Gwen Duffy Obituary

Above, Gwen Duffy and yours truly at the White House in June 1982.

I was working on something when I happened to find an obituary for former Gardena (California) City Councilwoman Gwen Duffy.

She was a great friend and political ally back in the 1980s. She and I were part of the 1980 California Delegation to the Republican National Convention. The Delegation was invited to the White House for a reception in June 1982. Gwen and I both attended.

The Daily Breeze posted an obituary, which reads in part:

1922 – 2020 FIRST GARDENA COUNCIL WOMAN DIES The first woman to be elected to the Gardena City Council died on February 1, 2020. 

As Chair of the Committee to Preserve Property Rights in Gardena, Gwen helped to defeat a Gardena Redevelopment Agency ordinance. As a member of the Gardena Republican Women, Federated, she served as a member of the California Delegation of Reagan for President at the National Conventions in 1976, 1980, and 1984. She was a member of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary, Gardena Emblem Club, Gardena Valley Friends of the Library, Gardena-Carson Family YMCA Board of Directors, Gardena Valley YWCA, Gardena Sister City Association, Gardena Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention and Chair of the Gardena We TIP Committee. Gwen was the first woman elected to the Gardena City Council and served from 1982 to 1999. 

To read the full obituary, go here. 

Nixon, Connally and Shotgun In Oval Office

Here's an interesting photo.

Former Texas Governor John B. Connally with a shotgun and President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office in 1971.

The photo's caption by Michael Beschloss reads:

President Nixon and his Treasury Secretary, John Connally, survivor of JFK assassination in Dallas 1963, with shotgun in Oval Office, 1971.  Astonishing.

 

Apparently, the Parkland Hospital's doctors did a great job on Connally's right wrist in 1963. I shook hands with him in San Diego at a California Republican Party Convention in 1973 and he had a good strong grip.

"The Wreck called Hillary Clinton" (Video)

As Hillary Clinton piped in on President Trump's White House ballroom construction, here's a great parody video called "The Wreck called Hillary Clinton", a take on Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".

White House Trolls Cracker Barrel Logo

Before the announcement that Cracker Barrel was dropping the misguided plan to change its logo, the White House trolled the restaurant company with an image of President Trump with a parody of their old logo.

And, no, the above image isn't the one the White House posted. I found this one at Facebook.

According to the Gateway Pundit:

The White House trolled Cracker Barrel by posting a parody of the company’s old logo with President Donald Trump replacing Uncle Herschel and captioning it “go woke, go broke.”

The image also features the words “America First” replacing the company name and “AMERICA IS BACK” at the bottom.

The restaurant chain, long beloved for its traditional American charm, faced a storm of criticism after unveiling a modernized logo that ditched iconic elements like Uncle Herschel, the barrel, and the “Old Country Store” tagline. 

To read more and see the image, go here. 

President's and First Lady's Trump Dance

It took a while, but first Lady Melania Trump joined President Trump last night during the Washington, D.C. Independence Day celebration on the White House Truman Balcony and did the "Trump Dance".

This has social media lit up, to say the least.

Here's a video from ANI News:

Monica Crowley Sworn In As Chief of Protocol

 

Wow. Ambassador and Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley to President Trump after being sworn in:

“You looked at the forgotten men and women of this country….Straight in the eye and said I see you, I hear you, and I will be your champion” 🇺🇸
pic.twitter.com/me4MQSQ0gl

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 29, 2025

The Deputy White House Chief of Staff

 

Stephen Miller is the assassin the leftist lapdogs of the legacy media dread the most. He exposes their pathetic inability to tell simple truths day after day after day with a terrifying lack of pity.

Love this guy! pic.twitter.com/0vgVZzSMXe

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) May 1, 2025

Good Idea!

Leave it to James Woods to come up with good ideas!

 

In a toilet stall maybe? https://t.co/OnqUFLgUOF

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) March 30, 2025

Trump Shuts Down Biden’s White House Office of Gun Control

Above, the White House. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

President Donald Trump has shut down the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, Joe Biden's little by-pass of congress to attack Second Amendment rights.

Ammoland reported:

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is congratulating President Donald Trump for quickly following through on a promise to shut down the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which was a thinly disguised Biden administration gun control operation.

“This gun control bureaucracy had no place in the White House, and it should never have been created,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb.

“Its supporters are having fits on the Internet, which convinces us that President Trump’s swift action was correct. It was already reported that the staff of this operation resigned prior to the transition of power, which suggests they knew what was coming, so they abandoned ship to avoid being fired.”

To read more, go here. 

Trump Back In Oval Office

 He signs more executive orders and talks with press.

Trump’s Inauguration Schedule

Above, Trump with the Bidens. Sky News photo.

Donald Trump and J. D. Vance will be inaugurated tomorrow at noon. 

The New York Times has posted a schedule of events over the weekend:

President-elect Donald J. Trump will host a series of events around the nation’s capital for his second presidential inauguration, feting a wide array of donors, supporters and incoming members of his new administration over four days.

To read more, go here. 

Reagan Portrait Re-Framed and Matted

Last year, I had a photographic portrait of President Ronald Reagan matted and framed with my invitation to the White House as shown above. It now hangs in my living room.

The portrait was a thank-you gift from the Citizens for Reagan campaign in 1976. I served as an area chairman for the campaign in my congressional district that year. I also was a California Delegate to the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. 

Above, in 1981, I had my collection of Reagan campaign memorabilia
 on display at the Hawthorne Library. The photo above shows me
 holding the portrait in its original matte and frame at the Library.
Photo by Mike Davis of the Daily Breeze.

The California Delegation to the 1980 Republican National Convention were invited to the White House in June 1982 for a reception. The convention was held in Detroit, Michigan. While President Reagan was mingling with the Delegation guests in the East Room, I had him sign my invitation. 

Above, the California Delegation reception in the East Room. President Reagan signing a delegate's invitation. I am in the background at left behind someone's white shoulder. White House photo.

I had the items framed and matted at Frame 'N Art in Gallup. 

UPDATE: 

Here I am at the presidential podium (before the seal was put on it) in the East Room of the White House.

20th Anniversary of President Reagan's Passing

Above, President Reagan and actress Victoria Principal in the Oval Office. White House photo.

Since I was busy with other stuff (electrical and other repair issues), I forgot to mention that yesterday marked 20 years since the passing of former President Ronald Reagan.

It is hard to believe that so much time had passed, it almost seems like yesterday. 

We could sure use a president like him now.

1985 White House Ball

The following photo was posted the other day on Facebook. I had never seen it before.

In it, Princess Diana is seen dancing with singer/songwriter Neil Diamond at the 1985 White House Ball. As they are dancing, President Ronald Reagan looks on with obvious pleasure. 

 

Ford's Theater Video

Above, the front of Ford's Theater in 1982. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Last evening, I watched the following video on President Abraham Lincoln's assassination sites of Ford's Theater and the Peterson House.

I had visited both in June 1982 when I went to Washington, D.C. to attend a White House reception for the 1980 California Delegation to the Republican National Convention in which I was a delegate. 

The video shows what visitors can see in both locations. The displays at Ford's Theater are much more elaborate than when I visited. At the time of my visit, there wasn't as many displays. One display I saw was the suit Lincoln was wearing when he was shot. 

The Deringer pistol John Wilkes Booth used to shoot Lincoln is now on display at Ford's. I don't recall seeing it there in 1982. It was put on display there in 1940.

There were a few more displays at the Peterson House. Since it is a small place, there wasn't too many more. 

While watching the video, I was thinking that I should make a return trip to Washington. 

Here's the video:

Biden's Ministry of Disarmament

The latest issue of American Rifleman arrived the other day that contains articles on Biden's "Ministry of Disarmament". I was hoping the NRA would post an article on this online and, happily, they have.

At the NRA America 1st Freedom website, the article goes into detail on how Biden's White House has created an office to hire gun control hacks at our expense.

It begins with:

There’s an old saying that if you hang around a place long enough, they might just give you a job. That has now proven true in the case of gun-control advocates who have closely allied themselves with the Joe Biden administration. They have always had his sympathetic ear and his support for their agenda to end firearm ownership in the United States as we know it. Now, however, Biden has gone a step further and created a special White House bureaucracy to put them on the federal payroll and to leverage the full power of the government to legitimize, amplify and expand their prohibitory ambitions. Worst of all, you will be paying for it.

In September, Biden announced he was creating the so-called White House Office for Gun Violence Prevention. His Rose Garden announcement identified four “primary responsibilities” for the office. First was to expedite implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), a sprawling gun-control bill passed over the NRA’s opposition in the summer of 2022, as well as the numerous gun-control executive actions Biden has announced since assuming office. Second was to “coordinate support for the survivors of gun violence,” an effort Biden likened to how the Federal Emergency Management Agency responds to other disasters. Third was to identify new ways for Biden to act unilaterally to promote gun control. And, finally, Biden said the office would “expand the coalition of partners” in states and localities that are working to end “gun violence,” a euphemism for recruiting new gun-control advocates.

To read the full article, go here. 

Reagan Assassination Attempt 42 Years Ago

Above, the site of the Reagan assassination attempt in June 1981. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today marks 42 years since the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan took place at the Washington Hilton.

From Firstpost:

1981 – Failed attempt of assassination against US President Ronald Reagan

US President Ronald Reagan was shot and severely injured by John W. Hinckley Jr. on this day in 1981. Hinckley Jr. was trying to assassinate Reagan, just two months following his inauguration as the 40th President.

I remember that day quite well. I was at my desk at United Pacific/Reliance Insurance Cos. offices in Los Angeles when one of our underwriters came over to me and told me that Reagan had just been shot. He knew that I was a California Reagan delegate at the 1980 GOP National Convention in Detroit.

People reacted at first much like they did when President Kennedy was assassinated and, realizing not much work would be taking place, we were released. Fortunately, the outcome was much better and Reagan fully recovered.  

The following year (June 1982), I was invited to the White House for a reception for the California Delegation to the 1980 Republican National Convention. 

Since my hotel was within blocks of the Washington Hilton, I took one of their shuttles into Washington, D.C. from Dulles International Airport to the Washington Hilton. Before walking to my hotel, I took some photos of the assassination attempt scene. At that time, it was unchanged from the previous year,

Ronald Reagan Day

Today is Ronald Reagan Day.

It celebrates the 112th birthday of the 40th President of the United States.

Above, President Reagan in the East Room of the
White House in June 1982. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Before She Went Wacko

Above,  Nancy Reagan with pre-wacko actress Alyssa Milano
in the Diplomatic Reception Room in 1987. White House photo.

 My, how times have changed.

Video: We Were There When Nixon Met Elvis

Above, President Nixon, Elvis Presley and Egil Krogh. White House Photo.

Egil "Bud" Krogh and Jerry Schilling discuss the historic meeting in the Oval Office at the White House between President Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley in a video produced by the U.S. National Archives.