Kathleen Lyday (Or Somebody Else) Letter

There has been a letter to the President circulating through the interwebs, mostly as an email chain. It raises some interesting points, but the tone is largely too hysterical to facilitate purposeful discussion. One point it raises, however, was so blatantly contradicted by the facts as to call into question some of the other figures in the note.

"I understand the average House aide got a 17% bonus.  I took a 5% cut in my pay to save jobs with my employer. You haven't said anything about that.  Who authorized that?  I surely didn't!" -Kathleen Lyday

"For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.

It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break; the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours.

It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate." -Barack Obama

See here for full text of the letter.