Washington: Be ashamed

In the fourth quarter of the Mystics and the Sun game. Does it look like 7,779 to you?/Patricia Leslie

 

WAPO says the official attendance last night was 7,779 (out of 10,100), but folks, come on:  Look at these pictures from the Mystics' game. Does it look like about 80 percent of the stadium is filled?  I don't think so.  How about less than half 7,779?  Just my rough estimate.

Across the court/Patricia Leslie

The Mystics are having their best season in years, and they're going to the playoffs for the first time since 2010.  If they beat New York Sunday in their last regular season game, they'll be at .500 with a 17-17 record, compared to last year's tally of five wins. 

 

You read it right, sister:  They won five games last year. And six games the year before that. 

In the end zone/Patricia Leslie

Washington cannot turn out to cheer them on?  Where are you people?  Where are you, women's groups?  The sisterhood is calling. Friday night they blew out the Connecticut Sun, 82-56.

Oh, that's right.  Down the street at the same time were the Nats.  Yay, Nats!  They are coming on strong.  Well who in the world scheduled both games for the same night and at the same time?  Well, duh. 

It's in for another Mystics' three/Patricia Leslie

 

Sunday you can see the Nats at 1:35 p.m. and the Redskins at 1 p.m. and come on over to Verizon and show your support for the Mystics at 4 p.m.

Going, going...three!/Patricia Leslie

Some of the Wizards, including John Wall, came last night, but where has President Obama been all season?  His last appearance at the Mystics, as far as I know, was three years ago.  Come on, Mr. President!  I know you've got a few things on your agenda (please don't strike Syria), but after all, you are just down the street from Verizon and can't those Secret Service boys whip you on over for a few minutes?  It would mean so much to the team and to us women.  (Especially if you appoint Larry Summers to head the Federal Reserve.  Baa, humbug.)  BTW, where's Michelle?

The Mystics' new head coach, Mike Thibault, has really made a difference this year.  Here it looks like he's leading the team in the Hallelujah chorus/Patricia Leslie

Attention, Mystics season ticket holders:  If you're going to miss the game, why in tarnation can't you give your tickets away to folks who might not have a chance to see them play?  There are a ton of places in this town to distribute tickets.  Think of all the children who would love to see a professional game.

She sang a stunning version of the "Star Spangled Banner," a prelude to the Mystics' victory, and her name is ...?/Patricia Leslie

 

The ball went thataway/Patricia Leslie

 

Washington, you've still got a chance to cheer on the team.  Half of life is showing up, so, please, for the women, show up Sunday, and don't forget about the playoffs, too. Thank you. 

It was here a while ago/Patricia Leslie

 

You see what you're missing between quarters at the Mystics' games. They don't do this at the Nats' games.  By George, it's the Hop Squad/Patricia Leslie

 

BTW:  If the Washington Post can have a tab for all the men's professional  teams in this city (5), where's the Mystics' tab? 

 

Thank you for always supporting our military who protect us/Patricia Leslie

Who:  The Mystics

 

What:  Their last regular season game (v. New York)

 

When:  4 p.m., September 15, 2013

Where:  Verizon , 601 F Street, Washington, D.C. 20004

How much:  Tickets start at $12 at the box office

Metro stations:  Gallery Place-Chinatown, Metro Center

For more information at Verizon:  202-628-3200 and for tickets: 800-745-3000


patricialesli@gmail.com

Inside the Christmas White House 2012

The hallway on the ground floor of the White House looking towards the East Garden Room, home of faux Bo/Patricia Leslie

The East Wing Visitor Entrance/Patricia Leslie

At the Visitor Entrance (outdoors)/Patricia Leslie

In the lobby upon entering. About 100 volunteers from 50 states spent a week decorating the White House which exudes an immediate and magnificent Fraser Fir fragrance to greet visitors and infuse magic, like when you get off the plane in Hawai'i/Patricia Leslie

The Armed Forces Tree where visitors are invited to sign postcards to troops and indicate the number of hours the signer is willing to commit to community service in honor of the servicemen's and women's commitment to the U.S. The White House holiday theme this year is Joy to All/Patricia Leslie

Looking out the large hallway windows on the ground floor towards "backyard decorations" and the Washington Monument in the distance, with a reflection of greenery lining above framed Christmas photos of the first families/Patricia Leslie

A life-size faux "Bo" with hanging lights and Santa hat guards the portraits of President Calvin Coolidge on the left, and President Grover Cleveland, in the East Garden Room/Patricia Leslie

After the East Garden Room, one comes to a hall on the ground floor with the Vermeil and China rooms on the left, the library on the right, and a cabinet with .../Patricia Leslie

"Part of a State Service first ordered by President John F. Kennedy" and made by Morgantown Glassware Guild, Morgantown, West Virginia in 1961/Patricia Leslie

 And another part of a State Service first ordered by President Andrew Jackson and made by Bakewell, Page & Bakewell, Pittsburgh in 1829/Patricia Leslie

First ladies Patricia Nixon, on the left, and Jacqueline Kennedy preside over the Vermeil Room  Are the gifts under the trees real?/Patricia Leslie

 The book collection in the library across the hall numbers about 2,700 volumes.  Until 1935 when it was renovated, the library was a laundry room and a gentlemen's waiting room, according to a booklet given to Christmas White House visitors/Patricia Leslie

The White House Library/Patricia Leslie

The China Room.  The White House has 54 Christmas trees. President Theodore Roosevelt, an "ardent conservationist," prohibited the cutting of trees for White House Christmases, but his cunning children sneaked one in past their papa, and decorated it with twinkling white lights (and an electrician's help), according to the booklet.  Students from Washington's Duke Ellington School for the Arts created the art for the booklet/Patricia Leslie

After leaving the ground floor and ascending the stairs, a visitor finds herself in the East Room peeking out windows onto Pennsylvania Avenue/Patricia Leslie

The East Room is the location of after-dinner entertainment, and was the scene of the soiree for guests and honorees attending Sunday night's Kennedy Center Honors/Patricia Leslie

From the East Room one glances down the hallway to Cross Hall and the North Entrance (Pennsylvania Avenue) on the right.  The entrance on the left is to the Blue Room and at the end of the hallway is the State Dining Room. More than 90,000 are expected to tour the White House during the holiday season/Patricia Leslie

But back to the East Room.  Whose portrait is behind the tree?/Patricia Leslie

A lighting fixture in the East Room/Patricia Leslie

Part of a tree in the Green Room, the next room on the tour/Patricia Leslie

The Green Room and above the mantle, the oldest publicly displayed portrait in the White House, according to a friendly, erudite White House veteran. ("We don't know what's upstairs, so it may not be the oldest one here.")  David Martin painted Benjamin Franklin in 1767, and 200 years later, Walter Annenberg gave it to the White House in memory of President Kennedy. The silhouette of a man barely visible on the left in the painting is Sir Isaac Newton/Patricia Leslie

"Bed head," a Christmas bird cage, or ? in the Green Room/Patricia Leslie

In the Blue Room, the next one on the tour, is found THE official White House Christmas tree filled with ornaments made by military children stationed with their parents around the world. The Fraser Fir is 18.5 feet tall and came from Jefferson, N.C./Patricia Leslie

 The Red Room (photos below) follows the Blue Room on the tour and next is the State Dining Room, above, anchored by George F. P. Healy's portrait of President Abraham Lincoln.  About 120 persons can be seated here comfortably for dinner, a guide said, and the president and first lady do not sit together/Patricia Leslie

The 300-pound gingerbread house at the north end of the State Dining Room.  Note the table legs.  Behind these doors is the Family Dining Room, closed to visitors/Patricia Leslie

From the State Dining Room is the Red Room with the Blue Room on the other side/Patricia Leslie

In Cross Hall at the Pennsylvania Avenue entrance /Patricia Leslie

The Red Room from the Entrance Hall.  Normally, Dolley Madison reigns over the Red Room, however, her portrait is on loan to the National Portrait Gallery until late winter, a guide said/Patricia Leslie

One of many first lady ornaments which decorate the four first ladies trees at the Pennsylvania Avenue entrance. More than 60 percent of the White House ornaments have been "re-purposed" or recycled/Patricia Leslie

One of the state ornaments hanging at the Pennsylvania Avenue entrance/Patricia Leslie

In the Entrance Hall with a tree reflected in the mirror/Patricia Leslie

The reflected tree and out the window is Pennsylvania Avenue/Patricia Leslie

It was World AIDS Day (and Night)/Patricia Leslie

Not to be overlooked next door is the gracious and imposing David Eisenhower Executive Office Building/Patricia Leslie

For a look at last year's White House decorations, click here.

Feliz Navidad!

patricialesli@gmail.com

President Obama praises volunteers

hiphopwired.com

 

In a telephone call tonight with 30,000 volunteers across the country, President Barack Obama thanked them for hosting debate parties,  registering voters, and making millions of phone calls and door knocks which helped propel him to victory and a second term in office.

The president credited "the best volunteers" repeatedly throughout his remarks, citing the "unbelievable work" they put out for the campaign "which meant a lot to me personally….We (Joe Biden, Michelle Obama) are all so profoundly grateful for what you did."

He called the output by the volunteers, many of whom worked for years on the 2012 race, "the greatest grassroots effort in the history of the country." 

"You've changed the nature of the electorate," he said, by getting people involved who normally might not have participated.

The campaign had "a lot of ups and downs," and despite skepticism, "you stood by me on good days and on bad days." He mentioned the first debate when "you just kept on going, sacrificing time with your family and friends."
In many cases "you exceeded 2008."

"America is never going to be the same because of what you've done," he said.

"I love you," he repeated several times.  And "I'm so proud of you."  The U.S. "is a better country because of what you did." 

He said one of his pledges for his second term was to get out of Washington more often ("it's good for my soul") and meet more volunteers.

"To all of you, I am so proud of what you guys accomplished. I'll always be inspired by what you did," but "this is not the end," but "a means to a goal." He mentioned the "fiscal cliff" and the upcoming debate to make sure taxes are fair for middle-income families. 

Before the president spoke, Mitch Stewart, director of Organizing for America, thanked listeners for their millions of phone calls and door knocks in the toss-up states which did make a difference.  The campaign rolls on.  The battle's not done.  Yes, we can.  Yes, we did. 

patricialesli@gmail.com




 

President Obama fires up the troops

President Obama in Clifton, Virginia/Patricia Leslie

Last weekend in Clifton President Obama talked to several hundred of the faithful, the volunteers who will call, deliver, cook, drive, knock, walk, seal, fold, stamp, register, canvass, vote, smile, and talk to convince straddlers about the wisdom of re-electing their man.

It was a hot and muggy afternoon, and his supporters without complaint had waited outdoors a long time for admittance to the cool Centreville High School gymnasium, and once past security and inside, the wait was forgotten for smiles and joy adorned faces in anticipation. 

The smile to melt Iceland/Patricia Leslie

President Obama said the Republicans have only two ideas ("check out their website"): Cut taxes for the wealthy and cut taxes for polluters and credit card companies/Patricia Leslie

The same Republican ideas have been tested before, for about a decade when Republicans held the White House: "Guess what, Virginia," the president said to deafening cheers, "their ideas didn't work."/Patricia Leslie

President Obama said contrary to Republican Mitt Romney, he supports bottom-up economics and "in-sourcing," not out-sourcing. "I fight on behalf of the middle class, and that's why," he said amidst cheers and hands showing four fingers, "I am running for four more years."/Patricia Leslie

 "I believe women should make their own health care decisions" which "Romney wants to restrict."/Patricia Leslie

"In Virginia, immigration is a strength, not a weakness."/Patricia Leslie 

"We're Americans first before we're Republicans or Democrats."/Patricia Leslie

President Obama was the center of attention/Patricia Leslie

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-11th District) preceded the president on stage. He said Congress was not totally lifeless: It had voted 33 times on the same thing: against health care for all/Patricia Leslie

To kickoff the event, she sang the "Star Spangled Banner."/Patricia Leslie

At the end of his remarks, President Obama descended the stage to shake hands with supporters/Patricia Leslie

Where is he?Patricia Leslie

Check out under the "I" in "Wildcats."/Patricia Leslie

patricialesliexam@gmail.com