US Capitol Tour

In May 2019 my wife and I took a trip to Washington, DC.  She had arranged for our kids to stay with her parents and had gotten us two nights at a very fancy hotel downtown, just a block from the White House.  She also took time to arrange for a tour of the Capitol with the office of our congressman Thomas Massie.

We left Richmond, Virginia at six in the morning to take an Amtrak train north to DC.  Once we arrived in the city we dropped our bags off at our hotel and after a quick stop at the National Museum of the American Indian to kill some time we headed headed for the Rayburn office building.  We had thought that our tour was around 11:30.  I think it might have actually been at a slightly different time, but our timing was fantastic.  We headed into the building and before too long had found where we were going.

Once we arrived at the office we went inside and checked in with the staff.

Shortly there after Representative Massie came out to talk with us--he doesn't normally go along on tours but always likes to greet constituents who visit DC.  After a minute he told us that he was going to vote and we were welcome to come along with him.  We definitely jumped at the chance.  We ended up going down into the basement where after going through security we got to take the special congressional subway to the capitol building.  I was preoccupied taking off my boots and belt during security sessions and didn't take any pictures down below (I wasn't sure if I was allowed to either), but I found this one online that shows the same type of car that we rode in.

After we arrived in the capitol we went through more security so that we could watch the house chamber.  We had to leave our bags, phones, and even our Fitbits behind before we could go to the observation level.  After Massie cast several votes he took us to the one part of the building that his staff couldn't take us, the speaker's balcony.  Once there we took some pictures with him.

Then a staff member was gracious to take a picture of just Amy and I.

I also couldn't resist taking another picture of the view--it was a great vantage point to look over the city.  I had finished the book Grand Avenues just a few days before, a volume Amy got me for Christmas since she knew we were going to DC, so I appreciated the view even more thinking about the sight lines that Pierre Charles L’Enfant had designed into the city's layout.

After this Massie had to leave, but he left us in the very capable hands of his staff member.  Instead of starting in the visitor center (we ended up there actually) we got to start our tour in the building itself talking about the Apotheosis of George Washington.

There were quite a few other tourists in the building going about their tours, many with headsets and tour guides, but it was nice to have a personal touch on our tour.

As I was born in California I had to take a picture of one of California's statues, that of Ronald Reagan.

We also got to see the Old Senate chamber, where the body met from 1810 to 1859.

Decorations were simply beautiful.

In the old House chamber we stood where John Quincy Adams' desk was located during his terms in the house from 1831-1848.

Our guide also showed us the graffiti on the walls thought to have been carved by pages long ago.

The room is now known Statuary Hall and there, just like wherever else you look up, you can't help but be amazed by the artwork and craftsmanship.

One of Kentucky's statues is dedicated to the politician Henry Clay.

One of the notable statues in the area is that of Rosa Parks, which wasn't commissioned by a state but by Congress in 2005 (though it wasn't finished and placed until several years later).

Notably she sits directly (and defiantly one might say) where the gaze of Jefferson Davis' statue rests, which I think was excellent positioning.  Here you can get a better view of much of the room.

We later passed by a plaque that honors those aboard Flight 93 who took down the plane before it could be crashed into the Capitol building.

The Old Supreme Court chamber (used 1810-1860) was empty when we visited.

Look up and you'll see yet another dome.

Next we went down below the rotunda where more statues are located.

We also saw the spot where George Washington's sarcophagus was originally supposed to rest.  Thankfully the plan got overruled and he was buried at Mount Vernon.  To me it would be a bit too monarchical if our first leader was buried in the Capitol.  Finally we ended our visit heading towards the visitor center.

The statue of King Kamehameha I looks pretty impressive.

Plenty of people were waiting for their tours to start.

Thankfully we hadn't had to wait here for a tour.

Before too long it was time to leave the capitol.

We headed up Pennsylvania Avenue for our lunch stop.  More about our other stops in Washington DC next time.  More pictures from our capitol visit are in this album.

~Matt

Fifty One?

Grand Union flag from Colonial Williamsburg

One of the most interesting things that I've heard about the election is Puerto Rico.  I've studied history and I know much of the history of Puerto Rico, how it became American territory as a result of the Spanish-American War.  Its citizens are US citizens and don't need a passport to travel to the US.  The island is a commonwealth (not a territory) and its residents don't pay US federal income tax--they also cannot vote in presidential elections or send voting representatives to Congress.

For years Puerto Ricans and others have been uncertain of their status within the United States.  Some want things to remain the same as they have been.  Some want the island to become an independent nation, while others want it to become a state.  I saw an article on BBC about this and then read a blog post by a cartoonist I follow this morning.  I'll quote from the cartoonist (Dave Kellett of Sheldon and Drive) first as he captures some of my sentiments.

I remember my first time reading through the history of 1800's America: And seeing the constantly, constantly, constantly evolving US flag...as state after state got added, and the stars had to be reconfigured in all sorts of ways. But even as a schoolkid, I thought those days of an expanding union were behind us. That, after Hawaii's addition in 1959, that was that. 

So maybe it's the schoolkid in me, getting excited at this. A bit of youthful idealism in the idea of America. But I can't help but be excited at the possibility of Puerto Rico as the 51st state.
--from Sheldon Comics.com, Statehood by Dave Kellett

Artist rendering of possible 51 star flag, source: Wikipedia

I also remember reading about the expansion of the United States, but realizing that it was all in the past.  Alaska and Hawaii were admitted long before I was born, so they've been part of the union for as long as I've been alive.  I also enjoy science-fiction, and there are sorts of future ideas for the expansion of the United States--but I've known most aren't that realistic.  It has seemed like the US would never change in size.  Of course jokes have circulated for years about Canada being the fifty-first state, but the US did try to conquer Canadian territory during both the American Revolution and the War of 1812--all to no avail.

Voters in Puerto Rico have supported a non-binding referendum to become a full US state. 

The measure will require approval from the US Congress, but President Barack Obama has said he will respect the vote. 

Almost 80% of the island's electorate took part in the referendum, the fourth in the past 45 years. 

With almost all the votes counted, almost 54% voted to change the island's relationship with the US. 

And in reply to a second question on what future they favoured, nearly two-thirds wanted full statehood. 

--from BBC.co.uk, Puerto Rico wants to become the 51st state of the US

Newest Canadian province of Nunavut

I enjoy dating world maps via the addition of new countries or provinces to the world.  In the past century there were of course many changes during and after the world wars.  But more recently there was the vanishing of South Vietnam, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the creation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the 90s, the creation of the Canadian Province of Nunavut in 1999, East Timor's independence in 2001, South Sudan's independence in 2011.  I think it about time the US map became datable via a change.

Yes, I know there are many hurdles ahead if this is to happen and it won't always be easy.  This is mainly the geography nerd in me getting excited.  I think it would be exciting to see a change like this happen during my lifetime.

Additionally Puerto Rico has the San Juan National Historic Site already administered by the National Park Service.  I've never had a chance to visit the site--but I would definitely like to see it, perhaps while visiting the newest state someday.

US 51 Star Flag (proposed by New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico), source: Wikipedia

My wife's reaction to the news has been very different than mine.  She insists that fifty is the proper number for the states and that the only way to add one more is if we get rid of an existing one.  Sadly she is voting for California.  She explains that California won't become independent, it will just need to trade status with Puerto Rico so that California becomes a commonwealth and the number of stars on the flag remains the same.

~Matt

PS Along with Dave's blog post above also check out today's Sheldon comic strip.  It is a great webcomic strip to read anyway, but today's is specifically about Puerto Rico.  After you read that one go back and dig into the archives a bit and see if you like the strip, I think you might and thus might find something new to read each day.

I Voted

I don't mind having ID to prove that I am who I say I am.

Since we are going to be out of town on Election Day, Amy and I voted early today.  We're going to be visiting Nashville to spend some time relaxing with my folks for about a week and a half.  However, I didn't want to miss the chance to vote.  When I was in college I voted absentee several times.  In California you just needed to register for an absentee ballot, which would be mailed to you.  You then filled it in and mailed it back.  Kentucky does allow for mailing a ballot, but they have early voting set up if you have a specific reason that you can't vote on Election Day.  One person behind us in line just said that he wasn't sure if he'd be working on Election Day and the clerks had to inform him that if he wasn't going to be out of town or have another reason on the list he couldn't vote early.

We drove through Covington towards the Kenton County Building.

There were parking meters out front, but I guessed they were defunct from their condition (and I didn't see a place to easily insert coins), so we walked in without feeding them.

Inside I saw a plaque describing the USS Kenton, which I had never heard of.  It was a transport ship built and used during World War II that was named after Kenton County, Kentucky.

I'm more than happy to tell who I voted for.  I sincerely hope that I voted for the next president of the United States.  Even if you disagree with me politically, please go study the candidates and issues and then go vote.  If you haven't thought about the issues and candidates then I hope you don't vote, though it is your political right to do so if you want to.

Across from the Kenton County building I noticed this interesting structure.

I'm sure this company no longer occupies the building.  I do enjoy old company names that were engraved in stone and thus remain even when the building is repurposed.

Amy sat in the car, but I looked across the street and noticed this small park along with a view of the Roebling Bridge.

 The park area was dedicated to Northern Kentucky Police Officers.

There are a series of inscriptions dedicated to officers who have (I assume) fallen in the line of duty.

Just behind the memorial above I stood next to the wall and held my phone up to get this shot.  I've walked over the Roebling Bridge (built by the designer of the Brooklyn Bridge), but I haven't yet driven over its span.

All of these pictures and a couple more of other interesting buildings in the area are included in this album:

~Matt

Attempted Hijacking Foiled by Fellow Passengers

Turkish Man Overpowered by Passengers After Attempting to Hijack Plane | The Gateway Pundit

A Turkish man was overpowered by passengers after he attempted to hijack a plane from Oslo, Norway to Istanbul. He said he had a bomb and attempted to storm the cockpit.

I've said for a while that I think things like this would happen if terrorists tried to hijack planes again. I don't think people want another 9/11, so they'll be willing to protect the plane from attempted hijackers.

~Matt

Voting

I'm not sure why, but a couple years ago I started putting voting stickers on my bathroom mirror. Interspersed are nametags from AiG events.

I left work early enough to vote this evening. The polls open early at six, but they close early at six. If I don't show up in the morning I don't always make it away from work in time. I'd worked an overnight last night though and thus couldn't go in the morning. I made sure to leave work early then.

~Matt

-- Posted from my iPhone
(c) 2010 iWolff Ltd.

Location:Highland Ave,Fort Mitchell,United States

Memory Lane

For some reason I just did a Google search on my name. The first results are my Amazon.com and .co.uk accounts. No surprises there. But a bit further down the page I came across some interesting stuff. Here is a post written by John after our trip to campaign in Las Vegas back in 2002.

I hadn't thought about this trip in a while. It was a good trip down memory lane. I'll quote a couple excerpts here, but you really should read the whole thing to get the full experience. John spins a good tale!

Well, it started a few weeks ago when I found out that the Republican Party was hosting a new campaigning "Program" in Nevada- I'm in Southern California, BTW. Basically, two new districts have been apportioned in the Las Vegas area, and they're asking people as far out as LA to come help in the last few moments of the campaign. It promised an all-expenses-paid trip, and hey- VEGAS!

It was a great trip. I also went on another trip two years later, but that time the only one I knew was Mark.

Houses built by M. C. Escher: 20

Near Death experiences: 21

Yard Sales: 5

Annoyed People: 3

Note the first part. It seemed that nearly every house that I was assigned to was built by ESCHER. Just to get tot he door involved trekking across three staircases, two ramps, and a walkway. Some of them included random foliage (not native to Arizona), bear traps, gates, fences, cages, cliffs, ledges, etc. Near the end of the first block of them, I slipped and nearly fell to my DOOM on concrete roughly 15 feet below, but I caught myself with my hand. One of the houses actually had the cliff face sticking through in a pseudo-garage courtyard that was right before the stairway to the front door (but after two other staircases, a ramp, and a steep hill for a driveway). Matt, on the other side of the street, got nothing but perfectly normal houses.

Me: *slip* "Woah! AGH!" *thunk* *skid* *grab* *fliers going everywhere*

Matt: "John! You, we can replace- but those fliers...!!"

Me: "...ow..."

Matt: "I don't fall down at MY houses!"

Me: "Quiet, or I'll hurl rocks upon your skull."

The MC Escher houses were great (says the one who didn't hang stuff on their front doors :-)). There might be just a bit of hyperbole in the above text, but not much.

Now, a note: Matt is a full-out trekkie. I like the show a little. I've been to this ride/gallery be fore, and Matt had not. He was in HEAVEN. The ride was basically Star Tours, just a lot better, and then we were immediately shuffled into the gift shop.

I bought for myself the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition book: "Greed is eternal" is one of my favourite rules from there (One will appear on my door per day- Peace is good for business. War is good for business. Never trust a man wearing a better suit than yours. Never have sex with the bos' sister. etc...)

Both times I went to Vegas to campaign I went to the Hilton and Star Trek: The Experience and didn't get to see anything else of the strip. It was good, but I'd like to see more someday.

Now go read the rest on your own! I was outright laughing at the memories at a couple points.


~Matt

Citizen Legislature

I came across this information on Wikipedia, but I verified it on the official website of the Oregon Legislature, which I'll quote here:

The State of Oregon has a Citizen Legislature consisting of the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms, and the House of Representatives, which has 60 members elected for two-year terms. The assembly convenes every two years in regular session on the second Monday in January during odd-numbered years, a date set by statute. Oregon Constitution does not specify a limitation on session length, however most sessions last approximately six months. During the interim, legislators serve on interim committees and task forces that study issues likely to be faced during the next legislative session.

This hearkens back to the spirit Revolutionary idea that one year (or sometimes six month) terms were too long. While I think that the expense and duration of modern campaigns negates any argument to return to such a system, the Oregon system doesn't sound half bad to me.

Making legislatures have normal jobs sounds good to me. Of course they couldn't be completely normal as they do have to worry about the session and special sessions. But still, it could be better than "professional lawmakers." I don't know how many people realize that Congress originally wasn't in session as long as it is now (and yet now people complain about all of the Congressional vacations).

Who was it that said the government that governs best is that which governs least? Founding Fathers and others in the early 1800s were concerned that there were too many laws. What would they say about our gargantuan legal code (lets not get into tax law!) today?


~Matt

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On the Left

Today was a good day at work, though the exhibit was rather busy for a time. Additionally I had a working lunch as I met with my supervisor to talk about an upcoming event and the problems in obtaining staff to work. However, it was the latter part of the day that was the most interesting. I started talking to a fellow staff member. We started talking about TV shows first (she really enjoys Heroes which I have started watching and am addicted to, ;-)) and somehow began to talk politics. She revealed that she is a die hard Democrat (at one point she exclaimed "I like taxes.").

Despite this we had an extensive interesting discussion. We were both calm and rational (though of course I would argue that her thinking was deficiently leaning to the left, ;-)) and enjoyed the discussion. She talked one point about the Republicans that work with her husband and aren't so nice. I think it is sad that people can't always discuss politics more calmly. There have been people I work with that I discover are liberals. Some of them I avoid any mention of politics because I know they won't be rational or willing to hear alternate viewpoints.

Nothing that I heard today inspired me to start voting Democrat but it was fascinating to hear explanations from a liberal--to hear why she thought the way she did. She thinks Clinton was a great president and that not only will the future show this, but that Bush is a horrible president. She also thinks FDR was an awesome president (whereas I think he wasn't that great at all--I think the New Deal really messed up the country). Anyway, it was a new experience discussing politics and I really enjoyed the day.

~Matt

America and God

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
~Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson

Besides the fact that Jefferson did not believe in the God of the Bible we should not (as Christians) celebrate the Declaration of Independence. Much is made of the fact that Jefferson refers to rights granted by a Creator. He, however, believed in a God very different from what we find in the Bible. His Jesus was just an impossibly "good moral teacher" who never performed miracles or claimed to be part of the Godhead. Jefferson edited the Gospels and called the rest of the New Testament a "dungheap" (or was it dunghill?). Therefore we may safely assume no true Christian association is meant in the above sentence. This isn't the only evidence though.

Where in Scripture can you find the idea that we as people have rights? We, the world, and everything created (i.e. everything in the universe) belong to God. We are His to do with as He will. He created each and every one of us. (Ps 139:13 For You [God] formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb.) God created a good world. He is good and perfect, if He calls something good (Genesis 1--multiple verses: "...and God saw that it was good.") then it must be good, i.e. perfect and sinless. We, humanity, were the ones who marred and crippled that awesome Creation. As beautiful and awe-inspiring as the natural world is today think of how much, much, much it must have been better before the Fall. So let us review. God makes us, we say to God "I don't need you, I'm breaking your laws, I hate you." Quite reasonably he declares that our just punishment is henceforth death--all shall die because they have sinned and broken his divine law.

We have absolutely no rights, save one. We have the right (or the obligation) to die. We do not have the right to live. We do not have the right to liberty or freedom. We do not have the right to happiness or its pursuit. We do not have the right to privacy (an omnipotent, omnipresent God sees and knows everything, everywhere, everywhen). We do not have the right to live the "American dream." We do not have the right to equal opportunity. We do not have the right to succeed. God is "I AM," and we just can't ever hope to compare. His rules, His laws are all that truly matter. We have all broken His law: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Rom 3:23) We have no rights.

Matt 22:21 They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's."

I claim dual citizenship. God owns my life, America owns my vote. Yes, my first and truest citizenship is in Heaven--but this does not mean that I should ignore everything that happens hear on Earth. I was born in and am a citizen of the United States. I have obligations to the United States because I accept her citizenship. I believe it is my civic duty to vote. But my obligations are somewhat like the relationship between a state and the federal goverment (I said somewhat, so be quiet you naysayers!). If my country calls on me to break God's law then I will say no (and accept the consequences). If my country asks me to do something in line with or not contradictory to God's law then I will answer the call because I believe it is my duty.

America isn't God's nation. God takes precedence, and in many ways His ways and precepts are contradictory with America. We have no rights with God--we have only His grace and mercy. We are completely dependent on Him. In America we are taught to be self-reliant and to pursue self-agrandizement. God teaches us to die to self, to crucify our old man with Christ. Even if you dig back to the Founding Fathers and their generation you'll find that they lived in a man-centered universe rather than one devoted to God. But even if they had lived lives completely devoted to God it wouldn't matter. You can't impose God, you can't impose Christianity upon others from the outside. If you do it becomes mere religion--it is not living, breathing faith. It becomes a pale mockery of its true self. Jesus didn't come to found a temporal kingdom on Earth (read Ben-Hur for an excellent understanding of this). He came to build up a spiritual kingdom that should permeate every facet of our lives, but life separately from the kingdoms of earth.

America isn't a Christian Nation. It never has been. It never will be until Christ returns to overthrow the puny "prince of the world" Satan and rules over every land as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

~Matt