CNN has the full text of the Weekly Address by the President, this week joined by the First Lady, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. The President said in part:
Because this is the season when we celebrate the simplest yet most profound gift of all: the birth of a child who devoted his life to a message of peace, love, and redemption. A message that says no matter who we are, we are called to love one another – we are our brother’s keeper, we are our sister’s keeper, our separate stories in this big and busy world are really one....
[W]e're encouraging Americans to ask what you can do to support our troops and their families in this holiday season. For some ideas on how to get started, just visit Serve.gov..... America's brave servicemen and women represent a small fraction of our population. But they and the families who await their safe return carry far more than their fair share of the burden. They've done everything they’ve been asked to do..... So let’s all remind them this holiday season that we’re thinking of them – and that America will forever be here for them, just as they've been there for us.
The White House website today also carries an
interview with Diane Roussel-Dupre, the "Santa Tracker Head Researcher" at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos Laboratory. Here is part of the interview:
Q: What is the hardest part of keeping track of Santa?
Diane Roussel-Dupre: Because of his wish to surprise, Santa does not file a flight path with the Federal Aviation Administration, so we never really know where he will be.
Q: What technologies do you use?
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. Also, the Federal Aviation Administration requires Santa to fly with a radio transponder on his sleigh, similar to what airplanes use, to ensure flight safety around the world. This transponder can be detected with the radio receiver that flies on-board both the FORTE and Cibola Flight Experiment (CFE) satellites. We will also be using the star cameras on the CFE satellite to look for Rudolph and the rest of the reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh.
