What a stunning building! My friend I was visiting has a friend who is clerking for a justice right…read morenow, and he gave us an impromptu tour of the building during my recent visit. Wow, there is so much history here! It felt unreal to stand in the courtroom. I'd have loved to visit on a day when you can hear a case. I enjoyed the small exhibitions they have, and it was cool to see where each justice is stationed - I especially enjoyed Sotomayor's displays of things she has received outside her office. Cool that they have a cafeteria onsite as well - apparently affordable and delicious!

Such an incredible site to visit and a must-see for any law student, lawyer, law professor,…read moreparalegal or legal professional. If you want to watch an oral argument you have to get there early like 6-7am and wait in line to get a green ticket for arguments starting at 10am. Check the oral argument calendar as well. Awesome museum with exhibits dedicated to statutory interpretation, different Justices through eras, the Civil Rights movement, pioneering women lawyers and more. Great cafeteria where you order on a kiosk. Highly highly recommend a visit!

I never thought I'd visit the Senate Chambers in the United States Capitol building. I also never…read moreimagined what would happen on Jan 6 2020 in these same chambers. I had taken a pleasure trip to DC a few years ago and wrote letters to the appropriate parties requesting a tour of the White House. to my surprise I got it. It was right after Trump took office but he wasnt there when I toured. the same trip I toured the state capital. After going to my Congressman's office to get entry tickets, stepping out onto the street I was inadvertently swept up in a demonstration by the Dreamers! I went with the flow and now can say I've officially demonstrated in Washington DC. The Senate Chambers were just as boring as you've heard. I sat there for about 25-20 minutes and watched on senator sleeping while another gave a speech to no one. Hey, no wonder other countries cant figure out how to establish a democracy, I couldn't either watch this! All in all, I loved touring the Capital and in particular letting the history of the Seneate chambers seep into my 7th generation American soul.

What a privilege to walk these hallowed halls. The beauty is majestic. The testament to our…read moreforefathers is around every turn. Reach out to your home state senator. Ask him or her to see you. Go to their office. Get involved. It's very rewarding. You will reawaken your inner patriotism. We were Lucky enough to dine in the Senate Dining room As the guest of our Senator. The whole experience was awe inspiring and humbling.

They were really helpful when we needed help with a problem. Sorry I can't be more specific, but…read morethink about the kinds of problems that people go to their representatives for and choose one.

I reached out to Rep Raskin's office for assistance with a passport. I emailed extremely late on a…read moreWednesday and was contacted by 10 am on Thursday. I received confirmation that my passport and upcoming travel were escalated on Friday. Hailey was extremely helpful and emailed me less the week later with the tracking number. She was very effective. She sent me the tracking info before the online passport status website was even updated. I was so very thankful for her help!!

This place was a pleasant surprise. I stayed in the hotel across the sttreet from here and was…read morewondering what this place was all about. I stumbled across there with my kids. I was surprised to find that even though this is NASA's Headquarters, there was a very nice information center which is like a mini-museum. There is a nice photo op out front and interactive exhibits inside. It is nice a big area, but my kids still found it entertaining. The information Center is where data on Earth science from across the US federal government is consolidated. This is where is visitors can see how Earth is changing in nine key areas: sea level change, air quality, biodiversity, wildfires, greenhouse gases, energy, disasters, water resources, and agriculture. You will also find some freebies in there as well, including stickers, posters and books. The Center features a live Earth Dashboard and Space to Earth interactive room (our favorite). There is metered street parking in front of the Center and a gift shop and coffee shop on the opposite side of the building to visit, with t-shirts, magnets, costumes and other souvenirs. This was a nice stop, but keep in mind not a big time filler, But it can and should be used to fill time on your way to or from another larger attraction. I recommend checking this place out if your are in the area.

I came upon this NASA hq while on a walk and as a huge space fan, immediately went inside. There…read moreare two parts; the West Entrance and the Earth Center. West Entrance has a small coffee shop (without themed drinks sadly), a Nobel in Physics and a replica Apollo 13 spacesuit on display, and a gift shop. The gift shop is fun and I got a NASA shirt as well as some stickers from here. Earth Center is further down and while small, hosts several interactive displays about Earth, our atmosphere, surrounding satellites, and has a 7 min immersive video presentation about Earth from the perspective of being in space. If you love Air and Space Museum; you'll love a quick visit here!

I wanted to take a moment to leave a heartfelt review for R. Tate, who works in Offer in Compromise…read morewith the IRS. Like many people, I was honestly scared going into this process. The IRS has a reputation that can feel overwhelming, and I chose to complete my Offer in Compromise on my own instead of hiring a CPA or accountant--which made it even more stressful and time-consuming. Throughout the process, I had a lot of questions and moments of uncertainty, but R. Tate was absolutely incredible. She was patient, kind, and took the time to answer every question I had without ever making me feel like a burden. Even when things got complicated and I had to go through the appeals process--which ultimately ended in my favor--she continued to support me and guide me. What truly meant the most to me was that she went out of her way, even calling me after hours (despite being two hours ahead), just to personally let me know that my application had been approved. I was in tears. That moment meant everything to me. I know the IRS can get a bad reputation, but R. Tate is one of those rare people who genuinely cares and goes above and beyond to help others. Her compassion, professionalism, and dedication made a very stressful situation feel manageable, and I will always be grateful for that. Thank you, R. Tate. I truly appreciate you more than words can express.

I file my own taxes and I am strongly opposed to taxes but for the sake of living here I have to…read morefile them and I do not want to go to jail. I recently got a notice from the IRS saying that I owe " X" amount of money. The thing is though is that I paid my taxes when I amended them in February and they took out my money from my bank account. I get a letter saying that I owe the same amount that I paid initially the only difference is that they added 34 cents on the IRS end. So all these guys really coming after me over 34 cents perhaps ? I wanted to call and correct them on this because I'm being held hostage about paying my taxes yet again before a certain deadline or I'll be paying more interest for something that they should see in their own account that they took out of mine. Unfortunately there is no one to call and navigating the phone call it's like walking on eggshells . I want to say I've tried about 50 times to call the IRS and I was unable to get a hold of a single human. Overall, I know I will get this money back one way or another. Maybe one day we will be like all other countries where we don't need to pay for having to get our taxes filed and like most modern countries do. Whatever happened to those 86,000 agents that you hired last year that you're not talking about this year? Did he all get laid off because of AI taking their jobs? Do better! Oh! And Taxation is theft

Library of Congress -- A Living Monument to History…read more Few buildings in Washington, D.C. carry the weight of history as effortlessly as the Library of Congress. It is not merely a repository of books, but a living archive of the American story--one that reveals itself the moment you step inside. For visitors to the nation's capital, this is not optional--it is essential. The current exhibition, The Two Georges: Parallel Lives in an Age of Revolution, is particularly compelling. Through the intertwined narratives of George Washington and King George III, the exhibit captures a world on the brink--an undeclared nation edging toward war, a fragile cause facing overwhelming odds, and ultimately, the improbable path to independence. What makes this exhibition stand out is not just its historical scope, but its perspective. It does not present history as a foregone conclusion, but as a series of uncertain, high-stakes decisions made in real time. That tension--between inevitability and risk--is where the story comes alive. Accessible, visually engaging, and intellectually rewarding, this is an experience that resonates across generations. If you find yourself in Washington, make the time. Some places inform you. This one reminds you why the story matters.

I have only visited the Library of Congress at a personal level a couple of times. Other visits…read morewere due to events/meetings there. If you are visiting D.C., I cannot stress the importance of a stop here. To this day, it remains the largest library in the world. Pretty impressive. It's also the oldest federal cultural institution. Periodicals, books, etc. available in over 470 languages. More than 178 million pieces of articles from manuscripts, recordings, photos, printed materials, to books and so on. Library acts as a source of research for Members of Congress and handles copyright laws. This building and all its components are an important part of our nation's history.

Yes, the United States Department of Agriculture has an excellent cafeteria. Who knew?…read more Responding to some A-frame signs planted haphazardly outside the tremendous, rambling, never-ending USDA complex, we finally found Wing 3, which contains the cafeteria. And we were starved ! Whoa, not so fast there, guys! Show me some valid, government issued ID, and plant this Visitor sticker on your chest. Then, can we eat? No. We now are Official Visitors, and must empty our pockets, remove our belts, and pass through the metal detector. The shoes remained on. All this for a cafeteria? It was worth it. The cafeteria is just down the hall to the left. Yegawds, the number and size of the food islands were astounding. Talk about multi-culti? Foods I could not readily ID, although I'm sure they had to pass through the metal detector. Salad bars, pasta bars, burgers, hot dogs, Mexican, Indian, fried food, pizza, BBQ meats, veggies, sushi, bento, bagels, breads, fresh fruits, desserts, coffee, tea, milk, cold drinks, hot drinks, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. As I loaded my tray, I wondered how they could possibly keep track of all the different prices. Easy peasy, they charge by the ounce, or in the case of my tray, by the pound. I had loaded $12 worth, including a Minute Maid lemonade, on my tray. Could not finish all. The food was really good. I'll give it my USDA Prime stamp.

The only federal agency along the National Mall, the USDA used to be the world's largest building…read morewhen it was built in the first part of the 20th century. It's not open to the public, but after reading an article about a man named Wayne Connelly, I reached out about seeing the official unofficial museum inside. Wayne texted me a time and I joined a small group on a 3 hour tour of the building and museum of items from the USDA's history. It was a special and meaningful tour!

It's just very unsanitary for human beings. No one should have to live in those conditionsread more

As an activist for Children's rights, I have on occasion been incarcerated for acts of civil…read moredisobedience, that is in fact part of my job, to bring about awareness of a terribly unjust family and juvenile court system. America's ANTI-family and Juvenile courts make rulings which in all honesty result in the abuse of our children and they make these rulings for what amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue to the states, counties and their employees every year. In any event, The jail in Washington DC, is one of the worst jails it is definitely a real s*** hole. Everything is stainless steel, I mean everything including the beds. This is obviously done so that they can keep the place clean and free of infestation. The inmates receive nothing, no pillows, no tooth brush, no tooth paste, nothing. I was not afforded the luxury of staying in my cell and relaxing in DC they have a very high turn over, especially so with activists. Again they institute scare tactics big time by leading you to believe you are a terrible criminal who has committed a crime against the government when in all reality, they are the criminals. We all have a first amendment right, it should in fact be our most important right but the government would of course rather you did not have or exercise that right The jails in DC are very over crowded. Days are spent moving prisoners from jail cell to jail cell. Some cells are crowded to the point where 50-60 men are in a 12x12 cell, obviously one can not even sit down in that environment. The toilets are over flowing, hence the terminology, s*** hole. These jails are over crowded so they have a high turn over. Judges work 7 days a week and at least well into the night. This is pretty cool because in most counties if you are arrested on a Friday, that's it, you will not see a judge until Monday. Depending on your crime, that is if you have committed one in their state and not being extradited, you will see a judge within 72 hours, that is the law. However, Washington, DC is over crowded so they want to get you out. Of course everybody pays a fine, COURT IS AFTER ALL AN INCOME GENERATING BUSINESS. The food was sub par as jails go. Apparently the local inmates think it is pretty good but they have apparently not visited a true 5 star jail. The property is secure, the jailers are OK, nothing special here either. The new scam in many jails are the phone systems. Yes, you can communicate via telephone with an outside party but they must put a rather large deposit into the systems account. Calls are about $1.00 per minute, definitely a scam, fortunately the ACLU is onto this scam and should have this shut down or at least a fair rate charged . Speaking of the ACLU, all jails nationwide are now mandated to have panic buttons in the cell, I did not see a panic button... Like any jail, the objective is to scare you into not wanting to go and make you miserable while you are there so that you do not want to come back, Jails are all solitary, only the high tech, long term jails or prisons offer additional comforts. Butte County is just a jail, no big deal. If you are in jail for a righteous cause like children's rights, no one can break you down. I rate this jail a 1 on a scale of 1-5. They could have better food and treat their prisoners better. It is not necessary to be an ass and a jailer, I mean, you met your just being an ass.

10 business days! AMAZING!…read more Just finished writing my complaint to this organization and I feel that this is faster than even Kentucky's Department of Labor and Wage in response time! Kentucky's recommends a 30 day wait. The actual response time was within a week. Let us see how fast the Feds get to me. Pretty straightforward form. I hope the rest of the process is. Edit: Contacted me within two days (6/02/2023)! The only issue I found with the interaction I had was that the individual was working at home under the title of being with the U.S. Department of Labor and Wage. The kicker was that he was located in another major city within my state. I feel that this may be a wrong way that the U.S. Department of Wage and Labor is going about it. What happens if the individual in that state has a bias for their state? They may overlook cases and write it off as being legal in the state, but not legal according to U.S. regulations. There also is no one to hold them accountable on doing their job well, according to the U.S. laws and regulations if the individual has a bias. From my experience, the individual did do his best to log everything I stated and I even backed it up by stating that I had PDF documents to supplement what I stated. The phone call ended with him stating that he does not want to receive anything yet until he does his own review (why would that stop him from wanting additional documents)? I am kind of wary now because one of the reviews below me states that these could be contractors who are only looking to hear someone's story, but may not follow through; thereby, not doing their job fully. In other words, they reached out to that person who made the inquiry, transcribed everything they stated and then onto the next one (they technically did their job just by doing that.) Whether or not they decide to resolve the matter is up to their own judgement. Suggestion: Honestly, I think the only people who should be taking calls are individuals who work for the U.S. Department of Wage and Labor in Washington, D.C. They have to be in Washington D.C. and from there, they are assigned a state to do, reviewing their assigned state's laws and regulations. This would cut out any type of bias. Something to think about. 6/9/2023 The Department of U.S. Labor representative contacted me regarding my case, but just left me with resources to have HR handle it. I later found out that I made a mistake in calculating some overtime hours; although, one aspect still remains to be disputed. So unless there is a pattern of noncompliance with regulations, more than likely the U.S. Department of Labor will not take action. Then again, this is a case that was handled by one of many representatives across the U.S. and also one where a federal government is looking at what the state government is doing wrong. From complaint to first phone call, 2 days. From initial phone interview of dispute to follow up, 7 days.

DOL-OIG (DOL Office of Inspector General) refused to investigate my claim, twice. DOL-OIG person…read morewrote me an email that DOL-OIG has a discretion to choose what to investigate. I provided DOL-OIG with clear evidences of DOL WHD's lies and mistakes (including fraud W-2s which DOL WHD issued me twice). But DOL-OIG did not take it seriously. I started a petition against DOL on change.org. Please sign up! DOL's abuse of power must be stopped NOW! https://www.change.org/p/dianne-feinstein-stop-us-department-of-labor-s-abuse-of-power-lies-retaliations?recruiter=827109310&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition