Dear Mr. Obama

Dear Mr. Obama,

I know people forget. We see that especially when the going gets rough. I know that the vote on the Buffet Bill was quite insulting. Maybe we need to give less-rich people more power to clean up corruption - democrat and repiliCONs. Well, again, sometimes people forget what you've done so I thought I'd remind them of just some of your accomplishments:

• Appointed first Latina to the US Supreme Court
• Promoted social responsibility through creation of serve.gov, a national database of volunteer opportunities
• Signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, giving the FDA the authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of tobacco for the first time
• Increased average fuel economy standards from 27.5mpg to 35.5mpg, starting in 2016
• Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers
• Launched recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, providing transparency and allowing the public to report fraud, waste, or abuse
• Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America's Veterans
• Signed the Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act, which provides health care to 11 million kids -- 4 million of whom were previously uninsured
• Issued executive order to repeal Bush era restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research
• Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first piece of comprehensive legislation aimed at improving the lives of Americans living with paralysis
• Developed stimulus package, which includes approx. $18 billion for nondefense scientific research and development
• Signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop fraud and wasteful spending in the defense procurement and contracting system
• Issued executive order to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay
• Ended Bush administration's CIA program of 'enhanced interrogation methods' by requiring that the Army field manual be used as the guide for terrorism interrogations
• Increased minority access to capital
• Established Credit Card Bill of Rights, preventing credit card companies from imposing arbitrary rate increases on customers
• Health Care Reform Bill, preventing insurance companies from denying insurance because of a pre-existing condition
• Tax cuts for up to 3.5 million small businesses to help pay for employee health care coverage
• Tax credits for up to 29 million individuals to help pay for health insurance
• Require health insurance plans to disclose how much of the premium actually goes to patient care
• Added 4.6 billion USD to the Veterans Administration budget to recruit and retain more mental health professionals
• Significantly increased funding for the Violence Against Women Act
• Lifted restrictions granting Cuban Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send remittances to the island
• Eliminated subsidies to private lender middlemen of student loans and protect student borrowers
• Increased funding for national parks and forests by 10%
• Significantly expanded Pell grants, which help low-income students pay for college
• Expanded hate crime law in the US to include sexual orientation through the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
• Appointed nation's first Chief Technology Officer
• Signed financial reform law establishing a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to look out for the interests of everyday Americans
• Signed financial reform law requiring lenders to verify applicants' credit history, income, and employment status
• Signed financial reform law prohibiting banks from engaging in proprietary trading (trading the bank's own money to turn a profit, often in conflict with their customers' interests)
• Signed financial reform law allowing shareholders of publicly traded companies to vote on executive pay
• Cut prescription drug cost for Medicare recipients by 50%
• Provided $12.2 Billion in new funding for Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
• The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009: a $789 billion economic stimulus plan
• Created more private sector jobs in 2010 than during entire Bush years
• Voluntary disclosure of White House visitors for the first time in US history
• Appointed first Latina to the US Supreme Court
• Went after banks and bank executives for paying themselves outrageous bonuses
• Saved an auto industry
• Saved countless jobs in the auto industry
• Extended unemployment benefits of those who would otherwise be without
• Was a part of the Administration that captured the world’s most wanted criminal
• Vowed to end war and bring troops home
• Ordered all federal agencies to undertake a study and make recommendations for ways to cut spending
• Ordered a review of all federal operations to identify and cut wasteful spending and practices
• Instituted enforcement for equal pay for women
• Beginning the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq
• Families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB
• Ended media blackout on war casualties; reporting full information
• Ended media blackout on covering the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB; the media is now permitted to do so pending adherence to respectful rules and approval of fallen soldier’s family
• The White House and federal government are respecting the Freedom of Information Act
• Instructed all federal agencies to promote openness and transparency as much as possible
• Limits on lobbyist’s access to the White House
• Limits on White House aides working for lobbyists after their tenure in the administration
• Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date
• Phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane and other outdated weapons systems, which weren’t even used or needed in Iraq/Afghanistan
• Removed restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research
• Federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research
• New federal funding for science and research labs
• States are permitted to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards
• Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after years of neglect
• Funds for high-speed, broadband Internet access to K-12 schools
• New funds for school construction
• The prison at Guantanamo Bay is being phased out
• US Auto industry rescue plan
• Housing rescue plan
• $789 billion economic stimulus plan
• The public can meet with federal housing insurers to refinance (the new plan can be completed in one day) a mortgage if they are having trouble paying
• US financial and banking rescue plan
• The secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere are being closed
• Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with theGeneva Convention standards
• Better body armor is now being provided to our troops
• The missile defense program is being cut by $1.4 billion in 2010
• Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols
• Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic
• Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions
• Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office
• Successful release of US captain held bySomali pirates; authorized the SEALS to do their job
• US Navy increasing patrols off Somali coast
• Attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles
• Cash for clunkers program offers vouchers to trade in fuel inefficient, polluting old cars for new cars; stimulated auto sales
• Announced plans to purchase fuel efficient American-made fleet for the federal government
• Expanded the SCHIP program to cover health care for 4 million more children
• Signed national service legislation; expanded national youth service program
• Instituted a new policy on Cuba, allowing Cuban families to return home to visit loved ones
• Ended the previous policy of not regulating and labeling carbon dioxide emissions
• Expanding vaccination programs
• Immediate and efficient response to the floods in North Dakota and other natural disasters
• Closed offshore tax safe havens
• Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals
• Ended the previous policy of offering tax benefits to corporations who outsource American jobs; the new policy is to promote in-sourcing to bring jobs back
• Ended the previous practice of protecting credit card companies; in place of it are new consumer protections from credit card industry’s predatory practices
• Energy producing plants must begin preparing to produce 15% of their energy from renewable sources
• Lower drug costs for seniors
• Ended the previous practice of forbidding Medicare from negotiating with drug manufacturers for cheaper drugs; the federal government is now realizing hundreds of millions in savings
• Increasing pay and benefits for military personnel
• Improved housing for military personnel
• Initiating a new policy to promote federal hiring of military spouses
• Improved conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital and other military hospitals
• Increasing student loans
• Increasing opportunities in AmeriCorps program
• Sent envoys to Middle East and other parts of the world that had been neglected for years; reengaging in multilateral and bilateral talks and diplomacy
• Established a new cyber security office
• Beginning the process of reforming and restructuring the military 20 years after the Cold War to a more modern fighting force; this includes new procurement policies, increasing size of military, new technology and cyber units and operations, etc.
• Ended previous policy of awarding no-bid defense contracts
• Ordered a review of hurricane and natural disaster preparedness
• Established a National Performance Officer charged with saving the federal government money and making federal operations more efficient
• Students struggling to make college loan payments can have their loans refinanced
• Improving benefits for veterans
• Many more press conferences and town halls and much more media access than previous administration
• Instituted a new focus on mortgage fraud
• The FDA is now regulating tobacco
• Ended previous policy of cutting the FDA and circumventing FDA rules
• Ended previous practice of having White House aides rewrite scientific and environmental rules, regulations, and reports
• Authorized discussions with North Korea and private mission by Pres. Bill Clinton to secure the release of two Americans held in prisons
• Authorized discussions with Myanmar and mission by Sen. Jim Web to secure the release of an American held captive
• Making more loans available to small businesses
• Established independent commission to make recommendations on slowing the costs of Medicare
• Appointment of first Latina to the Supreme Court
• Authorized construction/opening of additional health centers to care for veterans
• Limited salaries of senior White House aides; cut to $100,000
• Renewed loan guarantees for Israel
• Changed the failing/status quo military command in Afghanistan
• Deployed additional troops to Afghanistan
• New Afghan War policy that limits aerial bombing and prioritizes aid, development of infrastructure, diplomacy, and good government practices by Afghans
• Announced the long-term development of a national energy grid with renewable sources and cleaner, efficient energy production
• Returned money authorized for refurbishment of White House offices and private living quarters
• Paid for redecoration of White House living quarters out of his own pocket
• Held first Seder in White House
• Attempting to reform the nation’s healthcare system which is the most expensive in the world yet leaves almost 50 million without health insurance and millions more under insured
• Has put the ball in play for comprehensive immigration reform
• Has announced his intention to push for energy reform
• Has announced his intention to push for education reform