Today began very early as we left for the Mall at 4 am, packed to the brim with snacks and such to get us through the inauguration. Yes, let me repeat that, 4 am. Five of us sat/stood on the Mall grass, about 400 yards front he Capitol, for a full 6 hours before the festivities [...]
Archive for the ‘Ryan Duffy’ Category
Through the warzone and back for Obama
Posted in Ryan Duffy on January 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
MLK Day
Posted in Ryan Duffy on January 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Today was the slowest day of all, which is probably a good thing considering the inauguration is tomorrow. It started later than usual, and did not pick up much at all. We did hit the National Air & Space Museum for a little while, by braving the massive amounts of people on the metro and [...]
A Day More Like Bonas
Posted in Ryan Duffy on January 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Today was much like a typical Sunday at Bonas. I slept in till about 10 am, and really did not do much more. We went out to Capital City Brewery for lunch again, and then thinking about going to the concert on the Mall. That plan fell through and I just decided to wade through [...]
Finally a day to relax
Posted in Ryan Duffy on January 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Today was the first day that the group had no morning seminar or real schedule to stick to, besides making it to the Newseum. Speaking of the Newseum, it was a very good museum with many great exhibits and artifacts. The 9/11 exhibit was so powerfully emotional on so many different levels, especially the actual [...]
Pootomac Fever in the Holiday Inn
Posted in Ryan Duffy on January 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The media theme continued today with another news anchor, Sam Donaldson. He, like many of the others, was long-winded, but discussed how the real power of the government comes from within the legislative branch, not the executive. Following him was a panel of former congressman and senators. They were also extremely long-winded but did give some insight [...]
Sitting Above the Senate
Posted in Ryan Duffy on January 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I had the great privilege and pleasure to sit in on a session of the Senate of the United States. It was one of the most exciting, compared to a normal business day, days to watch their proceedings. Both Joe Biden and Hilary Clinton gave their farewell speeches as they moved on to the offices [...]
“Speed Hump” Day
Posted in Ryan Duffy on January 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Today’s program was filled with many postumous and well known speakers and presenters. It started off with the current, for a few more days, press secretary Dana Perrino. It was nice to hear from someone inside the Bush White House, but it felt very tough to trust and fully respect during her interview in front [...]
C-SPAN and beyond
Posted in Ryan Duffy on January 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
For the third official day of our stay in Washington D.C. we had the great opportunity and privladge to have our group and questions aired live on C-SPAN. The first show “Washington Journal” was quite informative and entertaining. The only problem that I had was the people who called into the show. The questions/comments were [...]
Posted in Ryan Duffy on January 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Day number 2 began the same as number 1, but the lectures were much different. They began with a bang, as Special Agent David J. O’Connor of the Secret Service. His stories and clarifications offered great and previously unheard of, at least to me, behind the scenes insight into what the Secret Service is like. [...]
And It All Begins (For Real)
Posted in Ryan Duffy on January 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Today the real fun began, as well as the real work/activities. It began early enough and ended later than all of us needed. Once we were all settled in the auditorium, after the name tag fiasco, all 750 participants were treated to the usual welcoming lecturing in order for the entire program to run smoothly. After this [...]
