Washington Interns

On Thursday, Presidential candidate, Senator John McCain stated that he agreed with the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule the D.C. gun ban. McCain called ruling a “landmark victory for Second Amendment freedom” Voicing a stance that could help him win over conservatives and libertarians, McCain said, “This ruling does not mark the end of our struggle against those who seek to limit the rights of law-abiding citizens. We must always remain vigilant in defense of our freedoms.”

On the other hand, Senator Barack Obama tried to avoid the issue by saying that he favors an individual’s right to bear firearms as well as a government’s right to regulate them. In an attempt to appeal to moderates and the more liberal, Obama said local governments should be able to regulate guns, but did not say as to whether he agreed with the Court’s overturn of the D.C. ban. But he said Thursday’s ruling “will provide much-needed guidance to local jurisdictions across the country.”

“I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms, but I also identify with the need for crime-ravaged communities to save their children from the violence that plagues our streets through commonsense, effective safety measures,” Obama said.

Obama said his view was supported by the court’s ruling that the Constitution does not permit “the absolute prohibition of handguns.” That language “reinforces that if we act responsibly, we can both protect the constitutional right to bear arms and keep our communities and our children safe,” Obama said.

Both presidential candidates endorse an individual’s right to bear arms. But they strongly differ beyond that. McCain has had a mostly conservative record on the issue; Obama, a mostly liberal record.

Source: Associated Press (AP) - Thursday, June 26, 2008

For nearly 32 years, Washington D.C. has had a law that banned handguns in the district for private individuals. This law has been challenged multiple times, and is finally put to rest today as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the law, saying that is a violation of 2nd Amendment rights. District officials are not happy with the Court’s decision but have 21 days to develop rules to comply. Those who now want to carry firearms will have to apply, and prove that they are responsible, mentally competent adults, and will have to be fingerprinted. Also, there will be an amnesty program for those who have already have unregistered weapons. Automatic weapons, however, are still banned in the district.

We’ve all probably noticed the drastic rise in airfares and other unnecessary fees lately as rising fuel costs continue to hurt American airline companies across the nation. Airlines such as American Airlines (AA), the world’s largest carrier, has begun charging for checked bags in economy class, as well as reducing its domestic flights by a whopping 12%! Airlines are also beginning to save on expenses by consolidating jobs and laying off thousands of American workers.

This will only continue to get worse if fuel prices continue to increase…most airline stock have steadily declined over the last couple years, especially in recent months, and some companies may even be liquidated in the new future…Consumers should be aware that fares and fees will continue to rise as airlines report more and more in losses each quarter. Some of our favorite airline companies may even wind up extinct and join the likes of TWA, Pan Am, and Eastern Airlines, as large airlines that have disbanded and gone out of service.

Pray for lower fuel costs for us all…both the American consumer and the Airlines, because it truly would be mutually beneficial if fuel costs were reduced…

Apparently Shaq freestyles from time to time, most recently being shown in a 10-minute video rapping and bashing Kobe! He was hating on Kobe for not being able to win another championship…”You know how I be,” Shaq rapped. “Last week Kobe couldn’t do without me.” Although he said he was just freestyling and didn’t mean any harm to Kobe, we all know that’s likely not true…C’mon Kobe really hasn’t won an NBA title since Shaq was a Laker…

Regardless, this is very interesting since I haven’t heard of an NBA star rapping…it’s usually the other way around…with rappers playing basketball.

There really is nothing like baseball, as it is truly an unique American past-time…and what better place to watch America’s favorite sport than in our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.!  After being absent from the District for over 30 years (When the Washington Senators were relocated to Dallas, TX as the Texas Rangers), baseball has finally returned with the Washington Nationals! 

Going to a Nationals game is an experience all on its own as well, since you wouldn’t expect a die-hard fanbase over a team that they’ve barely even had a chance to know…but this is hardly the case…Fans reacted as if this had been their home team for years, maybe even decades, and many even give wicked looks or yell profanity at those who wear the opponent’s colors (I know since I was a victim of this!)

 Not only are the Nationals gaining an increasing number of fans, but they also have been recently located to a new home…one that is actually used for baseball too! (unlike RFK Stadium, which is actually a football stadium).  Just having opened its doors this past March 2008, Nationals Park is truly an amazing state-of-the-art facility, which an enormous 4,500 sqare foot HD scoreboard!  It is also the 1st major stadium in the United States to be certified LEED Green!  If you haven’t been to Nationals Park, I would highly recommend it, whether or not you’re a Nationals fan!  Not only do you get to enjoy this spectacular facility, but you also get a taste of what Washington baseball is all about.  As they steadily grow in popularity, it is very likely that in the next few years the Washington Nationals will be one of the bigger franchises in the MLB.

Networking.  How many times does a college student have to hear this word before they realize the importance of acting on it?  I’ve encountered quite a few students in my experience who know nothing about it…but those are typically the same people who are in college without a resume either…Ok but seriously, networking is an extremely important and useful skill, so make sure you have it down pat because it may help you get that new job you really want!

Networking is basically like socializing, but usually is in a more formal or professional setting.  Just like your social life, networking calls for making good impressions, keeping in touch, and remembering an acquaintance’s name.  Networking can be amongst your peers or with those who are older than yourself.  So whether you’re getting to know your co-workers or chatting with a campus recruiter, you’re networking!

 Great places to start practicing your networking skills include college career fairs, volunteer events, internships, your job, church, clubs, student groups, roommates, floormates, study groups, class, and believe it or not, Facebook! 

In order to be successful you have to be comfortaable and open with people, so try to introduce yourself to everyone and carry on a nice conversation with as many people as possible!  Find people with similar interests as you since that makes it a lot more probable that you will talk to them in the future.  If no one shares similar interests with you, then try to connect with the person (this works especially well if you’re talking with a professional!)  Also, make sure you keep in contact with others after you meet them, otherwise you’ll defeat the purpose of it!

Any questions/comments? Or have any suggestions I didn’t cover? Post them!

Did you know that summer doesn’t officially begin until June 20th?  That’s right, despite the deathly hot and humid weather here in the DC metro area, we haven’t been experiencing summer “officially” yet…So mark your calendars for this coming Friday, when we finally kick off the start of the summer season!

 What’s so special about seasons that we need official start dates?  In my experience, weather patterns tend to change from region to region, country to country.  So why can’t seasons be based on the local weather of a particular region or city?  Of course, this would mean that some countries south of the equator would only have 2 seasons a year, but still…it would be a more accurate way to portray the weather based on the English definitions of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.

Ahhh…good old summer…This can be a person’s favorite or least favorite time of the year.  As for me, I despise summer!  Most likely because I was born in the summer and grew up in regions of the country where summers are awfully painful.  But DC isn’t any better since the hot weather these last couple of weeks has been painful enough.  Yeah, feel sorry for the interns and government employees that have to trudge through the near 100 degree weather in suits and long sleeve shirts…

Hello and welcome to my blog, exclusively from the point-of-view of a college student intern here in Washington, DC! My goal is to appeal to young people in the metro area and get them thinking about specific topics, events, or ideas! I just wanted to start by welcoming everyone to my new blog! Please feel free to leave comments as you wish, and please be honest about what you write! I will try to reply to as many comments as I can, so keep them coming! Also, if you ever want to hear about a specific topic, please don’t hesitate to let me know! Since I will try to accommodate your request! Otherwise, I will just write about whatever subject pops into my head or whatever is the talk of the town on a certain day!

Thank you again for checking out my Washington blog!