It’s Been A While
So, I knew, somewhere in the back of my mind that it had been a while since I’d last blogged. I just didn’t realize just how long. I can’t believe it’s been about two weeks! I promise to try to be better. 
As explanation for my sudden disappearance, all I have to say is that midterm craziness does not stop just because you’re no longer on campus. Between my requirements for Albion, papers in my classes, preparing for midterm exams, and work I haven’t really had time to breathe as of late. But that’s part of the life, and, as anyone who knows me can attest, I love to be busy.
Here are a few of the more notable things that have happened as of late:
~ I had to write my first paper here. My Economics and Public Policy professor, Dr. Thomas Rustici, assigned an opinion paper based on two scenarios. In the first, you’re walking home and get mugged by a man named Sam Slime, who steals the $50 you have in your wallet. However, Sam gets caught and goes to jail. In the second, Sam supports a political candidate who promises to raise your taxes by $50, to redistribute to “disadvantaged” citizens such as himself. The candidate gets elected, but you protest the new taxes by simply not paying that additional $50. The IRS catches you for tax evasion and you go to jail.
Dr. Rustici wanted our opinion on the commonalities and differences between those two situations. I, a hardcore supporter of social welfare, really didn’t see any similarities between the two situations. However, through his lectures and even the phrasing he used in the essay prompt, it is easy to see that Dr. Rustici holds the exact opposite opinion. So it was interesting writing the paper as I paid particularly close attention to my arguments and support for them, knowing that Dr. Rustici would have a natural urge to pick my argument apart. I’m really looking forward to getting this one back from him.
~This week’s speaker for my Political Journalism Seminar was Lou Peck, the editor of Congress Daily, a competitor for CongressNow and GalleryWatch. Mr. Peck has been around the political scene in DC for about three decades and has a wealth of knowledge about reporting on Congress. He had a lot of really interesting insights into the beat, noting that although Congress is a completely different animal than local governments, you learn tricks about reading people when you work in closer association with the people you’re reporting on so it’s still better to start small. As he said, Congresspeople are really just city council members who got lucky.
An interesting side note on Mr. Peck is that he was the supervisor for Mark, the editor of GalleryWatch, when he was an intern. More and more I’m realizing just how tight-knit the Capitol press are. It’s become really apparent how useful networking is, and I’m so grateful for the number of people that TFAS and my journalism professor, Richard Benedetto, are putting me in contact with. Just this semester alone I’ve met a prominent White House blogger (Julie Mason, with the Houston Chronicle), the editor of Politico, a reporter who essentially created the Department of Homeland Security beat when the agency was created (Mimi Hall, with USA Today), and now Mr. Peck, not to mention all of my coworkers at Roll Call Group. And Professor Benedetto was the White House correspondent for USA Today from the paper’s creation until he retired recently. It’s easy to see how these connections could help me if and when I try to make a life here in DC.
Those are just two of the big things that have happened recently–obviously there were a lot more. But this particular post is already rather lengthy, so the other experiences will just have to wait.