Tuesday, June 30, 2009

"Settled In"

The phrase I can use to describe myself is "settled in." I feel like I've reached that magic yet mystical stage of living in a new place in which things feel more at home. Not that this is home by any means. But nonetheless, the days go quickly and I cannot believe that I am nearly half-way done with my internship.

Friday was ridiculous as our office was bombarded with phone calls. That wretched energy bill passed by 7 votes. In the words of Minority Leader John Boehner, "this bill is a piece of s***." Hopefully the weakened GOP in the Senate can find a way to stop it there.

This past weekend was a busy one. Zach, Will, Dakota, and I met up with some Hillsdale people in town on Friday night. Sean McDermott and his fiancée along with Marieke, Betsy, Maria, Julie, and Liz met us at the WWII memorial. Nothing too exciting occurred. I spent the night at Zach's place and the next morning we went crepe hunting for breakfast at the Eastern Market... which is a big Saturday morning market averaging about 15,000 customers per Saturday. I met up with Julie after breakfast while Zach played frisbee on the mall. We did some more Smithsonian touring until later in the afternoon when Zach and I headed up to a sweet book store in Maryland. Dakota also met us up there, and Sam picked us up and we spent the night at his house. I attended Joshua Harris's church called Covenant Life the next day and got a taste for Reformed evangelicalism. The verdict is still out on that one as a whole but I enjoyed Harris's message and was thankful it avoided the subject of dating....Mrs. Branchaw fed us well the entire weekend and on Sunday Rebecca and Liz came over for a barbecue. It was nice to spend time with Hillsdale people... which seems to be the trend on weekends.

Today it was back to the office where we are enjoying a week of congressional recess. We are using the time to try and catch up on constituent mail. We are getting record amounts for our office which is a good and a bad thing. It can be a pain to write letters back... but it is good that Rep. Hoekstra is gaining the attention of the people of Michigan.

Not too sure what the plans are for the rest of the week. Will probably see some D.C. fireworks which should be awesome....

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Cap and Trade

Tomorrow the House will vote on the Clean Air and Energy plan proposed by House Democrats. Lead sponsors of the legislation are Reps. Markey and Waxman. For the life of me, I will never understand liberal economic policy. Those who know me, realize I am no staunch advocate of the free market. But I seriously do not understand why we we should pass an energy bill that will cost the average American family $3000 a year. All in the name of something that is scientifically unproven. I greatly question Obama's stimulus package to the American people. Why give the Americans a few hundred dollars when your tax and spend policies will cost them thousands of dollars in the end. This is ludicrous and its stunning at how stupid the American people are. No offense to any Obama voters reading this. But get real. Pay attention to how public policy actually works. Understand that big inefficient government offers many promises but no solutions and always ends up making our lives worse in the long run. I'm not suggesting the GOP is offering better alternatives at this point. The Republicans are just as confused and misguided on many issues. But when it comes to this proposed energy bill (known as Cap and Trade), and Obama's domestic initiatives in general, the Democratic agenda is more than just misguided. It is just plain and simple stupid.

At least this type of legislation has kept me busy over the summer. I look forward to ending my fourth week on the job. I really am enjoying my internship and all that I get to learn. Some of my work in the spreading of the parental rights amendment got some coverage when we reached 100 co-sponsors in the House. This past week I've done a variety of things including research on taxes, health care, and government emergency contacts and protocols. It definitely keeps the day interesting.

Thankfully I have a life outside of work which is awesome. I talked on the phone for three and a half hours last night which was kind of ridiculous... thank goodness for free nights and weekends. Tonight I went to an intern barbecue put on by a Christian organization... and then went out for a drink with Julie which was nice to do especially after a busy past week of work. Tomorrow I am working and then going over to Zach's for a bit. We are meeting up with some people at night. I'm spending the night with Zach because we are having breakfast together on Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon we are bookstore hunting and then spending the night with Sam. We will go to his church and have dinner with his family. I should have a more detailed report of the weekend... after it is over!

For now... sleep...

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Whoa- June 23?

So I was going to call this post "Mid-June Update" but was horrified upon looking at my computer clock that it is actually June 23. Yes I really did know that... but I guess I never actually realized it. SCARY. Summer is going by fast but I didn't think it was actually going by that fast.

This past weekend was really relaxing. I spent most of Saturday out in Georgetown at James's place. Read and slept... and made spaghetti for dinner. Hannah is coming out this Thursday for the weekend so James was (and still is) fairly one track minded at this point... which is understandable. Speaking of the weekend, it appears to be filling up fairly quickly. Sean McDermott is coming into town on Friday and he is trying to get a group together Friday night. I have plans Saturday too... so we will see how they turn out.

The Metro accident shook the entire city up I think. One knows the risks of any sort of transportation system. Certainly we place a lot of trust in it to function properly. No Hillsdale students were hurt which is a blessing. Meanwhile the commute today went normally for myself although there were delays and no service on nearly ever stop of the red line... I am definitely glad I live in an area which avoids the red line completely.

Meanwhile work continues to plug along. I had a few "small world" occurrences today. First I had a free lunch today courtesy of the James Kennedy Institute of Christian Statesmen. Yes, politically active Christian organizations inherently scare me. But the speaker was Rep. Mike Pence... and there was free lunch for the first 100 who RSVP'd. Rep. Pence was actually really good... and rather than trying to encourage young Capitol Hill interns to overtake the world, he spoke on remaining faithful to what was really lasting in life... that being our faith in Christ. Anyways after I got off the elevator and turned the corner to go back to this office, I ran into this lady who recognized me from KEEGSTRA'S. Wow... that was like... 6 or 7 years ago. I faintly recognized her too... she was there with her husband and family. I was a bit stunned... but happy to see people from Hudsonville. I also found out my chief of staff is a good friend of Mitch Newenhouse... my former boss. When he found about that I knew Mitch, he called Mitch up to tell him I was working for him now. What a small and crazy world... it's almost scary...

To follow up my free lunch, I also got to enjoy a free dinner this evening courtesy of Hillsdale. Afterwards Dr. Bobb showed us the space where the new headquarters for Hilldale's D.C. campus is located. It is an exciting time for Hillsdale and the space looks very promising... although I am not entirely sure what I think of the entire idea in general.

Anyways its time for sleep before a long day tomorrow... will try and post sometime before the weekend but no promises.

Friday, June 19, 2009

End of Week Three

This week flew by the fastest yet. It was a busy week in Congress... mainly over defense spending which ended up barely passing. Health care is also on the docket with the GOP introducing an alternate bill to counter the Democratic proposal. Both sides lack specifics so there is still plenty of battle left to be fought.

I had a great time over dinner with Ben Stafford this past week. We discussed a variety of topics including Ben's job with the Mackinaw Center for Public Policy. Even though he gets to work with a lot of economics, and his major was economics, Ben insists that his major did very little to prepare him for his actual job. College cannot provide the type of training one gets in the so-called "real world."

I realized also that Hillsdale's recognition down here is phenomenally good. At least compared to back home. Most people have never heard of Hillsdale, let alone know its reputation. Never mind that Hillsdale consistently ranks higher than Hope, Calvin, and many other good colleges. Or that Hillsdale is one of only two colleges in the entire nation that rejects government aid. Or that Hillsdale's faculty and speakers are some of the most distinguished academics and experts in their field. GVSU is a great deal right ;)... But when you tell someone down in the D.C. area that you go to school at Hillsdale, they definitely give you that nod or glance of approval. Most people down here know the kind of education Hillsdale offers. And it is nice to be in an environment where people already know that.

Today the office bought pizza for lunch... it was also our office manager's birthday so she made a delicious lemon cake. Tonight I helped the Madsen's tear out the carpeting of their recently flooded basement. Tomorrow I will head out to Georgetown to spend the day with James. I will probably spend the afternoon reading. We might go see a movie in the evening.

I think that catches you all up for now....

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Metro Frustrations



Oh D.C. Metro... we have a love/hate relationship. I finally threw away my mini-metro map yesterday. A graduation from my novice days of subway riding. I can get around the subways without frantically checking my location... or the train I'm getting onto. It is such a nice feeling! This is the "love" part of my relationship with the metro.

Now for the hate part. Apparently they are doing maintenance on the blue and yellow lines. I hope it is done by tomorrow because today's commute was terrible. I knew something was wrong the minute I got to the Pentagon... and the platform was packed. The first train was for the yellow line... and it was PACKED even before the passengers starting getting on. There was no way any other person would be able to fit... until a lady with a broken arm shoved her way in... only to have the door close on her arm. Some people are idiots. Anyways, instead of running the normal 1-2 minutes apart, the trains were running about 5-7 minutes. Time is precious in the morning commute but I knew I was going to be late. I finally shove my way onto the next train... which was PACKED even worse than normal. Amazingly, I was only three minutes late... which in my office is excusable. The commute back was slow as well. The blue line stopped every 50ft or so... the yellow line was running every 10 minutes making for another jam packed metro car... only worse because it was half-filled with obnoxious tourists who fail to understand that you DO NOT TALK ON THE METRO. Everyone is too tired to listen to you blabber about absolutely nothing. Okay... I think my metro rant is now over.

In happier news I got to experience life on the House floor yesterday. I was there for the appropriations vote that barely passed. Health care reform is coming through this week. While the Democrats continue to bicker, my congressman and most all of the GOP caucus appears to be united in their opposition to a 1.6 TRILLION dollar plan that could cost according to the Congressional Budget Office, over 6 trillion dollars in the next ten years. Listen I'm all about helping people but seriously... we are talking trillions of dollars and no ideas of paying for it... except by raising your taxes. So much for Obama's ideas of "change." Democrats (and most politicians in general) will raise your taxes. They always have and they always will.

Here is a link to an interview on C-Span with Hillsdale's president Larry Arnn. He says some interesting things about our school... and the article in the Wall Street Journal that everyone at my school cannot stop talking about, "Why Hilsdale is better than Harvard." I will be having dinner with a good friend and graduate of Hillsdale tomorrow night... Mr. Ben Stafford. Looking forward to another free meal!

I also got my picture with Congressman Hoekstra on the steps of the Capitol. There should be something in the Advance newspapers back home...

I am going to continue some pleasure reading... back to work tomorrow. Definitely ready for the weekend!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Beginning of Week Three

They tell me the first week is the slowest... the rest all fly by. If last week was any indication how fast the summer will go, I am slightly scared. I started my third week in D.C. by continuing my research on the health care legislation. This is already quite the controversy on Capitol Hill as the Democrats continue to fight among themselves about which plan will be best. For the time being, the Republicans seem content to stand back and watch the Democrats argue... while maintaining a fairly unified commitment to oppose the single-payer option proposed by liberals including Ted Kennedy.

This evening I met Dr. Gamble after work at a Borders just off of the Pentagon City metro stop. Some fellow students also met up with him including Will, Zach, Julie, Ben Stafford (alumni), and Dakota. We ended up having a delicious dinner at a pizza place. Dr. Gamble was gracious enough to cover the cost of the meal. What a blessing for a group of D.C. college student interns!

Tomorrow is back to work. Probably nothing too exciting... except more health care legislation...

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Dinner with Dr. Gamble

Dr. Gamble took me out for Italian food tonight. It is not often you get to eat and drink wine with one of your favorite professors. Dr. Gamble has also been one of the most influential men in my life. I have appreciated all that he has taught me... for real learning is both inside and outside the classroom. We talked about the problems of the modern day church... and many other importantish things. I hope to meet up with him and a few other students sometime tomorrow.

I thought I'd also post my picture with Justice Thomas before I head to bed... the others in the picture are Zach, Andrew, and Dakota.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Weeeeeekend!

My weekend essentially started on Thursday. Julie won a free happy hour from 10-12pm. I decided to spend Thursday and Friday night with James in Georgetown. We went to Trader Joe's and bought food... had grilled cheese for dinner and then headed out. It was actually a lot of fun as we got to meet up with Julie, William, John K, and Maria. Friday was work of course... as we ended a busy legislative week. Friday after work James and I took it easy and watched the Stanley Cup (of which nothing more will be said).

Today Andrew came into town for the day and James and I met him this morning at the newly opened/renovated American History museum. Liz, Zach, Sam, and later William also came out. It was a lot of fun at the museum and the great restaurant we went to for lunch. We also walked around the Washington Monument to check out the jazz festival.

After Andrew left I went back with James to grab my stuff and then came back here. My host family is gone until tomorrow night so I have the house to myself minus Quincy the dog. It is starting to thunder so I think another storm is coming. I basically talked on the phone to Adam and Manuel for most of the evening.

Tomorrow evening I am meeting Dr. Gamble in town for dinner. I am looking forward to seeing him. This concludes another blog post. Hope you are still awake!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Rain AGAIN

To no one's surprise it is raining again! James and I... both reluctant to sit in the rain while wearing dress clothes decided to pass on going to a Nationals game tonight. We will definitely make it out there before the end of the summer! Hopefully Julie and Will aren't getting too wet right now!

I've managed to attend back-to-back free lunches at the Heritage Foundation. The lunch yesterday featured a discussion on health care by Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. Today's lunch was on the topic of social justice and featured remarks by the well known columnist and author Michael Novak. Both were excellent presentations-- and excellent lunches!

Yesterday after work I went home with James. We had pbj sandwhiches for dinner and watched some baseball. I'll be headed home with home tomorrow too and will be there until Saturday.

Other than that, not much going on. I have a number of projects going on at the office. Hopefully tomorrow is a fast day!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Hospitality

I got to thinking how many people I have stayed with over the past few years, especially as I have traveled more. Living with the Madsen's has been great, and other than school or family, I will live with them longer than with anyone else. With that said, I am thankful for all the many wonderful people who have showed me hospitality over the past few years. Here are the ones I can think of... and there might be others I have forgotten...

Gibson's (Houston, Texas)
Frantzen's (San Antonio, Texas)
Sam Branchaw's Grandma... whose name I unfortunately cannot remember (Chicago)
Krepps family (Grand Ledge, MI)
Fiore's (New York City)
Howe's (San Jose, California)
Howard's (Berkeley, California)
Ruckman's (Daytonish, Ohio)
Downey's (Arlington, Virginia)
Odell's (Lancaster, PA)

I think that's all I can remember for now. I might have missed some...

In other news, I had lunch with JAMES today which was so exciting. I am so glad we work so close. We will be having lots of fun inside and outside of work this summer.

Off to bed...

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Sunday Explorations

Today after church I met up with Liz to explore parts of the Smithsonian. Ironically, I got on at Dupont Circle in the same car as she was already riding. What an awesome coincidence!

We got off at the Smithsonian and then decided to go to the Air and Space Museum. No matter how many times I go there, I do not get sick of looking at the exhibits. We only wanted to check out the space part of the museum so after walking around there for a few hours we grabbed lunch at the amazing McDonald's at the end of the museum.

From there we walked around the outdoor sculpture garden at the Smithsonian on our way to the World War II Memorial. Liz had never seen this memorial before so we decided to check it out. It was a beautiful day and there were many people flying kites between the Washington Monument and the WWII memorial. This is the third of fourth time I've seen the memorial and I think I like it more every time I see it. It was also appropriate coming the day after the anniversary of D-Day.

After leisurely resting among the trees outside the memorial, we walked to the White House and then around the area surrounding the famous residence. Now I am back here at the house thinking about Monday...

We'll see how this week goes...

Saturday, June 6, 2009

End of Week 1!

Week one is done and over! I am already looking forward to the start of next week. I plan on crashing 2-3 FREE lunches either at the building I work at, or the Heritage Foundation. Hopefully it works out!

I had a fairly busy Friday. I met with Dr. Bobb in the morning to discuss my independent study with him this summer. It will be a fair amount of work so hopefully he does not go too hard on me. He did seem to understand how busy I would be with work so I'm not too worried. After work on Friday I rode the orange line to Fairfax, Virginia to see my friend Will. We had a nice, leisurely dinner and then went back to the house where he is staying this summer. I ended up spending the night there and getting up early this morning to head back here. Will has a photography internship which requires weekend assignments. Since there was a big "Race for the Cure" this morning in D.C., he had to be up early to cover that. Thus the early Saturday morning!

As for today, I mainly just sat around the house. I finished Lewis's "Screwtape Letters," caught up on e-mails, and made a few phone calls. Tomorrow is church and then afterwards I am meeting up with Liz at the Smithsonian! Should be a fun afternoon....

For now... I think I'm headed to bed... soon....

Why the name of my blog?

Tonight is a two-post evening. This entry I will post the lines that inspired the name of my blog. They also demonstrate my own personal growth throughout the year. There is a necessity to "sit still" in life that is often ignored and neglected.

I first read this poem with Forrest and Josiah the day we all left for spring break. It is titled "Ash Wednesday" by T.S. Eliot. Below is the first stanza only.
Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn
Desiring this man's gift and that man's scope
I no longer strive to strive towards such things
(Why should the agèd eagle stretch its wings?)
Why should I mourn
The vanished power of the usual reign?

Because I do not hope to know
The infirm glory of the positive hour
Because I do not think
Because I know I shall not know
The one veritable transitory power
Because I cannot drink
There, where trees flower, and springs flow, for there is
nothing again

Because I know that time is always time
And place is always and only place
And what is actual is actual only for one time
And only for one place
I rejoice that things are as they are and
I renounce the blessèd face
And renounce the voice
Because I cannot hope to turn again
Consequently I rejoice, having to construct something
Upon which to rejoice

And pray to God to have mercy upon us
And pray that I may forget
These matters that with myself I too much discuss
Too much explain
Because I do not hope to turn again
Let these words answer
For what is done, not to be done again
May the judgement not be too heavy upon us

Because these wings are no longer wings to fly
But merely vans to beat the air
The air which is now thoroughly small and dry
Smaller and dryer than the will
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still.


Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Two Interesting Speakers

I've had some time to think about Justice Thomas's remarks yesterday and figured I would share some of them with the rest of you. I should be able to post some of the pictures Will took of the event. It was an amazing opportunity and I am thankful for the chance to meet such a prestigious individual as Justice Thomas. The Wall Street Journal Opinion page wrote an article this week titled "How Hillsdale Beats Harvard." You can find the article by clicking here. As I was pondering why I am so thankful to have ended up at Hillsdale, I sort of put together Justice Thomas's remarks with a lecture I heard today.

First, however, Justice Thomas. If there was one thing Thomas seemed to emphasize, it was to take advantage of our education. It is through education that we learn character, especially traits like honesty. The first step to becoming an honest person is being honest with yourself. Justice Thomas also pointed back to a proper understanding of our founding as a nation as the only way to view the law and the constitution. This education is attained best through a Hillsdale like education... and by being here (in D.C.) right now. Good education will allow us to discern right from wrong. The standard Thomas uses when making decisions is "by what authority" is the government/plaintaff exercising its action. One can only answer this question by referring to the Constitution as correctly understood through education. Thus, Thomas spent most of his time discussing the importance of the type of education we ourselves were receiving at Hillsdale.

Today I attended a day long leadership conference for summer interns in D.C. I was not really impressed with many of the presentations to be honest... for a variety of reasons. What I did find interesting however, was a lecture given by a well-connected political operative. He has served as the chief of staff for numerous congressional offices and is currently the vice-president of the grassroots conservative networking group who presented the seminar I attended. Interestingly, he graduated from the Naval Academy with a degree in mechanical engineering! Obviously, he is not working in the field he trained for!

In fact the latest statistics show people change careers 6-8 times and jobs 8-10 times! The speaker revealed how at one point in his career as a congressional chief of staff he only hired English majors because of their writing/thinking skills... even though their "training" was not in political policy. According to this speaker, employers want to hire people based WHO they are, not WHAT they are.

Putting this into conversation with Thomas and the WSJ article makes me very thankful I chose Hillsdale because it helped lead me to liberal education. Referring back to some earlier posts I wrote on liberal education, it seems to matter a lot more today what kind of person you become as a result of your education. Going to college for a job, although the dominant idea of our culture, seems to have serious problems. Developing only one specialized part of your mind, might lead to some serious deficiencies in more important areas. Although I am not nearly as liberally educated as I would like to be, I am thankful that Hillsdale has opened my mind to ideas and principles that DO matter. I'm not sure what job I will be headed into, but this is not the time of my life to worry about a job. It is the time to make myself into the individual God has created me for, and that itself will hopefully prepare me for whatever job I end up in.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Work and Justice Thomas

Another fascinating update for you all... especially those of you back home reading. Please don't be afraid to leave me comments or shoot me an e-mail. I try my best to stay in touch and/or respond. I am sorry if this post seems like a much of unorganized rambling. It probably sounds like it, because it is going to be. Agh... my writing just goes down the tube when I am not in school.

Exciting news first-- I got to meet Justice Clarence Thomas this morning. Myself and the 30 or so other Hillsdale students interning in D.C. arrived by 7:45am at the Supreme Court building this morning. After Justice Thomas gave a few introductory remarks, he let us ask him a number of questions. He gave a lot of good advice and some of his ideas behind helping restore proper constitutional government. I might blog later on about some of the more specific ideas he shared with us. I want a few days to let it all digest and my mind to process and think about his words.

It was nice to see more Hillsdale people today. After work yesterday, I walked around the mall and visited ole Abe at his memorial. Emily and I grabbed a quick bite to eat at a delicious sandwhich shop before I came home. Today I saw a lot of good friends for the first time in d.c.-- Will, Zach, Liz, and others. It is nice to see familiar faces!

I have begun to settle in at my internship. Keal the friendly staff assistant has been walking me around the tunnels and showing me how to get to places. All the office buildings are connected both to each other and to the Capitol. It is a confusing mess of tunnels and floors which I am still learning how to navigate to get from place to place. Most of it is not accessible to the public which is where my awesome Capitol Hill ID helps me out. I also ate lunch in the Rayburn cafeteria on Monday and it was surprisingly good. The food looks and smells tasty... I wish Hillsdale cafetaria (aka Saga) would learn something from the government.... (that is supposed to be ironic)...

I am also learning how to answer phones, deal with constituent issues, and learning basic office functions like how to make coffee and scanning/making copies. I also get to sit in on staff meetings... including the ones with Congressman Hoekstra. I assume that some meetings are probably off limits but thus far, I have been invited in. I have been assigned to work with our legislative counsel person named Zak on Congressman Hoekstra's Constitutional amendment on parental rights. You can check it out at http://hoekstra.house.gov/parentsrights/. Currently I am compiling a database of names and organizations that might be interested in supporting this bill on a grassroots level. There is little chance of it going anywhere with the Democratic congress and president who all seem to believe an 18 member panel in Geneva is better qualified than you are when it comes to raising your children. But we need to lay the groundwork to fight this nonesense and Congressman Hoekstra is taking the initiative by leading the charge on this legislation.

I think that's about all I've got for now. Tomorrow I will be attending this day long seminar for conservative interns in Arlington. Not sure what to expect, but I get a free lunch and a free dinner :D

Monday, June 1, 2009

More ramblings...

First day of work went well. I hope to blog sometime this week about the exact work I will be doing this summer. I should have an even better idea after the end of the week.

I did want to blog about the metro and a few other random things. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed riding the d.c. subway system. It is a great place to watch people. It is weird to get on the stops closer to Capitol Hill and see the passengers look a lot like me. Young, college, interns. It is weird to actually be one of those young, college, interns this year. In the midst of the squeaky wheels in the dark underground tunnels of the orange line, I remembered how long I've wanted to be out here for a summer. I'm thankful for the chance.

I work at the Rayburn House office building. Congressman Hoekstra's office is in the corner of the second floor. He gets a nice corner office right by the bathrooms and the elevator because of his seniority and rank on the Intelligence Committee. Rayburn is a hideous building on the inside. No matter where you go, it looks the same. Oh well... The view outside is great. Right there is the US Capitol. Awesomeness.

Three offices down from me is Congrsesman Mike Souder from Indiana. My good buddy James returns next Monday for his second year as an intern for Congressman Souder. Lunch breaks will rock.

That's all for tonight. I will try to continue blogging when I can...