The Events of Wednesday, December 8, 2010

          I think Dad might be correct. Some days, after a late night, he blames our general lack of energy on too much sleep. At other times, when we are at each other’s necks, he claims that we got too little sleep. When we woke up this morning at 6, all of us had tons of energy and were in good moods. It was close to the perfect amount of sleep.

          Having our breakfasts packed to go, we prepared for an early departure. Just before 7, we took our last trip to the bathroom and then joined our driver, Nick, in the shuttle. We arrived at the Largo Town Center Metro stop and hopped on the first downtown-bound train. Before we knew it, we were outside of the Capitol South subway stop and walking towards the Library of Congress. Through Senator Diane Feinstein, we made reservations for an 8:30 tour of the Library. Although this early tour meant an early start, we saw that later tours were at least three times the size as our group. But because we got such an early start, we were stuck outside for a few minutes before the Library opened. We filled this time with complaining about the severe cold, huddling together in a tiny cove, and running up and down stairs. After what seemed like an hour, we were let in to go through security, check our coats, and make our way to the starting point of the tour.

          The introductory video was very well done; it highlighted the many collections in the Library and showed a few of the famous relics, including the $5 Confederate bill found in Lincoln’s pocket the night he died, Lewis and Clark’s map of their journey, and Jefferson’s first draft of the Declaration of Independence. We then met our tour guide and headed off. I knew that this tour was something special when we passed the “Authorized Personnel Only” sign to go into a reading room solely for members of Congress. Our guide told us in great detail about the founding and history of the Library, and fast facts of the collection before taking us into the main hall.

          Here, the great work of the architects, the Army Corp of Engineers, is clear. The Library of Congress was built in an Italian Renaissance style with tons of ornamental decorations and mood-enhancing pieces of art. Of special interest were the banisters along the two staircases. In the Italian style, the sculptors included what Americans call “cupids” and what Italians call “tuttis”. These depicted scenes of common American life in the 1890s. Each staircase also features two figures with a globe, representing the continents. We next saw the famous Bibles in their collection. Two were on display: a hand-written Bible from 1572 and a Gutenberg Bible. We’ve seen Gutenburg Bibles before (at Yale and the NY Public Library), but this Gutenberg Bible is one of the three complete bibles printed on a special paper. When we heard that there were only three complete Gutenburg Bibles in existence, we thought we had seen them all. However, there are only three complete Gutenburg Bibles printed on this special paper; the others are displayed in London and Paris.

          Our tour guide took us next into a balcony overlooking the main reading room. This balcony was completely enclosed in a soundproof shell to respect the researchers below. We saw the room, asked questions about the architecture and art, and thus concluded our tour. While Mom got our coats and backpacks back, we explored the exhibit about Bob Hope and his legacy. There was a hilarious movie running, comic strips, memorabilia, and lists of his jokes. One of our trolley drivers (last week) told us that the Library had his papers containing 500,000 one-liners. Who would need that many jokes? Obviously, Bob Hope! After a security check to make sure we hadn’t stolen any books (security in D.C. is intense!), we were allowed to leave. We hustled down 1st street to the Supreme Court and found ourselves an interesting situation.

          At 10:30, we got the last few tickets for seats to view the 11:00 case. At 10:55, we were still standing in line outside. At 11:00, we were still outside. Finally, at 11:02, a security guard gave an announcement: “General public seating is full. Those desiring to stay will be given a 3 minute special admission card so that you can at least get a glimpse of the hearing.” Since no one had even gone in, and Dad had counted over 30 people leave (we were #21-27 in line), we were perplexed. Already full? We thought this was just going to be a minor case, but did notice television cameras stationed around the base of the steps. When we reached the front of the line, we went through security and had to put everything—backpacks, cell phones, cameras, wallets, all money, keys, belts—in lockers. Nothing is allowed in the courtroom except a single pad of paper and a pen. Then they had us go through security—again!—before entering the chamber. We waited in line a few minutes and watched the group ahead of us be ushered in and then ushered out. When we entered, we were amazed at what we saw.

          The case, Chamber of Commerce v. Michael B. Whiting, is about the Arizona immigration policy, licensed businesses, and employment. The case was a bit confusing at first, as we came in mid-argument, but we eventually got the general feel for what was happening. But since not all our questions were answered, a little internet research (as usual) did the trick. According to the Christian Science Monitor, “Arizona’s famously tough stance on illegal immigration was on full display at the US Supreme Court [today], as the state’s top appellate lawyer urged the justices to uphold a statute that threatens to shut down any business that intentionally hires illegal immigrants. ‘We acknowledge that Congress does have the authority to preempt us, but they left important discretion’ open to the states, Arizona Solicitor General Mary O'Grady told the court. ‘It is an important part of the balance Congress struck,’ she said.” It was a really big deal—apparently, some people arrived at 5 AM to get in line to get seats to view the argument. So that is why we were told the courtroom was full!

          But from our seats in the back partially behind a curtain, we got a good taste of the Supreme legal system that holds up our country. Personally, I enjoyed the methodology of the event. The lawyer that was stating her case was constantly interrupted by the justices, who were peppering her with questions. If I were in her place, I would just yell, “CAN I NOT FINISH MY SENTENCE??? LET ME TALK‼”

          My favorite justices were Justice Sotomayor and Justice Breyer. Justice Sotomayor was very logical and made good points with every word she spoke. Justice Breyer was both smart and hilarious. Once, he asked the Arizona lawyer a question and got the beginning of a long, complicated response. He repeated the question and then added, “This is a Yes or No question”. This created some chuckles from the audience and the justices. Then Arizona’s lawyer responded with, “Uh… uh… it’s more complicated than that. When we consider…” Lawyers.

          You may be wondering exactly how we got all of this in just three minutes. Since we were at the end of the three-minute line, no one came to force us out after our three minutes. So we were able to view the proceedings from 11:35 until 12:03. The woman finished her presentation at 12 noon and the other side was given a 3 minute rebuttal. Then the gavel banged, we all stood while the Supreme Court Justices left the courtroom, and then we were ushered out. Maybe the “3 minute” idea isn’t so bad after all! After the judges left, we headed downstairs to seek answers to our questions. There was a museum-like hall with an informative video—perfect! Orientation videos are usually well done and very educational. This one was made to answer our questions.

          Why do the justices constantly interrupt? We found out that when one is in front of the Supreme Court, it is not the time to make a speech. It is a time of clarification of questions the Supreme Justices might have. And we also found out that protocol DEMANDS that when a Supreme Court Justice starts speaking, the presenting lawyer stops. When is the case actually decided? In conference, the nine Justices (and absolutely no one else) debate the case and the points made. One rule of protocol here is that every Justice has a chance to speak once before anyone can speak twice. They then vote and one Justice is selected to write the “majority”, or the written ruling in favor of whoever won the case. This judicial system, unlike any other in the country, helps decide many cases regarding constitutional or other federal laws.

          With questions answered, we began to look for a nice warm spot to have lunch. We headed to the building’s cafeteria, where we snacked away. After the meal, we explored the building a little more, added layers for warmth, and headed out into the frigid air. We hustled our way around the Capitol and across the National Mall to the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden. But we didn’t come just for the art—we came to skate. Amidst modern sculptures, we skated on a fabulous ice rink. We planned on a colder outing, so we were constantly peeling off our extra layers. We had a ton of fun speeding, spinning, and playing around. Abby and Lindsey practiced their tango as Caitlin learned how to skate backwards. I had fun because, when in waterproof pants and jackets, if you fall, you spin and slide. Sometimes I “fell” just to slide. There were two groups of school kids probably on a field trip who came to the edge of the ice rink to watch. They started shouting “Do a trick!” and asking for high fives. We had fun with our celebrity status. The rink was large, nearly empty, and in a beautiful setting. It was almost as good as our annual Christmas skating session at the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco. We were just missing two things: Uncle Scott and Aunt Pat.

          We had some time to burn before we had to jump on the subway, so we decided to do 30 minutes of art in the Hirshhorn Museum. In addition to being a nice art museum, it was also architecturally interesting. From above, it looks like a donut. There are no windows on the outside, but many windows on the inside of the donut show a nice courtyard. This museum was full of modern art, which some of us like and some of us don’t understand at all. We went around the three circular floors of exhibits, glancing at each work of what some call “art”. One sculpture looked like a pile of junk metal; another was a simple green shape. Funny—most of the art, strange as it may be, was soothing and relaxing.

          After our half hour museum experience, we hustled across the mall to the Smithsonian Metro stop. After a quick and, by now, uninteresting ride, we met Nick and made our way home. Mom prepared a dinner of Sausages, Apples, and Onions on noodles. It is one of my favorite meals because of its simplicity (Four ingredients—can you guess what they are?) and its absolute deliciousness. Another apple delicacy was scheduled for dessert: Mom’s special apple crisp. Since our wimpy RV oven is not as powerful or high-tech as our oven at home, the topping doesn’t really “crisp”. So instead, we had apple creation. It was just as good as apple crisp, if not better. Exhausted and a little sore from our ice skating adventure, we headed to bed. No matter what Dad says, we need a lot of sleep tonight.