An open letter to the Prez...

Dear President Obama,

Talk about ‘Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride’….2009 has been a whirlwind, maelstrom, hurricane, and flood all in one, eh? Even with all the hullabaloo in the news these days, sure seems like many people have forgotten you didn’t create our massive problems – you inherited them.

As always, there are trade-offs, options, and consequences to actions taken. Some complain about all the money you spent to bail out banks and auto companies. I cringe to think what would have happened had they been left to die on the vine and get no assistance. I will say the old Wall Street way of doing things and paying obscene bonuses needs to be corralled in, and there is not clear-cut information on what your administration has done to address that…on the other hand, “Washington” is all about intense lobbying pressure and efforts that most citizens simply can’t fathom. Want as we might to change the way some business is done on The Hill, there are practical limitations on what can be realistically achieved. *SIGH*

In sort of the same vein, I have been very disappointed in the banking industry's response to having their butts saved. They talked a big game about how they were lending again and helping homeowners out in various ways, but I pretty much take it largely as a lie. The lending rules change weekly, and it's damn near impossible to refinance except under the most stringent of conditions. And I sure hope credit card reform efforts will overcome banking lobbyists opposition. I see banks continuing to try and pull fast ones over consumers' eyes, now in new ways...seems like the same old shell game, if you ask me.

I have been greatly saddened by those that condemn you as a Nazi, socialist, and other such absurd terms…I guess what REALLY bothers me is that many of those people have already pro-created and spread their genes to new life forms. I think we VERY much need a public option health-plan…I know, as I buy my own insurance through Blue Cross Blue Shield, which I fight hard to hold on to month after month. Many simply can’t afford it. And be damned those ‘spin doctors’ who purposefully manipulate the media to twist what your well-intentioned plans and dreams with false words and statements. I’m sorry that there aren’t more citizens who choose to engage their own brains and make intelligent decisions on information presented. All too many hear only what they want to hear so they can sit their butts up on their band-wagon-of-choice tailgate.

I’m glad that at least so far your daughters are allowed to be real kids and not subjected to idiotic news stories daily. I’ve worked in media for 20 years, and I’ll be the first to raise my hand and say that the media has acted irresponsibly on too many an occasion, pushing a news story with no intrinsic value except to turn a ratings point and a buck. Sadly, that process seems to be only intensifying, especially with the conservative Right talk show hosts. Egos are about as hard to crack as the insurance lobby shell, ain’t they? An “Amen!” from the choir is good enough for me.

The “War” you inherited is almost a no-win situation any way you turn. The soldiers are definitely over-stretched and need immediate relief…and we need them home, sooner as opposed to later. We have the responsibility to help others as much as feasibly possible, but there is also the opposite need to stop our own hemorrhaging, lest we do much harm to ourselves within our own boundaries.

You have so much on your plate, and I am but a small fish. Thank you for having the courage to go up against the status quo and stand your ground. Isn’t it a hoot that the ‘status quo’ has no idea that their very ideologies got us to where our ‘status quo’ is?! Humor can always be found even in the darkest of times.

As Shakespeare would say, “Lay on, Macduff!” And godspeed. Don’t let the turkeys get you down.

Sincerely,

Flute Boy