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tagged: American Adventure, Congress, FDR Memorial, Five Guys, House of Representatives, Lincoln Memorial, Nancy Pelosi, Senate, Taxation Without Representation, The Capitol, The Newseum, Travel Writing, Washington DC, White HouseDC: Taxation without Representation
Posted by Claire Connelly in Politics, Travel
Well, if I’m not going to do anything productive today, I may as well update you guys on what I’ve been up to.
I saw the White House – and cried;
- read the inscription at the Lincoln Memorial, and cried;
- Saw the FDR Memorial, and cried.
I was appalled to discover that the citizens of The District of Columbia do not have voting representation in The Senate, and they only have a delegate in The House of Representatives, because DC does not belong to any state.
A controversial bill is currently making the rounds at the moment, the basic argument of which is that as citizens living in the United States, the 60 000 inhabitants of Washington DC should have the same right to determine how they are governed as citizens of a state.
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act entitles American citizens to vote for Congress from anywhere else in the world, except for the District of Columbia.
Thus, if a U.S. citizen were to move to the District, he or she would lose their ability to vote for a member of Congress; – this is in contrast to citizens who have permanently left the United States, but are still permitted to vote for Congress in their home state
Thus, the population of DC are pretty adamant for representation (wouldn’t you be? You pay taxes but have no political representation? Or vote for that matter).
“Taxation without representation” is printed on every license plate in the district.
There’s a certain irony that the political nexus of America, does not entitle their own citizens to vote for congress.
(Fun fact for the day).
I cannot describe how amazing it is.
I enjoyed screwing with the minds of all the security staff when they asked me which office would be leading my tour group, name dropping every rep I could think of.
Nancy Pelosi (speaker of The House) was as far as I could take it before one of them cracked a smile, though they seemed impressed that I could name so many Congressmen and women by district etc, especially from someone so young “and a foreigner.”
The names of all of the Representatives are displayed upon the wall overlooking The House of Representatives, displaying all the yay or nay votes and who they belong to.
It’s actually pretty neat – the names are only lit up when The House is in session, so during House recesses etc, the wall looks exactly the same as all the others.
Very tricky!
Thanks to the cops at the front gate I also saw the Senate (one of the men in my tour was a Chicago cop – apparently the authoritarian camaraderie between US Police precincts was enough to secure my entire group Senate passes.
See, cops are good for something!)
We weren’t in there for very long, I think the secret service were a bit annoyed by our spontaneous arrival, and queue jumping.
It was still pretty awesome.
On my way back to Dave’s place I ran into a man on the street (I assumed he worked in the Capitol), who offered to give me a private tour of The Library of Congress, (it was closed) of which he was the Deputy Superintendent.
He seemed normal enough, besides the fact that a fifty-something year old man offered a 23 year old girl on the street a private tour, so I accepted.
Bad idea.
This guy was like Forrest Gump’s paedophilic cousin.
Besides the non-sequiters “Do you like swimming? I’m lucky, I get to go home and slip into my pool any time I want,” and “I like The Library of Congress, people treat you special,” he kept offering for me to “get a drink of water” in his office.
He also had an obsession with my camera, “Can I take a photo? My turn, my turn!”
We navigated the Library through the private underground tunnels – it was more than a little dodgy, but hey – how could I say no?
From his comments, I ascertained he was unmarried and still lived with his parents, in the same family home he grew up in.
I figured either way it would make for a good story, as long as nothing too dodgy happened.
But still, he was very VERY creepy.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we turns out to be a serial killer or something.
Unlike Europe where some of my best adventures took place with people I didn’t know, it’s probably best not to accept the ‘kindness’ of strangers in the US.
At least not on the East Coast.
The Newseum was founded by The Freedom Forum – a nonpartisan foundation that is dedicated to free press, free speech, and free-spirit for all people.
The Newseum combines news history, technological innovation, and interactive exhibits.
It seven levels comprises every area of the press, and includes everything from Pulitzer prize winning photography, to the controversial relationship between the press and the FBI; from Presidential Pets, to the media and social change.
I spent a full day there, reading every single little piece of information they had, I swear I was soaking it all up through my pores – I didn’t want to leave!
I don’t think I’ve felt more comfortable and at home in a museum like this before.
Part of The Berlin Wall is displayed there, along with a watch-tower, as well as an incredibly harrowing 911 exhibit and documentary.
The daily newspapers of all fifty states are displayed out the front of the museum behind glass panels.
I found it interesting to see which states actually published real news on their front page.
The exterior displays a 74-foot high marble engraving of the First Amendment, and inside, all the latest headlines are displayed along scrolling digital billboards hanging above a massive screen which at the time featured the Sonya Sotomayor confirmation hearings.
Finally, there is an organisation that is committed to promoting free press and independent journalism, especially in the states.
It gives me hope.
Maybe the Newseum will be inspire someone to innovate the news, and come up with new ways to innovate the relationship between the press and the public.
I hope that person will be me!
They actually had a digital forum about the role blogging should play in shaping the future of news – of course I had to add my two-cents.
Well I found it!
The place is called Five Guys and it’s a DC chain that specialises in burgers.
OH MY GOD! I have NEVER had such a juicy burger! (Mmmm, this is a tasty burger!)
They do two versions “normal” (huge), and “little burgers” (normal). Not that anyone told me that.
I got the “normal” cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, cucumbers and pickles and it was massive!
Somehow I managed to get through it!
It was perfectly indulgent with just the right amount of cheese to meat ratio, and the special sauce was yummy, the bread was soft but not too squishy and just firm enough on the top.
Anyone who goes through DC HAS to go to Five Guys!
You will regret it if you don’t.
(But then I guess if you don’t go, you won’t really regret it.
Petty fools! They don’t know what they’re missing!)
More later.
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