The AP reports the death of a former White House butler, Eugene Allen, at the age of 90.
"Mr. Allen and his wife, Helene, were profiled in a Washington Post story in 2008 that explored the history of blacks in the White House. The couple were excited about the possibility of Barack Obama's historic election and their opportunity to vote for him. Helene, however, died on the eve of the election, and Mr. Allen went to vote alone. The couple had been married for 65 years."
How heart breaking that his wife died the night before the election. But at least he got to carry on for her.
Choi and Pietrangelo have been arrested. [...] The crowd is applauding them. [...]
After delivering remarks, Dan and Capt. Pietrangelo handcuffed themselves to the fence in front of the White House. [...] Handcuffed to the fence in front of Barack Obama's White House to protest the President's failure to deliver on his promise to end DADT.
This isn't exactly the kind of publicity President Obama wants. The gay community is already ticked off that things have moved much more slowly than they anticipated to end Don't Ask Don't Tell.
It's a ridiculous policy, and it's on its way out, but not quickly enough for many, many people.
The argument is that the administration has its hands full with other major issues. This is true. Nonetheless, there has been a backlash, and this is part of it.
UPDATE: Video has been added, and blog title changed to reflect that.
Liveblogging:
Look forward rather than backward. ... Gates and I have different perspectives, but most must be addressed for a constructive outcome. This was done to move the whole country beyond this, use this as basis of meaningful discussions in the future...
We've planned a meeting. Prof. and I will have a phone call to lay groundwork.
Meeting at a bar for a beer would send the wrong message.
I'd like to listen to Prof. Gates' perspective... he has a willingness to listen to mine as a police officer... the difficult jobs we do every day. He was very receptive to that.
We agreed to move forward. We had two gentlemen agree to disagree on this issue. We didn't dwell on the past, concentrated on the future.
We had encountered each other on individual tours of the WH, we introduced our families, moved along as a group. It was very cordial.
It was a private, frank discussion. No specifics.
Pres. contributed in small part, but he wanted to bring us together, it's become a national issue.
Teachable moment? I've learned that media can find you no matter where you live. That's the responsibility of Prof. Gates and I in the future meeting.
The VP is a great man, nice... nice to the children as well.
I'm not really sure this is really happening. I need time to reflect in the coming weeks.
There was no tension. It was business, but we discussed as two gentlemen instead of fighting it out, very productive.
UPDATE: Chris Matthews take? "A star is born." "Is he suave or what?" And then he compared him to Susan Boyle.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- The Washington D.C. fire department, police department and Secret Service are at the scene of a suspicious package on the North Lawn of the White House, a Secret Service official tells BNO News.
He said some members of the media have been evacuated.
I'm still playing catch-up, so allow me to put up a pointless, silly little Quickie:
I was reading the news crawl rolling by just before MSNBC cut away to a commercial. Along came a little something about the Obama "White Hose..." So many bad one-liners come to mind, and I'm struggling to censor myself in the worst way.
That was today's Quickie. Will you still respect me in the morning?
One less hard battle, but I'm sure it will come up again soon. Didn't happen soon enough to save Arlen Specter though.
With the "card check" legislationnow dead for this Congress, First Read notes the White House "appears to be happy (but very quietly so) to have this debate out of the way. No doubt they were for it. But it was always more of a Biden cause than a Barack cause. At this point in time, with everything else on their plate, sticking a finger in business' eye wasn't something the White House was looking forward to. Would Obama have signed it? Yes. But he doesn't have to worry about it now, at least maybe not until 2011."
WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have announced plans for their first White House Easter egg roll.
The event will be held Monday, April 13 on the South Lawn. The theme will be "Let's go play," the White House said Monday, and this year's egg roll will encourage young people "to lead healthy and active lives." The ticketed event is open to children aged 10 and younger along with their families, and will also include sports, cooking classes, live musical performances, and storytelling.
For the first time, tickets will be made available online, and will no longer be distributed at the Ellipse near the White House during the weekend prior to April 13. More information is available at www.whitehouse.gov/eastereggroll.
This has been rumoured for a while, so it's pretty cool that it's really going to happen.
WASHINGTON — On Friday, Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of White House lawn to plant a vegetable garden, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II. There will be no beets (the president doesn’t like them) but arugula will make the cut.
While the organic garden will provide food for the first family’s meals and formal dinners, its most important role, Mrs. Obama said, will be to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at time when obesity has become a national concern.
In an interview in her office, Mrs. Obama said, “My hope is that through children, they will begin to educate their families and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities.”
Twenty-three fifth graders from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington will help her dig up the soil for the 1,100-square-foot plot in a spot visible to passers-by on E Street. (It’s just below the Obama girls’ swing set.) Students from the school, which has had a garden since 2001, will also help plant, harvest and cook the vegetables, berries and herbs.
Almost the entire Obama family, including the president, will pull weeds, “whether they like it or not,” Mrs. Obama said laughing. “Now Grandma, my mom, I don’t know.” Her mother, she said, would probably sit back and say: “Isn’t that lovely. You missed a spot.”
Helluva lot better than the Churchill one. You'd think with all their "America Firstiness" the wingnuts would be happy he replaced a British hero with an American one...
Well, here's another way President Obama has put his historic stamp on the presidency. With no fanfare or media attention, President Obama last month added a new decoration to the Oval Office: a 12 5/8" bronze bust of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
(snip)
When the Smithsonian lent the bust to the President Bill Clinton's White House in 2000 to be displayed in the White House Library, that marked, believe it or not, the very first time that the image of an African-American was displayed in a public space in the White House.
Pretty astounding, when you think about it, given the bust's current place of honor.
The King bust sits near the fireplace and adjacent a bust of President Abraham Lincoln, with the two legendary Americans facing President Obama when he sits at the HMS Resolute Desk. The Lincoln bust sits where a bust of Sir Winston Churchill -- on loan from the British Embassy after the 9/11 attacks, and returned before Mr. Obama's inauguration -- once sat.
As you would figure, some on the right are all a froth over "pollution" and/or inappropriate celebration in "these dire economic times". Bah.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is going green for St. Patrick's Day.
The water in the fountains on the north and south lawns of the White House has been dyed green to mark the national holiday of Ireland.
First Lady Michelle Obama came up with the idea for the festive touch, said spokeswoman Katie McCormick Lelyveld. She was inspired by the St. Patrick's Day celebrations in her hometown of Chicago, where the city marks the holiday by dyeing the river green.
"It's a little piece of home for our new home," said Lelyveld, who is also from Chicago.
Lelyveld said it's the first time the water in the White House fountains has been dyed. The green hue will stay until the dye runs outs.
Every Saturday, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel convenes a special meeting for members of President Obama's inner circle in the historic Roosevelt Room, according to U.S. News and World Report.
The weekly event "is one of the most important sessions in Obama's White House. It's there that senior advisers map out the course of action for the new administration, often for weeks at a time. It's part of a master plan to seize the moment and use the current economic crisis to remake the country in some fundamental ways."
"These previously undisclosed Saturday meetings show not only how long the hours are in Obamaworld but also how methodical and disciplined his inner circle has been in planning Obama's first 100 days as one of the most productive presidential beginnings in history."
The Center for American Progress -- "which has emerged as perhaps Washington's most influential idea factory in the age of Obama -- is launching a major new war room, to be staffed by nearly a dozen people, that will focus on driving the White House's message and agenda," Greg Sargent reports.
"The new war room -- which is called Progressive Media -- represents a serious ratcheting up of efforts to present a united liberal front in the coming policy wars. The goal of the war room will be to do hard-hitting research that boils down complex and thorny policy questions into usable talking points and narratives that play well in the media and build public support for the White House's policy goals."
Members of Congress from both parties are grumbling about the "tiny little portions" of food served at White House functions. While some speculate the lack of food could be due to money constraints, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was overheard saying it might be about President Obama's love of exercise and keeping fit.
How fun!!! I don't remember this much excitement since the Bush girls got the key to the liquor cabinet!!
WASHINGTON (AP) — First daughters Malia and Sasha Obama got a big surprise after school Wednesday: a brand-new swing set.
They squealed with delight upon seeing it, a spokeswoman for the first lady said.
President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, went to work while the girls were at school, arranging for the set to be installed on the south grounds of the White House within sight of the Oval Office, where their father spends plenty of time.
Late last year as the couple planned the family's move to Washington, they talked about ways to make the historic residence feel more like home for their girls, said Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a spokeswoman for Michelle Obama.
Malia and Sasha, ages 10 and 7, had never lived anywhere but Chicago.
(snip)
"They ran right for it. They were really, really excited. All four of them," McCormick Lelyveld said.
The girls played on the set for almost an hour in chilly weather, she said.
Rush Limbaugh says he's "exploding with reaction" at this phrase, "the president has spoken a lot about bringing the country together," in a question from CNN's Ed Henry at today's daily press briefing at the White House. "Ed, you're a butt boy" follows.
He goes on to praise Jake Tapper. The audio opens with this:
"The White House is encouraging reporters to stay focused on me."
Damn right they are, Limpdong. They're milking this for all it's worth.
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