Steve Burns: Dear President Bush

Dear President Bush:

Back in January, you pressed the Congress to pass a tax rebate for individual taxpayers of up to $600, as a way, you said, of preventing the US from falling into a recession. Now it seems we're in a recession anyway, and the checks aren't expected to arrive until May, so I decided to spend my $600 now, figuring that the US government was good for the money.

So, on March 15, for about the amount of my hoped-for rebate check, I rented the Orpheum Theater and a digital projector for a day. After a last-minute purchase of a hundred feet of internet cable (a further stimulus to the economy), the seats filled up, and the screen filled with a live video feed of Iraq Veterans Against the War's Winter Soldier hearings. For five hours, we watched and listened as American veterans gave firsthand reports on the tragic consequences of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars -- your wars, Mr. Bush.

We heard a young Army medic testify about an Iraqi prisoner brought into one of the many American prisons in Iraq. The medic noticed the Iraqi prisoner was behaving strangely and seemed disoriented. Somehow, the medic had the presence of mind to administer a blood-sugar test, and learned that the prisoner, a diabetic who had been denied access to his insulin during four days of captivity, was in the advanced stages of diabetic shock. That prisoner later died in American custody -- your custody, Mr. Bush.

We heard another soldier testify about seeing one of the men in his platoon shoot into a car speeding toward a US checkpoint. When the car came to a halt, the soldier checked inside, and found a mother, father, and their two children, all dead. Sitting there in that darkened theater, we all knew better than to blame the soldier who fired those shots in fear for his life. We all knew who to blame, and we blamed you, Mr. Bush.

And when the screening was over, we left that theater with a strengthened resolve to fight against these wars, and all wars, and to do our best to heal the people you have so carelessly broken. Not a bad return on an investment of only $600.

The Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stieglitz now estimates that the Iraq war -- your war -- will cost us about $3 trillion. On that scale, $600 may not seem like much, but I write this to you because, unlike Halliburton, or Blackwater, or any of the corrupt crony contractors you lavished billions on, I feel some obligation to account for how I spent the taxpayers’ money.

Sincerely,
Steve Burns

WNPJ wants to hear your answer to the question: "What's the last thing George W. Bush would want you to spend your rebate check on?" Email your responses to info@wnpj.org.

Below are some of the responses we've already received from WNPJ members and others:

Chuck in Whitefish Bay: "I'm pledging my rebate check to Nukewatch to pay for the costs of a civil-rights suit by Nukewatch protesters who were arrested in Sen. Oberstar's office."
Charles in New Glarus: "All of my rebate is going to Iraq Veterans Against the War."
Becky in Madison: "My rebate check is going to help support an immigrant family, resettled here from Thailand."
Harland in Necedah: "I'm giving $100 of my rebate to WNPJ."
Les in Somerset: "I'm donating $25 to Iraq Veterans Against the War"
Rose in Middleton: "I pledge $300 to help support work-study students at WNPJ"
Dorothy in Madison: "I'm pledging my entire rebate check to WNPJ"
Barb in Appleton: "I'm giving $50 to Fellowship of Reconciliation, $50 to nonviolent peaceforce, and $50 to American Friends Service Committee."
Chick in Washington Island: "I'm donating $50 of my check to Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice."

And a friend in Waukesha reminds us that many people will need their rebate to meet daily expenses: "All of my check is going to groceries and rent. I still haven't been able to find a job!"

If you're able to, we hope you'll choose to donate all or part of your rebate check to those who are in the struggle against war, racism, and economic inequality. We're sure Mr. Bush would disapprove.