, but our memories of them linger on. I have no doubt that their legacy will live on through the work that they did far from our shores and in the hearts of those who love them back home.
Of course, yesterday was already a painful day for our nation as we marked the solemn memory of the 9/11 TERRORIST attacks. We mourned with the families who were lost on that day. I visited the graves of troops who made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan at the hallowed grounds of Arlington Cemetery, and had the opportunity to say thank you and visit some of our wounded warriors at Walter Reed. And then last night, we learned the news of this TERRORIST attack in Benghazi.
As Americans, let us never, ever forget that our freedom is only sustained because there are people who are willing to fight for it, to stand up for it, and in some cases, lay down their lives for it. Our country is only as strong as the character of our people and the service of those both civilian and military who represent us around the globe.
No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America. We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible TERRORIST act. And make no mistake, justice will be done.
But we also know that the lives these Americans led stand in stark contrast to those of the TERRORISTS. These four Americans stood up for freedom and human dignity. They should give every American great pride in the country that they served, and the hope that our flag represents to people around the globe who also yearn to live in freedom and with dignity.
We grieve with their families, but let us carry on their memory, and let us continue their work of seeking a stronger America and a better world for all of our children.
Thank you. May God bless the memory of those we lost and may God bless the United States of America.
END
10:48 A.M. EDT
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Friday, July 6, 2012
History Will Be Made
History was made in 2008 when the United States
of America
In recent weeks there have been signs of desperation in the Obama
campaign because fundraising has been weaker than expected. It is not from a
lack of trying. Emails are blasted daily imploring people to contribute. The
campaign has suggested that couples getting married ask their guests that in
lieu of a gift they make a donation to the Obama campaign. Many fundraising
events include a lottery where the prize is dining with the Mr. and Mrs. Obama
at the fundraiser.
Obama has targeted some of his recent policy decisions to benefit
groups that might reward his decision by pulling out their checkbook. Almost
two months ago Obama completed the evolution of his opinion on same sex
marriage. He announced his support for the concept and then attended a series
of fundraisers geared towards groups that would be appreciative of his latest
epiphany.
A few weeks ago, Obama announced that he was ordering the use of
prosecutorial discretion with regards to enforcing immigration laws against
certain members of the illegal immigrant population. The following week he was
in Mexico Orlando Miami
Perhaps the most despicable misuse of the Executive branch of
government for the benefit of the incumbent is how Eric Holder is doing
everything that he and his staff can think of to stop states from implementing
voter id laws and from making reasonable efforts to remove ineligible voters
from state voter rolls. Apparently, for Obama to win this election, he will
need the support of the three I's, Independents, Illegals & Ineligibles.
Obama has run for political office six times. He is five and one.
The one loss was a primary race in 2000 for a seat in the House of
Representatives. He has never lost to a Republican. But what if Obama's
fundraising difficulties continue? What if his internal polling is showing
there is nothing he can do to win? What if Holder can not prevent the cleansing
of the voter rolls? Can Obama's ego handle losing a national campaign to a
Republican? Will he have the desire and energy to continue a fight that he
knows he will lose? How will losing affect his legacy?
Should it become clear to those inside the Obama campaign that
there is no road victory, there is an option that would save him the
humiliation of losing and result in his name being used in the same sentence as
President Lyndon Johnson. Like Johnson in 1968, Obama could choose not to run.
He could even borrow Johnson's words to make his announcement:
With America's sons in the fields far away, with America's future under challenge right here at home, with our hopes and the world's hopes for peace in the balance every day, I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes or to any duties other than the awesome duties of this office--the Presidency of your country.
Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.
Now this would be big. How big? It would be OJ Simpson big, except
bigger. It would be bigger than Michael Jackson, bigger than the British
Invasion, and bigger than our national deficit. It would be almost as big as
Chris Christie but not quite that big.
On TV, radio, and in print we will be treated to an over the top
love fest for the unselfish act by one of the most historic leaders in the
history of mankind, both real and fictional. Reporters will claim to be left
speechless by the President's announcement, right before they blather on
non-stop about the enormous sacrifice the President is making. The 24 hour news
cycle will need to be expanded by at least another hour.
Like Lincoln and Kennedy, Obama's shortened term of office will
serve to leave behind a legacy far better than the one that might have been had
each served eight years. Except, Obama will be alive, allowing him and his
people to help write how he will be remembered. (You may recall the Obama team
got some practice rewriting history with several of the Presidential bios
stored on the White House web site.)
With Obama out of the race the investigations into the origins of
his birth, the questions about his social security number, the mystery of his college
grades, the relationships he had with Reverend Wright, Bill Ayers and other
extremists, and the factual discrepancies in his autobiography will greatly die
down. While some might continue to investigate, the results of any discovery
would have no affect on an election. Donald Trump will go away, World Net Daily
might shut down, and Sean Hannity may need to go to a half hour TV show and a
two hour radio show.
Left in the wake of this monumental announcement will be the
wildest game of political candidate poker the country has ever seen. Vice
President Biden and Secretary of State Clinton will certainly give great
consideration to competing for the nomination. Others will jump at the
opportunity as well. For the first time in a long time the Democratic National
Convention will be must watch TV.
Meanwhile, the Romney campaign would be tossed into disarray. It
will be stuck in a holding pattern waiting to find out the ticket they will be
running against. All their previous plans will be for naught. GOP fundraising might
slow down while the donors wait to see who the Democrats are running. On the
other hand, the right Democratic nominee might reenergize their party, causing
their fundraising to sharply increase.
Time is of the essence for this to happen, if it is to happen. The sooner Obama makes a decision to abandon the campaign trail, the more time he will have to concentrate on the awesome duties of the presidency, as seen through his eyes. He should be able to play at least 40 rounds of golf. He will have the time to take Air Force One to London and attend all 17 days of the Olympics. Fundraising efforts can be directed towards the construction and maintenance of his presidential library. He could pen any number of executive orders without concern for how it would affect his reelection. He would have oodles of time to review the lists of people seeking a pardon, making sure that there is a proper and untraceable quid pro quo.
Upon leaving office in January and after a year or two of Monday morning quarterbacking the new president, Obama will be ready to assume a more worldly position, such as President of the International Olympic Committee or Secretary General of the United Nations. Another media frenzy will surely follow his next career move.
Sometimes we need to take a step or two backwards in order to move
Forward, in order to make history. Oh, did I mention that Obama will make tens
of millions of dollars as soon as he leaves office?
(Yes, I know this isn't going to happen, just like I knew there
was no way Chief Justice Roberts was going to vote with the liberal judges.)
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Jeopardy
Obama Q&A for $200 Alex.
Alex: The answer is:
"Well the truth of the matter is, you know, as President of the United States I have a lot of responsibilities,"
Abraham: What did Obama answer when he was asked, does the President of the United States have a lot of responsibilities?
Alex: Sorry, no.
Martin: What did Obama answer when he was asked, what's the funniest thing President Bush told you?
Alex: Sorry, that is incorrect.
John: What did Obama answer when he was asked, does Michelle load you up on the weekends with honey-dos?
Alex: Sorry, not even close. The correct answer is, what did Obama say on June 11, 2012 in response to, there are a lot of Democrats that are upset you didn't campaign for Tom Barrett.
Unfortunately, it is non-responsive answers like the one our President gave above that has put our constitutional republic in serious jeopardy.
Let's give the President credit for correctly stating the volume of responsibilities of the President of the United States. They are conveniently enumerated in Article 2 of our Constitution. The President is the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy and the Militia, he may require the opinion of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, he shall have Power to grant reprieves and pardons, he has the power to make treaties, he shall appoint Ambassadors, Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court and certain other officers of the United States, he shall have the power to fill vacancies while the Senate is in recess, he shall from time to time provide a State of the Union, he shall recommend to Congress for their consideration measures that he judges to be necessary, he may convene both houses of Congress, he may adjourn Congress if there is a dispute over adjournment, he shall receive ambassadors, and finally, he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
The President certainly has a lot of responsibilities. So has every one of the 43 President's that came before him. So will the 43 that come after him.
Implied in the President's answer is the time required to fulfill his responsibilities left no time available to go to Wisconsin and campaign for Mayor Barrett. This part of the President's answer, like so many other answers given by the President and his surrogates, is so blatantly untrue that I wonder how they speak these words while maintaining a straight face. Don't ever play poker with Obama or members of his inner circle.
The signatures on the petitions to recall Governor Walker were certified on March 30, 2012 and the election took place June 5, 2012, leaving 66 days available for campaigning. According to the President's daily schedule, during those 1,584 hours he attended several meetings and signed legislation that appears to be in keeping with his constitutional responsibilities. His schedule also shows that during the 95,040 minutes he attended 29 campaign (code word for fundraiser) events. He also hosted an Easter Egg roll, traveled to the country of Columbia (where some his secret service agents got secretly serviced) and joked he was there scouting out vacation spots, honored NASCAR driver Tony Stewart, hosted the NCAA football champs, was interviewed by Jimmy Fallon, hosted the NCAA basketball champs, completed the evolution of his thoughts on gay marriage (with help from his daughters), hosted at the White House a concert honoring songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David (apparently my invitation got lost in the mail), was a guest on The View, welcomed the Major League Soccer champions to the White House, gave the commencement address at Joplin High School in Missouri (haven't these people suffered enough?), delivered the commencement address at the US Air Force Academy, and presented the Medal of Freedom to the Honorary Chair of Democratic Socialists of America.
Most of the weekend days during the 5,702,400 seconds showed no public schedule for the President. We do know Obama played golf six times on the weekends on the dates of April 1, 7, 21, 29, May 12 and 26. Perhaps the President was not aware there are golf courses in Wisconsin. 505 golf courses to be exact. With a little planning Obama could have flown to Wisconsin, campaigned early in the day at a diner for breakfast, played 18 holes with some union bosses, and then back on the campaign trail for dinner with some wealthy liberals.
The President's claim that his presidential responsibilities left him with no campaign time for Wisconsin is laughable. (If only he had an airplane at his disposal to fly him wherever and whenever he wanted to fly.) The speculation that Obama stayed out of Wisconsin to avoid being associated with another election loss may be true but even if Walker was too strong of a candidate to defeat and Barrett too weak of a candidate to win, it was an opportunity for the President to be seen and heard by members of his base that he will need in November. As with Coakley in Massachusetts, Corzine in New Jersey, and Giannoulias in Illinois, if the Obama backed person loses the blame gets attributed to the weakness of the candidate.
Obama entered his presidency with the belief he could bully Congress and the States to sign off on his agenda. After the 2010 mid-term election he found out this was no longer possible. Gridlock does not begin to describe the current stalemate in Congress. It is more like an asteroid has hit the Earth and the grid has been vaporized. Nothing is getting done in Congress between now and election day.
The States are even more out of Obama's control. Twenty-seven States have sued the Federal government over Obamacare. The Federal government sued Arizona over its new immigration law. Florida and the Federal government are suing each other over the process of validating its voter rolls. The State issues are filled with real world nitty gritty details that get in the way of Obama's grand utopian views. Getting into the trenches of the local politics of Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Milwaukee and Racine would not have resulted in capturing the hearts and minds of the Badger state.
Obama has learned there is no need for hand to hand combat along the streets of Madison when you have the ability to fly drones all over America. The only way for the President to move Forward with the Hope and Change agenda is to bypass Congress and the Courts. He ignored the court when it ruled he had to lift the moratorium on drilling in the Gulf. He unilaterally decided to stop enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act. He made recess appointments when the Senate was not in recess. He signed a treaty without the approval of Congress arguing that what he signed was not a treaty but rather, an executive agreement (whatever that is.) These have been big, sweeping, unprecedented, unconstitutional executive branch actions or inactions. Other than some huffing and puffing by Republicans, the President has gotten away with his failure to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. The checks and balances the Framers counted on to keep our government limited, are safely stored in the same lock box with all of our social security savings. Somewhere the anti-Federalists are screaming a collective, "I told you so."
On Friday, June 15, 2012 the President bypassed Congress again with the announcement of a new deportation policy. This appears to be a clear usurpation of an enumerated power of Congress stated in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, "to establish a uniform rule of naturalization." If Congress does not do everything within in its Constitutional power to check the executive branch then we may as well cut spending by shutting this Congress down.
Alex: It is time for Final Jeopardy. The category is Authoritarian Rulers. Contestants, round your wagers to the nearest trillion.
Alex: And the answer is, Barack Obama, 2009 to 2035. (Cue the music.)
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Deconstructing the TIME Breastfeeding Cover
This article can be found at the American Thinker website
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