Charles Krauthammer, part deux

Chip and I interviewed Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer for ChrossTalk today. It was the second time I have met with him while working at the American Action Network/Forum. We think (and hope) that this interview will be one of our big breaks -- someone who has instant name recognition and is at the forefront of US politics. I must admit I was concerned about Chip before the interview. Chip is an outspoken liberal, and Charles Krauthammer, let's just say, is not. But with confidence and respect, Chip asked Krauthammer tough liberal questions. I don't think Krauthammer dissuaded Chip of his convictions. For me, Krauthammer was preaching to the choir. I almost always agree with his columns. I sometimes wonder what if he had a one-on-one debate with President Obama: I just can't imagine how he would lose. Anyway, the interview went well, and he was gracious enough to answer all of our questions, which meant we were there for over an hour. In order to get some publicity, we asked a topical question about the debt ceiling, which we will release tomorrow. For me, this meeting was quintessentially what interning in DC has been about. Yes, I have been assigned some grunt work, and yes, I have retrieved my fair share of coffee, but only by being in DC was I able to meet with and schedule an interview with Charles Krauthammer. Those opportunities have been invaluable.

The Debt Ceiling

The office of Congressman Dan Benishek (R-MI)

The debt ceiling debate has become all consuming. Its effect, its seriousness, are tangible in Washington. In terms of policy, other matters suddenly seem less important. When Chip and I walked through Cannon House Office building yesterday, the usual energy was replaced with silence. Quite frankly, the joviality and amusing aggression that I have come to associate with DC has been replaced -- at least temporarily -- with a more somber and even exasperated mood as both August 2 and the Congressional vacation nears. Coincidentally, this mood is exhilarating. Never before have I felt so in the thick of things. After weeks of posturing and years of kicking the can really, really, really hard, Washington and government are finally moving, frantically. They've tried kicking the can again; it just won't go anywhere this time. Having originally supported default, I've come to support the Boehner plan for two reasons. First, it sets a standard -- the new norm for future increases will have to include spending cuts and NO added revenues. Second, it allows Republicans leverage, because they're demonstrating unity. August 2 is only a few days away: if the Boehner bill passes, the Republicans ought to dare the Democrats to not accept their solution. Thus tonight has been the most intense night of all. The leadership won't call the bill until they have the votes. Earlier tonight, they called a recess. Draw your own conclusions. I sure hope Boehner will get the votes he needs. A true mandate would come in the form of the Senate and the White House in 2012.

Gather all Jews (discussed later in the post)

Standing ovation for Wasserman-Schultz

ChrossTalk has progressed swimmingly. Currently, we have about 70 subscribers. Chip and I would like to have 100 subscribers by August 2: while the United States descends into chaos, ChrossTalk shall flourish! As I am in charge of subscriptions, I implore you to please subscribe at www.chrosstalk.wordpress.com. Chip keenly realized that in order to boost our site traffic, we had to increase the content on our site. Thus we introduced a new segment, called "The Talk," where we debate issues in a manner similar to The Conversation in the NYT (http://chrosstalk.wordpress.com/2011/07/22/the-talk-the-cut-cap-and-balance-gang/). We are also working on an Amicus Brief section, where we invite policy experts to write brief analyses of an issue on which they have expertise. Today we received excellent news -- Charles Krauthammer confirmed an interview for Friday. And to add to the excellent news, Chip and I finally purchased a microphone to improve our sound quality.

ChrossTalk has surprisingly proven itself to be one of my most passionate (and increasingly time-consuming) activities. It's been an absolute pleasure working with Chip, though we often don't see eye-to-eye. You could say he and I get cross with each other, which in some way is the nature of our relationship (disclaimer ... I wouldn't have it any other way). If it weren't for the pages ad infinitum of transcript and vulgar language, I'd love to post our G-chat conversations.

Being back at the Network/Forum is awesome. It's great to see all of my friends -- better yet, mega uber conservative like-minded friends -- again. In addition to ChrossTalk, Pete is having me catalog and organize a list of Florida donors that the Forum will presumably hit up in the future. It will be very difficult to finish, because there are 7013 rows to sort through. At least Republicans are generous. Tonight, I attended, on behalf of the Network/Forum, the AIPAC Summer Seminar Series (http://www.clotureclub.com/2011/07/aipac-middle-east-event-w-rep-wasserman-schultz-rep-cantor/) to see House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Chair of the DNC Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) speak on strengthening US/Israeli relations. As with many events in Washington, the speeches were shallow and pre-packaged, but well worth the opportunity to see these Representatives in the flesh. Cantor, in particular, is a like a government idol of mine, because not only is he the Majority Leader of the House, he's also a Jew!

Back in DC

Well, I was on an Amtrak train for 10 hours today, so obviously not much happened. I'd say the most eventful moment of my day was discovering mold on the pizza I ordered for lunch. But, I'm back in DC for internship part 2 at the American Action Network/Forum. Having already met everyone in the office, I'm excited to forgo the awkward first week of establishing myself and get cracking. So far, I have scheduled a ChrossTalk interview with a Chief of Staff and will (with Jeremy) have a private tour of the Fed! Hopefully exciting stories and interesting photos to come. As I side note, my goal is to take extraordinary pictures of ordinary things, but more often than not, I either take ordinary pictures of extraordinary things or ordinary pictures of ordinary things. Ansel Adams started somewhere.

Driver's license

First, please look at past posts to see some of the pictures I took! Now, to the meat of this post. I'm 17 and an unlicensed driver. I have driven twice. Once, I drove Allie Hutler's car up and down my driveway. Two weeks ago, I drove John Webber's car from one parking lot to another one minute away. Both times I was terrible. I swear that I thought driving would be easy: apparently the car can even go forward without pressing on the gas pedal? Perhaps I'm being unreasonable, but I was frustrated when my parents expected that I be a good driver before I take my driving test. Let me paint the picture as I had imagined it. August 19th would come and I'd be 18. I'd wake up, have a coffee, preferably some encouraging music would play in the background as a friendly bird chirped on my window sill (actually, exactly as this video shows: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tJoIaXZ0rw). Either my Mom or Dad would drive me to the DMV. I'd logic my way through the written portion, get behind the wheel, start, stop, turn, park, and woosh, I'd walk out of the DMV with a license ready to drive myself to the Five Guys by the Newport Bridge anytime I wanted. Now my parents are telling me I need lessons with an instructor -- first with an automatic and then behind a stick (because that's all we own). And for some reason, every time I drive, the car jerks forward and back: it's never a smooth ride. So what this long didactic schmaltz is getting at is that it will be awhile before I get my license, which is annoying. Maybe that common sense thing everyone talks about is important after all?

Harry Potter 7, Part 2

A nice little candid of Gabe

My favorite writer is Anthony Bourdain, in part because of his humor, in part because of his content, but beyond all else, his ability to curse, and do so effectively so as to heighten his prose. Now, as someone who aspires to serve in public office some day in the very distant future, it would be unwise to publicly write a curse word that so effectively describes what I feel, having just watched with my Costa Rican companions the final installment of the Harry Potter movie series. Excuse the french and the self-incrimination, but I am thoroughly mind-fu**ed (I've decided to compromise in the spirit of the Washington debt-ceiling talks). Appropriately humorous, ever dark, well scored, and faithful to the original text, Harry Potter gave me and my movie-mates goose bumps repeatedly during the film. I hate to sound like an HP dork -- which I am not -- but there are times when this muggle can't resist (excuse the stupid joke). The New York Times article I've attached below perfectly describes the emotions: we've grown up with these character, watched them mature -- intellectually, magically, sexually -- and the final movie proved a profoundly satisfying end. Harry's son and classmates waved off their parents as the audience saluted this decade long adventure goodbye. If I may add just one observation, which I believe has yet to be mentioned -- the entire film had a recurring motif of the Revolutionary War. As Harry became master of the Deathly Hallows and destroyed that power for the betterment of future generations, so too did the colonists (and especially Washington), armed with newly-won freedom, submit themselves to a constitution and a codified system of laws that protected liberty and limited power for generations to come. The film is a must see.

Please read: http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/07/15/movies/harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-part-2-review.html?ref=movies

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As this was our final full day in Costa Rica, I thought I'd very briefly mention two things that happened. First, Jimmy, Gabe, John, and I took a 2 hr hike to las antenas, which afforded us excellent views of San Jose at the cost of lactic acid, shortness of breath, and sunburn. The hike was steep but worth it. Second, today I met Luis Liberman, the Vice President of Costa Rica. He lives in Gabe's building, and we ran into him on the elevator this afternoon. He has a surprisingly soft handshake.

Back in San Jose

Enough already

Yesterday, we drove from Manuel Antonio back to San Jose. Unfortunately (though I'm looking forward to seeing my family), we have reached the final leg of our trip. In anticipation of our Tuesday night viewing of the new Harry Potter film, we picked up the HP 6 and HP 7 Part I to prepare for the epic final movie. In the afternoon, Gabe invited his friend Daniel to the house. Daniel has been in Israel for the past 5 months in a Kibbutz and returned to Costa Rica less than a week ago. He's absolutely hilarious. For dinner, we had lasagna, a welcome relief from excessive amounts of rice and beans.

This morning, we woke and traveled, with Daniel and company, to Poas, an active volcano in Costa Rica. Though we got there in the morning, the entire Poas crater was filled with clouds. We had to wait for about a half hour before the clouds temporarily cleared up and we snagged a view of the crater. We then hiked briefly to Lake Botos, an inactive crater that had filled with rain water and became a lagoon: as with everything in Costa Rica, it's was natural and beautiful. We took a quick ride to see a waterfall. Though we intended to hike down the rocks, a newly married couple was taking staged photos, and we voluntarily avoided the awkward situation. For lunch, SURPRISE, we had rice and beans ... Gabe's parents are consciously trying to expose us to the culture of Costa Rica, which I appreciate. But sensing all of our exhaustion with comido tipico, they have cooked international dishes for dinner, including a delicious steak au poivre tonight.