The First-Ever Virtual "Big Block of Cheese Day"--The White House is Open for Questions

[MissMillie]

Source: whitehouse.gove

President Obama has always been dedicated to the idea that the White House is truly "The People's House" and has worked to make 1600 Pennsylvania and his administration open and accessible.

This isn't a new idea, the same can be said of President Andrew Jackson. On February 22, 1837, President Jackson hosted an open house featuring a 1,400-pound block of cheese that sat in the main foyer of the White House. This original "Big Block of Cheese Day" opened the doors of the White House to thousands of citizens to interact with cabinet members and White House staff – and carve off a slice of the four foot by two foot thick slab of cheddar.


Read more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/01/29/first-ever-virtual-big-block-cheese-day-white-house-open-questions

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Gotta love it!

[htuttle]

1. But..there's no cheese!

If the President wanted a 1,400 pound block of cheese, the people of Wisconsin would gladly have delivered one!

Then the Republicans would at least have something to go with their whines...

[RoccoR5955]

2. You beat me to it

But New Yorkers would have gladly delivered it as well.
Yes, it's to go along with the Republican whines.

[adirondacker]

4. We DO have the Best Cheddar! and it isn't dyed orange :) nt

[brooklynite]

3. Here's the more important part of the story...

Virtual Big Block of Cheese Day: Schedule of events

Join us on Twitter

From the road with President Obama:

Senior Advisor Dan Pfeiffer - @Pfeiffer44
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney - @PressSec
Assistant Press Secretary Matt Lehrich - @Lehrich44
Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett - @VJ44

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. ET: General Overview & #SOTU themes

Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest - @JEarnest44
Director of the Office of Public Engagement Paulette Aniskoff - @PAniskoff44v

10:00 – 10:30 a.m. ET: Economic Opportunity & Mobility

Deputy Communications Director Amy Brundage - @Brundage44
Member of the Council of Economic Advisers Betsey Stevenson - @CEABetsey

11:00 – 11:30 a.m. ET: Immigration & Latino Issues

Director of Hispanic Media Katherine Vargas - @Vargas44
Deputy Director of Hispanic Media Antoinette Rangel - @LaCasaBlanca

12:00 – 12:30 p.m. ET: Climate & Energy

Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Gina McCarthy - @GinaEPA
Special Assistant to the President for Energy & Climate Change - @Utech44

1:00 – 1:30 p.m. ET: STEM

Director of the Office of Science & Technology Policy Dr. John Holdren - @WhiteHouseOSTP

2:00 – 2:30 p.m. ET: Minimum Wage, Unemployment Insurance, Skills gap & Apprenticeships

Secretary of Labor Tom Perez - @LaborSec
Member of the Council of Economic Advisers Betsey Stevenson - @CEABetsey

2:30 – 3:00 p.m. ET: State & Local issues

Director of Intergovernmental Affairs David Agnew - @DavidAgnew44

3:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET: Foreign Policy

Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes - @Rhodes44
National Security Council Spokesperson Caitlin Hayden - @NSCPress

4:00 – 4:30 p.m. ET: Health Care


Senior Communications Advisor Tara McGuinness - @HealthCareTara
Director of Progressive Media & Online Response Jesse Lee - @JesseCLee44
Associate Communications Director Rachel Racusen - @Racusen44

4:30 – 5:00 p.m. ET: Rebuilding America's Infrastructure


Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx - @SecretaryFoxx
Facebook Q&A:

3:30 p.m. ET: La Casa Blanca Facebook Page -- Immigration & Latino issues

Director of the Domestic Policy Council Cecilia Munoz

4:00 p.m. ET: The White House Facebook Page -- Economic Opportunity & Mobility

Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Jason Furman

Google+ Hangout:

1:30 p.m. ET: Education: "From Daycare to Diploma" with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

Joined by three of the extraordinary Americans who are joining the First Lady in her viewing box for this year’s State of the Union Address

Joey Hudy, Maker and Intel Intern
Estiven Rodriguez, Student, Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School
Kathy Hollowell-Makle, 2013 DCPS Teacher of the Year

Additional participants to represent Elementary/Middle School, High School and College.

Have a question about a topic not covered here? Additional Administration officials will be participating throughout the day so keep an eye out:

First Lady Michelle Obama - @FLOTUS
Executive Director of Let's Move Sam Kass - @LetsMove
Director of Specialty Media Shin Inouye - @Inouye44
Cheif of Staff of the Council on Environmental Quality Mike Boots - @WhiteHouseCEQ
The White House Historical Association - @WhitehouseHstry
Communications Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy Rafael Lemaitre - @RafaelONDCP
Department of Agriculture - @USDA
Department of Commerce - @CommerceSec
Director of the Office of Personnel Management Katherine Archuleta - @OPMDirector
Office of Personnel Management - @USOPM
Office of the United States Trade Representative - @USTradeRep
Department of the Treasury - @USTreasury

[freshwest]

8. What a schedule. The mind boggles! n/t

[debunkthis]

6. Really?

"President Obama has always been dedicated to the idea that the White House is truly "The People's House" and has worked to make 1600 Pennsylvania and his administration open and accessible."


Funny, the White House was neither open nor the administration accessible when we were there on Nov 5th!

[Scruffy Rumbler]

9. Maybe you were suppose to turn left not right?

[debunkthis]

10. If that was meant to refer to political leaning

then you should know that my political views are such that I regard John Kerry as too conservative.

[Springslips]

7. They got this idea from The West Wing

It's a good one.

[Sunlei]

11. The White House is Open for Questions!!

[Brigid]

12. I wish Pense the Dense would do that here.

I would love to ask him why KY has a governor who supports Medicaid expansion and a health insurance exchange and we don't.

[Alkene]

13. I don't need to go all the way to D.C. to cut some cheese. n/t