CNSNews.com is reporting that under the leadership of House Speaker John Boehner (R.-Ohio), the 112th House of Representatives has thus far approved legislation that has increased the debt of the federal government by $2,176,949,774,695.46—or approximately $18,944 for per American household.
The 112th House of Representatives has achieved this in a little more than 20 months time—and it may not be done yet enacting laws to approve new federal borrowing and spending.
The Associated Press is reporting that the leaders of an independent panel that blamed systematic State Department management and leadership failures for gross security lapses in the deadly Sept. 11 attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya will explain their findings to Congress today, Wednesday December 19.
The two most senior members of the Accountability Review Board are set to testify behind closed doors before the House and Senate foreign affairs committees on the classified findings of their harshly critical report.
Amidst current unrest in Egypt, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), yesterday called on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to halt the planned delivery of 20 F-16 fighter jets to Egypt.
Senator Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), noted that due to a FY’10 foreign aid appropriations bill concluded during the presidency of Hosni Mubarak, the United States is scheduled to deliver the first four F-16s to Egypt by Jan. 22, 2013.
“In light of President Morsi’s dictatorial decree and absence of promoting promised democracy, the delivery of the F-16 fighter jets must be delayed,” said Inhofe. “The Obama Administration should not be putting top-of-the-line aircraft in the hands of a government that is perpetuating instability in its region and showing aggression towards our ally, Israel. While this agreement for the F-16s was forged two years ago, Egypt’s leadership has since changed hands, leaving open the question as to how this equipment might be used. Until Egypt is able to establish a democratic parliament and ensure stability for its people, I have asked Sec. Clinton to postpone all deliveries of F-16s for further review.”
In an Associated Press story with Helen O’Neill posted on The Blaze much of the media frenzy over mass killings is disputed even in a situation that has become sickeningly familiar, gunmen opened fire on innocents in what should be the safest of places – first, at a shopping mall in Oregon, and then, unthinkably, at an elementary school in Connecticut.
Once again there were scenes of chaos as rescuers and media descended on the scene. Once again there were pictures of weeping survivors clutching one another, of candlelight vigils and teddy bears left as loving memorials. And once again a chorus of pundits debated gun control and violence as society attempted to make sense of the senseless.
Foreign Policy magazine is reporting that the Obama administration’s Asia team was caught so off guard by North Korea’s Dec. 11 rocket launch, several of them actually had to put down their drinks and suddenly leave a holiday party being held in honor of the Japanese emperor’s birthday.
Several top U.S. officials dealing with Asia and North Korea from the State Department, the Pentagon, and the National Security Council were relaxing Tuesday night at the Japanese ambassador’s Nebraska Avenue residence in Washington when the news came over their blackberries that North Korea had launched another Unha-3 rocket with a “satellite” attached, this time with much more success than a previous attempt in April.
Just minutes before the launch news became known, several officials were overheard remarking how nice it was that North Korea was apparently delaying the launch, giving U.S. North Korea watchers hope that their holiday festivities would not be interrupted.