Posted on 09/21/2007 5:36:52 PM PDT by silent_jonny
Today President Bush sent Michael Mukasey’s official nomination to the Senate. (Transcript)
The president also proclaimed September 30 as “Gold Star Mother’s Day”. (Transcript)
Since 1936, the last Sunday in September has been reserved for Gold Star Mothers. The president is authorized to issue an annual proclamation in its observance.
President Bush: America's Gold Star Mothers are remarkable patriots who serve their communities by demonstrating good citizenship, providing support and services to our troops and veterans, and helping comfort the families whose loved ones have made the ultimate sacrifice. Their sense of duty and deep devotion to our country inspire our Nation, and we thank them for their compassion, determination, and strength.
Today is POW/MIA Recognition Day. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and General Peter Pace attended a ceremony at the Pentagon and spoke to family members of those missing in action and to former prisoners of war. (Article)
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with French and Danish foreign ministers at the State Department in Washington.
And this afternoon, President Bush welcomed 2006 and 2007 NCAA champions to the White House Transcript).
Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island
Quote of the Day:
From today’s Press Briefing
Q Continuing on Iran and Ahmadinejad. He's got not just Columbia, he's got a National Press Club appearance, the U.N. speech.Dana Perino: Are you attending? (Laughter.)
Q Does the President enjoy sharing the world stage with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?
Dana Perino: I don't think the President ever gives it a thought.
Photos of the Day:
President George W. Bush addresses the NCAA 2006 and 2007 championship Teams during a ceremony Friday, Sept. 21, 2007, on the South Lawn.
A former prisoner of war waits to meet Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, following a POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 21, 2007.
Q I want to revisit a subject, because Dan Rather, obviously back in the news, suing CBS…Dana Perino: Look, I'm not going to go back and revisit all these questions that have been asked and answered. There was an independent panel set up by CBS and led by former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and Louis Boccardi, the retired president and CEO of AP. They determined that there was misconduct on the part of CBS in their authentication of the documents and the production of the story in general.
And I think that story speaks for itself. It was a sad day for that particular network in terms of -- and a sad day for journalism in general.
… look to the motivations about where this is coming from [Rather]. This is a person who has filed a $70 million lawsuit. I'm just not going to comment any further on it.
hi.
A member of the Joint Service Color Guard holds a POW/MIA flag during a ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 21, 2007.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, Patricia Scharf, widow of Col. Charles Scharf, and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates render honors during the playing of the national anthem as part of a POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 21, 2007.
Hi
Members of the Joint Services Color Guard stand at attention while the national anthem is played during the POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 21, 2007.
U.S. Air Force members of the Joint Services Color Guard march in formation during the POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 21, 2007.
Howdy, Kas :)
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Patricia Scharf, widow of Col. Charles Scharf, listen as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, addresses the audience during a POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 21, 2007.
Excerpt from an article about the ceremony:
Roughly 30,000 Americans alive today were once held as prisoners of war, Pace said. Millions of Americans have taken the oath to become servicemembers, he said, but few “have been called to sacrifice the way our prisoners of war have been called to sacrifice and to be tested in the belief in that oath.”The general spoke of the incredible way that former prisoners of war fulfilled their oaths, and he said they hand a legacy of service to servicemembers today.
“We hope and pray that if we were to be in the same state that they were in, that we might discharge our duties as well as they have discharged theirs,” Pace said. “That legacy spurs us on to serve this nation out of respect for their honor and their service.”
Gates paid special tribute to four soldiers missing in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom: Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin, captured April 9, 2004; Spc. Ahmed Altaei, captured Oct. 23, 2006; and Spc. Alex Jimenez and Pvt. Byron Fouty, both captured May 12, 2007. “They may not be well known to the public, but within the brotherhood of arms, they will never be forgotten or left behind,” Gates pledged.“These men are the latest additions to the ranks of tens of thousands who remain missing from previous conflicts,” the secretary said. “And they are the latest additions to the ranks of those we remember today.”
Thanks for the ping
Military helicopters conduct a missing-man formation as they fly over the Pentagon during a POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 21, 2007.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Marine Gen. Peter Pace kisses Patricia Scharf, widow of Col. Charles Scharf, on the cheek during a POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 21, 2007. The colonel, an F-4C Phantom II pilot, was shot down over Vietnam, Oct. 1, 1965. Fragments of Scharf's remains were identified last year using DNA from love letters he had sent to his wife.
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