Your inauguration was heralded under a mandate for "change". Being President must be a tremendous change for you with pressures and advisers that come to you from many positions. Certainly it must be a tremendous pressure to alter some core values and viewpoints. Becoming President is probably like a crash course in boot camp for Marine enlistees, with the major difference being you are the one in authority.
Where you go from there depends on who you listen to and the faith you have in your own choices of doing what is good for the citizens, We the People. Washington seems to often have a demeaning effect on what is good for the people because the main focus is on a certain perspective of "power"- "power" to control, gather financial allies and still maintain a public appeal to voters.
Unfortunately the financial allies are Corporations fixed on financial profits who strongly influence every decision that Congress makes. Some are right, some are wrong. At the same time the corporations now have a Supreme Court granting their over riding financial influence on the election process. All of this goes against the numerous warnings of the Founding Fathers of the US Constitution and many Presidents who feared this shift of influence away from what is good for the country to what is good for certain corporations in spite of what is good for the people who live and work and struggle to make this a great country for their children.
"What is good for the people?" Is a decision made upon pressure from corporations to over ride reason and due diligence good for the people? Obviously it is not. It becomes blatantly obvious and here now is a little moment where the light shines through the barriers of out of sight deal making. Thankfully it occurred recently because it shows the true colors of influence, Mr. President, under which you are habitually placed. Nevertheless, you are the one to blame and whose power as President of the United States is greatly affected by its actions in increasing or diminishing your power as President.
Here is a quote from a recent email, of many I received regarding this one lone issue. What's funny is that it is about alfalfa, not about Iraq or Afghanistan, not about unemployment, not about health insurance and medical freedom--but about alfalfa, a wonderful and nutritious plant, almost like a weed it grows so easily and whose roots go deep, often ten feet or more into the earth providing a multitude of trace minerals:
On January 27, the Obama Administration made the damaging decision to approve the unrestricted cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa. This means GE alfalfa can be planted without any federal requirements to prevent contamination of organic and non-GE crops. It also means that GE alfalfa does not have to be labeled, making it difficult for consumers to identify and avoid. This decision, to support big business at the expense of individual choice, sets a precedent for future deregulation of GE crops although genetic engineering has not been conclusively proven safe.
Now why would you, Mr. President go along with this decision? The email has more to state and makes it look even more absurd for you to endorse such action:
We stand united in opposition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) decision to once again allow unlimited, nationwide commercial planting of Monsanto's genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa, despite the many risks to organic and conventional farmers.
Last spring more than 200,000 people submitted comments to the USDA highly critical of the substance and conclusions of its draft EIS on GE Alfalfa. Instead of responding to these comments and concerns, including expert comments from farmers, scientists, academics, conservationists, and food safety and consumer advocates, the USDA has chosen instead to listen to a handful of agricultural biotechnology companies.
USDA's decision to allow unlimited, nationwide commercial planting of
Monsanto's GE Roundup Ready alfalfa without any restrictions flies in the face of the interests of conventional and organic farmers, preservation of the environment, and consumer choice. USDA has become a rogue agency in its regulation of biotech crops and its decision to appease the few companies who seek to benefit from this technology comes despite increasing evidence that GE alfalfa will threaten the rights of American farmers and consumers, as well as damage the environment.
This is an advantageous event for something to be made right by you and for you to re-establish who is in charge at the White House and gather a renewed support from a very active, intelligent community of citizens who are looking after the health and welfare of their families, friends and children. They are US citizens. They vote and they have "power". These citizens you must keep faith in, and know they and others just like them will be the resounding vote that will bring you back into office next election, not the votes of the moneyed few.
Thank you, Mr. President for reading this letter. I deeply admire your intelligence, goals, and communication. The one most important added element in my estimation is your ability to make time for your own thoughts and most importantly, your imagination, to deal with decisions outside the realm of the many advisers who are there by your side. Our future direction is in your decisions.
Sincerely,
Michael LeVesque
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