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Subscribe to RSSReturning to his hometown of Chicago, President Obama touched on issues he address during his State of the Union: Increasing gun violence, Strengthening gun laws, and improving the economy. Watch the entire speech.
President Barack Obama took his push for stricter gun laws to his adoptive hometown of Chicago, as that city endures an epidemic of high-profile shooting deaths.
Speaking near his family home on the south side of Chicago, the president renewed his call for Congress to allow for a vote on his various gun measures. And Obama pointed to recent incidences of violence, including the murder of Hadiya Pendleton, the Chicago teenager who was gunned down shortly after performing with classmates in Obama’s second inaugural parade.
“This week, in my State of the Union, I talked about Hadiya and the fact that, unfortunately, what happened to Hadiya is not unique,” Obama said, noting that Pendelton’s parents were in attendance at his speech. “It's not unique to Chicago."
The president’s adoptive hometown, though, has suffered from an epidemic of gun violence. The city suffered over 500 homicides in 2012, including a record number of gun deaths for victims under the age of 18.
“That's the equivalent of a Newtown every four months,” Obama said, referencing the deadly shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut in December, which left 26 students and teachers dead, and provided the impetus for the administration’s new push for comprehensive legislation to curb gun violence.
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Conservatives, though, have also helped popularize Chicago as a prime example as to why the president’s gun proposals are ineffective.
"When President Obama visits Friday, let’s hope we hear something more thoughtful than the usual rhetoric about expanding background checks, to which gangs never submit, and banning some weapons which they rarely use," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., wrote Thursday in the Chicago Tribune.
“Honesty about what it will really take to face gang violence is the best tribute he can offer to Hadiya Pendleton and the dozens of other children killed in Chicago each year,” Gingrich added in his op-ed, referring to the Pendleton’s parents attended Friday’s speech at Hyde Park Academy.
Obama used his speech at the academy to also talk up elements of his education reforms proposed in the State of the Union address earlier this week, including expanded access to Pre-K education and better federal support for schools and standards. The president also talked up his proposal to raise the minimum wage to $9.00/hour, though such a proposal has already encountered resistance from Republicans on Capitol Hill.
This story was originally published on Fri Feb 15, 2013 4:51 PM EST
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I find it fascinating that so many people get obsessed about gun 'control', flying in the face of the original reason why the second amendment was added to the Constitution before ratification. Apparently all to many have forgotten small events like Lexington and Concord, etc.
My real question/challenge though is - HOW MANY OF THOSE MOST VOCAL ABOUT RESTRICTING GUN OWNERSHIP, AND REQUIRING LICENCES/BACKGROUND CHECKS BEFORE ALLOWING ONE TO EXERCISE HIS/HER RIGHTS UNDER Second AMENDMENT, WOULD HAVE THE SAME ATTITUDE IF SUCH WERE PROPOSED TO BE APPLIED TO THE First AMENDMENT?
It appears to me that those most vocal about restrictions on the second Amendment are those who proclaim their absolute rights being protected by the First!!!! [confidentiality of news sources, etc, etc, etc]
Where would England be today with her banning of guns for decades, if the NRA and multiple Americans had not donated/shipped thousands of guns to them in 1940 when they were faced with invasioin of the Nazi armies???
But then, what do I know, I'm just a simple Ohio farm boy - who has yet to see ANYONE propose to ban automobiles/driving - even though those kill more people than guns - and I read of multiple shootings a week in Sydney Australia and other AU cities - where private gun ownership has been LEGALLY banned since 1995-96.
How many people have ever been killed by someone shooting their mouth off?
As for the gun ban in England, the U.S. gun homicide rate is 92.5 times that of the U.K.
Finally, the death rates by automobiles and guns in the U.S. are similar in number - a little over 30,000 per year. But over 90% of Americans own cars and most use them on a daily basis, while only about 32% of Americans own guns, and few use them every day. Most of the privately owned guns in the world are owned by Americans and 20% of American gun owners own 65% of the guns.
So, with similar death rates but three times the number of car owners, the gun death rate on a per owner basis is triple that of cars.
Hope this helps with your confusion on the subject.
Expecting the Nazis to invade?
I dont think the Brits were expecting an invasion before they got their clock cleaned at Dunkirk.
Believe it or not,America has a lot of enemies,will you and Obama stand on the beach with a copy of some new laws forbidding foreign invasion?
Or would the people now looking to outlaw guns be looking for people who could use firearms to save their bacon?
Ah...is someone threatening to take away the guns of the military? The police? Is someone suggesting that ALL guns, from the population, be confiscated?
Don't be stupid.
I'm not stupid,I know once you get the first restrictive laws and they dont work,you'll be back for more.
Right or wrong?
How is that stupid?
I just understand how things work.
1st Amendment? Hell, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are defended by all the civil liberties organizations except the 2nd amendment. Try to deny someone any one of the following and watch how fact the ACLU, NAACP, NCLR, NOW or AU get involved.
1) Freedom of speech and assembly
3) Protection from military quartering
4) Protection from unreasonable search and seizures
5) Right to due process
6) Trial by jury
7) Civil trial by jury
8) Protection against cruel and unusual punishment (think ACLU going to Gitmo)
Yet, none of these same organizations would lift a finger if the government tried to deny someone their 2nd amendment rights.....unless they were a minority and they would actually be defending them under civil rights violations, and not a 2nd amendment violation.
Are you sure of that? Besides, the Supreme Court has ruled recently on the second amendment and up held the basic right to gun ownership, while simultaneously agreeing that the State has a right to regulate such.
I'm sure all the Chicago "gangstas" were very impressed and ready to turn all their guns in weren't they?
The Chicago "gangstas" don't have any guns, don't you know in Chicago it as a violation of law to carry guns around? The mean people just say they do bad thins. The "gangstas" are just unfortunate, misunderstood young people, in need of some government help. (they could use more free money to add a new sound system to their Escalade)
His administration signed off on letting HSBC off with a "fine" for years of knowingly laundering drug cartels blood money. We don't even know if the fine exceeds the profit they made from the murders on both sides of the border!
Illegal drugs are at the core of most violent crimes, yet this administration is not going after those who financially profit from them with criminal charges, and feels more laws to burden law abiding citizens are the answer?
He's one dumb college boy!
I suspect that President Benghazi earns commissions on the drugs sold in Chicago, in much the same way that He and Eric made money by selling guns to Mexican drug cartels. I feel bad for Agent Terry and his family. Terry had information about President Benghazi's gun running (as did Amb. Stevens when BO (aka Stinky) was selling guns to his idiological and religious eqauls at al's-queers), and had to be eliminated. It seems that Prez. Benghazi is taking a line from Nixon's playbook, "If the president does it, it's not illegal".
All Hail Barry!!
Here is part of the reason Chicago has so many problems. One of Hadiya Pendelton's killers was on parole for a previous gun violation and he was free, walking the streets of Chicago. Why doesn't the President address that issue?
CHICAGO -- Gun violence has inextricably joined Michelle and Barack Obama with a family from their Chicago neighborhood, and the president will give them a place of prominence during Tuesday night's State of the Union address.
Honor student Hadiya Pendleton had performed as a drum majorette at an event during President Obama's second inauguration in Washington and was gunned down days later.
The presence of her father, Nathaniel, and mother, Cleopatra, sitting by the first lady's side, will be no coincidence and part of the president's message to the nation.
In his address, Obama will renew his support for the gun proposals he's already endorsed, including a ban on military-style assault weapons and bolstering background checks, officials have said.
Pendleton's alleged killers -- both of them gang members -- will appear in court for the first time Tuesday morning in Chicago, police there said. One of them confessed Monday, saying he mistook Pendleton and her friends for someone else.
The honor student was openly opposed to gang membership, taking to Twitter to discourage her followers from joining.
She was 15 when she died after being shot in the back at a playground in late January, in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, not far from the Obama family home.
The first lady attended her funeral.
The president will visit Chicago Friday to talk about gun violence in the wake of 500 shooting deaths in his home town in 2012. Pendleton was the 42nd victim shot dead in the city this year.
The killing has prompted a ranking Chicago police official to call for stricter penalties against gun offenses.
Michael Ward, 18, and Kenneth Williams, 20, were each charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder, Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said.
Ward said he shot Pendleton, when he and Williams were out to get revenge on rival gang members, according to police.
The men had fired upon Williams in July, wounding him in the arm, McCarthy said. When police arrested them, Williams refused to press charges.
Instead he apparently decided to take matters into his own hands and, at best, made a serious error.
"The offenders had it all wrong," McCarthy said. "They thought the group they shot into included members of a rival gang."
Shatira Wilks, one of Hadiya's cousins, said Hadiya was hanging out with a volleyball team -- a group of girls and one boy -- when she was killed.
Williams allegedly drove getaway and waited in a car for Ward, who wielded the gun, McCarthy said.
Police initially received no solid tips on the shooter's identity, but they did get a description of the car, which they were able to link to a traffic stop days before the killing.
That, along with information from parolees, led them to the two men.
Ward surrendered on Saturday night without a struggle, McCarthy said, but Williams tried to escape.
Wilks said the family was elated that the suspects were in jail.
"However there is no level of comfort -- not long-term comfort -- and we are still miserable," she said.
The shooting should not have happened, McCarthy said, openly frustrated with Illinois' gun laws.
Ward was already on parole for a previous gun violation -- unlawful use of a firearm -- when he shot Pendleton, McCarthy said. He thinks he should have been behind bars and not walking around free.
"Michael Ward would not have been on the streets of New York City to commit this act, if it had happened there," McCarthy said.
"This is not about gun control, he said. This is about the criminal justice system being designed to prevent gun violence."
The police superintendent called for mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes. What he wants most are controls surrounding the "loss, theft or transfer of firearms."
President Obama hand-wrote a note to Pendleton's parents, when she died. It was printed on the funeral program and included a promise to take action:
"We know that no words from us can soothe the pain, but rest assured that we are praying for you, and that we will continue to work as hard as we can to end this senseless violence. God Bless, Barack Obama
Before new laws are enacted perhaps the existing laws should be enforced. Until murders are put to death rather than supported and coddled there will be no change. Until the gangs are treated like the domestic terrorists that they are there will be no change. When those who commit crimes with a weapon go to prison & never have a chance of release then there will be change. We must realize criminals aren't going to prison to be punished but to further their education & bond with their homies. The so called punishments our limp court system imposes on those convicted are so ineffective criminals look at them as vacation.
The Federal government used to have a program called "Operation Triggerlock" in which criminals convicted of any felony by the state courts were then remanded to the Federal courts and tried for violation of the Federal gun laws. After they finished their state sentence they went to Federal prison and started their Federal sentence. Once they were in Federal prison they stayed there until their sentence was up--there is no parole in the Federal system.
One of Bill Clinton's first acts as President was to discontinue this program. It has not been reinstated. Barack Obama could reinstate it with the stroke of a pen but it was not on his list of executive orders.
Please oh mighty Universe, drop a half-mile wide asteroid, on chicago, and save us down state people from the cesspool, that is called chicago!
20,000 plus gun laws on the books. How does anyone get away with anything?
Certainly the other 434 House representatives know what's best for my district. Yet another argument for issues to be dealt with at the local and state level. Besides, Congress doesn't convene enough to spend adequate time on all the issues.
So what got done on the spending cuts, debt, and budget this week? Just one more thing to keep from facing the fact we are broke and can not afford to pay for gun control, illegals, trips for the president, executive orders etc...
They are once again setting the stage to raise taxes, keep spending, and kicking the can.
Yes, tougher gun control laws in Chicago will decrease the shootings... c'mon man!
I'm confused -- why didn't he hold his speech right in the middle of the worst neighborhood. Isn't that his target audience?
Yes, it is. He has the full support of the gangs (they even "raise" money for him). Being a gang member is a dangerous job, made more dangerous by citizens that think they should be able to defend themselves and their families. President Benghazi understands that, and wants to make it safer for his core constituency to take part in the (I want everything for) free market system.
Obviously the gun control laws in Chicago are a failure. Those laws that don't work should be ditched and make those high price government employees come up with something that works.
Obviously the gun control laws in Chicago are a failure
Don't confuse the Chicago idiot politicians with facts, it will really screw their mind up.
Gun control seldom works, largely because criminals do not follow U.S. gun laws. What DOES work is prompt, vigorous prosecution of criminals doing crimes with guns. MAKE room in the jails for them. Target drug- and gang-related crimes, for they are disproportionately represented among the 500+ deaths last year. Go ahead Chicago, contribute to a mental patient registry, but do not put all veterans with PTSD in that same registry, unless they are a clear and present danger to themselves and/or others. Plan on the fed messing up that distinction. For the most part, the other currently pending legislation in the House should never see the light of day. Most silly legislation, feel-good responses of those unable to control violent gun crime, but want to appear they are actually addressing the problem. Most of the time, they are not. Besides, effective self-defense, constitutional rights, the Bill of Rights and personal freedom DO matter in a constitutional republic. There is another consideration beyond "common sense" gun laws, and that is the left and far left are very much afraid of an educated, informed, armed citizenry. So were Germany, Russia, Cambodia, China, and other countries that disarmed its citizens
Above the fold in the Chicago Tribune: Obama taunting gun control with Blacks students who have already said that the problem is gangs in Chicago. And Jesse Jackson Jr with wife admitting crimes that will send them to jail. Then Obama will talk about jobs for Chicago blacks: less than half graduate from high school and only 20% read at grade level. It is a dysfunctional family problem. When the parents are criminals, so too will the kids - look at the Jesse Jackson family! Chicago drug gangs are responsible for over 80% of the Chicago murders and the killing of a least one kid per week. That's the way Chicago has been for years under the rule of tough gun control and the corrupt Democrat politicians. Problem #1- oust the corrupt Democrats. Problem #2 - oust the inhuman gangs.
Your number 1 and number 2 are different with no distinctions.
Obama honored some "heroes" of Newtown on Friday before taking off for a golfing vacation. Don't know if any one else noticed that he wiped away another fictitious tear. This is getting ridiculous. How phony can he get. Leave our 2nd amendment alone. Stop p***ing away our money on vacations and do your job within the limits of the constitution as you swore to do ( not with illegal executive orders which you vowed not to use in 2008). Nobody likes a liar.
I don't understand why Chicago (and Ill.) just have strict gun laws. It makes no sense that with over 500 gun related murders last year that they don't just make it difficult if not impossible to own a gun. If there's a city that NEEDS gun laws, it's Chicago. I'm surprised that President Benghazi wonn't tell Rahm that guns are bad, and they should be banned.
They (Chicago) have some of the toughest gun laws in America. It hasn't helped. The idea that gun laws in and of themselves will fix this problem is disproved by Chicago.
I had a typo there MOMINNJ, and I probably should have used the /sarc tag.
Doesen't the Idiot in Chief understand the irony of giving this speach in Chicago? How dumb can you be?
I guess there are not other pressing problems in America so our president feels that gun control is the most important issue on the table. Why is this poor excuse of a president out stumping like it is a campaign? We elected Representatives and Senators to do our bidding so why isn't Obama in Washington? I guess Obama just does not know how to work in Washington. He does not know the word negotiate. Obama is so arrogant he seems to think it is his way or no way. Then he goes and preaches a different story on the road and points fingers at others as being the problem.
There are two different problems between what's going on in Chicago and what happened at Sandy Hook, Aurora, etc.
Chicago is a CLEAR example of of social factors i.e. the gangsta drug culture which is influenced by music and Hollywood, lack of parenting and the gratuitous violence in our society.
Sandy Hook et al happened because we have no way to force the insane (and that's what these guys are) either into confinement or treatment and we have no way to flag THEM as people who shouldn't be allowed to either purchase or have access to weapons.
Restricting access to guns has not helped Chicago and their murder rate. It seems to have had the opposite affect.
As for the insane - just look into the eyes of the Sandy Hook shooter, or Jared Loughner or the Auorora shooter - they look nuts. And no one should feel comfortable with a combination of these guys and weapons. And just because a paranoid schizophrenic has not been violent in the past does not guarentee they won't be violent in the future.
Of course, sometimes these nuts just push people off of subway platforms for no reason. If they want to kill, they will figure out a way....
I truly agree... but the way they are approaching things... could this drive those with a mental illness into the woodwork? If they know they will be put on the "no buy" list... what about the "no fly" list... they could be deemed hazardous to other passengers right? Or the "no shop" list... they could be dangerous to those shopping at Wally World....or a "no hire" list because they may be dangerous......Lists are bad, bad things that lead to control.
What about tough buying regulations huh? Every gun buyer MUST complete a course, class and some sort of evaluation to obtain one. No list.. just a "permission slip" if you like. If denied the "slip" they can't buy it. I know Texas requires you to have a Hunters Safety course to get the hunting license right... as do many others I am sure. This way... there would be no "list" to haunt those people forever.....
Something other than a big list of "undesireables" must be the answer... otherwise... it may/will drive those most in need of help to not get it............
Because we never seriously have an investigation at the highest levels on the effects of anti-psychotics and other pharmaceuticals on individuals,we don't really know if they are helping some people get better or pushing them over the edge.
By the looks of Loughner and Holmes,i would say whatever they gave them sent them over the edge.
But we dont know because its always..."the guns"
I'm peplexed as to why so many people on this blog are authorities on the city of Chicago. Do any of you live here? The guns law didnt work because the guns still flow in from Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan. In fact, all you have to is travel 10 miles outside the city limit and you can purchase all the death machines you want. You can go to any 1 of many guns shows held in the suburbs of Chicago and you can buy and trade automatic and semi automatic weapons. Yea! It's Christmas.
No one wants to ban hunting rifles or hand guns, just those that are capable of making a single person able to commit mass murder. I CANT even believe that some of you can't grasp that. Do all of you own automatic weapons? If you do then why do you? Are you dooms day preppers? Are you waiting for the zombie apocalypse? Do you go hunting with machine guns?
Weapons like an automatic shot gun that is capable of firing up to 60 shells within a 1 minute has only 1 purpose and that is to KILL PEOPLE!!! This weapon was confiscated by the Chicago police dept of Feb 14. Weapons like this one should not be for sale at Walmart.
We will never be able to weed out all the unstables in our country so the only way to stop atrocities like Sandy Hook is to remove their ability to kill.
@sick of it in illinois
Do you live in Chi Town? If so I'm sorry for you. Here’s a couple things that might clarify a few things for you.
First off unless you have a class 3 FFL you don't buy or trade in automatic weapons at a gun show or anywhere else. So no, it's not really Christmas Virginia. Very highly regulated item, not only in the US but worldwide. Not typically used in street crime.
"No one wants to ban hunting rifles or hand guns" Ahhh well just a couple of decades ago handguns were exactly what they wanted to ban and up until the fairly recent SCOTUS decisions in Heller and Miller that's exactly what was banned in ChiTown and D.C. Remember Ms, Feinsteins quote "... Mr. and Mrs.
America ‘turn them all in’."
As matter of fact I am a "Doomsday Prepper" but not the way you think. Doomsday can be a localized event. Look at The Big easy in the aftermath of Katrina. A lot of violent crime happened in the area before our government could get their arms around it. How about the Rodney King riots in L.A.? There were a whole lot of folks that were glad they had a means to protect themselves and families and neighbors for a few days in that part of the world.
So I keep adequate food supplies in my house to cover a few days, a reasonable
amount of ammunition for a few days, reloading supplies, water, etc.
What do you mean you don't see a need to take those precautions??? Well in case of a major flood, earthquake, tornado, hurricane, etc, etc, etc and you needed me to, I as a good neighbor would protect you too, with my GUNS, maybe even give you a little food and water if I have some to spare from my family.
Then again maybe not...
We keep spending, throwing money at things and all we have is a crumbling shell of a country with stifling regulations and more debt than we make.... and they want more.
We keep banning and regulating... and things don't change. Chicago has some of the "toughest" regulations in the country... and still have a high murder and crime rate. Ditto NYC, Washington DC..... so regulating has been proven to be ineffective...
OR could it be lack of ENFORCING the regulations already there? The last ban did nothing to change stats.... and this one will not either... except that EVERY BULLET they make is being bought...........EVERY "Assault weapon" is being bought......... so many that manufacturers can't keep up!!! People that used to buy a box of ammo to practice with.... are buying CASES to protect their right. That's right... people who used to have 50 or 100 rounds in the house now have 500 or 1000..... and they bought an extra gun too........not to mention the people who never had one that are buying them just "because."
In the mean time....... keep throwing good money at bad.......... regulating and banning so only those that abide by the law are affected..... in otherwords..............same old thing.................Yep that Hopey Changey thing works great......... Bet if he stuck his hand in a hornet's nest... he would do it again and again... just to see if he was wrong the last time!
I'm so glad that Obama is taking his gun control ranting to Chicago so that all of Chicago's gun violence problems will finally go away. If he'd only ban guns and ammo completely like we have a Federal pot ban, then all this violence would go away like the pot did.
Same goes for the requirement that you be LEGALLY in this country... just because we say... It's illegal to be here illegally... the problem disappeared! Drugs and drunk driving too!
More tank than think!
No one (or very few) are suggestinfg ALL guns be banned, only assault rifles and large capacity magazines, along with more effective background checks.
And, arguing that there is no reason to have a law because some people will break it is Limbaugh Logic.
If what is being proposed does not address the problem,and VP Biden said they would not....when they become law and the same old $hit happens,guess who will be back for more and "stronger" laws?
You know thats how its going to work.
"There was nothing wrong with the medecine we gave you,it didnt work because you need a stronger dose"
If we actually worked together we could solve this problem,but since the same people are just pushing their agenda,and not addressing the problem,
dont expect any cooperation from us.
"You" would seem to be in the minority. And, no, we don't expect cooperation...we're used to Republican obstructionism.
And what makes an "assault" weapon more dangerous than say a shotgun with "00" Buck.... a bunch of .32cal pellets all coming out at once?
And what makes ANYONE think that the criminals won't modify magazines to hold more.... a simple thing... you do know that they are pretty creative right? Cut and weld a couple together... break out the pin... you know do things that are ALREADY illegal to do... but they do it! Same goes for shortened barrels... they cut them off below the 18" limit all the time..... and do you really think they care if they have a flash suppressor... pistol grip....or any other "assault" thing? Thugs, criminals and nutbags do what they want when they want and how they want... that is what makes them criminals.........And while we are on the subject........ you DO know that a shotgun is "plugged" and only allowed to hold 3 rounds right? But a simple procedure removes the plug and MAGIC.. it holds 5 or more... especially if you get the magazine extender.... so...... 10 rounds of "00" Buck holding 9- .32cal pellets...........WOW! 90 rounds of terror, destruction and mayhem from one little huntin' gun! Of course to do so would be illegal right... so no one would do it I am sure......................
They will come after the deadly pump shotguns and you daddys deadly "sniper"deer rifle next installment.
History in other countries proves this out.
No need to cooperate with this gang.
No one, including Biden, claims it will eliminate shooting deaths...but it may reduce the access to a type of gun the crazies seem to prefer, as a result of watching too many Rambo movies or playing too many violent video games.
If you don't think it matters, why are you oibjecting?
very simple
because i know it wont work and you'll be back for more.
Then you may cross that bridge when we come to it.
Thats a real nice saying...about the bridge and all
but you'll be back for more,am I right?
You know I am,you snake.
johninpa... remember this adage?
First
they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not
speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak
out for me.
You are so right...........they went after tobacco... they went after fast food.... they went after soft drinks....and now?
Be careful for what
you wish for gang
President Obama didn’t make any phone calls the night of the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, the White House said in a letter to Congress released Thursday. <<< What NBC dares not report as it still tries to protect their Anointed One
What phone call were you looking for?
When Obama calls on the Navy Seals, then get OBL dead, when ex-Navy Seals and a sitting US Ambassador urgently request of calls for help with their lives in danger, they get denied and ignored by Obama.
Last week, Lindsey Graham's unrelenting line of questioning compelled Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to confirm under oath that not a single military asset was deployed to help rescue besieged US personnel in the course of a terrorist raid in Benghazi, Libya. The September 11, 2012 attack lasted nearly eight hours, during which four Americans died, including our sitting ambassador. Multiple requests for increased security in the weeks and months leading up to the massacre were denied. Urgent warnings that the Benghazi consulate couldn't withstand a sustained attack were ignored. (The compound didn't even meet minimum security standards for American diplomatic outposts anywhere in the world). An eleventh-hour cable accurately predicting an imminent attack resulted in...nothing. Explicit calls for help during the prolonged raid went unheeded amidst a flurry of "stand down" orders. One of many lingering questions regarding this outrageous episode is what our Commander-in-Chief was doing throughout the ordeal, during which America's real-time response was evidently paralyzed by chaotic indecision. Yesterday, the White House finally shed some light on this question by releasing a letter describing what President Obama was not doing as American diplomats' lives hung in the balance. Not making any calls for our military to rescue our Navy Seals and Ambassador
Of course, NBC remains silent on this, they got their Anointed One to protect
You missed the part about him instructing Panetta and Dempsey to do everything they could to protect our people. And, the part about the deployment of four fast reaction teams from the U.S., Central Europe, and Spain.
You are ignoring the time line and the actual events. For one thing, it is probable that the Ambassador and State Department Officer were dead before the President was informed (after 11 PM - Benghazi time). All attacks then ceased for a period before small arms attacks against the Annex began.
The former Navy Seals were killed by a quick barrage of about nine quick rounds of mortar fire, in 90 seconds at approximately 5:00 AM, AFTER a rescue team from Tripoli had arrived. An hour later they evacuated Benghazi. The Annex compound was never breached.
What are you suggesting could have been done that wasn't?
Stone6, doing Nothing is NOT "to do everything they could to protect our people.". However, they eventually did do "something", they blamed the already known Pre-planned Terrorists attack against our Consulate on a Video from the Internet. In otherwords, this Kakistocracy Regime choose to lie and blame an innocent recent Legal American Immigrant by attacking free speech in the USA rather than admit they failed to act upon the rescue of our Navy Seals and Ambassador. In fact, the day after the election, they had their politicial prisoner, the innocent unrelated internet video maker in prison while still are not pursing those who attacked our Consulate.
This is consistent with a Kakistocracy Regime that blamed the Fort Hood Terrorist's attack on "workplace" violence rather than admitting to the truth it was a Terrorists attack as not to "offend" Obama's friends at the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
Him taking gun control to Chicago is like taking drug control to the Colombian cartel. What a laugh. He is useless at local, and foreign diplomacy.