Assassination Vacation

I enjoyed reading Assassination Vacation*, Sarah Vowell's comical write-up of her seriously taken trips to visit all tourism sites related to the assassinations of Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley. It makes me want to go see the musical "Assassins," where John Wilkes Booth, Charles Guiteau and Leon Czolgosz sing and dance on stage, which she attends.

The book provides fascinating backgrounds on the assassins and their Presidential targets who met untimely deaths, while intertwining historical trivia, such as that Robert Todd Lincoln, Lincoln's son, was in close proximity to the murders of all three Presidents, like a jinx of doom.

Also, John Wilkes Booth's brother, the actor Edwin Booth, once saved Robert Todd Lincoln's life after he fell from a train platform onto the tracks. A Booth that saved a Lincoln's life.

The book is about the craziness of the historical tourism business, which Vowell loves whole-heartedly. Along with the general stops like Ford's Theatre, she visits the New England home of the Lincoln Memorial sculptor, Dry Tortugas off the coast of Florida where the conspirators of Lincoln's death were imprisoned, and many other odd places.

One notable trivia point for D.C. tourism: the Lincoln Memorial sculptor was mortified to find out that after all of his hard work, the light from the reflecting pool bounced up onto Lincoln's face, looking as if a flashlight had been held up under his chin. Eventually, ceiling lights were installed so that Lincoln could look dignified and pensive, as intended. Poor Lincoln. He looked scary!

For more historical trivia and context about one of the most presidentially violent times in America, read Assassination Vacation.

Video: Tony Award performance of the Broadway musical Assassins.



*My brother Chris and his wife Cathy introduced me to this good read by giving it to me as a birthday present. Thanks!

Order in the Court

Photo: My ticket in line to hear Supreme Court oral arguments.

Congress is out and the Supreme Court is in. Monday marked the first day of the Supreme Court's new term and Wednesday I decided to try my luck to see oral arguments. Wednesday's cases were high-profile, so I knew this would add to the crowds, but I also knew it would add to the excitement.

My friend and I arrived at the Court at 4:30am in order to beat the "early morning line crowd." Unfortunately, the "spent the night in front of the Court" crowd" was about 95 people. NINETY-FIVE PEOPLE slept in front of the Supreme Court during a cold October night to hear the arguments!

What was the case? A case about HATERS. Haters gonna hate. You may be familiar with the Phelps family. A large family who comprise their own "church" in Kansas (Westboro Baptist Church) and spend most of their time tormenting people with hateful signs, saying "God Hates You" and other horrific specifics. Their latest endeavors have included protesting military funerals, under the twisted belief that God is punishing America's immorality by killing soldiers in war.

You can read more about the specifics of the Snyder v. Phelps case here. I think the topic itself drew crowds, but one enthralling element was that the pastor's daughter, Margie Phelps, would be making the arguments. Arguing before the Supreme Court! It's a Court with access for all....All, including myself, who stood for 6 hours on the cold sidewalk, waiting to get in.

Photo: The dark early morning, waiting to get in to the Supreme Court.

Photo: Sunrise at the Supreme Court!

At 8:00am I went inside the building to use the restroom, and while walking down the hallway found ELENA KAGAN walking alongside me. Pretty fun.

At 10:00am we had seen our share of circus outside: the "God Hates You," "God Hates Your Feelings" signs, the Phelps clan walking around (they tried to cut in front of the line, but were moved to the back.... the ones that didn't have passes, and everybody clapped), and anti-hate protests. They began order in the Court. Unfortunately, we didn't make it in the first set of arguments. I did read that Margie Phelps was "unflappable," and that she used the phrase "up in their grill," several times. As in her church followed protest rules and didn't they didn't get "up in their grill." UP IN THEIR GRILL! Fine legal argument. I also heard she quoted Wikipedia in her brief.

We waited it out and were able to see the second set of arguments, Harry Connick v. Thompson (yes, the Dad of Harry Connick, Jr.), a tragic case of injustice about a man wrongly imprisoned for 20 years, due to the prosecutor's failure to turn in evidence that would have proven the man's innocence. I am more concerned about the outcome of this case than the first.

Amazing to view the nine Justices in their element - Sotomayor, Kagan, and the others in person. A rare treat since Supreme Court proceedings are not televised.

Photo: Margie Phelps and family after Supreme Court arguments for Phelps v. Snyder.

An exciting day at the Supreme Court, for an important debate on First Amendment issues. The sad thing, though, is that no matter the outcome of this particular case, it's likely that Haters Gonna Hate and the Phelps family will continue their hurtful protests in some capacity.