Simply Tired

Dear Mr. Obama,

I am tired. Tired of being tired. Tired of watching you campaign when you are already in the White House. I am tired of hearing empty promises that you have no idea how to keep- let alone any chance of keeping them. Please, go back to the White House. Start your job already.

I am a highly qualified teacher under the rules of NCLB, yet I can't get a teaching job for anything. I'm trying. I have a child to support and no income. Why? I chose to teach. A profession that I thought would never have such layoffs.

We, as a country, are suffering from the worst economy since the great depression, unemployment rates are reminiscent of the 70s recession, I can barely afford health care for myself and my child, and your number in the polls are slipping. Democrats still outnumber Republicans 3 to 1 in Massachusetts, yet a Republican won the Senate seat. Are you paying attention yet?

No. You focus on your numbers in the polls. Stop campaigning. Please.

How about health care reform... couldn't we just start slow? Let's reform what is already in place. Make it illegal for insurance companies to deny benefits based on pre-existing conditions-- my brother for example can't get insurance because he's a diabetic. This is wrong. Make it illegal for them to gouge the prices of insurance for few benefits.... I pay almost $500 a month for insurance and have a deductible so high I'd almost clean out my little savings if something horrible happened. Then, only 80% of my bills would be paid.

How about education reform? I have so much to say on this and a lot of it isn't for public reading. Let's open up jobs for teachers again. I want to work. I love teaching. However, no teacher can do their job when all that is expected are high test scores. Children are variables, not robots. They are "more than a test score". Politicians need to remember that. We are doing the best we can with what we have. Budgets are cut, we are not getting money for programs, layoffs loom, classroom sizes are getting bigger.... but still- perform miracles. It doesn't matter that little Johnny spent last night sleeping in the bathtub because of the drive by shootings in his neighborhood or that little Molly went to bed hungry and came to school hungry because her parents lost their jobs. Perform miracles. Let teachers teach. Teach basic skills, teach children how to think for themselves, not "how to answer questions on a test".

Here's another novel idea.... How about bringing jobs back to the U.S.? Hasn't China screwed up enough- between lead, other poisonous metals, and killing our pets with tainted dog food- isn't enough enough? Stop trying to be friends and bring those manufacturing jobs back to our country. Our citizens need work. Let's have U.S. car makers actually make all our car parts in the U.S.

Let's not bail out the banks. Let's bail out the folks who are losing their homes because all the jobs are gone. Let's bail out education without so many strings attached so teachers can go back to work and teach.

Let's take a look at FDR and maybe create 'green jobs' similar to the WPA program. Look at the future- green may be our best bet. Let's teach people how to make green cars, wind turbines, solar panels.... just an idea.

Like I said Mr. Obama, I'm tired. Tired of being tired. Tired of being unemployed. Tired of watching you campaign. Simply tired.