Posted on 12/29/2007 5:33:26 PM PST by STARWISE
A Day in the Life of President Bush (with photos): 12-29-07
Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island
PHOTO (s) OF THE DAY.
The President and First Lady, departing the White House for their Christmas at Camp David, on Dec. 21, 2007. They are now at their ranch in Crawford, TX, and plan to return to the White House on January 3, 2008.
Look, Laura ~~ there's those great Dosers !
Simply, Barney
~~~~~
QUOTE(s) OF THE DAY
Fact sheet In Focus: Economy
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. New Year's Day will soon be upon us, and with it will come New Year's resolutions. This weekend is a good time to give thanks for our blessings -- and to resolve to do better in the coming year.
One of our greatest blessings as Americans is that we live in a country with a growing economy -- where people can pursue their dreams, turn ideas into enterprises, and provide for their families. It is a measure of our economy's resilience that even with high oil prices and softness in the housing market, we're still growing.
In November, our economy added jobs for the 51st straight month, making this the longest period of uninterrupted job growth on record. Unemployment is a low 4.7 percent. Exports are up. And the fundamentals of our economy are strong.
Economic statistics are important indicators. Yet it is more important to remember that behind all these numbers are real people.
These people include the entrepreneurs who live their dreams by starting up new businesses. These people include small business owners who create most of the new jobs in our economy.
And most of all, these people include the tens of millions of working moms and dads whose jobs provide for their families.
I know that even in this growing economy some of you have real concerns. Some of you worry about your ability to afford healthcare coverage for your families. Some of you are concerned about meeting your monthly mortgage payments. Some of you worry about the impact of rising energy costs on fueling your cars and heating your homes. You expect your elected leaders in Washington to address these pressures on our economy and give you more options to help you deal with them. And I have put forth several proposals to do so.
In the last month, Congress has responded to some of my initiatives. They passed a good energy bill, they passed a temporary patch to protect middle class families from the burden of the Alternative Minimum Tax, and they passed a law that will help protect families from higher taxes when their lenders reduce their mortgage debt.
But this is only a start.
Congress needs to do more to decrease America's dependence on oil. Congress needs to pass legislation that will help make health care coverage more affordable for small businesses and workers who buy their own policies. And Congress needs to act quickly on the rest of my proposals to help families struggling with rising mortgage payments keep their homes.
Most of all, we need to set a good example in Washington by being careful with your money. I'm disappointed that leaders in Congress sent me a massive spending bill that includes about 9,800 earmarks. Earmarks are special interest items that are slipped into big spending bills like this one -- often at the last hour, without discussion or debate.
Among the earmarks Congress approved was one for a prison museum and another for a sailing school.
In the last election, congressional leaders ran on a promise that they would reform earmarks. They made some progress, but not nearly enough. So my Administration is reviewing options to address wasteful earmark spending.
As we address earmarks, we also must restrain spending, keep taxes low, and continue on a path towards a balanced budget. And that is what the budget I submit in February will do. You work hard for your money and to live within your means.
As you provide for your families, the last thing you need is wasteful spending that will lead to a tax hike. My resolution for the New Year is this: to work with Congress to keep our economy growing, to keep your tax burden low, and to ensure that the money you send to Washington is spent wisely -- or not at all.
Thank you for listening, and Happy New Year.
~~~~
Vice President Dick Cheney looks on as President Bush, not pictured, speaks is at the ceremonial swearing in of Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake, not pictured, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007, at the Veterans Affairs Department in Washington.
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (R) pays her respects before signing a book of condolence at the Pakistan Embassy for former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in Washington, on December 28, 2007. Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack as she left an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi on Thursday
~~~~
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, accompanied by Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Gen. James Cartwright, during a news conference at the Pentagon, Friday, Dec. 21, 2007
For those who can't comprehend "A Day In The Life of President Bush," we who gather here admire, respect and support our President. This is OUR "Sanity Island." So, please remember that .. and maybe think 3 times before you jump in with any junk or offensive comments. The Mods are on patrol, and will toss out an offender in a heartbeat. Thank you.
~~~~~
Bush signs child health program extension into law
President George W. Bush on Saturday signed into law a temporary extension of a popular health insurance program for children after months of deadlock with the Democratic-led Congress.
The legislation extends the program that covers about 6.6 million poor children through March 31, 2009, leaving decisions about renewal to the next president and Congress.
The legislation also provides a 0.5 percent increase for Medicare doctors for six months, delaying a scheduled 10 percent pay cut.
Bush twice vetoed more ambitious earlier bills that would have expanded the children's health program to cover about 10 million children in low and moderate income families, despite bipartisan support.
Dems Still Trumped by Bush in 2007
Excerpt:
"But the story of Congress in 2007 is more about what it failed to accomplish during a war that the public opposes and that Democrats had vowed — but did not — to end.
On that, they found themselves repeatedly outmaneuvered, unable to break bill-killing GOP filibusters with 60 votes in a Senate where Democrats held only what effectively is a 51-49 majority.
Plans to expand health care for 10 million children stalled. And a fragile compromise put together by Bush and liberal Democrats to provide a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants buckled with only lukewarm support from all sides.
Perhaps the most bitter pill came toward the end of the year. Democrats were forced to acknowledge that the decrease in violence in Iraq might mean that Bush's much-criticized surge buildup of troops was working.
Simultaneously, they found themselves on the defensive against Republican charges that they squandered time on the war that could have been spent getting agency budgets passed on time. As usual, what has become an annual fix to the tax code to save 20 million families an average $2,000 in extra taxes was put off until the final days before Christmas."
~~~
Please wait for the ALL CLEAR for posting or re-posting photos or appropriate graphics in keeping with the spirit of this thread.
~~~
Hi.
Happy New Year. May it be the best one yet for you and all on the dose.
Back at ya!
Cattle at the ranch in Crawford, during a spring snow
*
*
Some attributes of cowboys
1. They were never looking for trouble.
2. But when trouble came, they faced it with courage. 3. They were always on the side of right.
4. They defended good people against bad people.
5. They had high morals.
6. They had good manners.
7. They were honest.
8. They spoke their minds and they spoke the truth, regardless of what people thought or "political correctness," which no one had ever heard of back then.
9. They were a beacon of integrity in the wild, wild West.
10. They were respected. When they walked into a saloon, the place became quiet, and the bad guys kept their distance.
11. If in a gunfight, they could outdraw anyone. If in a fist fight, they could beat up anyone.
12. They always won. They always got their man. In victory, they rode off into the sunset. 
Woooohoooo! I’m not 5 hours late tonight!
Thanks for Sanity Island tonight, Starwise! :D
Ho, ho, ho ~~~~ y’all .............. :)
All the best for things to be GREAT in 2008 for US all!
It was luck. I was waiting on a pizza and got on the site for a few minutes and there it was. Boy is it good! The pizza that is!
I will ping the dose ping list.
Unfortunately if you do not have broadband I would not recommend trying to view the thread as there will be several hundred photos.
MUST READ . . . .
LESSONS FROM THE SURGE
By Michael Barone
There are lessons to be learned from the dazzling success of the surge strategy in Iraq.
Lesson one is that just about no mission is impossible for the United States military. A year ago it was widely thought, not just by the new Democratic leaders in Congress but also in many parts of the Pentagon, that containing the violence in Iraq was impossible. Now we have seen it done.
. . . Some of George W. Bush’s critics seem to have relished the prospect of American defeat and some refuse to acknowledge the success that has been achieved. But it appears that they have “misunderestimated” him once again, and have “misunderestimated” the competence of the American military and of free peoples working from the bottom up to transform their societies for the better. It’s something to be thankful for as the new year begins.
You can read the entire commentary here:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/12/lessons_from_the_surge.html
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PETRAEUS LETTER TO THE TROOPS
“Hope has been rekindled.”
Editor’s Note: On December 28, General David Petraeus, commander of Multi-National Force Iraq, sent the following letter to his troops.
Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and Civilians of Multi-National Force-Iraq:
As 2007 draws to a close, you should look back with pride on what you, your fellow troopers, our Iraqi partners, and Iraqi Coalition civilians have achieved in 2007. A year ago, Iraq was racked by horrific violence and on the brink of civil war. Now, levels of violence and civilians and military casualties are significantly reduced and hope has been rekindled in many Iraqi communities. To be sure, the progress is reversible and there is much more to be done. Nonetheless, the hard-fought accomplishments of 2007 have been substantial, and I want to thank each of you for the contributions you made to them.
You can read the entire letter here: http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/535mehzn.asp
what a great job you ALWAYS do STARWISE.. thank you & I really enjoyed the pix & the commentary you provided.
I hope the president & family are having a great time together. I hate he really NEVER gets a vacation.. but I am grateful for his diligence & focus to keep us safe.
Happy New Year to the Dose family ...some wont be here in next days & I wish you safe travels & wonderful times
It’s gonna be hard for any candidate to follow THIS leader!
We need heroes! Where are they?
God bless General Petraeus! He and our president have turned
this war around, though they get no credit for it in the Has-Been Media!
re: #6
Good post Starwise!
In Crawford, Tx .... ;)
And all over this globe, bravely and valiantly protecting our freedom and safety and preserving liberty, wherever darkness reigns. May God bless and protect them.
Thank you SO very much for ALL the loving work you do. I dearly appreciate your kindness and generosity of spirit. May this New Year bless you with all the wonderful things in your heart.
ALL CLEAR for posting or re-posting photos or appropriate graphics in keeping with the spirit of this thread.
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