"I cannot live without books."

Books were one of Thomas Jefferson’s greatest passions. Throughout his life, books were vital to Thomas Jefferson’s education and well-being. Books provided Jefferson with a broader knowledge of contemporary and ancient times. Jefferson's book collection was used as the basis for the beginning of the Library of Congress Book collection. By 1814 when the British burned the nation’s Capital and the Library of Congress, Jefferson had acquired the largest personal collection of books in the United States. Jefferson offered to sell his library to Congress as a replacement for the collection destroyed.

The Library of Congress has replicated Jefferson's collection and the manner in which he displayed it. Jefferson arranged his bookshelves in a way so that a person could walk into the middle and be surrounded by books.

I think it is great how the Library of Congress has tried to recreate Jefferson's collection and allow society to rediscover his ideas and themes.

OI

Folger Shakespeare Library

During my tenure in high school, I had a strong passion for theater and I was involved in some high school productions. In the two theater classes I took, we spent a great amount of time reading William Shakespeare. Because of my experiences and interest with Shakespeare’s work, I decided to visit the Folger Shakespeare Library.

The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library that is home to the worlds’ largest collection of William Shakespeare. The library offers student programs, guided tours, exhibits, poetry, plays, and music. One of the goals of the Folger Shakespeare Library is to educate people about the life of William Shakespeare. Thus, the general public has access to a variety of print publications, the library’s journal, Shakespeare Quarterly, and for research questions, one can choose the option “Ask a Librarian” on the website.

I visited the exhibit "Lost at Sea: The Ocean in the English Imagination, 1550-1750.” The exhibition focuses on sea exploration and its cultural connotation from the age of Shakespeare until the 18th century. At the exhibit, one can see everything from detailed maps, notes, charts, and anchors. One of the objects that sparked my interest was a gold ring. Inside the ring was inscribed, “The cruel seas, remember, took him in November.” These rings which are called poesy rings were used as a memorial for those who were lost at sea.

I thought the exhibition was really interesting; it definitely gives one a sense of how dangerous traveling by sea can be. In the 21st century, we often take for granted how quickly and easy one can travel around the world. Thus, it is important to be appreciative of the advanced technology and transportation we now have because during Shakespeare’s time, traveling involved poor maps, unpredictable weather, and diseases such as scurvy.

-OI

Missed opportunity to please everyone

At my internship, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, we recently had a press release discussing the Bureau’s finding that the gap between federal employee compensation and private compensation has doubled in the past ten years. The numbers are pretty startling, but not unbelievable.

Last week, President Obama (in an attempt to preempt the release, perhaps?) announced a freeze on bonuses for 2,900 political appointees and the lowest federal pay raise, 1.4%, in over a decade for the other 2 million federal employees.

Predictably, Republicans are out in force denouncing such a pay gap (even though the release points to the fact that the gap has only been widening for the past 9 years i.e. not under Clinton, every year under Bush, and 1 year under Obama) and are asking for a cancellation of the already small pay increase (accruing $2.2 billion in savings).

As a federal employee, I have the benefit of receiving a federal transit subsidy meant to encourage federal employees to utilize mass transit and lead the way toward a greener future. To receive such benefits, federal employees simply have to venture (quarterly) to the not centrally located Department of Transportation between the convenient hours of 9:30 AM and 3:50 PM. Since the hours are during the normal work day, most employees travel to the DoT during their lunch break in order to minimize time lost.

Thankfully, the DoT is cost conscious and employs only one clerk to handle such transactions keeping the average wait time down to about 1.25-1.5 hours (based on an undeniably scientific survey consisting of me informally asking my co-workers). Factor in time to and from the DoT and total time elapsed is around 2 hours.

While waiting in the interminable lines that can plague government buildings I couldn’t help but realize that Congressional leaders were missing out on a wonderful opportunity. Instead of a calling for a cancellation of the federal pay increase, they could have announced a plan to create jobs, save the federal government money, AND make federal employees happier!

With the high level of federal wages, 1 hour of federal work (only including salary) is worth $40 (assuming 2,080 work hours per year). Assuming federal employees do the right thing and count 1 of the 2 hours as their lunch and break, the federal government loses $160 worth of productivity from each worker per year (1 hour @ $40, 4 times a year). Factoring in that there are 320,000 federal employees in DC, $51,200,000 in productivity is lost each year due to time spent waiting for the transit subsidy. Keep in mind, this is lost productivity, so a few way savings could be realized is by not having to pay overtime or contracting out less work.

The salary for a GS-5 (fair compensation for handing out the metro benefits) in the Washington, DC metro-statistical area is $27,431 per year. Hire some more clerks, speed up the lines, and save the government money while still keeping federal employees happy.

Elections have swung on even more peripheral issues before.

-ZT

Design for the Other 90%

The National Geographic Museum is now offering an excellent exhibit called “Design for the Other 90%.” Many of the world’s basic resources are only utilized to their full potential by 10 percent of the population. The other 10 percent struggle with archaic means of getting even the simplest resources like food and water, and the not so-simple resources like energy, education, health care and transportation.

Interestingly enough, these are all things that the World Bank and IMF were created to help finance. We learned yesterday that the World Bank has had some success in supplying developing countries loans to help gain access to these essential resources.

The exhibit at the museum explores some of the innovative things that engineers and architects have come up with, like non-evaporating water storage units that capture monsoon water in India, to assist in gaining access to water for consumption. Not surprisingly, these innovations are very much cost-effective.

The World Bank, although in the business of making money, we learned, is centered on many “cultures” that relies on a somewhat humanitarian effort to help countries in need. Exemplified by the comments of the diplomats present during our time at the World Bank, there are flaws, but with continued coordination and diplomacy, I think that the World Bank can greatly assist in projects like the ones displayed at the National Geographic Museum. It’s worth a look!

A. Braden

Closing the Language Gap

Last Thursday I attended a hearing by the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia. The purposes of the hearing "Closing the Language Gap: Improving the Federal Government's Foreign Language Capabilities" were to examine the current language capabilities and needs of government employees, particularly at the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense, and to explore potential methods of improving language education for both American youth and current government employees. Chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-HA) opened the hearing by stating the importance of foreign language skills in the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense and noting that language skills have not been emphasized enough in the past. While both departments were supposed to be taking steps towards improving their language capabilities, satisfactory progress has not been made. Therefore, Senator Akaka expressed interest in exploring the methods of improving language skills.

The first panel to testify consisted of team members from the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense. They were able to provide a current picture of the foreign language capabilities of the Departments, which were surprisingly low to me. The panel noted that their Departments have relatively low understandings of some of the languages being used today in Afghanistan. This seems alarming as we have troops trying to provide aid in a dangerous war zone who may not be able to communicate with the natives.

The second panel testified about ways to improve language capabilities in our country. One method to improve skills is a language immersion program, which would allow participants to experience the language that they are trying to learn first hand. The other method advocated was improved education for students in K-12 and at the undergraduate level.

Prior to this hearing, I had not considered the importance of language education for people who were planning to go into the army. Many students at the school where I attended high school did not want to take a foreign language because they believed it to be a waste of time. However, for those of them who ended up in the military, it may have proved to be useful. In addition, I have always thought of the language requirement of a bachelor's degree as just a few extra classes to take. Now I am starting to question if just four classes of foreign language is really enough. Perhaps undergraduates should be encouraged to learn at least one additional language, regardless of their career plans. It may be useful in the future. Perhaps this is a university policy that will change in the future. - Kelly F.

http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=6AAFE312-754A-48A4-9CAB-19B7051C1433

Thomas Mann on the U.S. Congress

A Reassessment of "The Broken Branch" with Thomas E. Mann on August 17

I finally got a chance to visit the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Chinatown a few days ago. Once I got there, I couldn't believe I had put it off for so long. It is easily my new favorite Smithsonian to visit. The Conservation Center in the middle of the building was a beautiful area that gave a feeling of modern art and classiness to the incredibly Greek architecture surrounding it on the rest of the building. Connected to the National Portrait Gallery is the Smithsonian American Art Museum and I really enjoyed going back and forth in the museums to enjoy a wide variety of art. I would encourage everyone who has not had a chance to visit these museums to do so in the next couple of weeks before we go home.

I was especially interested in the modern portraits and the modern art on the opposite side of the buildling. Pictured here are my two favorite pieces: A painting of Pete Rose by Andy Warhol and a painting of John Glenn. The celebration of these important people in the portraits helped me feel a link between the future and the past. Maybe one day I will have my portrait on display at the National Portrait Gallery - one can only hope.

-Haley

FDR Memorial

Taking advantage of the unseasonably cool temperatures, another tour of the monuments seemed like the perfect activity for a summer evening. Making our way around the tidal basin, Kelly F, Adrianna, Helene, and I first visited the Jefferson Memorial and then made our way to the FDR Memorial. Not knowing that we entered at the actual end of the memorial, the museum was quite different than the other memorials we had previously visited.

The memorial is divided into four sections representing the four terms FDR served as President (the longest presidency of any President), each section focused on a major event occurring during that time period. The Great Depression, the Damn Building Project, World War II, and Roosevelt’s death have a strong presence within the memorial.

Besides the tranquil waterfalls spread throughout, the most impressive part of the site is its dedication to helping people from all backgrounds experience the memorial. The layout of the memorial is easily wheelchair accessible and directly in the middle of the memorial, there are large polls with Braille writing and inscriptions so those who are blind are able to experience the memorial as well. While FDR was the country’s only handicapped President, the memorial doesn’t try to hide his disability. Roosevelt's reliance on a wheelchair was not publicized during his life, as there was a stigma of weakness and instability associated with any disability. But within the memorial, his disability is used as a tool of empowerment and strength.

If you have not visited this yet, it is worth the trip.

M.A.

Clash of Civilizations

Huntington predicted that—“The most important conflicts of the future will occur along the cultural fault lines…”

His argument was based upon 6 points:

1. Differences among civilizations are real, basic.

2. The world is becoming a smaller place.

3. The processes of economic modernization and social change throughout the world are separating people from longstanding local identities.

4. The growth of civilization-consciousness is enhanced by the dual role of the West.

5. Cultural characteristics and differences are less easily compromised and resolved than political and economic ones.

6. Economic regionalism is increasing.

But, what Huntington couldn’t offer was cognitive research to support his assertion that the differences among civilizations actually affect political, legal, social interactions. However, a recent article in the Wall Street Journal has done just that.

Lera Boroditsky, a professor of psychology at Stanford University and editor in chief of Frontiers in Cultural Psychology, authored Lost in Translation, an article outlining the findings of her most recent study in last week’s WSJ.

Her research suggests that civilizations affect the way people think and the way in which people see the world. In that, the language a person speaks influences the way in which he or she thinks. The structure of a language can affect an individual’s attribution of blame and/or her understanding of time, etc.

Research shows that the languages we speak not only reflect our thoughts, but also shape the thoughts we wish to express. The implications this has on politics, law and religion are critical and could be used in part to explain why today’s political conflicts appear to be occurring along “cultural fault lines” as Huntington predicted.

LT

Arlington National Cemetery

Recently there has been controversy with Arlington National Cemetery and the management of the cemetery. An estimated 6,600 graves have experienced mix-ups like having the wrong headstones on tombs, buried coffins in shallow graves, or buried bodies on top of one another.
On June 9, 2010, United States Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh sanctioned Arlington National Cemetery's superintendent, John Metzler, and his deputy, Thurman Higgenbotham for the mix-ups. Metzler and Higgenbotham have retired since the coverage of the mix-ups. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/29/6600-arlington-cemetery-g_n_663591.html

When I went to the cemetery I felt disappointed with not only the grave mix-up, but the state of the Arlington House. For such a historically rich landmark, it is not at a good state. The furniture has been taken out of the house and box fans are scattered around the rooms. The walls and wood floors are also damaged. I could care less if there is central air conditioning, but the house deserves to be better taken care of.
H.H.