This is the one man that stands in the way of protecting all consumers---ONE MAN! He is protecting the BANKS instead

This is him. The man that is trying and succeeding to unravel all of the work on the Consumer Protection Bill that Elizabeth Warren, one of THE smartest women around, describes in her letter in my last post.

This man, a Senator from Alabama, who wrote this really important Bill:

4. S.RES.389 : A resolution commending The University of Alabama Crimson Tide for being unanimously declared the 2009 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision National Champions.
Sponsor: Sen Shelby, Richard C. [AL] (introduced 1/20/2010) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: Senate Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/20/2010 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Is now standing in the way of the most important piece of legislation in recent history.

Please, please, please pay attention to this. Do not let him, this ONE MAN, get away with this.

I may be just a simple minivan mom, and I have one lonely voice, but this is so important for all of us!

Contact Senator Dodd, tell him to not back down to him.

A Letter From Elizabeth Warren

Friends,

The story of the financial crisis has a thousand twists and turns, but the basic narrative is easy to follow. The financial industry wrote rules that allowed it to act recklessly. The industry captured agencies that were supposed to regulate it, taking cops off the beat and funneling enormous resources into the political process to make sure there wouldn't be any new cops.

Then, with no laws to hold them back, the banks made hundreds of billions of dollars on the sales of deceptive products.

That went on for years, and the industry's tricks-and-traps pricing got more and more out of control. Eventually, the sale and re-sale of deceptive mortgages and other dangerous products made trillions of dollars for Wall Street while bringing down the American economy. When the industry's recklessness brought the biggest banks to the brink of collapse, Wall Street turned to the taxpayers for bailouts and guarantees, which put it right back into big profits and big bonuses. The industry got whatever it wanted.

Now we are coming to the final chapter of this story.

The final chapter will show whether we are going to let the industry continue to write the rules -- to keep the cops off the beat -- or whether the financial crisis actually changed something.

The fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency will be the best way to follow the story moving forward because consumer products were the most abusive and because the CFPA has real muscle to stop those abuses. The CFPA would hire new cops and change the way big banks do business.

We have all worked hard to make the CFPA into a reality, and the next few weeks will determine whether our hard work will make a difference for families or whether families will lose once again. The next few weeks will determine whether families will have to play by rules written by the banks and for the banks -- rules that let the industry get away with anything. In my view, we cannot let families lose again.

Like you, I read last week that the consumer agency is dead. I also read the same thing last spring, last summer, last fall, and last month. And I've been warned about the power of the banks since I first developed this idea in 2007. We always knew this was a David v. Goliath fight, but I don't believe that Washington can or will let Wall Street act like nothing has changed.

I am writing to ask you to make an extra effort these next few weeks to organize calls and emails into the Senate Banking Committee about CFPA, to organize op-ed and letter to the editor campaigns across the country, and to create visible, public support for CFPA. If everyone on this list called key Senators on the Senate Banking Committee, that would send a loud message -- and if your members will do the same, the message will get louder.

This is not the last important moment in the fight for the CFPA, but it is a critical one. You can count on me to do my part. Please help.

Elizabeth

When Outrage goes Nowhere

All politics is local. We have heard that quote time and time again. But what does it really mean?

In his 1987 autobiography, Man of the House, Tip O'Neill told us that this is what his dad told him after his only election loss--a run for the Cambridge City Council.

"This was the only race I ever lost in my life, but in the process, I learned two extremely valuable lessons. During the campaign, my father had left me to my own devices, but when it was over, he pointed out that I had taken my own neighborhood for granted. He was right: I had received a tremendous vote in the other sections of the city, but I hadn't worked hard enough in my own backyard. 'Let me tell you something I learned years ago,' he said. 'All politics is local.'"

So, what does this have to do with my outrage today?

I won't go into a lot of boring detail, but there is some growing controversy in a town north of Boston called Lawrence. One problem is with the new Mayor, who also happens to be the State Rep as well. Two salaries, two pensions, two offices. I would think that would be illegal. But that is not bad enough. On top of that, our Governor is looking to give them $35 million dollars. $35 million is a lot of money for a Commonwealth that appears to be on the brink of disaster. I am not saying that Lawrence doesn't need it, but what are they going to do with it? Seems like a straightforward question. We want some transparency to see where that money is going. That's all. But here is the kicker, no one will tell us.

I went to the Commonwealth's website to look up the bill myself. Here is what I found. I have copied it from the website in its entirety:

"House, No. 4421
Presented by: Governor
Message from His Excellency the Governor (under Section 8 of Article LXXXIX of the Amendments to the Constitution) recommending legislation relative to providing for the financial stability of the city of Lawrence"

Huh? So, I called the Speaker of the House, Robert A. DeLeo. I wanted to know what this was all about.

Now comes the outrage part.

They placed me on hold at least 4 times, transferred my call to 3 other areas and clicked me off once. I kept calling back. I finally reached a person who actually talked to me. I had to actually beg her to listen.

Her name was Sandy. She was very nice.

She finally let me ask my questions without sending my call to the Hinterlands. She took my number but said that it was unlikely that I would ever get a call back. Nice.

I finally said to her, as politely as I could, that we have all pretty much had it with this type of government representation, the kind where it appears that we do not seem to matter unless it is election time. I further mentioned that I work hard for my money and that I should have some type of say as to where my tax dollars go or at least some understanding as to how it is being used. That I at least should receive an honest answer to a direct question. Didn't I deserve that? It is like I am a shareholder in a company that will not let me know where my investment stands. They demand the money. I have penalties imposed upon me if I do not pay the money, yet, I have no say. No say at all. I am told, essentially, to pay up and shut up. And there also does not seem to be any accountability for anything that happens up on Beacon Hill. I did, after all, elect these guys to represent my best interests. And now they just want me to go away?

We all talk a lot about wanting a lot more transparency in government. But the fact is, we really don't want to have to watch what our government is doing. We feel, however, that we must.

We are all so busy doing our jobs, taking care of our families, busy with the everyday flow of life. We really don't have time to babysit our elected officials and most times, we don't. We just just hope and pray that they are doing the right things. Sadly, they are not. And outrage is building. And so we feel we must use some of our very precious time and pay attention. And we are outraged that we must do so.

So to all of the guys and gals in my backyard, my elected representatives, the ones that took an oath and swore they would do the right thing; you better start paying attention. Because we sure are. And we don't like what we are seeing. And what we are seeing, is you. And our outrage is not going nowhere anymore. It is headed your way.

Take cover.

The President, Scott Brown and Marketing 101

A few years back, I had left clinical nursing to take on a new role as the Marketing Director for a small hospital. It was a referral based hospital and we were selling our services in hopes of getting new admissions. It was an intangible product; you could not taste, feel, touch or really see our product. You wouldn't know if you liked the product, our services, until you experienced them. It is a tough sell because you promise all sorts of things but those promises could be broken by one person who did not do their job or by expectations of care that could not possibly be met.

I was thinking back to marketing last night while I was thinking about this whole uproar over Scott Brown's win and the Obama camp's reaction to it. They sold us a product and we have not been happy with it. In President Obama's case, his product did not meet our expectations in a variety of ways. As for Scott Brown, we have bought his product for now, so we will see.

What do I mean by product? When an intangible service is sold to us, we know that we cannot see what we have actually purchased. We have to trust it, trust it to perform as it said it would. So when we hear, from say, an insurance company that, "you are in good hands", we think, that sounds good. We have no idea if that is true or not, but we respond to the message.

President Obama's message to us was change. Real change. We liked that. Yes, it resonated with us. We hated the war, we hated Bush/Cheney, we hated the path that America was on. We were ripe for change. And that is what we voted for.

A year later, we are still mired in war. People still are not working. He handed a few some money, but it was not enough. Where was the change we so desperately wanted? We see new faces in the White House, but it seems like business as usual. He broke his promise and we became increasingly restless. And mad.

Then came a new hope. Scott Brown. He is not running for President, but he was running for something equally as sacred, Ted Kennedy's seat in the senate. Love him or hate him, Ted Kennedy was a legend. And here we have this no name state senator seeking to replace him. Quite a task. Not to mention that Scott Brown was a republican, and that seat had been held by democrats for decades.

But something amazing happened. People rallied around him. And why? Because he changed the game. It was no longer Ted's seat. It was "The People's Seat." Yes, our seat. People loved that slogan. We wanted to be represented. We didn't like what was happening in Washington, so we wanted to be heard. And so Scott Brown won. Or rather, we won, the people. And the world took note.

So now we will see. Is it really the people's seat? Did we really get what was promised?

Are we in good hands? Did we get a piece of the rock? Are we under a blanket of protection? Will the metaphor that we purchased really meet our expectations?

Perhaps President Obama could learn a lesson here. You can promise all that you want, just make sure you are managing the relationship with the people that bought your product. We have heard you say a lot of things, mostly that you inherited the problem that we face. We know that already. That is why we hired you. To fix it. Not complain about it and offer excuses. So tell us all about that change you promised. Go on TV and list the changes, the benefits that we have received by virtue of those changes. We are waiting.

And perhaps now would be a good time to change your message. Change got you elected, but it will also be your downfall. So I suggest that you ask us to trust you, to trust that you really are going to make things better over time. Trust can be your new slogan. We feel it is too late to hope anymore.

And in the meantime, here is the people's slogan, "What have you done for me lately?" So, far, we do not see much. You still have time to show us. Please don't let us down.

Spin is dead; start telling us the truth. Plus, I have laundry to do, so make it brief. Please.

Every morning, I start my day sitting on the sofa with a very good pot of tea, watching the Today Show with my 11 year old daughter. Sometimes the news is grim, sometimes entertaining. But when politics are on, it can be mind-numbing. The democrats and republicans, or their surrogates, come on and try to spin whatever the topic is, typically to their favor, sometimes against the perceived foe. If there has been some type of uproar over an issue, they try to spin that as well. And we are left to try to figure out who is telling us the truth. Typically, we all just tune out.

We are busy. We juggle jobs and kids and household chores and bills and we try to find some time to have some fun and to sleep, too. Oh, and we also try to eat, although we usually do that simultaneously with the other things mentioned previously. Anyway, my point is this, our time is limited. And that has been to your advantage. Because if we do catch the news, we catch a sound bite that you have spun perfectly and we have little time to really dissect it much. Or react. And you like that. We know.

One of the more refreshing statements that our newly elected Senator Brown has said is that the people are not stupid. And that is very much true. We can see through lies and we know that lobbyists and personal agendas and even vendettas drive a lot of decisions made by our government. It is a shame and a pity that it happens, but it does. We know that. And we sometimes get outraged, but, with so little time to spare, that outrage sometimes goes nowhere. I think that the government counts on that. A little too much.

But things are beginning to change. New social media sites like Twitter and Facebook and You Tube make it virtually impossible for truth to be somehow buried by lies anymore. We can find the truth if we dig enough. And we don't have to dig very deep. Many times a simple google search can answer a question that a politician is reluctant to tell us.

So, here is some advice to politicians and their spin doctors. Just stop it. Stop it right now. Just cut to the chase and tell us the truth. We can take it. We will actually like you better and we may even let you keep your job if you just level with us.

Look, we are not expecting miracles like common sense to take over government, but starting with the facts would be great. Your bold faced lies will only sink you deeper. Can't you see that already?

William E. Simon once said, "Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don't vote." Well, I think we showed, at least in Massachusetts this past month, that we do vote.

So, tell us the truth. You may not like it much and we may not like what we hear, but at least you will have won our respect.

Michelle Obama makes obesity campaign personal and my take on her efforts

This will take you to the article about Michelle Obama.
Michelle Obama makes obesity campaign personal | ajc.com

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Here is my take:

Interesting. Michelle Obama admits that she was surprised that her own daughter's BMI was higher than it should have been. She said she then made changes to their diet to help them by offering low fat milk, more water, more fruit on the table and smaller portions. Admirable.

But, Michelle Obama lives in the White House with a chef and kitchen staff to feed and shop for her family. So, if she is having a problem providing good food for her kids, then we are all doomed!

But I think that she is on the right track by leading with a good example.

I have been, among other things, a summer camp nurse. I have see hundreds of kids. As soon as you see the parents arrive, you know immediately which kids will be heavier. It is not uncommon to see a heavy-ish parent with heavy-ish kids. Is it genetic? Probably to some degree. Some people are just bigger than others. Is it environmental? Of course. If the parents are eating large portions of processed and sugary foods, their kids most likely are being fed the same.

So what is Michelle Obama doing besides talking about more PE in school and portion control? Is she in fact talking to her husband about the agribusiness lobby that is doing so much harm to our health? Does she talk to her husband about how our food is manufactured using very inexpensive high fructose corn syrup? And how the corn subsidies that the government doles out are part of the problem?

I know that Mrs. Obama has a really nice organic garden and is friends with Alice Waters. And that is a very positive thing. But is she friends with Michael Pollan, who talks about how cheap, processed food is killing us? Does she understand that processed food is made cheaply and that produce and milk are too expensive for many underprivileged families? Does she ever ask why that is so? Does she realize that many of the obese and unhealthy kids are fed this diet because their parents cannot afford to purchase fruit and vegetables? And does she further understand why fruits and vegetables are so expensive? (The answer is, of course she does)

But, do you?

Here is a quote from a NYTimes article from a real farmer in Minnesota to explain:

"The commodity farm program effectively forbids farmers who usually grow corn or the other four federally subsidized commodity crops (soybeans, rice, wheat and cotton) from trying fruit and vegetables. Because my watermelons and tomatoes had been planted on “corn base” acres, the Farm Service said, my landlords were out of compliance with the commodity program.

I’ve discovered that typically, a farmer who grows the forbidden fruits and vegetables on corn acreage not only has to give up his subsidy for the year on that acreage, he is also penalized the market value of the illicit crop, and runs the risk that those acres will be permanently ineligible for any subsidies in the future. (The penalties apply only to fruits and vegetables — if the farmer decides to grow another commodity crop, or even nothing at all, there’s no problem.)"
(Jack Hedin)

Small wonder then, why we, the consumer, have to make up the difference.

We all think that the FDA and others in government are protecting us and making sure that we all eat right and have safe food. Not true. Look into it. Educate yourself. Follow the money. It leads to big corporations. Not farmers.

What really blows my mind, and it should yours as well, is that right now, Washington is all over the Healthcare bill. And it is going to cost a fortune. But they are not dealing with what is actually make us all ill. Our food.

I just don't get it. But, what can we do?

Perhaps Michelle Obama can put two and two together. I hope so. For our kids future.

Why I am mad at President Obama today, even though I shouldn't be

Last night, as I was sitting in the living room of our Hospice House doing some patient charting, some of the families were watching the news. All of a sudden, up on the screen, was this picture of President Obama at the Duke-Georgetown game.

I was, at first, surprised to see him commenting on a college basketball game looking all normal like the rest of us. Then I tried to convince myself, well, he can have fun, too.

But as I was driving home, it continued to bother me. And I wondered why.

Suddenly, it occurred to me. I was mad! And why was I mad? Because I wanted him to be busy looking serious doing his job. I did not want to see him having fun.

Silly? I know. But let me give you an example.

When I was an ICU nurse, we had many patients critically ill all of the time. We got kind of used to it, and of course, we would joke and laugh and have some fun during down times. We needed the break from all of the stress and hard work taking care of a constant stream of very ill patients. Many very young. It broke the tension and usually lasted only a few minutes and then it was back to work. But we knew the rule and the rule was, do not show this type of jocularity in front of patients and families.

Once, however, a young MD was telling a joke in the hall to some of us and we were all laughing for a moment. Suddenly, a man, whose daughter was in the ICU bed adjacent to us, came storming out, angry and red faced.

"How dare you laugh and joke while my daughter is in there fighting for her life. You should be doing something, reading about something that could help her. Why are you wasting time?"

We were taken aback. He knew that we were just humans having a human moment,and he had joined us on occasion to chit chat, but I guess he did not want to witness us having fun, when his daughter, who did eventually recover, was so ill. I didn't understand where his bitter, sudden anger arose from at that time. I thought he would know that we were very serious about our care for patients and I remember thinking perhaps he could cut us a break and be more understanding.

But last night when I saw our President on TV in his jeans and sweater having a wonderful time, while so many in this nation are struggling and waiting for help from him, I felt the very same way.

I finally understood.

Kosher cooking with Bubbe - The Boston Globe

Kosher cooking with Bubbe - The Boston Globe

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This is a wonderful story. And I think it really speaks to an emptiness that people have for real connections with what really matters.

Namely, home.

So many of us left our small hometowns to go to college and establish careers and to make our own way. But somewhere along that path, we realize that Dorothy was right. There is no place like home. And even if we do, one day, return, not much is the same. We have to adjust to a new normal.

So much history is lost because we are too busy getting to tomorrow to really appreciate today. And then it is gone. Traditions used to be passed down through generations and now I see a lot of that gone, too.

I see a lot of death as a hospice nurse. I see a lot of regret for not paying attention to things when they were happening in our lives.

No wonder the world longs for a warm embrace from a Bubbbe*.



*Yiddish for Grandmother.

News You Cannot Depend On

Wow, what a week. We have lived through the Scott Brown thunderbolt, the POTUS State of the Union Address and the Conan/Jay Leno debacle. This has kept the pundits very busy. Way too busy.

I used to love the news. I can remember when I was young and the news came on with Walter Cronkite or Huntley and Brinkley, and we sat quiet and transfixed in front of our TV. No nonsense, just-the-facts news. It was deliberate, sober and informative. We trusted the news. It was a big part of our daily lives. We admired it.

Fast forward to today. There is way too much news. News everywhere we turn. There is comedy acting like news that is better than the real news. There is real news that looks and acts like a comedy sketch. There are newscasters in short, tight skirts looking like a cheap prom date. There are guys who tell us their opinion, but act like it is real news. The list goes on and on.

So, who can we trust? Where can I actually find unbiased, factual news? Hard to really know. And that is sad.

Jon Stewart, who lampoons "real" news nightly on his 'fake' news program, recently had a show featuring clips from different news organizations reacting to the State of the Union address. One station could not say anything nice about it, another one all but gushed over it. It was a funny show, but at the end they showed a clip of Chris Matthews saying, "You know, I forgot he was black tonight for an hour." Geesh.....Weird. Could you imagine saying anything so disrespectful to anyone, even a stranger? Yet, he said that about the President. And he is still on TV allowed to jabber on because ratings trump everything.

So, the news is biased and weird and sometimes pure nonsense and we cannot trust most of it. Good thing we are smart enough to weed through the garbage and at least gather some insight on what is really happening in our world.

Small wonder the most watched show in America is American Idol.

Sad, but true.

I miss you, Walter Cronkite. You were a gentleman and a prince.

What a mom can teach the President

I watched the President deliver his State of the Union address last night. I was watching in particular to see if he would mention the consumer protection bill, and he did, although he called it finance reform. He did send a direct message to Senator Dodd, the Chair of that committee. The message being, do not back down to the bankers. I liked that. Having that bill passed with an independent agency overseeing banks will help me feel much better about the future that my daughter will inherit. And that is important to me. Very important. So it was worth it to stay up to watch, even though I was exhausted, like most moms.

Anyway, as I was listening, I heard the President lose focus. Suddenly he was for this and then he was for that and then he was looking for applause from one side of the room, then another. What was he doing? He was not focusing on the essentials.

What do I mean by the essentials? This is where moms can teach President Obama a thing or two.

As a mom, we have many different things that we think need to be done. But if we take our eyes off of the main ones, the essentials, all hell breaks lose.

Let me give you an example. Laundry. Now, I hate laundry. And sometimes I let it pile up and up. And then my family is screaming and chaos reigns. I hear shrieks of "I have no clean underwear, I have no clean shirts". And then I am scrambling to get laundry caught up. Except you never really do get caught up. You have to do a little at a time all of the time. But it is essential for a smooth running home to have clean clothes. We need them everyday just as we need air to breath. We really cannot function without them.

Now, I have probably lost you here. She is nuts. What does laundry have to do with the President? Or with running our country.

So let me tell you.

There are about 3 essential things we moms need to provide to really keep a happy, well functioning home. Beside loads of love, we need food, clean clothes, and a full tank of gas.

Without these essentials, nothing else really matters. Oh, I could have a spotless house, beautiful floral arrangements, the latest fashions. But it really doesn't matter if everyone is hungry, naked and stranded.

And so, President Obama, understand that you have not provided your "family", the American public, with the essentials. We are hungry, we are naked and we are going nowhere.

We were hungry for change. We are still waiting for that home-cooked meal, now aren't we. We feel naked, because the banks took all of our clothes and covered themselves and wouldn't even give us a corner of the blanket to keep warm. And our energy is gone. We feel like we cannot get anywhere because we are just driving on empty. We were fed one empty promise after another and our engines just won't go anymore.

So, please give us what we need. The essentials. Get us jobs. Stop the banks from destroying us and taking our money. And take us somewhere, anywhere. We feel stuck and we are getting restless.

So, you see. A mom really does have some good advice. So maybe you might consider listening to our sage wisdom and not the advice of all the intellectual talking heads you have surrounded yourself with.

I would write more, but I have got to get to that laundry.