Merry Christmas from the President and First Lady, 2016

In typical upbeat style, the Obamas send the nation their Christmas greetings from the White House for the last time with a message of hope, compassion, and service:

Happy Fourth!

PBS will air the annual concert A Capitol Fourth live from the West Lawn of the U. S. Capitol beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.  Along with the U. S. Army Band "Pershing's Own," headliners include Alabama, Barry Manilow, and KC and the Sunshine Band.  Description:

Celebrating 35 spectacular years on the air, A Capitol Fourth will kick off the country’s 239th birthday with an all-star musical extravaganza that puts viewers front and center for the greatest display of fireworks anywhere in the nation. America’s favorite Independence Day celebration is broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, before a concert audience of hundreds of thousands, millions more at home, and our troops watching around the world on the American Forces Network.

Here's a short interview with Jerry and Michael Colbert, father and son producers of the program:




And here's a clip of KC and the Sunshine Band rehearsing in front of the Capitol yesterday:



Gawd, I can't believe the once-young-and-studly Harry Wayne Casey, whom I saw in concert in 1976 at the height of his fame, looks like a boring old middle-aged man . . . like me!

Where does the time go?


And the White House released this video celebrating a good week for the President, and marking in part the progress of liberty and equality in this our wayward but beloved land of hopes and dreams:

Classic Shacks: Jackie's White House Tour

The shining moment that was Camelot:  the Kennedys at a state dinner in the
White House for French cultural minister André Malraux in 1962

In the United States, it doesn't get any better than the Executive Mansion. Your Head Trucker got to see the outside on his one trip to D.C., but alas, not the interior.  I well recall Mrs. Kennedy's tour of the White House that was broadcast on Valentine's Day back in 1962; young'uns today who are used to grungy reality-show celebrities and instant fame - or infamy, as the case may be - can have no real idea of how glamorous and thrilling this program was back then.

The Blue Room as redone by Jacqueline Kennedy and designer Stéphane Boudin

Of course, Mrs. Kennedy, with her sophisticated knowledge of art and antiques, was responsible for her widely praised restoration - not "redecoration," as she was quick to point out - of the house, and for establishing the office of Curator of the White House, as well as for publishing the first White House guidebook, sales of which helped finance the restoration effort.

A photograph of A Tour of the White House with Mrs. Kennedy and CBS
newsman Charles Collingwood; alas, color television was still a rarity
in most American homes in 1962, and like most other programs at the
time, the special was filmed only in black and white.

In those pre-women's lib days, Jackie's success in undertaking this enormous project led her amazed husband to concede wryly at a press conference one day that his wife had demonstrated executive skills he didn't know she had.  Doesn't that sound just like a man?

Anyway, here's part one of the film. Enjoy.



BTW, if you want to explore the mansion's many rooms in detail, the unofficial White House Museum website has an excellent collection of pictures, floor plans, and architectural information.

White House Video: Letters to the President

Over at whitehouse.gov, I found this cool video and thought I'd share it with my truckbuddies.  The President reads ten letters from the public every day.  Every day.  Think about that.