WITH A CHRISTMAS HEART - LUTHER VANDROSS

Luther Vandross - I Listen To The Bells

Luther Vandross-At Christmas Time

First Lady Michelle Obama reacts while talking on the phone to children across the country as part of the annual NORAD Tracks Santa program. Mrs. Obama answered the phone calls from Kailua, Hawaii, Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Joy To All: In this country, we take care of each other. And in this season of giving, it’s inspiring to see so many people all across America taking the time to help those most in need.

Everywhere he travels, Barack Hussein Obama makes fast & furious friends with all babies & children. Why? Because babies & children can instinctively recognize good.

Let us never forget…..As we celebrate Christmas, We MUST remember……

Watch: First Lady Michelle Obama Reads “Twas the Night Before Christmas”

By Colleen Curtis  December 24, 2012  The White House Blog

Paying a visit to the young patients at the Children’s National Medical Center is a holiday tradition that dates back to the 1950s, when Bess Truman was First Lady. When First Lady Michelle Obama stopped by earlier this month with Bo, she took some time to read the holiday classic, “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, which is better known to many Americcans as “Twas the Night Before Christmas”.

The First Lady Reads “‘Twas The Night Before Christmas”

Tracking Santa With Our Eyes in the Sky

Michael Hess December 24, 2012 The white House Blog

Michael Hess is a Digital Communications Specialist in the Office of Public Affairs at Department of Energy.

The Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Lab is tracking Santa Claus as he circles the globe the night before Christmas.

Every year since 1998, the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Lab has been using state-of-the-art technology to track Santa Claus as he circles the globe the night before Christmas. You’ll be able to monitor St. Nick’s journey here starting at 6 am ET on Christmas Eve.

Since Santa doesn’t file his flight path with the Federal Aviation Administration, Los Alamos uses the latest technology to track his whereabouts on the globe, particularly the Cibola Flight Experiment (CFE) and Fast On-orbit Recording of TransientEvents (FORTE) satellites.

These satellites were built respectively by Los Alamos National Lab and another partnership with Sandia National Labs, and mark a significant technological leap in the size of satellites and their abilities. They were originally put into their low-earth orbits (meaning an altitude of 1,200 miles) to help detect nuclear detonations and study lightning from space.

These “event-tracking” satellites track Santa in two ways: First, just like anything else in flight, the Kringle’s sleigh carries a transponder, which can be detected with the receiver that flies on-board the FORTE and CFE satellites.

Second, the CFE satellite, launched March 2007, has a new type of on-board supercomputer that enables Los Alamos to develop new capabilities after launch to enhance our ability to search for Santa. Because they can continue to advance our detection capability with this new computer, new launches are not as necessary.

According to Santa Tracker Head Researchers and CFE Project Leader Diane Roussel-Dupre, “We believe that Rudolph’s glowing, bright red nose puts out optical and infrared light that makes him easy to detect, allowing an optical camera on FORTE to give us a glimpse of Santa and his team.”

They can even use their star cameras on the CFE satellite to look for Rudolph and the rest of the reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh! In years, to come, as Santa continues to spread his joy throughout the world,  the Intelligence & Space Research (ISR) division will be tracking from our eyes in the sky.

Weekly Address: The President and First Lady Extend a Holiday Greeting and Thank our Troops for their Service