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This Chilling Letter To JFK's Press Secretary Warned Against The President's Visit To Dallas

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The October 28th letter to White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger cautioned the president against taking his scheduled trip to Dallas. The letter advised Salinger to remember the fate of William McKinley, who was assassinated more than 60 years earlier.

JFK Presidential Library


15 Members Of Congress Who Are Killin' The Fashion Game

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Sup, gurl.

First click PLAY for the appropriate theme music:

Rep. Aaron Schock's pants are killin' it.

Rep. Aaron Schock's pants are killin' it.

Via BuzzFeed/Dorsey Shaw


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Republican Congressman Arrested For Cocaine Possession Last Month

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UPDATED: Freshman Rep. Trey Radel was busted in cocaine sting, is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday

Drew Angerer / Getty Images

Rep. Trey Radel was arrested for misdemeanor possession of cocaine on Oct. 29 in Washington, D.C., according to a report by Politico.

Radel, a freshman Republican from Florida, was charged in D.C. Superior Court Tuesday and is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.

"I'm profoundly sorry to let down my family, particularly my wife and son, and the people of Southwest Florida," Radel said in a statement. "I struggle with the disease of alcoholism, and this led to an extremely irresponsible choice."

Radel was first elected to Congress last year and represents a Southwest Florida district previously held by former Rep. Connie Mack.

"Members of Congress should be held to the highest standards, and the alleged crime will be handled by the courts," a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner said. "Beyond that, this is between Rep. Radel, his family, and his constituents."

The freshman congressman has also been a frequent community contributor to BuzzFeed, including a post entitled "Why I'm A Hip-Hop Conservative."

Kate Nocera contributed to this report.

Read Radel's full statement:

Read Radel's full statement:

Rep. Radel was identified to authorities by his suspected dealer, who had been arrested as part of a separate drug investigation, an unnamed Drug Enforcement Administration official said. The dealer then set up a buy with the congressman.

According to the official, the cocaine was purchased from an undercover agent in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 29 by Rep. Radel. Later that night officials went to his apartment, detained him, and informed him that he would be facing criminal charges related to buying drugs.

A defense attorney was hired by the congressman, who negotiated the charges with a prosecutor, the official said. Rep. Radel was never handcuffed and did not go to jail.


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BuzzFeed Brews With Nancy Pelosi

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DC Bureau Chief John Stanton Interviews House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi

After Radel Arrest, Nancy Pelosi Slams Republicans For Voting For Food-Stamp Drug Tests

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“It’s like, what?”

U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi

Yuri Gripas / Reuters

WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she felt "very sad" for the family of Republican Rep. Trey Radel, who was charged with cocaine possession on Tuesday, but took a political shot at Republican policies.

Speaking with BuzzFeed Bureau Chief John Stanton at a BuzzFeed Brews event, Pelosi also noted that House Republicans had recently voted on a bill that would require food-stamp applicants to get drug tested and that Radel's situation might "humanize" that for Republicans.

"It's really interesting it came on the heels of Republicans voting on everyone who had access to food stamps get drug tested. It's like, what?" she said.

"The fact is, there are certain things, especially in Congress, where we hold ourselves to a higher standard," she added.

Radel said in a statement Tuesday that he struggled with alcohol addiction and that he "will do whatever is necessary to overcome it."

Nancy Pelosi Says Democrats Won't Run Only On Obamacare In 2014

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“This is the only subject [Republicans] want to talk about. We want to talk about plenty else.”

Drew Angerer / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — House minority leader Nancy Pelosi said that Democrats would not run only on Obamacare in 2014, but the election would be primarily about the budget and jobs.

Despite the troubled roll-out of the law, Pelosi maintained that congressional Democrats are "very excited about" the health care overhaul.

"Yes they could have done a better job of describing it," Pelosi said of the White House messaging on the law. "No, they didn't hurt us for 2014."

Pelosi saw 39 Democrats vote last week for a Republican plan to allow insurance companies to re-issue cancelled plans, despite a White House veto threat and leadership whipping against the bill. Many observers took the Democratic dissent as a sign that Obamacare would be a tough issue for the party in the upcoming midterm elections.

"The Republicans want to play politics with an issue. They put up a political gestures and some of our members responded in a political way," she said a BuzzFeed Brews event. "But that doesn't mean that they are not working in their districts to make sure people have the information they need to enroll. This is history and the future and progress."

"We stand by the policy we're proud of it. And any big transformative initiative is hard," she said.

"[The election] will be about jobs, it'll be about growth in our economy, it'll be about Medicare, it'll be about their budget: Medicare where the Democrats are, millionaires where they are."

Pelosi contended that Republicans only want to talk about Obamacare because they are hoping to avoid a host of other issues, including immigration reform.

"They don't want to talk about immigration, they don't want to talk about ENDA they don't want to talk about background checks on guns," she said. "This is the only subject they want to talk about. We want to talk about plenty else."

Pelosi said that she never referred to the health care law as "Obamacare," despite some Democrats (and the president himself) using the term.

"I've always called it the Affordable Care Act. Everyone may not like Obama but everyone loves affordable. I love them both," she said.

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Nancy Pelosi Sings "Hail To The Redskins"

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It was the first song she learned outside of church.

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sang a few bars of "Hail to the Redskins," the fight song of the Washington Redskins, responding Tuesday to a question about the controversy over the team's name. She said the song was the first song she learned outside of church. Pelosi has said previously she believes the name should changed.

With Pope Francis, Nancy Pelosi Thinks The Holy Spirit "Did A Really Good Job This Time"


EU Says It Has Nothing To Do With New Press Restrictions At Iran Talks In Geneva

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Reporters aren’t buying it.

Negotiators at the last round of talks.

Pool / Reuters

GENEVA — Swiss police have banned press from the Geneva hotel where Iran nuclear talks are taking place this week, indicating that the negotiating parties are leaving very little to chance — and to possible leaks — this time around.

"The media is not allowed to access the hotel lobby," press were told in a release emailed by the Swiss foreign ministry late Tuesday. "Members of the media staying at the Intercontinental may naturally work in their rooms. The bar and restaurant are accessible without electronic devices, though exclusively for hotel clients."

The decision has been met with derision and outrage from the press corps in Geneva, who used the hotel lobby as a meeting place and work room for the latest round of talks earlier this month and who have interpreted the move as a decision by the European Union's foreign policy chief Cathy Ashton meant to clamp down on access.

"No electronic devices allowed in Intercon bar/restaurant for #IranTalks? No press in lobby? There is a word for this but it ain't democracy," AP State Department correspondent Matthew Lee tweeted. "Maybe #Swiss reputation for neutrality is undeserved. Caving to press- hostile Cathy Ashton on access to #IranTalks hotel is sad."

"Geneva's Intercon Hotel bans media from lobby during #IranTalks, generously allows paying journalist guests to 'work in their rooms," snarked the New York Times' Mark Landler.

Ashton spokesman Michael Mann said that the EU had not been behind the decision to ban press from the lobby.

"This decision was taken by the Swiss police," he said. "Nothing to do with us."

"I am trying to find a workable solution," Mann said.

Some reporters were told last time by EU officials that a ban on press in the lobby would be enforced for this round, making Mann's denial suspicious in the eyes of the media here.

Even journalists who have paid for rooms at the hotel are being kicked out on Friday, they've been told.

The State Department has assured reporters that there is some flexibility and that they may be able to bring some people into the lobby on a case-by-case basis.

The scene for this round of talks promises to be radically different from what Hooman Majd described in the New Yorker from the previous round of talks, when "The hotel's opulent lobby was transformed into a reporters' den, with laptops, iPads, and iPhones strewn about the floors, their cords fighting for empty sockets, and coffee tables stacked with nine-dollar cups of espresso and the remnants of forty-dollar burgers."

This week, the press is confined to a large media room at Geneva's conference center, a 15 minute walk away, or, if it chooses, a heated tent outside the hotel.

Gambling Lobby Turns To Attorneys General For Protection From Internet Competition

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An exec at Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corporation presented the case against legalized online gambling to state attorneys general this week. The rival Caesar’s Entertainment Corporation argues for regulated internet gambling.

Sheldon Adelson

Pool / Reuters

A representative of gambling tycoon and Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson lobbied the Republican Attorneys General Association against legalized internet gambling at a meeting earlier this month, according to documents obtained by BuzzFeed.

The meeting came as the casino industry is gearing up for a heated debate over gambling online.

Andy Abboud, senior vice president of government relations for the Las Vegas Sands Corporation — whose CEO is Republican and pro-Israel mega-donor Sheldon Adelson — gave a presentation on the dangers of online gambling at a Nov. 10 meeting of the RAGA.

His presentation included poll results suggesting Americans oppose online gambling; technical warnings that it can be manipulated; and even a glimpse of an unusual campaign against the practice with the slogan that "online gambling just takes gambling too far" — a remarkable departure for an industry that typically insists its business be called "gaming" not "gambling."

At the same event, David J. Satz, senior vice president of government affairs for one of Adelson's competitors, Caesar's Entertainment Corporation, also made a presentation to the RAGA on Nov. 10 in favor of tightly regulated, legal online gambling.

Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul who donated nearly $100 million in the 2012 election, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, is preparing for a fight to ban online gambling. The Washington Post reported Sunday that in January, Adelson will unveil an advocacy group, the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling, and that Adelson himself may travel to Washington in January to meet with lawmakers about the issue.

The Post also reported that the three co-chairs of the coalition are former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, former Sen. Blanche Lincoln, and former New York Gov. George Pataki. Abboud confirmed the co-chairs to BuzzFeed, saying they would take leadership in the effort going forward.

"We do not think that the technology exists to protect consumers. We feel that casino gaming was never meant to be in every pocket and on every phone in America," Abboud said. "Gaming was organized to be a destination. Someone had to get up, get dressed, and make a conscious decision to go. And we just simply don't think it is good for the industry or good for our country to put a casino in the pocket of every American."

Abboud's presentation included a 2006 letter from the National Association of Attorneys General praising Congress for its efforts to ban internet gambling, as well as data from the Tarrance Group, a Republican polling firm, showing that a majority of Americans harbor negative views of online gambling.

Satz's presentation made a case that online gambling occurs even in states where it is illegal and that law enforcement lacks the tools to enforce current laws. His presentation suggests that this hinders consumer protections such as preventing minors from playing or preventing fraud, and that it also stops states from collecting tax revenue from the industry.

The recommendations in the presentation were for new laws to respect states rights to prohibit online gambling or define what is allowed; establish consumer protections and strict regulations; remove unauthorized gambling; and provide resources to law enforcement to keep "bad actors" out of the market.

Abboud said his presentation was "received very warmly by the attorney generals. They're taking their time to study it and figure out their decisions."

Satz did not return a request for comment for this story.

Jill Bader, communications director for the Republican State Leadership Committee said in a statement, "The Republican Attorneys General Association does not have a position on this issue, but there are Republican attorneys general on both sides of the debate."

The two presentations outlined the arguments both sides will likely use to make their case either for or against Internet gambling as the debate moves forward. Abboud said the coalition will be a "very robust effort," to fight legalized online gambling both at the federal and state levels.

Copies of Satz's and Abboud's presentations, obtained by BuzzFeed, appear below.


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9 Heartfelt Condolence Letters Jackie Kennedy Received From Famous People

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An outpouring of sympathy for the widowed-First Lady.

Jazz musician Duke Ellington.

Jazz musician Duke Ellington.

JFK Presidential Library

The wife of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, who was assassinated earlier that year.

The wife of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, who was assassinated earlier that year.

JFK Presidential Library

Civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King.

Civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King.

JFK Presidential Library

Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (translation below).

Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (translation below).

It was with deep personal grief that I learned about the tragic death of your husband, President of the U.S. John F. Kennedy. All people who knew him greatly respected him, and I shall always keep the memory of my meetings with him. Accept my most sincere condolences and expressions of wholehearted sympathy with your grievous bereavement. N. Khrushchev.

JFK Presidential Library


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Republican Congressman Gets One Year Of Probation For Cocaine Posession

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“I’ve hit rock bottom,” Florida Rep. Trey Radel told the court Wednesday.

Jacob Fischler/BuzzFeed

Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.) pled guilty to misdemeanor possession of cocaine Wednesday morning.

Though his attorney David Schertler asked for six months of probation, Judge Robert Tignor ultimately upped it to one year. If he breaks that probation, Radel could face up to 180 days in jail.

On Oct. 29 Radel bought 3.5 grams of cocaine, also known as an 8-ball, for $250 (though he paid $260) from an undercover agent posing as a drug dealer.

Radel became the target of the sting operation after officers were informed Radel had bought and used cocaine on several occasions beforehand and that sometimes he would provide cocaine to others.

"I've hit rock bottom," Radel, wearing a blue suit and no member pin, said in court. "I've got to come out of this stronger."

In a statement sent Tuesday night, Radel admitted to suffering from alcoholism and that he has sought treatment for it. Radel said Wednesday he will seek further treatment in Florida for an unspecified period of time.

When the judge asked Radel to clarify what he believed to be buying on Oct. 29, he struggled to get the words out.

"A drug," he said. "Cocaine."

Radel, a former reporter, didn't stop to comment after he left the courthouse Wednesday, but he did briefly pause to check on a reporter who fell over while chasing him.

Sebelius Photo Op Turns Into Disaster As HealthCare.Gov Crashes In Front Of Her

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Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius had just walked into a room with health navigators who were trying to enroll new applicants at North Shore Medical Center in Miami Tuesday. “Sorry our system is temporarily down.”

"She didn't address it."

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Video Via NBC Miami

House Democrats Try To Change The Subject From Obamacare

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New topic: the budget! “Repeal [of] the Affordable Care Act is what has been their agenda and almost solely their agenda,” Steny Hoyer said of Republicans. “That is why we have not dealt with the budget.”

Jason Reed / Reuters

WASHINGTON — The disastrous roll out of the Affordable Care Act has been an all-consuming topic on Capitol Hill in recent weeks, with anxious Democrats openly fretting about the political ramifications of the troubled law.

But Democratic leadership is hoping to change subject in coming weeks, with several critical spending deadlines on the horizon. In recent days, the message from the top has been focused on the lack of progress in budget negotiations and not so subtly sounding the warning bell about another government shutdown in January.

"Repeal [of] the Affordable Care Act is what has been their agenda and almost solely their agenda," said minority whip Steny Hoyer this week of the GOP. "That is why we have not dealt with the budget. That's why we haven't dealt with the appropriation bills. That's why we haven't dealt with unemployment insurance, farm bill, nondiscrimination, comprehensive immigration reform, debt limit, all of those. They are all issues that need to be dealt with by December 31st."

There is little chance that congressional Republicans will let up on hammering Democrats over the law. But the hope among some Democrats is that Republican inaction on pressing issues will take some of the heat off them and put the attention back on the GOP. Not even a month ago, Republicans took a beating at the polls over the shutdown, but as the problems with Obamacare have piled up, now it's Democrats who are seeing their approval ratings tumble.

"I've been here for a little under a year and if I've learned anything in September there was this national obsession with Syria, October it was the shutdown, right now it's the website," said freshman Rep. Eric Swalwell. "This too shall pass we'll get it fixed, and we don't want to miss opportunities right now as this is going on. You can't just obsess over this, there are other things the American people are counting on us to do."

"We're not one trick ponies. I think the ACA is a national issue but how people pay their bills, how they are going to support their family are things people obviously care about," he added. "We just can't get sucked into to having that being the only issue we talk about."

Anger has been brewing in the caucus, specifically at the White House for the roll out of the law. Rep. Jim Moran described the caucus as near "mutiny level" last week.

Leaders in the Democratic caucus emerged from their meeting on Tuesday pushing a similar message: the law may be having trouble right now, but what people really care about are jobs and the economy.

Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra responding to a question about the daily bad Obamacare news by saying that Democrats were committed to fixing the "health security law" as he referred to it. But he quickly pivoted back to talking about employment.

"We don't want to lose sight of the fact that right now, Americans are looking for work and Americans want to build again in this country and that's what we want to focus on because the reality is that we have watched this congress do virtually nothing," he said.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday night that Democrats would not be running only on Obamacare and that her members would continue to "stand by the policy."

"We're proud of it," she said at a BuzzFeed Brews event.

"[The election] will be about jobs, it'll be about growth in our economy, it'll be about Medicare, it'll be about their budget: Medicare where the Democrats are, millionaires where they are," she said.

Ayatollah Khamenei's Rabid Dog Comments "Uncomfortable," Senior U.S. Official Says

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The official doesn’t specifically condemn inflammatory rhetoric by Iran’s supreme leader.

Handout / Reuters

GENEVA — A senior U.S. administration official said that inflammatory rhetoric by the Ayatollah Khamenei on Wednesday was "uncomfortable" but did not condemn it as unacceptable, as the French have done.

"Of course I don't ever like it when people use rhetoric that in any way talks about the U.S. in ways that I find very uncomfortable and not warranted whatsoever," the official told reporters assembled in Geneva to cover Iran nuclear talks this week.

"I do hearken back to what President Obama said at the UN General Assembly however. There are decades of mistrust between the United States and Iran," the official said. "We certainly have had many people in our society say difficult things about Iran and Iranians, and not always necessarily made a difference between governmental decisions and culture and people — this is a very difficult terrain, is I guess my bottom line here, because there are these decades of mistrust."

"So I would hope that neither in the U.S. nor Iran would leaders use rhetoric that may work well in a domestic constituency but add to the decades of mistrust on both sides."

The official was asked about Khamenei's address to the Basij paramilitary force on Wednesday in which he referred to Israel as a "rabid dog" and accused the U.S. of launching a nuclear attack on Japan after the country had surrendered in World War II. The official did not specifically address the "rabid dog" comment.

A French government spokesperson on Wednesday condemned the remarks, calling them "unacceptable" and saying that they "complicate" talks.

During the briefing with reporters, the official said that an unusually short plenary session with the Western and Chinese and Russian negotiating powers and Iran was short because it was "meant as a kickoff" and said that the P5+1 shared a "unity of purpose."

The negotiating powers are holding a series of bilateral meetings on Wednesday evening before talks continue on Thursday.


George W. Bush Has 7 New Dance Moves To Teach Us

23 Front Pages From 1963 Covering The Day President Kennedy Was Assassinated

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A nation mourned.

Andrew Kaczynski Screenshot/Google News Archive

Andrew Kaczynski Screenshot/Google News Archive

Andrew Kaczynski Screenshot/Google News Archive

Andrew Kaczynski Screenshot/Google News Archive


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Rep. Trey Radel Made The Best Vines In All Of Congress

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YOVO.

Rep. Tray Radel is having a rough week after pleading guilty to cocaine possession and receiving one year probation.

Rep. Tray Radel is having a rough week after pleading guilty to cocaine possession and receiving one year probation.

Via Jacob Fishler/ BuzzFeed

But lets hope that doesn't keep him from continuing to make the greatest Vines in Congress.

But lets hope that doesn't keep him from continuing to make the greatest Vines in Congress.

Via naplesnews.com

Like the paranoid Toy Story Vine.

The "Creepy fish."


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Obama Presents Same-Sex Partners With Awards For Sally Ride, Bayard Rustin

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To honor Ride and Rustin’s legacies, Obama awarded each of them the Presidential Medal of Freedom — a move that highlighted their same-sex partners. “It’s a very good sign that we’re moving forward,” Walter Naegle, Rustin’s partner, says.

Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press / MCT

WASHINGTON — For Tam O'Shaughnessy and Walter Naegle, Wednesday was a day to honor the legacies of their deceased partners — astronaut Sally Ride and civil rights leader Bayard Rustin.

O'Shaughnessy, Ride's partner, and Naegle, Rustin's partner, sat on stage at the White House alongside Oprah Winfrey, President Bill Clinton, Gloria Steinem and others, as President Obama presented them with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a ceremony on Wednesday morning. O'Shaughnessy and Naegle are the first people to accept the award on behalf of deceased same-sex partners.

"I'm honored to represent Sally, and just honored to be here, and I also think having Walter and me on stage for our partners sends a huge message to the world, so I think — that feels good," O'Shaughnessy said after the ceremony in the East Room of the White House.

"I'm so happy that we live in a country where I could sit on the stage and represent Sally, and that the Obamas welcome that. That is, it's just amazing and it brings tears to my eyes. I tried not to [on stage]," O'Shaughnessy said. "Sally and I were able to live wonderful lives because of the people who fought for gay and lesbian rights all these years."

Rustin was one of those people, helping organize the 1963 March on Washington — for which he often was denied recognition because he was gay — and later working to advance gay rights. Although Rustin died in 1987, Naegle was at the White House Wednesday to accept Rustin's award.

"It's certainly a very emotional day, a tremendous honor," Naegle said. "It's the highest honor that somebody can get, and to have Bayard at that level affirms all of the values that he was committed to, making America better for everybody, not just the select few."

Chris Geidner/BuzzFeed

Naegle has long made ensuring that Rustin receives his proper place in history a big part of his life's work since Rustin died. Today, though, Naegle said that he had a message for Obama to be taken from his partner's legacy.

"I said this to the president: Bayard took a lot of hits in his life, but he always got back up and went back into the fight," Naegle said. "And I said — the president's getting a lot of hits now, and he really needs to keep fighting for all Americans. The real legacy, or lesson, to be learned from Bayard is: You don't give up just because you get knocked down a couple of times. You get back up and get back in the ring. And that's what [Rustin] did, he was doing that his whole life."

Accepting the Presidential Medal of Freedom was a moment that Naegle put in the context of his work, saying, "This particular day, it wasn't really sure that this would ever happen. It's kind of the icing on the cake, but our motivation was really to get him into the history books, to get people to know who he was, and really to work to perpetuate the values that he stood for and to carry on the work, because the work is not finished," he said. "It lifts him up — in history."

Ride, in contrast, had long had a place in history, as the first American female astronaut — but it was not known publicly that she was a lesbian until after her death.

O'Shaughnessy was named as Ride's partner in the death notice published on the website of the company they founded, Sally Ride Science. That statement, following Ride's death on July 23, 2012, was first the couple made about their relationship.

"The way it came out in her obituary was, Sally and I talked about, I wanted to do a celebration of her life, and I realized, 'Who am I to the world?'" O'Shaughnessy said after the ceremony Wednesday. "We were very open with our family and friends, and then very private — very private — with everybody else, not open."

"Then, a week before Sally died, she said, 'Tam, I want you to decide how you want to deal with things,'" she continued, "and I decided that Sally was a very honest person and this was the only area of her life that was — it wasn't dishonest, but she wasn't completely honest with the world about who she was in that area and neither was I."

"I wrote the so-called obituary, and stated that I was Sally's partner," she said of her decision. "I wanted to live honestly and openly, and I thought it was the right thing for her legacy and her integrity. And, I also realized it might be a big story."


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The 21 Most Joe Biden-Est Things Joe Biden Has Ever Joe Bidened

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The VP that keeps on giving.

It is Joe Biden's birthday, geniuses.

It is Joe Biden's birthday, geniuses.

Pool / Reuters

Carlos Jasso / Reuters


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