A day in the life of President Bush (6/23/06): photos

WhiteHouse.gov & Yahoo News ^ | 6/23/06

[Wolfstar]

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush hosted Opening Day of the White House Tee Ball season. General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was today's Tee Ball Commissioner. Following is a transcript of the President's Remarks to open the season:

THE PRESIDENT: Seth, thank you very much. Good job. Welcome to the South Lawn. Laura and I are thrilled you're here for opening day. It is an honor for me, and the Commissioner, General Pete Pace, to welcome you all here for what is going to be an exciting ball game between the Yankees -- (applause) -- from McGuire Air Force Base -- (applause) -- yes, right from New Jersey. Welcome. Glad you all are here. And they're going to be playing the Dolcom Little League Indians from Groton, Connecticut -- (applause) -- representing the Naval Submarine Base of New London. Thank you all for coming. (Applause.) Welcome.

We want to welcome the coaches and the players. We want to welcome the moms and dads and grandparents here to this historic ballpark. And we're glad you're here to help us kick off the 2006 Tee Ball on the South Lawn season. General Pace and I expect there to be some pretty good competition today.

I do want to welcome the Mayor of Groton, Connecticut, Mayor Harry Watson. Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming; proud you're here. (Applause.) Thanks for serving. Thanks for joining us. I welcome Captain Sean Sullivan, who will be the First Base Coach. Captain, thanks for serving. Proud you're here. (Applause.) Good luck. You've got some awesome duties today. And Colonel Rick Martin, from McGuire, good to see you, Colonel. (Applause.) Thanks for coming, Colonel. Proud you're here.

We're proud to welcome Steve Keener, who is the President and CEO of Little League International, and his wife Cheryl. Steve, thanks for coming back. Thanks for helping. (Applause.) For those of you who want to be a Major League player, Mike O'Connor is with us, from the mighty Washington Nationals. Mike, thank you for coming, buddy. Mike is a pitcher for the Nationals. Glad you're here, Mike. We welcome Seth Fallon. We just heard from Seth. Thanks. And I want to thank the Navy Sea Cadets Corps, who happen to be the color guard.

Zane Ellingwood is about to put the first ball on the first tee for the first game. (Applause.) But not quite yet. I do want to welcome Tim Brant. Where are you, Tim? There he is. Tim, thanks for coming, buddy.

MR. BRANT: Thank you, pal.

THE PRESIDENT: A national baseball announcer here to call opening day. We really appreciate you coming. Thanks.

And finally, I do want to welcome representatives from the Armed Forces Foundation, the Fisher House, and our military kids. Thank you for serving our families. (Applause.) After the game, it's my honor to be able to present the balls to each of the players on the team. And I will also be able to welcome Dave Erbe, who is a youth volunteer. He volunteers to help the wounded and injury [sic] military personnel at Walter Reed. David, thank you in advance for doing what you're doing. Thanks for serving your generation and our country. You're a good man. (Applause.)

And now, before we put the first ball on the tee, I do want you to join me in the Little League Pledge. Are you ready? All players ready? Doesn't look like it. (Laughter.) Are you ready?

(The pledge is recited.)

THE PRESIDENT: Play ball. (Applause.)

The game began at 1:09 P.M. EDT.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: From the President's Remarks to the People of Hungary, Gellert Hill, Budapest, June 22, 2006:

I appreciate the opportunity to stand here on Gellért Hill, which offers a striking view of your beautiful city. Fifty years ago, you could watch history being written from this hill. In 1956, the Hungarian people suffered under a communist dictatorship and domination by a foreign power. That fall, the Hungarian people had decided they had had enough and demanded change. From this spot you could see tens of thousands of students and workers and other Hungarians marching through the streets. They called for an end to dictatorship, to censorship, and to the secret police. They called for free elections, a free press, and the release of political prisoners. These Hungarian patriots tore down the statue of Joseph Stalin, and defied an empire to proclaim their liberty.

Twelve days after the Hungarian people stood up for their liberty, the communists in Moscow responded with great brutality. Soon the streets of Budapest were filled with Soviet tanks. The Red Army killed many who resisted, including women and children. The Soviets threw many more into prison. They crushed the Hungarian uprising, but not the Hungarian people's thirst for freedom.

Some 200,000 Hungarians fled into exile in search of liberty. Many found refuge in the United States. These immigrants have contributed to my country in countless ways, and America will always be glad that we opened our doors to Hungarians that were seeking freedom. Fifty years later, the sacrifice of the Hungarian people inspires all who love liberty. Some of those who faced those tanks are here today. I had the honor of meeting three such gentlemen at lunch. I was proud to be in their presence. America honors your courage. We've learned from your example, and we resolve that when people stand up for their freedom, America will stand with them.

[DrDeb]

Wolfstar: Thank you for posting the DOSE tonight -- I just love photos of the President interacting with children, particularly the children involved in his t-ball games. ADORABLE!


HEADS UP . . .

T-BALL
You can watch a video of the President's opening remarks at today's t-ball game here:
[righthand sidebar, first option]
http://www.whitehouse.gov/tball/

PRESS BRIEFING
You can watch a re-broadcast of the White House Press Briefing (i.e., Tony Snow's press conference) on C-Span at 11:48 PM EDT:
http://inside.c-spanarchives.org:8080/cspan/schedule.csp


MUST READS:

BUSH MOVES TO LIMIT US GOV'T TAKING PRIVATE LAND
By Jeremy Pelofsky

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush issued an executive order on Friday to limit the U.S. government from taking private property only for the benefit of other private interests, like corporations.

The order came exactly a year after a divided Supreme Court ruled a city could take a person's home or business for a development project to revitalize a depressed local economy, a practice known as eminent domain.

"The federal government is going to limit its own use of eminent domain so that it won't be used for purely economic development purposes," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

You can read the rest of the article at
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060623/pl_nm/bush_property_dc;_ylt=AnNIGnOdtTh24mjJ.VZfLJUEtbAF;_ylu=X3oDMTBhZDJjOXUyBHNlYwNtdm5ld3M-


THE ANCHORESS
The Anchoress provides the definitive summary of center-right outrage vis a vis the NYTimes most recent treasonous behavior here (lots of links):
http://theanchoressonline.com/2006/06/23/ny-times-pushing-to-be-charged/


WHY I LOVE AUSTRALIA
By Charles Krauthammer

WASHINGTON -- In the Australian House of Representatives last month, opposition member Julia Gillard interrupted a speech by the minister of health thusly: "I move that that sniveling grub over there be not further heard.''

For that, the good woman was ordered removed from the House, if only for a day. She might have escaped that little time-out if she had responded to the speaker's demand for an apology with something other than "If I have offended grubs, I withdraw unconditionally.''

God, I love Australia. Where else do you have a shadow health minister with such, er, starch? Of course I'm prejudiced, having married an Australian, but how not to like a country, in this age of sniveling grubs worldwide, whose treasurer suggests to any person who "wants to live under sharia law'' to try Saudi Arabia and Iran, "but not Australia.'' He was elaborating on an earlier suggestion that "people who ... don't want to live by Australian values and understand them, well then they can basically clear off.'' Contrast this with Canada, historically and culturally Australia's commonwealth twin, where last year Ontario actually gave serious consideration to allowing its Muslims to live under sharia law.

You can read the entire commentary here:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/06/why_i_love_australia.html


PRESIDENT BUSH JOB APPROVAL
June 23, 2006

44% approve

Forty-four percent (44%) of Americans approve of the way that George W. Bush is performing his role as President. That’s the highest rating he has received since April 14

[Disclaimer: We all know that polls mean NOTHING, particularly to our president; however, it's sometimes fun to revel in the good polls after we've had to endure so much hateful nonsense from wackos on both the left and right!!]
http://rasmussenreports.com/Bush_Job_Approval.htm

[Wolfstar]

I'll check back later. It's 6:30pm here. Time for me to get dinner, feed the critters, etc.

[Txsleuth]

I finally got to watch one of Tony's press briefings today..and it was a really good one.

I would recommend to anyone that didn't see it..to watch the video...his gets a little feisty with Helen Thomas again..plus others.

[SnarlinCubBear]

They're a dead giveaway, huh? Sunglasses, suits, a look on their face that says "get away from me, I'm working."

[SnarlinCubBear]

Precious babies. meow

[ohioWfan]

In the winter, a loss of electricity means the house gets cold, but in the summer, it means the food goes bad.

Hard to say which is worse.

Fortunately the storm system dropped the temps by 20 degrees, so the lack of AC wasn't a problem.

There were LOTS of trees down and lots of people without power...........and since we live among many trees, we usually lose it here.

I guess some locals spotted a twister, but it didn't touch down..........just stirred things up a bit. :)

[snugs]

I suspect she is in this photo but I cannot see faces clear enough

http://sanityisland.us/v-web/gallery/albums/album02/r1276445011.jpg

[snugs]

I owe you a toaster from the other evening can I have your choice please.

[Txsleuth]

Living in Texas...I will take the electricity going out in the WINTER anytime compared to the summer.

I have always warned my husband that if our electricity ever went out, and the elec. company knew it would be at least a day or so....I am heading to a motel.

He thinks I am wimpy...he grew up in Texas without A/C...I didn't...and I basically hibernate in the summer.

[Fudd Fan]

The kitty really did have a mustache. My sister absolutely adores cats but he wasn't one of her favorites. However, they got him when my niece was a toddler and this kitty immediately appropriated her as his favorite. That cat loved her a lot.

[hoosierpearl]

Thanks for the pics of the kitties. They are too too cute. Are you keeping the one you named Sara?

[Fudd Fan]

We were in the UK on our honeymoon in 1976 and there was a drought THEN! lol
I remember having to take cold showers in some hotels because naturally they're faster and use less H2O. *BBRRRRR*

[snugs]

The problem is the greed of the water companies they need more reservoirs and also to mend leaks.

The south of England is over populated in relation to services school, hospitals and water facilities. There is argument that since the water companies were privatized they have not maintained or updated their equipment and resources.

The counter argument is that for years the government under funded so they got a white elephant.

Whatever the argument with several years of low rainfall in the south, loosing literally gallons of water each day due to leaks and basically not enough facilities to cope with extra house building we are not allowed to water the garden other than a watering can. Paddling pools can only be filled by recycled water and cars can only be washed by sponge and bucket no hoses. I believe also high pressure washers are not not allowed either.

Commercial car washes I think are also under restrictions and there is also talk about limiting watering sporting facilities such a soccer pitches and public parks but that is not banned as yet.

Most people feel if the leaks were fixed it would take a lot of the problems away.

The visible reservoirs seem fairly full but apparently the underground ones are not.

[snugs]

1976 was the worst in most people memory. That drought was literally nationwide. It was also the year I took my exams at school and I can remember they allowed us to wear open necked shirts without a tie.

If my memory is right we did not have rain to speak of from about May to August and heat somewhere in Britain in that period was over 100 degrees each day.

Nothing has been seen like it since.

[snugs]

1976 - Reservoir During Drought
The reservoir is 20 feet below the normal level, due to the worst drought in Britain for over a hundred years.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v683/fairlands/Misc/1976reservoir.jpg

[Fudd Fan]

We were in the UK in September of 1976, for 3 weeks. I believe it was from Sept. 5 or 6 for 3 weeks hence. Some local women in Ireland did tell us that the week or two previous they were "roasting!" And as I recall the worst water restrictions were in London.

[SuziQ]

That little girl sure is intent on the game!

[snugs]

I would think that would be correct that London and Thames Valley would have been worse hit.

If same thing happened today the South East where I live would be nearly as bad due to the additional housing build since 1976.

[DollyCali]

Wow, what Kutie Kitties!

and thanks for the wonderful thread full of laughs, innocence, fun & memories. That first post with that little girl is a winner. What a doll-face!

I must retire early as I was up all night with Post storm clean up & am REALLY beat. will catch up with rest of comments & pix tomorrow.

I do appreciate your great work.. and hey, you have my two hunks tonight... GWB & General Pace.. both (sigh) with their wives!

Night all!

[the invisib1e hand]

Sigh. Yes, and sometimes so very needed in order to soothe our adult psyches.

that's grace.