Free Republic

HOUSTON — Few people outside of the family knew President George H.W. Bush as well as Jean Becker, his longtime chief of staff. She is sharing stories from her new book, "Character Matters," calling it a roadmap to civility in our polarizing political climate. Becker is a journalist who became deputy press secretary for Barbara Bush in the White House, then was asked by the president to become his chief of staff once he left office ."I told him I didn't know how to be a chief of staff," Becker said. "I didn't know how to be a boss, do...

A 20-year-old Chicago man is being celebrated as a hero after he leaped into action to save the life of a man who fell on the subway's potentially deadly third electrified rail. Anthony Perry, 20, was honored in a ceremony on Wednesday by a local community leader who awarded him a new car for his heroism. Perry told WGN TV about the moment he saved the man's life: 'I don’t think I was thinking about what could happen to me at the moment. It was more of what do I have to do to make the situation peaceful. I felt...

Gregory Beck was on his way to his St. Louis home in his wheelchair when tornado sirens sounded. Beck lost both of his legs last year and is legally blind, according to CNN affiliate KMOV4. It would normally take him 25 minutes to get back home from the supermarket, and he would need to stop as many as 10 times to rest. "Everyone kept telling me the storm is coming and you need to hurry up and get home," Beck told the station. While other drivers honked and yelled at Beck as he tried to cross the street Tuesday and...

A golem is a being of inanimate material magically given anthropomorphic abilities. Back when I was a political consultant I would tell candidates that they were lumps of clay to be molded. In a memo discovered by National Review, Michelle Nunn has all the makings of not being her own woman, but rather being a consultant’s golem. Not only a golem, but one whose organization is related to funding for Hamas and now wants Jews to fund her political ambition. The campaign email is filled with great stereotypes. Nunn’s campaign wants gays, Asians, and Jews to fund it, but wants...

COLLEGE STATION — Our president, navigating through a difficult rookie year, on Friday made his first trip to our state since he got the gig in January. Barack Obama came to College Station to honor George H.W. Bush on the 20th anniversary of the ex-president's "Points of Light" speech that sparked a volunteer effort that has helped countless folks. So nice. A Democratic president and an ex-GOP president ignoring party differences for a day. The event crossed generations. It bridged racial divide. And it reminded us that the folks who really play politics for keeps know there's a time to...

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – More than 500 protesters gathered at Texas A&M University this afternoon, denouncing President Barack Obama as a socialist ahead of his arrival for a forum on volunteerism. Former President George Bush, who has a library and school of public policy on campus, had asked critics to keep their vitriol in check as he joined the current president in celebrating 20 years of his Points of Light effort – a cause that has provided common ground for all four of the most recent presidents.

President Barack Obama and President George H.W. Bush, center, talk after speaking at the Points of Light Institute forum at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, Friday, Oct. 16, 2009. At right, Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

San Francisco (AP) - President Barack Obama, who has called on Americans to perform more community service, is joining former President George H.W. Bush in urging citizens to volunteer. Bush on Friday was to host a forum on volunteering at Texas A&M University, to be attended by Obama, who initiated a "United We Serve" call to service in June that culminated in a national day of service on the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The forum is affiliated with the Points of Light Institute, an organization that honors people and groups who participate in community service. Bush...

As we have documented here more than once, liberal bias has a way of working its way into all nooks and crannies of the MSM, including sports reporting. That made it particularly refreshing to hear renowned sports journalist Peter Gammons take a stand for small government today. Gammons, whose main ESPN beat is baseball, and who was honored at the Hall of Fame in 2005, was a guest on today's "Morning Joe." After discussing some of the negative news surrounding sports these days, including the dogfighting indictment of Michael Vick and the Jose Offerman bat attack, talk turned to more...

Bush's Faith-based Initiative You Didn't Hear About Thursday, Jan. 22, 2004 Emerging post-holidays from the pile of stories virtually ignored by America’s media, comes the Bush version of Dickens. It seems George and Laura don’t just ask others to help faith-based groups, they pitch in themselves, as kids who’d gathered for Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree program found out on a Monday afternoon in Alexandria, Va., this past December. Prison Fellowship was founded by Chuck Colson, and its Angel Tree program makes sure children of prisoners receive presents during the holidays. The program has many volunteers, but they aren’t usually accompanied...

<p>BALTIMORE &#8212; A national gathering of the United States' "armies of compassion" closed out its three-day meeting yesterday with a lesson from a baseball legend.</p> <p>Teamwork is the way to success, and teamwork comes from personal connections, retired Baltimore Orioles star Cal Ripken Jr. told the National Conference on Community Volunteering and National Service.</p>

FL Gov. Jeb Bush and 10-year old Britney Murphy, at the cancer ward of Broward General Children's Hospital. Governor Bush Presents Points of Light Award to Britney Murphy [a young cancer patient and activist] -The Points of Light Award recognizes exemplary volunteers in Florida's communities- For Immediate Release Friday, April 19, 2002 Contact: Elizabeth Hirst (850) 488-5394 TALLAHASSEE -- Governor Jeb Bush recognized Britney Murphy of Fort Lauderdale as this week's Points of Light Award recipient. The weekly award recognizes exemplary volunteer and community service throughout the state. "Britney's cheerful spirit and sense of duty in expressing the needs of...