On the House Floor

I wandered over to the House today to see some of the nonsense that goes on in the afternoons. Afternoon bills are Congressional endorsements of baseball teams and so forth, and are always passed without objection. You can see all the proceedings on C-SPAN, and you're really not missing much. I mean, you can see the Representatives in person, but that's not only a pleasant thing (I saw Steny Hoyer... ugh).

The first bill being "debated" was a recognition of Nelson Mandela's 80th birthday, in which several members noted their disappointment that Mandela was on the terror watchlist and unable to enter the U.S. without a waiver until just a couple weeks ago. The next bill was a commemoration of the anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina. It was asserted on the floor that this bombing was done by Iran and Hezbollah, although this is apparently in some dispute. It was then unironically proclaimed that terrorists abroad should be extradited for trial in their home countries. Nice juxtaposition there.

The last bill was to affirm a bill banning the import of gems from Burma and aiding pro-democracy forces. Finally, an honest piece of legislation that will do some good in this world. R.I.P. the late Tom Lantos, who authored this bill. Thanks for reaffirming my faith in the House.

When I got back to the office some ladies in hot pink T-shirts and hats were there to politely ask that my congressman impeach Bush. Then a wonderful Korean family came and asked to take a picture with him in his office. He put his arms around them and smiled, and I took the picture.