23 April 2019
The view of the Capitol was simply amazing.
A White House photo is another must for Washington DC visitors.
Dinner was at the Lemon Cuisine of India located right beside our hotel.
Took an evening stroll with An and checked out the subway.
Tried out the Fitness Center. With a room mate who's a public health official, how could I not keep up with maintaining fitness right?
The official programme for the day started early at 8am, when we embarked on a journey to the United States Capitol.
Elliot from ACYPL enriching us with interesting political stories
Elliot addressed the question on why the Democratic Party was represented by the Donkey, while Republicans were represented by the Elephant. Turns out that when Democrat Andrew Jackson ran for presidency, his opponents called him "Jackass Jackson". He responded by adopting the donkey as a symbol. Later on, a satirical comic depicted an elephant sitting on a donkey to reflect how the Democrats were being dragged by Republicans. Republicans liked it and adopted the elephant as its symbol.
Fancy~
Union Station - one of the first railroad terminals in the United States
#OOTD with Sun Me, in her ethnic Akha attire
The view of the Capitol was simply amazing.
With Aikeo and Latchanan from Laos
With Polly, my first friend from Timor Leste
One just can't get enough photos of the Capitol!
ACYPL YSEALI Professional Fellows in our traditional ASEAN handshake
Advocacy groups staking it out at Supreme Court
We were informed that the Supreme Court was hearing the case by Citizens United challenging the Federal Government on whether one's citizenship should be added as a field for the upcoming census in 2020. Americans could advocate their issues outside the Supreme Court, although the Court's decisions are discreet, based on interpretation of the US Constitution, and not swayed by public opinion.
Traditionally, when the Supreme Court's judgement was ready, a clerk would hand out papers to news interns who would then run and hand it to their reporters to broadcast the news.
Our Lawyer Fellows
Entering the Dirksen Senate Office Building
A Senator's Office
Our first meeting for the day was held in the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Hearing Room
This was where confirmation hearings of US Secretary of States were held
Why is my tie so short...
The room was also where policy hearings were held
25 seats. Fits us perfectly!
We met Ms Lara Crouch, Policy Analyst, Indo-Pacific, US Senate Committee for Foreign Relations. The role of Committee includes vetting nominees for US Secretary of State and Ambassadors; overseeing the implementation of executive decisions on foreign relations; and provides the minority party with a voice on foreign relations matters. Any new laws on foreign relations would be sponsored by the Senate or the Executive would be referred to this committee for members to scrutinise policy details.
Professional Fellows had the chance to ask pertinent questions specific to our Southeast Asian region.
Next, we proceeded to the US Capitol Visitor Centre.
The Burning of the Capitol, 1814
US Capitol subway carriage
The Senate Building is connected to the US Capitol through an underground walkway
Walking along the corridor of offices of Senators
US Capitol subway system
24 of 100 statues displayed at the Capitol Visitor Centre. Each State sent 2 statues for display at the Capitol
Statue for Wyoming
Statue for Colorado
We then had a lunch meeting with Emily Myers and Gina Cabrejo from the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). NAAG facilitates interaction among Attorney Generals and provides resources for Attorneys General and their officers.
After lunch, we headed to EMILY's List, an organisation that raises funds for, recruit and support pro-choice Democrat women candidates in all levels of elections. EMILY stood for Early Money Is Like Yeast. Like yeast that raises bread, early money can help candidates attract more political contributions and help kickstart one's campaign efforts.
EMILY's List Executive Director Emily Cain
A photo with Emily Cain
Emily Cain was elected as a Maine House Representative at age 24, and later served in the Maine Senate. She was the youngest woman House Minority Leader in state history. She ran for US Congress unsuccessfully in 2014 and 2016, before joining EMILY's List.
I had the chance to ask about how the organisation was structured and how it prioritised its support for an election if there were multiple women candidates vying for the same post.
World Bank
Vehicles getting "summoned" by parking attendant
Some of us found time to visit the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where some scenes of the movie "Night at the Museum" were filmed at.
"Dum Dum"
Spooked me out how realistic these were
Those fangs~
A White House photo is another must for Washington DC visitors.
White House - the office of the Executive
Dinner was at the Lemon Cuisine of India located right beside our hotel.
Took an evening stroll with An and checked out the subway.
DuPont Circle Station. It was deep.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please share your feedback and comments.