October 17, 2015

Continuing my “Literary” presidential candidacy, permit me to journalistically guide your attention to the story of military Veteran Chris Mintz, who in the recent Oregon shooting purposefully exposed himself to the shooter by helping others, and paid, not with his life but with five bullets to his body. Luckily he lived. He is not the original inspiration to what I present here, but is a perfect example of what we owe veterans.

If my “Literary” candidacy were to place me in the White House, the following would the priority promise I would make to voters. My first order as commander in chief would be for the Army to erect a large canvas tent complex on the grounds of the White House, filled with all gear needed to run the executive office. Here, I would live and conduct the nation’s business.

The White House itself, I would transform into a Homeless Veteran’s Recovery Halfway House. Many of our thousands of homeless veterans would be provided a place to live, medical attention, and all other necessary assistance to reintegrate them back into our society.

While Wall Street moguls and giant defense contractors continued to earn billions of dollars, ignoring the needs of the thousands of homeless veterans, The White House would serve the veterans. I would appeal to all Americans to assist us in any way possible to identify all homeless veterans and attend to all of their needs that our profit-obsessed, self-centered corporations refuse even to acknowledge.

Wall Street and the defense contractors would be invited, of course, to spend part of their tax-avoiding offshore profits on expanding our White House Veterans Home into other locations across the country. I would direct the military to identify all of its many empty unused buildings, and work with us to outfit them to handle their local homeless veterans.

When finally, all homeless veterans had been adequately served and rejoined us as fully functioning civilians, The White House staff would use the lessons we had learned to attend to the tens of thousands of American homeless, who for decades have lived – and died – while the corporate world has focused exclusively on their profits and personal comforts.

If and when all homeless, veterans or not, had been supplied the assistance they need, when America had stood up and fulfilled its duty to them, and all of us could hold our heads high, acknowledging we had finally accepted the responsibility we now abdicate, I would consider moving into The White House.

Applicants wishing to assist in this over-all effort are encouraged to apply for positions in the program.