Hello fellow political geeks! This is our open thread for tonight’s State of the Union address, which starts at 9 p.m. ET. The rebuttal will be given by Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.
If you want a preview of coming attractions, here is the list of guests who will be in the First Lady’s box:
Sergeant Sheena Adams (Vista, CA), Team Advisor & Lead Instructor, Female Engagement Team
Alan Aleman, a DREAM student in Las Vegas, Nevada. (He was mentioned in the President’s speech on comprehensive immigration reform two weeks ago, and my boss was seated next to him!)
Jack Andraka, a 16-year-old in Crownsville, MD, who was the winner of the 2012 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair
Susan Bumgarner, an early childhood educator in Norman, OK (Such an important issue, so glad she is included!)
Deb Carey, the owner of New Glarus Brewing Company in New Glarus, WI
Sergeant Carlos Evans, USMC (Cameron, NC), Wounded Warrior
Tim Cook (Cupertino, CA), CEO of Apple
Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton and Nathaniel A. Pendleton Sr. (Chicago, IL), the parents of Hadiya Pendleton who was shot and killed in her Chicago neighborhood on January 29. (Again, grateful that attention is being paid to gun violence in our country.)
Menchu de Luna Sanchez (Secaucus, NJ), Registered Nurse, NYU Langone Medical Center
Bobak Ferdowsi (Pasadena, CA), Flight Director, Mars Curiosity Rover
Bobak Ferdowsi, aka NASA’s “Mohawk Guy,” is a member of the Mars Curiosity rover team at NASA and Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
Bradley Henning (Louisville, KY), Machinist, Atlas Machine and Supply
Tracey Hepner (Arlington, VA), Co-Founder, Military Partners and Families Coalition
Peter Hudson (Evergreen, CO), Co-Founder and CEO, iTriage
Governor John Kitzhaber (D-OR)
Mayor Marie Lopez Rogers (Avondale, AZ)
Amanda E. McMillan (Jackson, MS), Pay Discrimination Victim (An issue near and dear to the hearts of MomsRising staff and members!)
Lee Maxwell (Wilton, IA), Graduate, Kirkwood Community College Wind Technician Program
Lieutenant Brian Murphy (Oak Creek, WI)
Lisa Richards (Arlington, VA), #My2K Participant
Kaitlin Roig (Greenwich, CT), 1st Grade Teacher, Sandy Hook Elementary School
Abby Schanfield (Minneapolis, MN), ACA Beneficiary
Haile Thomas (Tucson, AZ), Let’s Move! Champion
Desiline Victor (Miami, FL), a naturalized U.S. citizen from Haiti and retired farmworker, is 102 years old.
I’m looking forward to catching some of the SOTU after the kids go to bed. I hope he knocks it out of the park, Obama-style!
I know! Hands down, one of the best speech givers of our time. I’ll drop everything to listen…and oh, just spotted my awesome Congresswoman Barbara Lee! I know, #ImaNerd
Watching some but need to get a run in. On the one hand, I hope it’s really compelling. OTOH, not so much….
here we go…
“We can chose to believe the overwhelming judgement of science”
<3
Universal preschool? He’s pulling out all the progressive stops!