It was movie night last Wednesday at the White House, where President Bush and first lady Laura Bush invited friends to a screening of "Voyage to Kure," a documentary by Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of Jacques Cousteau, about the Pacific Northwest Hawaiian Islands, called one of the nation's greatest and largely unknown national treasures.
And why did the president choose this documentary over, say, a screening of "Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector" or "The Shaggy Dog"?
The White House reminds us that Bush is in the process of proposing a maritime sanctuary for what happens to be the most remote archipelago in the world. The islands stretch for more than 1,000 miles; have significant archaeological, cultural, economic and historic significance; and are home to more than 7,000 species, a quarter of which are found nowhere else on earth.
TO YOUR HEALTH
The crowd was toasting health the other night at Bistro Bis in the Hotel George, gathered for the launch of Health Care America, which is dedicated to promoting consumer choice in health care.
Advisory board members of the advocacy group include President Bush's former Health and Human Services Secretary, Tommy G. Thompson, and former Bush communications deputy Tucker Eskew.
TWO TO GO
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has signed Legislative Bill 454 into law, allowing law-abiding citizens of his state the right to carry a concealed firearm for self-protection.
In neighboring Kansas, meanwhile, legislators two weeks ago overrode Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' veto to bring the "right-to-carry" concealed arms to that state as well.
Now, according to the National Rifle Association, of all the 50 states, only Wisconsin and Illinois flatly refuse to recognize the right of law-abiding citizens to carry concealed firearms for protection against attacks.