Steven Sotloff, a 31 year old nationally recognized freelance journalist whose stories appeared in Foreign Policy, Christian Science Monitor, and TIME magazine describes himself on his Twitter profile thusly:

“Stand-up philosopher from Miami. Currently in Libya. I’ve been published in TIME, National Interest, FP, CSM, The Diplomat, LWJ, & more,”

Steven was working near Aleppo, Syria and also had worked in and around Benghazi, Libya. He’d traveled in and around Syria and nearly died several times. Steven wrote several key stories concerning the attack on the U.S. compounds in Benghazi, the refugee crisis near Turkey’s border, Syria’s targeting of civilians. In 2011 Steven wrote an opinion piece for the Daily Caller titled, “Why Washington should be wary of the Muslim Brotherhood.”  His last piece in November 2012 covered assassinations targeting Libya’s top cops.

At the time of his kidnapping in August 2013, just after his last tweet, Steven was abducted just after crossing border into Syria from Turkey. He has not been heard from since. His family, chose to keep the information quiet, but kept working with officials in Washington DC in hopes of getting their son and brother released.

Steven Joel Sotloff’s life, according to the ISIS scum, now rests in President Obama’s hands. ISIS is demanding that the United States is to back off from Iraq with the inference that Steven will live and be freed. If anything, the US is damned if we do and damned if we don’t. The ISIS track record of terror, anarchy, mutilations and killing of religious minorities combined with their unspeakably heinous killing of James Foley doesn’t give me much hope for Steven Joel Sotloff. I wish, I truly wish I could say otherwise. But when we have a President who can barely muster 5 ½ minutes of time off the golf course to speak about James Foley, I’m deeply afraid that Steven’s family and friends hopes and prayers will be in vain. As a good friend, Anne Marloe, eloquently stated:

“Steve Sotloff lived in Yemen for years, spoke good Arabic, deeply loved Islamic world.. for this he is threatened with beheading.”

Mr. President, what say you? Will you have the US stand up for America? Stand up against ISIS and all that they are? Will you truly stand up for Jim Foley, for Steven Joel Sotloff (whom you did NOT mention during your 5 minute speech) and honor their work and what they’ve stood for?  What say you?  Will you pay attention?  Will you act? Or will you golf?