Is this really a fortune?

So tonight we went to a Chinese restaurant that has been voted best in DC. It was pretty good, however after the waitress brought our drinks, we didn't see her again. We were served by 3 people tonight. Anyway, this is the fortune that Kerri got: You may be hungry soon: order a takeout now. Now, really, is this a fortune? I guess so. But really, trying to get people to buy more of your food, come on. We got a good laugh.

I realized today while I was researching various health related issues that I failed to post about my trip to the Supreme Court. We were the "personal guests" of Justice Thomas. That sounds impressive but I bet there were 20 personal guests of the Justice's. We sat in the gallery for a while, when all of the sudden the clerk banged the gavel, everyone stood up, curtains opened, and voila! 9 Justices appeared. They read 2 decisions. Neither of which I understood, but did find it amazing that the 7 Justices that did not read the decisions were really bored, and not paying attention. After they handed down there decision a ton of people were admitted to the Supreme Court Bar. Immediately after that, the clerk banged her gavel, we all stood up, curtains parted, and the 9 justices disappeared. And then we were quietly and quickly escorted out of the building. If you ever get a chance to see the Supreme Court it is worth it. The building is pretty cool, but keep in mind the Justices have only been meeting there since 1930. Before that, they were on the 1st and 2nd floor of the Capitol.

So this weekend we went the temple, and spent Saturday Night with Kerri's friends from High School. It was nice. We went to Vin. It was pretty good, but the service was lousy. we waited for thirty minutes for our desserts. which were "The worlds smallest desserts" as labeled by the menu, and they were small.

This week has been pretty slow. Yesterday I went to a HELP Committee meeting. Just so you know, HELP stands for Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. The hearing was on superbugs like MRSA. Did you know that antimicrobial soaps are no more effective than regular soap? That is what the CDC testified.

Today we were all surprised by Cannon's lost. He really should have won. Now, I don't like the guy a whole lot, but one thing I have learned is that seniority does matter on the hill. Chaffetz will have a tough time getting anyone to listen, because he is a nobody.

This brings me to a topic posted on Rob's blog. Can 1 member change gas prices? Absolutely not. The sign Rob saw was completely wrong, and how anyone could believe that sign is amazing to me. The problem we have on Capitol Hill is 535 people trying to do what they want, and then throw in a 2 party system, and you get gridlock. It doesn't matter what house the legislation starts in, the other won't pass it. If the senate finally passes a law, after years of debate, the house will change it so much, it has to go to the senate. If the House finally gets there act together to agree on something, the senate will take forever before hearing it, and then they will change it. How to we change gas prices? The answer is simple. Change either demand, or supply. Since supply is hard to control because of our friends at OPEC, bless their hearts, we should be focusing on changing demand. That will happen when we change our habits, offer incentives to develop alternative fuel, and actually use that fuel. Now, I do think that we should develop oil shale, or drill in the remotest parts of ANWR because it just makes sense that we produce more than 50% of the oil we consume, but more oil cannot be the answer. I know that this isn't the point of Rob's post, but it got me going.

Well, I have to write a paper on how groups influence government. Want to know my thesis? It is simple. They don't. I guess I have gotten a bit jaded over the past 7 weeks, but I have come to learn that party politics are such that groups just don't do a whole lot. The Majority party has so much control on what legislation is brought to the floor that it really doesn't matter what it is, if the Majority leader doesn't like it it doesn't have to get scheduled.

I know that groups are more influential than I just gave them credit for, but not by much. We'll see how I stretch it out into 4 pages.

Check back soon. We are going to a Nationals game on Friday, and perhaps a Caribbean on Georgia Avenue on Saturday, not to mention the Smithsonian Folklife festival which will allow us to explore 3 cultures: Bhutan, Texas, and NASA. I can understand Bhutan, Texans will argue for Texas, but NASA? is that really a culture?