Posted on 10/27/2007 9:10:29 AM PDT by UB355
MARY-LIZ SHAW mshaw@journalsentinel.com Posted: Oct. 26, 2007
As the privileged daughter of President Bush, jetting routinely between the spread in Texas and the little place up in Maine, Jenna Bush could have done whatever she wanted.
But perhaps to the surprise of some, she chose to become an elementary-school teacher. And now she is on a tour for her first book, "Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope," based on a young woman she met while working as an intern for the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund in Panama, Argentina and Paraguay last year.
Jenna Bush stopped Friday at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts to explain how she came to write the book, which tells the life story of a real Ana, a 17-year-old single mother infected with HIV in an unnamed Latin American country.
Her 25-minute presentation consisted of a four-minute introduction, a 10-minute reading of the first four chapters of her book, a five-minute DVD overview of her experiences with UNICEF and a six-minute conclusion in which she urged her audience to "reach out." She took no questions from the crowd of about 275 people, many of whom had purchased their tickets to the event and the book in a package deal for $25.
But few seemed disappointed by the scripted presentation. Several audience members emerged from the theater saying they found it inspiring.
"Ana changed my life," Bush told them, and she went on to describe her surprise at the young woman, infected at birth, who was optimistic about her future despite the hardships she'd faced, including being abused and abandoned by her family.
Bush wrote Ana's story using narrative nonfiction, a method of storytelling that blends facts with imagined details. The technique is meant to protect Ana's identity and to transform her story into an iconic chronicle of all the suffering children Bush encountered during her eight-month internship.
In an interview this week, Bush said she met with Ana frequently in Latin America and then called her constantly to check facts during the four months of writing. The process at times was frustrating for Ana; a follow-up book appears unlikely, at least for the near future.
"I think she's happy just living (her life) right now," Bush said.
Technically, "Ana's Story" is uneven, with clichéd descriptions ("her past was like Swiss cheese, filled with holes") mixed with occasional, simple flashes of insight ("A nurse wrapped [baby] Beatriz in a blanket - like a burrito - and brought her to Ana.")
Targeted at teenagers, the book has clear messages about the peril of poverty, the despair of innocents unjustly stigmatized for their infection and the insidious cycle of AIDS.
Yet, what she witnessed in Latin America does not make Bush feel at odds with the policies of her father's administration, which has in recent years curtailed support of certain international programs aimed at reducing the spread of AIDS and other diseases.
"No. Not at all," she said, adding her parents were very proud of her efforts and of the book. "They've always supported us in whatever we wanted to do."
Any other person would have been lauded like Mother Teresa. Her father has an “R” next to his name, so obviously her work with AIDS victims in other countries is some imperialist plot. Just ask Randi Rhodes.
Have we seen any stories about AL Gore’s daughters or Chelsea Clinton or Amy Carter that have described them as “privileged?” I’ll have to go do a Lexis search on that one later.
Hasn’t the US given more money for AIDS relief under President Bush than under any other president?
(Did I dream this, or am I remembering correctly?)
Yeah, I caught that too. Also “to the surprise of some” Jenna decided to be a teacher and help people.
Geesh.
Of course the reviewer lied
http://www.avert.org/pepfar.htm
How much money has President Bush requested for PEPFAR so far and how much has been enacted?
In FY 2004, President Bush requested $1.9 billion for combating global HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria, suggesting that the $3 billion was an average and that the annual expenditure would be increased over the five-year period. Congress increased President Bush’s figure by $500 million, and in January 2004 appropriated $2.4 billion for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria for FY 2004, which ended on 30th September 2004. Of this total, $850 million was “new” money.5
The total budget for global HIV and AIDS in FY 2005 was $2.7 billion, of which $2.6 billion was enacted. Within this amount, $1.37 billion was for the U.S. Global Coordinator’s Office, and $347 was for the Global Fund.6
In FY 2006, President Bush requested, and Congress appropriated, approximately $3.2 billion.7
For FY 2007, Congress approved funding of $4.5 billion for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria including $724 million for the Global Fund. The total amount was $500 million more than President Bush had requested.8
President Bush has requested $5.4 billion for FY 2008, which would bring total spending over the five-year period to more than $18 billion (20% more than originally planned).9
She should apply for a job at CBS News. That's the kind of thing they're looking for. (Sorry about the multiple posts.)
I don’t think the reviewer “slipped”.
She's not a supporter but now she actually likes him, in a neighborly way. Jenna's a very nice girl and genuinely interested in humanitarian pursuits, according to that branch of my family.
You are correct (unfortunately).
Bush Derangement Syndrome is without limit in scope and symptoms. Although pinched face and overflowing bile is most common.
A total lie. She has to tie herself verbally in knots to spin the administration's opposition to abortion as "curtail[ing] support of certain international programs aimed at reducing the spread of AIDS and other diseases." Opposing NGOs that push abortion as a form of birth control has NOTHING to do with AIDS.
Sickening.
Can’t be true. Everybody knows that Jenna is just a party girl living off the family name with no brains, no compassion and no direction. And we all know that President Bush has slashed all spending on aids despite what hard right conservatives like Bono and Geldorf try and claim.
If you polled most Americans, they would say Jenna Bush would be more likely to turn up in bar downing shots of Tequilla than in Latin America helping aids patients. I wonder where they would get such an idea?
Send these statistics directly to the reviewer at her email address above, and remind her of why Bono is a friend of the President’s, not a detractor. Make sure she knows we ALL know she lied!
These reporters are disgusting. Bush lives very modestly in an environmentally friendly house. This is known as a "spread". The Maine house is her grandfather's. What does that have to do with anything?
How does the reporter define "routine jetting"? Would that be more or less jetting than the Kerrys, Edwards, Kennedys, Clintons et al do?
Time to hurl.
Only those eager to be offended will see this as anything but a reasonable and laudatory piece on Jenna Bush.
Those who don’t need to consider whether their partisan victimhood has totally clouded their judgement.
“The media are mean, wah, wah, wah!” is getting old.
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