"With the news of Barbara Bush's passing on Tuesday, lawmakers and officials from around the world shared fond words about the former first lady."
Bush, described as "a relentless proponent of family literacy," died at the age of 92, a spokesman for the family confirmed.
The BBC adds:
She was a fierce advocate of civil rights and went against many of her husband's Republican party supporters with her more liberal view on abortion rights.
In a statement from the White House, President Donald Trump said Mrs Bush would be long remembered for her devotion to country and family, "both of which she served unfailingly well".
Barack and Michelle Obama described her as "the rock of a family dedicated to public service" and as "an example of the humility and decency that reflects the very best of the American spirit".
Another former US president, Bill Clinton, said Mrs Bush was "feisty in support of her family and friends, her country and her causes".
Sources:
(Score: 5, Informative) by takyon on Wednesday April 18 2018, @08:01PM (23 children)
The Professor adds [newsweek.com]:
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 18 2018, @08:42PM
You can't be a "war criminal" unless you lose a war to a democracy.
If you win, obviously you get to decide who is a war criminal. Of course you aren't a war criminal!
If you lose to a non-democracy, you may get killed but you won't be a war criminal. The non-democracy has no need to bother with the designation. If they want you dead, they just kill you.
If you lose to a democracy, then you are a war criminal. It doesn't matter what you did. The democracy wants you dead, generally, but feels a need to justify this. They thus create a farce of a trial, find you guilty, and execute you. The more pacifist/liberal/feminine portion of the population can be partially satisfied that everything was done in some supposedly "legal" and "just" manner. Really, it's just the winner delivering the final necessary blow to the loser, but a democracy requires pageantry.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday April 18 2018, @10:33PM (3 children)
An awful lot of nonsense seems to be written about these sorts of people when they die.
Especially someone like Barbara Bush, a child of wealth, who married into a family of wealth and political influence, and whose only real achievement over her life seem to have been to give birth to the next generation of US rulers.
It does sound odd to me when I hear US media talking about "political dynasties" in admiring tones like that is something to be admired.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 18 2018, @10:51PM
An awful lot of nonsense seems to be written about people when they die.
FTFY.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday April 18 2018, @11:18PM (1 child)
George Washington's experience as he traveled to his inauguration made quite clear that the American people wanted him to be King.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @06:19AM
"If I asked my customers what they wanted, they'd have said a faster horse" --Henry Ford.
George Washington could have said the same thing with "better king" for "faster horse".
(Score: 2, Flamebait) by Runaway1956 on Thursday April 19 2018, @01:42AM (14 children)
That nasty bitch isn't worthy of the respect inferred by the title of "professor". I'm not one to start talking nice about a person, just because they have died. But dancing on the dead person's grave is something that a subhuman does. That "professor" is subhuman, and she has very publicly proclaimed that fact.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:40AM (13 children)
Did you check her whole genome sequence before determining that?
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:47AM (12 children)
No need. One need go no further than her mouth.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday April 19 2018, @03:21AM (11 children)
Some peoples' graves need dancing on. Now, I don't know if Barbara Bush is one of those people, but her sons, plural, most definitely are. She herself seemed to be a decent enough person as far as I can tell.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @08:30AM
The full JFK assassination archives are supposed to be released soon.
We'll see if CIA convinces Trump otherwise.
GHW Bush (Bab's husband), later CIA Director and eventually President, is said to have been in Dealey Plaza November 22, 1963.
Was he sightseeing--or did he have a mission?
All just coincidental?
Will the evidence say otherwise?
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:22PM (8 children)
We can know this intellectually. I knew a small number of people who need to have their graves danced on. Number one on that list, is my own father. Yeah, he deserves it. But, do I deserve debasing myself to perform that act?
If one conducts himself as a subhuman animal, will he not become a subhuman animal?
And, I can see that we can agree that maybe the mother shouldn't be blamed for the sins of her sons, and maybe the sons shouldn't be blamed for the sins of their fathers, etc, ad nauseum. Each of us has our own load of sins to answer for. Barbara doesn't deserve to be judged for the actions of either her husband, or her sons. That is just WRONG.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday April 19 2018, @09:00PM (7 children)
Thanks for *finally* confirming the Daddy issues (issues, hell, you've got a lifetime subscription...). It was obvious from the start, but it helps to hear straight from the horse's a--er, mouth.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday April 19 2018, @09:50PM (6 children)
Don't get started. You've done well recently, don't revert.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday April 20 2018, @04:03AM (5 children)
Eat shit. If I've "done well" by your metric, it means in the eyes of sane, normal, decent people I've been backsliding. You're a sad sack, someone who can't even psychopath properly but wants to run with the rabid dogs and fails.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Friday April 20 2018, @01:55PM (4 children)
Oh, girl - you're off your meds again. Are we going to do this stupid shit again? As distasteful as it is, I can do it. Just wait right there, and I'll make you a shit sammich.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday April 20 2018, @02:37PM (3 children)
Nah, just have another Troll mod. I take no "meds" aside from some vitamins. You, on the other hand, could do with some strong tetracyclics...
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Friday April 20 2018, @02:46PM (2 children)
So, you're saying that you want/need to be trolled endlessly again. Got it.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday April 20 2018, @05:43PM (1 child)
You're a glutton for punishment, ain't'cha? Keep responding with trollish bullshit, and I'll keep downmodding. You're going to end up with negative karma if you keep it up.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Saturday April 21 2018, @12:18AM
Troll . . .
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday April 21 2018, @02:39PM
Looks like our President will not be doing any dancing:
Barbara Bush funeral: Donald Trump not attending 'out of respect' [bbc.com]
However, Melania will be there. Maybe she will send a marriage-relateed SOS.
What Melania Trump Can Learn From Barbara Bush [politico.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 5, Touché) by TheGratefulNet on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:48AM (2 children)
I'm also not one to speak glowingly of someone JUST because they died.
she was horrible, her husband and whole family are evil and I wish them nothing but badness in their life.
they fucked over a LOT of people and they DESERVE lots of pain and suffering in their lives.
look, evil people die, and when they die they don't deserve honor or respect. if they were horrible during life, lets rejoice that the world is better with one less evil person in it.
fuck the bush family. rich fuckers who destroyed a lot of good in the world.
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @08:39AM (1 child)
Well, GHW Bush did call Reagan's shit "Voodoo economics".
I'll give him a point for that.
Of course, Daddy Bush did reverse his azimuth when he got the top gig.
...and I wonder if you know about Prescott Bush (GHW's daddy and Dubya's granddaddy) and his profiteering by financing the Nazis.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday April 19 2018, @09:01PM
I know aaaallllllll about Prescott Bush. Three generations of raw sociopathic evil, starting with him. I can't wait for Bush I and II to bite it and go join Grandpa Prescott in a hot place...
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 18 2018, @08:20PM (2 children)
When Bush Sr. took office the joke was something like, "After taking office, one of President Bush's first executive orders was to have his wife's face put on the $1 bill."
Came back when Bush Jr. took office, s/wife/mother/;
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 18 2018, @08:59PM
That's offensive to former President Washington.
(Score: 2) by SpockLogic on Thursday April 19 2018, @11:54AM
My mother told me it was impolite to say bad things about someone who had just passed away. "Say only good", she reminded me. With that in mind here goes.
She's dead, good.
Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 18 2018, @08:38PM (3 children)
"She was over-privileged, so this is working out well for her."
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 18 2018, @08:47PM (2 children)
Many of her remarks suggested dog-whistle racism.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 18 2018, @08:57PM (1 child)
It wasn't racism if the dog-whistle was used on everybody, now was it? :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @12:54PM
I think you mean "it wasn't dog-whistle if everyone could hear it".
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Wednesday April 18 2018, @09:08PM (10 children)
Politically, I have little if anything to agree with any of the Bushes about anything. I think they're the sort of people that could and did kill thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of people outside of the US for personal financial gain, and that doesn't make you my friend. Barbara Bush obviously wasn't as involved in the family business as Prescott, George, George, and Jeb, but she certainly fit in well with them.
On a personal level, though, I know the Bushes were friendly enough with my great-grandmother, a fixture of high-society Washington DC from the 1920's until the 1980's at least, to socialize with her and write back and forth. I would have enjoyed the chance to at least get any stories and anecdotes Barbara Bush might have had.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday April 18 2018, @09:41PM (9 children)
Politicians, especially the modern GOP, are masters of compartmentalization. They see nothing incongruous about doting over their pets but dropping white phosphorous on (the wrong set of...) little brown kids overseas. I think most people are like this to some extent, but especially politicians. It's entirely possible for a sociopath to be friendly and charming on the surface, and indeed this is one of the diagnostic traits.
That said, Barbara Bush was not responsible for the evils her husband and son perpetrated. Those two are going to share a double-wide lava crater in hell.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 5, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday April 18 2018, @10:05PM
Psychology Today's take [psychologytoday.com].
If you hurt an innocent person but consider yourself to be a good person your mind will have to find some way to resolve the conflict between your evil act and your heavenly self-image.
The way that's commonly resolve is to conclude that the innocent you hurt was not really innocent and that they deserved your cruelty.
This is why homelessness is often criminalized in places where everyone is a church-going citizen.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday April 18 2018, @11:03PM (1 child)
But Babs? At least she had that killer put-down for Palin when she said she was running for president.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @08:57AM
Well, don't leave 'em hanging.
On Larry King Live, the former first lady said, "I sat next to her once. Thought she was beautiful. And she's very happy in Alaska", Bush said, chuckling. "I hope she'll stay there."
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday April 19 2018, @12:18AM (5 children)
To say that she was not responsible for her husband's evil is technically correct. She did, however, find him socially acceptable enough to marry.
To say that she was not responsible for her son's evil is a lot more questionable. She did, after all, raise him in the way that she thought appropriate. I'll agree this doesn't make her wholly responsible, in and of itself. But it sure raises questions of "What values did she try to teach while raising him?".
I will not shed any tears over her death. She may, however, have been past the point where she was doing people active harm, or supporting such, so cheering also seems inappropriate. It's too bad she didn't die a few decade earlier, though. Say eight. Over her lifetime I think it's fairly clear that she has been a net social detriment, and didn't even try very hard to be a positive influence. Of course, I'm just judging by public facts that I happened to encounter, so don't take this too seriously.
Please note, I don't need to agree with people about what will be a net public benefit to accept that they are trying to be a public benefit. When I say "She didn't appear to try to be a net public benefit" I mean that judging her by her apparent beliefs, neither her goals nor her actions were attempts to benefit the public.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday April 19 2018, @12:23AM (2 children)
I still didn't say it quite right. Let me try again:
When I say "She didn't appear to try to be a net public benefit" I mean that judging her by her apparent beliefs, neither her goals nor her actions were attempts to benefit the public as she saw public benefit.
Let me contrast this to Hillary Clinton, who is, admittedly, a corrupt politician. But in many ways she attempts to do things that she sees as public benefit. Perhaps it's only to win political points, but still she does them. Many times I doubt that any public benefit would actually materialize, but that's not my point.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Magic Oddball on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:03AM (1 child)
'Appeared to be' based on what, though? While her husband was in office, she dedicated a surprising amount of time/effort to researching and promoting literacy (particularly adult literacy) as well as its role in homelessness and poverty. It's about as much as any recent First Lady has done, realistically speaking.
Try reading old interviews with her or quotes from them sometime; you'd probably be very surprised at a lot of the attitudes she said.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday April 19 2018, @06:48PM
The typical political office of the first lady is to act socially in ways that decrease criticism on her husband. So while those are laudable actions, they can't be taken at face value unless she continued them after he left office. If this is so, which I haven't heard asserted, then I should rethink my position, and possibly even apologize. (I'm a bit dubious about that though. There's still the family to explain. OTOH, perhaps she didn't know what kind of man she was marrying, and had strong beliefs against divorce, and made innocent mistakes in bringing up her son, and... )
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by jelizondo on Thursday April 19 2018, @01:49AM (1 child)
Hold your horses buddy! My mom (may she rest in peace) tried to raise a God-fearing son and instead got an atheist engineer. Indeed I went to church until I was about 15, at which time somehow or other I found Russell’s "Why I Am Not a Christian" and turned against what she and my father (and most family) believed.
I don’t think Mrs. Bush is responsible for whatever her son did or for that matter, her husband. I wish I was a believer to say that she (and her husband and son) will be judged, but I know History will not be kind to them, so it’s as much comfort as I can get.
May she rest in peace and may Americans learn to distrust rich guys looking out for other rich guys.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday April 19 2018, @06:42PM
And that's why I don't hold her wholly responsible, and why I tempered the criticism to "is a lot more questionable".
Statistically people grow up to treat other people the way their parents have taught them is appropriate. But this is not inevitable. So she may not be a vile as her son causes her to appear. But that's the way to bet.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Thursday April 19 2018, @01:07AM
My friend had two leathery old Igunanas who were ugly as fuck. One of them was named Barbara Bush, a true ugliness worthy of the surname "Bush."