George W. Bush's White House Tee Ball Initiative

George W. Bush

Pol Light Moment #33 is when George W. Bush started the White House Tee Ball Initiative in 2001. George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States, serving from 2001-2009. After Bush became President in 2001, he had a baseball diamond built on the White House Lawn and it was used to host Tee Ball games at the White House.

Teams were chosen to play at the White House by the Little League Association of America.  Wikipedia describes the White House Tee Ball Initiative this way:

In 2001, U.S. President Bush initiated what he described as the White House Tee Ball Initiative. The purpose was to promote interest in childhood sports, including baseball and softball. According to the White House, the Tee Ball Initiative promoted "a spirit of teamwork and service for America's youth." (Source).

There is an archives of the Presidential website  the way it appeared in 2008 that shows some of the tee ball events. The following video recognizes some of the teams who played at the White House during the George W. Bush presidency.

You can see a photo of a young George W. Bush in his Little League uniform at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.   
George W. Bush has been featured on other Pol Light posts. To view all George W. Bush posts search with George W. Bush label at Pol Light.

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.
The photo of George W. Bush is in the Creative Commons of Wikipedia. It was taken by by Shawn Clark of Lazyeights Photography.

Barbara Bush' Post-Mortem on 2012 Election

Barbara Bush

Pol Light Moment #32 occurred on November 15, 2012, when Barbara Bush graciously encouraged people to move on, even if like her they didn't vote for President Barack Obama to have a second term. Barbara Bush served as First Lady from 1989-1993, when her husband George H.W. Bush was President of the United States. Prior to that she was the Second Lady of the United States from 1981-1989. She is also the mother of former President George W. Bush.

Barbara Bush, who had endorsed Barack Obama's opponent in the 2012 Presidential election, made her Pol Light post-mortem on the election while serving on a panel for the Enduring Legacies of America's First Ladies conference at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library. While at the conference Barbara Bush said, "People spoke. Move on, get on with it. I want to do other things and not to be ugly (Reuters, November 15, 2012)." Wise words from a former First Lady.

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

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The photo of Barbara Bush is in the Public Domain.

Rosalyn Carter Institute for Caregiving

Rosalyn Carter

Pol Light Moment #31 is when the Rosalyn Carter Institute for Caregiving was started in 1987.  Rosalyn Carter served as First Lady of the United States from 1977-1981, when her husband Jimmy Carter was President. Rosalyn Carter has been an advocate for people who are caregivers of others and the formation of the Rosalyn Carter Institute for Caregiving at her alma mater seemed like a very good fit.

According to Wikipedia's article on Rosalyn Carter,

Carter is president of the board of directors for the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) at Georgia Southwestern State University, her alma mater in Americus, Georgia. The RCI, which was established in 1987, aims to address issues related to caregiving in America and internationally. The institute focuses its work on both family and professional caregivers for individuals living with chronic illness and disabilities, limitations related to aging, and other health concerns across the lifespan. It plays a major role in moving science into practice for caregivers by supporting the implementation of evidence-based programs and interventions for caregivers in community settings (Source/Retrieved 11/22/2012).

Rosalyn Carter provides a message on the Rosalyn Carter Institute for Caregiving website. She said that over 66 million people are serving as caregivers from someone in need and that her motivation for this cause comes from her personal experience of having to be a caregiver at various stages of her life (Source).

Here is a video of some of the work of the Rosalyn Carter Institute for Caregiving's work.

Rosalyn Carter said this in an interview about caregiving, "What we’ve learned at the Rosalynn Carter Institute is if you don’t learn to care for yourself, then you’re not going to be able to be the best caregiver that you can be for the one who is ill. That was the book I wrote, Helping Yourself Help Others (Source)."

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

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The photo of Rosalyn Carter is in the Public Domain.

Clifton Truman Daniel Visits Japan

Pol Light Moment #30 is when Clifton Truman Daniel visited the Hiroshima Memorial in Japan on August 4, 2012.  Clifton Truman Daniel is the Grandson of the 33rd U.S. President Harry Truman (1884-1972). Harry Truman ordered the nuclear bomb to be unleashed on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, a decision which killed 140,000 people. A subsequent bomb on Nagaski killed 70,000 people.

Clifton Truman Daniel's visit to Hiroshima and Nagaski was the first by a Truman family member. In his visit to Japan, Clifton Truman Daniel laid a wreath at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in memory of the 140,000 that perished there. Clifton Truman Daniel said as he laid the wreath, "I think this centaph says it all -- to honor the dead to not forget and to make sure that we never let this happen again (Source)."

In his quest for reconciliation through this trip, Daniel had the opportunity to visit with surviving relatives of some of the victims.  Masahiro Sasaki is a surviving brother of a 12 year old boy named Sadako who died of Leukemia after the bomb and left a legacy for how he handled his suffering. Sasaki said,

I hope we can bring a true reconciliation to atomic bombing survivors, many of them still caught in animosity toward the United States, as well as other survivors of war and their families, and help instill a strong sense of peace among young people (Source).

For more information on Clifton Daniel Truman's visit to Japan read the Huffington Post article.

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

Gaylord Nelson Founds Earth Day

Gaylord Nelson

Pol Light Moment #29 occurred on April 22, 1970, when Senator Gaylord Nelson founded the first Earth Day. Gaylord Nelson served as the 35th Governor of Wisconsin from 1959-1963.  He then served as a United States Senator for Wisconsin from 1963-1981.

Gaylord Nelson was influenced to start Earth Day by a huge oil spill in 1969 near Santa Barbara, California (See http://www.examiner.com/article/1969-santa-barbara-oil-spill-from-crisis-to-change).  Gaylord Nelson viewed Earth Day as a teach-in on the enviornment. He said this about his reason for starting Earth Day and his optimism for it's impact.

I am convinced that all we need to do to bring an overwhelming insistence of the new generation that we stem the tide of environmental disaster is to present the facts clearly and dramatically. To marshal such an effort, I am proposing a national teach-in on the crisis of the environment to be held next spring on every university campus across the Nation. The crisis is so imminent, in my opinion, that every university should set aside 1 day in the school year-the same day across the Nation-for the teach-in (Source-Congressional Record, Vol 115, No 164, October 8, 1969).

The first Earth Day in 1970 had over 20 million participants. It has continued on April 22 of each year for over 40 years. The observance is now an international effort that has over 500 million participants. For more information on Earth Day visit http://nelsonearthday.net/nelson/index.htm. You can also visit the Wikipedia page for Earth Day. Gaylord Nelson who was born in 1916 lived until 2005 and was able to see the continued growth of Earth Day through the years.

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

The photo of Gaylord Nelson is in the Public Domain and is on Wikipedia.

Eleanor Roosevelt Offers to Help Harry Truman

Pol Light Moment #28 occurred on April 12, 1945, when Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) offered to help President Harry Truman after she told him that her husband, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, had died. Eleanor Roosevelt was First Lady of the United States from 1933-1945. She served longer than any other First Lady in the history of the United States. Harry Truman was the 33rd President of the United States, serving from 1945-1953.

Harry Truman was asked to come to the White House in the evening of April 12, 1945, after Franklin Roosevelt passed away.  Upon arriving at the White House, Truman was sent to Eleanor Roosevelt's study on the second floor of the White House to receive the news from President Roosevelt's widow.  

Eleanor Roosevelt put her arm across Harry Truman's shoulders and said, "Harry, the President is dead."

Harry then asked Mrs. Roosevelt, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Although she had just lost her husband, Eleanor Roosevelt replied back to Harry Truman, "Is there anything we can do for you? For you are the one in trouble now (New York Times On this Day Obituary)."

Harry Truman has been featured on other Pol Light posts. To view all Harry Truman posts search with Harry Truman label at Pol Light. Also, Harry Truman's grand son was featured in the Pol Light post Clifton Truman Daniel Visits Japan.

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

The photo of Eleanor Roosevelt is in the Public Domain.

George Washington's Order Against Profanity

Pol Light Moment #27 was George Washington's General Orders On Profanity.  George Washington (1732-1799) was the First President of the United States, serving from 1789-1797. Prior to serving as President he was a military leader when the United States was struggling for it's freedom as a nation.

In 1775 Washington was elected Commander in Chief of the Continental Army for what is known as the Revolutionary War. Washington was concerned about the profane language used by the Continental Army and how that would impact the war efforts. On August 3, 1776, George Washington issued the following General Orders to his officers from his headquarters in New York.

The General is sorry to be informed that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing, a vice hitherto little known in our American Army is growing into fashion. He hopes that the officers will, by example as well as influence, endeavor to check it and that both they and the men will reflect that we can little hope of the blessing of Heaven on our army if we insult it by our impiety and folly. Added to this it is a vice so mean and low without any temptation that every man of sense and character detests and despises it.

(Signed,) George Washington (Source)

George Washington has been featured in other Pol Light moments and can be found by searching this blog with the George Washington Label.

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

The photo of George Washington in this post is in the Public Domain and was obtained on Wikipedia.