Dear Candidate Romney

I read what you are quoted as telling a group of $50,000 a plate donors about people like me. (see bottom of post) I read it several times. I scoured the internet looking for places where someone at the closed door gathering might be offering a different recollection.


Then I came to the conclusion that you said what you said and meant what you said.

You claim you were quoted out of context – uh, there’s a video – and that your comments were not “elegantly stated”.

Not elegantly stated? Were you wearing the wrong tuxedo when you said them?

As a member of your 47% I’d like to share some thoughts and facts (those are things that are true) with you.

Go fuck yourself and the rich Daddy you rode in on.

I have worked since I was 13 years old.
I was raised by an alcoholic Father and a clinically depressed Mother.
My siblings and I were neglected and abused all of our childhood.
We went to school. We studied. We worked hard to get out.
We got out.

I have paid taxes since my very first “real” job.

When I was promoted to EVP and board member of a large international firm I paid more in taxes than many people earn in a year. I never once cheated. I never once loopholed. I had enough money to live comfortably; why shouldn’t I pay taxes.

When the once private firm where I had worked diligently for years was sold and then sold again and then cut up into pieces and decimated by a firm similar to your Bain Capital I lost my job. Hundreds of people lost their jobs.
The people who bought and sold us got very rich.
I sat in on board meetings where laws were laughed at and where intricate plans were made to get around regulations.
I regret not trying to be a whistle blower but I had a child to care for.
And the people who were taking the company apart scared me.

I was much younger then; they wouldn’t scare me today.
Today I’m scared of dying from lack of proper healthcare.
Today I'm scared of losing my home.

After losing my job I started my own business.

Yes, I started it on my own but it was on a street that was built and maintained by city road crews.
When I worked late I felt safe because there were police officers paid by the government.
That’s what President Obama meant when he said no one does it alone.

Not the bullshit you tried to spin his comments into.

As a small business owner I paid my taxes.
I insured myself and my workers.
I treated them fairly and respected their talents and their humanity.

I had healthcare insurance at $1500 a month and Disability insurance at $200 a month.
From the same insurance carrier who loved me and cared about me for the 20 years that I was a paying customer.

Then I got hurt.
Then a chronic health issue that I had managed all my life took a nasty turn.
It was hard to work and I decided to apply for some of the benefits I had been sold.

Guess what? Insurance companies don’t like keeping promises.
Four years later I am still fighting for full coverage.

I’m also still paying my bills and paying taxes.

I am not fodder for you and your richie rich pals to laugh at.

I am not a sound byte for your pathetic campaign.

Next we'll talk about how you really feel about the Palestinians and Isreal.I'll be writing again soon Mitt. Have a nice day.

From the Mother Jones website - and everywhere else in the universe.
Mitt said ...

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.

My job is is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.

"Democracy Isn't Always Convenient"

... the protester tells the man in the expensive overcoat as he whines about needing to show ID to get onto Wall Street.

"Be grateful that you have jobs and can send your kids to a private school" another protester tells a parent who accuses him of being "a terrorist against children".

A small group of children needed to walk along a narrow barricade path early yesterday morning as Occupy Wall Street's Day of Action began. I'm sorry if any one of those children was frightened. One child was interviewed by CBS News and said "it was like a parade and it was very crowded, it was like a scary parade".  Then he laughed and showed off his painting. I don't think the scars will last a lifetime.

Perhaps the parents of children who go to Prep School at 4 need to explain things clearly and calmly so that their children don't always expect the world to go the way they plan.

I'm not at all surprised by the reactions of Wall Street suits. To get anywhere in that world you need to let your soul dry up. I am disappointed by young Moms who bitch about needing to walk an extra block around barricades or whine about drum music. I think there's a group in between the 1% and the 99% (sounds like Yogi Berra logic) who is so afraid of looking at the world around them. They're closer to the top than most and can almost see the golden glow. They don't want anyone to breathe too hard and topple the tower.

I worry for and about those people. I feel a time will come to take sides. I don't think they're prepared.

Some scenes from the Day of Action.

 this 87 year old woman needed to ask police to stop pushing her

 labor unions joined the afternoon protest

 witnesses say this young man was standing near someone who threw a bottle and several cops threw him to the ground and beat him and kicked him in the head

 cops in street clothes infiltrated the crowds to start scuffles and then arrest people
I remember this tactic from my VietNam war protest days

 how many cops does it take to arrest a man in a funny hat?

a member of the press was taking photos of the group when he was thrown to the ground by several cops

Mayor Bloomberg better start concerning himself with the people of NYC instead of the tourists. Maybe he could open a clinic for poor children with the money he wants to spend redecorating Times Square once again.

Every single member of the NYPD needs to do a check of his/her own pulse. As a group they operate as a secret society yet as individuals many of them struggle just as the protesters do.

Speaking of abuse of power - Joe Paterno sold his home to his wife for $1. Expecting law suits Joe Pa? Sandusky is out on what is called a Personal Recognisance bond, which means he didn't put up a penny to secure his freedom. The judge who arranged this, without the DA present, is on the board of Sandusky's so called children's charity.

Wake Up America and Stay Awake.