I had the privilege of being in Washington the other day, along with three other people who were working on a major patriotic event that is going to be held here in Gainesville on Memorial Day weekend. America was at war, and the news out of Iraq was good, very good. Most of the attention in the various congressional offices was not on the little monitor that told them what was happening on the floor of the House or Senate. Their attention was on a television screen, and it appeared to me most were tuned to Fox News. Obviously, Congress was being well briefed about what is going on with the Iraqi war, and with world relations generally. The Members of Congress talked openly about the things we saw on the news, but one got the feeling they knew a great deal more, and were having the good sense to use it for making their decisions, but otherwise to keep it to themselves.
I think it is fair to say the focus was on the war and world affairs, but otherwise things were fairly normal. Domestic issues were being discussed on the floor of the House, and a couple of votes on relatively minor bills were coming up. Groups of people from "back home" were moving about the halls of the office buildings, some groups of three or four, other groups of 30 or 40, obviously with appointments to see their Congressmen or their Senators. Young, bright Congressional staffers scurried this way and that. Security was very obvious, but it allowed business to go on. Tourists and student groups were moving about, but they weren't wandering in and out of secure areas on their own. There was no panic. Our representative government was working very well.
And in light of what we now know about the horrors of Iraq, and also know about a lot of other countries of the world
Tuesday
August 5th, 2025
7:33AM
