20,
November 2008
The
following letter was sent to President Elect, Barack Obama.
Dear Mr. Obama,
I
offer you my sincere congratulations on your well-deserved victory in the hotly
contested presidential campaign. As president you will be challenged with many
daunting issues which will require courage, fortitude, boldness and visionary
solutions. To this end may I respectfully offer you some suggestions?
On
the economy, resist seeking the advice and guidance of the moneyed folks from
Goldman Saks who have contributed in a major way to the economic morass that we
are now facing. Thus far, the financial bailout has been a monumental disaster
with no restrictions imposed on those institutions who have squandered their
assets and taxpayers bailout funds to reward their incompetent executives with
obscene bonuses, shareholders dividends and bank buyouts. Such bank
consolidations create non-competitive entities and fail-safe behemoths.
Do
not support the bailout of the auto industry. General Motors, Chrysler and Ford
have contributed to their own demise by ignoring the public’s hunger for more
fuel efficiency cars in favor of short term profits and marketing gimmicks (offering
lower gas prices for gas guzzlers and low interest car loans). These companies
have mocked climate change doomsday pundits and have instead lobbied
politicians to postpone fuel efficiency legislation. They must be allowed to
sink into receivership and forced to replace board members with new blood.
Gross incompetence must not be rewarded with more government largesse.
Call
an immediate moratorium on home foreclosures and allow bankruptcy judges to
restructure the loans downwards to reflect actual home values. Banks should
absorb the difference between the original loan values and the restructured
loans.
Provide
relief to seniors by suspending the mandatory redemption of IRA’s at age 701/2.
Charge
a federal excise tax on oil imports and offer a portion of the revenue in the
form of loans to innovators to encourage the manufacture of fuel efficient cars
and alternate energy sources.
Pursue
vigorous diplomatic efforts to promote world peace and harmony. Abandon
policies which promote US commercial interests to the exclusion of the basic
needs of the people the world. The Bush administration has alienated much of
the world with their bellicose ‘axis of evil’ language. Use your high office to
elevate the level of discourse and abandon the failed polices of the Bush
administration which perpetuated rancor with nations such as Iran, Venezuela
and Cuba and remove existing trade embargos. Reach out to the
governments of Venezuela and Bolivia and Ecuador, each of which is currently
under subversive attack by the United States. Restore trade relations with
Cuba.
Close
Guantánamo, Abu Grab and Bagram Air force Base and scrap the Military
Commissions Act. Allow prisoners to be tried in US federal courts granting them
the right to due process and dismiss confessions extracted under torture. The
current system is an absolute outrage and has rightly been criticized by JAG
lawyers. Call an immediate halt to all
forms of torture and extraordinary renditions. Restore Habeas Corpus. Banish
‘unlawful combatants’ from our lexicon and instruct Pentagon officials to stop
offering financial inducements to ‘turn in’ Afghani people. According to the
International Red Cross, most of those arrested are completely innocent and
have been arrested on false information to settle tribal scores or for
financial gain. Do not escalate the war in Afghanistan. Instead negotiate a
speedy withdrawal with a specific timetable. Our continual presence violates
international law and basic common sense.
The high rate of civilian deaths is fueling more anger and bitterness
and our illegal occupation is doomed to failure. Offer massive reparations to
innocent civilians who have been killed by US or international forces.
Reign
in military spending. Banish private soldiers of fortune such as those hired by
Blackwater who have a dark history of committing war crimes and have squandered
billions.
Appoint
a special prosecutor to investigate the war crimes of Bush & Company.
Curtail
excessive spending of the Department of Homeland Security and phase out this
bloated bureaucracy which does little to preserve our security and wellbeing.
An ounce of diplomacy will reap tons of security.
Eliminate
cluster bombs which continue to maim hundreds of innocent men, women and
children each year.
Close
the Western
Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the ‘School
of the Americas’. This institution has an extremely dark history training its
recruits in barbaric treatment of its citizens, principally in Latin America.
Phase
out US agricultural subsidies which place third world countries at an
uncompetitive disadvantage and have contributed to thousands of farmer suicides
in India and Africa.
Resist
the siren song of powerful lobbies such as AIPAC. These lobbies have driven US
foreign policy and have done incalculable harm to our nation drawing us into
unnecessary conflicts. Their influence must be neutralized. Appoint former
president Jimmy Carter as a special envoy to heal the deep wounds inflicted by
the failed policies of Bush- Cheney.
End
the siege of Gaza immediately. Israel has committed one of the greatest crimes in modern
history by confining 1.5 million in a ghetto who are on the brink of
starvation. Demand
an immediate freeze on new Jewish-only settlements. Structure a phased
withdrawal from existing settlements and demand a removal of the separation
wall. Put Israel on notice that continued US aid is conditional on withdrawal
of illegal settlers from confiscated Palestinian lands and respect for
international law.
Resist
Zionist demands for territorial conquests.
Your earlier stump speech before AIPAC was disappointing especially the
statement you made promising Jerusalem will remain the undivided capital of Israel. I
urge you to replace ‘Israel’s lawyers’ such as Dennis Ross, and Martin Indyk
with more honest brokers. Robert Malley, Zbigniew Brzezinski, or President
Carter would be far better choices.
Close
the monstrous US embassy in Baghdad and accelerate the withdrawal of US troops
from Iraq closing all US military bases. This will go a long way to engendering
the trust and respect for the US. Make equal rights, civil rights, basic human
rights and freedom of expression the centerpiece of your administration.
Jettison the ideological, rapacious, Pentagon war-making machine
which has brought misery and death to so many innocent people. Stop the
genocide in Darfur and the Congo. Use the US military to achieve noble goals
such establishing a no-fly zone in Darfur.
Honor our verbal commitments to promote peace and goodwill. For example,
the US has failed to meet its stated promise of providing $50 million to
African Union troops who are attempting to halt the killing in so many African
nations.
I wish you all the
success as the first African-American President of this nation.
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