A couple of week’s ago President Barack Obama put the banks on notice saying “We want our money back!” Little did he know his words would soon resonate more with Toyota owners worldwide than anyone else. I am one such consumer and “I want my money back!” . I have been anxiously following the story for months in the news, relieved that my car wasn’t among those recalled…until – it was! Every day the recall is widening, the questions piling up, and the list of admitted and potential defects in the cars getting longer. Gas pedal? Brakes?! Software?! Maybe they should just list the things that do work on the cars and that would be easier to keep track of.

On the brighter side, I get respect on the road now. Drivers who used to scoff at my affordable ride now deferentially move out of my way for fear that my sudden acceleration could total their fancy wheels. Plus those too-cool-for-school Prius drivers no longer look down their nose at us lowly models, now that their precious green machines have been exposed as just another consumer fraud. And the vehicle has prompted me to return to daily prayer as I converse with the lord every time I hit the road in my little fiery death machine. In between prayers I am going over emergency procedures in my mind “throw it into neutral, hit the brakes once with both feet, don’t pump them, pull over…throw it into neutral etc” “Why don’t you get it fixed?” you ask. Well it is clear to me from the unprecedented production stoppage, the lengthy cover-up and the conflicting reports from safety experts, that Toyota has no idea what is wrong with the cars (or they are still covering up the real extent of the problems), so how can they fix them? “Why don’t you get rid of it?” you ask. Tell me, what do you think I’d get on a trade in for my two-year-old Toyota. First my home took a dive in value, now my car! It is a massive rip-off and I want my money back – not more hassles and a devalued trade-in! I can’t afford to simply park it and buy a new one, and I know I am not alone! In fact, we are long-time Toyota loyallists. Both my husband and I have ( Toyotas and we had another before that. We rushed to get our cars before credit got even tighter, scraped together our pennies thinking our reliable old brand would drive us through to the other side of The Great Recession! And now…well we can’t seem to get out of The Matrix (or Corolla or Prius or whatever model you have!)

I have a suggestion for the President. It’s a bailout for the nation’s Toyota owners. And it’s a financial shot in the arm for the U.S. auto industry. The program would offer a full refund to Americans who own recalled Toyotas as long as they purchase a fuel efficient American car! It could be the second wave of  Cash for Clunkers, we could call it “Dollars for Deathtraps.”  Please, Mr. President, we want our money back!

This Wednesday it will be exactly one year since President Barack Obama was sworn into office in a cresendo of national euphoria. The 44th president arrived on a wave of joy and enthusiasm not seen in my lifetime. The first African American president in our nation’s history unleashed a tsunami of healing and love that was felt around the world! People literally celebrated in the streets…all of our secret and not-so-secret ambitions for our battered nation projected onto the larger-than-life persona of our handsome young president and his elegant super-smart wife. We all claimed we knew what a mess he faced, how Frontman George W. Bush and President Dick Cheney had driven the country into a ditch, starting two wars, ruining the country’s credibility with unilateralism and torture, leaving the economy in shambles…And with a massive federal bailout even stealing the silverware on the way out the door!

So how is it possible that a mere 12 months later many seemingly intelligent people are already claiming dissillusion, and cynicism? How is it that media are predicting massive losses for the Democrats in the midterm elections and blaming them on the president? How is it possible that the nation’s progressives have joined the far-right in labeling President Barack Obama as ineffective and disaapointing? Can it be that we are suffering from collective amnesia? Have the relentless 24-hour news cycle and clever Republican talking points faded our memory of a nation on the brink of extinction? Have the revisionism of rabid sub-cerebral types like Glenn Beck and Laura Ingraham dulled our memory of a mere year ago when we were led by a president who literally could not construct a sentence? Has the droning propaganda of a desperate Dick Cheney actually erased our memory of his psuedo presidency – that lawless regime that almost irreparably diminished our constitution? Have we forgotten that the election of the intellectual young senator from Illinois was achieved in spite of and not because of the “prevailing wisdom?”

Well snap the f___ out of it! Wake the hell up!! If you think the president hasn’t done enough get off your butt and help him get something done like you did in 2008!! Text somebody, organize something, write a letter! This is not the time for amnesia or even simple whining. We are just one year into an eight year run and already much has been accomplished. Surely there is much, much more to be done. But get up and take your ginko biloba, or watch old George W. Bush speeches (I recommend the “Mission Accomplished” moment…) or whatever it takes to jog your tired little memory banks. If the site of our nation arriving to help Haiti faster than we were able to help our own people in New Orleans under Bush doesn’t do the trick…I suggest perusing the internet for some nice torture photos…or watching the George W. reading “My Little Goat” while the World Trade Center crumbled! Whatever it takes it’s time – in the words of Spike Lee to wake the f— up!!! Or if you prefer  to put it in the positive simply roll over and tell yourself “the nightmare is over – I have a dream!”

This Wednesday it will be exactly one year since President Barack Obama was sworn into office in a cresendo of national euphoria. The 44th president arrived on a wave of joy and enthusiasm not seen in my lifetime. The first African American president in our nation’s history unleashed a tsunami of healing and love that was felt around the world! People literally celebrated in the streets…all of our secret and not-so-secret ambitions for our battered nation projected onto the larger-than-life persona of our handsome young president and his elegant super-smart wife. We all claimed we knew what a mess he faced, how Frontman George W. Bush and President Dick Cheney had driven the country into a ditch, starting two wars, ruining the country’s credibility with unilateralism and torture, leaving the economy in shambles…And with a massive federal bailout even stealing the silverware on the way out the door!
So how is it possible that a mere 12 months later many seemingly intelligent people are already claiming dissillusion, and cynicism? How is it that media are predicting massive losses for the Democrats in the midterm elections and blaming them on the president? How is it possible that the nation’s progressives have joined the far-right in labeling President Barack Obama as ineffective and disaapointing? Can it be that we are suffering from collective amnesia? Have the relentless 24-hour news cycle and clever Republican talking points faded our memory of a nation on the brink of extinction? Have the revisionism of rabid sub-cerebral types like Glenn Beck and Laura Ingraham dulled our memory of a mere year ago when we were led by a president who literally could not construct a sentence? Has the droning propaganda of a desperate Dick Cheney actually erased our memory of his psuedo presidency – that lawless regime that almost irreparably diminished our constitution? Have we forgotten that the election of the intellectual young senator from Illinois was achieved in spite of and not because of the “prevailing wisdom?”
Well snap the f___ out of it! Wake the hell up!! If you think the president hasn’t done enough get off your butt and help him get something done like you did in 2008!! Text somebody, organize something, write a letter! This is not the time for amnesia or even simple whining. We are just one year into an eight year run and already much has been accomplished. Surely there is much, much more to be done. But get up and take your ginko biloba, or watch old George W. Bush speeches (I recommend the “Mission Accomplished” moment…) or whatever it takes to jog your tired little memory banks. If the site of our nation arriving to help Haiti faster than we were able to help our own people in New Orleans under Bush doesn’t do the trick…I suggest perusing the internet for some nice torture photos…or watching the George W. reading “My Little Goat” while the World Trade Center crumbled! Whatever it takes it’s time – in the words of Spike Lee to wake the f— up!!! Or if you prefer  to put it in the positive simply roll over and tell yourself “the nightmare is over – I have a dream!”