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Sender: American Memory Fellows <AMFELLOWS@SUN8.LOC.GOV>
Poster: "Elizabeth L. Brown" <ebro@LOC.GOV>
Subject: Supreme Court III
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I took a late lunch an took a walk to the Supreme Court area shortly after=
2:00. Here is another informal report from my half hour on the street.
When I first arrived on the scene, I noticed no traffic in the block=
directly in front of the Supreme Court. About 2:30 traffic was flowing=
like normal. Since the oral arguments were over, the crowd of protesters=
had shrunk to something like 200-300 protesters just about all clumped=
together on the Supreme Court Plaza between the sidewalk and the steps. I=
was surprised at how much litter was lying on the Supreme Court's plaza. =
=20
There were still around 25 police officers (no riot gear) stationed in a=
line halfway up the front steps of the court facing the street and the=
crowd. There were another 30 or so with their backs to the street facing=
the crowd. There were another 20 officers lined up across the street on=
the sidewalk in front on the east side of the Capitol lawn. There were also=
officers walking around, one Capitol Police office on bicycle, and half a=
dozen on motorcycles.
I watched from the sidewalk across the street from the court, adjacent to=
the Capitol lawn. It was impossible to understand any of the protesters'=
shouts since they all seemed to be talking at once. On my side of the=
street there were mostly people like me just there to observe. For a time,=
I stood beside two women from Massachusetts, who were just there to catch a=
glimpse of history before going to the White House to see the Christmas=
Tree lighting. We talked in a non-partisan way about what changes might=
occur before the next presidential election so that judicial intervention=
can be avoided (standardized voting equipment, for example) and what=
changes might take place in the states (more split elector delegations,=
perhaps?), regardless of any steps taken in Washington.=20
The Capitol lawn is separated from its sidewalk by an attractive wall about=
three feet high -- concrete I think. There is an area just on the lawn=
side (west) of this wall where there are media hook-ups so that depending=
on which way one points a camera, either the Capitol or the Supreme Court=
is in the background. This area was roped off with yellow tape and was=
full of cameras, studio lights and technicians, along with a few on-air=
types. Obviously, today the background was the court. Although the media=
ports have electricity, there was also a small white trailer that appeared=
to hold a generator, according to the sign on the side, although I can't=
remember exactly what it said. I lost count of television cameras, but=
there were easily more than 20. I did notice a camera labelled "CNN" with=
"talent" in the chairs apparently ready to go on the air. I'm pretty sure=
one of the on-air people was Greta Van Susteren. You could read the CNN's=
tele-prompter machines from the sidewalk, but they had only test messages=
when I walked by. A few protestors carried their signs across the street,=
so that they would be in the CNN report's background. =20
I also saw some small NBC peacock logos on the wall, but facing the cameras,=
not me. I suspect MSNBC, but I am not sure. Most of the crews were=
bundled up and waiting. =20
I saw five satellite trucks. Three north of the Court Building, one to the=
south, and one that was about a block away (southeast), closer to the=
Folger Shakespeare Library than to the Supreme Court.
I spoke with a few police officers about the size of the crowd at 2:30=
compared to the earlier crowd. The protesters had filled the Court's=
plaza, the sidewalk and the street earlier. The bicycle officer told me=
that protesters carried signs and shouted slogans, but otherwise had been=
peaceful all day.
The protesters carried the signs you've seen on TV, the regular campaign=
signs and some home-made signs, some more clever than others, all obvious,=
in regard the carrier's position.. I thought it interesting to note some=
of the others, there apparently to take advantage of the attention: A Ralph=
Nader sign, a sign that bore a swastika and said "Outlaw Circumcision, Not=
the Electoral College, and a quiet woman, passing out literature in support=
of the Fulan Gong in China.
My fingers cold, despite my insulated leather gloves, I headed back to work.=
As I walked east down East Capitol St. on the south side of the Supreme=
Court, I think I may have walked behind the talent during a news report. =
Does anyone get "Flight 9" News? =20
Betty Brown
P.S. In case it helps: =20
Bird's Eye View of Capitol Hill:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/loc/maps/birdseye.jpg
LC Campus Map (shows proximity of LC to the Supreme Court)
http://lcweb.loc.gov/loc/maps/map.gif
Better map, showing Union Station, Capitol, the Court, & LC
http://www.house.gov/house/Maps.html
Note the press camera area can be picked out on this last map. Look for an=
egg-shaped section of sidewalk, just below and to the right of the letter=
"L" in the word "Capitol." To the right and just above this egg shape is a=
triangular area (with one side curved.) This is the media area.
Hope you find these reports useful.
Betty
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Dec 11 2000 - 18:22:19 EST
