Nigerian Activist on Africa and Presidential Legacies: Bush Fought AIDS, Obama Promoted Homosexual Agenda

President George W. Bush, rather than President Barack Obama, will be best remembered for a legacy of having helped the African people, a Nigerian civil rights activist and attorney said on Tuesday. --“President Bush will really be remembered as the president who had the most impact on Africa of the last three presidents,” said Emmanuel Obege. “I think they’re no doubt about it.”

Read more at CNS News
(Hat tip: KimR) Read More......

Peggy Noonan: It's His Rubble Now

WSJ OPINION JOURNAL, 10/23/2009 by Peggy Noonan - It's His Rubble Now: And the American people want him to fix it. At a certain point, a president must own a presidency. For George W. Bush that point came eight months in, when 9/11 happened. From that point on, the presidency—all his decisions, all the credit and blame for them—was his. The American people didn't hold him responsible for what led up to 9/11, but they held him responsible for everything after it. This is part of the reason the image of him standing on the rubble of the twin towers, bullhorn in hand, on Sept.14, 2001, became an iconic one. It said: I'm owning it. Read more at Opinion Journal... Read More......

Oregon humans in peril but spotted owl safe (or not)

CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES, 7/17/2009 by Jeff Barnard (AP Env. writer) - Obama administration scraps Bush logging plan

The Illustrated Owl: Barn, Barred, & Great Horned by Denny Rogers, Lori Corbett
Page 84 - BARRED OWL FACTS/Diet and Habitat
[Excerpt] "The barred owl is abundant in the deep woods and swamp forests of the Southeast but is slowly expanding its range westward. Its counterpart in the West is the spotted owl, however, the more aggressive barred owl is gradually taking over the territory of the spotted owl, as well as interbreeding. The genetics of these two owls are so similar that many believe the spotted is merely a subspecies of the barred."

Related:
Posted 7/8/2009 - Judge overturns Bush administration logging rule
National Center for Conservation Science & Policy: The Spotted Owl's New Nemesis Read More......

Judge overturns Bush administration logging rule

SEATTLE TIMES, 7/1/2009 by Jeff Barnard, AP Environmental Writer: GRANTS PASS, Ore. — A federal judge has struck down the Bush administration's change to a rule designed to protect the northern spotted owl from logging in national forests. ∴ U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ruled from Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday that the U.S. Forest Service failed to take a hard look at the environmental impacts of changing the rule to make it easier to cut down forest habitat of species such as the spotted owl and salmon on 193 million acres of national forests. ∴ "I am hopeful that this is the last nail in the coffin to (President George W.) Bush's assault on our public forests," said Pete Frost, an attorney for the Western Environmental Law Center in Eugene, which represented plaintiffs in one of two cases challenging the rule. Read more at the Seattle Times... Read More......

A gentleman from Texas

Ripped For Being Out of Touch, He Chose Just The Right Touch
Wednesday, November 05
By Neil Cavuto, FOXnews.com

He was classy.
Magnanimous.
A gentleman.
Ripped for being out of touch, he chose just the right touch.
A man who critics say only mangled his words.
Conjured just the right ones.
I'm not talking about John McCain yesterday.
I'm talking about President Bush today.

McCain gave a classy speech.
The President made a classy gesture.
Offering only good words for the man who repudiated his run of the White House.
But going one better - - inviting Barack and Michelle Obama to the White House.
To see the place, and talk about the place, and the pressures of the place, in private.

These were not empty words. The President took care months ago to put a transition team in place so that a smooth transfer of power could take place.
President Bush wasn't so lucky when he was coming in.
Maybe things were different then. A lot of ill will then. Lots of hurtful words then.
He wasn't even running this year but it seemed everyone, including his own party's nominee, was running against him all year.

If he minded, he didn't show it.
"Does it all bug you?," I asked.
"Nah," he said, shrugging his shoulders and adding simply "I understand."
A man at peace with a nation seemingly at war.with him. Some for good reason, others apparently lacking reason.
He took nothing personally, always handling himself with dignity.
Not by what he said, but precisely what he did not.

I've read that the President is as kind to the elevator operator at the White House as he is to a visiting head of state to the White House.
I've seen it myself. Every time I've interviewed with him he sticks around and personally shakes the hands of each member of my crew, and then hangs out for pictures. Lots of pictures.
I know, little things. But to me, big things. That bespeak of a man far bigger than the petty things I see in the press.
Or hear in a harsh campaign year.
That ended today, with a quite gesture today.
From a President who'd be in his right to wag a finger.
But instead, simply offered his hand.

My comment: A truly great man who has been falsely maligned by those who should thank him for protecting them from terrorists for the past seven years. God help this country for the next four years. Read More......

"The Journey from Fate to Freedom"

NRCC HONORS VETS IN CONGRESS - On March 12, 2008, the National Republican Congressional Committee held its annual President's Dinner, featuring President George W. Bush. The evening, which raised more than $8 million for House Republican candidates, paid tribute to the more than 50 GOP members of congress who've served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
The event featured a video tribute to these men and women titled, "The Journey from Fate to Freedom." Read More......

The World in 2009

Townhall.com, February 28, 2008 - by Victor Davis Hansen

When President George Bush leaves office, will America once again be liked by most of the world? Not necessarily, since most current problems are either already getting better or not our fault.

When the next president takes office in January 2009, he or she will be confronted by a world that either understandably appreciates America or for self-interested reasons will challenge it.

On the positive side, the new president will see a Middle East without the Taliban in charge in Afghanistan or Saddam Hussein ruling Iraq. A stabilizing constitutional Iraq should result in a steadily diminishing American presence there.

In Europe, the French under Nicolas Sarkozy and the Germans under Angela Merkel will remain pro-American. But they will also expect continued American leadership. Both may talk grandly of the Atlantic Alliance, but in real terms they do little to help us in Afghanistan or elsewhere.

Most of Africa likewise is already friendly to the United States. And why not? President Bush extended more humanitarian aid to combat African hunger and disease than any president in our history.

But what of our enemies? Won't adversaries back off when the Christian cowboy George Bush rides back to Texas -- and we have a kinder, gentler commander-in-chief who offers hope, or at least change, to the world?

Hardly.

There are plenty of problems that both antedated George Bush and are likely to continue well after he's left office.

For starters, continued...

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Zak salutes Mel Martinez

Mel Martinez, Republican Senator and Hispanic immigrant
Grand Old Partisan, January 24, 2008, Michael Zak wrote,

Grand Old Partisan salutes Senator Melquíades (Mel) Martinez (R-FL). On this day in 2001, Martinez became the first Cuban-American in a presidential cabinet when he became Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the George W. Bush administration. Continued...

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Bush speaks to Middle East

President Bush speaks to the people of the Middle East
The White House, January 13, 2008

Read the gist of President Bush's January 13th speech from Abu Dhabi to the people of the Middle East in the White House Fact Sheet: Fostering Freedom and Justice in the Middle East . Read More......

PATRIOT DAY, 2007

A PROCLAMATION
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

September 11, 2001, was a defining moment in American history. On that terrible day, our Nation saw the face of evil as 19 men barbarously attacked us and wantonly murdered people of many races, nationalities, and creeds. On Patriot Day, we remember the innocent victims, and we pay tribute to the valiant firefighters, police officers, emergency personnel, and ordinary citizens who risked their lives so others might live.

After the attacks on 9/11, America resolved that we would go on the offense against our enemies, and we would not distinguish between the terrorists and those who harbor and support them. All Americans honor the selfless men and women of our Armed Forces, the dedicated members of our public safety, law enforcement, and intelligence communities, and the thousands of others who work hard each day to protect our country, secure our liberty, and prevent future attacks.

The spirit of our people is the source of America's strength, and 6 years ago, Americans came to the aid of neighbors in need. On Patriot Day, we pray for those who died and for their families. We volunteer to help others and demonstrate the continuing compassion of our citizens. On this solemn occasion, we rededicate ourselves to laying the foundation of peace with confidence in our mission and our free way of life.

By a joint resolution approved December 18, 2001 (Public Law 107-89), the Congress has designated September 11 of each year as "Patriot Day."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 11, 2007, as Patriot Day. I call upon the Governors of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff on Patriot Day. I also call upon the people of the United States to observe Patriot Day with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and remembrance services, to display the flag at half-staff from their homes on that day, and to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m. eastern daylight time to honor the innocent Americans and people from around the world who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.

GEORGE W. BUSH
The White House Read More......

The Long View

Advisory thoughts on the 43rd president.
National Review Online, August 31, 2007 - Karl Rove wrote,

The Washington Post scorned President Truman as a “spoilsman” who “underestimated the people’s intelligence.” New York Times columnist James Reston wrote off President Eisenhower as “a tired man in a period of turbulence.” At the end of President Reagan’s second term, the New York Times dismissed him as “simplistic” and a “lazy and inattentive man.”

These harsh judgments, made in the moment, have not weathered well over time. Fortunately, while contemporary observers have a habit of getting presidents wrong, history tends to be more accurate.

So how might history view the 43rd president? I can hardly be considered an objective observer, but in this highly polarized period, who is?

However, I believe history will provide a more clear-eyed verdict on this president’s leadership than the anger of current critics would suggest. Continued...

Read More......

Victims of Communism Memorial

Heritage Foundation: Memorializing the Victims of Communism
Fox News, Monday, June 18, 2007 - By Helle Dale

Joseph Stalin said that the death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions a statistic. What, then, does that make the death of 100 million? Too much for the human mind to handle?

This is the best estimate of the vast number of lives lost to communism, the most seductive, yet deadliest political force the world has known to date. From the Soviet Union and China to North Korea, Cambodia, Africa, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Eastern Europe and Latin America, communism took a great portion of mankind down an immensely destructive path for most the 20th century.

The victims of communism deserve to be remembered as much as the victims of other less fashionable ideologies.Continued...

Helle C. Dale is director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation (heritage.org).

Related article: CCP Condemns Bush's Speech While Chinese Scholars Ponder Its Truths
Human Events, June 11, 2007: Monument to Murder by Cal Thomas

Read More......

Feasting On Famine

INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY, Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Foreign Aid: The U.S. ships $2 billion in food aid each year to poor countries. Does that make us generous? Well, yes, but not exactly to the poor. In one ravenous boondoggle, most of the aid goes to overhead.

President Bush is right to push Congress to reform U.S. aid ahead of this year's Farm Bill. The changes he seeks are few and small, but they'll mean many more people will get fed.

The U.S. is the world's largest food donor, handing out 4 million metric tons, or more than half the world's total. Whenever and wherever there's famine, we help. But as a new Government Accountability Office report shows, we don't do it very efficiently.

Fully 65% of our food aid budget goes to overhead, leaving just 35% to directly help the poor in famine areas. Even the United Nations looks efficient by comparison; it manages to squander "only" 50% of its own food budget on overhead.

Private organizations like Save the Children spend less than 10% on overhead. Congress could write checks to such groups with effective results. If it can't do that, it can at least learn from them. Continued...

Read More......

THE ECONOMY: “Things are Good”

The Corner, April 27, 2007 – [After the Dow's record-breaking 13,000+ close] Larry Kudlow wrote,

[...] If I may, permit me to once again call this what it is—the greatest story never told.

We are in the midst of the longest uninterrupted bull market run in memory. We have record low tax rates on capital, a benign inflation rate, and recent economic releases suggesting the Goldilocks soft landing scenario remains very much in place.

But in the end, it all boils down to two simple things—two stock market locomotives that have created enormous, still untapped, value in equities. Viewers have heard talk about them night after night:

High earnings, low interest rates.

Mark my words, it ain't over yet.

Will George W. Bush ever get any credit for this?

Read More......