My dad's cousin Anne has a dog that is bigger than me. It wasn't really frightening or anything, but it was really big. His name is Fred. So that was a fun part of when Rachel and the folks came to D.C. to visit. Everything wrapped itself up nicely as far as the internship and such and it is good to find myself back in a place where there is a bit of familiarity, though, I do miss being able to walk for hours and not see the same thing twice.
I have a week and almost a half in at my new job as a First Gear employee. Random warehouse and office work can be interesting. I just hope it stays that way for the continuation of the summer.
Rachel's going to be going to Iowa State next year which is cool because I'll get to save on gas money...

...and we'll get to see eachother more which is the more important of the two. So all in all, everything is going really well.

And now (drumroll) the political part! If I was an illegal immigrant that has not been in the country for five years, I think that I would turn myself in so that I would get sent back to the country of my origin in order to apply for a temporary work visa of which I would not be assured. I know that that sounds stupid, but we now have two Senators proposing this for illegal immigrants in the country for 2-5 years. We could go with the House majority proposal to file criminal charges for all illegal immigrants and send them back to the countries from which they came. The rhetoric of these arguments is really funny. "They only make up 25% of the labor force in some sectors." "They're all terrorists and if we let one more illegal immigrant into the country (even from Canada) we're all going to get the *expletive* bombed out of us." "They just run over the border to steal benefits out of our tax money." "We need to secure the border because the Mexican government is ordering its military to run drugs across our southern border." "Let's build a wall!"

25 cents out of a dollar may not seem like much, but one fourth of the workers in some sectors is a very large number of workers, not to mention the sectors that are closer to 50% illegal labor. They are all terrorists...that sounds like I'm being Dicked (Dick: verb, to speak in the maner of Dick Cheney, the act of being a demogogue). All illegal immigrants cross the border in order to get the wonderful free health care in America, in a time in which so many Americans do not even have health care? Also, I would like to think that there are at least 9-17 illegal immigrants that cross the border in order to earn money for their families, or have other various reasons besides sternendejer ("stealing our jobs") or stealing our tax benefits--protection from terror? Well it looks like that's what most of our money is going for. The next quote came from the roommate from the previous blog. I don't think I need to agrue much against this one. It's pretty obvious that it is a Fox Propoganda Channel exclusive. "Let's build a wall!!!!" A wall? Are you serious? The greatest wall ever made, the Great Wall of China, currently has trouble keeping the rabits out. Other famous walls: the Berlin Wall--that went over well. Pink Floyd's The Wall--much better reviews than the Berlin Wall, but think of the premise of the story, man builds wall around himself to block all outside world and thought...

Thanks for sticking with this one. It got long, but we got through it. Have a great day and if you want to discuss any of this stuff, just send me an email or something and we can have a dialogue, the way it's meant to be.

Have a great day.

Coming Home

What is happening everybody? I'd also like to say hello to the APTS staff who are probably checking this out as well.
Here come my last few days in D.C. I thought I should post a blog because it has been quite a while since I have and my computer will be in a box by the time I'm asleep tonight. Mom, Dad, and Rachel will be here on Thursday and we're staying until Tuesday. Mom has never been here and Rachel has only once. They'll have a good time.
My time here has been great, but there have been some oddities and confusion. I can't say that my housing situation brought the best of times, but that's the way it is. I'm looking forward to not seeing a six inch tall bust of Ronald Reagan each time I walk into my room (damn it I hate that thing.) Also, I learned that the ability and allowance of flexibility in ideas is a good thing. In arguments with this roommate, which was like arguing with Scott McClellan (do not believe any 24 hour "news" channel) or the Fox Propoganda Channel, I found that I was able to prove his points to be faulty. Upon his realization that his "facts" are off the mark, he'd usually say, "Well, I guess we just see things differently." Right. Beyond placement on the political spectrum, I tended to find his inconsiderate nature to make life difficult at times. All I'm saying is that I think Alex and I will have a good time next year.
Also, I was able to rock out with some great concerts. The high points came with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at the 9:30 Club and Art Brut at the Black Cat. Almost too much rock. They were both...rock. And then there was some sightseeing and whatnot, especially in the National Galleries of Art. Good stuff.
I think that I learned, more than anything, that there needs to be a divergent mind every now an then. Not that I was not of the impression that revolution was bad before I came, but there really shouldn't be comfort in the minds of elected and appointed officials. Not that they should always be looking out for the terrorists Dick "Buckshot" Cheney say are living in our backyards, but they should work to always better themselves, but also constantly improve life for their constituents, THE REASON THEY ARE IN THE OFFICES TO BEGIN WITH. Call me a cynic, that's cool. I guess I'm just an idealist that feels that the practicing of politics is slipping. By politics, I mean public action. By public, I mean common, shared, and for all to see and by action, I mean spontaneous words and deeds. By offices, I mean rooms with desks as well as jobs with responsibilities. By with, I mean with. Yes. So, what I'm getting at, is that it's ok to question, especially when we hear the doublespeak of "the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence," "known knowns," and "known unknowns". Don't be afraid to question or to speak what the mind rises, even when the terror alert level reaches plum.
Anyway, these past months have been more beneficial than months in classes, though without classes I would have been a lost, idealistic hippie, rather than a bit more politically savvy, idealist hippie. Let me know if you have any thoughts on what you have just read, if you're still reading.
Have a great day and hopefully I'll see you all soon.