My first March letter. March 3, 2009

On the environment, a good Republican president, destroyed interrogation tapes, NSA and oversight, treason and the telecoms, state's rights on cannabis, the Fairness Doctrine and monopolies and freedom of the press.

                                                                 Peter Lawrence

                                                                 PO Box [redacted]

                                                                 [redacted]

President Barack Obama

White House Residence

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20500

3/03/09

Dear Mr. President,

I read how you were reversing 43's suggestion to review environmental policies. I also read some of your speech and it reminded me of a past great Republican President. I've always wondered why the Republican Party wasn't more into saving nature, as was Teddy Roosevelt. Without it there is no hunting or fishing. I truly love reading his speeches. In a speech Teddy Roosevelt said,

"Defenders of the short-sighted men who in their greed and selfishness will, if permitted, rob our country of half its charm by their reckless extermination of all useful and beautiful wild things sometimes seek to champion them by saying 'the game belongs to the people.' So it does; and not merely to the people now alive, but to the unborn people. The 'greatest good for the greatest number' applies to the number within the womb of time, compared to which those now alive form but an insignificant fraction. Our duty to the whole, including the unborn generations, bids us restrain an unprincipled present-day minority from wasting the heritage of these unborn generations. The movement for the conservation of wild life and the larger movement for the conservation of all our natural resources are essentially democratic in spirit, purpose, and method."

In one other speech on the New Nationalism he said,

"Conservation means development as much as it does protection. I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us."

This is where Republicans should be but instead they are in the back pockets of corporations of which both Roosevelts railed against.

I am not sure what to think about the CIA destroying interrogation tapes. They were told to do it by their superiors but that defense was used at Nuremberg and was unacceptable.

I saw that the NSA wants to expand its cyber security and most understand the necessity but also realize that a gun in the wrong hand can do much damage. There are many in the agency that cannot be trusted. I, and others I've spoken with, do not like that cyber spying happens to The People. We understand the need outside of the US to protect our liberties but cyber spying inside the US would leave us no liberties to protect. The purpose of our government should always be to maximize liberty. If the NSA is given that much power then they should have even more oversight to suppress abuse of that power.

As with those who destroyed the interrogation tapes, the telecoms must be tried for their involvement in the acts of an unfettered administration. We The People cannot allow this to go unpunished. If our government allows the telecoms immunity then our government is guilty of treason violations under 2382 of the treason laws and again, The Peoples voice was not loud enough. And yet, news is out that the Justice Department continues to stand behind a 43 era law meant to prevent lawsuits against telecommunications companies accused of illegally sharing private customer information with intelligence agencies. I read about the brief filed Wednesday by the Justice Department to Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker. They say that, without retroactive immunity, the private sector might be unwilling to cooperate with lawful government requests in the future. That is absolutely untrue. They are required by law to cooperate with "lawful" requests but We The People don't want them to cooperate with any other - as they are required under law! Mr. President, every person that I speak with wants the government and those corporations to pay for those crimes. Or has it come to this - The more powerful the corporation the less powerful We The People are at stopping them from trouncing on everything we hold dear? Is it because the government is too deep into the back pockets of the telecoms and other corporations? Are We The People going to stand for anything of value ever again?

I should thank you for acting like a true Republican in one instance. Republicans have always held the value of States rights but most recently they've been all too happy to remove them for corporate interests. I am of course, speaking of the Justice Departments decision NOT to raid those in states where marijuana is legal for medical or other uses. As I mentioned before about [corporation that created nylon rope for WWII-redacted-I'll call DP] DP and our antiquated drug laws when it comes to cannabis. Hemp should be grown throughout our country because it has so many magnificent applications plus it's great for the environment. In the privacy of one's home a person should have the right to cannabis use provided their air doesn't impose on others. Personally I do not smoke it (really) but we should allow it and start using hemp in the US. DP, [major frankenfood corporation-redacted-I'll call M] M, the drug companies and all of the big corporations stand to lose if hemp is allowed to be grown in the US and that is why it is still illegal.

I saw that The Senate barred federal regulators from reviving the Fairness Doctrine. I'm quite divided on this. For the last thirty years the FCC has removed ownership limits and relaxed laws. Big media corporations who own high percentages of any market will only present views that help them to keep market share and make money. This is not conducive to producing all views for The People. We all suffer when we don't know all our options. I believe that if any corporation owns more than 20% of ANY media in any market then they should be required to follow the rules of the Fairness Doctrine. Those corporations do not want you to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine so call it something else and let's maximize information to The People so that they can make their own decisions on what would be best for our country. If a media company owns less than 20% then let them have at it, provided they don't have agreements with other media outlets to limit information to more than that 20%. The airwaves belong to The People and should be there for The People, not corporate profit.

Last, this week, I really want to thank you for lifting the ban on photographing our military coffins that are being shipped from overseas. We The People always knew that 43 imposed the rule to strengthen his agenda. Anytime the government asserts such power we should be concerned.

Very Sincerely yours,

Peter Lawrence