How is your trip to AZ going? Isn't it wonderful that so many of the candidates there are women? Martha McSally, former fighter pilot; Krysten Simena, with her childhood of economic hardship; Hiral Tipirneni, emergency room doctor & Indian immigrant; Debbie Lesko, survivor of domestic violence; Ann Kirkpatrick, lawyer fighting for the rights of tribal nations; and Anita Malik, Indian-American tech entrepeneur. So much talent!
I did get to read about Marine Sgt Maj John Canley, the guy who got a Medal of Honor. According to Newsweek, John Ligato, who nominated Mr. Canley, had to cut through a lot of red tape. It took him 15 years to usher the nomination through. In the end Rep. Julia Brownley had to write legislation so Mr. Canley could receive the award. Apparently, he was honored for his heroics during a battle in the Tet Offensive, and is an incredibly humble guy.
The 22 5th graders were receptive. Teacher, first year rookie, Mr. Guillen, has established classroom community so they respectfully listened to me and to each other, stayed on task and successfully built complex polyhedron. It's magical when kids get engaged in intellectual work in the classroom!!! You should stop by and visit some day.
According to the Tallahassee Democrat meteorologist, the fed weather people forecast the storm track perfectly. They just did not predict that the storm would intensify as it hit land and travel so fast. Did you read the NYT this morning and see the article about the Gulf side house in Mexico Beach that's still standing? It was just built recently and the owners took extraordinary measures to fortify the house. It's pretty cool that all that science and engineering worked!
So much so that you gave up the opportunity to have the "perfect dog," Patton, the goldendoodle, that your friend Lois Pope tried to give you. That's too bad. Dogs provide excellent therapy, even if they can be annoying from time to time. They know how to have fun, and they get excited about the little things in life, like food and going for a walk.
Another day, another rally. I hope you have fun in Richmond, KY today. Some of the faculty and students at Eastern Kentucky University where the rally will be held are not excited about your visit. Have you heard that they wrote a letter the president of the University and its Board of Regents stating their objections to having the rally on the campus?
It looks like you had quite the party in the Oval Office for the signing of the Orrin Hatch Music Modernization Act. I'm afraid that I have never heard of "Kid Rock" or "Mike Love," but it's nice that they could join you for the event. From what I read in the media Kayne's visit got crazy. Not too surprising. He loves to talk and he loves an audience so he just let himself go.
I hope you have fun at the WH today with Kayne, Kid Rock and Orrin Hatch. I assume Orrin will be there when you sign his Music Modernization Act, HR1551, this afternoon. I had no idea that Orrin was a song writer! Did you know that he wrote a song about Ted Kennedy's love for his wife, Victoria? Orrin says he writes love songs to take away the pain of his DC activities.
I am sure you will hear a similar rhyme from Kayne West when you, two, have lunch together today. I understand that he wants to talk to you about creating job opportunities for former convicts and bringing more manufacturing jobs to Chicago. I'm sure you will have fun talking to each other. He believes you are a kindred spirit because you are both "unguarded" in your speech.
I encourage you to meet Dr. Yevgeniy Gelfand who is researching the use of the psychedelic drug, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), to treat PTSD in police officers. MDMA raises your level of arousal while relaxing you at the same time and is known for increasing feelings of trust and compassion towards others.
I hope you will mention General Frank Petersen Jr in your remarks today. A new Navy destroyer with his name on it will be christened today in MS. He faced tremendous racial prejudice as he broke the color barrier in the Marines to become their first black aviator. He flew 350 combat missions and raised in the ranks to become a base commander.
I'm driving around too much on this adventure in my birthplace to get a chance to write. I am having a brief moment to gather my thoughts because it's raining cats and dogs. A thunderbolt disrupted power a few minutes ago so we are taking shelter in the New Boswell Brew Pub in the Depot District of Richmond. I'll tell you more about it tomorrow.
I didn't get to write to you yesterday because I was too busy driving from Griffin, IN to Richmond. I got a chance to see I-69. You'll remember that's the road that Mike P. hoped to build through a P3 partnership with Isolux Corsun. It's not finished and there's still a stretch that has a couple of stop lights and cross traffic. Just a reminder that making a profit on building infrastructure projects requires some magic that few companies can conjure up. Isolux Corsun was not up to the task.