I know everyone here has received one of these emails from a friend, family member or co-worker. I know there have been similar diaries that have made from these. I'm just hoping that some of you will read my response and offer any criticism before I hit send. You see, I received the email from my parents and I really don't want to offend them but I can't take the lies, half-truths and slander that are propagated by these emails.
I'm not going to bother posting the original but it should be fairly obvious where my words begin and end and where Lou Pritchett (the author of the original) words do the same. I'll take any corrections or criticism offered.
Below the fold as they say...
Lou Pritchett scares me.
> Snopes.com
> has confirmed that this letter
> is true and was sent by Lou Pritchett, former
> vice-president of Proctor &
> Gamble.
>
>
> I have
> sent it to everybody I know.
> People from Portland, Oregon to Baltimore Maryland to The
> Villages, Florida to
> San Antonio, Texas to Camuale, Hawaii. That ought to help
> get it out!
>
> Subject: Fw:
> Letter from Procter
> & Gamble Exec
>
>
> > > AN OPEN
>
> > > LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA
>
> > >
>
> > > Dear President Obama:
>
> > >
>
> > > You are the thirteenth President under whom I
> have
>
> > > lived and
>
> > > unlike any of the others, you truly scare
> me.
Okay Lou we need to talk.
Wow must be nice to be a multi-millionaire who never has lived on welfare, known hunger, and has been insulated from what are truly terrifying thoughts. I know you might be a bit older than I but you seem absolutely, terrifyingly ignorant of history for an executive of a major company.
Eisenhower used the CIA to overthrow the lawfully elected governments of both Iran (directly leading to the troubles we face now) and Guatemala but this isn't scary?
Kennedy had the Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missle Crisis and the start of the Viet Nam conflict, I may not have been alive but something tells me these were not happy go lucky times. Duck and Cover anyone?
Johnson used the Gulf of Tonkin incident as a justification to ramp up the war in Viet Nam. Apparently there were some protests about Viet Nam and Civil Rights.
Nixon used the power of the Presidency to spy on his enemies. Under his personal direction, a little incident called Watergate occured. You might remember it, there were payoffs, and jail time for some players. He also ordered the illegal bombing of a foreign country but hey that thing called law doesn't apply to a President (see Bush 43).
Ford when faced with the evidence of all of Nixon's crimes did the honorable thing and pardoned him. Apparently he fell down a lot on the job as well.
Carter had the gumption to challenge the oil companies and their puppetts in the Middle East, they cut off the pumps and we had an oil crisis. Inflation was horrible. Towards the end of his term, the Shah or Iran's authoritarian rule (installed by the US during the Eisenhower administration) was ended in an religious uprising. The US Embassy was seized in Tehran and hostages taken.
This brings us to Reagan, who for some reason some people felt was a saint. Reagan negotiated with the terrorists to see the release of the hostages in Tehran and then began to trade arms with them arming them (and their neighbor some guy in Iraq named Sadaam). In addition to the illegal arms sales to Iran, there was the drug deals with the Sandanistas. The whole thing was known as Iran-Contra. People went to jail.
Bush the elder started working with a small organization in Afghanistan opposing the Soviet regime there. He armed and trained an organization called Al Quiada led by a guy named Osama bin Laden. They fought the Soviets leading to the establishment of a new regime called the Taliban. Also, our ally in the Middle East (the one we spent the 80's arming), Iraq invaded its neighbor Kuwait. The war was over quickly, but I remember a good bit of fear before the fighting began.
Clinton presiding over the largest expansion of wealth in the modern era, unfortunetly, he also approved the massive deregulation of the energy industry, banking industry and larger financial industry. Our old allies in Afghanistan armed and trained by the CIA during the first Bush and Reagan presidencies, Al Quaida, set off a bomb in the World Trade Center in New York. He also had several terrifying run-ins with an intern.
Bush 43 was elected (or installed by the Supremem Court) and newly-former President Clinton let him know the biggest worry of his presidency would be Al Quaida, he was ignored. 9/11 happened (not scary at all). Illegal wiretapping, spying on American citizens, unlawful detentions in violation of the Geneva Conventions. The institution of torture as a policy by the United States Government.
Barack Obama inherits the worst economy since the Great Depression. He ends torture as a policy of the US. Somewhat magnanimously he refuses to actively implicate and persue charges against the crimes (and they were crimes) during the Bush administration. He wants to make sure every man, woman and child in the country gets adequate health care. Using diplomacy, we see the release of captive journalists in North Korea.
>
> > > You scare me because after months of exposure,
> I know
>
> > > nothing about you.
He's written two books, try reading them, or watching the news. He has a wife and two girls. He's a Christian who was a regular church attender. I'd go as far to say that he has an amazing personal story. For the majority of his youth he lived in a single-parent household with his mother. As someone who grew up in a single-parent household for many years it's an inspiring story to me.
>
> > > You scare me because I do not know how you paid
> for
>
> > > your expensive Ivy League education and your
> upscale
>
> > > lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of
>
> > > support.
He received grants and scholorships. He rose to the top of his class. Truly an amazing individual.
Last I checked, lawyers make decent money, both he and his wife were one. His "lifestyle" as you call it was owning one home in the suburbs of Chicago. How decadent.
>
> > >
>
> > > You scare me because you did not spend the
> formative
>
> > > years of
>
> > > youth growing up in America and
> culturally
>
> > > you are not an American.
>
Wow, spending time overseas as a kid doesn't make you an American, better tell that to John McCain and see what he has to say. And he did grow up in Hawaii, he was born there as well (I've seen the birth certificate). Now Hawaii may be exotic but it's still American and the people that live there are Americans.
> > >
>
> > > You scare me because you have never run a
> company or met a
>
> > > payroll.
>
> > >
Well, I'd say he ran the largest campaign in history (well until the health insurance launched their campaign to stop reform). Lots of people were on the payroll and I'd say he did it quite successfully but hey, I just work in a liquor store.
>
> > > You scare me because you have never had
> military
>
> > > experience, thus don't understand it at its
> core.
>
He understands that as well, probably the reason he kept Sec. Gates on as the defense secratary. The last President did have military experience, we all see how that worked out.
> > >
>
> > > You scare me because you lack humility and
>
> > > 'class', always blaming others.
>
I'm sorry for blaming the fat-cats on Wall Street for making bad bets and bankrupting our country. Let's be honest, it was their fault. If anything, I have seen the US be more honest under him than any other President. Admiting our role in the installation of the Shah in Iran during the 50's.
> > >
>
> > > You scare me because for over half your life
> you have
>
> > > aligned yourself with radical extremists who
>
> > > hate America and
> you refuse
>
> > > to publicly denounce these
>
> > > radicals who wish to see America
> fail.
>
wow, I must have missed this Chapter in his book, maybe he's talking about Bill Ayers. He and Bill worked on a community board working to improve education in Chicago. Now I've seen him say he rejected his activities during the 60's but just because they work on a board together doesn't mean they're chummy. Quite the canard.
> > >
>
> > > You scare me because you are a cheerleader for
> the
>
> > > 'blame America
> ' crowd and deliver
>
> > > this message abroad.
>
Well, if we're going to be the best, we have to admit our mistakes, and vow not to repeat them. It's called being mature.
> > >
>
> > > You scare me because you want to change
> America
> to a
>
> > > European style country where the government
> sector
>
> > > dominates instead of the private sector.
>
You know, it was during the Bush Admin that the VAST majority of government take-overs occured in dollar terms. Why is it okay to bail out the financial industry but not the auto industry? You probably don't have very much invested in the Auto sector Lou (can I call you Lou?) You see, these are hard working Americans and the loss of our domestic auto industry would impact a full 10% of US workers. Furthermore, we're already seeing these companies repay their loans.
Plus, why the Europe bashing? It's a great place Lou, have you been there? No its not perfect but they do a lot better than we do here. Easy example, credit card swippers at every store. In the US every single one is different it seems. In Europe, they are standardized. Of course, in our country we could never have that kind of government interference in the sacred work of business no matter how much easier it would make the lives of citizens.
Basically do you want your government to work for the people or the corporations.
> > >
>
> > > You scare me because you want to replace our
> health
>
> > > care system with a government controlled
>
> > > one.
>
Well Lou, I'd imagine that Procter & Gamble provide you with a pretty darn good health insurance policy. For the vast majority of people though, we either don't have health insurance, have crappy insurance that may or may not pay for the treatments our doctors prescribe, or are already on government run healthcare (Medicare, Medicaid or in the VA system). The President just wants to offer an additional program that's available to people like me, who work for a small business that can't afford to provide healthcare to its employees. You'll be able to keep your health insurance Lou so don't worry.
Afterall Lou, as per the wisdom of Reagan, government can't run anything as efficiently as the private sector, so you don't have to worry about private insurance disappearing.
> > >
>
> > > You scare me because
>
> > > you prefer 'wind mills' to
>
> > > responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil,
>
> > > coal and shale reserves.
>
Wow Lou, your opinion scares me. I don't know if you know this but global warming is a big problem. In Oregon and Washington right now they're having the hottest summer ever recorded. Now one incident does not mean global warming is occuring as much as a late spring snow doesn't mean that its not occuring, but our climate is changing in large part because of our reliance on dirty oil/coal based energy resources.
Wind mills, are clean, provide energy essentially for free (once they have paid for themselves). Once again Lou, if you have been to Europe, you'd see the windmills on the hill tops. I don't know why people don't think they are aesthetically pleasing but I like them.
As for our countries fossil fuel reserves Lou, you see, these are non-renewable and as other countries exhaust their supplies, ours become intrinsictly more valuable. Not to mention the environmental impact of developing them. Me personally, I like fishing. Other people enjoy hunting, you can forget those activities around any large fossil fuel plant.
The President wants to look forward Lou, quit looking backwards.
> > >
>
> > > You scare me because you want to kill the
> American
>
> > > capitalist goose that lays the golden egg
> which
>
> > > provides the highest standard of living in the
>
> > > world.
>
Um Lou, hate to tell you, but America doesn't have the highest standard of living in the world. That belongs to either Norway, Sweeden or Luxemborg depending on how the measures (infant mortality, life-expectency, per capita income) are weighted. Just to clairfy Lou, these countries are in Europe. America isn't even in the top ten.
Now in America, the top 1% do make more than anywhere else in the industrialized world (with the lowest income taxes)
> > >
>
> > > You scare me because you have begun to use
>
> > > 'extortion' tactics against certain
> banks and
>
> > > corporations.
>
Sorry Lou but it was the Bush administration that used extortion (technically I believe it was more communicating threats) on Bank of America's CEO and Board of Directors. Threatening to remove them if they don't take over Merril Lynch. Actually enforcing our countries consumer protection laws, environmental laws and such is not extortion its rule of law.
> > >
>
> > > You scare me because your own political party
> shrinks
>
> > > from challenging you on your wild and
> irresponsible
>
> > > spending proposals.
>
Come on now Lou, Democrats have done A LOT better job controlling spending than Republicans have ever done. Now I'll give you that Republicans are a lot better about talking about controlling spending, they talk a good talk, but they controlled the reigns of government (all three branches in fact remember during the entire Bush admin, 7 of 9 justices were appointed by Republicans). During my lifetime, the deficit and government debt have exploded under two presidents, Reagan and Bush 43. Under Clinton, we actually ran a surplus.
Now I admit to being concerned about running the debt we have recently. However, we're in the worse financial crisis since the first Great Depression. As a result, consumers are not spending, and seeing as consumers drive the American economy (and buy the products produced by Procter & Gamble), the government is the only entity with can support our economy. Unfortunetly, the reckless spending of the Bush administration (which I never received an email from you complaining about) leaves us in a precarious situation.
Nobel Prize Winner in Economics Paul Krugman felt that economic stimulus was only half the size it should have been. I suggest you read some of his writings. They are routinely published in two little publications called the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
> > >
>
> > > You scare me because you will not openly listen
> to or
>
> > > even consider opposing points of view from
> intelligent
>
> > > people.
>
Really, he has more members of the opposing party as members of his Administration than any Administration since Lincoln. Every time I turn on the TV it's talking about consultations with Congressional Republicans. He has reached out repeatedly to them. To say otherwise is a lie Lou, and you know it.
In my opinion, he has spent far too much time dealing with Republicans and conservatives who frankly won't vote for anything he proposes anyways. He's watered down his proposals and as a result they will be less effective (which may be what you want Lou).
Honestly Lou, Bush consulted far less with Democrats than Obama has with Republicans.
> > >
>
> > > You scare me because you falsely believe that
> you are
>
> > > both omnipotent and omniscient.
>
Really, Lou? Really? I must have missed the press conference where he said that. Every one I've seen President Obama has always seemed knowledgable of humble. Besides that, I'm guessing you approved of Pres. Bush's shoot first ask questions never philosophy.
> > >
>
> > > You scare me because the media gives you a free
> pass
>
> > > on everything you do.
>
Really? Really? Come on Lou are you going to try this whole "liberal-media" canard again?
> > >
>
> > > You scare me because you demonize and want to
> silence
>
> > > the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Relllys and
>
> > > Becks who offer opposing, conservative points
> of
>
> > > view.
>
If the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Reillys and Becks offered policy proposals instead of calling the President a "Nazi", "racist", "fascist", "socialist", and "communist", they might get attention. That being said, if they continue to stoke the fires of racism and hatred, they deserve to lose their sponsors and ratings. Like your company just has done to Glen Beck pulling your ads from his show. Now this is NOT censorship. No one is telling them they can't say the things they say, however, your words have consequences.
If you yell fire in a crowded movie theater you can face serious consequences and the talking head crowd is facing its consequences.
> > >
>
> > > You scare me because you prefer controlling
> over
>
> > > governing.
>
> > >
This one just confuses me Lou, the definition of govern is to direct, exercise authority over, to control. I get the fact that you're upset that your team lost the election, I seem to remember feeling the same way after the past couple elections (both were significantly closer elections by the way). The fact of the matter is that elections have consequences and it's not fun being out of power (yet again something I'm somewhat acquainted with politically).
>
>
>
> > > Finally, you scare me because if you serve a
> second
>
> > > term I will probably not feel safe in writing
> a
>
> > > similar letter in 8
>
> > > years.
Well Lou, we've reached the end of your letter and I must say you do have a flair for the dramatic. Honestly though, America is a nation that was founded almost 250 years ago and has survived innumerable wars and conflicts, and tremendous social unrest. The fact that President Obama wants to make sure the poorest among us have the same access to quality health-care as the most wealthy is not a sign of the End of the World. I'd go as far as to say its the Christian thing to do, you know that whole look out for the poor thing Jesus mentioned once or twice (could have been more).
If policies like that are what represent the end of the country as you know it Lou, maybe its time that it ends.
>
> > >
>
> > > Lou Pritchett
>
> > >
>
> > > TRUE - CHECK:
> http://www.snopes.com/...
>
> > >
>
> > >
>
> > > This letter was sent to the NY Times but they
> never
>
> > > acknowledged it. Big
>
> > > surprise! Since it hit the internet,
>
> > > however, it has had over 500,000
>
> > > hits. Keep it going. All that
>
> > > is necessary for evil to succeed is
>
> > > that good men do nothing. It's happening
>
> > > right now.
>
>
>
When I see the absolute hate and evil that I see emanating from the right in my country at this moment I couldn't agree more.