tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69746638975299491172024-03-07T12:27:45.276-06:00Lucas' (b)LogBlog I wrote while in Washington, D.C. during the Spring of 2007.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-18882331335856683002007-05-20T07:53:00.000-06:002007-05-20T10:33:13.662-06:00A few more thoughts...I finished my laundry last night, and I should be able to figure out sometime tomorrow what I need to ship home. I made the mistake of bringing more to D.C. than I brought home during my trips back and forth, so I will have to pay some dues to the US Postal Service.<br /><br />I had a few more thoughts that I think are really important to know about Washington, here the come:<br /><br />If you want a job in Washington, D.C., you can get one. This is not a place of great competition. If Washington, D.C. were an island and you were stranded, you could probably find something to do for some office or organization. However, many entry-level positions are without pay (i.e. my internship). Because the entry-level jobs can be done by almost anyone, they don't need to spend the money to keep people around. Many internships start out with the salary of $0. I was lucky enough to receive a scholarship from the Renewable Fuels Association, which helped tremendously. When I figured out my pay in terms of the scholarship, I was making about $6.17 an hour, and that was being generous. Extended to a year, that would be about $15,000, and staff assistants can typically put three zeros on the end of their age. Because of this, I see a big problem, we have a low percentage of low-income staffers on the hill. It is not that a wealthy staff would do a worse job, but in a place where we are trying to solve problems, we have many great minds shy away from the city because the financial risk is too great. Those who do come either have their stay subsidized by their parents who want them to be successful, or work jobs on the weekends and after work. So that is the down-side, however one nice benefit most people do not realize is the educational loan repayment program available to staff. The rate is around $500 a month, so $6,000 a year. This can turn the $22,000 salary into about $28,000, making it a bit more manageable. This is still an expensive city. Rent for a live-able apartment (unlike mine) can be anywhere between $800 and $1,200, depending on where you are, how close you are to the Metro, and of course the regular housing/renting factors. With your $22,000 salary then, you have $16,500 after 25% is taken out for taxes. You can then take home about $1,375 for month, and put about $1,000 of that towards housing and travel, giving you about $3-400 to live on each month. With a few big bar tabs, I can see where people go into debt for a while. That is a pessimistic view, but with a few good years in D.C., salary rises quickly and staff swing to the other then of the financial pendulum. I'm just saying, the first couple of years can be rough.<br /><br />I think my final lecture will be about cars. Parking is ridiculous, and because the city wants less people on its streets, the parking police are horrible. I did not have a car, so this is a second-hand account. Rush hour is horrible. Between the stoplights and millions of people trying to get places, including workers, tourists and Presidential motorcades, D.C. rush hour is stop-and-go within about 60 miles of the metro area. People that do not live on the Hill, can then spend much over 50% of their day away from home. Even Metro riders will have to get on the Metro by 8:00 to get to work by 9:00, and not return home until 7:00 (on a normal day). Commuters can leave at 6:00 or 6:30 and return home by 8:00 (on a normal day), but extended hours can be much worse. At least you can park in the Office Building parking lots for free as a staffer, but you need to pop your trunk and have a police officer look in your back window before you do. If you live on the Hill with a car, it doesn't get much better. An off-street parking spot is the solution to many problems. One of our staff members has had his car stolen twice, and been bumped and nicked enough times that no one would want to steal his car anymore. The reason for the bumps is the way people parallel park. I have always been a proud member of the parallel parkers at my fraternity in St. Paul, AGR. Normal residents park an average of 6 vehicles in the same space we can park 7. I think residents of D.C. could up us with a total of 8. It is much easier to parallel park in D.C. though, you know exactly when to stop. Everyone simply backs up until they see the car behind their coveted spot moves, because their car just tapped it. Then when a driver turns the cars wheels and heads forward, the stopping point is when that car moves. What you end up with is a sidewalk lined with neatly parked cars, simply inches from each other. If a staffer plans on staying in D.C. for just a year or two, they may not bother to change their license plate. The fee is something like 6% of your cars value. So just getting a street permit for parking on the street takes about 8 hours after you find out what your cars exact value is, get in the four-hour line to get the okay for a D.C. license plate, and finally are able to pick it up. If you do not go through this process, and are parked on the street, you start getting tickets. It starts at around $100, then increases quickly each day that the parking ticketers notice your non-D.C. plates. The Metro in D.C. is very helpful, but it doesn't get you everywhere. Cars are definitely advantageous at times, but I wouldn't buy it.<br /><br />One last thing I didn't realize until a few weeks ago; Washington, D.C. is on the East Coast. I went to New York and Baltimore with little money and planning, and was able to spend a short amount of time traveling. I wish I would have headed south for Twins Spring Training, but there is always next time. <br /><br />Also, this means vacations to the Bahamas and the Caribbean are much more inexpensive and less time-consuming than they would be from the MN area.<br /><br />I'm going to head to the Nationals game, and then tonight I'm going to have supper with our next intern who I met when he was out to visit earlier this Spring. Tomorrow I am shipping out and packing up, and seeing the last couple of sights. Then early Tuesday I leave for Dulles so I can make it back to the great state of MN for the afternoon. That's all for now. We'll see if I have anything else to reflect about as my life goes on...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-47149810729148352782007-05-18T21:33:00.000-06:002007-05-18T22:39:35.809-06:00It's OverLadies and Gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, that's it. I finished my 10 page paper. It was a lot of fun.<br /><br />My final day of being a Congressional intern was also today. It was my last day to roam free through the Capitol, skip the the front of the line, and give people advice with credentials to back me up. Now, I'm worthless, just another citizen. I do not know what this has done to me yet. I feel so disconnected knowing I am not in the middle of everything I want to learn about. It gives me shivers just thinking about it. Wait, no, that's just my drafty $550 apartment (which is open if anyone wants a room that is 8 x 16 with smelly water and a worse smelling bathroom). Okay, so I haven't complained much about my apartment until now, well I am going to. I feel like I want to spill my guts about everything just so the next person who thinks they might want to skip school for the betterment of the nation has more to go off than I did. I don't mean this to be a sob story, but more of a, I'm glad it's over, glad I did it the way I did it, but I wouldn't advise it and will never do it again.<br /><br />First of all, I want to let everyone know that I was definitely not the typical intern. The biggest barrier was not being 21. Okay, so it does not really matter for Congressional work, and I would not drink that much if I was legally able to anyways (I'm kind of tight with my money. Kind of, because I just don't like spending it on alcohol, but I can always have more food. I also don't like spending it on clothing, but new athletic shoes or a hat are always a good buy.). But I was held out of two receptions that were very entertaining from what I heard. I also missed out on the D.C. nightlife, which is basically all there is to do out here between the hours of whenever you get off work and 9 am. Sure, there is tons to see as a tourist, but after my first month, I was no longer a tourist. Monuments and museums can only do so much for me. My only other outlet besides my homework was softball. Thank god for softball.<br /><br />That brings my to my second point that makes me atypical, I was still a student. Between not wanting to get behind on credits and possibly losing out on umpteen thousand dollars of scholarship money (kind of, more like $4,000) I decided to take a total of 19 credits (with 15 being average) while I was out here. I am happy I did, as my only other option would have been a $80 fake I.D. While much cheaper, I think I taught myself a lot more about studying. Anyway, I have one scholarship that expires after 4 years of school, so missing a semester full-time would have been confusing, and full-time is only 13 credits.<br />My original class was my 13 credit political science class, which is the main reason I'm writing this blog, as well as the reason I have analyzed and learned more about this internship than I possibly could have on my own. I had a great professor for this class based on email who seemed to know a lot about agriculture, so that was totally worth the money.<br />But then I had to take 16, because I had signed up for 15 credits before I knew I had the internship. This resulted in either me shelling out a few hundred dollars, or taking another class (at least 2 credits to bring me to 15). All online classes were at least 3 credits, and the one I chose was in my major. <a href="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/kenne329/3401s07/">Actually, it was all based on blogging, you can see it here</a>. It was a lot of fun, and I got an A. Finally I had 3 credits from a class I started last June that I received a 2-month extension on as I prepared and took this internship. So it was originally due March 15, but I will finish it up on Wednesday when I take my final exam.<br />The moral of the story is, if you come out here, stay busy. I don't care if you take in the night life, sit in your room and do homework, or join as many sports leagues as you can, just do it.<br /><br />Second, I would advise you to keep a blog. I have traveled what I would consider a lot for my age. I have always been told to keep a diary of some kind, and on the two trips I have, I remember them much more vividly and have fonder memories. The best part about a blog is that others can read it. I will admit that I did get a stern talking to my first week of work. My superiors found my name through Google's powerful search as I continually mentioned Collin's name or the Farm Bill, and just advised me not to do anything that would get me or them in trouble. I do not know how all staffs would feel about a blog, but mine was fine with it after they read through it and got the idea that I was not trying to take down the Ag. Committee. The best part, as I was getting to, is that other can read it, and I have been closer with all my family (albeit via email) than since I was a new born baby and they came to see me. I don't think I'm attention starved, but when I received a card in the mail from my great-grandma with a message of approval, that was a great feeling. You can also broadcast when your birthday is and be sure to get many more cards and presents, and if you live in a crappy apartment they may be more likely to send money. Okay, so I wasn't planning that, but it worked out well. To be honest, I still need to send the thank you cards. I told my mom I had them written and ready to go, which is true, but they are still just ready to go. It turns out having your mom deal with all your postal needs as you grow up is not the best benefactor for postal independence.<br /><br />Third, expect the unexpected; that is, just react to things and be adaptable and confident. I did not really understand my duties the first few weeks of my internship. Was it okay for me to take a 15 minute lunch? 30? 45? When other staff members say that they are going to run errands (a.k.a. "X-GTRE" in blackberry talk) was I able to do that? If someone calls and says they need to talk to Collin Peterson, how do I know if they are important? Should I even bother someone about it? If they are, what is Collin's number?<br />It was these examples that made life pretty confusing at first. After a while I just figured out that lunch depends on the day. I had time for anywhere from zero, during hearing-filled weeks, to a few hours during recess. I could run errands as long as someone else could cover the desk, and I got Collin's number, but I can't give it out.<br /><br />Fourth, embrace the culture that is "The Hill". I could have seen the suits coming, the signing of documents, or even the seven steps it took to get a waste basket next to my desk, but there is so much more I didn't see coming. The Hill is like a college campus, mostly because 80% of its inhabitants are 35 years and younger. Fresh out of college, everyone knows how to work hard, and play hard as well. The hours are similar to college, get up to go through your normal routine, but you might be up all night reading, writing, or sitting through a boring meeting or markup. But you need to do it to get the grade. Then, after 40 hours in the first three days of a week, the local bar is looking like a good place to relax with your friends. You lose even more sleep, but that is how you make the relationships to make things work. I did miss out on the bar scene, but it might be one thing that draws me back.<br /><br />Five, you're an intern. I mean this in two ways. One, because you're a political science major with straight A's does not mean you're going to excel on the hill. You may be ahead of some people, but the staff will be sure to let you know that you are not at the level to do their job. By the way, I was a very lucky intern. I knew many interns, and most of them gave tours, some two or three per day. Not all interns are as privileged as I was, I am thankful for that, but I still was doing some grunt work (i.e. moving boxes, like today at 5 p.m. when my mind was already in Minnesota). The other way I mean is that you are an intern! You didn't get selected to be on the hill because you are Joe Schmoe (who could also do pretty well out here). But, since you're out here, don't make yourself look inferior. My general rule was that if I pretended like I knew what I was doing, I did unless someone else knew better. Because every day is different, there are people who have been around for years, but would not remember if you are doing something right or wrong.<br /><br />Well, I think I've unloaded as much as I can. If I get inspired, maybe I'll write tomorrow. I am going to say the most memorable parts of my internship were meeting the Administrator for a USDA service a few weeks ago and meeting Drew Berrymore and answering a couple of her questions.<br />On the other end, there was recess. Not doing anything for a few days was fine, but the 10-day Easter break was a killer. Luckily for staff they usually have enough vacation days to go somewhere, but the sun outside was torture as I sat and read about how the Twins were doing in Spring Training and wrote an email to anyone I could think of.<br /><br />I have two softball games tomorrow, I'm excited. I can't wait to get home, find the Twins easily on TV, or head down the street for a Saints game. That's it, I'm inspired, sometime this weekend I will write about some differences and similarities from MN to DC. Goodnight.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-52744389099364233872007-05-17T20:04:00.000-06:002007-05-17T20:08:34.008-06:00One More DayOkay, I feel bad because I have been writing less and less during the end of my internship, but homework is much more fun than keeping everyone updated on my life. <br /><br />Actually, I'll give a quick rundown, then I'll try to explain more tomorrow after I finish my research paper.<br /><br />This morning we held our first markup on some generally non-controversial bills the Agriculture Committee will send to the floor. After we adjourned and everyone cleared out of our packed room, we had 8 votes on the floor, then about 12 members came back for a press conference (packed just like the hearing, but 90% press) and the Democrats and Republicans laid out their plans and explained how they would work together. After that, the press asked a lot of questions, and the Chairman decided it was time to go.<br /><br />I agree, it was more dramatic than that, but I have 10 pages to write. I'll talk tomorrow.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-34568975726117068212007-05-16T16:41:00.000-06:002007-05-16T16:57:15.935-06:00Two To GoI almost had a really great day, but it ended up being only a great one. The reason it was so great was the Omelet Luncheon put on by the United Egg Producers. I'll admit it, I had two, but we were able to make them ourselves and add whichever ingredients we wished. In the afternoon I thought I was going to meet Kent Hrbek on behalf of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), but he must have been double booked somewhere else. Then we received our bi-monthly shipment of milk from LandO'Lakes (and I have been put in charge of saying what happens with the 60 bottles we get) and the leftover brownies and cookies from the reception arrived at the same time.<br /><br />Okay, so that was all about food, but we were also preparing for our first markup (and the only one I will get to experience) that takes place tomorrow. This is not Farm Bill related, but we will be going through three bills that shouldn't be too controversial from my personal estimation. They include the 25X25 Act, the STOPP Act about eminent domain, and the Hunters for the Hungry program.<br /><br />That's all, I'm going to try to keep on cranking out homework. Two days left.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-41045702751815874452007-05-15T17:45:00.000-06:002007-05-15T18:16:48.697-06:00Rewriting the BibleOur hearing today on produce safety was taped by C-SPAN, but for once we only had to use one room for a hearing that was picked up by a TV channel.<br /><br />I am now spending my days preparing for the end, and a new beginning. While it sounds like Genesis and Revelations, I am just another step in the process. I mean the people at work care about me, but I'm gone this Friday, and the office needs to be as efficient as possible. The new interns will most likely be behind, so I am making sheet after sheet to update them on everything we have been doing, and also to better understand the processes we did not get right away.<br /><br />One sheet I made today could be pretty controversial, and shows just how important some bureaucratic (not that I'm using it in the derogatory sense) approval can be in this government entity (or any corporation). My Bible, Catechism and Hymnal for the first couple weeks was our Staff Issue Assignment sheet. This piece of paper included the names of our staff who received mail about issues, and which issues each staffer covered. Because we are still adding staff, it would be very hard to complete an updated version (the current one is very outdated) now, but I would not want to be the next intern stuck without it. So I made one myself, but was reminded that it needed to be hidden. Should a staffer on our committee see the sheet and assume that it is official, they may be offended. Everybody wants their areas, their section of work. If the person who covers, for example, parliamentary procedure,--something not stated explicitly in our Subcommittees' jurisdictions--sees "taxes" under someone else's name, they may see this as a revocation of some of their work, or power. Therefore while this document will save everyone a lot of headaches (as mail could get put in the wrong places and calls may be sent to the wrong phone), the release of this document could also be harmful in case of a miscommunication. If all goes well, it will be saved for the interns' eyes only. If not, let's hope the staff are paying attention to my blog today.<br /><br />Well, it's crazy to say, but there are simply 3 days left. I need to finish up homework now so I can play softball and pack this weekend. I will be home next Tuesday, and I'm already getting emails from aunts and uncles, who shall remain unidentified, that want me to come help me teach their social studies class (I bet that didn't narrow it down). I guess after you're out here, you're a big deal.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-43558423647892861902007-05-14T19:33:00.000-06:002007-05-14T19:44:43.075-06:00The Final CountdownBesides a war protest that shut down Independence Avenue (the road in-between the Capitol and the House Office Building) with about 20 people staging a sit-in in the middle of the street, today was normal, but a lot more work. I am down one intern, but I was able to get through the day, even squeeking in the much-needed (and inexpensive) haircut.<br /><br />We held a hearing on crop insurance and have our final hearing tomorrow before we begin our work on the Farm Bill (hopefully next week). <br /><br />My entries are probably going to be short for this final week as I finish up my research paper about Horse Slaughter (H.R. 503) and a few other papers I should get done by Friday. Saturday we have a double-header for Minnesota Alumni Softball, then Sunday-Tuesday I'm packing up and heading home, with a little sight-seeing mixed in.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-52539877515076545532007-05-11T22:16:00.000-06:002007-05-11T22:21:24.470-06:00Party TimeThe morning was going slowly. We figured since it was the other intern's last day, we would be taking it pretty easy, and generally we were. At noon we had our farewell party for the two of us, and it was great to have everyone together, because the stress level in the office is pretty high. In fact, the rest of the staff is working tomorrow morning.<br /><br />Anyway, I took my best friend to see the floor of the house, and she was pretty impressed. After that it was about 4:00. We then had to move a lot of furniture. So much so that Gabe's last day ended up being a last day plus 30 minutes. It was still a memorable day.<br /><br />Next week we have two hearings planned. I thought it was rough with only two interns, well it looks like I will find out what flying solo is all about on Monday and Tuesday. One week left, and I'm playing tour guide this weekend.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-8738643434217509202007-05-10T21:57:00.000-06:002007-05-10T22:16:10.042-06:00VisitorsToday I had a lot of good fortune, two women that I was glad to see came to our committee room. We also had two hearings.<br /><br />The first girl that arrived was my best friend that I actually hadn't seen for about 6 months. She will be spending the weekend hanging out with me.<br /><br />The second visitor was Drew Berrymore, on behalf of the UN. She had a 4:00 with the chairman, and talked to me before she went in. She asked me what I had learned and how long I was staying, while I was being taped by one of her two video crews.<br /><br />Anyways, it's past my bedtime because I played softball and showed my guest the monuments.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-7489017779798815702007-05-09T20:08:00.000-06:002007-05-09T20:35:15.235-06:00CSPAN and the Pool, 2nd roundWe had our hearing on the findings of melamine in animal feed. It was a very packed hearing and we had coverage from CSPAN as well as the networks. CSPAN will air it sometime this weekend.<br /><br />This afternoon I worked on a variety of projects for our upcoming hearings. Tomorrow we have double duty, and we start at 8 am. Today was the minority intern's last day, and Friday is our other intern's last day. I have simply 7 days left, weird.<br /><br />I'm being quick so I can work on homework and wake up on time.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-90039723101320985552007-05-08T19:06:00.000-06:002007-05-09T07:23:21.636-06:00Animal Welfare HearingWe had our hearing about the welfare of animals in agriculture today, and it went as most expected it to. You can read reports about it from <a href="http://www.cattlenetwork.com/content.asp?contentid=128073">the Cattle Network here </a>and <a href="http://www.brownfieldnetwork.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=6D26E601-C1DC-952B-61CFD7B9F7357C7F">the Brownfield Network here</a>. There were also press releases from organizations like the <a href="http://www.consumerfreedom.com/pressRelease_detail.cfm/release/200">Center for Consumer Freedom</a>.<br /><br />We had a line started at 9 am, when I arrived, and it grew by our 10:30 start. Not included in that line were also 12 witness, each with a guest, making our "public" section of our large committee room shrink from 36 to about 10 (when it is usually 20-25). We also allow 10 people to stand in the back corner, and then we had an overflow room that seats another 50, which was about 3/4 full. I watched the door for the first 2 panels and could tell the tension in everyone's face as they walked in and out of the hearing room. I was able to sit in our overflow room for the third panel, and I can say things got a little dicey.<br /><br />This afternoon after cleaning up the hearing I took a few projects here and there, but spent most of my time researching to see if we had any press coverage of our committee hearing (such as with the honey bee hearing, when it was everywhere immediately after the hearing was over). But no such luck, as former House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Stenholm (who was a witness today) said, "What we've got to do is find a way is get that story out to where more of the non-agricultural press begin to pick up on what we're really doing in agriculture, not what some people say we are." It should be noted that the only two reports I found were the two stories linked above.<br /><br />In my view animal agriculture is just starting to realize they need to put money into education about animal welfare specifically. The difference is, animal agriculture organizations are also spending money on trade, disease control, research, and a plethora of other issues to keep food safe, low cost, and efficient. On the other hand, animal rights organizations focus solely on animal rights.<br /><br />Growing up on a farm I didn't see any need to have training on animal welfare; being nice to animals just comes with the territory. Starving a cow because it didn't win an award or produce enough milk just doesn't make sense; it makes your goals more improbable. The same with putting pigs in gestation crates (which of course just sounds like a bad name, and is a good reason the people of Arizona were swayed to outlaw the one hog farm there from using them. I learned in 10th grade English that Americans love alliterations. Why not call them pregnancy pens, or birthing booths?), it surely is not to make the pigs uncomfortable during one of the most stressful times of their life, it is to save the lives of piglets (as noted today, the number of piglets per litter has increased from about 7 to 10 since the inception of the technology).<br /><br />*Those are purely my opinions and a review of my experiences growing up on a farm. They in no way express or reflect the opinions of the Committee.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-70615969065021781502007-05-07T21:05:00.000-06:002007-05-07T21:17:52.053-06:009 Work Days and Counting...The morning went by as I was half sleeping from our tiring trip to New York City. Feel free to see my pictures in my albums by clicking <a href="http://minnesota.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2280741&l=4c0f3&id=13926685">here for album 1</a>, <a href="http://minnesota.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2280775&l=1857a&id=13926685">here for album 2</a>, <a href="http://minnesota.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2280791&l=6b132&id=13926685">and here for album 3</a>.<br /><br />This afternoon I started doing some background research for our hearing on Thursday, which, as I have been reminded 50 times, is my brothers birthday. In my research I summarized the 4 components of USDA research, <a href="http://ars.usda.gov/main/main.htm">ARS</a>, <a href="http://ers.usda.gov/">ERS</a>, <a href="http://www.nass.usda.gov/index.asp">NASS</a>, and <a href="http://www.csrees.usda.gov/">CSREES</a>. These are my favorite kinds of projects, learning more about the tools I use or have heard about. I'm going to bed early because I spent a long time arranging my Facebook albums (click on the links in the first paragraph) and mostly because I'm really tired.<br /><br />Tomorrow is THE Livestock, Dairy and Poultry hearing I've been looking forward to. Feel free to tune in online, it should get pretty interesting. If you don't, I'll try to fill you in tomorrow.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-40700621438940981252007-05-04T22:03:00.000-06:002007-05-04T22:16:10.165-06:00Grand FinaleIt was a slow day, but we finally released the hearing that I have been doing a little work with, one on Animal Welfare. It's pretty controversial, but I think almost everyone will be happy after the hearing is over. I have paged through the testimony, and it was what I would expect. This could be quite the hearing, we'll see.<br />Also today we were briefed on both Animal Welfare and the USDA Checkoff programs. The Congressional Research Service does a really good job of providing both sides of these things. <br /><br />After work I was invited to my best meeting ever, a one-on-one with a high-up person at USDA. I am not going to release the name just for privacy reasons (and because I would show up on Google Alerts more than I already do).. but in summary I was able to have a full hour with one of the most knowledgeable people I could possibly have access to. I thought it would be a 15-minute meet and greet, but after 20 minutes of talking, he simply asked, "Well, what else would you like to know?" So during the rest of the time I just tried to dig as deep as I could to get questions that I just always wondered about. I leave for New York at 3:00 am, so I'm just going to stay up. I have simply 2 weeks left, plus a weekend and a Monday for site-seeing. We're actually STILL moving stuff in, which is what our other intern got stuck doing all day. I've had my own days, and I'm honestly scared about the week where I will be the only intern, and we will not be having hearings (as we will be gathering the information from all the previous hearings and begin to formulate our mark-up, or at least thats my perception between what I have been told and what I have seen). Have a good weekend!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-17198194788007703782007-05-03T17:33:00.000-06:002007-05-03T17:46:20.135-06:00Still doing homeworkI missed out on yesterday because my Internet connection was being crappy. Today I have some homework due at tomorrow midnight central time, so I'm going to try and do it tonight because me and a friend are going to New York for the weekend via Amtrak. We plan on seeing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Empire State Building, World Trade Center Site, Times Square, Chinatown, and attend a Yankee's game among other things. Please let me know if you have some suggestions of places I NEED to get to in two long days (6 am Saturday to 11 pm Sunday) or things within the places I've listed that I may want to check out (i.e. Times Square).<br /><br />Since I'm trying to get to work, I'm going to give only a short summary of yesterday and today:<br />Wednesday<br />We had a hearing on the USDA's leak of social security numbers on its website, tech people from all over the district showed up. I didn't hear much, but I guess it was a big deal that was in the news. Other than that we started work on our hearings next week. <br /><br />Today there was not much going on, the Iraq bill is still in conference, which leaves our Ag. disaster aid hanging in the air. I'm not really sure if we're going to be stripped out of the bill and have to find some other means or if the bill can pass, as is, with only the troop pull-out deadline removed. In our office there wasn't much going on besides paper work as we prepared for next week. Actually I did a lot of work in the Congressional Records, which I will talk about more tomorrow if I remember.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-9127934757209897542007-05-01T18:05:00.000-06:002007-05-01T18:55:31.873-06:00Pie in the SkyWe all worked double duty for our two-hearing day. The crowds were small enough that I could work on other projects, so I did not get to hear much of the information. The hearing on Crop Insurance started at 10:00 am and was over just after noon. We started up again at 1:00 with a hearing about Rural Broadband (or the lack thereof) and the digital divide. One of my projects included <a href="http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/agriculture_dem/pr_050107_SCRDFAbroadband.html">helping to formulate this press release</a>, which was released at about 6 pm tonight. The other project was my continual wading through the pool of Farm Bill proposals. This time we eliminated a few, giving me a better idea of what it was going to look like. I was out of the office by 6:30, as I had an award-winning reception to attend.<br /><br />Okay, so there are no reception awards, but hill dwellers working long hours do know what good food tastes like, and pie is good food. After being ridiculed at Easter by my Uncle, I suggested that I would tone down the comments what I eat. But, tonight's reception has topped them all, a pie reception, with over 15 different kinds of pie, along with food and refreshments. It was put on by a trucking association, maybe because truckers are as American as pie? I'm not sure, but I'm glad they did. One note about these receptions is that you really don't have to be invited to the majority of them. The organizations just like the publicity and awareness, but usually have some sort of tie into their product (i.e. National Cattleman's Beef and Outback Steakhouse teaming up), but I guess truckers truck just about everything. I was not invited, but a good reception can be a packed party in minutes as staffers get on their Blackberries to let their friends know about the good eats.<br /><br />We have a full committee hearing tomorrow on a subject I am not to familiar with, the release of Social Security numbers and the USDA's information systems. I'm not certain if there was a mistake in the past or if a problem is on the horizon, but that's why hearings are open to the public. I'll find out tomorrow and fill you in. <br /><br />Speaking of filling in, I had a lot of pie. But don't worry, I didn't eat any real food so I'm not that full.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-77020343055031646772007-04-30T19:12:00.000-06:002007-05-01T06:21:21.815-06:00Top of the WorldThis week we started with a packed field of four hearings, but this Thursday's was postponed. We now sit with a packed field of three hearings. We have two tomorrow and a full committee hearing on Wednesday. Thursday's hearing was also supposed to be for the full committee. The interns were given the duty of writing the press releases for each of tomorrow's hearings. Although they are close to the same every time as far as what they discuss and how uncontroversial they are, it is nice to have something "official" that can be shown as my own work.<br /><br />On the hill today there were no votes as Members of Congress attended the funeral of <a href="http://public.cq.com/docs/cqm/cqmidday110-000002497803.html">Juanita Millender-McDonald, CA</a>, who died last Sunday. While this is the second death among Members of Congress in my short tenure here, it is interesting that work goes on. Letters are written to the office addressed to Vacancy, instead of the members name, followed by the state and district. The staff there still stays on full-time trying to meet with constituents and work with other Members to get their views heard. But, the office itself does not have a vote on the floor until a successor is appointed.<br /><br />Because of the limited business on the floor, we were able to swiftly complete our setup for our hearings tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon.<br /><br />In other news, the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/30/AR2007043000272.html?hpid=topnews">Historic Eastern Market building burned this morning</a>, and I doubt it will be back in business before I leave. I was able to eat there a few times, and even take my family once, for the famous buckwheat pancakes for breakfast. It is an open market frequented by Members of Congress, Senators, and of course their staff as a good place for breakfast or fresh goods. <br /><br />This weekend my girlfriend came to visit, but she was hard to impress as she had been here only a few years ago. We hit the highlights and I got my first view from the top of Washington Monument, a place my grandpa said he had climbed with a friend over a half century ago. The steps are shut down for climbing on the way up, but the elevator is a nice 5 minute ride to the top.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-90226978934329774972007-04-26T17:45:00.000-06:002007-04-26T18:12:46.531-06:00The Candidate DebateI am currently watching the Democratic Candidate Debate for President on MSNBC. Nothing surprising right now, but it's funny that the current questions are coming via email from across the country. Times are changing. Also, they are broadcasting live on cable and the internet, but just dropped network TV<br /><br />Today we held a quick hearing on crop provisions in the Farm Bill, and with that we were done for the week. This morning I was able to finish my "to do" list and was able to work on homework for the internship class in which I'm enrolled. Not too much going on tomorrow as I was given a half day since we stayed late last week and my girlfriend is coming to town.<br /><br />That's all I have to report for the day, which is good, as we have a bunch of hearings to exhaust us next week. The days are winding down, only 3 weeks left.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-74026622387145765142007-04-25T16:44:00.000-06:002007-04-25T19:57:20.304-06:00Between Iraq and a Hard PlaceWhile we await the Iraq Supplemental's speculated initial veto, renegotiation and final passage, farmers wait and listen. If you don't know the story, a whole bunch of emergency aid and programs were put into the Iraq War Supplemental bill, including two things that are held dear by the Ag. Committee: MILC and disaster aid relief for 2005-07 (you get to pick one of three years). While most of the projects are needed, they were put in to help add votes (a.k.a. to entice Republicans to vote) for the bill. For us, we sit and wait, not so much worried about the war (that is, we care about the war, but as a committee we have no opinion), but to see if our needed legislation will be passed. In the case of disaster aid, it will help a lot of the country, including our farmers in the Red River Valley as well as the Citrus farmers in California, (<a href="http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/187067.php">a full list can be found here, albeit from a Republican and critical perspective, but it was the only one I could find</a>) but most of these projects are needs (at least in the political sense) for both sides, and especially for agriculture. Also, MILC would add a few billion more dollars to our baseline budget number, giving us a little more money to work with. There's a quick explanation of something we get speculative emails about in the office all the time, as the bill nears final passage.<br /><br />The Farm Bill proposals are rolling in, and I have organized them by area, organization and title (of the Farm Bill) today. I guess you could say I have a pretty good idea of what the House Farm Bill is going to look like, but it would be really hard to explain. Basically, go to the website of every non-governmental organization affiliated with agriculture, find their proposal, and find happy mediums between all the arguments, then mix them with Mr. Peterson's stated opinions, and you have yourself a farm bill. We prepared for our hearing tomorrow on the crop proposals, and a few more next week (even two on Wednesday, that should be fun). Happy days!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-62019423896217236122007-04-24T17:49:00.000-06:002007-04-24T18:06:11.024-06:00Secrets and WhispersI am able to reveal one of yesterday's "big secrets", which is not really that big (as I explained already), and no longer a secret. The project I was working on was simply summarizing some points about wind energy, as the Chairman testified in front of the Ways and Means Committee about farmers (or rural landowners or whomever) getting a tax credit of $25,000 for building a windmill (or wind turbine), which costs upwards of $40,000-80,000 for a smaller one, up to $2 million for the most economically efficient (the ones used at big wind farms). Although our staff had given him a one page testimonial to read from, Mr. Peterson usually chooses not to, and this was the case today. As he was giving his explanation he rattled off an exact sentence that I had written for him, about how much can be expected for renting land for this use (about $4000). I was only halfway listening and looking around the huge Ways and Means Committee room (which, by the way, is held as one of the top committees to be on in the House, as it deals with a lot of taxes and therefore income, or lack thereof) and the staffer who gave me the project leaned over and whispered, wow, he read your sheet.<br /><br />The other big stories for the day were our subcommittee hearing for Milk Marketing Orders (I watched the door, but read every single piece of testimony in that time), me being legally taken out to lunch (and no, I'm not saying I have illegally been taken out to lunch in the past) by employees of the University of Minnesota (because state colleges and university's are exempt), and the fire drill that took place after our subcommittee hearing but before we needed to testify before Ways and Means. All in all, another good day.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-11295577603943514692007-04-23T18:09:00.000-06:002007-04-23T18:38:11.322-06:00You're a Good Man, Charlie BrownWe're all back at work for another week, just for you. At least those of you who aren't in the group of tax-evading citizens of America... and I was hard at work (although I am no part of taxpayer money) too. This weekend however I took my time up to Baltimore to catch an Oriole's game. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful stadium, and I'm getting really excited for the Twins to open their new venue a few years down the road. Also, on this trip me and my travelmate decided that since we are on the east coast, we might as well head up to New York. I think we're going to do that in a few weeks and catch a Yankees/Mariners game while we're up there.<br /><br />I did my normal Monday routine and then I had a really exciting day. I did research, and sat in on a cool meeting. Unfortunately, I cannot say what the research was for at this time (but should be able to later this week) as it was for a committee hearing and the witness lists are not yet published. Then I sat in on one of the best meetings ever. I again cannot say what it was about, but it was pertinent to the Farm Bill. Basically another Congressperson came to Mr. Peterson with an idea for the Farm Bill. Last week I was put in charge of writing the memo directly to Collin to explain to him in 5-10 bullet points what the 5 pages of information I got was about. Collin, the other Congressperson, a proposer from said-Congresman's district, two staff members and I sat in Collin's office discussing it (of course by discuss I mean the proposer and the two Congressmen, with the staff at times nodding their heads yes or no, and me sitting there quietly, halfway in awe of where I was) and seeing everyone's reactions. It was a great time, that's all I can say. <br /><br />These two things I cannot talk about are pretty funny. There are a lot of things that just are not yet public, and these are two fine examples. They mean possibly nothing, as both may never need to have been discussed or researched in the first place, but that's the great part about democracy, everyone has a voice, it just depends on who is listening. And from our meeting, I can tell how much Collin really really cares. I wish I was being paid to write this, but he seems to care more about doing stuff right, and that's my personal opinion. While we were in his office, he had no one to impress to get re-elected, and the meaning and feeling he put into what he was saying about the Farm Bill and what "we" need (we - meaning the people of the 7th district) was just great to watch. I cannot say whether all Members feel that way, but the two in the office (both Ag. Comm. Members) sure talked like it with no cameras around. Also, being on the Ag. Committee obviously isn't a place to be to get famous, at least it wasn't until now. They went on to talk about the Farm Bill and the money that they thought we should have for it, and neither of these two Members thought their work was done. They have been talking to the leadership, and I think they will keep talking.<br /><br />Well, now that everyone is thoroughly confused I will just conclude by saying it was the best meeting I have ever been to in my life, and probably will stay that way for some time. It also gave me the best sense of what democracy is all about, and a good look into what a Congressman should be. Again, I try to write this blog in my opinion, and I have never been scolded or praised at work for expressing my opinions on here, but I will just say this: Mr. Peterson is doing his job, and doing it well, and I wish him lots of luck in the future after what I saw today. He's a good man.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-15734343292526401702007-04-20T17:24:00.000-06:002007-04-20T18:13:16.007-06:00Nice and SunnyWe ended a busy work week, both on the floor as well as in our Committee, with a busy Thursday and Friday.<br /><br />Yesterday I got a little side-tracked, and decided sleep was a good thing to have. The Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research Subcommittee held a hearing on the proposals for the Conservation Title to the farm bill. I stood guard for a while, as this was our best attended hearing yet, but was able to put a simple note on the doors asking people to enter quietly about 2/3 of the way in. Yesterday afternoon slowed down some, but we were watching the debate as to whether Washington, D.C. (and Utah, adding 2 total seats) would be approved to have a delegate in the House of Representatives (which passed in the House, and is on its way to the Senate). During the hearing my good friends Al Franken and Dick Gephardt stopped by. Okay, while they are not my close friends, Franken really does have a sense of humor, you can hear his laugh halfway down the hall, and Dick Gephardt, well, he lost the presidential nomination for the democratic party to Kerry in 2004. <br /><br />Today was kind of retying all the knots that came loose during the week. With three hearings in three days, we go through a lot of paper (while we print double sided, recycle into newsprint, mixed, and white, and conserve and reuse as much as we can), miss a lot of calls and emails, and have projects which were pushed back during the week all due at the same time. I got a few small things I had set aside earlier done this morning, but at noon I was kindly reminded that I had a book full of information due at 1:30. I was already done, so I was heading to lunch, when I was reminded that the book needed to be done in triplicate. I remembered this and frantically tried to put two additional books together in an hour and a half. Luckily, I had already printed off the materials for the final books, I just had to rearrange the pages, make tabs and labels, and get them all exactly identical. When the requester of my project walked in to ask me if I wanted to head to lunch at 1:25, I thought he was joking. "Oh, yeah, sorry, that meeting got canceled, [Member's name] took an earlier flight home." So I finished the books by 1:30 anyway since I was on pace to, and had a free afternoon to get ready for next week.<br /><br />This weekend looks like it is going to be 80 degrees and clear. This will be perfect as a friend and I are heading to Baltimore to check out the National Aquarium, take in an Oriole's game at Camden Yards, and take the train back all in 12 hours. Why the National Aquarium is in Baltimore, I'm not sure, but at least it gives us something else to do! Amtrack is pretty affordable for the short 40 ride each way, so I looked up a ride to Minneapolis. It costs twice as much as a plane ticket and can last for 4 days! Thank God for airplanes.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-30206877172522091652007-04-18T19:25:00.000-06:002007-04-18T19:46:12.901-06:00Organic ChemistryAs with most days revolving around a hearing, there was some work today. Everything went as planned for our 10 am hearing on Organic agriculture. We also tried using our overflow room, with live audio and video from the main room. It worked quite well, but the crowd was not big enough to flow over.<br /><br />I watched the door, and was only able to sit in for the last 20 minutes of testimony and questions. It was interesting, I actually learned a lot about the Organic way of life. It was funny watching the crowd react as there were people in the crowd who were upset with the way things were worded and I, well never mind, that's all I should say.<br /><br />This afternoon we put away the room for a reception (which was great, sorry Brian, I'll leave out the food details) and started preparing for tomorrow's hearing. While sitting at the front desk creating documents for tomorrow's hearing we got some calls to inform us that today was the <a href="http://ga0.org/indefenseofanimals/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=8485654">day of action for elephants</a>. The people calling just told (those of us at the front desk) us that today was the day of action, we said "Okay?", and they would politely say thank you and goodbye.<br /><br />Tomorrow we have a <a href="http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/schedule.html">hearing for the Subcomittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research discussing the USDA Farm Bill conservation programs</a>. One important thing that happened today for that subcommittee is that <a href="http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/agriculture_dem/pr_041708_DonnellyCCER.html">Joe Donnelly of <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Indiana</st1:state></st1:place> has been appointed to fill the vacancy</a>. I haven't figured out why the vacancy existed yet, but I will probably find out tomorrow.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-57908657027587962542007-04-17T18:34:00.000-06:002007-04-18T19:47:06.902-06:00When it Rains, it PoursThe activity level has risen. Room 1300 has completed its first hearing. The Farm Bill creation process is officially underway (as it has been for a while, but we're back from a break). The upcoming hearings (probably about 10 in the next month) will be precursors to the business meetings the Subcommittees and full Committee holds as I am leaving. Of course the schedule is subject to change, but I figure I will see virtually all of the "inputs" for the Farm Bill. As I return to MN, I think the "outputs" from the Congressmen will begin production.<br /><br />Today's hearing had the purpose to review the market structure for the livestock industry. We had three panels; the first was administration, the second industry representatives, and the third was producers from the various species. This hearing was partly designated as "mine". The upcoming hearings were divided up, and I was given some duties not part of my normal routine. For this hearing I was to contact the witnesses, send invitations, and create an informational book for the Chairman of the Subcommittee which will be updated with current events as time goes on. For doing this, our Staff Director allowed me to sit on the dias (in the corner behind where the Members sit) with the rest of the staff to observe from there. For the first two hours of the hearing I had a semi-emergency project that I had to redo about 8 times as new data and requirements were added. I was still able to see the last half of the hearing from a different view than my normal position outside the door. It was very interesting observing the reactions of my staff, and the Members as the hearing progressed. Members are handed questions to ask if they can decipher the quick jottings of the staff as the situation changes, and it creates for the possibility of a hearing heading in a much different direction from where it was intended. This was especially true in a debate where we could see a battle between the two sides taken on the amount of regulation and bureaucracy needed in meat inspection.<br /><br />We have two more hearings Wednesday and Thursday, and tomorrow's is the first ever review of economic impacts of production, processing, and marketing of organic agricultural products. I would imagine it would be well attended but, like today's hearing, we have much more room and even allow people to stand in our larger full committee room. Another nice thing is that during our set up we have little to do, as our normal installation of microphones takes only minutes instead of hours, because the cords disappear into the floor and dias instead of needing to be strategically gathered and taped.<br /><br />Time rolls on, I have basically one month left, and if it weren't for my living conditions after work I don't know if I would be ready to leave. I'm heading to an Oriole's game at Camden Yards this weekend by train. For just $35 I can take a 40 minute train each way for a Sunday matinée. I'm excited. I love baseball. I miss the Twins and am stuck watching the (COUGHhorribleCOUGH) Nationals and Orioles play on the area's virtually all-baseball network. I am going to try to make it to a Nat's game at some time before I leave, but I bet the experience would be much better in next year's <a href="http://www.jdland.com/dc/stadium.cfm">brand new ballpark</a>, it looks pretty nice.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-81213987088521709872007-04-16T22:38:00.000-06:002007-04-18T19:48:02.957-06:00Back to WorkAfter a few weeks of needed and deserved rest, we were able to use it all up and become stressful and tired again. This is only the beginning. Today was literally 12 hours in the office, I left at 9 pm. 1 and 2 am are probably not unattainable feats as time rolls on. This sounds absolutely awful to someone who has never heard of staying at work that late. But then again, starting work at 9 am has its tendencies to eat away at evenings and nights more quickly. The work we were doing was important, and needed to be done. It wasn't as stressful as it was time consuming. Of course I would say what it was if I could, but it is just better at times when we are left alone to do our work and finish the product before having people criticize us (not that we would be criticized for this work, but, well, everyone needs a little privacy).<br /><br />This week will have a few hearings. Tomorrow's is on the market structure of the livestock industry will probably be drawn out as you can imagine the many geographies and industries that want to have a say about livestock policy.<br /><br />One minor emergency was changing out of letterhead in the office. Because of one spelling mistake as well as two recent name changes (a marriage and a nickname preference) we decided to print new letterhead because it is so early in the session. We then had to dispose of all the old letterhead because while most people could probably figure out the small changes that were made, it could potentially cause some confusion. If not confusion, it could cause angers by Members of Congress that were particular about the way their name was presented, which in a formal setting such as ours I totally understand. Especially when many people do not know who their Representative is, so if they were looking for Tim, and saw Tiim, they may keep looking for somebody else.<br /><br />One thing about being in the center of it all is that we are always watching the news. While many people may not have heard much about the shootings at Virginia Tech until the evening news once they were done with work, we had most of the story early, just as CNN started reporting. It is such a small world on the Hill (because everyone knows someone from somewhere) that a few people in my office immediately reached out to friends that were on or near campus at the school (which is relatively nearby) and we had heard a facsimile of the explanation finally provided later in the afternoon by officials and reporters about 6 hours earlier via cellphone. Everything that happened today was of course a tragedy, and I was disappointed that the media even thought to question the level of security on campus and decision not to cancel classes early in the morning. I think they can wait a while longer before raising blame for an uncontrollable situation. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families affected, and hope to never hear of a similar tragedy again.<br /><br />Well, it's past my bedtime and my alarm tomorrow can't be moved any later.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-87381385412502161582007-04-13T19:14:00.000-06:002007-04-18T19:48:38.178-06:00Happy Friday!I will be back to my regularly scheduled blogging Monday morning. The off weeks were nice, we have finished 1300 as far as I know, and will be using it beginning next week.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjELRCKDGeiV-vh1Ms_WBbW63qEDvZ-Ttt0kFuBp3hUR14yeFxpEm9_1KfrcUruQl42fxaJgb2tJvg9_lZWQVL-xZRCHAUD_D_UmzVCZ2TsjzVtalHxCCy9wWiJC6osueHTvMeB2GV6dO0/s1600-h/DSCF2725.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjELRCKDGeiV-vh1Ms_WBbW63qEDvZ-Ttt0kFuBp3hUR14yeFxpEm9_1KfrcUruQl42fxaJgb2tJvg9_lZWQVL-xZRCHAUD_D_UmzVCZ2TsjzVtalHxCCy9wWiJC6osueHTvMeB2GV6dO0/s320/DSCF2725.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053090059832104146" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16LYEgVL9wzJoWYuyb2_Ysd8MiFcAEUZsb8xSSLhJG8tIw1sO2EQow_PdxoQ-2RhQm39eTQAGBSWTArdXTaF4ig1hV799Hlr8p64XrJ0fs2M1eM7Z-bTcNgNEg18kKtKR-v-Gi8IsB6Y/s1600-h/DSCF2721.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16LYEgVL9wzJoWYuyb2_Ysd8MiFcAEUZsb8xSSLhJG8tIw1sO2EQow_PdxoQ-2RhQm39eTQAGBSWTArdXTaF4ig1hV799Hlr8p64XrJ0fs2M1eM7Z-bTcNgNEg18kKtKR-v-Gi8IsB6Y/s320/DSCF2721.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053089548730995890" border="0" /></a><br />Also, I was invited backstage to the Ringling Brothers Circus... the pictures aren't that great because we were in the Armory with gymnasium-type lighting, but it was a great experience.<br /><br />This picture of the elephant was taken in the basement of the Armory, where the elephants were caged only by strings, seriously. Posts stood about 3 feet high and strings ran between them holding the elephants in relatively large areas. It was pretty amazing.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05r2MWxAZl6lW6pR-sRwdFrrX8X58s6nNVfwQmzmOfJS4RGo-PzX-UbwVDxs5e9LYlDFKNNblhaExXHIk4v2G1U5pnzopg8lijlkwjsliZGjHwLAAAHOPaK5_k1DJMfWfXws4Fr0KzMs/s1600-h/DSCF2688.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05r2MWxAZl6lW6pR-sRwdFrrX8X58s6nNVfwQmzmOfJS4RGo-PzX-UbwVDxs5e9LYlDFKNNblhaExXHIk4v2G1U5pnzopg8lijlkwjsliZGjHwLAAAHOPaK5_k1DJMfWfXws4Fr0KzMs/s320/DSCF2688.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053086967455650946" border="0" /></a><br />The other picture is the only known Zedonk (a zebra crossed with a donkey) that can do a hind leg stand. Ringling has gone away from the "ringed" circus and has updated their facilities. We were actually standing and watching this trick on the main floor, which is now basically flat with a banked curve on one end for motorcycles and horses.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAEKD-h_P5ijJ_rpDtOL5M8JTQ4OteohSaZBahZ1FR95MbSmKvu3AgBFQsa1TJ746MWvcS8bQXaMyK8C0-diq_Uc_a9nAJvGdKt5LQkNZ2m_PDE0Mt5teg6hGP51kbXdsQJn7IZNLdyc/s1600-h/DSCF2711.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAEKD-h_P5ijJ_rpDtOL5M8JTQ4OteohSaZBahZ1FR95MbSmKvu3AgBFQsa1TJ746MWvcS8bQXaMyK8C0-diq_Uc_a9nAJvGdKt5LQkNZ2m_PDE0Mt5teg6hGP51kbXdsQJn7IZNLdyc/s320/DSCF2711.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053090339004978402" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Have a great weekend!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974663897529949117.post-40130719255673046592007-03-29T19:13:00.000-06:002007-03-29T20:28:03.758-06:00Crayfish BroilI had crayfish from Louisiana for the first time ever. It was a reception held in the basement of my building which featured cooked crayfish and some alligator jambalaya. It was pretty good stuff, and the crayfish is pretty good if you can get past the whole part that it looks disgusting. It was described to me: as beef is to venison, crab is to crayfish. It's definitely a little spicy. <br />Speaking of broiling, that's what our Subcommittee hearing was today. We had TV cameras from a number of places including C-SPAN and the "pool" (ABC, NBC, CNN, etc.) feed as well as the Discovery channel and others. This made everything a little more hectic, but was good publicity for a problem that hasn't received much buzz (pun intended). Anyway, after that chaos was over, the rest of the day seemed to go by much slower, even though there were only a few hours left. <br />Gabe and I wrote some letters for upcoming hearings and prepared ourselves for a couple weeks of little activity. I have a few scholarship essays that need to be postmarked tomorrow, so I'm going to attend to that while letting my crayfish settle.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01713797261259239234noreply@blogger.com1