Back in Black (digital ink that is)

My apologies to anyone who's checked the blog recently and been dissatisfied by the relative inactivity. That problem has and shall be remedied. Note that I posted a picture below of the crew that went up to PA and celebrated Chad Pulliam’s bachelor party. The story surrounding that weekend will be coming soon. For the time being the picture will have to suffice. And now, onto the subject at hand.

Senate Offices: Part I

As has been noted in the past, among my tasks at the Taxpayers for Common Sense are making drops and attending hearings in the Senate and House buildings on Capitol Hill. Apparently, that sounds glamorous to some. I'd like to disabuse anyone of that misapprehension, as well as anyone's fear that my head has swollen from being relative proximity to some our national legislators. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

For now, I'd like to go through some of the Senate offices I've visited, a theme that will continue for some time, until fun is exhausted. To that end, I turn to our dear senators.

Two Words

For Sen. Harkin’s office, it’s two words: popcorn. Okay, that’s one compound word, but it’s the popcorn that counts. He has a little popcorn stand where visitors can serve themselves. I’ve yet to avail myself of a bag, but I plan on making it a regular component of my visits in the future. That’s really all I can say about his office. Granted one of the Hawaiian offices has candy, and an Idaho senator offers potato pins (I expected a full potato. Come on, man), but the popcorn really takes the cake. Sen. Dole’s (Elizabeth of South Carolina) office sometimes has Dove chocolates (and one time had pro-wrestling on the inevitable TV, instead of the usual C-SPAN) and a couple places have guest books that are always good for a jibe or a doodle. But Harkin’s popcorn still stands out as the most impressive. Rumor has it the Georgia offices offer free Coke (think about it...Atlanta...), but I haven’t gotten that far yet. For the time being, Harkin’s in the lead.

Grudging Tech Award

I can’t say I’m Charles Schumer’s biggest fan, but I will say the Senator’s front office happily features an enormous 20-inch G5 iMac. The thing is huge, almost as over the top as Voinovich’s tearful performance on the Senate floor a week or two ago. Whatever qualms I may have with the senator from New York, his patronage of Apple is not one of them.

Pictures, Pictures, on the Wall

Walking into Sen. Lugar's office is more than a little disorienting. When you're trying to pass out papers, usually the first task on entering the door is to identify the free person behind a desk and get their attention. That's not too easy to do in the Lug's office. Every square inch of wall space, usually vast expanses of pacific, empty white, is covered in glossy photos of the senator and just about every aspect of human life. Before my orbital lobe fused, I caught a glimpse of the man in running shorts, shaking the hand of a kid in a wheelchair, gladhanding with other politicians, raising his hand in a toast, and wearing a big grin. At least I think I saw that much...the swarm of images that greeted me when I walked in the door was completely overwhelming. I'm not sure if he had pictures covering the ceiling and the floor, but it definitely appeared that way as my eyes swam before me and I started seeing four of everything. I barely managed to stagger over to the desk of whatever bespectacled intern was beckoning and croak out, "Can you give this to your Energy L.A (Legislative Assistant)?" before retreating in the face of the visual bombardment. What a Kodak-happy character.

Pictures of a Different Type

In the area outside Sen. Lautenberg’s office, there was a host of photos, but of an entirely different nature. A Jewish veteran of WWII, Lautenberg has a long memory. Accordingly, he apparently does not want anyone to forget the brave men and women who have paid the ultimate price for serving in our nation’s military. Outside his office are large poster boards with passport sized photos of all those who have given their life in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bustling atmosphere of the building always grows somewhat more sedate when passing through this small, but significant memorial, to the fallen. I’ve yet to pass by there but to find a staffer tracing every image with his eyes, or a group of businessmen, intending to lobby a politician farther down the hall, arrested in respectful observation. A fitting and respectful means of remembering the courage of those who have gone before us in America’s most recent war.