Waterfront sunsets, oysters, cool breezes on white sails. I hope the Bushes and the Cheneys enjoyed their long vacation, because now it is time for them to hand over their vacation homes to refugees.
I know, you didn’t think your war would touch your mansions, but as Donald Rumsfeld once said, “Stuff happens.”
This particular stuff is your fault. Plenty of people knew the invasion and occupation of Iraq would break a region and unleash a nightmare. From a thousand cruise missiles and $18 billion in arms sales, what did you think would come?
What’s coming, says the United Nations is at least 850,000 people, fleeing war in Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and sub-Saharan Africa. They’d rather be home too.
You bear responsibility and you have the room. The Bush family already had two mansions in Kennebunkport. Governor Jeb just built a third. Misters Rumsfeld and Cheney enjoy private resorts on the Chesapeake bay. It’s time they gave up their private decks and rolling lawns. Iraqi women fleeing ISIS would appreciate Rumsfeld’s manor house on a hilltop called Mount Misery. They know the real thing.
The Cheney’s could house a village or two at their ranch in Jackson Hole. They’d just need to hold their GOP fundraisers elsewhere.
In truth, it’s not just the them. This is our world too. Lots of Americans watched the desperate wash up dead in the Mediterranean from the comfort of their second homes this summer. Last year saw a 57% increase in vacation home buying in the US according to the National Association of Realtors. The number has risen 25 percent since 1989 to some 5.1 million properties today. We hardly use them. Almost half of us take no time off. So how about it? Let’s hand them over. Mine sleeps two. We can squeeze in more. I will if the Bushes will. How about you?
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
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We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
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