Tag Archives: Obama

Human Interest, Politics, Travel

PRESIDENT OBAMA TO INAUGURATE REAR SIDE OF MOUNT RUSHMORE ON PRESIDENTS’ DAY

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Mount Rushmore front side, top; Mount Rushmore rear, bottom.
Mount Rushmore front side, top; Mount Rushmore rear, bottom.

Bismarck, North Dakota – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln – great U.S. presidents all, immortalized in an iconic national monument at the Mount Rushmore National Park in South Dakota. The park is one of the most visited national monuments in America, generating tourist dollars for the state.

North Dakota is about to have its share of those precious tourist dollars when the rear side of the Mount Rushmore monument will open on Monday, Presidents’ Day.  President Barack Obama is set to inaugurate the new park when he visits Bismarck. Years in the making, the sculpted rearview of the monument features the behinds of the four presidents. The identity of the sculptor remains a mystery and only The White House has that information.

Thousands of domestic and foreign tourists are expected to attend the inaugural ceremony.

North Dakota governor Jack Dalrymple told reporters that the new park will create hundreds of jobs in the state and boost local business.

International, Politics, Religion

OBAMA’S AUDIENCE WITH POPE FRANCIS WILL BE VOID OF THE USUAL PROTOCOL

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imageThe Vatican – When in Rome, do as the Romans do; when in The Vatican, do as the Pope does.

Both The Vatican and The White House have confirmed that U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Pope Francis on March 27. It is no secret that Obama had always wanted to have an audience with the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Obama’s official visit to The Vatican will not be like any other by a sitting U.S. president. Pope Francis has insisted that any bureaucratic and elitist protocols by The White House or the U.S. State Department must be thrown out the door the moment Obama steps into Vatican territory.

No secret service agents will be allowed past the gates of The Vatican. There will not be any presidential limousine that will take Obama into and around The Vatican (Instead, the Obamas will share rides with the Pope in his old, borrowed Fiat). Both Barack and Michelle  will  stay in the same apartment that Pope Francis is staying in along with other Roman priests. And instead of the usual state dinner, the Obamas will join Pope Francis that evening in sneaking out of  The Vatican to minister to the homeless.

The Obamas seem not to have any problems with The Vatican’s conditions, except for one thing: the Obamas cannot bring First Dog Bo into the papal apartment because Pope Francis is allergic to dogs. That means Bo will have to stay behind in Washington, D.C. in the care of the Obamas’ pet sitter.

Food, Politics

MALASADA DIPLOMACY: OBAMA AND PALIN SHAKE HANDS IN HAWAII

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imageHonolulu, Hawaii – Forget the image of the controversial handshake between U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro during the memorial celebration for the late Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa. Or that of the  beer diplomacy at the White House involving Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and  Cambridge police chief James Crowley. Google it if you have no idea what we’re talking about.

The big news today was the unexpected meeting between Obama and Sarah Palin who are both vacationing in Hawaii.

No visit to Honolulu is ever complete without stopping by  Leonard’s Bakery to pick up a box of  malasadas, those warm pastries resembling donut holes rolled in sugar.

Apparently, malasadas are a favorite of the  political rivals, and they happened to stop by Leonard’s tonight at the same time.  At first, both felt very uncomfortable at the unexpected meeting, but after they both got their orders, they felt the spirit of aloha and shook hands.

Members of the press corps accompanying the president (including our star reporter at The Adobo Chronicles) were shocked at what they saw, but conceded that everything they witnessed was all because of the holiday atmosphere that’s been spreading uncontrollably in the Rainbow State.

Mele Kalikimaka!