Senate Foreign Relations Hearing at the Dirksen Building

It has been awhile since we went to a Senate or House hearing. So today there was a subject of interest to my husband about Iran. So rather than take our usual morning walk to the national mall, we wandered over to the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Along the way were spring crowds that are somewhat overwhelming. Among the huge school groups, tourists, and lobbyists it's difficult to maneuver the sidewalks. And the lines waiting to get in to the buildings are worse than usual. Security is enhanced with less entrances, so everything gets balled up. Once inside, we headed to the fourth floor and took a seat in the rear. The meeting room was also unusually busy with the press, tourists and students alike. Many were taking notes for school assignments. We always find these sessions interesting, and my husband really enjoys the whole political scene. I go along for the ride and it is fun to see who all shows up. We luckily beat out the storms and rain and decided to have lunch at home rather than the cafeteria, although a tuna fish sandwich is always all right by me. This is one of the many reasons we like where we live. There is always something to do.

Senate Hearing on Iran Sanctions at the Dirksen Building

We took our friends from Milwaukee to a senate hearing a few weeks ago when they were here in DC visiting. Before and since then we always look for various programs to attend during the week to get out and about, and may be even learn something to boot. Generally we go to the Library of Congress for programs and topics that we find interesting. Lately there have been a few about Madison, and the last one was about the presidents and the relationship they had with their children which was really good. So yesterday we decided to head to the Senate Dirksen building to observe the hearing about the Iran sanctions. All I can say is that it looks a lot more impressive on tv than in real life.  It was well attended, but the people who were supposed to be listening and asking questions kept leaving, particularly when they were finished with their turn. So the same questions were asked by several people because they weren't around to hear either. Some people showed up just to make a point and storm out of the room. As an observer there were a lot of flaws in this process. Makes me wonder if this is all for show. Oh - I forgot where I live!