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The White House prepared a movie trailer for president Barack Obama’s routine last night at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner. It’s a sequel to The King’s Speech.
President Obama upheld a presidential tradition and pardoned the official White House turkey yesterday in Washington. Since 1947, the National Turkey Federation and the Poultry and Egg National Board have given a turkey to the US president as a gift. But the pardons are a relatively recent innovation.
Since then, presidents have been more likely to call the turkey dinner than give it a reprieve. But a notable exception occurred in 1963, when President Kennedy, referring to the turkey given to him, said, “Let’s just keep him.” It wasn’t until 1989, during the first Thanksgiving of President George H.W. Bush, that a turkey was officially pardoned.
Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama have all upheld the turkey pardoning tradition. However, some confusion still abounds regarding the true origin of this practice. Some claim that Harry Truman pardoned the turkey he received in 1947, but the Truman Library has been unable to prove this as fact. Others say that the tradition dates back to Abraham Lincoln’s pardoning of his son Tad’s pet turkey.
SFGate details the fates of the pardoned turkeys, including the 2010 bird. Link
The Daily Telegraph has an image gallery of twenty websites when they were first published. It includes Google, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Craiglist. The image above is of the White House’s website when it was launched in 1994.
Note: I had some trouble with the “Residence Overview” page. You may have to hit your back button to get out of that one.
Image: Liz Hickok
Our favorite Jell-O artist Liz Hickok wrote to us about her latest project – and yes, it does have a distinct political message:
The piece is called "The First 100 Days: The White House in Jell-O". The White House starts out as Obama inherited it on day one of his administration: a bit old and moldy. Set to the tune of “America the Beautiful,” the iconic structure slowly transforms into a fresh, glowing, and proud symbol of hope.
Whether you agree with Liz’s politics or not, it’s spiffy to see the White House sculpted out of Jell-O (and here I thought that jiggliness went out with Bill Clinton oh so many years ago!): Link [with embedded YouTube clip] – Thanks Liz!
By the way, if you’re in San Francisco this weekend (April 25 – 26), be sure to attend the Mission Open Studios (or the Mission Studio Stroll) – a neighborhood crawl to visit 8 artists’ groups including more than 100 working artists in the Mission District of San Francisco: 1890 Bryant St. at the corner of Mariposa (Liz is in Studio #211 – say hello to her
for me if you’re there). More info: 1890 Bryant | Mission Artists United
The country’s faltering economy? Piracy at high seas? Concerns about terrorism? Nay, the biggest story in Washington DC these past couple of days revolve around a dog. But not just any dog: he’s Bo, the cute Obama dog!
The identity of the first puppy — the one that the Washington press corps has been yelping about for months, the one President Obama has seemed to delight in dropping hints about — leaked out Saturday.
The little guy is a six-month-old Portuguese water dog given to the Obama girls as a gift by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. Malia and Sasha named it Bo. [...]
A secret get-acquainted session with the family occurred at the White House a few weeks ago. The visit, known around the White House as "The Meeting," was a surprise for the girls. Bo charmed the first family, a source who was there said. He sat when the girls sat, stood when the girls stood. He made no toilet errors and did not gnaw on the furniture. Bo has, after all, been receiving lessons in good behavior from the Kennedys’ dog trainers. These lessons have been taking place at a secret, undisclosed location outside Washington.
Link (Photo: Pete Souza / White House)
While everyone is watching the inauguration events in Washington, a crew of workers will be busy behind the scenes making sure that president Bush is moved out of the White House, and president Obama and his family are moved in. Former chief White House usher Gary Walterstells CNN how it is done.
In the morning, after the Bushes and Obamas depart the executive mansion for the Capitol Hill swearing-in ceremony, moving trucks will roll up to the south side of the White House, Walters said.
The drivers put down their tailgates, allowing most of the White House’s 93 staff members to begin unloading Obama family items, he said.
“Staff members all have been given very specific jobs on that day, almost down to the minute as to what their responsibilities are,” Walters said.
The move is designed to be seamless, painless and invisible while millions of Washington visitors — and millions more watching on TV — follow the inauguration ceremonies and the parade that follows.
By about 5 p.m., before the Obamas move from the parade viewing stand to their new home, the presidential move must be complete.
