Posted on 04/24/2006 5:06:10 PM PDT by snugs
The President spent the weekend in California.
On Saturday (Earth Day) he went for a bike ride and also visited California Fuel Cell Partnership in West Sacramento.
On Sunday he visited Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, he went to church and had lunch there.
Later on Sunday he visted former President Gerald Ford and former first lady Betty Ford visited at their home in Rancho Mirage
Today the President spoke and took questions on comprehensive immigration reform at the Orange County Business Council at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Irvine, CA
Later on the President made remarks at a 'John Porter for Congress' luncheon in Las Vegas, Nev
The first lady attended a luncheon celebrating the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizational (UNESCO), Education for All Week
She also spoke after touring the recently restored and restocked library in the home of author Edith Wharton at the Mount in Lenox, Mass.
Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island
QUOTE OF THE DAY
President Discusses Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Hyatt Regency Irvine
Irvine, California
I've had a fabulous trip to your unbelievably beautiful state. It started off in northern California, Cisco; then I went to Stanford; then I went to Napa Valley; then I rode my bicycle on Earth Day in Napa Valley. Then I found out the mountains are a little steep in Napa Valley. (Laughter.) I then went down and spent fantastic time in Palm Springs. What an unbelievably diverse state and it's a fantastic place to end my journey, here in Orange County. I want to thank you for giving me a chance to come by and visit with you.
Laura sends her very best. I, of course, checked in with her this morning before I headed over here to see if she had any additional instructions for me for the day. (Laughter.) She said, keep it short. (Laughter.) I'm a lucky man to have Laura as a wife. You can imagine what it's like to be President -- there's some pressure on your family, as you can imagine. The good news is I've got a 45-second commute. (Laughter.) And the better news is I've got a wife who is a fantastic First Lady who shares a passion with me to do the best we can for our country. (Applause.)
As you know, well, I make a lot of decisions, and at the core of my decision-making when it comes to protecting America is the lessons learned from September the 11th, 2001. My job is to use the resources of the United States to prevent such an attack from happening again. And the first lesson of September the 11th, 2001 is that we face an enemy that had no regard for innocent life, an enemy which has hijacked a great religion to suit their political needs.
And therefore, the only way to deal with them is to stay on the offense to pressure them, and to bring them to justice which is precisely what the United States of America is doing and will continue to do for the safety of the American people. (Applause.)
The second lesson is we must deny these folks safe haven. They need to find safe haven from which to plot and plan. We denied safe haven in Afghanistan, and we're denying them safe haven in Iraq.
It's not easy work, by the way, to go from tyranny to democracy. We had kind of a round go ourself, if you look back at our history. My Secretary of State's relatives were enslaved in the United States even though we had a Constitution that said all were -- that believed in the dignity, or at least proclaimed to believe in the dignity of all. The Articles of Confederation wasn't exactly a real smooth start for our government to begin. And what you're watching on your TV screens is a new democracy emerging. And I had the privilege of calling the President of Iraq, the new Speaker of Iraq, and the Prime Minister-designee of Iraq, there in the comfort of my hotel room in Palm Desert -- Palm Springs. And I can't tell you how heartened I was to hear their words.
And so what happens between 18-year-old G.H.W. Bush, Navy fighter pilot, signing up to fight the sworn enemy of Japanese, and his son sitting down to talk about the peace? And what happened was Japan adopted a Japanese-style democracy. Democracy can help change the world and lay the foundation for peace. And that's what's happening today. These are historic times. My job is to lead this to protect you. And my job is to lay the foundation of peace for generations to come. And that is why I told those Marines yesterday that we're going to complete the mission. (Applause.)
I want to talk to you, tell you my thoughts about the subject. First of all, I understand it is an emotional subject. And it's really important that those of us who have microphones and can express ourselves do so in a respectful way that recognizes we are a nation of immigrants, that we have had a grand tradition in this country of welcoming people into our society. And ours is a society that is able to take the newly arrived, and they become equally American. I believe that immigration has helped reinvigorate the soul of America. I know that when somebody comes to our country because he or she has a dream and is willing to work hard for that dream, it makes America a better place.
Now, first and foremost, the federal government has the role to enforce our border. The American people are right in saying to the government, enforce the border. Listen, I was an old border governor. I understand it's important to enforce our border. And we are. We got a lot of good people down there working hard on the border to keep people from -- and contraband, or whatever -- from coming into this country illegally. We've increased the number of Border Patrol. And I want to thank to Congresswoman and Congressmen here for being wise about providing resources to increase the number of patrol on the border. But that's not enough.
We've got to have modern equipment to be able to help people find people that are coming across a very long and difficult border to protect. We got infrared. Unmanned vehicles are being -- aerial vehicles -- UAVs are being deployed. We're now beginning to modernize our border so that the people we've asked to enforce the border have got the tools necessary to do so. In parts of the rural border there needs to be berms to prevent people from flying across in their SUVs, smuggling people into America. And we're strengthening this border. I'll tell you something that's interesting. Since 2001, 6 million people have been caught illegally trying to get in this country, and turned back -- 6 million people. So people are working down there, and they're working hard.
Now, the problem we have is you got some person out there in central Texas needing a worker, and he can't find a worker, an American. So he says, look, anybody help me find somebody, I got something to do. This economy is growing, see -- 4.7 unemployment rate nationwide. Pretty good numbers. And people are having trouble finding work that Americans won't do. And that's a fact of life. And so he says, why don't you send somebody over to help me? And they show up and they put a Social Security card out there and it looks real. You know, our small business owners are not document checkers. These are people trying to get ahead, and it's impossible to -- (applause.) It's impossible to really effect the enforcement of our laws if people are able to use forged documents.
See, we made it such that an underground industry thrives on human beings, people coming to do work that the Americans will not do. And so I think that the best way to enforce our border and the best way, besides making sure it's modern and we've got manpower and equipment down there, which we do, and it's increasing every week, is to come up with a rational plan that recognizes people coming here to work and let them do so on a temporary basis. That's why I'm for a temporary worker program that will -- (applause) -- that says to a person, here is a tamper-proof card that says, you can come and do a job an American won't do, fill a need. A tamper-proof card all of a sudden makes interior enforcement work. In other words, we now know who's getting the cards and we know they can't be tampered with. So the guy says, show me your tamper-proof card before I hire you. And if they do, fine. But if they don't, say, I'm not hiring you. You got to have the card to get work.
Secondly, we got a lot of people across the border to do jobs. It is really hard to enforce the border with people sneaking across to do a job. Doesn't it make sense to have a rational, temporary worker plan that says you don't need to sneak across the border. You can come on a temporary basis to do a job Americans won't do. So you don't have to sneak across -- so you don't have to pay money to a coyote that stuffs you in the back of a truck, so you don't have to burden our borders.
Secondly, I believe that a person should never be granted automatic citizenship. And let me tell you why I believe that, that if you've been here -- broken the law and have been here working, that it doesn't seem fair to me to say you're automatically a citizen when somebody who has been here legally working is standing in line trying to become a citizen, as well. In other words, there's the line for people. (Applause.)
But what I do think makes sense is that a person ought to be allowed to get in line. In other words, pay a penalty for being here illegally, commit him or herself to learn English, which is part of the American system -- (applause) -- and get in the back of the line. In other words, there is a -- there is a line of people waiting to become legal through the green card process. And it's by nationality. And if you're a citizen here who has been here illegally, you pay a penalty, you learn English, and you get in line, but at the back -- not the front. And if Congress wants a shorter line for a particular nationality, they increase the number of green cards. If they want a longer line, they shrink the number of green cards per nationality.
PHOTO OF THE DAY 
President George W. Bush waves from Air Force One as he prepares to leave Palm Springs for Orange County Monday, April 24, 2006.
Hi
Hi
Drat!
Dose going up please wait for the all clear before posting or reposting graphics or photos
Good evening number one
darn LOL
Hello
This looks like fun! Hi, everybody!
President George W. Bush walks to the podium before delivering a statement on the important milestone Iraqis reached today on their path to democracy, Saturday, April 22, 2006 in West Sacramento, California
President George W. Bush listens to AC Transit Employee Jamie Levin while standing in the doorway of a bus powered by fuel cell technology during a tour of the California Fuel Cell Partnership in West Sacramento, California, Saturday, April 22, 2006.
President George W. Bush rides with the Travis Air Force Base cycling team in the Los Posados State Forest, in Angwin, California, Saturday, April 22, 2006
President George W. Bush aboard Marine One arrives at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California, Sunday, April 23, 2006.
President George W. Bush greets parishioners at the end of a church service at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California, Sunday, April 23, 2006
President George W. Bush stands in the chow line with Marines during his visit to Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California, Sunday, April 23, 2006.
President George W. Bush spends time with Marines and their families following lunch inside the mess hall at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California, Sunday, April 23, 2006.
I probably won't be on the dose again tonight but would you let them know that hubby has lost another 3 pounds since last Thursday. We go back to the Kirklin Clinic at UAB in the morning. We are worried sick about him since he is so weak.
Then she wrote:
I just found out that we have to go back on Wed. for his liver biopsy results. We will be through about 11 tomorrow or we would just stay down there. It is about 100 miles. Thanks.
Prayers going to Mr. MamaB...and MamaB!
I think CA does W good - he looks so fine, today!
Good evening snugs, thanks for tonight's DOSE.
How's your dad doing?
I'm heeeeeeere! President Bush visited the beautiful state of California, and got to do his favorite exercise - bike riding! I loved the parts of the transcript of the meeting where he was talking about the bike rides.
Love to have been a fly on the wall in their home! W needed a nice visit with President and Mrs. Ford. Perspective is always welcomed.
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