The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/131836
The Press-Dispatch H Lies about Libya Continued from page 2 available at the time from intelligence sources. But that claim cannot survive scrutiny, now that the 12 drafts of the Obama administration's talking points about Benghazi have belatedly come to light. As draft after draft of the talking points were made, e-mails from the State Department pressured the intelligence services to omit from these drafts their clear and unequivocal statement from the outset that this was a terrorist attack. Attempts to make it seem that Ambassador Susan Rice's false story about a "spontaneous protest" was the result of her not having accurate information from the intelligence services have now been exposed as a second lie to excuse the first lie. Despite Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's loudly proclaimed question "What difference, at this point, does it make?" the difference is between an honest mistake and a calculated lie to deceive the American people, in order to win an election. Barack Obama's election campaign oratory had proclaimed the death of Osama bin Laden as an accomplishment of his administration, as part of a general defeat of Al-Qaeda and other terrorists. To admit that these terrorists were still in action, and strong enough to kill an American ambassador and three other Americans in a well-coordinated military style attack, would be a politically devastating admission during the election campaign. Far better, politically, to come up with a story about a protest demonstration that just got out of hand. This could be presented as an isolated, one-time event, rather than part of a continuing pattern of terrorism by groups that were still active, despite President Obama's spin suggesting that they were not. The problem with telling a lie, or even a succession of lies, is that a very small dose of the truth can sometimes make the whole thing collapse like a house of cards. The State Department's own foreign service officer Gregory Hicks was in Libya during the attack, so he knew the truth. When threats were not enough to silence him, it was then necessary to try to discredit him. After years of getting glowing job evaluations, and awards of honors from the State Department for his work in various parts of the world, Mr. Hicks suddenly began to get bad job evaluations and was demoted to a desk job in Washington after he spoke with a Congressman about what he knew. The truth is dangerous to liars. The Obama administration's excuse for not trying to get help to the Americans in Benghazi while they were under attack—namely, that it would take too long—is as shaky as its other statements. A small fighting unit in Tripoli was ready to get on a plane to Benghazi when they were ordered to "stand down." Other fighting units located outside of Libya are designed precisely for fast deployment—and nobody knew how many hours the attack would last. But it will take more investigations to determine who gave the order to "stand down," and why. How many new lies that will generate is another question. Wednesday, May 22, 2013 Court report Criminal Docket Pike Circuit Court Kevin W. Nelson charged with count I operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a class C felony and count II operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a class D felony. In re: search warrant. Daniel Miller charged with count I domestic battery—in front of a child, a class D felony; count II intimidation, a class D felony; count III criminal confinement, a class D felony. Request for convening of grand jury. Traffic and misdemeanor Pike Circuit Court Chad A. Norris charged with count I leaving the scene of an accident, a class C misdemeanor. Levi R. Nelson charged with public intoxication, a class B misdemeanor; count II illegal consumption of an alcoholic beverage, a class C misdemeanor. James A. King charged with count I possession of marijuana, a class A misdemeanor; count II possession of paraphernalia, a class A misdemeanor. Jenny E. Hupp charged with invasion of privacy, a class A misdemeanor and count II resisting law enforcement, a class A misdemeanor. Civil Docket Pike Circuit Court Midland Funding LLC sues Mickey Windle for complaint on account. Tonya M. Snipes sues William Kelly Snipes for dissolution of marriage. Mary L. Scott sues Robert L. Scott for dissolution of marriage. Kacey L. Wilson sues Jeffrey R. Wilson for dissolution of marriage. Bobbie Jo Cropper sues Jesse Cropper for dissolution of marriage. Capital One Bank sues Joyce D. Shafer for complaint on account. Small Claims Pike Circuit Court Medical and Professional Collection Services, Inc. sues Shawn D. Cook and Angela Cook for unpaid accounts. Medical and Professional Collection Services, Inc. sues Sabrina Mason and Brian D. Mason for unpaid accounts. Four Star Fabricators sues Alex McFarland for complaint on cost of uniform rental. Tim Hilsmeyer sues Shawn and Leann Lee for complaint on past due rent and damage. Infractions Pike Circuit Court James P. Thompson charged with expired registration. James T. Ballard charged with speeding 39 mph in a 25 zone. Jamie T. Brown charged with seat belt violation. Kevin E. Clark charged with seat belt violation. Yulin S. Cummins charged with seat belt vio- C-3 lation. Danny R. Deweese charged with speeding 44 mph in a 25 zone. Edward W. Diskey charged with seat belt violation. Calvin T. Durcholz charged with speeding 68 mph in a 55 zone. Nathaniel E. Durham charged with disregarding traffic device and seat belt violation. David L. Flint charged with seat belt violation. Cliffton W. Gish charged with seat belt violation. William E. Gamble charged with no license. Jeremy B. Helsley charged with seat belt violation and speeding 70 mph in a 55 zone. Alan D. Kern charged with seat belt violation. Troy M. Price charged with speeding 69 mph in a 55 zone. Wesley A. Rucks charged with 95 mph in a 70 zone. Boredom bites. READ. H Debt-limit drama Continued from page 2 weight by the recent release of a 568-page tome on tax reform by the Joint Tax Committee." Enacting, not simply voting on, pro-growth tax reform can help, but the real fiscal problem lies on the spending side. Absent reform, spending on entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is set to rise sharply over the next few decades. It's all set to happen automatically. Ruinous debt is guaranteed unless action is taken to get spending under control. That won't happen if lawmakers keep kicking the can down the road. It's time to focus on the steps necessary to bring the budget back into balance within 10 years. When it passed the Ryan budget in March, the House of Representatives signaled its commitment to achieving a balanced budget within that time frame. That can't happen unless we do something different. As in "Groundhog Day," we can't break the cycle by repeating the cycle. It's time for a game-changer: Only serious spending cuts followed by genuine tax reform can ensure that we don't find ourselves doing this all over again. And again. Ed Feulner is founder of the Heritage Foundation (heritage.org). H Face of Mass Murder Continued from page 2 en] to report it to the Department of Health." Is not this a damning indictment? By admission, Planned Parenthood Southeast Pennsylvania looked the other way and did not report Gosnell to state health officials. Instead, as Steinberg said, they left it up to the women (black, poor, and disadvantaged) to complain about his continuing infanticide. The case remained low keyed (are you surprised— Gosnell was indicted two years ago) until eight weeks ago when Columnist Kirsten Powers (a self-described liberal and pro-abortion proponent) chided the MSM for not reporting on the trial in a USA TODAY op-ed piece. Columnists John Fund in his piece also took aim at the MSM, and until Powers' column, there was no network or major newspaper covering the trial nor was there a front-page story. Should anyone be surprised or even take offense? Offended? Yes, I am offended; and Jesus is too! Long ago many quit listening to His admonition about children, which is worth repeating to anyone left who will listen, "And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea" [Mark 9:42]. Sadly, these little ones never had a chance to believe—and the killing goes on. Think about it! Your pain is real,, and so is help. If you are having thoughts of suicide, please know that help is just a phone call away. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800) 273-TALK Get sucked into another world this summer at the library. CONNECT your student Your college student is already plugged in. Why not connect them with news from their hometown? There is no need to wait for the mail, get NETedition and your student will have their news Wednesday. netedition pressdispatch.net/edition Web, Smartphone, Tablet College subsCription Just $18 per year for a NETedition or paper subscription. Call Today 354-8500 Local Mental Health Helpline (812) 827-6222 Suicide Prevention Coalition Call 354-8500 today to plug in your student!