The White House has said that the watchword of this year's State of this Union address will be "the economy," but both Tim Cook-- Apple's CEO-- and the parents of Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot days after performing with her marching band at the inauguration, are sitting in the "First Lady's Box."
People who sit in the box are chosen because they exemplify the values and ideas described in the speech. With gun control at the forefront of national discussion, the Pendletons will be a chilling reminder of the violence that has occurred this year and last.
Ted Nugent, a gun rights activist will be in the audience Tuesday. He was invited by Texas Congressman Steve Stockman, who has called for the president's impeachment. Nugent suggested earlier this year that he was gearing up for an armed rebellion against Obama, whom he has accused of preparing a plan to confiscate guns, the Huffington Post reported. The Secret Service have investigated Nugent over comments he made in a speech last year that if Obama won re-election, Nugent would either be "dead or in jail."
"I am excited to have a patriot like Ted Nugent joining me in the House Chamber to hear from President Obama," Stockman said. "After the address I'm sure Ted will have plenty to say."
Meanwhile, 9to5Mac speculates that Tim Cook could be making an appearance due to Apple's plans to bring Mac production back to the US with a single Mac line. Cook will speak at the Goldman Sachs Technology conference Tuesday morning before heading to D.C. to attend the speech.
If Tim Cook and the Pendletons aren't enough of a reason to keep an eye on Michelle Obama's corner, NASA's Iranian-American Bobak Ferdowski will be there too. Ferdowski is otherwise known as Mohawk Guy (Mohawk Guy!) and will be joining the First Lady as an example of why the United States needs to offer more visas to skilled immigrants in math, science and engineering.
He rocketed to fame while coordinating the Curiosity rover's landing on Mars, red-and-blue mohawk decorated with white stars drawing the attention of thousands of viewers who were watching the landing in real-time.
