By Congressman Bob Goodlatte
Republican - 6th Congressional District (VA)
Nearly three months ago U.S. forces, at the command of President Obama and without the consent of the U.S. Congress, began attacking targets in Libya controlled by Moammar Gaddafi. I think most Americans, including myself, agree that seeing this tyrannical dictator and his regime of thugs removed from power would be a good thing. However, I think most Americans, including myself, also feel strongly that American forces should not be committed to this kind of mission without the consent of the U.S. Congress.
President Obama cites the War Powers Resolution of 1973 as giving him the authority to commit U.S. forces to the mission in Libya. However, the War Powers Resolution clearly states that the President's powers as Commander-in-Chief to introduce U.S. forces into hostilities can be exercised only when a declaration of war has been issued, specific statutory authorization has been given or in the event of a national emergency created by an attack on the United States or its forces. The President has failed to define the mission in Libya and America's role in achieving that mission before committing our military forces.
I have been alarmed by the President’s failure to comply with the War Powers Act and to define the U.S. mission in Libya. This Congress must not neglect its responsibility and authority regarding the use of force, and so I am pleased that days ago this important issue was finally debated on the floor of the House.
I voted for the bipartisan resolution which demands that the President provide answers about our involvement in the conflict in Libya, including the President’s justification for not seeking Congressional authorization for this action. The resolution gives the President 14 days to respond to this request.
The President should take very seriously this resolution. And our leadership in Congress should be vigilant to demand a full and clear response from the President. This resolution also gives adequate notice to NATO and our other allies of the concerns of the House before the House takes further action and reaffirms the position of the House that there should be no troops on the ground in Libya.
House-passage of this resolution is an important first step in restoring the balance that our Founding Fathers envisioned, that our legislative and executive branches share the responsibility regarding the use of U.S. force. However, this recent action taken by the House of Representatives should not be the last step. In the coming days, the House must continue to hold the Administration accountable for the critical military decisions they made without consent from the Congress.
To contact me about this or any other matter, please visit my website at www.goodlatte.house.gov.
No one picks on Grand Rapids, Michigan, and gets away with it, at least, not while Rob Bliss is around. With his "Grand Rapids LipDub" music video going viral on YouTube -- almost three million hits worldwide since its release a week ago -- Grand Rapids, and Bliss, are hits themselves.
The 22-year-old pulled together a massive effort to counter a report earlier this year in Newsweek that listed Grand Rapids as one of the top ten dying cities in America. With help from 5,000 volunteer participants from the city, local businesses, local politicians including the mayor, the TV meteorologist, and a $40,000 budget, Bliss has now put Grand Rapids on the map in a way that was beyond his wildest dreams.
Movie critic Robert Ebert called it the greatest music video ever made.
Filmed in one continuous take, the nine-minute lip-dub of Don McLean's "American Pie" is perfectly choreographed as it includes the smiling faces of the community -- fire and police departments, American flag-waving pedestrians, cart-wheeling gymnasts, a band of pillow fighters (which was a nod to an earlier Bliss video), a bride and groom exiting their wedding with bridesmaids and groomsmen singing in sync, a concert, joggers, musicians of all kinds.
The video features the mobile units of local television stations Fox 17, WOOD TV-8, and WZZM, football players making a perfect forward pass, cheerleaders, a marching band, kayakers in the Grand River, a Nerf gun brigade, awesome pyrotechnics, swing dancers, a sparkler brigade, and the whole thing wraps up with a helicopter flight showcasing downtown Grand Rapids with bridges spanning both banks of the Grand River, and ending with giant letters spelling out on the river bank in front of the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum, "Experience Grand Rapids."
Mission accomplished? It would appear so.
Filmed on a Sunday morning two weeks ago, the downtown streets of Grand Rapids were shut down to allow the production crew time for five continuous takes with no editing. They pulled it off seamlessly in a mind-boggling achievement that took months to plan and thousands to complete.
While becoming a media sensation in the week since the video's release, Bliss has been a guest on Fox News Channel's Fox & Friends, ABC-TV, and garnered perhaps the best line from comedian and radio host Dennis Miller:
The acerbic comedian, formerly on NBC-TV's “Saturday Night Live," said, “Newsweek telling you your a dying city is like you visiting Moscow and Lenin sits up in his tomb and tells you, you look a little pale.”The video has put a smile on the faces of people and usually a little toe-tapping goes along with it. After all, who doesn't know the catchy tune of "American Pie," and probably most of the words? Now they know Grand Rapids, too.
Since President Obama took office, gas prices have nearly doubled. The administration refuses to develop American energy sources…American energy sources that could help gas prices, electricity prices, and food prices come down.
