Robert Pohl worked for many years as a computer programmer but recovered from that and became a full time stay-at-home dad. With his son now in school, he has expanded his horizons and become a self-taught historian. He has written books about his house as well as Emancipation in the District of Columbia. You can reach Robert at Robert[at]thehillishome.com
The most difficult part in writing is deciding what to leave out. So often, a wonderful sidelight gets deleted at the last minute because there’s simply no room for it, especially if it does not really add to the main story. Fortunately, there are always other venues to write about the issue thus deleted — […]
Today, the Capitol seems an pristine, inviolate building, surrounded by further government buildings. Inside are only those intent on running the country – or touring the building. But it was not always thus. For about a year, the Capitol, far from producing only laws and regulations, also regularly produced…bread. Today we look at this odd […]
Last week, we looked at Thomas Edison’s failed attempt to get Congress to change its ways and vote electronically. Nonetheless, it was clearly an idea that needed to be implemented at some point, and so today we’ll look at some of the further attempts made to improve the way that Congress votes.
Electronic voting as a means of choosing elected officials has not taken this country by storm, and in fact may be on the wane. Issues with accuracy and transparency have dogged these machines from the outset. But there is one group that has been using such automated systems without problems for over 40 years: Congress […]
Last week’s H Street festival showed, once again, what a vibrant neighborhood this has once again become. Still missing in the picture are, of course, the light rail cars for which the tracks have been laid. And that’s a pity, because it was street cars that made H street what it was originally. Today, we’ll […]