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GALICE - Laura Bush walked down the concrete boat ramp at Almeda Park with four lifelong friends from Midland, Texas, to begin a three-day raft trip down the wild Rogue River. The former first lady graciously granted an interview, clad in long sleeves, long pants and a wide hat like her four pals on this sunny Monday morning. More of this story

July 2009 sees nearly 6 months since George W Bush entered private life and as we have done in previously monthly threads I have collated photos from the month we are in from previous years. Tonight I will post July 2001 and July 2002 photos and then over the next few days post 2003 and 2004 photos. I have also found some photos from this June which I will also post in the next few days starting with one of them as the photo of the month. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

NEW YORK , June 17 (UPI) -- A New York jury has acquitted a 24-year-old man accused of heckling Laura and Jenna Bush and assailing a wheelchair-bound teenager and her family. The New York Post reported Wednesday a Manhattan Criminal Court jury acquitted Gary Talis Tuesday on assault charges stemming from an April 2008 incident in which Talis allegedly attacked a family following a New York appearance by the wife and daughter of then-U.S. President George W. Bush. The Bushes were in New York to talk about their children's book, "Read All About It." Authorities had accused Talis of shouting...

WASHINGTON – Former first lady Laura Bush says she's pleased that President Barack Obama nominated a woman for the Supreme Court. "I think she sounds like a winner and a good nominee," Bush said of Sonia Sotomayor, the federal appeals judge Obama picked.

Former first lady Laura Bush said while her husband, George W. Bush, does not think it’s appropriate for a former president to criticize his successor, she understands why former Vice President Dick Cheney has. “That’s his right as a citizen of the U.S., and I think he also feels obligated and so I understand why he wants to speak out,” Bush said in an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “On the other hand George feels like as a former president that he owes President Obama his silence on issues and that there’s no reason to second guess any decisions...

POLITICO recently ran a story about the moments that shaped first lady Michelle Obama’s image. I like seeing so much attention paid to a first lady, and I think Americans enjoy knowing what she is working on and how she is spending her time in the White House. The coverage is helpful for all of us to develop an impression about the first lady. And surely there has been no shortage of coverage. I know firsthand what it takes to manage the diverse portfolio of this unique position, which in fact has no official description. The job is what the...

DALLAS -- The new couple at 10141 Daria Place accepted an invitation to a neighborhood dinner party last month. The guest list totaled eight. The main dish was chicken potpie. George and Laura Bush left their cul-de-sac in the back of a dark sedan, exited through a Secret Service checkpoint and rode down streets bordered by lawn signs adorned with gigantic Ws to welcome them home. It had been a bad week for the country. President Obama spoke on television about the burdens he had inherited in office: anti-American sentiment, two wars, a recession. But it had been a good...

During a time when young women in the United States have few role models and Britney Spears' misbehavior is fodder for the airwaves, former First Lady Laura Bush continues to represents American womanhood at its best. While Mrs. Bush may have been thought of as an old style first lady because although she was a woman with strong opinions, she understood that her place in the White House was to bring dignity to her role as the first lady of the land. The song, "Stand by your man" might describe the way Ms. Bush supported her husband during his presidency....

MARCH 17, 2009 The Dissing of Laura Bush By WILLIAM MCGURN By choosing Fort Bragg for her first official trip outside the capital last Thursday, Michelle Obama signaled that she will use her position as First Lady to promote one of America's most deserving causes: our military families. Plainly the families loved it. Just look at the smiles on those children as she read them "The Cat in the Hat." So it was just a little disconcerting the next morning to hear the First Lady explain how she came to this issue during last year's campaign. "I think I was...

> Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

Former first lady Laura Bush says she didn't watch President Barack Obama's speech to Congress because "I just totally forgot about it." But Mrs. Bush hasn't become totally disengaged from politics in the roughly five weeks since she and her husband, George W. Bush, moved out of the White House. She says, for example, that she remains very interested in what happens in Afghanistan, calling Obama's developing policy there "encouraging." Mrs. Bush made women's rights issues in Afghanistan a personal priority, and she visited there alone on at least two occasions. She said the fact she overlooked Obama's speech was...

Former President George W. Bush will embark next month on a series of speeches that will take him to Canada, the U.S., Europe and Asia, advisers said. The former president already has plans for about 10 speeches over the next year, and will do more. During his final news conference, Bush had predicted that he would be back in the saddle quickly. He has stuck to that: An offering for speeches went up on the Washington Speakers Bureau website on Jan. 29, the week after he left the White House. The president, who moved to Dallas last week after spending...

We have discussed both on the dose and privately via freepmail as to what we may do in the future of the dose. It is suggested that a thread is posted where anyone can post photos or news of George W Bush and if you so wish any other member of his administration as to what they are doing or hope to do in the future and the idea is that this thread will cover January 2009 news and photos as well as being a recap of the last few days of the George W Bush Presidency plus events that...

n a Daily Beast exclusive, a former Bush advisor files his account—and his photos—from aboard the former president’s flight back to Texas. Knowing it would be impossible to get out of the city Tuesday morning, many of us arrived Monday night at the very funky Econo Lodge by Air Force Andrews Base. The Blair House it was not. But good to be humbled on the way out. We jumped in a van in the morning and watched Obama’s inaugural address from the lobby at Andrews. The group of 100 or so watching, of which 100 percent were George Bush supporters,...

Today, we witness the end of an era. While that cliche recalls a bit of nostalgia and even a bit of sorrowful histrionics, we nonetheless realize the impact the past eight years have had on us as Americans and as individuals. Eight years ago we welcomed a straight-talking, steel backboned cowboy as the 43rd President of the United States. Detractors already had him labeled as the spoiled rich kid. Yet, there was something about him that reached to everyday Americans. He wasn't the typical polished politician. He didn't get caught up in the hyperbole of oration. He laughed at himself...

Mrs. Obama Comes Bearing Gifts January 20, 2009 10:18 AM One reason Michelle Obama might be so popular at the White House coffee this morning is that she brought gifts. From ABC's Sunlen Miller: "Upon arriving at the White House, this morning Michelle Obama presented Mrs. Bush with a gift. It was a pen and journal for her memoirs." The thing is, we all know what the gift is now, but Mrs. Bush might not! The eagle-eyed Ann Compton reports: "Laura took the box inside but didnt open it ... she could be seen as she handed it to an...

This is the fourth and final part of the 2008 review and as was true for parts one and two and three the following photos may not necessarily be the best photos or the most important but they are chosen because they appeal to me and hopefully to you as well. It maybe because of the content, the expression on the face(s) or just an unusual photo. As I explained there are so many photos I have split this thread into 4 the first one being January - March, the second April - June, the third July - September, and...

This is the third part of the 2008 review and as was true for parts one and two the following photos may not necessarily be the best photos or the most important but they are chosen because they appeal to me and hopefully to you as well. It maybe because of the content, the expression on the face(s) or just an unusual photo. As I explained there are so many photos I have split this thread into 4 the first one being January - March, the second April - June and this one the the third one July - September,...

As I look back over the last eight years, I am filled with pride in my husband and his accomplishments. When George and I met, I fell in love with a man who is gracious, humble and sincere. And the qualities that I liked most in him are the same characteristics that have served our nation well in challenging times. George is a man with a heart for people. He is a loving husband and devoted father. He has great inner strength, which has allowed him to make the difficult decisions a president faces - not because they are popular,...

More lasts today … This morning President & Mrs. Bush departed the White House for Camp David, Maryland, where they will spend their last weekend as the First Couple before Tuesday’s inauguration. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave her final press conference today at the State Department in Washington. She also met with Israel’s Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Dr. Rice’s last official act as Secretary of State was signing a memorandum with Foreign Minister Livni that will help prevent arms smuggling to terrorists in Gaza. And today Press Secretary Dana Perino delivered the Administration’s final press briefing (Transcript). Dana took...