IRAN - Not Quite The Land Of The Free - But Definitely The Home Of The Brave

July 6th, 2009


My Dear America:

As I sit at my computer at the end of my Long Weekend Celebration of the Fourth of July I remain, as always, Happy, Proud and Lucky to be an American. The fireworks were great and sitting around a pool with my family members was great and I am grateful for the time that I have had this weekend in the Land Of The Free. I admit that I am as guilty as anyone else when it comes to taking for granted the benefits of living in America. That was brought home to me forcefully when in the month of June Iran had an election.

The results of Iran's election for President was questionable at best and brutal and savage highway robbery of voting rights and human rights, at worst.

Just weeks after American President Barack Obama reached out to Middle Eastern and Islamic Citizens everywhere in the world through his speech in Cairo, Egypt, Iranian citizens went to the polls in droves and staged pre election rallies that looked like nothing that had ever been seen before in this country that had stirred the ire of freedom lovers everywhere.

"Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran", John McCain had sung during the Presidential Campaign mocking the Jan and Dean and Beach Boys song, "Barbara Ann".

McCain, George Bush and Dick Cheney were all on the same page when it came to Iran. Never mind that they never finished what they had started in Afghanistan and Iraq. Not only didn't they finish what they started, they had turned both Afghanistan and Iraq into terrorist magnets and made what seemed like wrong moves at every juncture.

Following Bush and Cheney's disastrous entry into Iraq and Afghanistan the dynamic duo started taunting Iran. Just what we needed no wins in two countries was not enough, BC & Company started talking like they were going to invade Iran, as well. And they had some degree of support prior to the American Elections in November of 2008. Luckilly for us Bush and Cheney were shown the door before they could throw more gasoline on the Middle East Fires they had started.

And in June, 2009 the Iranian electorate prepared to show the door to their hard line holocaust denying President but instead the even harder line Islamic powers behind the scenes in Iran slammed the door to freedom on the progressive mainly young peoples movement in Iran.

At first it looked like a real election with polls set up for all Iranians to have their chance to vote. But clearly something went wrong in Iran as the hard liners were taken aback and the new freedom fighters, who recognized how badly they had been shafted hit the streets of Tehran in protests that were stunning. They were, at first, broadcast all over the world by CNN and other networks while Iranian Television gave no coverage to the protest in the streets. Blogs, Facebook and Twitter at first stoked the flames of freedom in the streets of Tehran. To those of us watching it in America, it looked as though the Candidate of the people, Mousavi, might actually be installed as President of Iran. But that was not to be, at least not in the immediate future.

Although at first Mousavi seemed to be given a free hand in setting up protests and rallys that freedom of assembly didn't last long. The more control Iranian officials had on the media the less they played their hand. But after about a week of protests it was clear to anyone watching that the rulling Ayatollah's were getting ready to rid the streets of Tehran of the stink of Freedom. Clearly if Freedom truly came to Iran the days of the Ayatollah's calling the shots were numbered. So the men of God, the followers of Allah, began a crackdown of epic proportions.

When the protests broke out after the election results were certified by the Ayatollahs, President Obama's reactions were measured and hopeful. His measured and thoughtful reactions to the crisis in Iran were criticized by John "Bomb Bomb Iran" McCain and Lindsay Graham, among other mainly Republican critics of the President.

Clearly at the beginning of the protests Obama getting involved in telling Iranaian authorities what to do is exactly what the powers that be in Iran wanted. When confronted at a news conference by a reporter's question regarding the Republicans, McCain and Graham, charging Barack with being timid in his response to the crisis Barack stated that

"I am the President and they are not"

In Obama's defense, as the violence in the brutal crackdown on Iranian protestors has escalated so has Barack Obama's condemnation of the Iranian government's vicious attack on their freedom loving countrymen. Although some word continued to get out through social networking sites, Twitter and phone cameras sent videos to CNN too violently graphic to broadcast, the Iranian regime stamped out the protests with incredible violence such as shooting innocent people who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and even hatcheting incidents and human beings thrown off bridges and brutally attacked in their homes.

As CNN found it harder and harder to find appropriate broadcast videos suddenly word came that Michael Jackson had died and from then on all that could be seen on the 24 hour News Channels were all things Michael Jackson. So as the King of Pop has taken over our TV screens it seems as though we who are free have forgotten about those Freedom Loving Brave Individuals who, for a couple of brief weeks actually were free.

As we move on through our lives in the new Post Michael Jackson world I hope we never forget the King of POP and I am even more hopeful that we will keep in mind the thousands of Brave Iranians who put their lives on the line to protect their votes and their freedom. They may not still be on the evening news but they are out there in that dark country shouded in mystery working toward the freedom that we take for granted in America every day of our lives.

Let us never forget their courage as they showed us how much like us they really are.

And if John McCain once again sings "Bomb Bomb Iran" lets keep in mind just who we will be bombing and never sing that song again.

Unless its Barbara Ann and The Beach Boys or Jan and Dean are singing it on the radio.

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

D Day, June 6th, 2009 - 65 Years later

June 6th, 2009

My Dear America:

On this day, June 6th, 65 years ago, Allied troops, mainly American, British and Canadian soldiers, sailed across the English channel to France. By this point France had been occupied by German soldiers, who had fortified the French coast in preparation for the assault that they knew was bound to come. By the time D Day finally arrived Europe was almost completely under the control of Hitler's forces. D Day saw thousands of allied troops brutally cut down on the shores of France before they even had a chance to get off the sandy French beaches.

This morning American President Barack Obama, Prince Charles and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Great Britain and Prime Minister Harper of Canada met with French President Sarkozy on the French fields of Normandy that were the last resting place of so many allied freedom fighters. The leaders of the allied countries today celebrated the fallen heroes of Word War II.

The speeches given by the leaders of the Free World Countries on this day celebrated the courage and determination that was shown on D Day. Just prior to today's D Day celebration President Obama, with Germany's President Merkel and Jewish Author, Ellie Wiesel, visited the site of the Buchenwald Death Camp, where countless Jews were tortured and murdered by the soldiers of Germany's Third Reich.

Also this week was another speech given by President Obama in Cairo, Egypt, in which he mainly addressed his comments to the Muslim and Arab World. President Obama pointed out that Muslims and Americans and Europeans have much more in common than is often recognized. This speech seems to have been well received all over the world.

At Buchenwald Obama, after his remarks, turned the podium over to Ellie Wiesel who had been rescued by Allied Troops from this place in an era long past. President Obama personally invited Wiesel to accompany the President on the Buchenwald trip. Although Wiesel was not officially scheduled to speak on this occasion his heartfelt rememberance of his life in this German Hell on Earth will probably be the major speech that will be remembered from this German stop on Obama's trip.

At Normandy on D Day Sarkozy, Brown, Harper and Obama all gave great speeches that will be well remembered. But Wiesel's personal recollections of the reality of man's inhumanity to man will be the hardest speech to forget in this entire Presidential trip.

65 years down the line from D Day and the Normandy Invasion it is easy for Americans and others in the free world to forget the Terrorist Nations including the Nazi's and Hitler in Germany, Mussolini in Italy and Hitrohito in Japan. It took the American people the horror of Pearl Harbor to finally sit up and take notice of what was happening in the world. The true Axis of Evil, Germany, Italy and Japan were quickly takng over the known world and were cruelly and brutally exercising their killer instincts on those who opposed them or those who did not necessarily oppose them but who they didn't like. It was not only the Jews who the Nazi's targeted for extinction in their Death Camps. Hitler didn't like the gypsys or the handicapped either. They, along with the Jews, did not belong in Hitler's concept of German perfection of the Master Race.

Year by year we lose more and more of our brave World War II Veterans who came back to our country after their service and became regular citizens of America. They have, for the most part, not been the kind of people who stood out in a crowd. They have been the kind of people who blended in with the crowd. They have been our Fathers, Grandfathers, Uncles, Brothers and Husbands. They have lived among us for 65 years, occasionally doing something special but mostly being the kind of people who didn't have much to say about politics, although if you engaged them in conversations you tended to find out just how knowlegable and special they really were. They seemed like simple people but they were not. Although many of them did not necessarily have personal visions of horror from the Front, they all knew other soldiers who had found out the hard way just how much had to be sacrificed for the Free World to remain free. They worked hard at their jobs hopping for the days when they could retire and fish or just take it easy. They asked very little from us and they almost never bragged about their service.

In Fact, they almost never even talked about their service and were often times embarassed when others talked about it. They were the Greatest Generation and they never demanded much in the way of anything from us. They just did their job and if they were lucky enough to come back alive they lived their lives among us with an appreciation of freedom that many of us can never understand.

They were just regular soldiers doing their job. Thats all they have to say when thanked for their service. But the truth is that Hitlers Soldiers and Mussolini's and Hirohito's soldiers were all doing their jobs too. Why were German soldiers able to carry out the horrors of the Third Reich. The truth is that they truly were, like soldiers before them since the beginning of time, truly just carrying out orders because that's what soldiers do and have done since the first solier of history marched upon the field of battle. The German, Italian and Japanese soldiers should probably have questioned the lunacy of cruelty in battle or agaist civillians who did not desrve to die. Thank goodness that our leaders, especially Roosevelt and Churchill, were the right leaders for this extremely important time in world history. Certainly the hands of all soldiers are not clean in the epic struggle of the invasion of Nomandy and the defeat of Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito. No war has ever been fought by people who were unwilling to kill. Death and War go together like mashed potatos and gravy. When you are a soldier and your back is to the wall and it's kill of be killed, you kill. But freedom's soldiers have learned over the years that killing should only be done when it is a last resort and as soldier has no other choice. Our soldiers, mainly a volunteer army in World War II, had no choice but to do what they did. They went to war with the knowlege that they might not come back from the experience and many thousands of them didn't return home alive. We owe these brave people, our brave veterans, everything. We certainly owe them respect and appreciation. Without them Hitler and others like him could have turned the world into a world filled with Death Camps like Aushwitz or Buchenwald. The brave soldiers of World War II allies kept that from happening to US.

On this 65th Anniversary of the salvation of the free world we salute our veterans for their valor and their sacrifice and we tell them truthfully just how much we love them and respect them and appreciate what they have done for every one of us who live in freedom in the new millenium.

Their sacrifices will not be forgotten and History will never let us forget just how important their sacrifice was.

We need to learn from experience in 2009 that in a very short period of time hatred and insanity can threaten and destroy our world just as easlity today as it almost did 65 years ago.

Help Me, I'm a Republican - Get Me Out of Here - A New Reality Show

May 25th, 2009


My Dear America:

We have all heard, I am sure, of the new Television Reality Series called "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here", in which (so called) celebrities go the Survivor Route in South America for the possibility of Big Bucks. We have all heard of this show because disgraced Illinois Governor was trying to get permission to leave the country to be on it.

He failed to get the permission to go himself but Bum Rod, being the ever intense self promotor that he is, finally convinced his wife to go and suffer the humiliations and degradations of the South American Jungle in his stead, while Rod watches the kids and the show in the comfort of his Chicago home. If I were Mrs. Blogoevich, I would stay home and divorce my husband and try to get my share early of Rod Blogoevich's big money book deal.

Anyway, to get to the main purpose of this rant, I have my own projected version of this TV Reality Series that I want to call the following:

"HELP ME, I'M A REPUBLICAN - GET ME OUT OF HERE"

I think, America, that you can already see the purpose and the potential of this Reality Show. The purpose of the show will be to show that Moderate Republicans are no longer welcome into what is left of the Mainstream Republican Party. We have seen Moderates leaving the party in droves for several years as they watched their party become more Extreme and unwelcoming to them on each passing day. Those who did stay did what they had to do in order to maintain membership in the party and became more extreme to the point where they left politics or, like Arlen Specter, moved to the other side of the aisle.

Specter is a fascinating case. He has led a very interesting public life. As a young lawyer he was the staffer on the Warren Commission Investigation of the Assasination of President John Kennedy who came up with the "One Bullet Therory", which supposedly explained how one bullet could have hit both President Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally, who rode in the front seat of the President's car in the November 22, 1963 Dallas Motorcade. This Theory has been discredited by many Warren Commission Critics but Specter marched on in his political career to being District Attorney in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After a rather successful run in Philly, Specter then ran for Senator from Pennsylvania and has been in that position for many years. Recently Specter switched from being a Republican Senator to being a Democratic one. It was not the first time that Specter switched parties in his political career but it was a stunning blow to Republicans and seemingly a welcome switch to President Obama and Democratic Party Pros in Pennsylvania. Anyway, Specter's recent votes have not seemed very Democratic and time will tell what will happen in the 2010 Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Primary. My guess is that although there will be a scuffle in the Pennsylvania Democratic Party that eventually Specter will be the Democratic Nominee and the likely winner of United States Senate seat he has held for many years.

Lets forget about Specter, Hagle and the many many moderate Republicans who have been run out of their party. Lets get back to my premise of a Republican Reality Show that I want to call:

THE MOST DESPICABLE REPUBLICAN

This show has got everything that makes a Reality show interesting enough to be a ratings grabber. There is a large cast of backbiting, intensely dislikable real life characters, each one looking to slice up the other ones in their bloodthirsty quest for dishonor and fame.

Certainly in this Reality Show along with Specter's departure we need to jettison that last of the Republican Moderates still left in the Republican Party, Colin Powell. Along with Colin, out go the two Moderate Republican Women Senators, who had the nerve to, along with Specter, support President Obama's Stimulus package.

That pretty much cleans the Republican Household of moderates, although there may be some sneakily hiding out in the House of Representatives disguised as Extreme Republicans.

Now, as we get down to the real drama of figuring out who, indeed, is The Most Despicable Republican of all who are left, the pickings are far from slim.

We can't pick Rush Limbaugh only because he has publicly resigned from the Republican Party. I guess he resigned because his party still wasn't extreme enough for him.

What a loss.

He would certainly have been my choice for winner of Most Despicable Republican.

Certainly one of my picks for Most Despicable Republican would be and is Dick Cheney. His Nationwide search continues for finding opportunities to defend torture and to damage the Obama Administration's efforts to heal the worldwide wounds caused by the Cheney-Bush Administation.

At least Bush has the good sense to keep his mouth shut.

Then again when you are talking about Despicable Republicans you cannot avoid the man who started a needless War in Iraq and deregulated you, America, into the economic toilet. When you talk about Despicable Republicans you can't avoid including George W. Bush.

But while we can look through the Congress and elsewhere across America to find Despicable Republicans and God knows they are everywhere (Hannity, O'Reilly and pretty much everybody you can find at Fox News) there is no Republican in my book as despicable as Newt Gingrich. Newt Gingrich wakes up every day and looks at his odd features in the mirror and says to himself:

"Why can't I be President"?

The answer to that disturbing question is because, Newt, to be President you should have at least some redeeming qualities. You, Newt, have an awful name, awful stage presence and self interest that has nearly destroyed this country in the past and if brought back into play, surely will destroy this country in the future.

You led the effort to stop the government from working by keeping it from having a budget during the Clinton years. You led the charge to impeach Bill Clinton for lying about his affair while you were doing the same thing and you told your wife you were divorcing her for your new love while she was in the hospital dying of cancer.

But despite these solid reasons for Newt Gingrich to stay out of the political arena, he continues to slither back in on Fox News and elsewhere on television and radio as a spokesman for the party that he almost singlehandedly, with the assistance of George Bush and Dick Cheney, led to ruin. Gingrich is increasingly talking more and more like a man who knows what he is doing and may be thinking about running for President. God Forbid.

Newt's latest victim of slander is the person who holds the same job Newt did during much of the Clinton Era, Speaker of The House, Nancy Pelosi, who he accuses of lying about whether or not she was advised by the CIA that they were using waterboarding on terror suspects. She claims she was not told that. Newt says she is lying.

Who is this guy kidding? According to him the CIA never lied to her. The CIA lies for a living and so does Newt Gingrich, who left the job that Nancy Pelosi now has because he was censured by the Congress for ethics violations. Now he is the protector of the Truth. PLEASE.

The truth is, however, the Republicans have no one else to promote as a Presidential Candidate in 2012. They have driven nearly every decent Republican Politician either out of the party or into hiding.

Maybe Mitt Romney can move to some further extremes and maybe some fools might go for Rudy Giuliani but that's pretty doubtful. Lousisiana Governor Bobby Jindal made the mistake of opening his mouth too early and showing you, America, that there was not much going on in that head of his. Tim Pawlenty and others like Sarah Palin, YIKES. The truth is that anyone with any brains in the Republican Party will see that Barack Obama's appeal seems to be lasting and despite some supporters being unhappy with some of his moves they still like Obama, the Person and the President.

So the bottom line is that despite which Despicable Republicans gut and slash each other for the privilege of going up against Obama, only someone in the Republican Party whose negatives are few and who is a virtual unknown at this point in time can get the Republican Presidential nod with any chance of succeeding against Barack Obama.

Looks like an 8 Year Term for Obama as far as I can see. And to those Republicans out there who continue to slice and dice each other I say:

"Keep Up the Good Work Boys and Girls"

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

The Bonus - Bailout Mystery of AIG

March 19th, 2009


My Dear America:

The incredible Saga of the massive bonuses given to AIG Executives with our taxpayer bail out money continues unabated. It seems as though every day there is someone new for the press to villify and condemn for this Outrageous Scandal.

First it was Edward Liddy, the CEO who saw it as his civic duty to come back to AIG, where he had retired from, for a salary of $1.00 a year. I would feel sorry for this guy except that I know if he is working for a buck a year he already has stashed away enough dough to keep him in a lavish lifestyle for the rest of his life.

I watched Liddy on Television yesterday at a hearing for the Congressional Finances Committee. He didn't seem like a bad guy. He had the look of a Robber Baron but under what intense criticism I could take before I fell asleep realizing that despite its importance to me and my family I just really have a hard time understanding what it is that has been going on with Wall Street. What really gets me is all these Republican Senators and Congressmen who are suddenly portraying themselves as saviors of taxpayer money even though they voted for legislation signed by George W. Bush that set up the present system, in which up to now Wall Streeters almost had no way to lose money. A young lady testifying before the Financial Committee yesterday said something that I could understand and which I thiink is a great clue to the problems that we are dealing with at the present time. She was with one of the financial regulation agencies of the United States Government and she indicated that although her agency was initially permitted to regulate Wall Steet banks and other institutions, that permission was taken away from her agency by the Bush Era Republican controlled Congress. Dick Cheny in an recent interview indicated that the Bush Administration should take no responsibility for the Wall Street Mess.

Another bad guy in the recent Bonus - Bailout Mystery of AIG is Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. I think Barack Obama was truthful when he said that this guy is working harder than anybody to solve the AIG problem. What seems to have been coming out the past couple of days, though, is that Geithner or someone from the Obama Financial team asked Senate Banking Committee Chariman, Chris Dodd, to take a provision out of the stimulus legislation which would have kept million dollar bonuses from being paid with taxpaer money given to firms like AIG through the TARP (Troubled Assets Recovery Program) funds.

So now, today, all over the 24 hour cable news networks Chris Dodd seems to be the AIG Villain of the Day.

I must confess that although I was initially in favor of bailing out Wall Street to Save Main Street, I think that this heartless episode of Greed Unlimited should teach us once and for all that what we are saving in our financial system is not worth saving. I hope that we are going to be smart enough to change our legislation to protect ourselves from future Wall shafting by those firms that we have saved only to screw us over and over again. The U.S. financial spigot needs to be turned off for any firm that we gave money to and which, in turn, gave our money out like candy in monstrous bonuses to their employees.

I realize that Wall Street Banks and Corporations have their Super Greedy ways of doing things but they need to learn what the American Taxpayer has learned.

The time has come for them to live within their means or else take the consequences.


Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

Letters To A Lost Nation - After The Spectacular Election of 2008 The Blog Continues On

February 28th, 2009


My Dear America:

It may seem as though I have been away on vacation but it doesn't seem like that to me. I apologize to those of you who have been supportive of the Blog but I have had some things to do between my last posting in January of 2009 and February 28th, 2009.

One thing that I have been doing is to try to put my 2008 -2009 Blog Postings into a manuscript with the intent of selling it as a book. I realize that this may be a pipe dream but pipe dreams need to live too. I have put together a semi literate, semi publishable manuscript but I do not have a Literary Agent or a Publisher lined up so we will see where things lead with this.

I have also been putting in some time thinking about what my next move will be regarding the Blog. When I stumbled upon Blogspot in January, 2008 and set the Blog up, I was thinking about the 2008 Election Story as the only topic or, at least the main topic for discussion in the Blog. Now that the Election of 2008 is over and its winner is in the White House, I have had to give some thought to where I was going and what I was going to do with this Blog. Although it has certainly been a lot of fun to write this Blog through one of the most incredibly interesting American Election Campaigns that has ever been, it has also been somewhat time consuming and stressful, as well.

So, the question is, or at least has been, Where do we go from here with Letters To A Lost Nation. The answer I have chosen is that although I am not sure of how much time and energy I can put into the Blog, that here in the early days of the Obama Administration there is no shortage of topics to be discussed and issues to be considered.

So for now the answer to the question about the future of Letters To A Lost Nation is that it will continue for the present time.

At a time when newspapers and financial pages in those newspapers that are left, are disappearing at an alarming rate, it is not the time for dissonant voices to go silent. My suggestion is that everybody with a computer and an opinion get to Blogspot and write your own columns about what you feel you need to say about our country and our world. It is time for all of us, America, to realize that we are in serious trouble and unless we all get out there and make some noise about how we feel, we could end up with another tone deaf Republican Administration like the one we just had, or worse.

Our Economy is a shambles. We are still involved in Iraq and are ratcheting up our military involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan. China is letting us know how much in debt we are to them. Guantanamo will be closing but we don't seem to be as anxious to close other hell hole prisons elsewhere in the world. We are moving forward just by having Obama, rather than McCain in the White House, but we need to continue to remember that in America we are free to tell each other and our politicians just what we think.

I plan to continue doing just that.


Thank you all for your support.




Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

EPILOG - Letters To A Lost Nation - The Triumph of Barack Obama - The Next Chapter

January 26th, 2009


My Dear America:

It is a week after the Inauguration of Barack Obama to be The President Of The United States. Barack has hit the ground running and has already begun the process of change in our country. He has started the process of closing the Guantanamo Bay Torture and Humiliation Center. He has also begun the process of reaching out the hand of friendship to countries like Iran and has even done a filmed interview with the El Arabiya Television network. He is pushing hard to have his 825 Billion Dollar Stimulus Package approved by the United States Congress as soon as humanly possible. He has taken the forward looking step of traveling across town to jawbone personally with hesitant Republican legislators in favor of the massive spending bill. He is doing what he can but the hard truth is he has problems to deal with that are just as massive as his Stimulus Bill. Some problems he can deal with quickly but there are certainly problems that are going to take a long time to deal with if, indeed, they can be dealt with at all.

While he has incredibly difficult problems of all kinds to deal with he now has to deal with Right Wing Loudmouth Talk Show Hosts like Rush Limbaugh, who has made the statement that he wants Barack Obama to fail. Rush is out there by himself right now looking like a jackass but I am sure that he won't be out there alone for long. Rush has nothing to lose by making incredibly controversial statements like that. He might lose some Republican fans who have come over from the Dark Side to spend some time loving their Country, Right or Left. Outside of that, however, Rush may love to be driven off the air by hostile lefties and go out in a blaze of Right Wing Glory retiring to Florida where he can spend some his hundreds of millions on his favorite drugs. But as incendiary as Rush Limbaugh tends to be, he needs to be left on the air unless, of course, he is arrested for illegal drug possesion again. But if he is not arrested for drugs he needs to be left alone in his padded radio booth ranting on as if he knew what he was talking about. Yes, Rush Limbaugh is a senseless lunatic but he is free, rich, white and on the air in America. What that means is that just like I have certain protections regarding what I can write and say, so does Rush Limbaugh. its tough sometimes to be free but we all must remember that it is much tougher not to be free.

At this point in our nation's history when Barack Obama dominates the news not only in our country but also in every country of the world, it is surely true, as Dee Dee Myers has writen in Vanity Fair Magazine, that Barack Obama is the Most Famous Person of all time. Surely that seems like a stretch, at first, but is it really. Anyone in the world who owns a television or a radio or has access to newspapers surely already knows who Barack Obama is. If they don't know who Obama is chances are that sometime in the near future they will know.

This Super Celebrity may be in some ways a deficit but in other ways it is surely an asset that Obama can use to sway public opinion not only in his own country but in almost every country of the world. This man who only five years ago was a political unknown outside of Illinois, arrived at the Boston Democratic Convention in 2004 and after his incredible keynote address left Boston with the reputation as a politician who was going places. He was a relatively young man when he was elected Junior Senator from Illinois and it was anticipated by many Democrats, myself among them, that he would wait his turn and get some seasoning in the United States Senate before making a run for President. Once elected to the Senate Obama quickly became one of the most sought after speakers by Democratic Candidates all over your country. When Obama came to town to stump for a candidate like Bob Casey in Pennsylvania that candidate was almost guaranteed an overflow crowd of excited potential voters. Consequently, many Democratic candidates like Casey and many others were elected in a Democratic landslide in 2006 which turned the balance of power in the United States House of Representatives over to the Democrats for the first time in many years.

Certainly there were other factors which led to the Democratic rout of Republicans in the 2006 Congressional Elections but one factor was inescapable to Democrats. Barack Obama had proved to the Democratic Party and to you, America, that he was more than just a flash in the pan Democratic superstar whose flame would burn out quickly. When he made his now famous Springfield, Illinois speech declaring his candidacy for The Presidency of The United States few seasoned political observers gave his candidacy much of a chance to succeed. Clearly those political observers did not know how serious and determined Barack Obama was to succeed in his quest for the Presidency. If the didn't know it then, however, they surely know it now. We all know it now. The deed is done and Barack is in the White House and is determined to deal fully with every crisis that is at hand for you, America.

We are surely living in frightening times and are facing extremely difficult challenges. The world has become complex and perilous. It is unlikely that this situation will change any time soon. To be honest, It is beyond me why anyone would actively seek the Presidency in times as frightening as these. But then every Presidential Election cycle has its own difficult challenges. The Civil War, World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam, and The Cold War. You, America, have always had challenges and always will.

In the early days of the Republic it is likely that England felt as though it would only be a short time before they would be able to crush the Pesky American Colonies. Not only did you survive, America but you have become the beacon of hope for all the world's oppressed people who dream of Freedom. America leads the world in every way and the people and leaders of the world are now at this time in our history looking to Barack Obama for guidance in these times of terror and renewal. Will he be up to the job? We don't know. Time will tell. We do know that his youth, dedication to family and friends, judgement, temperment, intelligence and optimism will be sorely tested in the coming months and years.

My guess is that Barack Obama is and will continue to be the kind of Global Leader who can and will help to get our country back the greatness and respectability it deserves to have not only all over our country but also all over the world. As a candidate for President he was inspired by Hope, Change and The Fierce Urgency of Now. As President he will need all of his considerable talents to guide us through the rough seas that surround us.

God Bless Barack Obama and God Bless you, America. In fact God Bless all of us. We are surely all going to need those blessings as we continue to travel through the coming rough seas.

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

Its Inauguration Day in the Promised Land

January 20th, 2009


My Dear America:

Inauguration Day has finally come to America. There have been Great Expectations regarding this day and its significance to you, America. Great Crowds had been expected. They came and in a show of respect that may have overshadowed the entire day's activities, millions of spectators kept silent not only when Barack Obama took the oath of office but also when he gave his Inauguration speech. The crowd was massive but conducted themselves with dignity honoring the first Black American to ever be sworn in as President of the United States. Certainly security was incredibly tight for this celebration of the installation of our new President. But even with security at unbearable levels, according to those in town for the celebration, there were no arrests or terrorist threats uncovered, that we know of.

Although I gave serious consideration to actually attending the Inauguration in person, I finally decided that I would be able to truly see more of the proceedings on television than in the frigid Washington crowd. There will probably always be part of me that regrets my decision not to go but today I felt truly lucky not to be freezing while watching everything from my living room.

Barack's speech was not the best speech he has ever given or I am sure will ever give. It wasn't the barn burning kind of speech that he is capable of giving and had given on the campaign trail and at the Denver Democratic Convention. It was, however, a very good speech given by a very great orator. Moreover it was a speech that was appropriate for the day and time it was given. Barack Obama was not looking to trot out catch phrases that Americans now and in the future would treasure. He recognized that the time in which he was being inaugurated was a time of difficulties and struggle in our economy, in our foreign policy and in many other aspects of American life. He didn't have to give a speech to sway the massive crowd before him and on television. He had already done that. There were some shameful voices that would pray for his failure and worse but they were on the outside edge of The New American Dream today and clearly the days were numbered for these nattering nabobs of negativism.

It was truly a new day in Washington, D.C. today and every Republican, as well as Democratic Politician knew it. The Democrats had hit the political Trifecta. They were not only in charge of the White House but the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well. As of Tomorrow Barack Obama will no longer have to hold his tongue when asked a question about what he is going to do to fix Washington and the rest of the country. No longer will he have to talk about our country having only one President at a time. He is now that One President and it is his Administration which will now, after I am sure a brief honeymoon period of patience and understanding, be expected to come up with the solutions to some very difficult and complex problems. Surely Americans will give him some room to address the issues of our time but our 24 hour cable networks being what they are will be looking for things to happen tomorrow. Indeed, we will all be looking for at least some direction as to where we are headed if not tomorrow then sometime soon.

Barack's Inauguration speech at least gave some indications of which roads we might be heading down and what problems and programs are at the top of his priority list. He also seemed to throw somewhat of an olive branch to some of those in the world who we might see as enemies of the United States of America. It was a moving and a stirring, well written and well executed speech given with integrity and honor on this historic day.

As cameras panned around the mall in front of the capitol there were people from many places, men and women, boys and girls, black and white and many other shades of American color. Many black faces were shedding tears for themselves, as well as for others who had suffered the abuse and violence of America's past sins. On this day those blacks who had not made it to the Promised Land needed to be represented and celebrated by those who had made it. It was, indeed, a historic day for so many reasons.

While Barack Obama on this historical occasion enjoyed a popularity in polls that seemed, at least at this point, to be unmatched by any other President, there was another man who when Barack took his oath of office lost his power. George Bush, whether or not he was happy or sad on this occasion of Barack's Triumph, seemed to be putting on a good front. Although Bush seemed to have presided over a Presidency of one monumental error after another he had done one thing right. Except for not letting Barack and his family move into Blair House prematurely, George and Laura Bush seemed to be hospitable hosts when they showed the incoming family around and on Inauguration Day George and Laura seemed to be putting on a good face as they and their party lost the right to live in the White House.

I was in our bedroom when my wife shouted to me that George Bush was leaving on a plane. I'm not sure if it was the helicopter or if it was Air Force One taking him home.

I had tried after the Supreme Court virtually crowned Bush President that I would at least try to accept him and give him some respect in the hope that he would deserve it. That acceptance didn't last long although I did give Bush credit for going after Al Quida in Afghanistan following the September 11th attacks. But then, as he had planned to do all along, he swaggered his way into the quicksand of Iraq, from which you, America, have yet to emerge unscathed.

As Bush's helicopter and later his plane reached for the sky it was wonderful for Americans to realize that the long national nightmare of Bush's Cowboy Presidency was over. On this day in January 2009 the legacy of Bush's Nightmare Presidency was not over with even though he himself would be out of D.C. and back in Texas.

After the Inauguration Ceremony with musical Presentations by Aretha Franklin singing "My Country Tis of Thee" and an All Star Chamber Music Quartet, Barack and Michelle attended a dinner with Congress in the Capitol. Although reporters were not allowed to photogragh the proceedings, it was widely reported that Barack worked the room going around from table to table like a groom might work a wedding reception. Unfortunately before the dinner was over Barack had to explain that shortly after Barack visited Ted Kennedy's table Senator Kennedy, an early and important Barack supporter in the primaries, collapsed and was hospitalized following a seizure. Senator Robert Byrd, the oldest serving Senator also apparently collapsed, as well.

Clearly the health problems of these two long time, important Democrats was not good news for Obama but the show had to go on and it did.

The Inauguration Ceremony, as well as the ride and walk down Pennsylvania Avenue showed America that they had elected a very good looking family to live in the White House. Michelle, who had expressed reservations about Barack running in the early days certainly seemed to be over her initial concerns, at least for this day. She and Barack looked like a healthy young couple going on a romantic walk through Washington. And their kids. Who wouldn't love those beautiful, well mannered, parent loving and respecting children.

As the minutes of Inauguration Day ticked away it seemed like the entire country had just enjoyed a breath of fresh air and was continuing to try to hang on to it. At the Inauguration balls that the Obamas visited prior to the end of January 20th they danced to "At Last" being sung by Beyonce. The list of performers at the balls seemed like a Whos Who of popular musical stars. Springsteen and "The Dead" (a band made up of surviving members of "The Grateful Dead") played. Sheryl Crow, Fall Out Boy, Kid Rock. Kid Rock? Isn't he a Republican.

Although Barack Obama did not appear to have the best sense of rhythm in the country as he and Michelle began to visit the Inaugural Balls, they certainly seemed to be a couple that was in love and would support each other as the Obama Administration became a reality. Barack and Michelle were clearly having fun with one another on Inauguration night but both knew that this day would soon be over and the first work day of the Obama Administration would come to replace it.

But for now they had and would always have the memories of this day and it had been a wonderful sunny, cold and event filled day. It had been a day that in the words of "Walter Cronkite" in describing past events "would alter and illuminate our time".

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher