Asking the Tough Questions

Saturday evening I listened to a talk by John Pingree, President of the Houston Texas Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  He mentioned the need for each of us to offer up our prayers; but he structured his thoughts in such a way as to emphasize how our prayers should focus on our individual challenge to become more like the Savior. 

President Pingree said we should implement the “dangerous prayer”, that prayer which would identify our own short comings; ask the Lord to help us get rid of what ever sin was keeping us from achieving progress towards becoming the kind of person He wants us to become.  It reminded me of another talk some years back where folks were reminded of their back sliding ways; working to become better people all the while keeping up their summer home in Gomorrah. (I wish I were better at finding a reference link to that particular item; but sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn’t.)

Asking difficult questions can be painful as it brings to light weaknesses which stand between doing what is right and holding on to our weaknesses.  Are we willing to ask tough questions?

I like to tell people I’m working on becoming a better person; that I gave up robbing banks and burglary, next I plan to stop stealing cars.  You’d think my parole officer would be happy; that is, if I had a parole officer.  I’m also a terrible liar, something I’ll have to give up eventually if I want to be counted among the righteous. 

Shifting gears, is it important to have men of integrity leading the country? 

What’s the deal with the Obama Administration covering up important blunders regarding gun running down Mexico way or over in Libya?  Is there no personal integrity to be found?  Why aren’t all the major news outlets hounding the Obama administration day and night until they come clean and provide the requested documentation?

First there was the Fast & Furious mess which got swept under the rug, at least by the largest news outlets; assault weapons being placed in the hands of drug cartels, guns which have murdered in the neighborhood of at least a couple of hundred innocent Mexican Nationals and at least 2 American citizens.  Frank Miniter, in an article posted at Forbes, not exactly a media outlet where most folks look for important headline breakers, posed the following thought:

“Why a gunrunning scandal codenamed “Fast and Furious,” a program run secretly by the U.S. government that sent thousands of firearms over an international border and directly into the hands of criminals, hasn’t been pursued by an army of reporters all trying to be the next Bob Woodward or Carl Bernstein is a story in itself.”

Now we have the mess in Benghazi which gets more interesting by the moment as the Obama Administration changes and alters their official statement as the world turns; just like the soap opera and every bit as sleazy.  Why should Americans have to depend on the Washington Guardian, a relatively obscure media outlet, to obtain a reliable account of this disaster?

“The two former Navy SEALs killed in last week’s attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi were not part of Ambassador Chris Stevens’ official security detail but took up arms in an effort to protect the facility when it was overrun by insurgents…”

{…}

“…while the administration has downplayed any link to al-Qaida, there is evidence some of  the attackers were affiliated with another group that sympathizes with al-Qaida and has grown more influential in Libya and other parts of north Africa.”

While the administration downplayed any link to al-Qaida they also avoided answering other troubling questions. 

Was Ambassador Chris Stevens acting as a front man to complete yet another version of Fast & Furious, only this time handing over assault weapons to al-Qaida and the Muslim Brotherhood?  When did the Obama administration become aware of the attack or was there real time coverage of the attack supplied by drone aircraft which might have been ignored during a political campaign because it would be unfavorable to Obama’s bid for re-election?  Who, exactly, was responsible for denying military assistance to those battling insurgents in a bloody assault on an American compound, requests which were denied at least twice over several hours? 

Was Obama present when live down feed of the attack was transmitted or was he off trying to convince voters he deserves another four years of failure and deception?  Can we depend on our news media to do their job?  We know Hillary Clinton fell on the sword to deflect the media’s attention; but how much of that was just for show and how much higher should we be looking for answers?

David Jackson, USA Today wrote:

“President Obama has declined to answer questions about a report that Americans under attack in Libya on Sept. 11 were denied help, saying the entire incident is still under investigation.”

Who will ask the tough questions and keep asking until the truth comes out; but more than that, when will the American public be told the truth instead of being spoon fed milk toast answers like, “We’re still looking into this” or “There is insufficient data at this time”.  Who will ask the dangerous questions, questions which might cause the White House to cancel the journalist’s press pass for making Obama look incompetent, or worse, a traitor?

This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal , a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.