A leader's actions sometimes speak more plainly than his words.

President Barack Obama went before the nation Wednesday to strongly condemn the videotapd beheading of American journalist James Foley. He said he was “heartbroken” by the brutal murder and vowed to “be relentless” in pursuit of the Islamic terrorists who had threatened to kill another American hostage.

But moments later, Obama was teeing it up at his favorite links on Martha's Vineyard, playing golf with a retired NBA star.

That's not exactly what most of us would consider a relentless pursuit. The New York Times called it “a callous indifference to the slaughter he had just condemned.”

No one can dispute that U.S. presidents perform under relentless pressure. They must learn to balance crises and momentous decisions as day-to-day tasks. They deserve and even need occasional recreational breaks from all that pressure to restore themselves. They have a large staff of handlers and assistants to carry on while the president takes a break.

However, Wednesday wasn't a time for recreation — even if it did fall in the middle of Obama's vacation. His retreat to the golf course did convey indifference.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, responding to speculation that Foley's executioner had a British accent, canceled the remainder of his own vacation. Obama should have done the same.

Cheers to 13-year-old Mo'ne Davis, the Little League phenomenon, and her Philadelphia teammates. The Taney Dragons were eliminated Thursday from the Little League World Series, one game short of the championship game.Mo'ne is not the first girl to play in Williamsport's Little League classic. She's the 18th. But Mo'ne, with an overpowering 70-mph fastball, became the first girl pitcher to win a game in the series, which has been played every year since 1947.And she's the first Little League player — boy or girl — to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.Dragons manager said it best: “The world's her oyster, right? Mo'ne will figure out her future, and it's going to be terrific. She's going to dictate what it is. Good for her.”

A soggy, chilly salute to the executive leadership team at Quality Life Services, Sheriff Mike Slupe and a host of others for taking part in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The grass-roots fundraiser has generated tens of millions of dollars for the ALS Association's fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a motor-neuron disease.New York Yankee great Lou Gehrig first brought international attention to the disease in 1939 when he abruptly retired from baseball after being diagnosed with ALS. Most commonly, the disease strikes people between the ages of 40 and 70, and as many as 30,000 Americans have it at any given time.ALS patient Pete Frates, a former Boston College baseball team captain, dreamed up the challenge last month. Frates videorecorded himself getting a bucket of ice water dumped on his head. He challenged three friends to do the same or contribute to the Massachusetts ALS chapter within 24 hours. His friends did both — the cold dousing and the donating — and each challenged three more friends. The challenge took off from there.By midweek, the national ALS Association had reported receiving $31.5 million in donations compared with $1.9 million during the same time period in 2013 along with 637,527 new donors.The challenge also is raising awareness about a crippling killer whose causes continue to baffle researchers, although the past decade has brought new scientific understanding of the disease that provides hope for the future.The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge will only increase that sense of hope.