TWO UNRELATED ODDITIES LEFTOVER FROM THE BUSH PRESIDENCY
THE 11 BILLION DOLLAR UNFLYING HELICOPTER AND THE T.I.P. PROGRAM
By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER
Please excuse the economy of writing about two seemingly unrelated programs in the same column. With so little of actual substance going on that any of us are told about, as we are all too stupid to understand anything done in Washington, that part has continued into the Obama regime I notice, we can only comment on the snippets we do note.
Two that came to mind are the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) act signed by Bush just before leaving office and the presidential helicopter fiasco that, if it weren’t for the “derivitives” that were “overcollateralized” by “business” we might have noticed some of this. Both items have their odd moments and, considering the economic disaster that is supposed to have us hiding under our beds, neither are worthy of even a short read.
MODERN SLAVERY “TRAFFIC IN PERSONS”
TIPS is a favorite subject. Trafficking in Persons can be slave labor, like the people who were held prisoner, worked to death, raped daily and exploited in every way in Kuwait, the country we had to go to war to save. Selling people has turned into one of the biggest businesses in the world.
“Hot babes” from anywhere, Russia, Eastern Europe, the Far East, are brought to vicious dictatorships and held prisoner in brothels. This is on TV continually. Far too many “sex workers” seem to end up in the US, Canada, Britain, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. Ain’t civilization grand?
However, the Middle East, including countries we consider close allies is the primary area where “guest workers” can make up the majority of the population of a country. More than 3/4ths of the people in the UAE are “guest workers” who can be thrown out of the country on short notice or jailed without hearing.
GUEST WORKERS, VICTIMS OF A WORLD ECONOMY
Guest workers can be computer programmers, doctors, engineers and thousands are. However, most are domestic workers, always unprotected from abuse and many more fill brothels run by criminal elements. (Text of proclamation below in full)
Here in America, industries that normally depend on illegal aliens often maintained both work and living conditions that restricted movement of workers and failed to pay them. We call this “slavery.”
After 8 years of this problem pushing millions in profits into Americas “sweatshops,” all run by GOP supporters, no news there, Bush put a stop to it 4 days before leaving office. Why did he wait 8 years? Could it be that he no longer needed contributions from pimps and slave runners to rig elections? This is my guess. Call me a cynic.
THE PRESIDENTIAL PARTY PALACE IN THE SKY
Our next fiasco is the new helicopter. Why presidents need dozens of helicopters that cost more than the budget of most states is a question. We complain about corporate jets and Bush had to have magic, invisible and bulletproof helicopters, each equal to Air Force One but more expensive. These were required to get him to the airport, or for the infamous “party time” at Camp David that Secret Service guys threaten to talk about. Was Jeff Gannon, chief Bush “confidant” going to get his own billion dollar helicopter?
Gannon, a White House regular and oddly credentialed press stooge was a regular companion for Bush.
That Gannon also advertised for services in publications inclined toward a sector whose sexual orientation would make sustaining population growth “impossible” (yes, we mean “gay”) isn’t proof that anything wrong was going on but a friendly “google” and some reading time explains alot.
Normally, presidential helicopters are built by Sikorsky. This is what they do. The new ones were contracted to Lockheed. They never built a helicopter before. Suddenly a 6 billion dollar boondoggle turns into 11 billion of pork.
All of this so the worst president in our history could have the most expensive “ride” in the world. Why is it that the more worthless and cowardly they are, the more trappings of power and prestige they surround themselves with? What would Freud have to say about this?
However, Bush “the lesser,” mister “all dressed up and no place to go” is now consigned to a lifetime of riding the remaining corporate jets or sucking around with business friends who can divide their time between keeping a former president like a monkey on a chain or writing checks to the families of dead suicide bombers.
COVERUP, AMERICA’S BIG NEW INDUSTRY
With every “pundit” in America putting up a smoke screen for the thousands of crooks in business, government and the military who were protected so carefully by the Bush administration, occasional reminders of the hypocracy need to be kept in focus.
With years of “fiscal conservatives” spending us into massive debt, “neocon preachers” molesting every mammal they could get their hands on and, perhaps, a homophobes president with an unclear sexual orientation, our standard of what we see important or true or meaningful may never be fixed.
We are a nation of laws. There is a reason we have statutes of limitations. This is so criminals who manage to hide their crimes, at least for awhile, can be punished. For years crimes have been piling up, with some of the biggest criminals the law enforcement officials who covered up wrongdoing or who prosecuted the innocent on “orders from the top.”
IS ANYONE LEFT WHO ISN’T A CROOK?
The moment we tire of digging thru dirty laundry and writing off years of criminal misconduct as simply a “bad presidency” we are leaving ourselves open to see it all repeated.
Every crime against America, and they number in the tens of thousands, involved the rich and powerful. “They” may not be in office anymore, but their voice still is heard, thru the news media they control, the “pundits” who spew their lies and the rats still hiding inside our government, thousands of them, placed to derail any attempt by decent Americans to win their government back.
CLASS WARFARE, THE REAL BUSH LEGACY
Was Marx right? Will the rich and powerful do anything to destroy the lives of workers, enslave them, keep them ignorant and turn them against each other? With the downfall of communism, we may have said “no.”
The only real war fought here was a class war, exactly as Marx had warned, a war of rich against poor with the destruction of the middle class a key component. It went on while our news was filled with stories of terrorism, of “dangerous liberals” and “fanatic tree-huggers.”
Reagan moved the kids into the basement. Bush “the lesser” burned down the house.
And so it goes….
Office of the Press Secretary
January 16, 2009
To Suspend Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Foreign Government Officials
Responsible for Failing to Combat Trafficking in Persons
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America In order to foster greater resolve to address trafficking in persons
(TIP), specifically in punishing acts of trafficking and providing protections to the victims of these crimes, consistent with the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended (the “Act”) (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.), it is in the interests of the United States
to restrict the international travel and to suspend entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of certain senior
government officials responsible for domestic law enforcement, justice, or labor affairs who have impeded their governments’
antitrafficking efforts, have failed to implement their governments’ antitrafficking laws and policies, or who otherwise bear
responsibility for their governments’ failures to take steps recognized internationally as appropriate to combat trafficking in persons,
and whose governments have been ranked more than once as Tier 3 countries, which represent the worst anti-TIP performers, in the
Department of State’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report, and for which I have made a determination pursuant to section 110(d)(1)-
(2) or (4) of the Act. The Act reflects international antitrafficking standards that guide efforts to eradicate this modern-day form of
slavery around the world.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, 8 U.S.C.
1182(f), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, hereby find that the unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the
United States of persons described in section 1 of this proclamation would, except as provided for in sections 2 and 3 of this
proclamation, be detrimental to the interests of the United States.
I therefore hereby proclaim that:
Section 1. The entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of the following aliens is hereby suspended:
(a) Senior government officials — defined as the heads of ministries or agencies and officials occupying positions within the two
bureaucratic levels below those top positions — responsible for domestic law enforcement, justice, or labor affairs who have impeded
their governments’ antitrafficking efforts, have failed to implement their governments’ antitrafficking laws and policies, or who
otherwise bear responsibility for their governments’ failures to take steps recognized internationally as appropriate to combat
trafficking in persons, and who are members of governments for which I have made a determination pursuant to section 110(d)(1)-(2)
or (4) of the Act, in the current year and at least once in the preceding 3 years;
(b) The spouses of persons described in subsection (a) of this section.
Sec. 2. Section 1 of this proclamation shall not apply with respect to any person otherwise covered by section 1 where entry of such
person would not be contrary to the interest of the United States.
Sec. 3. Persons covered by sections 1 or 2 of this proclamation shall be identified by the Secretary of State or the Secretary’s
designee, in his or her sole discretion, pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary may establish under section 5 of this
proclamation.
Sec. 4. Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to derogate from United States Government obligations under applicable
international agreements.
Sec. 5. The Secretary of State shall implement this proclamation pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary, in consultation with
the Secretary of Homeland Security, may establish.
Sec. 6. This proclamation is effective immediately. It shall remain in effect until such time as the Secretary of State determines that it
is no longer necessary and should be terminated, either in whole or in part. Any such determination by the Secretary of State shall be
published in the Federal Register.
Sec. 7. This proclamation is not intended to, and does not, create any right, benefit, or privilege, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities, or entities, its
officers or employees, or any other person.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.
GEORGE W. BUSH
Gordon Duff is a Marine combat vet and regular contributor on political and social issues.
Gordon Duff posted articles on VT from 2008 to 2022. He is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War. A disabled veteran, he worked on veterans and POW issues for decades.
Gordon is an accredited diplomat and is generally accepted as one of the top global intelligence specialists. He manages the world’s largest private intelligence organization and regularly consults with governments challenged by security issues.
Duff has traveled extensively, is published around the world, and is a regular guest on TV and radio in more than “several” countries. He is also a trained chef, wine enthusiast, avid motorcyclist, and gunsmith specializing in historical weapons and restoration. Business experience and interests are in energy and defense technology.
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