Harriet Ellan Miers (born August 10, 1945) is a nominee for Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. She is the current White House Counsel in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. As White House Counsel Miers manages the daily operations of the White House staff and participates in economic, foreign, and domestic policy development. She replaced Alberto Gonzales who was appointed Attorney General. Miers was previously Bush's Deputy Chief of Staff. If confirmed to the Supreme Court position, she would replace retiring Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and become the third woman to serve on the court.
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SMU alumni have found success in all fields. Some famous SMU graduates are (The wife of a chief executive) First Lady (Click link for more info and facts about Laura Bush) Laura Bush, actress (Click link for more info and facts about Kathy Bates) Kathy Bates, actress Patricia Richardson, (An annual award for outstanding contributions to chemistry or physics or physiology and medicine or literature or economics or peace) Nobel Prize-winning physicist (Click link for more info and facts about James Cronin) James Cronin, senator (Click link for more info and facts about John Tower) John Tower, golfer (Click link for more info and facts about Payne Stewart) Payne Stewart, (Click link for more info and facts about Heisman Trophy) Heisman Trophy winner (Click link for more info and facts about Doak Walker) Doak Walker, TV and film producer (Click link for more info and facts about Aaron Spelling) Aaron Spelling, journalist Craig Flournoy and playwright (Click link for more info and facts about Beth Henley) Beth Henley (both recipients of the (Click link for more info and facts about Pulitzer Prize) Pulitzer Prize in their fields), (Click link for more info and facts about TLC Network) TLC Network personality (Click link for more info and facts about Paige Davis) Paige Davis, White House Counsel (Click link for more info and facts about Harriet Miers) Harriet Miers, former (Click link for more info and facts about Dallas Cowboys) Dallas Cowboys (The position of the football player in the backfield who directs the offensive play of his team) quarterback and (Click link for more info and facts about Monday Night Football) Monday Night Football commentator (Click link for more info and facts about Don Meredith) Don Meredith and computing pioneer (Click link for more info and facts about Robert Dennard) Robert Dennard.
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Harriet Miers
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Harriet Ellan Miers is the (Click link for more info and facts about White House Counsel) White House Counsel in the Presidential Administration of (Click link for more info and facts about U.S. President) U.S. President (43rd President of the United States; son of George Herbert Walker Bush (born in 1946)) George W. Bush, replacing (Click link for more info and facts about Alberto Gonzales) Alberto Gonzales who was appointed (The position of the head of the Justice Department and the chief law enforcement officer of the United States) Attorney General. She was previously Bush's Deputy (The senior officer of a service of the armed forces) Chief of Staff.
Miers, a (The second largest state; located in southwestern United States on the Gulf of Mexico) Texas native studied at (Click link for more info and facts about Southern Methodist University) Southern Methodist University, where she earned undergraduate and law degrees. She was George W. Bush's personal lawyer. In 1985, she became the first female president of the (A large commercial and industrial city in northeastern Texas located in the heart of the northern Texas oil fields) Dallas Bar Association and in 1992 became the first woman to head the Texas State Bar. She has also sat as an at-large member on the Dallas city council.
During George Bush's term as (Click link for more info and facts about Governor of Texas) Governor of Texas, Miers chaired the Texas Lottery Commission (1995-2000) and then followed Bush to (Click link for more info and facts about Washington, DC) Washington, DC, serving as his staff secretary during the first two years of his presidential term. In 2003, she rose to the post of Deputy Chief of Staff and is said to be a close personal friend of the president. In November 2004, Bush named her to succeed Alberto Gonzales, his nominee for Attorney General, to the post of White House Counsel, the chief legal advisor for the (Click link for more info and facts about Office of the President) Office of the President.
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Laura Bush
[Categories: People from Texas, Librarians, 1946 births, Bush family, U.S. First Ladies]
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Laura Welch Bush (born Laura Lane Welch on November 4, 1946) is the wife of (The chief executive of a republic) President (43rd President of the United States; son of George Herbert Walker Bush (born in 1946)) George W. Bush and serves as (The wife of a chief executive) First Lady of the (North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776) United States.
Early Life
Laura Lane Welch was born in (The interior part of a country) Midland, (The second largest state; located in southwestern United States on the Gulf of Mexico) Texas, the only child of Harold Bruce Welch (1912-1995) and Jenna Louise Hawkins (1919-). (*) Laura grew up in (The interior part of a country) Midland, and she attended the same high school as (Click link for more info and facts about Tommy Franks) Tommy Franks, where she was a popular student.
Perhaps the most significant event in her early life occured in the early 1960s, and involved the tragic death of her then boyfriend in a car crash. On November 6, 1963, Ms. Welch failed to stop the (4-wheeled motor vehicle; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine) automobile she was driving at a (Click link for more info and facts about stop sign) stop sign and struck and killed her former boyfriend Michael Douglas. She and her passenger, Judy Dykes, were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital. Ms. Welch was not charged. (*)
In recent press interviews she has said that: "All I can say about that (is) it was a very, very, tragic accident I was involved in when I was 17 years old, almost 40-something years ago. It was a terrible accident. It was terrible for everyone involved," ... "I know this as an adult, and even more as a parent, it was crushing... for the family involved and for me as well," she said. (*)
College Years and Marriage
Ms. Welch earned a (A bachelor's degree in science) Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1968 from (Click link for more info and facts about Southern Methodist University) Southern Methodist University in (A large commercial and industrial city in northeastern Texas located in the heart of the northern Texas oil fields) Dallas. After graduating, she became a schoolteacher at Longfellow Elementary School in Dallas Independent School District until 1969. She then taught at John F. Kennedy Elementary School, a (Click link for more info and facts about Houston Independent School District) Houston Independent School District school in (The largest city in Texas; located in southeastern Texas near the Gulf of Mexico; site of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Houston, until 1972.
Bush also earned a (Click link for more info and facts about Master of Science degree) Master of Science degree in (The study of the principles and practices of library administration) Library Science in 1973 from the (Click link for more info and facts about University Texas) University Texas in (State capital of Texas on the Colorado River; site of the University of Texas) Austin. After that, she worked at the Kashmere Gardens Branch at the Houston Public Library until 1974, when she moved back to Austin. She was a librarian at an Austin Independent School District school, Dawson Elementary School, until 1977.
She met (43rd President of the United States; son of George Herbert Walker Bush (born in 1946)) George W. Bush in 1977 and after a three month courtship married him on November 5 of that year. In 1981, she gave birth to twin daughters, (Click link for more info and facts about Barbara and Jenna) Barbara and Jenna, who have now graduated from college.
First Lady of Texas & the United States
Laura became the first lady of Texas when her husband George was elected as the (Click link for more info and facts about Governor of Texas) Governor of Texas and served as first lady of that state from 1995 to 2000. After the outcome of the (Click link for more info and facts about 2000 Presidential Election) 2000 Presidential Election was finally resolved in December 2000, George Bush resigned as Texas Governor to prepare for his inauguration as (The person who holds the office of head of state of the United States government) President of the United States in January 2001; Laura then became the First Lady of the United States. As First Lady of the United States, she has championed education causes and women's health issues, and launched the first National Book Festival. She also worked for women's and children's causes while she was the First Lady of Texas, when she established the Adopt-a-Caseworker Program and the Rainbow Room program. Bush has taken a decidedly less prominent role in policy-making than her predecessors.Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, which defined her husband's presidency during his first term, Mrs. Bush took an interest in mitigating the emotional effects of the attacks on children, which were disturbing particularly as the images were repeatedly replayed on TV. Many schools closed early, especially those with children whose parents worked in (Click link for more info and facts about Washington, D.C.) Washington, D.C. or (The largest city in New York State and in the United States; located in southeastern New York at the mouth of the Hudson river; a major financial and cultural center) New York City. The following day, after consulting with many experts, Bush commented to parents that it was not good for children to be exposed to the numerous replays of the incidents, (*) and that parents should consider turning off the television, especially understanding how children reacted when watching television coverage of the (Click link for more info and facts about Oklahoma City bombing) Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. She also composed open letters which were distributed by state education officials. A "Dear Students" letter went to middle and high school students (*), while elementary school students got one saying, "Dear Children." (*)
In November 2001, she became the first person other than a president to deliver the weekly presidential radio address. She used the opportunity to discuss the plight of women in (A mountainous landlocked country in central Asia; bordered by Iran to the west and Russia to the north and Pakistan to the east and south) Afghanistan during the (Click link for more info and facts about U.S. invasion of Afghanistan) U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. In May 2002, she made a speech to the people of (A mountainous landlocked country in central Asia; bordered by Iran to the west and Russia to the north and Pakistan to the east and south) Afghanistan through (Click link for more info and facts about Radio Liberty) Radio Liberty, a radio station in (The capital and largest city of the Czech Republic in the western part of the countryi; a cultural and commercial center since the 14th century) Prague, (A landlocked republic in central Europe; separated from Slovakia in 1993) Czech Republic.
Her (The United States intelligence agency that protects current and former presidents and vice presidents and their immediate families and protects distinguished foreign visitors; detects and apprehends counterfeiters; suppresses forgery of government securit) Secret Service (Click link for more info and facts about codename) codename was reported to be "Tempo" (the Secret Service changes codenames as soon as they become public knowledge).
In April 2005, Mrs. Bush joked about her husband at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, D.C. She called Bush "Mr. Excitement" and said she told him that if he wanted to "end tyranny in the world" he would have to stay up later. She even used the old joke that he "tried to milk a horse ... and it was a male horse."
HOME PAGE FIRST LADY: http://www.whitehouse.gov/firstlady/
First Lady
[Categories: spouses of famous or influential people, Women]
A First Lady is the female spouse of an elected male head of state such as a (The chief executive of a republic) President, (The person who holds the position of head of state in England) Prime Minister, (The person who is head of state (in several countries)) Premier or (The head of a state government) Governor.
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Miers was born in Dallas, Texas. She attended Southern Methodist University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics (1967) and a law degree (1970). Miers clerked for Belli, Ashe, Ellison, Choulos & Lieff in 1969, and for U.S. District Judge Joe E. Estes from 1970 to 1972. She has worked in private practice for Locke, Purnell, Raine & Harrell from 1972 until 1999, eventually becoming company President, and was George W. Bush's personal lawyer. In 1985, she became the first female president of the Dallas Bar Association and in 1992 became the first woman to head the Texas State Bar. She was also elected to one term as an at-large member on the Dallas City Council. Miers also has an honorary degree from Pepperdine University.
In 1993, when the American Bar Association opted to take a stance in favor of abortion rights, Miers fought to have the members of the ABA take a full vote on the issue. "If we were going to take a position on this divisive issue, the members should have been able to vote." Miers said in 1992 that she felt Supreme Court nominees should not be asked how they would rule on abortion. [4]
Miers is a former board member of Exodus Ministries. This is not the ex-gay ministry Exodus International, but “a non-denominational Christian organization established to assist ex-offenders and their families become productive members of society by meeting both their spiritual and physical needs.” [5]
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Texas and federal government service
During George W. Bush's term as Governor of Texas, Miers chaired the Texas Lottery Commission (1995-2000) and then followed Bush to Washington, DC, serving as Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary during the first two years of his presidential term. In 2003, she rose to the post of Deputy Chief of Staff and is said to be a close personal friend of the president. In November 2004, Bush named her to succeed Alberto Gonzales, his nominee for Attorney General, to the post of White House Counsel, the chief legal advisor for the Office of the President.
According to Salon Magazine on Oct. 3, 2005, Miers has called President Bush "the most brilliant man I have ever met." This is a biased opinion.
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Supreme Court nomination
On October 3, 2005, Miers was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Nomination Concerns
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Qualifications
Critics of the Miers nomination point to the fact that she has never been a judge and never once argued a case before the Supreme Court. Responding to charges of crony
