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May 12, 2009 – Photo by Pete Souza

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“Vote A or I’ll nut ya”:

What? There’s a big football game this weekend?

June 24, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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President Obama strikes the Heisman pose after accepting a football from quarterback Tim Jefferson, left, during the Commander-in-Chief Trophy presentation to the United States Air Force Academy football team in the East Room of the White House, April 23, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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Barack Obama striking a “Heisman” pose while holding Earl Campbell’s Heisman trophy during a tour of the University of Texas in Austin, Feb 2008

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First Lady Michelle Obama strikes the Heisman pose while greeting Dallas Cowboys football players, from left, Miles Austin, DeMarcus Ware, and Felix Jones at the Kleberg Rylie Recreation Center in Dallas, Texas, Feb. 10, 2012 (Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

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President Obama throws a football on the field at Soldier Field following the NATO working dinner in Chicago, Illinois, May 20, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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The President has a water gun fight with his daughter Sasha on her birthday weekend at Camp David, June 11, 2011 (Photo by Pete Souza)

(I prefer this one)

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Lots of people nervously asking, after seeing that pic of President Obama (see post below), has he ever harmed a living creature? Sadly, yes:

Skeet-Shooter-in-Chief

President Barack Obama shoots clay targets on the range at Camp David, Md., Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

@davidplouffe

Rise and Shine

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I’ve only read one article so far today – which kinda explains all the pics and videos 😕  – this one by Charles Blow. Book added to must-buy list:

Charles Blow: Most of what you think you know about Rosa Parks may well be wrong.

On the verge of the 100th anniversary of her birth this Monday comes a fascinating new book, “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks,” by Jeanne Theoharis, a Brooklyn College professor. It argues that the romanticized, children’s-book story of a meek seamstress with aching feet who just happened into history in a moment of uncalculated resistance is pure mythology.

As Theoharis points out, “Rosa’s family sought to teach her a controlled anger, a survival strategy that balanced compliance with militancy.”

Parks was mostly raised by her grandparents. Her grandfather, a follower of Marcus Garvey, often sat vigil on the porch with a rifle in case the Klan came. She sometimes sat with him because, as the book says she put it, “I wanted to see him kill a Ku Kluxer.”

When she was a child, a young white man taunted her. In turn, she threatened him with a brick. Her grandmother reprimanded her as “too high-strung,” warning that Rosa would be lynched before the age of 20. Rosa responded, “I would be lynched rather than be run over by them.”

More here

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Kerry Washington at last night’s NAACP awards:

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From yesterday’s Washington Post, the First Lady looking fabulous (thank you Lisa!):

Washington Post: Michelle Obama grooving to the songs of Musiq Soulchild at the Howard Theatre Thursday night. The first lady, with a group including Valerie Jarrett who were said to be celebrating a friend’s birthday, arrived around 8 p.m., stayed through the duration of the concert, and greeted the R&B singer backstage.

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Thank you Alycee

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Four years ago today:

President Barack Obama visits with his daughters Malia and Sasha and kisses his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, in a private study off the Oval Office, Feb. 2, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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Three years ago today:

President Barack Obama walks to the Oval Office after returning to the White House following a trip to Nashua, N.H., Feb. 2, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

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Two years ago today:

Vice President Joe Biden talks with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., after President Barack Obama signed the New START Treaty in the Oval Office, Feb. 2, 2011. Behind them, the President talks with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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One year ago today, Pete Souza’s rival:

Vice President Joe Biden snaps a photo of President Barack Obama and keynote speaker Eric Metaxas during the National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., Feb. 2, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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This is the kind of photo I usually take, you know – slightly important elements missing, like heads. But I’m guessing the photographer at yesterday’s National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation awards was just impressed with the tie. And hands.

Head included in this one:

In case you missed the ceremony, it was great:

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MoooOOOooOOOoooorning!