In response to George Bush, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid smiling in bipartisan friendship at a press conference announcing their new "economic stimulus" package, I sent this letter to the Madison Capital Times:
To the editor:
When my coworker, Judy Miner, and I heard that George W. Bush wanted to send us each a check, and was urging us to go shopping to save the economy, we asked this question: What’s the last place George Bush would want us to spend this money?
It wasn’t hard to think of an answer. I’m going to sign my entire “stimulus” check over to Iraq Vets Against the War, and Judy is donating hers to Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice so we can hire three new work-study students to assist us with our work supporting immigrant rights, justice and fair treatment for prisoners, and countering the increasingly aggressive and desperate military recruiters in Wisconsin’s high schools (well, the President did say he wanted to stimulate job creation.)
How about you? We know there are people out there who are genuinely hurting, and we don’t begrudge those folks any money that can help, but what about those of us who aren't in trouble financially? Will we take the President’s cue to head to the mall, check in hand, or will we take this check and direct it exactly where George W. Bush does not want the money to go?
If you like the idea of pledging all or part of your “stimulus check” to fight what Dr. Martin Luther King called the “triplets of racism, militarism and materialism,” please send an email to info@wnpj.org telling us where you’re sending Bush’s borrowed money, and we’ll track the responses on our website.
Steve Burns is WNPJ Program Coordinator
Judy Miner is WNPJ Office Coordinator
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment