Posted on 05/01/2002 8:55:53 AM PDT by Amore
Gov. Jeb Bush choked back tears Tuesday at an anti-drug summit as he talked about his 24-year-old daughter's struggle with drug addiction.
"I want to thank you on behalf of my wife for your prayers and for your quiet counseling in the last few months about our daughter Noelle," Bush said.
The governor was several minutes into a standard anti-drug speech when he paused, looked down, turned red, put his hand over his lips and choked back a quiet sob.
"I knew I was going to do this," Bush said softly, glancing at his wife, Columba, sitting next to him. The crowd, which included police, social-service agency officials and a few state legislators, applauded in support.
"Bush men always cry, and I apologize," Bush added with a smile. "It's a genetic problem I got from my dad. He cries a lot."
Bush's father, President George H. Bush, cried after being handed a part of the Iron Curtain while visiting Hungary and later recalled in a 1997 interview that he is "kind of an emotional sort of person anyway. I cry too easily. I did then, and I do now."
Noelle Bush was arrested in January at a Walgreen's pharmacy a few blocks from the Governor's Mansion after posing as a doctor to call in a phony prescription for Xanax, a depressant meant to combat anxiety. She later entered a drug-treatment program.
The governor said the experience has made him even more sensitive to drug issues. Bush said wherever he goes, parents approach him to say they know what it's like to have a family member battling drug addiction.
After the speech, the governor said his daughter's battle has been a difficult strain.
"I just get emotional sometimes," Bush said. "It's not easy to always be worried."
Bush revealed during his 1998 campaign that one of his three children, never identified, had a short-term drug problem.
"As a dad, I love her very much," Bush said, "I want her to be able to live a healthy, fulfilled life, and we've been struggling with this for a long time. I don't even know why I brought it up, because I knew I was going to cry. stupid of me to even talk about it."
Bush then abruptly changed course again, smiled and headed out the door, proclaiming, "On to see what's going on in the special session."
For Florida's governor, who appointed the state's first drug czar, his daughter's arrest was jarring. Noelle Bush has been in drug-treatment and rehabilitation programs on and off for several years, both in Florida and out-of-state.
Bush's appearance at the summit was meant to highlight his push in the Legislature for laws to combat prescription-drug abuse.
The package of measures, sponsored by Sen. Locke Burt, R-Ormond Beach, and introduced late last year, was approved by a Senate committee Monday.
"We estimate 30 percent of our drug problem in Florida is caused by the diversion of otherwise illegal prescription drugs," Burt said.
The measures are aimed at stemming abuse of prescription drugs such as OxyContin, which has been blamed for more deaths in the state than cocaine. The bills would set up a computerized database to track prescriptions to spot abuses, establish penalties for doctors who illegally prescribe medication and create a public-records exemption to shield the privacy of patients in the database.
"We have no way now of monitoring what's occurring," said Broward County sheriff's Detective Lisa McElhaney, who noted Broward alone has 742 pharmacies. "We are being overwhelmed by the amount of legal drugs hitting the streets."
Parents, educators, faith and community leaders recognize that youth drug use is a serious issue in this country, and they work tirelessly to educate children about the dangers of substance abuse. Today there is a new reason to continue this important effort: the illegal drug trade is linked to the support of terror groups across the globe. Buying and using illegal drugs is not a victimless crime-it has negative consequences that can touch the lives of people around the world.
As America recovers from the loss and destruction of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, government officials and policy makers are focusing on the link between terror and drug trafficking. To prevent such tragedies from happening again, citizens around the world are looking for ways to make a difference.
And Ms. Bush's plea was? Why was she able to get such a quick hearing? I suppose that's SOP also?
You claim to be an "expert" on Florida drug laws. How many jailed prisoners have you interviewed? Or is your "expertise" self taught and you've never even seen the inside of a cell?
Although Noelle has escaped prosecution and is reportedly on the mend in a drug rehab program, the arrest led to a spate of other stories indicating that the governor's daughter received special treatment. Despite a horrendous driving record and several car crashes, including one with Tallahassee resident Sandra Morrow in which Ms. Bush told police she was taking a prescription drug, Noelle wasn't subjected to a drug or alcohol test when she pulled up at Walgreens to fetch her fraudulent prescription for Xanax.
More proof that the rich and powerful are different when it comes to the law occurred when several weeks ago the National Enquirer broke a story that Noelle had previously tried the same scam. The Enquirer had the smoking gun as well in the form of stolen prescription forms filled out and signed by Noelle. Those fraudulent prescriptions were for the painkiller OxyContin and Xanax.
Despite the smoking gun provided by the Enquirer and no denials from the Bush camp, the national and state media ignored the fact that Noelle Bush was a multiple offender.
Bush, Burton & all the rest kids get breaks-period.
You're darn right I've never seen the inside of a cell, and I don't plan to. I haven't interviewed any prisoners either, although I've certainly read many things they've written about themselves and their crimes. I've explained what I do. I work in the state court system, I'm a lawyer, and I review criminal cases for a living. Most involve drugs, either because it's a drug crime or because they committed crimes to get drugs. There ARE some drug offenders which are treated more severely, but that's reserved either for those who commit serious crimes to get money for drugs or for drug pushers -- not drug addicts. I know what I'm talking about. You, however, have given us no explanation of why you pretend to know anything about the subject. But that's fine, rant away!
Not OK-She is the mother who also "made a little mistake,"
No one is talking about Hillary here, and your mention of that only supports the fact that those who are "connected" don't have to follow the same laws.
You are a lawyer claiming to be an "expert" on drugs and have never been in a jail cell? If you are not a prosecutor or a defense atty, and are "researching" drug cases, you must be an agent in the WOD?
In that case your bias to your employer and your paycheck could hardly make your arguments regarding unequal treatment for VIP kids vs normal kids carry any real weight.
Unless those that make the laws are judged by those same laws, we all live in a hypo-crocy. Bush tears or not.
I don't know what she did, but somehow those who are connected continue to laugh at us little people. Maybe we need real term limits-1 term.
PENSACOLA -- Four of the five Escambia County commissioners, including former Florida Senate President W.D. Childers, have been arrested in an investigation focusing on $6.2 million in real estate purchases
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-51childers.story?coll=sfla%2Dhome%2Dheadlines
Once in awhile they throw us a bone.
The SinkEmporer always revelled in his fake tears and fake empathy before crowds: "BooHooo, sniff-sniff-- Look at me, look at me, everybody!! It's all about me!!!"
It irks me to no end when people say, "It irks me no end when people say 'to no end' when the correct phrase is 'no end.'"
;-)
Yes, of course, everyone cries as a kid. Most men stop as adults. But do you think other men, who still cry occasionally, haven't tried to "toughen up"? Do you think they LIKE to cry? Yeah, sigh!, come to think of it, you probably do. You know, humans are not fungible. Different bodies operate differently. It amazes me when people think their own experience applies to everyone else. My brothers, who are real, strong men, have tried plenty. They hate it when they cry. But it just doesn't matter, it's like the Bushs', it's genetic. Most men view it as a weakness, as do some women. But luckily most women know better.
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