United States Air Force Academy

Postcard US-4036245 from Colorado shows the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. According to Wikipedia, it is the youngest of the five United States service academies, with its first class graduated in 1959. Graduates of the Academy's four-year program receive a Bachelor of Science degree, and are commissioned as second lieutenants in the United States Air Force. The Academy is also one of the largest tourist attractions in Colorado, receiving close to one million visitors every year.

President Obama attended the Academy's 2016 graduation ceremony yesterday on June 2, 2016 as the keynote speaker. In his final commencement address of his presidency, Obama shared some of the lessons he learned in the White House as president and commander-in-chief, and warned the graduating cadets about isolationism.

The United States Air Force Thunderbirds performed during the graduation ceremony. However, one of its fighter jets crashed on its way back to the Peterson Air Force Base after the fly-over demonstration.

Beam of Light, Son Doong, Vietnam

Postcard Beam of Light by Romeo Durscher is one of the SkyPixel series that showcase stunning photos from drones. The photo was taken by a camera on  DJI Inspire 1, showing a view beneath the doline or sinkhole that forms the world’s largest cave Son Doong. The Beam of Light came through the opening in the cave's ceiling over 300 meters above.On top of the large stalagmite was Ginger Zee, the weather anchor for Good Morning America and ABC World News Tonight on ABC. Her placement on that rock formation, risen from the cave floor due to the accumulated material from ceiling drippings, gave out a sense of scale and size.

Meanwhile, President Obama is in Vietnam for a three-day visit, his first trip to the country and the 10th to Asia. He arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam on Sunday May 22, 2016.

Previously, President Lyndon B. Johnson visited U.S. military personnel in Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam on October 26, 1966 and December 23, 1967. So did Richard Nixon with an unscheduled six-hour stop outside Saigon, South Vietnam on July 30, 1969.

On November 16, 2000, Bill Clinton, who opposed the war in Vietnam, made history as the first U.S. President to visit Hanoi, the headquarters of the North Vietnamese command during the war, now the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. During his three-day visit, Clinton also visited Ho Chi Minh City, which was renamed from Saigon in 1976. George W. Bush was in Vietnam November 17–20, 2006 for the APEC Summit meeting.

Obama Makes Historic Visit to Cuba

Outgoing postcard US-3917425 to Taiwan shows the Southernmost Point Buoy in Key West, Florida. On the buoy, it claims "90 miles to Cuba" although Cuba is actually 94 statute or 81 nautical miles due south at its closest point. Nonetheless, none of the US Presidents had visited Cuba since President Calvin Coolidge's visit in 1928.

Barack Obama made history as the first sitting U.S. president to set foot in Cuba in 88 years, ending decades of hostility between the two countries and marking an historic moment of reconciliation.

Embed from Getty Images

Some US business leaders and entrepreneurs, such as Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox, Brian Chesky, president and founder of Air BnB/PAGE, Daniel Schulman, CEO of PayPal, Ken Siegel, general counsel, Starwood, and Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott, were aboard Air Force One with Obamas to attend the entrepreneurship event in Havana.

Sending Money to Cuba is now possible from a Western Union sign seen on March 8, 2016

As USPS resumed mail service to Cuba on March 17, 2016,  it was the first time in more than 50 years for the people in the US to be able to send direct mail to the island nation. Hopefully, we will see some official PostCrossing postcards from Cuba soon.

President Obama's letter was among the first batch of direct mails to Cuba

USPS Employees were servicing Obama's letter with a special postmark

George Washington's Surveying Office

Outgoing postcard US-3373216 to Taiwan shows a vintage card of George Washington's Surveying Office on the Washington Farm, located along the northern bank of the Rappahannock River, across from the city of Fredericksburg, in Stafford County, Virginia.

Also known as the Ferry Farm, it is the George Washington Boyhood Home Site where George Washington spent much of his childhood with the Cherry Tree Myth, and where his father Augustine Washington died on April 12, 1743 at age 49 when George Washington was 11 years old. Augustine had left behind a small set of surveying instruments after he died. The illustration shows the only building remaining which is said to have been used by George Washington as a workshop while acquiring practice surveying.

However, archaeologists later found the building dated to the late 1800s, post Civil War. So it could not have been used by young George as a workshop. "The Surveyor Shed" was a subject of money making schemes by James Beverly Colbert and George Allen England who promoted the non-important structure as a genuine relic, in an attempt to profit from the land's associations with Washington in the 1920s.

Marilyn Monroe

Postcard US-1852497 to Ukraine shows a 1955 movie scene with actress Marilyn Monroe appearing in the Seven Year Itch where her dress blows up from the subway grate. It becomes one of the most famous Marilyn Monroe scenes of all time. The subway grate is marked at East 52nd Street and Lexington Ave in New York City.

Fifty three years ago on Saturday May 19, 1962, Marilyn Monroe sung "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" for President John F. Kennedy at a celebration of his forty-fifth birthday, ten days before his actual date on Tuesday May 29, 1962.

Less than three months later, Monroe was found dead at her home at 12305 Fifth Helena Drive in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California on August 5, 1962. She was 36 years old.

Obama Visits South Dakota: Been to All 50 States as President

Delivering the commencement address at Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown, South Dakota earlier today, Obama became the fourth president to have been to all 50 states in the U.S.

Richard Nixon was the first president who has visited all the states within his first three years in the White House. President Bill Clinton had not made to his last state Nebraska until his final weeks in office. While George H.W. Bush managed to visit all 50 states in his only term, his son G.W. Bush ended his two-term presidency and had never visited Vermont where a tiny town Brattleboro with just 12,000 residents had voted “to draft indictments against President Bush and Vice President Cheney for crimes against our Constitution.”

Postcard US-2143742 from South Dakota shows a map card of South Dakota with a a tag line "The Mount Rushmore State". President Obama told the White House Press Corps that he used an Executive Order to immediately add his own face on Mount Rushmore. Of course, Republicans are trying to stop the Executive Order.

Navy Pier, Chicago

Postcard US-2558458 from Illinois shows the Navy Pier, a 3,300-foot 1,010-meter long pier on the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan, with the skyline of the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area in the background. Built in 1916 primarily as a cargo facility for lake freighters and passenger excursion steamers, the pier today is Chicago's number one tourist attraction that hosts the Chicago Children's Museum and an IMAX theater. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on September 13, 1979.

In the news today, winning over the competitions from Columbia University in New York City, the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, and the University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Chicago will host the Obama Library, Museum and Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side, located in either Washington Park or Jackson Park.

Compared to the downtown area shown on the postcard, the South Side of Chicago has great disparity in income and other demographic measures, and a reputation for being poor or crime-infested, The Obama Library will not only honor the legacy of the first African American president in the U.S. who had worked at University of Chicago's Hyde Park campus, but also give an enormous economic boost for the South Side.

Obama Delivers Earth Day Messages in Florida

President Obama traveled to the Everglades in South Florida earlier today to highlight the impact of climate change on the American economy. The irony is that in Florida, where rising sea levels pose an imminent threat to 30% of the state's beaches in the next 85 years, state officials have taken an Ostrich Policy on climate change by banning the terms “climate change”, “global warming” and "sustainability" in any official state communications, emails, or reports.

Obama took a tour on the Anhinga Trail in the park on wooden boardwalk over vast 1.5 million-acre wetlands that are served as habitats to diverse species such as alligators and whooping cranes. Shown on the outgoing postcard US-3263777 to the Netherlands, a whooping crane can be more than 4 feet or 1.2 meters tall when standing erect. Indigenous to Florida but rare, whooping cranes were re-introduced in the mid-1990s to stimulate population recovery. These species are threaten as their habitats are impacted by salt water seeping inland caused by rising sea levels, which offers a vivid illustration over the relationship between theoretical arguments about carbon emissions and real-life implications. Studies also reveal that rising sea levels are threatening an $82 billion state tourism economy, and drinking water for more than 7 million Florida residents — more than a third of Florida's population.

President Obama is using his trip, timed to coincide with Earth Day, to push for an environment agenda that will cut carbon emissions by 28% by 2025 in an attempt to alleviate the impacts of climate change.

Grand Canyon National Park Turns 96

Ninety Six years ago on February 26, 1919, Grand Canyon was designated a National Park under President Woodrow Wilson's Administration. The creation of the Grand Canyon National Park was seen as an early success of the conservation movement. Home to more than 1,500 plant species and more than 500 animal species, it has become a top tourist destination that attracted 4.5 million visitors every year. 

Postcard US-1700612 to the Netherlands shows Toroweap Overlook, a viewpoint in a remote area on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. It is the only place in the National Park where you can see the Colorado River from vertically above, 3,000 feet or 915 meters over the river.

USPS issued a 60-cent Grand Canyon stamp in 2000 but it came out wrong, twice. The most recent stamp featuring Grand Canyon by USPS was one of four in the set of Hudson River School Forever Stamps, based on the 19th century artist Thomas Moran's 1912 painting. 

Washington: Monuments – Jefferson Memorial

Outgoing postcard US-3238647 sent to Crimea on this Presidents' Day was one of first two stamped picture postcards ever issued by USPS in 1989, featuring the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, a presidential memorial in Washington, D.C. dedicated to Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826). One of the most important of the American "Founding Fathers," Thomas Jefferson was the main drafter and writer of the "Declaration of Independence" and served as the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was also the founder of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, Virginia.

The postcard costs 50 cents each in 1989 with 15 cents postage featuring the Tidal Basin landmark framed by cherry blossoms. The other postcard issued at the same time features the White House with a view from the south lawn.

The Millennium Project

To commemorate the 69th anniversary of the 1945 Charter of the United Nations, President Barack Obama proclaimed October 24, 2014 as United Nations Day.

Postcard US-1779034 to Australia features Meg Bonenfant at age 20, to highlight one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),  Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education. The goals were a series of time-bound and quantified targets, set out in the Millennium Project at the United Nations' Millennium Summit in September, 2000, aiming to reduce extreme poverty in the forms of income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusion while promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability, with a deadline of 2015.

The postcard was obtained at the World Urban Forum III in Vancouver, Canada during June 19-23, 2006. Another copy of the card was recently sent to the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) in New York City for a postmark on the United Nations stamps in September, 2014.

President Jimmy Carter Turns 90

Jimmy Carter, Jr., the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 who was born October 1, 1924, turns 90 today on October, 1, 2014. Know as a peanut farmer, he served two terms as a Georgia State Senator and one term as the Governor of Georgia before elected President in 1976. As President, he created two new cabinet-level departments: the Department of Energy and the Department of Education, which were among those to be eliminated by Republican presidential candidate, Texas Governor Rick Perry in 2011 if he became President. Jimmy Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Postcard US-1555328 to Germany shows the skyline of Atlanta, Georgia where the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum and the Carter Center is located. It was among the first few official PostCrossing postcards I sent off.

Fast Food Workers Demand Living Wage

President Obama said in his Labor Day speech at Milwaukee, Wisconsin: “All across the country right now there’s a national movement going on made up of fast-food workers organizing to lift wages so they can provide for their families with pride and dignity.” Meanwhile, organizers representing fast food workers around the country are planning a one-day strike next Thursday on September 4, 2014 at restaurants such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s and KFC in 150 cities, demanding a living wage of $15 per hour and the right to unionize. The Bureau of Labor Statistics had the average hourly wage for restaurant workers at $8.74 as of May 2013.

The campaign started with 200 fast-food workers in New York City in November 2012. It has since gained momentum as 13 states increased their minimum wages at the beginning of 2014 and Seattle approved a $15 minimum wage. According to Chicago Tribune, "in May, 101 McDonald’s workers were peacefully arrested for trespassing at a protest outside the company’s Oak Brook headquarters. Since then, the so-called Fight for $15 campaign has continued to raise awareness of its goals of unionizing fast food workers and raising their wages to $15 an hour."

The featured postcard shows a McDonald's Restaurant at Sahara Paradise Plaza in Las Vegas, as seen from the Stratosphere Tower.

President Obama Turns 53

Happy Birthday to President Obama, who just turned 53 today on Aug. 4, 2014. He was born in 1961, which was Year of the Ox in Chinese Zodiac. It is said that dependability, strength and determination are among the character traits for those people born in Year of the Ox. they are tolerant individuals who believe that the road to success involves hard work and scrupulous behavior; they do not believe in taking shortcuts.

Postcard US-1948589 to the Netherlands was made with a photo from President Obama's reelection campaign appearance at Canyon Springs High School in North Las Vegas on August 20, 2012, embedded in a template then available at photofunia.com.

Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa

Postcard ZA-50304 from South Africa shows car lights brighten the busy national road from the north at Bellville, a city in the greater Cape Town metropolitan area. Originally called "12 Mile Post" as it is located 12 miles or 20 kilometers from the city center of Cape Town, Bellville was originally founded as a railway station on the line from Cape Town to Stellenbosch and Strand. It was renamed to Bellville in 1861, named after the Surveyor-General Charles Davidson Bell (October 22, 1813 - April 7, 1882),  who was also an artist and designer.

The postcard arrived a few days before what would be Nelson Mandela's 96th birthday on July 18, 2014. As the former president of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Mandela passed away at 95 last year on December 5, 2013. His birthday was officially declared as Nelson Mandela International Day by the United Nations in November 2009; and the first Mandela Day celebration hosted by UN was held on July 18, 2010. This is the first time the day has been celebrated since his death, in honor of his legacy through volunteering and community service.

Google Doodle made a beautiful tribute to Nelson Mandela today.

Battle Born

In this Independence Day on the 4th of July, CNN Interactive is showcasing a natural wonder in each of the 50 states. CNN's choice of amazing natural wonder in Nevada is the Valley of Fire State Park, USPS also issued a Nevada Statehood Forever Commemorative stamp on May 29, 2014, featuring a view in the Valley of Fire State Park, to celebrates the 150th anniversary of Nevada Statehood.

When President Abraham Lincoln needed another Republican state to help support his anti-slavery policies in Congress, people in Nevada answered the call and voted to join the Union, even the population in Nevada back then was not big enough to form a state. Nevada was admitted to the Union in 1864, during the Civil War. Hence the words “Battle Born” have appeared on the Nevada state flag since.

The postcard was made by VistaPrint with one of my photos taken on November 27, 2011.

#CNN50spots

Take Pride in America

Postcard US-2849038 to Texas was a 14-cent postal postcard issued by USPS in 1987. It features a mountain-lake scene with brilliant blues and rich greens at the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming. It was part of the "Take Pride in America" national public awareness campaign to encourage people to take pride in the nation's natural and cultural resources.

According to an AP Newsfeatures article in Lawrence Journal World on September 20, 1987, "launched by President Reagan in his 1986 State of the Union message, 'Take Pride in America' has been a major campaign to ensure the wise use and stewardship of our public lands - natural resources that belong to all Americans."

The National Elk Refuge was created in 1912 to protect habitat and provide sanctuary for one of the largest elk herd in the world. The refuge is home to an average of 7,500 elk each winter. and receives nearly one million visits annually.

The domestic postcard rate, according to Akdart.COM, was 14 cents between February 17, 1985 and April 3, 1988. Yet, another stamped postal postcard issued in 1980 also had a 14-cent postage when the domestic postcard rate was 10 cents.

On an unrelated note, USA team was edged out by Belgium 1:2 at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in a Round of 16 match at Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil on July 1, 2014, but not without a fight. The USA Team exceeded the expectation as many did not believe it would make into the Round of 16. "Man of the Match" Tim Howard, who set a World Cup record by making 16 saves, said before the match: "we’re proving critics wrong." We are still proud of the United States Men's National Soccer Team, and are optimistic about their future despite of a loss.

#451566972 / gettyimages.com

Hallmark Made First Father's Day ECard for Two Dads

In this Father's Day, Hallmark, the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States, has made its first ECard dedicated to two dads. Titled "I'll Take Two," the ECard was created by transgender artist Kylie Summer Wu, showing a girl shopping for Father's Day gift for her dad and pop.

Meanwhile, President Obama honored fathers, gay or straight, inclusively in his presidential proclamation for Father's Day. Advocate also had an article featuring 33 Famous Gay Dads for Father's Day. 

Based in Kansas City, Missouri and founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark first introduced same-sex themed wedding cards in 2008. It later added its first-ever Mother's Day cards for lesbian moms and Valentine's cards for same-sex couples. You can see more of the spectrum collections, part of the company's "Love is..." design series, here in honor of LGBT Pride Month.

If Not Now, Then When?

June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, as declared in a proclamation by President Barack Obama on May 30, 2014, calling on Americans to eliminate prejudice “everywhere it exists.”

Presented by Human Rights Campaign, UNLV Spectrum, LGBT Bar Association and Freedom Nevada, a special preview screening of the HBO Documentary "The Case Against 8" was held at the Student Union Theater, University of Nevada, Las Vegas at 2 p.m. today. The film offered a behind-the-scenes look inside the historic case to overturn California Proposition 8 that bans same-sex marriage in the state. It highlights that "battles are won because they are fought!" The documentary will premiere in theaters on June 6, 2014 and debuts on HBO on June 23, 2014.

The postcard to Taiwan, one of several from the Cirque du Soilei show Zumanity, depicts a scene where "the lovers dance a tumultuous tango. Through their fierce choreography, a passionate story of love and anger unfolds. Again and again they attract and repel in intense conflict until the magnetic energy between them becomes more than they can bear."

Washington’s Birthday

Washington’s Birthday is a federal holiday, originally established by an Act of Congress in 1879 and celebrated on the third Monday of February, in honor of George Washington, the first President of the United States. The holiday is widely known as "Presidents Day" often to celebrate other, if not all, presidents. In 2014, the holiday falls to February 17 due to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. Washington's actual birthday is February 22.

I present this maxi card showing the Washington Monument, an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to mark this occasion. The Monument was built to commemorate George Washington. On August 28, 1963, a massive crowd marched by the Monument en-route to the Lincoln Memorial for the "March on Washington" rally.