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| Libyans drag the dead body of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens from the embassy after he was murdered. Photo via Al- Ahram |
U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans including two Marines were killed (murdered) when Libyan militants attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. President Obama ineptly responded this morning saying, "I strongly condemn the outrageous attack on our diplomatic facility in Benghazi, which took the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. Right now, the American people have the families of those we lost in our thoughts and prayers. . . . I have directed my Administration to provide all necessary resources to support the security of our personnel in Libya, and to increase security at our diplomatic posts around the globe. While the United States rejects efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, we must all unequivocally oppose the kind of senseless violence that took the lives of these public servants."
The U.S. has been attacked again by Libyans. Jefferson handled the first problem correctly with the Barbary pirates. With the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 by Libyan terrorists on Dec 21, 1988, which murdered 270 victims (259 on the plane and 11 in Lockerbie), several presidents failed to severely punish Lybia for the terrorists and their leaders actions. GW Bush did scared the hell out their leader when the U.S. attacked Iraq. Libyan leader Gaddafi gave up their Nukes. Now, Barack Obama does nothing in response to Libya invading our U.S. Embassy and the subsequent murder of an U.S. Ambassador Stevens and so far three other Americans. Instead Obama makes an obtuse remark about rejecting efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others which has no merit except in the radical minds of Muslims. He then calls what happened in Libya senseless violence. No Mr. President, the actions were not senseless, they were deliberate and they killed the spokesperson for the United States Government in Libya. America has surrendered its "peace through strength" policy. The jackals are out in numbers.
This morning, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered the following statement on the attacks against our diplomatic posts abroad: “We learned yesterday, and are receiving reports this morning, of the attacks against the United States Embassy in Cairo and the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. In Benghazi our Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in service to our nation. Our thoughts and sympathy today are with the families of these brave Americans. These attacks remind us of the sacrifices made on a daily basis by foreign service officers, diplomatic security personnel, and our Marine Security Guards.
I join my colleagues in strongly condemning the murder of these innocent Americans. And I support employing every available tool at our disposal to ensure the safety of Americans overseas and to hunt down those responsible for these attacks. Yesterday we commemorated the anniversary of the attacks of September 11, and today we are reminded that brave Americans serve us every day at the risk of their own lives. We honor the Americans we lost in Libya, and we will stand united in our response. Among the things we can all agree on in Washington is that attacks on the U.S. and its representatives will be met with resolve, and that America’s presence and defense of our national interests across the globe will not be deterred by the acts of violent extremists.”
The Senate reconvened at 9:30 AM today and resumed post-cloture consideration of S. 3457, the Veterans Jobs Corps bill. Yesterday, the Senate voted 95-1 to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 3457.
The House reconvened at 10:00 AM today and at noon began consideration of resumed consideration of H.R. 5544 Minnesota Education Investment and Employment Act which was expected to be taken up tomorrow.
Yesterday, the House worked hard to move quickly on their planned activity in anticipation of their upcoming recess which most of them need so they can campaign for office. Many of the bills passed in this month will never become law as the Senate will not take up these bills, but they do make for good campaign rhetoric back in the congressional districts. Unless any of these bills are allowed by the Democrat controlled Senate in the lame duck session and are passed or incorporated into continuing resolutions, these bills will die and have to be reintroduced by their sponsors in the next session of Congress.
Passed by Voice Vote:
H Res 484 — Resolution on basic human rights in Vietnam
HR 1410 — Vietnam Human Rights Act of 2011
HR 1464 — North Korean Refugee Adoption Act of 2011 - To develop a strategy for assisting stateless children from North Korea
H.R. 4057 — Improving Transparency of Education Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2012
HR 4305 — Child and Elderly Missing Alert Program
HR 4631 — Government Spending Accountability Act of 2012
HR 538 — Federal Customer Service Enhancement Act
HR 6028 — No-Hassle Flying Act of 2012HR 6080 — Improvements in the enactment of title 41, United States Code
HR 6131 — Extending cybersecurity and fraud act
HR 6185 — Local Courthouse Safety Act of 2012
HR 6189 — Reporting Efficiency Improvement Act
HR 6215 — A bill to amend the Trademark Act of 1946 to correct an error in the provisions relating to remedies for dilution.
S 710 — Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act
S. Con. Res. 17 — Expressing the sense of Congress that Taiwan should be accorded observer status in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The House passed by vote: HR 4264 (402-7) FHA Emergency Fiscal Solvency Act of 2012
Action / vote postponed:
HR 1775 — Stolen Valor Act of 2011
HR 3857 — Public Transit Security and Local Law Enforcement Support Act
HR 5865 — American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2012
S 3245 — 3 year extension of the authorization of the EB-5 Regional Center Program, the Special Immigrant Nonminister Religious Worker Program, the E-Verify Program, and the Conrad State 30 J-1 Visa Waiver Program
The New York Times reports today that Moody’s “warned that it would downgrade the government’s debt if no solution [to the fiscal cliff] was found by year’s end. . . . The Moody’s warning comes a year after its rival, Standard & Poor’s, downgraded the United States’ credit worthiness after the protracted stalemate over raising the nation’s statutory borrowing limit. . . . The agency said Washington must come to agreement to head off billions of dollars in simultaneous tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to begin in January — and to put the government on a sustainable fiscal trajectory. Only then would the United States keep its AAA rating.”
Yet Senate Democrats seem content to do nothing before November to address the massive tax hikes and painful defense cuts scheduled in January. National Journal writes, “The Senate will head home after taking up the continuing resolution next Thursday. Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that once the Senate votes on the resolution to keep the government funded, they're unlikely to accomplish anything else this session. He said he plans to ‘run out the clock’ on a veterans jobs bill that is up for consideration this week.”
So with the fiscal cliff and another potential credit rating downgrade facing the United States, Democrats remain determined to do nothing. As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell wrote in Politico on Monday, “Following the president’s lead, Democrats in Congress refuse to develop the kind of responsible, concrete plan to avert the impending ‘fiscal cliff’ that House Republicans voted on weeks ago. . . . Trying to avoid all responsibility for the problems we face, or the pressing challenges ahead, Democrats have simply sat on their hands, preferring to tell tall tales about what’s happening in Washington rather than doing anything about it. They appear ready to ride out the rest of the year doing virtually nothing about the problems we face as a nation — astronomical debt, a looming tax hike, crippling defense cuts and an anemic recovery that all these things promise to make even worse.”
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