An Open Letter to Barack Obama

Dear Mr. President:

I want to first congratulate you on your accomplishment. What you have achieved will go down in history as an important step forward in American Politics. Many people will look back on your inauguration with pride, having witnessed firsthand such a momentous moment. After the great disaster that was the Bush Administration, the American People as well as the world at large have rested their hopes on your shoulders. I don´t have to tell you that The United States of America is in a perilous situation. While I am confident that you will do your best to lead the nation in a new direction, I am not blind to the challenges that you will face. I believe that because we as a nation have failed in our duty to be involved in government affairs we have allowed our once proud land to become a militaristic police state that preys on the innocent, and bullies other nations to get our way. It saddens me to know that the America that I have grown up to know is completely unrecognizable. I like others will fight to restore what was lost, to help the country find its way again. I have included some suggestions below as to how we can put our once proud nation back on her feet. I hope that you take these words into consideration.

1. Prosecute George W. Bush

Sir, I understand that this is a serious charge, but I know from first and second hand experience the evidence for a conviction is overwhelming. The reign of terror that Mr. Bush and his associates have brought on the world have cost over one million lives, and shattered the lives of millions more. Iraq will take decades to recover from the devastation that our military has caused. Add that to the death toll of our men and women in uniform, the twenty-five thousand plus soldiers who have gone AWOL (including myself) to protest the war, the families who have suffered greatly because of these atrocities, the war crimes involved, and the knowledge that Mr. Bush deliberately deceived not only America but the world as well and you can see a pretty convincing case for prosecution. I almost forgot to mention that this ill-advised war has put a serious strain on our budget which took precious funds away from our infrastructure. He also has turned our once free society into a quasi-police state by eviscerating the Constitution (more on that later). What I am saying Mr. President, is that we cannot let him get away with the criminal acts that he has committed. To do so would not only make your government look as if it cares less about human rights (among other things), it will set a dangerous precedent for the future. That is a future that I do not desire to see, so I hope that you consider this proposal carefully.

2. Eliminate the Federal Reserve (along with the terrorist organization known as the IRS)

When it comes to the economy, this suggestion should go without saying. Since I haven´t heard you mention this in your campaign speeches or any speeches thereafter, I must humbly submit this alternative. It is common knowledge that the federal income tax is illegal. This tax is nothing more than a modern day shake-down for the illegal Federal Reserve Bank. It is well known that the money we pay to these criminals goes straight to pay the interest for the national debt, which we were tricked into assuming responsibility for by receiving a Social Security Number. Not one service that the Federal Government provides is funded by taxpayer dollars. In other words, everything the Washington does is funded through borrowed money. So, take for example your ‘economic stimulus plan.’ It calls for almost one trillion dollars to fully implement your strategies. Sir, I would like to ask you an important question: Just where will you get that kind of money? I have read and understood that the U.S. Treasury is overdrawn by almost 11 trillion dollars (though some estimates are up to 55 trillion). It is enough to make me sick. Adding more debt to the debt problem is not going to solve anything. We are not in a ‘credit crisis’ as the airheads on TV say. It is a ‘repayment crisis’ on a mass scale. Everyone, including the Federal Government, took the bait of ‘easy credit’ and got up to their necks in debt. Now the piper has come and no one has any money to pay for the excesses for the past thirty years. That Sir is the problem, not “the banks won´t lend to each other”. So, instead of putting the Government at risk of default (which would cause an economic melt-down that would make Zimbabwe look like Disneyland) I suggest that you eliminate the fools that got us into the mess, the Fed. All the Fed has done was stealing the fruits of American labor for almost 100 years. A dollar in 1913 is worth just 4 cents. Inflation is caused by the fed when they expand the money supply. “Helicopter Ben and his magical money machine” is a prime example to this effect. Alan Greenspan with his idiotic policies laid the groundwork for this current crisis. The Fed caused the crash, so we need to get rid of it. We need to go back to sound money practices, and let the criminal international corporations bite the dust. It will be painful for a few years yes, but it is better than the alternative your economic team has proposed. I only ask that you think about it.

3. End the War on Terror and grant Amnesty for all Soldiers Who Have Resisted

From prior experience, whenever the U.S. government in recent years declares war on anything they never defeat the enemy. Examples would be the War on Drugs and the War on Poverty. Both of these examples did nothing but make life worse for the poor and disenfranchised. The same goes for the War on Terror. If we are really going to ‘root out the terrorists’ like George Bush and yourself have stated, why don´t we start by looking in the mirror. Sir, it is with great sorrow to inform you that the United States is the world´s number one state sponsor of terror. The list of nations that we have intimidated or totally destroyed is huge. Take Nicaragua in Central America for example. What we have done to the people there is no less than horrifying. What was their crime? They had a government that only wanted to be independent from outside influences. Hundreds of thousands of people paid with their lives for this ‘unforgivable’ offense. If that is not enough evidence, then look into what has happened to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. These were two resource-rich nations had their mineral wealth utterly raped by western powers. Also, let´s not forget about the situation in Palestine. Israel has repeatedly terrorized the Palestinians while the world stands by. If the United States would be really assertive and withhold foreign aid to Israel until they changed their barbaric behavior, then the situation in the Middle East would be dramatically different. That being said, I have to humbly stress the point that America cannot mess around with other people´s countries until we fix our own.

The stability of the world is at stake, and unless we change course for the better (i.e. using diplomacy) we could end up with a world-wide conflagration. I must ask you to put a moratorium on the War on Terror and enter into productive talks with all sides involved. That also includes the Taliban, Al-Sadr´s militia, as well as Iran. All of these parties have a vested interest in region that extends from the Middle East to the Caucuses Mountains, and if we want to become a respected leader on the world stage again we will have to do whatever it takes to bring all sides together. We also must make a public apology to the Iraqi people as we as the Pakistanis, the Afghanis, and the Palestinians. This entire mess started out by getting Osama Bin Laden. The problem is that we don´t even know for certain if he even committed the World Trade Center Attacks. We are a nation of due process. I know I sound crazy for suggesting this, but we must capture him alive (by cooperating with the local tribes and governments, not bombing civilians into the pre-historic era) and letting him have his day in court. We are supposed to be a civilized nation, and if he did commit the crimes that he is accused of, then he deserves the punishment for those crimes in true American fashion. If he is innocent (and I am not suggesting that he is here…) then we must launch a new investigation into the September 11^th attacks so that way we can capture and prosecute the true perpetrators. History shows that we have not done any of these things I suggested, and our nation has tortured, harassed, lied to and destroyed nations I and others have come to the conclusion that the War on Terror is a fraud that only serves the interests of the international corporations.

Because I have these strong convictions, any soldier that refused to take part in these heinous acts should be applauded, not prosecuted. The U.S. Military is a fine organization that produced a lot of great citizens for this country. They should not have to be pawns in this grand chessboard. I know this from personal experience. I feel like I am nothing more than a common criminal for what we as a nation have done to the inhabitants of our planet. Just because we are the strongest does not mean we should force others to do our bidding. Many people have suffered and died as a result of our foolishness, and others like me have had to go into hiding in order to avoid prosecution for doing the right thing. There is something wrong in this world when true crime pays and positive acts are punished. I also understand that you wish to end the war in Iraq. That is a very positive step. At the same time you have stated your desire to expand the war in Afghanistan. I ask myself, how is that change? The Afghani people have not done anything to us. After seven plus years of war, they deserve a break like the rest of us. I also understand that there will be no rest for those soldiers that stood up for the cause of right and went into hiding than to be part of this madness. I pray that both conflicts will end so that these individuals can once again lead normal lives.

I have just written to you what I feel are the most important issues facing our nation today. In this uncertain world that we live in, I am sure that meeting these challenges will not be easy, but I am positive that you can be successful when you make a concerted effort. You will not be alone. Many organizations and even solo individuals are ready to lend a hand to make the world truly a better place to be in. We all want to participate in getting the label of ´rogue government´ removed. I have faith that with the right decisions we can work together to bring America back to greatness. I hope that with your ascendency to the Presidency things will slowly go back to the way they were before.

Sincerely,

André Shepherd