First lady Laura Bush showed off a new gold-rimmed set of official George W. Bush state china on Wednesday, with less than two weeks to use it before the family packs up for Texas.
The $493,000 set was inspired by a few pieces of green basketweave-patterned French china in the White House collection believed to have come from James and Dolley Madison. It was paid for by a privately funded trust of the White House Historical Association, which also purchased a second, less formal set (only $74,000)
Laura Bush said the china has been in the works for several years and the family had hoped to be able to use it, but the process took longer than expected.
Although she did say it had been ordered several years ago when the economy was in a better state than it is today … it still makes no sense … we still had all the flooding and hurricanes going on and people in need …When you add Laura Bush”s china set to the next story on the page, it goes beyond belief.
DETROIT — The Detroit school district is struggling mightily with a significant budget deficit and impending state intervention.
One city school is particularly hard-hit, appealing this week for donations of basic items such as light bulbs, trash bags, paper towel rolls and toilet paper.
Academy of the Americas administrators sent home a letter with students asking parents and others to donate the supplies.
Students say the items are expected to be accepted at the front office starting Monday.
But the request has angered some parents who say it could unfairly burden them during the ongoing economic slump.
One parent at the pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school tells The Detroit News she can’t even donate the items to herself.
While Detroit flounders, the first lady also unveiled a new yellow rug framed with eagles and flower swags in the Family Dining Room and a second rug in the Diplomatic Reception Room featuring a bald eagle framed by a sunburst with emblems from each of the 50 states. That rug has been in the works for three years, said White House Curator Bill Allman.
no mention of the price tag on the rugs…..and if that wasn’t enough…
Four years ago, Hugo Chávez scored one of the more impressive p.r. coups of the new century when he started delivering free heating oil to low-income Americans. Even if it was political opportunism, as conservative critics insisted, it got home fuel to hundreds of thousands of yanquis during the past three winters, when the price was often skyrocketing.
On Monday, however, with world oil prices plunging, the Venezuelan President decided to suspend his large-scale, multiple-state U.S. program in order to tend to financial concerns at home. Then, on Wednesday, at the urging of U.S. politicians whose constituents had come to rely on the oil, Chávez reversed himself and said the heating oil will keep flowing this winter.
I guess I just don’t get it; it’s way beyond my realm of simple thinking.
What’s left is the irony that, for four winters now, hundreds of thousands of Americans have had more reason to thank one the world’s most anti-U.S. leaders than their own President or oil companies.
ironic?? what’s ironic is that Mrs. Bush knew exactly what the state of affairs were in America when she was picking out patterns for the China and the rugs … but I guess it doesn’t really matter now that she’s leaving the White House and will live comfortably off the backs of the taxpayers for the rest of her life.
It doesn’t matter that a two-term President can order new China for the White House, but over a half a million dollars could have helped a lot of people. It’s not like it’s written in a law book anywhere that it had to be bought to leave a legacy of them being in the White House, it’s already in the history books what both the Bush families have done for this country.
What would be wrong with “hold the order”? and put that money to better uses – like toilet paper for the school children, maybe some food or shelter purposes…
…. and if you ask me I think the bailout money should be sent to the hard working people that live under a certain income level, that really are the stimulus of this country. The bread and butter of this country. You know the ones….
…. the ones that don’t have Fine China to eat off of and prefer a nice juicy hamburger to a plate of food that costs 250.00 a plate with roe on it (yum!! fish eggs, how could it get any better? Oh.. I know…. the balls of the people)
…. the ones that break their backs everyday to pay taxes that go for foolish spending only to come home and find out that they’ll eat hamburger tonight and not the steak that he worked hard for.
….the ones that you’ll never see on the front page of a magazine (other than Joe the Plumber who now has a new job…. (Go Joe!! Reporter!!)
JOE the Plumber, the Ohio man who became the Republican Party’s pin-up boy during the presidential election campaign, has a new gig. He’s heading to Israel as a reporter for a conservative website, Pajamas TV.
Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher, 34, told a Toledo, Ohio, television station he plans to spend 10 days covering the fighting in Gaza and explaining why Israeli forces are mounting attacks against Hamas.
He told WNWO-TV he wanted “to go over there and let their ‘Average Joes’ share their story, what they think, how they feel, especially with world opinion, maybe get a real story”.
….the ones losing their houses or working double-time, if they even have a job now.
… the ones that work for a company that’s going under and is worried about losing their job because no one bailed it out. (Check out Hustler magazine, they want some of the money too)
….the ones that think like me about simple thinking … what’s wrong with eBay?? Sarah sold her personally appointed jet on it, and who wouldn’t want one of Laura Bush’s broaches?? hmmm ?? and give the money to the people…
To Laura Bush – maybe you should try eating off of Dixie Bitch. Even though Laura says she’ll never eat off that China before she leaves the House, you know she will… she has to, it’s a legacy of Bush ….. Let’s get Obama and Sarah together – I know, I know, it’s crossing the lines, but someone has to clean up this House of Ours … I was thinking Sarah could bring the broom. She is pretty good at sweeping things under the carpet; like clean water bills and funding for fish hatchery rennovations. Of course, that type of house keeping gets a little lumpy after awhile, so here we are with Michele. Will she grace the house as elegantly and compassionately as Eleanor Roosevelt or will she be just another ornament on a very expensive and lumpy rug?