Day 73
Dear Mr. President,
I’ve been sitting at my desk for almost 5 hours trying to decide what to write about today, and now that it’s after 6:00 pm, I’m no closer to finding a topic I can actually tackle. It’s certainly not because there isn’t enough political fodder for a letter, it’s that there is a plethora of extraordinarily important topics to choose from. So rather than suffering from writers block… I’m suffering from ‘subject block’ brought on by an avalanche of information under which I am completely buried and rapidly suffocating.
I’ve called one of my Senators to ask for clarification on exactly what the “Gang of Six” is proposing and that you seem to be in favor of embracing (at least on the surface). Maybe you do, and maybe you are illustrating once again that you are willing to negotiate with the Republicans. I know it contains a chained CPI, but is it really a good measure to use for Social Security or Medicare? After all, there hasn’t been a raise in COLA in over 2 years, so wouldn’t it unfairly cut S.S. recipients? Confession: I still don’t understand the plan.
Then there’s the issue of Clarence Thomas’s possible conflict of interest on Affordable Care Act that his wife has been paid to fight and will most likely come before the Supreme Court. Has Thomas crossed the line in his involvement with the Tea Party, and should he remain on the Supreme Court? I believe the Supreme Court is suffering a great loss of respect over this and the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, declaring corporations are people.
The growing list of possible Republican Presidential candidates is always good for snarky contemplation based on the candidates views and stances on a variety of subjects. Will Rick Perry, Governor of Texas join the race? On August 6th he’s planning a ‘Stadium Prayer Event’ funded by the American Family Association (which the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled a “hate group”), and is being held to combat the economic and spiritual crisis facing the U.S. by returning the country to it ‘Biblical’ roots. Yikes, and this man wants to be our President? Has he ever heard of ‘the separation between church and state’?
These are just a few of the hundreds of issues to become educated and informed about, and the task is daunting, to say the least.
Even though there is much to learn, there is also much to be grateful for. You said some weeks ago that your thoughts were ‘evolving’ on the issue of same-sex marriage, and now New Yorkers are celebrating the passage of the states Marriage Equality Act. Along those same lines you have signed the repeal of DADT, now it just needs to be completed so those men and women serving our country don’t have to worry about being unjustly discharged.
And last but certainly not least, the repeal of DOMA that will soon be on your desk for your signature, and which you said you would sign as well. It’s ironic that President Clinton was the Democrat who wrongly signed DADT & DOMA into law and another Democrat that repeals them, and rights that wrong after 15 years. So changing your mind and evolving is a good thing… Abraham Lincoln once said, “I’d rather be right some of the time than wrong all of the time.”
Keep up the good work Mr. President… I’m still rooting for you and this administration.
Most Respectfully,
Marcia Reimers
Your Gadfly Granny
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