Letter The President from 2/10/09

Here I speak of "the bottom line", healthcare for our military, the "tin pail" and the fillibuster, how former President Bush may have helped us deal with global warming without knowing, electric transmission wires, "burrowing", Binyam Mohamed, health insurance conflict of interest, TARP recipients and my "faith" that requires more faith than others.

                                                                 Peter Lawrence

                                                                 PO Box [redacted]

                                                                 [redacted]

President Barack Obama

White House Residence

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20500

2/10/09

Dear Mr. President,

For those who think our United States should be "managed" as a corporation, they are the ones who think our government should cater to its bottom line. To this we can all agree but to the definition of the "bottom line" I will personally disagree. The government's bottom line is The People, not its dollar. And if our government were to cater to that bottom line then the money part would surely be fine.

I guess the same can be said about our country as well as our military. Guard it, protect it but don't sit back because you think it will always be there. We must nourish both to make sure they will be around. That would include giving health care to those military who have been denied proper coverage either through mismanagement or the protection of the wrong bottom line.

I just mailed out your last letter; with it I sent a letter with a tin pail to Senator Reid. Yes, a real "tin pail". I told him in the letter,

Next time, when Senator Mitch McConnell (or any Senator for that matter) threatens you with a filibuster, I ask that you hand him or her this tin pail and give him or her these words from me, "I suggest you don't drink too much water."

I hope he's able to use it. We really need the Democratic Party to be strong right now. Mind you, I am an independent and could have been just as happy with a Republican in the White House if there were actually any Republicans left.

I have a brilliant, yet ironic, idea to force legislation to reduce CO2 emissions. It's a legal maneuver that I'm shocked I hadn't heard was used yet and it would delight environmentalists around the world. As you know, on June 15th, 2006, 43 created the worlds largest protected marine area; a remote group of Hawaiian islands that cover 84 million acres and are home to 7,000 species of birds, fish and marine mammals, more than a quarter of those species are unique only to Hawaii. He made that area our 75th national monument and it is more than 100 times the size of Yosemite. The primary natural resources in the area are the coral reefs. Those coral reefs are dying at an alarming rate and their cause of death is CO2. The oceans absorb the excess CO2 in our air. That excess CO2 is primarily caused by tailpipe emissions. You're an attorney, I'm reasonably sure you know where I'm going with this. Wouldn't it be ironic if the worst president in history for the environment were responsible for creating the legal loophole for saving the environment? How could the Republicans argue against a Bush policy to protect the coral reefs?

You must somehow remove the power that the oil corporations would wield. They know that once alternative energy takes hold they will no longer have power so they will fight to keep it. Off the political side of things I had a thought. Since we have 200,000 miles of primary electric transfer lines, why couldn't we put solar arrays on each tower? That would localize the transmission. We lose 7% of our power through transmission. If we localized it we would gain most of that back plus it would all be solar. There are 7 to 12 towers per mile, which could translate to almost 2 million solar arrays. That's a lot of jobs and that's a lot of free electricity for a lot of years. Each square meter of solar array gets 1kWh per day. For arrays of 40 square meters along all the transfer lines I believe that translates to a savings of 40 million tons of coal per day but I'm no expert.

The insertion of Republican operatives by 43 into positions of power headlined some news organizations, though you would not hear it from the major networks. Some were extremely high-paying jobs. Isn't there some sort of cronyism law that can remove these appointments? Among the 100 or so last minute appointments were, Fred Fielding, Emmet Flood, William Burck, Daniel M. Price, Carlos M. Gutierrez, James W. Holsinger Jr., Joshua B. Bolten, Michael Chertoff, Michael B. Mukasey, Fred Malek, Robin Hayes, Susan C. Schwab, Elliott Abrams, Carol Ann Bartz, Maria Cino, Israel Hernandez, J.C. Boggs, Ronald A. Cass, Nancy L. Johnson, Alan I. Casden, Richard J. Tubb and Cheryl F. Halpern. Many of the appointments were major donors to the Republican Party and carry six-year terms. Others were from the Nixon administration, which will ensure corruption under those appointments for years. And still others were just payback for a job well done for the Republican Party.

I got that dull pain in my stomach again this week when I read about Binyam Mohamed and the former administration's threat to cut off information to England if they released facts about his torture. I would request that you ask them to release all the information about Mr. Mohamed's incarceration including the torture so we can all hear how horrible the former administration was. There are details coming out now about some truly ugly and unmentionable acts that I feel are worse than water boarding. I am grossly disgusted with the stories and that which was done in my name as well as those of The People. The information will come out sooner or later and it would be better if your administration did not appear to want to block the release of it. I was so very disappointed when I heard that the Department of Justice supported the Bush administration's controversial state secrets defense in a lawsuit over the prior president's "extraordinary rendition" program. Only through the knowledge of past events can we move forward confidently knowing we won't repeat those atrocities.

I'm happy you finally started on the healthcare issue. Healthcare for children is a good beginning. I know 43 blocked it before because, as he said, it would be "government-run healthcare", of which I have no problem. The problem I see in healthcare is the conflict of interest. Healthcare organizations (corporations) are required by law to make money - NOT to provide proper healthcare.

I would hope that the TARP recipient investigations would force those companies, who are American in name only, to return any TARP funds. I understand there was something inserted in the tarp bill that would allow us to get back all the bonuses - no matter what term they use to describe bonus. All of us don't want to supply monies to those companies that: aren't based here, hire people from outside our country to do jobs that we can do or that skirt tax laws with tax havens.

I thought your speech at the prayer breakfast was wonderful. I fall under the "Some" who "subscribe to no faith at all" definition. I believe my faith requires more fortitude than religions or Buddhism because there are no books or scrolls to follow, no teachings to learn and no elders who are, or were, examples. My faith requires me to believe that humankind does not need someone to tell them to do good; but that we are good because it's inherent in our species. We only learn to act in other ways by those who are inhumane, and in many cases, that inhumanity may be driven by religion. My faith requires me to believe only in what's laid out in front of me. One would argue that this description is not a faith but I see it as faith in the mind and heart. My faith requires me to be agile because truths change with discovery. I must thank you for including me in your speech because now I can claim that I am a person who is good despite not having someone to tell me that I should be. Many religions chastise me for who I am just because I do not confine myself to how they define themselves. Many profess that our laws were built on a foundation of Christianity but since my faith requires truth without conjecture I am able to see only fact; That Common-Law was created nearly two centuries before Christianity was introduced to Europe. Proof that fairness and goodness are fundamental to humanity and that religions grew from those instinctive values.

Very Sincerely yours,

Peter Lawrence

Excerpts From Letter Three

This first week in February on executive pay, who should get TARP funds, immigration, Republicans not giving an inch and my tug-o-war analogy and "isms" that shouldn't be.

                                                                 Peter Lawrence

                                                                 PO Box [redacted]

                                                                 [redacted]

President Barack Obama

White House Residence

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20500

2/3/09

Dear Mr. President,

I saw your decision on capping pay for executives who receive bailout money for their corporations. We are very happy about that though I would have been more harsh. I would have advocated for taxing all bonuses over 1% of pay at 110% unless they are returned to the company before the fiscal quarter. Capping executive pay will just make them find another way of getting the money. I'm sure you will have someone watching them very carefully to see how they will make their attempts.

As far as who should get TARP help? I would rethink qualifications. For instance, the banks that hired outside the US using H1b visas should be promptly investigated. They hired almost 22,000 people from overseas over the last six years to take banking jobs here in the US that could have easily been given to US citizens. Their idea is that if you flood the work force then you can pay less to everyone because there are fewer jobs available to more people. Each and every one of those visas should be examined and, if warranted, rejected by Homeland Security's Immigration section. There should also be an immediate review of the H1b department protocols before any other visas are given out. When I read that story I felt a dull pain in my stomach. After abusing the H1b system, those sociopathic executives were then able to ask me, and everyone I know, to bail them out.

I know you have been trying to reach your hands across the table with appointments as well as other ways but I don't see it helping. The Republicans have dug in and are holding on to their gains made over the last forty years. I think The People spoke loudly last election and feel you could be considerable more liberal in your ways which wouldn't be that liberal if you really looked at history. What I mean by that and when I said, "The Republicans have really dug in", is an analogy I use to explain to my friends about liberalism and conservatism. I hope you'll view my words and truly understand them. As a child, did you ever play "tug-o-war"? I'm sure you did. There's the line in the sand, a long thick rope and a red flag tied to the middle. On the Right side are the Republicans, on the Left, Democrats. For forty years the Republicans have been tugging hard on that rope and that red flag has been moving in their direction. Now that the Left has more power the Republicans are saying, "See that red flag? That's the center". My point is that President Clinton was almost far right of center and you seem to be acting center right while The People have been hoping for someone Left of center to help guide our country out of the mess from forty years of Republican rule. I'm not advocating for The People to be far left or right; for either way would lead to the demise of the democracy and our Constitution. I just think it's time to go Left for a while to offset the damage done.

We are fighting for our lives here. It's either We The People or they the corporations. Even Teddy Roosevelt saw the dangers nearly thirty years before the great depression. I would hope we've learned from Harding, Coolidge and Hoover on what not to do. Yes, it's true that things are different now but I'm reasonably sure we could get some direction from FDR. Please, Mr. President, I urge you to look into two things for the stimulus. No money for those corporations that are American in name only or that hide their monies in tax-free havens. And a restriction of all goods from any corporation that does not have a certain level of manufacturing within the US. As I said before, creating axes and axe handles, not just inserting them into each other. Other countries require a certain level of manufacturing and it works. Those who would add "ism" to the word protection are only doing it to make it sound unpalatable. But We The People need protection from those corporations who are required by law to have no soul when catering to their bottom line. When other countries say it's sending the wrong signal, please explain to them that it's nothing against them; it's because of corporations who take our jobs overseas. And it's corporations who play one country against another under the guise of each country's flag. In the past we've required our government to buy from The People and it should be so now. For our own security we need the steel and other manufacturers to have the capability to supply us with what we need because there may be a time when other corporations, who are in other countries, cannot or will not. We must strengthen their capabilities to sustain us.

Very Sincerely yours,

Peter Lawrence

My Second Letter To President Obama

This letter mailed about January 27th was originally 6 pages. As I move throughout the year the excerpts will likely be fewer in each letter as I cover topics.

                                                                 Peter Lawrence

                                                                 PO Box [redacted]

                                                                 [redacted]

President Barack Obama

White House Residence

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20500

1/27/09

Dear Mr. President,

The closure of Guantanamo is a great start but we all worry if closing it will truly stop certain things from happening. In other words, it wasn't the prison that was causing problems; it was those who were in charge. I am actually most concerned about those who have been subject to rendition or ghosting. Will we be able to learn of who and where they all are as well as what happened to them?

Many of us support Israel but also hold great concern for the Palestinian people. In South Central LA there are a lot of gangs that do damage. We know we can't bomb the area because people live there. We cannot negotiate with the gangs because that gives them legitimacy. Could it be time for Israel and the US to join in to gain favor also through "Hearts and Minds"? Would humanitarian aid fly further and strike deeper than rockets?

The news is abuzz this week with the NSA wiretapping of news reporters and House and Senate members. I have a great concern about this because our personal liberties are at stake as well as the press'. As Jefferson said, "Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it."

I believe the reason 43 was so confused was because he held a different definition of freedom. I believe 43's definition was; Freedom for corporations to do what they want without restrictions or regulations even if it means trouncing on human rights and stripping the environment of its resources. We have a perfect example in Haiti as to what could happen if corporations had those freedoms. Just look at the Island from the sky; two countries, Haiti and Dominican Republic. Haiti is barren and desert-like with many poor and starving and Dominican Republic is Lush and green with plenty of island beauty and charm with more poor than is acceptable to me but still considerable better than Haiti which was stripped clean by corporations.

For years the Republican Party has been calling something what it is not (I know, shocking, huh). There is an argument as to what constitutes an embryo. Stem cells are taken from something called a "blastocyst", not an embryo, in most opinions. Once those stem cells are all given a designation then it becomes something else. For many definitions it is pre-embryonic until week three or so. It doesn't begin manufacturing the nervous system until week four or so. Depending on the gestation, it is not a fetus until week nine or so. But when Republicans say "Embryonic Stem Cell Research" they want people to think of an embryo as a fetus as a baby, which is as far from the truth as a 2,000-pound hunk of metal being called a car. Any piece of that 2,000 pound hunk of metal could be a fender, trunk, lug nut or, if I were true to the analogy, windshield or tire. A blastocyst is not an embryo. Very simply put, the term "embryonic stem cell research" is, or should be, an oxymoron because a cell from an embryo cannot be a stem cell and a stem cell is not yet from an embryo. Perhaps you could call it "Blasto-stem-cell research" and when the right winged media starts blasting you over the "Embryonic stem cell research" you can honestly say, "We do NOT allow embryonic stem-cell research" because there is no such thing.

More big news about mass lay-offs this week. I believe this is a prequel to the biggest tax-break heist in history. The big companies of maybe 5000 or more employees know you want to give a tax break of $3,000 if they hire someone. So the smart way to capitalize on the tax break would be to lay off thousands of innocent people. Then they can hire them all back and save that much more. So a company like Microsoft or Intel or Boeing would get tax breaks of 15 million dollars to hire the employees they just let go. Caterpillar and Pfizer each would get 60 million dollars. For the one-day loss of jobs on Monday alone it will cost US taxpayers almost 200 million dollars in tax breaks to big corporations to rehire. For job losses in January so far that's more than a half billion dollars. You're welcome to offer the tax breaks but I propose either a "date" rule or "tiered system". A "date rule" would say that any company would get the tax breaks for hirings above the level of employees a company had in October 2008 (or whatever date). A "tiered system" would say, "OK, we'll give you $300 each to hire those numbers that were lost in January, another $1,000 for those since November and $3,000 for any above the November numbers. Of course there would also be a requirement to keep those people hired for a certain amount of time. My representative is [redacted] and I'm going to call and make sure [he/she] understands this possible tax-break rip-off of The People.

Very Sincerely yours,

Peter Lawrence

My Inaugural Letter To President Obama

It is my duty, just as it is yours, to inform elected officials on how our country should be. For if your voice isn't loud enough, we will all fail and fall into Fascism or Socialism or any number of "isms" where The People lose their rights and The People's governments or corporations will crush everything we hold dear.

You are a citizen of your country and of the world. If you do not make your voice heard you have failed your citizenship test and deserve what you get.

Do not just read what I have written! Pick up a qwerty, a telephone, a pen, a podium - ANYTHING - make your voice heard, tell your Senator, your Representative, your President - tell EVERYONE that you believe in fairness. DO NOT listen to the nay-sayers who claim your voice is not important - they only say that because without your voice their voice holds more power. LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! Do not sit quietly and allow those in power to control you because they are not your leaders - they are your employees! You are the leaders of our country and our world!

Politics isn't for politicians, politics is for The People. Politicians are just there to carry out the will of The People!

Vox Populi!

This was my first, my inaugural, letter to President Obama. This is the full text minus some personal information. After this post I will only post excerpts from all my other letters.

                                                                 Peter Lawrence

                                                                 PO Box [redacted]

                                                                 [redacted]

President Barack Obama

White House Residence

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20500

1/20-22/09

Dear Mr. President,

At first I wrote out an eight-page letter because the processed word appears homogenized when a hand written word is more personal and can show depth, intent and emotion. Then I thought that you being so hi-tech would more appreciate a letter without being assaulted by my horrible handwriting.

I was indescribably happy today when I watched as you took the oath of office. You are indeed a beautiful speaker and your words hold me in my heart to what can be. For the last ten years I've thought of and quietly repeated that oath to myself, as well as the oath taken by congress, to understand their meanings. With every motion by congresses, representatives and administrations I stood motionless to see how those actions held up to those oaths. I have found this more and more difficult.

In hearing you speak over the past few months I have felt your concern over losing your connection with The People. I am only one common man with one voice but among my peers I am able to discern what most feel. Their passions and struggles and hopes are also mine. I pray my letter really does find its way to you so that I may share the thoughts of The People who are around me everyday. There is a great cross section that I am able to claim as my friends and acquaintances. They are of all colors and many religions or no religion. They are remarkably rich (compaired to me), unbelievably poor, struggling and even middle class. One 60 plus year old who lives in her van because taking an apartment in Los Angeles would force her to go without food, another who lives in the park in an actual tree, union workers who worry about the future of their finances, artists who sacrifice a comfortable living for their passion, business owners like me who have felt the hard hits of the economic downturn, famous actors and struggling actors, teachers, waitresses, salesmen, resident non-citizens and the occasional politician - even a few Republicans. I hope this will not be my only letter but with my own busy life it will be difficult to find time. My intent will be to keep you in touch with at least one person outside of a most impenetrable circle.

One thing that we can all agree on is the enormous task ahead of you. We all want to move forward and return our country to where it was. It seems odd to say we want to go backward so we can go forward but that is essentially the hope - To back out of the direction we've been going so that we may continue on our original path. We almost all agree that fear cannot hinder our decisions and that without the full restoration of our Constitution the terrorists have truly won. We also hope that we do NOT repeat our past and we are all aware that without knowing the past we are doomed to relive it - as we already have. Our last eight years are the result of past-unchecked administrations. Those who were in those past administrations, or have learned how to operate as they did, have damaged our country in more ways than I could write in a single reasonably sized letter. We want it to stop happening so we can truly move on. Personally, I do not fear outside terrorism. All my fears are of inside corruption and corporatism that latches on to Fascism or Fascism corrupted even worse by Theocracy, either of which could take my country from me. I am greedy in wanting a country that has its roots deeply entrenched in fairness. In the past several years I've watched, horrified, as the 14 points of Fascism appeared. I've screamed, "How can this be happening"? But I felt that no one could or would hear my voice.

I really cried when I remembered how, 30 years ago, we promised each other never to allow another Vietnam and yet we did. I cried more when I saw what would be. These soldiers returning will face the same challenges. I remember it well when my own cousin, [redacted], who couldn't live with his nightmares and used a bullet to end his life several years after we were out of Vietnam. I felt he was killed in Vietnam but it took him about six years to die. But the wars in the Middle East are almost dwarfed by the mounting domestic and worldwide problems. I hope you'll do the right thing but I know "to do the right thing" you'll need as much input, both support and dissent, as possible.

The damage done by 43 to The People is incalculable. However, he was the best president ever, for corporations. Many refer to him as the new Hoover president but I know my history too well and would more likely compare him to Harding and Coolidge. Harding and Coolidge did the damage and Hoover didn't do enough to fix the damage. I think you would find that you would be closer to Hoover for comparison. That is, if you aren't able to do enough to fix what's been done to us in the last 14 years - Arguably, what's been done to The People Since the dawning of Reaganomics.

The most important issue to those who I speak with is restoration of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and accountability for those who violated them. We remember Watergate and we know that some involved were not prosecuted and moved on to the Iran Hostage incident and Iran-Contra, then finally the Bush administration. Each time they gained more power, more influence and more people to help them. Most believe it was because there was never any accountability and that the Unitary Executive polices himself. All those past presidents decided it was better to move on instead of investigating thereby giving power to those who corrupt. We feel that you don't need to waste time with this but a special prosecutor and investigator would not be wasting time. If we should decide to move on without an investigation then those who contributed to this mess will know they can get away with it in the future and those who learned how to get away with it will end up in office once more so that they can do more wrong and more harm. There should also be a treason investigation for outing a CIA operative during a time of war in violation of 2381. That, Mr. President, is giving aid to the enemy and whosoever was involved should get the appropriate punishment under 2381. There are plenty of other treasons to go around and I hope you'll look just as closely at the Democratic Party as you do the Republican. Of the treason laws, 2381, 82, 83, 84, 87 and 2388 were all violated on more than one occasion, and at times, by more than one individual. Arguably, 2386 for BH20 [thoroughly Middle East entrenched security corporation-redacted-but I'll call BH20] since they are based partially in the US and get foreign aid. Look specifically at 2382 of the treason laws and see who should have done something when they had knowledge but did not. Those in Congress who did NOT act under 2382 are just as guilty as those who committed other treasons.

One of the most harmful changes in the last fourteen years was NAFTA. Something needs to be done; we hope it will be revised. We all know now that it was created for corporations at the expense of The People. My suggestion would be that any manufacturer that sells product in the US must have a certain percentage of manufacturing in the US. Not just assembly! MANUFACTURING! Changing that block of wood into an axe handle, not just inserting the axe handle into the axe head. The value of our economy is in our work force and the value of our work force is in changing raw materials into something usable. Manufacturing is also vital to our national defense in that the US should be able to get things made here when in need.

Another most harmful was the bankruptcy changes in the law for individuals. Judges no longer have leeway to decide what would be best for the individual - the law forbids it. There should be an immediate change and the change should include accountability for the banking and credit card company's "Rainmaker" ways of handling customers. They are allowed to deceive The People how they see fit. One of the problems is that corporations have the same rights as the individual but I guess we both know what an uphill battle that would be. Imagine being identified as an "individual with rights" by the Constitution but being required by the law not to have a heart - to cater to your bottom line. Then add to that you can live forever and will never be put in jail. That is a corporation.

It's wonderful and amazing that every time I write a page, you change something else that needed attention. So I should now thank you for your first full day. A pay freeze was nice but congress received an automatic pay increase early this year that they should have removed if they had any sense of decency. The new ethics for lobbyists are great but I would also hope to expand those to congress though I'm not sure you have the power to do that other than through suggestion. Also, thank you for beginning to fix the detainee issue. That was a good first step to restore our Constitution. The openness in government thing was a great relief from the previous administration. Now if you can get a list of those documents that were unclassified before the last administration but reclassified after it began. Dick Cheney decided they hundreds of pages of old documents should be classified for some odd reason though they were either unclassified or never classified before he held the office. I'd love to know what he thought was so important to classify or reclassify. The economic daily briefing is a great idea. As far as the TARP is concerned, I would first make sure all corporations who are allowed to participate are still US based instead of "US in name only" - Like those who have tax shields in other countries. It's beneficial for no one to support former US corporations that don't support us with taxes.

There is one last, very important, issue I hope you'll allow me to address. Since 9/11 the administration has been claiming that their number one job was to protect The People of the United States. I find this horrifying. When a president takes his oath he states that he will protect one thing only - The Constitution. That is not to say that he shouldn't also protect The People but saying it is the number one job or the first duty sets a dangerous precedent. I know we would all appreciate public statements about security if they began, "After protecting The Constitution the presidents number one job is protecting The People governed under The Constitution". Those number two jobs will change throughout your administration but there is only one number one job - Your first duty to The Constitution.

Thank you again for your first day. I really do appreciate your conviction.

Please, Mr. President, I only want to help. As I said, I am only one man with one voice. I hope you will hear me now and with my future letters.

Very Sincerely yours,

Peter Lawrence