"I want to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a joyful holiday season." —President Obama pic.twitter.com/dQZy9BqEj8
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 24, 2013Check out behind-the-scenes videos, photos and crafts from this year's #WHHoliday decor: http://t.co/tzpp5EMyQu, pic.twitter.com/H3EEb2EI95
— FLOTUS (@FLOTUS) December 26, 2013
This woman in front of the WH wins the day: she KNITTED a pie chart of the US budget onto an umbrella. twitter.com/jbendery/statu…
— jennifer bendery (@jbendery) March 11, 2013
The amazing knitting protestor outside the WH has also knit herself an "Occupy Grandparents" blanket. twitter.com/jbendery/statu…
— jennifer bendery (@jbendery) March 11, 2013
Thank you for using the White House's online petitions platform to participate in your government.
In a nation of 300 million people -- each with their own set of deeply-held beliefs -- democracy can be noisy and controversial. And that's a good thing. Free and open debate is what makes this country work, and many people around the world risk their lives every day for the liberties we often take for granted.
But as much as we value a healthy debate, we don't let that debate tear us apart.
Our founding fathers established the Constitution of the United States "in order to form a more perfect union" through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government. They enshrined in that document the right to change our national government through the power of the ballot -- a right that generations of Americans have fought to secure for all. But they did not provide a right to walk away from it. As President Abraham Lincoln explained in his first inaugural address in 1861, "in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution the Union of these States is perpetual." In the years that followed, more than 600,000 Americans died in a long and bloody civil war that vindicated the principle that the Constitution establishes a permanent union between the States. And shortly after the Civil War ended, the Supreme Court confirmed that "[t]he Constitution, in all its provisions, looks to an indestructible Union composed of indestructible States."
Although the founders established a perpetual union, they also provided for a government that is, as President Lincoln would later describe it, "of the people, by the people, and for the people" -- all of the people. Participation in, and engagement with, government is the cornerstone of our democracy. And because every American who wants to participate deserves a government that is accessible and responsive, the Obama Administration has created a host of new tools and channels to connect concerned citizens with White House. In fact, one of the most exciting aspects of the We the People platform is a chance to engage directly with our most outspoken critics.
So let's be clear: No one disputes that our country faces big challenges, and the recent election followed a vigorous debate about how they should be addressed. As President Obama said the night he won re-election, "We may have battled fiercely, but it's only because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its future."
Whether it's figuring out how to strengthen our economy, reduce our deficit in a responsible way, or protect our country, we will need to work together -- and hear from one another -- in order to find the best way to move forward. I hope you'll take a few minutes to learn more about the President's ideas and share more of your own.
Jon Carson is Director of the Office of Public Engagement
The Administration shares your desire for job creation and a strong national defense, but a Death Star isn't on the horizon. Here are a few reasons:
However, look carefully (here's how) and you'll notice something already floating in the sky -- that's no Moon, it's a Space Station! Yes, we already have a giant, football field-sized International Space Station in orbit around the Earth that's helping us learn how humans can live and thrive in space for long durations. The Space Station has six astronauts -- American, Russian, and Canadian -- living in it right now, conducting research, learning how to live and work in space over long periods of time, routinely welcoming visiting spacecraft and repairing onboard garbage mashers, etc. We've also got two robot science labs -- one wielding a laser -- roving around Mars, looking at whether life ever existed on the Red Planet.
- The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We're working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.
- The Administration does not support blowing up planets.
- Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?
Keep in mind, space is no longer just government-only. Private American companies, through NASA's Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office (C3PO), are ferrying cargo -- and soon, crew -- to space for NASA, and are pursuing human missions to the Moon this decade.
Even though the United States doesn't have anything that can do the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, we've got two spacecraft leaving the Solar System and we're building a probe that will fly to the exterior layers of the Sun. We are discovering hundreds of new planets in other star systems and building a much more powerful successor to the Hubble Space Telescope that will see back to the early days of the universe.
We don't have a Death Star, but we do have floating robot assistants on the Space Station, a President who knows his way around a light saber and advanced (marshmallow) cannon, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is supporting research on building Luke's arm, floating droids, and quadruped walkers.
We are living in the future! Enjoy it. Or better yet, help build it by pursuing a career in a science, technology, engineering or math-related field. The President has held the first-ever White House science fairs and Astronomy Night on the South Lawn because he knows these domains are critical to our country's future, and to ensuring the United States continues leading the world in doing big things.
If you do pursue a career in a science, technology, engineering or math-related field, the Force will be with us! Remember, the Death Star's power to destroy a planet, or even a whole star system, is insignificant next to the power of the Force.
Paul Shawcross is Chief of the Science and Space Branch at the White House Office of Management and Budget
On Thursday, the defeated Republican presidential candidate was driven up in a black sport-utility vehicle, greeted outside the gate by a heckler who yelled at him through the passenger-side window. Romney opened his own door. He disappeared into the West Wing through a side entrance.
. . . There was no pomp and little circumstance, at least publicly, with reporters and photographers barred from the hour-long event.
. . . The White House press corps had other ideas, intent on documenting a moment that Carney had touted just a day earlier as a symbol of the nation’s peaceful democratic electoral process.
Reporters staking out Romney could barely see his arrival, kept 100 yards away near the North Lawn. Photographers, standing on ladders to get a view over a row of shoulder-high shrubs, captured only grainy images through their high-powered zoom lenses.
"They say that life is all about second chances," Obama said to laughter, his daughters, Sasha and Malia at his side. "And this November, I could not agree more. So in the spirit of the season, I have one more gift to give, and it goes to a pair of turkeys named Cobbler and Gobbler."
. . . On a conference call with donors last week, Romney said that the president was reelected because of "gifts" to Latinos, African Americans and young voters.
"The president's campaign, if you will, focused on giving targeted groups a big gift," Romney said during the call. "He made a big effort on small things."
Romney's comment drew criticism not only from the administration, but from members of his own party.
Jenna Bush Hager, one of the George W. Bush's daughters, told "Fox & Friends" the day will be a chance to "celebrate his work, `cause he worked pretty hard, so I think he deserves at least a painting."
As to where it will go, she said: "Probably in the very back somewhere. I'm just kidding."
Actually, the painting will hang prominently in the formal entrance hall to the White House, the Grand Foyer.
