> Subject: FW: Dinner at the White House - a
> parable
> I don't know the author, but I see
> the dark and foreboding truth in this brilliant
> parable.
>
> "Dinner with
> Obama"
>
> Once upon a time, I was invited to the
> White House for a private dinner with the President. I am a
> respected businessman, with a factory that produces memory
> chips for computers and portable electronics. There was some
> talk that my industry was being scrutinized by the
> administration, but I paid it no mind. I live in a free
> country. There's nothing that the government can do to
> me if I've broken no laws. My wealth was earned
> honestly, and an invitation to dinner with an American
> President is an honor.
>
> I checked my coat, was greeted by the
> Chief of Staff, and joined the President in a yellow dining
> room. We sat across from each other at a table draped in
> white linen. The Great Seal was embossed on the china.
> Uniformed staff served our dinner. The meal was
> served, and I was startled when my waiter suddenly reached
> out, plucked a dinner roll off my plate, and began nibbling
> it as he walked back to the kitchen. "Sorry
> about that," said the President. "Andrew is very
> hungry."
>
> "I don't appreciate..."
> I began, but as I looked into the calm brown eyes across
> from me, I felt immediately guilty and petty. It was
> just a dinner roll..
> "Of course," I concluded,
> and reached for my glass. Before I could, however,
> another waiter reached forward, took the glass away and
> swallowed the wine in a single gulp. "And
> his brother Eric is very thirsty." said the
> President.
>
> I didn't say anything. The
> President is testing my compassion, I thought. I will play
> along. I don't want to seem unkind. My plate was
> whisked away before I had tasted a bite.
> "Eric's children are also quite
> hungry." With a lurch, I crashed to the
> floor. My chair had been pulled out from under me. I stood,
> brushing myself off angrily, and watched as it was carried
> from the room. "And their grandmother
> can't stand for long.."
>
> I excused myself, smiling outwardly,
> but inside feeling like a fool. Obviously I had been
> invited to the White House to be sport for some game. I
> reached for my coat, to find that it had been taken. I
> turned back to the President. "Their
> grandfather doesn't like the
> cold." I wanted to shout - that was
> my coat! But again, I looked at the placid smiling face of
> my host and decided I was being a poor sport. I spread
> my hands helplessly and chuckled.
>
> Then I felt my hip pocket and realized
> my wallet was gone. I excused myself f and walked to a
> phone on an elegant side table. I learned shortly that
> my credit cards had been maxed out, my bank accounts
> emptied, my retirement and equity portfolios had vanished,
> and my wife had been thrown out of our home.
> Apparently, the waiters and their families were moving in.
>
> The President hadn't moved or
> spoken as I learned all this, but finally I lowered the
> phone into its cradle and turned to face
> him. "Andrew's whole family
> has made bad financial decisions. They haven't
> planned for retirement, and they need a house. They recently
> defaulted on a sub-prime mortgage. I told them they could
> have your home. They need it more than you
> do." My hands were shaking. I felt
> faint. I stumbled back to the table and knelt on the floor.
> The President cheerfully cut his meat, ate his steak
> and drank his wine. I lowered my eyes and stared at
> the small gray circles on the tablecloth that were water
> drops. "By the way," He added,
> "I have just signed an Executive Order nationalizing
> your factories. I'm firing you as head of your
> business. I'll be operating the firm now for the
> benefit of all mankind. There's a whole bunch of
> Erics and Andrews out there and they can't come to you
> for jobs groveling like
> beggars."
>
> I looked up. The President dropped his
> spoon into the empty ramekin which had been his creme
> brulee'. He drained the last drops of his
> wine. As the table was cleared, he
> lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair. He stared at
> me.
> I clung to the edge of the table as if
> were a ledge and I were a man hanging over an abyss. I
> thought of the years behind me, of the life I had lived. The
> life I had earned with a lifetime of work, risk and
> struggle. Why was I punished? How had I allowed it to
> be taken? What game had I played and lost? I looked
> across the table and noticed with some surprise that there
> was no game board between us. What had I done
> wrong?
>
> As if answering the unspoken thought,
> the President suddenly cocked his head, locked his empty
> eyes to mine, and bared a million teeth, chuckling wryly as
> he folded his hands. "You should have
> stopped me at the dinner roll," he
> said.
>
>
> Wake up,
> America!
>

It can't be stopped by one man alone, but it can be started by one. YES, WE CAN.

Well put.

Its government, and should not be competing against or running the private sectors.