Decoding Bush

Following Robert Redford’s approach to understanding presidential parlance.

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Nearly every statement that comes from this administration includes the phrase “The American people.” Every time I hear that phrase I just substitute “industrial interests.”
— Robert Redford in The New York Times Magazine, December 8, 2002.


The presidency does not belong to any one person…. It belongs to the American people.”
— George W. Bush, on inauguration day, January 21, 2001


My budget will fund our priorities, from education to defense to protecting Social Security and Medicare. It will pay down our national debt. And when we have done all that, we will still have some money left over. I strongly believe we should return that money, the leftover money, to you, the American people, in the form of tax relief.
— Bush promoting his trillion-dollar tax cut, February 18, 2001


This is a historic day… We have done right by the American people today.
— Bush, celebrating the passage of his tax cut, May 27, 2001


I oppose blanket amnesty. The American people need to know that. I do believe, though, that when we find willing employer and willing employee, we ought to match the two.
— Bush on illegal immigrants, July 27, 2001


It’s a combination of good conservation and an increase in supplies…. I think most of the American people understand that.
— Bush, on sound energy policy May 11, 2001


I ask Congress to work hard and put a stimulus plan into law to help the American people.
— Bush, on economic recovery, November 09, 2001


The final great priority of my budget is economic security for the American people.
— Bush’s State of the Union, January 30, 2002


As president of the United States, charged with safeguarding the welfare of the American people…I will not commit our nation to an unsound international treaty.
— Bush, dismissing the Kyoto protocol, February 15, 2002


Ronald Reagan believed in the strong character of the American people, even when some on both the left and right were quite skeptical of that character.
— Bush, praising the Gipper, May 17, 2002


The Senate now has one week left to make progress for the American people, and I urge them to seize the opportunity.
— Bush, urging the passage of fast-track trade authority, July 29, 2002


It goes to show that when we put our partisanship aside, when people stop all the yelling and hollering and finger-pointing and say, “How can we help the American people?” we can get a lot done in this town.
— Bush, thanking Congress for his new powers, August 3, 2002


It is landmark in its scope and it ends a session which has seen two years worth of legislative work which has been very productive for the American people.
— Bush, on the passage of the Homeland Security Act and the close of the 107th Congress, November 20, 2002

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“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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