Tonight it is National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer speaking instead of President Obama. Regarding this weekend's violent crackdown on protesters in Tehran which has killed at least five people, Mr. Hammer condemned the "unjust suppression of civilians" and quoted Mr. Obama's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech saying, "It is telling when governments fear the aspirations of their own people more than the power of any other nation". (source) Why are we getting rehashed rhetoric from a third party instead of hearing from the president himself?

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In the wake of Friday's attempted terrorist attack on Flight 253 there have been statements and reports from a wide variety of sources. Various government officials have let us know the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, appeared in US intelligence reports. Another government official said Abdulmutallab's father went to the US embassy in Abuja, Nigeria with concerns about his son. Federal officials have announced a new layer of restrictions to hopefully improve safety. Members of Congress are talking about a potential probe into how the incident occurred. The Justice Department has charged that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab with willfully attempted to destroy or wreck an aircraft. And of course witnesses to the event have been telling reporters what actually happened on the plane. But one voice is missing from it all.

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