Medal of Valor Ceremony from last week

This was meant to be posted last week.  somehow it didn't.  so here it is.

Today was completely incredible.  and completely crazy.  The public serviceman medal of valor ceremony is put on every year by the office of justice programs in the department of justice, and my office does most of it.  So at ten this morning, 12 medal recipients and their families came in to our office and the festivities began.  first the assistant attorney general laurie robinson gave a speech, and then we took them on a tour of the capitol.  it was amazing spending time with these men and their families.  they were flown in from all over the country and had amazing stories. 

medal of valor recipients with assistant attorney general robinson, attorney general holder, and Vice President Biden

One of my favorite people I met was a firefighter from Boston (with a thick boston accent) who came with his parents, his mother in law, his wife and three sons.  While putting out a huge fire in a buildingran into flames to save other firefighters, and there was a backdraft and the roof caved in and he got second degree burns all over, but managed to make it out with his fellow firefighters.  There was a police officer from texas that was involved in a huge shootout, got shot in the face, and still managed to drag a wounded officer out of the fire, take her to the EMTs that were a safe distance away, then guide the swat team in to the fray.  Then there was a pair from Oklahoma who rescued hurricane victims.  One flew a helicopter so that it's base was under water, and the other hung on to it and went into the water after people.  There were several other amazing stories, and I was blown away by them.  I proof-read all of their biographies and their accounts of their experiences, so I knew all about them before they came.  It was really great to spend the day with all of them, getting to know their families and hearing their stories.  They were amazing people, and their families are so great.  I can't imagine how hard it is for them to let their husbands and fathers go to work doing such dangerous things everyday, and the recognition is long overdue. These men really are the salt of the earth, doing the hardest and most dangerous jobs for the smallest paychecks.  That amazes me, because I don't think I could do it. 

President Biden with Department of Justice Interns

 

There was one family that I got to spend more time with than the others, and it was the firefighter from Boston that I mentioned above.  His father was also a firefighter, and a great one, and he was the reason his son had chosen that path.  The father and mother are now in their mid-eighties, and trooped around DC all day with us.  The reason I got to spend more time with them was that they both have bad knees and I would always take them to find elevators instead of climbing all the crazy stair-cases in the elevators.  Then at the end of the tour the buses were far away because they can only pull so close to the capitol.  So I rode with them in the cab and pointed out different things along the way.  They had never been to DC before, so this trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity for them.  The son (who was recieving the award) and his wife kept apologizing for all the extra things we had to do to take care of their parents, but I was just glad that they got to come.  That kind of opportunity at that age is probably rare, and to get to see their son recieve that award was probably one of the greatest experiences of their lives.  And I got to be there for it. 

 

 

In the evening we went to the Medal of Valor Ceremony at the White House.  The Attorney General and Vice President both gave great speeches, and they were very heartfelt.  President Biden spoke candidly of the car accident that killed his wife and daughter, and would have killed his sons too if it weren't for firefighters who got them out of the car using the jaws of life. He is a great speaker, and it really set the tone for the rest of the ceremony.  After it was all over, and everyone had recieved their medals and plaques, he announced that he wanted to meet the families of all the recipients, and he was really friendly and even used peoples cell phones to make calls to the recipients family members that couldn't come. After all of that we got to meet him, and talk to him for a few minutes.  he was really friendly, and asked all of us about ourselves, where we're from and he even thanked us for our work.  We got a picture with him that i will have to put up on here later.

Attorney General Holder

After the ceremony and the reception (which had delicious food, btw) I hurried off to Arlington to get to Chess, which is playing at a cool little theater about ten minutes from the Pentagon City metro station.  I had found out it was playing the night before and really wanted to go, but the tickets online were seventy dollars.  Luckily kristy got involved and found that if you go an hour before and buy them, they are only thirty.  So we got to sit in the fourth row for less than half of what almost everyone else paid.  The play was great.  The music was incredible, the stage and sets were crazy and lit up all over the place, most of it felt like a Billy Idol meets Madonna music video.  But it was great, and I am glad I got to make it.  It was a great way to cap a fantastic day, probably the best I have had in DC yet.
 

gettysburg and fun things

The last few weeks have been awesome.  Over the weekend we had the chance to go to Gettysburg and walk around the battlefields and see some of the sights.  I jokingly said “I am at Gettysburg, famous for the uplifting scene in Remember the Titans, starring Denzel Washington.” But obviously I understand that it is famous for much more than that.  It was amazing walking around the battlefields, to places where real cannons had been show and real soldiers had stood and fallen.  It’s a really pretty place now, with monuments and statues marking every part of it.  We were shown the sights where the confederates won on the first day, and then where the Union turned the tide.  It was interesting to me that the greatest victories came to the side that was fighting from higher ground.  That seems so simple, but every so often a battle has to be fought uphill.  In Saving Private Ryan, the storming of Normandy in WWII was uphill, which is the reason behind the tremendous casualties the allied forces suffered.  In Glory, also starring Denzel, the battle of Fort Wagner is fought uphill, and turns out to be catastrophic to Matthew Broderick and his men.  So the lesson is that uphill battles rarely go well.

some friends at gettysburg

This picture is based on the Mormon and moroni overlooking the battlefield painting in the book of mormon

Reenacting my favorite scene from the Lion King, with Scott playing the role of simba.  it's necessary to do when you find a rock that looks like pride rock.

In the afternoon we went to Harpers Ferry, which was also a cool place.  It is famous for John Browns uprising, in which he and about twelve other men took over the armory and attempted to start an uprising that he hoped would spread to all the slaves in the south.  Unfortunately Robert E Lee and about a hundred marines came and put an end to the conflict, and Brown was hanged for treason.  Before any of that though, it had been a place that Thomas Jefferson called “one of the most stupendous scenes in nature.” Up high on the mountain side (or the hillside I guess...) there is an Old Catholic church, and a path that runs behind it leads to a cemetery that is about four hundred years old, and a rock called “Jefferson’s rock” which is where he stood with his daughter when he declared how beautiful the place was.  I took a picture from the exact place he stood on October 25, 1783.  The Appalachian Trail runs through that town as well. There are 307 people that actually live there in the town, which I would think would be scary, because it looks haunted, especially the church and the old graveyard. 

the view from jefferson rock.  "one of the most stupendous scenes in nature."

just some fellas

standing atop jefferson rock.

I am excited for the upcoming week because for one thing, I get to go to my first congressional hearing.  The hearing I am attending is about the second chance act, an act that deals with prisoners re-entering society at the end of their prison terms.  This particular act deals with criminal records being expunged for certain non-violent crimes.  This reminds me a little bit of Jean Val Jean in Les Mis, and how he can never get a job or successfully reenter society because the record that follows him.  When he ditches his old identity and starts anew he creates a great life for himself and is an important figure in the community.  I can see why this issue would be controversial, but I can see the value in it.  And anything that can be done to turn criminals and ex-convicts into better people instead of repeat-offenders is definitely something worth consideration.  I am excited to hear the testimonies of real experts as well as the arguments of members of the house. 

it's been a while.

I can’t believe I had let two weeks pass without writing anything on here.  They have been pretty eventful so let’s hope I can remember everything that happened.

On Monday (of last week) I started my internship.  The first day was full of administrative stuff, and getting to know everyone in the office.  Since Tuesday though I have been able to get involved and do a lot of different things.  My office has people that work closely with issues like juvenile justice, protecting children, gangs, aspects of law that I am pretty interested in.  On Wednesday I got to go to the national press club where Denzel Washington spoke at a press conference on behalf of the boys and girls club.  They have a new initiative to stop kids from dropping out of school, and the department of justice gave them forty million dollars to fund this program and these new efforts.  Denzel was great, he talked about his own experience at the Boys and Girls club, and the importance of education and helping kids stay in school.  They also announced the Boys and Girls club person of the year, and it was an eighteen year old girl from Arizona who had a rough life but Boys and Girls club helped her find a way out of all of that.  It was a great press conference, and it got me even more excited to do what I am doing here at this internship, and to be a part of this. 

 Over the weekend we went to Karaoke for my great friend Julie Allen's birthday. it was a great time, there were about twenty of us that went together and we filled the main room.  It was a little mexican restaurant/bar that also has spanish music to karaoke to.  I sang "hero" by enrique iglesias, and dedicated it to Julie for her birthday.  i think it turned our alright.  it was a really fun night, and we all got to see wild sides of eachother that we might not have known existed otherwise.

On Saturday I went to Eastern Market for breakfast, which was really fun and delicious. 

Tomorrow is the Public Safety Officer Medal of valor ceremony at the white house, and I have been assigned to do lots of things for it because our department is in charge of it.  I can't wait, it will be a really neat event.  I might get to meet Joe Biden and Atty General eric holder because they are going to be there.  Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson will be there too, but I met her on the second day of my internship.  She was walking in the building so I held the door for her and we talked all the way inside and up the elevator.  She is in charge of my entire building, so she is a pretty big deal.  And really nice.  It is really neat working around so many people that are so important to the government and to our country. But i should have lots to write after tomorrows events.  can't wait!

September 11, 2010

The last few days have been packed with cultural experiences.  Friday was one of the last days of Islamic Rammadan, as well as the day before September 11, so we thought it would be as great a time as ever to visit a Mosque and see what it’s like.   There has been a lot of controversy lately about Islam and the Mosque at ground zero, and I personally have never been to a mosque, so I was excited to experience one and see what it was all about. And they are open to visitors.  When we first got there we were a little hesitant, and walking into the Mosque itself felt like we were violating something.  It seemed so holy and reverent, and we looked and dressed differently than anyone else in there.  Eventually we went in and sat in the back of the room.  We watched the prayer service, which was very interesting. The sermon that followed the prayers was about love of God, families, and other people.  About praying and worshiping wherever you may be.

I was impressed with the dedication and solemnity of the services.  It reminded me of the way that members of our church treat the temple or the sacrament.  We go there to have spiritual experiences and to worship.  They do the same, in their own way.  After the sermon and prayers were over, the head of the Mosque invited us to sit down and talk.  We told him we were from BYU, and he already knew quite a bit about our church.  He asked us questions, and told us about how similar Christianity and Islam are.  It was a powerful experience for me.

Inside the Mosque.  I didn't take this picture, it was on google images.

The next day was September 11, so we went to the Pentagon Memorial.  We got there just as a prayer meeting was taking place.  There were prayers offered by leaders of several different churches and faiths, as well as short sermons.  There was a prayer for the armed forces, and for the victims of the terrorist attacks and their families that still suffer today. The rest of the prayers were for America, for the children, for families, and for religious leaders all across the country.  Some of the prayers were loud and evangelical, some were solemn and very reverent. The one thing that they all had in common was that they were all faithful petitions to the same God. 

September eleventh was a terrible day, and no one will ever forget it. But any terrorist should know that America will always rise above any tragedy and any adversity it meets. If there is anything that I learned this weekend, it is that faith can be powerful no matter what church you go to, or what religion you believe in. Obviously there is a straight and narrow path, and not everyone is on it. But there sure are a lot of people doing their best to find it and move in the right direction, which is a powerful thing. Osama and the terrorists were not able to take that away from us, and as long as we have that, we are strong.

All's Well that ends well

Tonight we went to the show "All's well that ends well" at the Shakespeare theatre company.  It was great.  We got really cheap tickets and the show was great.  The show is about a girl who loves a guy who doesn't love her back but then eventually does.  It was funny and a the production was really good.  There were actors that had been small roles on Friends, the movie Jack, and several other tv shows. It's a theater company where lots of great actors go when they aren't really doing tv shows and movies. 

Iwo Jima Episode 2/New Room

There was a group of people that missed the last trip to Iwo Jima, so I went with them for round 2. It's not a place that gets old or anything so I was glad to have another opportunity to go see it.  Every time I see it it seems bigger and more impressive.  We had a little bit more time so we went over the the bell tower.  The view from there is amazing, and everyone really enjoyed it.  It was a great night. 

Not much else has happened, but I have settled in my room and it finally is starting to feel like home, so I am putting up a picture of it.

nationals game/national portrait gallery/ wok n roll

We decided to celebrate Labor day with Americas favorite past time.  Baseball. We found some cheap tickets online so about ten of us decided to go.  The nationals are not the best team in the league, but the stadium is nice and baseball games are generally fun.  the game itself was great, the Nationals crushed the mets 12-3 and there were some fun moments. Not much else to really say about it.

NATIONALS GAME! (clockwise from far left: Ben, Me, Aubrey, Robby, Scott, Brittany, Bree and Liz)

After the game I went and met some other friends at the Smithsonian National Portrait gallery, to see the Norman Rockwell exhibit.  I like Rockwell a lot because he paints such a simple world.  His paintings remind me of the fifties, Happy Days, the Brady Bunch, Andy Griffith, and that generation and culture.  I bought an 8x10 postcard of this painting below in the giftshop because it reminded me of the movie "the sandlot." 

Choosin' up by Norman Rockwell

After the museum we went to "Wok N Roll" which is in China town, just a few blocks away from the museum.  I had been pretty excited to try it out because there is cheap sushi AND Chinese food.  And it is located in the Mary Surratt boarding house.  Mary Surratt was one of the conspirators in the Lincoln assassination, so the building is pretty famous.  Now it has a chinese restaurant.  I wonder if they did that as a way to continue punishing surratt a century later. The food I had was great, combination fried rice and General Tso's Chicken.  I realize that almost every single entry I write has a good deal of food commentary, and I am ok with that.  because I am all about the SCONEing. 

On another note, my feet are suffering quite a bit lately.  I made the mistake of wearing new sandals to walk around the city one day, and they wore holes in my feet.  I think they started as blisters, then wore through a few more layers of skin.  This is what they look like. Woof. My right foot is just as bad.

marathon day/ capital concert

Friday was a great day because our briefings ended at 12 so we had the rest of the day to do fun things. So after briefings finished we went to Pentagon city to go swimming with our friends over there.  (julie, adeline, stefi and kelly, some of our favorite people) Then we went to Good Stuff Eatery for dinner.  It was fantastic.  Another burger place, with great fries and great shakes too.  It was a different kind of burger than Rays hell burger, but maybe just as good.  loved it.  then we went home and watched movies at the Barlow Center in our fantastic basement recreational area.  The barlow center is great, and I am really liking the people that are here.

Saturday was a MARATHON kind of day.  we started our day in the museum of natural history, which was great, but we may have spent a bit too long in there, because by the time we left I was pretty bored of it.  The geology and minerals section seemed to stretch on far too long.  There are about a million rocks in there, and each one has a little paragraph description written by it.  It only took about one of them to make me want a nap.  I did like the mammals, that humongous shark jaw that was probably even bigger than jaws himself, and a few other exhibits.

After the Smithsonian we walked around the mall and sat by the washington monument (it was too late in the afternoon to go up it) then walked through the WWII memorial, which was neat.  I had never seen it before. Then we walked down to the Korean memorial. I love the Korean memorial because it is so real.  The statues of the soldiers fighting represent the war itself, and the faces carved into the wall represent the individuals that fought and died.  To me, this memorial represents the idea of that war is fought by people with names and identities and lives. Individuals fought together, but they were never just a mob of nameless, bloodthirsty monsters.  When we look at casualties of war we often see numbers of those killed, and think about how terrible it is based on the quantity of them.  This memorial forces us to look at the quality of those lost.  The individuals who gave everything for freedom and peace.  Not the collective, and not the mass. After the Korean we walked past the Lincoln memorial and took a look at it.  I had read a little bit about it recently, and learned that his hands in the statue itself have particular meaning.  One hand is open, representing his open-mindedness, and the other is closed representing his will and resolve towards preserving the union.  We at dinner at a restaurant in Watergate called Chens.  it is just Chinese fast food, but it is pretty famous because it has been around for a long time.  Presidents have eaten there and so do a lot of important people.  It looked subpar from the outside, but the food was delicious.  I understood why it had the reputation is has immediately.  

After church on sunday, we went to the national cathedral. It was cool, and reminded me a lot of Notre Dame.  It might be smaller, I'm not sure.  And there is no quasimodo.  And it is much more American, with most of the writing inside in English (as opposed to Latin, like most cathedrals) The Cathedral was neat, really pretty, and a great sunday cultural experience.  On sunday night, we had our first group pot-luck.  There was about fifteen of us involved, and everyone brought something different.  It turned out quite well, and all of the food was not only edible, but pretty good too.  It was a fun time.  After that, we went to the National Orchestra concert in front of the capital.  it was great, the played music by John Williams, James Horner, and Leonard Bernstein.  A couple of singers from the Army Chorus sang the love songs from west side story, which was great.  The concert experience was neat because you are literally sitting on the capitols front lawn, and the music was fantastic.  It would have to be for it to be the "National Orchestra." All in all, great times were had.

Georgetown cupcake/ Jefferson Memorial

SCONing: Saturday of new eateries.. Last night we tried a new dessert place: Georgetown cupcake. It was a bit of a walk, and had a long line, but the cupcakes were good. And there was a group of about 18 of us who went, so that was fun. None of us have internships tomorrow so everyone felt a little bit adventurous about staying out later. I got some good pictures.

After that we walked over to foggy bottom and headed in the direction of the Jefferson memorial. It was a bit of a trek, but it was worth it. The Jefferson Memorial is so cool, and I love how it is out on the water. We were there until about eleven, when they shut off all the lights while we were still inside. I actually thought that was kind of cool. There is a quote in there that I really like. “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?” A perfect argument against the seperation between church and state. Anyone who says the founding fathers meant to write God out of the constitution completely is lying. And that is important to remember. Every liberal pundit I have hear lately has said that Glenn Beck and the “restore honor” tea party are a bunch of old crazy white people. It is sad to think that old crazy white people are the only ones that embrace the values and ideas our nation was founded upon. I would like to think that it’s not true, but we know that the nation has been moving in that direction for a long time, and the current government is highly representative of that.

China town/ iwo jima

after my security appointment I had most of the day left, so I decided to explore around the area I work.  China town is awesome.  There are about a hundred asian restaurants, and I found five or six that I am really excited about.  One is a dim sum place, which I love.  One is a place with a $3.50 lunch special.  it might be gross and it might make me sick, but i have to try! And I found a place that looks like it has really good sushi.  So I am excited about that.  And it has happy hour every weeknight with dollar sushi, so we will need to do that sometime.  Delicious restaurants are crucial to the enjoyment of my work experience. just kidding. kind of. There is also an urbs right there.  


Tonight after institute (which was great) we decided to go to Iwo Jima.  One of my favorite places in the entire world.  I remember going there when I was little and then again when I was in eighth grade.  The monument itself is amazing and inspiring, and such a great symbol of patriotism.  I was reminded of the movie "flags of our fathers" which wasn't my favorite, but the story behind the monument and the picture that inspired it is pretty amazing.  In short, the picture taken of the men raising the flag at Iwo Jima inspired huge bond influx that helped America win in World War 2.  There is a lot of backstory about who really raised the flag and who got credit and stuff, but I don't want to dwell on that.  ALSO everyone should consider seeing Letters from Iwo Jima.  It is much better, and tells the story from the Japanese perspective, so it is actually in Japanese.  


"uncommon valor was a common virtue."  I will probably never have to raise a flag in a warzone, or even see a warzone.  I will probably never have to carry bodies of friends out of the fire and hell of a battlefield. Whenever I think i might have troubles or hard times, I should just remember that.  We often think about that in regards to Pioneers that struggled and lost everyone and everything.  Our lives, in comparison, really aren't that hard.  I guess we do have our own challenges, but it just makes me respect those soldiers in the statue even more.  This brings me back to my original question from my first blog post.  When I was thinking about the Rally that brought in half a million people from all around the country. WHAT MOVES PEOPLE? what drives them?  A simple image of soldiers raising a flag inspired Americans to give hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of dollars to the war effort.  An idea, "restore honor" brought Americans from all over the country to a four hour rally in 90+ degree heat and humidity. What moves people?  Honor. Values. Patriotism. Just to name a few.

The department of justice

sSo I don't know if I have mentioned it on here yet or not, but my security clearance for my internship at the department of justice has taken a little bit longer to clear than expected, so I have had a few days just to hang out in DC.  Today though I went in for the first time to get finger printed and have them review my papers with me.  The place is in the middle of china town, which I will talk about a little more later.  I went the other day looking for it, but gave up thinking that I had the wrong address.  It is literally hidden between two buildings.  In the fifth harry potter, the secret headquarters of Harry and co. was hidden magically, between two normal buildings.  When someone wanted to get into it, the two buildings magically spread apart and the headquarters appeared.  Watch it.  the department of justice's office of justice programs is the very same.  it is hidden between a pub and the german cultural center. Not really hidden, but there is no sign for it or anything, so if you didn't know any better you would think the Gold doors are a part of the German cultural center.  But I got to go in, and it was awesome.  can't wait to start working there. Below is a picture of it from googlemaps.



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