2963 Putting Mark Foley in perspective

The U.S. government estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders each year. Of these, approximately 80% are women and girls, and most are sold into the sex industry. President Bush denounced this at the U.N. in 2002 (Yeah, that should get some action) and in 2005 and 2006, and the U.S. Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act to expand existing laws. Many Christian organizations have pushed for stronger action. (Stats from Christian History, Issue 90, Spring 2006)

"Many victims of human trafficking are forced to work in prostitution or the sex entertainment industry. But trafficking also occurs in forms of labor exploitation, such as domestic servitude, restaurant work, janitorial work, sweatshop factory work and migrant agricultural work.

Traffickers use various techniques to instill fear in victims and to keep them enslaved. Some traffickers keep their victims under lock and key. However, the more frequent practice is to use less obvious techniques including:

• Debt bondage - financial obligations, honor-bound to satisfy debt

• Isolation from the public - limiting contact with outsiders and making sure that any contact is monitored or superficial in nature

• Isolation from family members and members of their ethnic and religious community

• Confiscation of passports, visas and/or identification documents

• Use or threat of violence toward victims and/or families of victims

• The threat of shaming victims by exposing circumstances to family

• Telling victims they will be imprisoned or deported for immigration violations if they contact authorities

• Control of the victims' money, e.g., holding their money for "safe-keeping"
Gayle Christie

The Democrats and the $oros organi$ation who knew about the page homosexual problem and did nothing until it suited their political purposes (i.e., more important to embarrass a Republican than save a child), need to find a bigger target. This might be a place to start. Or will saving women and children not get as much publicity?

We spent millions investigating the non-issue of Plamegate, ruining reputations and careers willy-nilly, finding out in September that Richard Armitage and Patrick Fitzgerald knew all along what the score was. THERE WAS NO CRIME. Let's not waste more time and money on another trumped-up-by-Democrats scandal. If they want to win an election, let them come up with some issues and solutions--the old fashioned way.