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The Monday Pig: The Seventh Day

    Piety being a recommended trait for elected officials in Washington, no doubt some members of Congress in Shutdown City begin the week with admonitions from the pulpit ringing in their ears. At the Red Mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral, Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas delivered a plea for overcoming "petty partisanship and ever-politicizing rhetoric" on Sunday. For senators who, say, failed to set their alarm in time for services, they can expect a rumbling tongue-lashing from Senate Chaplain Barry C. Black when the chamber returns today at 2 p.m. “Save us from the madness,”he said last week.

The Monday Pig: Inauguration Day

    From the Lincoln Memorial, I could hear the crowd roar. On Monday morning, I reached the monument just as the inauguration program got underway. At the top terrace, the fluting of the pillars made for a smooth backrest, and the polished curve of the marble at the bottom was a comfortable seat. I sat looking east toward the Washington monument and, beyond that, the wings of the U.S. Capitol. From the chamber behind me, the statue of Abraham Lincoln gazed over my shoulder. In front of me, an inscription in the terrace marked the spot where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963. I put in my earbuds, and waited for the president to speak.

The Monday Pig: Watch Night Edition

  The line stretched all the way around the block. I craned to look down Ninth Street NW to Constitution Avenue, where the ragged queue turned the corner toward the National Archives entrance. I tapped the arm of the woman in front of me. "Excuse me, is this the line to see the Emancipation Proclamation?" I asked her. She nodded. Like me, she was by herself, and she had pulled the hood of her parka up over her head. I checked the time. It was just after 1 p.m., and cold. The line didn't seem to move. After about 10 minutes, a docent from the archives walked to the lawn near me. He wore wool mittens and a nametag that read "Carl."  "There's a 45 minute wait to get into the building," he said, "and then there's another line to see the Emancipation Proclamation. That line is also about 45 minutes." As he walked away, no one abandoned the line.