A Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing

Yesterday we decided it was time to finally get to a Senate hearing. We've been wanting to attend one since we moved, and decided to try one out. We were at the Dirksen Building shortly before it opened at 7 AM. It felt like going to work at the Library, going through the typical metal detectors. My husband forgot his hat so security caught us on the lower level and asked us to retrieve it. We were the fifth and sixth in line, and when our friend came to join us, she was the seventh. The doors to the chamber would not open until 9:15, but there was plenty to keep your eyes busy. My husband stayed in place so we could get some coffee. The camera crews from CNN, NBC, and everywhere else started setting up equipment and apologized for crawling around us to get to the power sources. The line started to snake down the hall farther than the eye could see. The building came to life with all it's usual employees and dignitaries. Just imagine who has been in this building! Once inside the chamber, we made our way to the second row, but there was so much in front of us it was very difficult to actually see anything. Between us and the Senate Committee members were the photographers galley, then the nominee, then two rows of family/friends/supporters, and several tables of reporters. It was packed with people standing all along the side. Of course, there was a single protestor, and a man who looked liked Einstein talking into a funnel. He was literally talking in to this device repeating whatever was being said and who was saying it...it certainly looked like an archaic form of documentation protocol that must be followed even in modern times. On leaving the chamber for a late lunch break, we passed by the press room, the cameras for the interviews, and some of the the constituents. The place quieted down for the late afternoon agenda. All in all, it was a very interesting show. I did not listen to, check the news or twitter during the session. When we turned the TV on to watch our usual news feeds, and read the comments online, I was having a hard time believing I was at the same event. I had an opinion of what I thought I saw and heard, and it had little to do with what was being reported. We plan on checking out a few more of these... Just for the entertainment of it all.