So Nice Bush Can Make A Buck Or Two Nowadays.

Did you see this from ABC yesterday (July 8):

Former President George W. Bush charged $100,000 to speak at a charity fundraiser for U.S. military veterans severely wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, and former First Lady Laura Bush collected $50,000 to appear a year earlier, officials of the Texas-based Helping a Hero charity confirmed to ABC News.

The former President was also provided with a private jet to travel to Houston at a cost of $20,000, the officials said.

How nice.  How nice that he wasn't inconvenienced by having to pay for his own transportation to a gig where he made $100K.

But this isn't about the charity, of course.  Considering the damage Bush's wars caused they probably need all the help they can get.  No, this is about Dubya hisself.  From ABC:

According to the charity’s yearly reports to the IRS, it raised about $2,450,000, after expenses, from the 2012 gala where President Bush spoke. The following year, the gala netted the charity substantially less, about $1,000,000.

So it's safe to assume that his presence at this charity function (a charity made necessary, let's remember, by the consequences of his disastrous policies in the first place) netted them $1.45 million they wouldn't have otherwise snagged.  Nothing but good for the charity, of course. It could have been a wee bit more, of course. From ABC:

A spokesperson for the former President, Freddy Ford, confirmed the payment but declined to comment on the criticism over the $100,000 speaking fee from the veterans' charity.

In an e-mail statement, Ford said, “President Bush has made helping veterans one of his highest priorities in his post presidency.”

Just not enough of a priority to make $1.45 million into $1.55.  The charity which, according to ABC "helps to provide specially-adapted homes for veterans who lost limbs and suffered other severe injuries" could probably have done something nice with that money they gave to Bush - if only he'd donated that money back to them.


How nice that George W. Bush got to profit so handsomely off of the unnecessary suffering he caused.  With that extra $170 grand, I am sure his retirement looks just a little more comfortable these days.

How nice for him.