Mr. Dungan Goes to Washington

Rumblings

So it is seeming more and more like Governor Sebelius is going to be our HHS Sec. I'm actually very happy about this choice. Even though she is doing great work in Kansas, it will be nice to get her out on a national stage. I've talked to some people here who agree that she would be great, and needs to get out of Kansas somehow, whether that means running for U.S. Senate (please...please...please) or doing something in the cabinet.

The more I talk about that, the more I see a divide in the kinds of democrats in Kansas. There are those who on November 4th were sitting in the smaller room at the election night watch party saying that they didn't care if Obama won, because to them local elections are all that matter. Then there those who appreciate local politics and their effect on how quickly progressive change can be brought about, but also feel that national level politics need to be a priority in order to bring about actual policy change. I'm not saying either of these are wrong, and I see the merits of both approaches, but I most certainly fall into the latter category. It isn't enough to simply create a number of liberal oases in a conservative sea. I truly believe that one must create big, bold progressive policy at the national level.

This isn't to say, however, that I don't believe in grassroots organizing. I think it is important to bring about this national change from a bottom-up approach so that individuals at every level can get involved. I just don't believe that grassroots organizing is a strictly local affair.

Getting back to Governor Sebelius, I read an interesting article that wonders if the pro-life backlash against her will be too much for President Obama, effectively pushing her name down to the bottom of the list of nominees. This same article claims that Governor Sebelius was much higher on the list of VP nom's, but given her tumultuous past with characters like Phil Kline, she was a much less likely of a choice.

I really hope that this does not hurt her chances. If we let others dictate our policy, then we've no right being here. Let's start taking chances and running into brick walls. We'll get no where if we sit still and try to make everyone happy.

posted by gdungan @ 12:13 PM 0 comments

Long Time, No Talk

And so it goes, once again, that I fail to update for nearly a week. Sigh.

This last week has been a good one though. Perhaps we can chalk up my lack of updates to the sheer awesomeness that was this last week? OK, it might not have been that great...but I did have a good time.

The work was more of the same: talking to schools and organizations about Mike coming to visit. I'd like to think that I'm really starting to get the pitch down seeing as I'm getting to the point that I don't tense up when I hit the send button on my emails requesting that folks consider Mike as a speaker. Whether this is due to an increase in my ability to sound convincing, or merely a growing numbness to rejection, I still welcome the comfort level.

I am,however, growing frustrated at the number of people who don't respond. While some school groups such as the Young Dems at USC just haven't updated their websites in a long time (it still has Clinton/Gore propaganda...) other student groups just don't feel the need to even drop me a polite "no thank you". I understand that school is busy and if you're not interested in having Mike come and talk to your group, but the least you can do is write a one sentence response...

Luckily, I have gotten a few events booked (i.e. the UNL one I spoke about) and am currently working on more. (To answer your question Kathy, it doesn't appear that Mike will be in the Nashville area...so sorry!)

I have had some good experiences outside of the work sphere in this last week too. Len came down on Saturday and we took a drive out to the Udvar-Hazy Center by Dulles Airport. It's sort of like an extension of the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. Simply put, it was incredible. Unlike the other Air & Space Museum, it was actually built as an enormous hanger where they can keep mass amounts of planes, helicopters, and assorted other vehicles year round. And I'm not talking about a Cessna here, and a hang glider there. This hanger has in it the prototype for the Boeing 707, an SR-71 Black Bird, a space shuttle, a Concord, and the Enola Gay. A trip that I expected to take only an hour, ended up taking about 3.5 hours and I enjoyed every minute of it. Had Len not have gone with me, however, I'm sure I would have appreciated it far less than I did. It was nice to not only see all of this with someone else who appreciated it, but could answer any question I asked in full.

Here are a few pictures of the place thanks to Len:



On Sunday, my roommate and I went to Mt. Vernon, which was equally impressive. What I expected to be just a house and maybe a visitor's center was actually acres and acres of gorgeous land open to the public to walk around. Not only was it really intense to walk where you knew George Washington had lived, but they had his tomb open for the public to see which was equally impressive.

Oh yes, and I saw his dentures. Cool.

Coming up this weekend I will be heading to New York with Gina (who is coming to visit tomorrow) for the Young Democrats of America winter conference. I'm looking forward to getting out of DC for a while, and hopefully attending some interesting seminars while I'm there.

And in case you were wondering, or if there was any doubt in your mind, the Kansas GOP is ridiculous. Right now they are essentially blackmailing Governor Sebelius by not allowing her to pay state employees (any of them) unless she approves a bill that has worked it's way onto her desk. I knew that they were desperate for attention, but to actually affect that many individuals in such a negative way is downright criminal.

Also, I'm glad that the Stimulus was finally signed today. I'm still worried, but any concern I have over the stimulus is fueled by my concern that the package is too small. I wish that someone would sit down congressional Republicans and explain to them that not only are they holding back economic recovery, but they're not even listening to those within their own party.

Hopefully NYC is enjoyable, and I'll be able to update on the road.

I'll try to get some pictures of Mount Vernon up soon, so keep an eye out for them.

posted by gdungan @ 5:35 PM 0 comments

Snowboarding and such

This last weekend was one of the best that I have had in a long time. After a rather low-key Friday in the office that consisted of emails and reading, I came home, packed up my laundry, and took off to go see my Uncle Len in Delaware.

It was only about a 2 hour drive, and to tell you the truth it felt really nice to get out on the road and go somewhere. One thing I did notice that was ridiculous were the excessive tolls that I had to pay on the way out there. It was, literally, 15 dollars on a trip that wasn't even 2 hours. Besides that it was a really easy drive and I had little trouble getting there.

After I arrived Len and I just kind of sat around and chatted for most of the night. It is really nice to have someone up here who is not just family, but really feels more like a friend. We stayed up pretty late, and decided that the next day we would wake up late and head up to Camelback in PA to go skiing/snowboarding.

The snowboarding, let me tell you, was great. Granted, I fell quite a bit, and I am rather sore today, but it was really fun. I took a lesson and after learning how to stand-up, stop, and turn I feel comfortable enough about it that I am really looking forward to doing it again. There's no point in taking the lesson once and then just dropping it, so my goal is that by the time I leave DC I am able to say I can "snowboard" and mean that I can do it without going down the mountain on my hands and knees.

Coming back from Camelback, Len and I drove to my Grandma and Grandpa (Dungan)'s house (which was about half of the way to his place) and had dinner with them. It was really wonderful to see them both again. Given that they live in PA and I'm always in the midwest, it is hard to see them frequently, so it was great to sit and talk with them for a while. Plus, Grandma was great and made me a cake, so that's always a plus.

On Sunday Len helped me a bit with my car (It was leaking water into the passenger side whenever it got wet...no good...) and showed me some cool stuff about how the car actually worked. Once again, it was nice to just spend some time with him and hang out with some people outside of the program for a while.

So, that takes me to today. Adam, Mike, and Carla from my office are all in New York for an event, so it was a very laid back day for me and Phil. In fact, I got to leave around 2 pm. That really made my day. With the time off, I decided to check out the museum of American history, and that was incredible. I actually got to see the flag that Francis Scott Key was looking at when he was inspired to write the Star Spangled Banner. I know that it might sound nerdy, but I was completely enamored with it. Just feeling that sort of historical presence was amazing.

So that catches everyone up. I really have got to start doing this nightly seeing as I am not a fan of just writing "I did this....then this...then this..." kind of posts. I like keeping you all up to date, but also being able to just talk about random things, as well as share my opinions. Hopefully I'll get better about this soon...

One cool thing that did happen during work was that I was able to watch the town hall style meeting that President Obama held to talk about the stimulus bill. I thought the entire thing was brilliant. There was no screening of the questions so it felt natural, and he was actually answering the majority of the questions with (somewhat) straight forward answers. I think the President plays so well in those kind of situations that it might be the best way for him to get his message across to people about what needs to be done.

Along those lines, I am watching his press conference as I type this, and am enjoying it for the most part. I wish that he had straight up said "yes, I will overturn the policy banning media from covering the bodies of soldiers who are killed overseas as they fly back into the states". I 100% agree that it is shameful for us to just slide them in without letting anyone know what is going on. People need to a.) see the men and women who have died over there, and b.) realize that this ridiculous war in Iraq is affecting people every single day whether or not we know it. Hiding the bodies as they come off of those planes is like trying to convince us that nothing is really wrong. It really, really bothers me.

That is about all I have for now.

KU is playing Missou tonight...so, go Jayhawks.

Hope you're all well. I miss you.

posted by gdungan @ 8:17 PM 3 comments

of course...

Two things I forgot to mention.

First, I spent last Thursday morning with Senator Sam Brownback. Given that it was a part of the program I'm here with I was somewhat helpless and had to go. Originally, I was quite upset that I would have to wake up that early to go and spend my time with someone like him. As the morning progressed, however, I was pleasantly surprised.

Don't get me wrong, I still strongly disagree with nearly everything the man stands for. I was, however, impressed with his strong and steady convictions. When he says he believes in the sanctity of life he means it. He said that while he was opposed to abortion, he hinted that he was also opposed to the death penalty. He even went as far as to say he thought that Guantanamo should have been shut down because we weren't treating those detainees like human beings. We weren't respecting their life. It has been my experience that politicians who use the "right to life" argument tend to suddenly flip views in respect to the death penalty. I actually believe that Senator Brownback, on the other hand, believes what he says and knows what he believes.

Furthermore, he ended our little meet and greet with a little talk on head and heart. While the subject might sound contrite or overly sentimental, I actually could not agree with him more. He said that if there was one thing we could take away from him, he would have it be that we do our best to develop not just a sharp mind, but a moral compass. Without this compass, he said, we could be the smartest person in the room but it wouldn't matter. While my moral compass tends to point in the opposite direction of his the majority of the time, I think that this is one of the most important things in politics. I can argue with people and spout facts until my voice is gone, but when it comes down to it there are certain things that I believe because they are just right. I know that not everyone will agree with me, but I believe that certain aspects of certain things should operate one way or another because it is the just thing to do.

The government should look out for the poor, the underprivileged, and the weak.

Everybody, regardless of sex, gender, colour, or orientation should be allowed to live what life they choose free from persecution, harrasment, or judgment.

No one should ever have to feel as though the government is looking over their shoulder when they go to the library and check out a book.

No child should ever have to go to the hospital, only to be turned away because their parents can't afford insurance.

In my world, these are not opinions. They are axioms.

Secondly, the interns were all able to meet with Congressman Dennis Moore this morning for coffee. I have always like Congressman Moore. He is a funny, genuine guy who seems to care about his constituents more than a political label. Granted, he's a blue dog and we differ on some fiscal issues, but I think he really does what he thinks is best and tries to keep an eye out for the little guy.

It is nice to have Internet.

More later, I'm sure.

posted by gdungan @ 6:11 PM 3 comments

Not dead...

I am, in fact, still alive.

This last week went by very quickly and the lack of Internet (which we finally have) combined with my sleepiness made me less inclined to find wireless. Now that we finally have it, however, I can update regularly. I expect you to hold me to that.

My intent was to update with everything that I did this last week, but now that I am faced with that daunting task I am unable to think of what I did each and every day. Here are a few things that I did for sure:

• Went to the national archives. They were incredible. I know that it might sound "lame", but the entire time that I was in line getting ready to check them out, I had a giant knot in my stomach. Just being able to see the actual documents that we've studied for so long in person was one of the best things I've ever done. I was shocked at the good condition of them. Granted, the Declaration of Independence has faded significantly, but the Constitution and Bill of rights are good as new.
  
• I have a bit more focused roll here at work. Rather than doing a little bit of everything (I always get a bit of this kind of work...but it's what interns do!) I have been put "in charge" of contacting university groups and college entities that are in cities Mike is traveling to in order to set up events regarding the book. This can range from a book signing to a speaking slot at a conference. It is nice to have a bit more defined role at work.
  
• Ate some great Thai food...I believe that peanut curry tofu is one of my new favourites.

Is it sad that those are the three things that come to mind? I'm sure there are many others and as I remember, I'll update.

One thing that has had me really upset is what seems to be the Democrats' inability to keep out of stupid situations. We nearly have 59 seats in the senate, a good hold on the house, and the control of the White House, but we still seem to be having trouble tying our shoes in the morning.

I'm not say that Democrats are infallible or that I think they should be held to a different standard. I'm merely expressing my discontent for what seems to be our ability to get ourselves in trouble.

On the other side of the aisle, however, I have had it up to here with house Republicans ( and the vast majority of the party leaders in general). After the Democrats made their concessions on tax cuts and after President Obama came to the Capitol in order to extend a hand to Republican leaders, not one single member of the republican party could bring themselves to vote yes on the bill. No, they were so busy getting air time with Fox News and publicly ridiculing the Democrats for trying to help people, that they didn't take a second to look at the bigger picture and realize that tax cuts aren't going to do a thing to stimulate the economy.

Pardon the partisan rant.

It has just been on my mind all day.

Political talk aside, however, I have been doing very well. I hope everyone reading this is doing OK and I look forward to hearing from anyone anytime!

More updates will probably come tonight, since I have the web.



Also, for anyone reading this in Lincoln or Lawrence, I just wanted to mention that there is a very real possibility that Mike will be coming to both of those places in late March to do stuff for his book! I'll keep everyone posted, but if it happens then you should all go and bring plenty of friends.

posted by gdungan @ 4:48 PM 1 comments