Earlier today multiple power companies and tree clearing organizations were rallying in South Florida to begin the long convoy back home.  Our CERT team knew we could not thank them all, there were/are over 60,000 people in the Florida power recovery effort, but we darned sure were going to try and thank as many as possible.

~”The Largest Power Restoration Effort in U.S. History”~

There are still areas in Florida where the power grid is being rebuilt and restored, however the vast majority of the work in SWFL (Marco Island, Naples, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, Sanibel, Cape Coral, Collier and Lee Counties) is finished.  At this stage of completion the power and tree crews who came to assist head back to their home state and region.   Many of them began that trek home today.
There is no way to adequately outline the dedication we have witnessed in the impact zone from these incredible men and women and their traveling support groups.  Unless you actually witness them in action it’s indescribable.  Working 24/7 for two straight weeks, through intense blistering heat, through storms and sheet-rain, through the darkest nights, these crews were jaw-droppingly dedicated to the recovery effort; and this was no-where near home for them.
When I think of them leaving their families for weeks… of them wading through filth and muck to reach the hardest of areas… of the saltwater marsh up to their necks with equipment held over their heads… of the grit and determination…. of the callouses in every handshake and hug… of the colors of every helmet…. day-after-day, night-after-night no quit… well, I ain’t a tender person but damn if their sheer effort just doesn’t drop me to tears of appreciation.
Blazin’ chainsaws… solutions on the fly… engineering stuff and building it with a level of calloused ingenuity that would strike fear into any adversary questioning the strength and backbone of America.
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(Via Reuters) TORONTO  – U.S. first lady Melania Trump, on her first solo international trip on Saturday, to Toronto, met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and invited Britain’s Prince Harry to visit the White House.
Mrs. Trump, 47, who is leading the U.S. delegation attending the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games for wounded soldiers in Canada’s biggest city, also wished the U.S. team luck in a brief speech:

“On behalf of my husband and our entire country, I want to thank you and your families for all you have sacrificed to keep us safe,” Trump said at a reception for the U.S. team.
“I also want to wish you good luck but I know you won’t need it,” she added. “Take that fighting spirit that I know you have and bring home the gold.”
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As I shared yesterday:

[…] With most hurricane power outages you can find something, usually a tree, that has actually severed the top power line on a neighborhood grid. If the tree is massive, with or without taking down the pole, the tree has to be removed first. If the power company has to remove a tree before they can restore power to an ordinary residential neighborhood, they drop the priority to “some later time”, and move on to quicker repairs… Ergo most of those without power, end Day #3 (September 13), will not see power until their rotation on the tree removal list comes up; sometime around the end of the month (two weeks away), or later.

A case in point.  Check this one out:

You can click on that image to make it massive.
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NOTE: I am posting this for Sundance, who is very busy at the moment. He wrote this last year on September 11. (signed) Stella

I hope he will rejoin us at any moment!

To honor the memory of those lost on September 11th/12th 2012:

The Benghazi Brief

The “Benghazi Brief” remains the most controversial research report we have ever produced. The brief contains over two years of research and hundreds of very specific factual citations supporting it. Two years after it was originally written, and not a single aspect outlined within the brief has ever been identified as inaccurate.
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The Trump administration is pushing every federal agency to lean forward and get all available resources to the people and communities in Texas and Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.  Rescue, Recovery and Relief efforts are ongoing as flooding continues to lessen in some areas, but worsen in others. President Trump and First Lady Melania are scheduled to return to Texas on Saturday.
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Administration) teams are strategically located throughout the region and all available resources have been opened to Texas Governor Greg Abbott; it’s quite remarkable how proactive their efforts have been.
Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, the general “we got this” attitude of people in Texas is leading to fast, effective, responsive and inspiring solutions.  Today Vice-President Mike Pence, Second Lady Karen Pence, and multiple Cabinet Officials traveled to Texas to visit the communities most impacted by the storm and flooding.

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Choking back tears, I don’t have words…. only memories.  Wonderful memories.
However, you can judge Glen Campbell’s excellence upon the faces of his peers.

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President Trump will present his first Medal of Honor to a Vietnam hero today.  Former Specialist Five James C. McCloughan risked his life on nine separate occasions to rescue wounded comrades while serving as a medic in Vietnam.

UPDATE: Video Added

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Earlier today President Trump recognized the hero first responders who thwarted the GOP assassination attempt at the congressional baseball practice. Video and Transcript below:

[Transcript] 3:25 P.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: Please sit down. Thank you. And thank you to Vice President for doing a fantastic job and for the introduction. We welcome you all, members of Congress and distinguished guests. We are gathered here today for a very, very special occasion, as we pay tribute to real heroes whose courageous actions under fire saved so many lives in Alexandria, Virginia just six weeks ago.
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Earlier today President Trump met with survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the U.S.S. Arizona.

[Transcript] 2:51 P.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Today it’s my distinct privilege to welcome to the White House three of the five living survivors of the USS Arizona. This is their first time to our nation’s capital — Ken, Lauren, and Don. I hope this trip does honor to you and your truly heroic service and we wanted to thank you all. That is so good. Thank you very much. Thank you for giving me the nicest hardware, plus a beautiful patch. Thank you.
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Many of you might remember the three brave Americans, Spencer Stone (U.S. Air Force), Alek Skarlatos (U.S. National Guard) and Anthony Sadler (Pittsburg, CA) who confronted a heavily armed Jihadist aboard a French train during a terrorist attack in 2015.
U.S. Air Force Spencer Stone charged the terrorist who was using an AK-47, tackled him and suffered severe wounds in the confrontation.  All three of the friends were heroes. The terrorist, Ayoub el-Qahzzani, had at least nine full magazines of ammunition holding almost 300 rounds, a hand gun and a box cutter.
For their bravery the three Americans and one British tourist were awarded France’s highest honor – The Légion d’Honneur medal.

Oscar winner, actor and director Clint Eastwood is making a movie based on the lives of the three friends and the events on that fateful day.  The movie is called “The 15:17 to Paris”.  And instead of hiring Hollywood actors, Mr. Eastwood is actually casting the three men to play themselves in the movie.   How cool is that?
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