E. Graham - Internship Journal #15

Hello to all…I hope you all had a wonderful Veteran's Day. I certainly did, I did go to Arlington and it was a beautiful day. Vice President Dick Cheney spoke at the event; I will not say, at this point, my thoughts on that topic. After the ceremonies, I watched several wreaths being laid and it was beautiful, the way the marine guards stamped to attention and moved ever so slowly to lay the wreath's by the, "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier." The sunny skies shone bright blue and a bit of a breeze blew through the yellow, red, and rust colored leaves, as the headstones of the soldiers lay still on the landscape. I saw three markers in particular in which were touching to me. The first was for the astronauts of the space shuttle, Challenger. The second was there for the men that lost their lives during the Iranian Hostage Crisis. The third of these markers was for the lives lost in the last Shuttle Disaster. They were side by side near the mast of the U.S.S. Maine which was the ship that exploded to begin the Spanish-American War. I walked around for a bit and then I ran into four Veterans' two were in wheelchairs and two were pushing. They were very friendly and we talked as we walked to the burial place of the John F. Kennedy family and the Eternal Flame. One of the men was 82 two years old and a World War II Veteran. He told me that he never forgot anything and I can certainly believe it…he was sharp as a tack (as my mother would say). The other men were Vietnam Veteran's and they were from Ohio. One had lots of cats and one had a dog that did not like any cat, but the one that lived at his house. The all live close to each other in Ohio and were very good friends. I helped one of them get to the grave of JFK and we stood there …quietly …for several minutes. Above the gravesite of JFK, on a rolling green hill, behind a miniature pink magnolia tree sits Arlington House, the home of Robert E. Lee. On the grounds, in front of the house is a giant flag pole, and atop an American flag blew in the breeze. I thank these Veteran's for an exceptionally memorable day.

I have added a blog page for political cartoons. The cartoonist is Walt Handelsman and I really appreciate his work. He just began a blog on Newsday, so go and check it out. He has live action cartoons as well…and they are very funny. I laugh out loud sometimes…it is the first Link on the left side of this page.

Today, Representative Dennis Hastert gave his last speech on the floor of the House. He is leaving office in the middle of his term. He is a Republican and held the office of the Speaker of the House, until this past January when Nancy Pelosi became the first woman in United States history to hold this position. The Republicans had held the majority in the House of Representatives, since Newt Gingrich led his Contract with America charge. It took the Democrats twelve years to once again become the majority in the House, but at this point the number of Republican s and the number of Democrats is so close it is very difficult for the group to coalesce and come to any decisions. The Senate must do the same and the vote is even closer in that chamber...51/49, if no one is sick. That is a huge problem in the Senate, because they need 60 votes to bring a bill to the floor and any one person can begin to talk and not stop talking until he can't talk anymore…this is called a filibuster and many Senators utilize this power to threaten others into not allowing a measure to come to the floor. Only on rare occasion do Senators actually gain the floor and refuse to stop talking. In the Senate anyone can change the game at any time and this makes legislating much more difficult. Both houses must decide on a bill and then the conference committee (leaders of the house and the senate) must agree on one bill. The bill is then sent to the President for him to sign. Oops, I can feel a veto coming on…remember that Democratic majority in the Congress…and this process has been repeated and repeated and repeated and will be repeated, until the Congress has a greater margin between the parties, so have a better chance of overriding a veto…they were able to come together on a Water Resources Development bill, last week, and override the President's veto, but everyone needs water! Coalesce is much more difficult on other issues…such as, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations (money). Eventually, the Congress will need to come together on many of these issues, but the members will leave for Thanksgiving break tomorrow.

I should close for now, we are getting up early for a seminar with Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr. at the National Ocean and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) and the topic will be "The State of our Oceans and Atmosphere." I look forward to discussing this with Scot!!

Everyone have a spectacular day…

Until next time,

Eliza

Internship Journal #14

Hello to all who are sharing this journey with me. I am going into Arlington National Cemetery for the very first time on Sunday, Veteran's Day. I am looking forward to seeing the laying of the wreath. I am thankful to be in Washington, D.C. for this occasion. My brother is a veteran of the first Gulf war, Desert Storm, and although it began and ended quickly and decisively, my mother could not leave her place by the television and Wolf Blitzer reporting on CNN. This was the first, "television war" and it was playing out live, in front of our eyes…it was remarkable and my mother could not leave her place in front of the television and maybe one small glimpse of my brother, to know he was coming home. Not many lives were lost in that war, but in the Vietnam war, we lost many and too many have been lost in this war as well…and now I sit by the television every Sunday morning watching, "This Week, with George Stephanopoulos" and wait until "In Memoriam" to see how many soldiers we have lost this week. And the tears swell up in my eyes and I sniffle and then I go off and make my husband breakfast…oh wait…that is when I am at home. I am in Washington D.C. and this week I will not be at home for Mr. Stephanopoulos to come onto the television, I will be in Arlington National Cemetery and I will be honoring those soldiers that have come home…my mother never glimpsed my brother, however he came home to his mother and his children and his sisters. He now has an extremely interesting and I would say remarkable job in the field of computers. I am not certain about the specifics of his work however the words, "computer guru" come to mind. It is because of his military training that my brother, the Veteran, is in an ever growing field of employment and working for one of the most powerful men in New York City. Never-the -less, I would like to add that my mother was thankful that the war ended so quickly, I would be very happy if the one that we are in at this point would come to fruition quickly…it is way out of control. Spending for this incident is unprecedented, in our history. I have no idea how we would ever pay it back. But not because I do not appreciate that our young men and women in the military are sacrificing their lives, limbs, and sanity for a cause that will not be easy to fix. Who are we to tell other countries what to do??? Who were we to invade another country, Iraq, without full and complete knowledge and maybe the truth once in a while…I am sad about the families of the service men and women that must endure each day sitting in front of the television, watching to see... if they might see...just a glimpse of their boy or girl.

I hope to see Veteran's all weekend and thank them for their service to our country. And wish them a wonderful Veteran's Day!!! I made sure to tell my Congress member…is your Congress member a Veteran? A great way to get this information is to go to: www.house.gov and type in your zip code. You can then go and look at your member's website. This is a wonderful way to get to know more about the person that is representing you in Washington, D.C. If more of us would actively participate in government, we would have a much greater opportunity to effect legislation. At this point, we all need to ban together and DO something. How much is gas in California, now? I go outside in the evening and the traffic never stops…it seems as if people are so busy that they just don't have the time to stop and appreciate what they have. I miss the dirt road that we live on…I miss my Charlie…I miss my dogs…I miss my kids…I miss my family…I miss my friends...and miss my fish!!!

When I was five years old, my life changed forever…my dad died testing bombs to be sent to Vietnam, for the war…he had been in the military for many years, he gained his commission in the summer of 1957. He began his career in the Air Force as a pilot and went on to attend Penn State University to further his engineering degree he obtained at Alabama Polytechnic Institute, which is now, Auburn University. He went on to be a training pilot and was stationed at Aviano Air Field from 1965-1968, this during the Vietnam War. After returning home…my father was diagnosed with Diabetes and as a result, he was grounded from flying. He left the military, shortly before becoming a Major, and he went into the Civil Service, as an engineer at the proving grounds on Eglin Air Force Base. He was testing bombs in March of 1970 and was severely burned…my father died the following month. He died as a direct result of the Vietnam War as he was working to make certain the military personnel in Vietnam had the best arsenal available. And my mother would not leave her place, in the darkness with the loss of her Charles. Happy Veteran's Day to all of you who have served our country and to all of you whom have lost a loved one due to war, say thank you to those that have lived to come back to their mothers, daughters, wives, and sisters…fathers, sons, husbands, and brothers…

Until next time,

Eliza