Posted on 04/02/2005 1:32:59 PM PST by Wolfstar
PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: The President and First Lady are spending the weekend in Washington. They had no public appearances planned, but did come out together to make a statement about the passing of Pope John Paul II.
THE WEEK AHEAD: On Monday, GWB welcomes Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko to the White House. President Yushchenko also will address the Congress next week. WH Press Secretary Scott McClellan said, "The President looks forward to welcoming President Yushchenko to the White House. His election was a landmark event in the history of liberty. And the Orange Revolution was inspiring to all who yearn to be free. So the President looks forward to talking with President Yushchenko about a range of issues. Ukraine is a strategic partner of the United States, in our view. And, yes, I suspect that they'll talk about the importance of supporting the advance of freedom and democracy in Eastern Europe and the broader Middle East region. And I expect they'll talk about our cooperative efforts on counter proliferation, as well."
The rest of the President's schedule next week may be subject to change due to the upcoming funeral of Pope John Paul II.
QUOTES OF THE DAY: At yesterday's White House Press Briefing, Press Secretary McClellan was asked several questions, not about the President and his activities, but about the First Lady. I thought "Dosers" might enjoy Scott's answers to the media's typically rude questions:
Q Thank you. The President joined Mrs. Bush this morning in an event. So far, can you see any impact on Mrs. Bush's campaign to curb gang violence? And how are you going to go about it, especially since most gangs are formed of illegal immigrants --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Mrs. Bush's effort is much broader than just gang violence. Her effort is aimed at promoting positive youth development. It is aimed at helping America's at-risk youth. And this is an important priority for the President, it's one of Mrs. Bush's top issues, and it's something that we will continue to work to address. She has been speaking around the country and we have a number of different programs. The President talked about a number of those initiatives earlier today. The mentoring children of prisoners is one of the initiatives that is important to this effort. And addressing gang violence is also one part of helping America's youth and really changing our culture.
And there are a number of parts to this initiative, but Mrs. Bush really is committed to reaching out particularly young boys who often lack the kind of adult supervision and mentoring that is so needed. And she will continue to speak out about the importance of positive youth development.
Q What's behind the increasing involvement of the First Lady in political affairs -- her trip to Afghanistan, this effort the President gave her in his State of the Union address. Has she come to him and said she wants to be more involved? Has he decided that she's a resource he needs to use more in his second term?
MR. McCLELLAN: She has a great passion for the issues that you brought up. She is someone who comes from a background in education, having been a teacher and a librarian. She cares deeply about the education and development of young people. She has made education a top priority throughout her life and her career. This is something that she personally has a deep passion for.
And in terms of Afghanistan, this is an effort to help advance the rights of women in Afghanistan and to help build an education system that will provide opportunity for all the people in Afghanistan, for men and women. And that's why she is focused so strongly on those areas.
Q You're going to completely ignore the basis of the question, though, that she is certainly more active in the second term than she was in the first?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, I think -- I think she was very active in the first term, Wendell. She is someone who has made these issues a priority throughout her life. And I think the way you characterized your question, I would take some exception to that, because these are not new issues to Mrs. Bush. These are issues that she has cared about throughout her life. And we welcome her involvement in all those areas.
Q I was not suggesting that she was not active in the first. We are seeing, however, a much higher profile First Lady in the second term, it seems.
MR. McCLELLAN: She's a tremendous asset, and the President knows that. And he appreciates all that she is doing to help our young people and to improve education in America.
P.S. A good shot of Brandy will make you sleep well :-))
It brought down some more of the branches that were still suspended after our ice storm. Now we only have a few hundred to cut down with a chainsaw..........
Take care, Deb! Plenty of fluids and lots of rest...
You're such a good Grandpa, Mike! :o)
We feel so incredibly blessed to be young enough to play an active roll in their lives. Most grandparents can't go out and play sports with their grandchildren because of their age. I take those two boys outdoors every opportunity I can, in fact, we are going camping in mid May in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Those grandkids make me feel young again :-) I cherish every moment I spend with them :-)
And I have no sign of grandchildren in the next few years.
But that's OK. I'm a patient person. :o)
Anyone here know anything about Doris Day or anything about her life? I heard something about her when she was younger...her being raped and I was wondering if it was true.
Within 5 minutes, the shock and horror of our little girl being pregnant, turned into an all out celebration that found us making all kinds of plan s for that glorious day when our little girl became a Mommy. There is no greater joy
I was there when Michael was born and I was a nervous wreck, he was born at Bethesda Naval Hospitol on March 25th, 1998, I was a very proud, newly minted, Grand Dad that day :-)
Thank you, Wolfstar..
Thanks for the pictures. I always enjoy this thread.
Congratulations on your new job. Sounds like it was made to order.
Hello Gretchen how are you feeling today?
Hi snugs! I am doing better today -- I was taking an OTC cold med that I discovered was giving me terrible migraines so I stopped that. This isn't the worst cold I've ever had, which is nice.
And you?
I am fine just about to get dinner and settle down for the evening.
This is great!! Thanks, Kate. Wouldn't you just love to see this as you were driving along?!
I did and we stopped...got more where that one came from...
Amen, Wolfstar.
Thanks for the weekend Dose. We appreciate your weekend work!!! I'm still praying for your employment situation. Any news? I'm sorry that I don't have the time to read a Dose that goes above 50 posts (and don't they all? We have a wonderful, friendly, group of people here) between my back and the demands on my time, so would you mind catching me uptodate? FReepmail would be fine - and thanks in advance. Everytime I was on the brink of being laid off, or was laid off, I found a position that enhanced my resume by requiring different skills along with my current set, always paid more and usually had some kind of adjunct "benefit" - like travelling to the Pentagon to work, for one, or living and working in Hawaii, Spain and England - for others.
Having had such "beneficial" experiences, I'm praying that the same thing happens for you - that out of adversity, comes diversity and increased benefits, of whatever kind.
You hang in there - we are praying for you and employment, and even for your living situation, and God has big ears and an even bigger heart!
Just for the record, these childen have a parent in jail. The parent in jail may be their ONLY parent, meaning they are in the CPS system.
Also please notice that this is a Charter school.
The program that the President is making people aware of through his visit, is supported entirely by charities, among them "Prison Fellowship Ministries", a charity near and dear to the President's heart, but his Christmas visits to parties held for the children of prisoners is barred from the Press. He doesn't want the pictures of the children who have parents in jail to be slathered all across the media - er ah, printed in the press. He also doesn't want any notoreity that he attended these functions. Does that sound like some previous President's we could name?
But the President has attended the DC parties held for children of prisoners ever since his arrival in DC but you've never seen any pictures of him with those children, have you?
Fear not - your tax dollars are not being used in this case.
There are others, but I don't know about them.
Unless you've ever been a mentor to these children, or taught them, I guess you just can't have any appreciation for the wonderful children they are, who have had a parent make a wrongful decision, but should the children be punished because of that?
Don't answer. I can't stick around as I have appts. I need to get to. But I couldn't help but notice the derogatory tone in your post.
I haven't pinged the people I did to "gang up on you" but rather to, perhaps, enlarge the picture of what Prison Fellowship Ministries does, and for example, how successful the jails they run are in terms of the low rate of recidivism. Or how successful they are in making the children of prisoners feel valued and cherished, as all children should.
I now bid you "Goodbye". I have to leave.
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