(Screenshot/Facebook)

Or suck on something fished out of Gene Simmons’ windpipe?

The post KISS or Dead Presidents — Decisions, Decisions appeared first on Heard on the Hill.

Penn, left, and Smith. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Human rights activist and actor Sean Pean greets Rep. Christopher H. Smith, R-N.J., at the top of Monday’s House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations hearing on the plight of Jacob Ostreicher, a Brooklyn native being detained abroad in Bolivia.

The post Aloha, Mr. Smith: Sean Penn Goes to the House appeared first on Heard on the Hill.

(Courtesy George Washington University)

Sad day for George Washington University Law School alum/Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (or something): A rendering of the school’s new basketball court includes an image of the Capitol — but not the Senate side!

Of course, no one has cared about GW basketball since Pops Mensah-Bonsu and that time people accidentally won brackets in 2006 thinking that “George Mason” was the same as “George Washington.” But no matter. Senators feel snubbed over everything, and with all the Colonials crawling around the Capitol, HOH is sure there will be enough “the upper chamber got usurped by the White House!” snark to go around.

Truth be told, this reporter is a big basketball fan, has actually been to multiple GW basketball games (not suggested to attend a game on Greek Day) and thinks the court is pretty cool.

Per the school’s press release, GW was created in 1821 through an act of Congress and everyone is stoked about running and sweating all over the Washington Monument, White House and two-thirds of the Capitol.

“After our graduating students and student-athletes enjoyed their Commencement ceremony on the National Mall yesterday, unveiling this spectacular new floor design today further emphasizes our campus setting in the heart of D.C.,” Director of Athletics and Recreation Patrick Nero said in the statement. “When people around the world are watching our games, we want them to immediately recognize and understand the university’s unique setting in the middle of the action in this world-class city.”

Meanwhile, Georgetown students still will be left to struggle to figure out how to use public transportation from the Verizon Center downtown to their campus in far Northwest.

The post GW Athletics: Only the House Side of the Capitol Matters appeared first on Heard on the Hill.

Murphy is the youngest current senator. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Q. How does it feel to be the youngest current senator? [Murphy turns 40 on Aug. 3.]

A. Once you get beyond all the hazing, the wedgies and the wet willies, it’s not a bad position to be in. It certainly perks up the ears of kids in the room [in my district] when I tell them I’m the youngest member of the Senate.

Q. You’re on the Foreign Relations Committee. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

A. I think right now I’d go to Russia. The subcommittee I chair [European Affairs] has jurisdiction over Russia and I am absolutely fascinated by the internal dynamics of a country that had gotten somewhat used to liberal democracy and is now losing it day by day. I’m Polish by heritage — I have more Polish blood than Irish blood — and there’s a part of me, as a Polish-American, that has a great deal of curiosity about Russia.

Q. What do you miss most from your district when you’re in D.C.?

A. Pizza. Good pizza. I think it’s absolutely stunning that the rest of the country has not figured out how to make a decent pizza. I’m proud of the fact that New York and the New Haven, [Conn.,] area seem to have a monopoly on making a good, thin-crusted slice of pizza, but I wish someone in Washington, D.C., would figure out how to replicate our pies.

Q. What’s your favorite pastime?

A. Spending time with my kids. I’ve got a 4-year-old and a 1-year-old and they are the joy of my life. My wife and I had kids a bit later in life, when we were in our mid-30s, and I didn’t realize what I was missing. So any bit of free time that I have is spent running around my backyard in Connecticut with my two little guys, Owen and Rider.

Q.What’s the first concert you went to?

A. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and they were a little bit over the hill by the time I showed up. I think that was shortly after I got my license to drive; me and a handful of friends went to the Hartford Civic Center to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on their “Into the Great Wide Open” tour in July of 1991.

The post Take Five: Sen. Christopher S. Murphy appeared first on Heard on the Hill.

(Screenshot)

The proposed “IRS Flash Rally” — “We will NOT have a permit, so be prepared to keep moving on the sidewalk,” one of the organizers counseled online — is scheduled to go down at the corner of 10th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest from noon to 1 p.m.

Tea Party WDC founder Lisa Miller told HOH she’s been in contact with a slew of sympathetic organizations champing at the bit to vent about IRS abuses, ranging from established political players (Americans for Prosperity) to fellow grass-roots entities (Northern Virginia Tea Party, Alexandria Tea Party).

“Everybody seems to be pitching in a little bit,” she said of the communal interest in sticking it to the man.

The national Tea Party Patriots has urged its members to come armed with signs reading (among other things) “Audit the IRS!”, “America deserves better!” and  “Protect the 1st Amendment!”

Miller said she recruited Institute for Liberty President Andrew Langer to emcee the demonstration and has promised Erik Telford from the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity a speaking slot. Miller said she hopes to limit speeches to three minutes a pop so that everyone in attendance has an opportunity to share their stories.

“We’ll come and go before we cause any traffic jams,” she said.

On the off chance any IRS officials peek their heads out, Miller, who has worked as a seasonal tax preparer in the past and currently inhabits the financial services world, said she’d be up for a spirited debate.

“If they come out, I would love to do an interview with them on video,” she said.

Prefer to make a day of it?

Once they’re done demeaning the IRS, Northern Virginia Tea Party folks plan to further stoke their disdain for the federal government by adjourning to a sports bar for a dinner discussion with TheBlaze radio host Doc Thompson. Featured topics of conversation include the swirling IRS scandal and the slate of new candidates approved over the weekend at the state convention of the Republican Party of Virginia.

The post Tea Partyers to IRS: Prepare to Be Flash-Mobbed appeared first on Heard on the Hill.

Ostreicher, who languished for months in a ramshackle Bolivian prison without ever being formally charged with anything and remains barred from returning stateside, has been the subject of two prior Foreign Affairs inquiries.

Both Subcommittee Chairman Christopher H. Smith, R-N.J., and actor-cum-human-rights-advocate Sean Penn, who will be testifying at the 3: 00 p.m. hearing in Rayburn 2172, have previously traveled to Bolivia to try and speed Ostreicher’s release.

The post Sean Penn Speaks Up for Jacob Ostreicher appeared first on Heard on the Hill.

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, the JLW will celebrate its centennial with an event at the DC Prep Edgewood Middle Campus. And who better to help out than writer George Ella Lyon and Ward 8 Councilmember and former Mayor Marion Barry?

The event  is also just one of 20 book distribution events slated to take place in May with the goal of reaching 6,500 D.C. kids. Lyon will be reading at this particular event, and students will get to choose two fabulous (and free!) books to take home, along with a summer reading kit.

Throughout the school year, Reading Is Fundamental and the Junior League of Washington will have provided 33,000 books to students in D.C. schools. To ring in its 100th year, the Junior League is hoping to distribute 100,000 books to District children.

The post Centennial Event Brings Books to Kids appeared first on Heard on the Hill.

Illustrator R.J. Matson’s latest cartoon needs a caption.

With the White House dealing with a trifecta of scandals, we figured it only made sense to turn from the Capitol for a short spell to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue for source material. Have at it!

Leave us your caption in the comments section below. Editors will pick five finalists Wednesday, and then everyone can vote for the winner until Thursday afternoon. The winner gets a signed print from Matson.

The post Capitol Quip: Let’s Go On Tour appeared first on Heard on the Hill.

Thanks to the many readers who contributed captions for last week’s Capitol Quip contest. Here’s the winning entry as voted by readers of Heard on the Hill. Judging from the comments, we realize there were some strong feelings about the caption entries. We value your feedback, so please keep it coming.

The winner will receive a signed color print suitable for framing from Roll Call cartoonist R.J. Matson.

The post Capitol Quip: Happy Trails! appeared first on Heard on the Hill.

(Screenshot)

Tickets to the event, which is scheduled to take place from 6-9 p.m. and includes food, booze (craft beer, wine) and a butchering demo, are $60 per person.

Art and Soul toque Wes Morton is looking forward to mixing things up with the 19 other local chefs vying for the Lamb Jam crown. Morton expects to serve British-style lamb scrumpets, featuring lamb bellies put through an intensive three-step process (brined and smoked, picked and pressed, and, finally, buttered and fried).

His all-time favorite lamb creation?

Morton said that honor belongs to the smorgasbord of whole smoked and roasted, bone-in shoulder smothered in Aleppo pepper, sumac, coriander and fennel, all flanked by warm flatbread, Greek yogurt, romesco, salsa verde and pickles.

Cedar chef Aaron McCloud told HOH he’s already received the epic amount of Jameson Farm lamb shanks set aside for him. McCloud plans to braise the mountain of meat, mix it with roasted vegetables, roll everything in brik pastry and pan-fry it all into crispy cigars. The savory roll ups will be accompanied by pureed English peas, pickled asparagus, breakfast radishes and fresh sorrel.

McCloud said he’s excited to try whatever chefs Nick Stefanelli (Bibiana) and Marjorie Meek-Bradley (Ripple) dish out, while Morton can’t wait to sink his teeth into chef Mike Costa’s (Zaytinya) wares.

“We used to cook together at Citronelle and view food with a similar approach,” Morton said.

Best of luck unseating two-time “Best in Show” champ John Critchley (Bourbon Steak).

The post First Timers Share Lamb Jam Strategies appeared first on Heard on the Hill.

The staffers and business representatives who attended the Thursday night affair had the second floor lounge Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar largely to themselves.

The RSVP list broke down heavily on the side of congressional staffers, followed closely by dues-paying OFII members. Of the eight lawmakers on the list, only Reps. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., and Bill Foster, D-Ill., made it to the event — a bipartisan, if modest, showing.

Foster, center, chats with business advocates on Thursday evening. (Julie Ershadi/CQ Roll Call)

Reception attendee Carol Danko, press secretary for New York Republican Rep. Michael G. Grimm, told HOH that between votes and allergies, her boss was tied up. Meanwhile, a staffer for the absent Sen. Mark S. Kirk, R-Ill., topped off a fresh glass of white wine with the dregs of an old one between quips with her colleagues.

The OFII is a nonprofit business association that lobbies lawmakers on behalf of the U.S. operations of foreign companies that join its ranks. The organization provided every attendee at Thursday night’s gathering with a beer glass and mini bottle of spirits procured by Diageo, the social lubricants giant.

(Julie Ershadi/CQ Roll Call)

In addition to the party favor, an open bar kept the spirits flowing and a flotilla of heavy hors d’oeuvres, including grilled shrimp and mini crab cakes, filled bellies.

The star of the evening was Jonathan R. Otto, public affairs specialist for automotive giant Honda’s government relations office. Otto won the raffle prize, a weekend stay with deluxe accommodations at the Foggy Bottom Ritz-Carlton.

(Julie Ershadi/CQ Roll Call)

The post An Insourcing Sauce-Fest at Sonoma appeared first on Heard on the Hill.

— Acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller, responding to a 368-word question from Rep. Paul D. Ryan at Friday’s House Ways and Means Committee hearing.

The post Overheard: A Lot of Questions appeared first on Heard on the Hill.

The rules go like this: We decide where a fictional character lives and then look up who represents them in the House. (See more on the rules here.)

Soaps are near and dear to the heart of this writer, who once starred in a 2004 episode of “The Bold and the Beautiful” as a Spectra Fashions factory worker. Read on to see which soap star helped us with our research…

So, Dylan, Julia and Miss Ellie, let’s roll:

The Walsh Family 
“Beverly Hills 90210″
Beverly Hills, Calif.: Democratic Rep. Henry A. Waxman

It is our assessment that Jim, Cindy, Brandon and Brenda Walsh live in Beverly Hills flats — squarely in Waxman’s district. His representation of the western Los Angeles metropolitan area means that he will surface again in this category and others.

Here is a run-through of some of his constituents:

Obviously, Andrea Zuckerman should not be considered a Waxman constituent. The biggest open secret at West Beverly High is that she lives in Democratic Rep. Tony Cárdenas’ district over the hill in Van Nuys. She illegally uses her grandmother’s small apartment address in Beverly Hills so she can attend the elite public school.

The Ewing Family
“Dallas”
Southfork, Texas: Republican Rep. Sam Johnson

The Ewings’ “Southfork” mansion is a real place in the Dallas exurbs. The home of Bobby, Pammy, J.R., Sue Ellen, Jock and Miss Ellie is now an event venue located north of the city in Collin County. And Southfork features prominently in The. Greatest. TV. Opening. Ever:

The Carrington Family
“Dynasty”
Denver: Republican Rep. Cory Gardner

It was hard to tell what part of Denver the Carringtons actually live in, so we relied on sources on the ground.

“If Dynasty happened today the house would be in Castle Rock and Alexis would be having an affair with a Denver Bronco,” Denver-based Democratic consultant Laura Chapin asserted. “That’s where they all live. Also, Blake Carrington would be diversifying into the marijuana business.”

CQ Roll Call was able to obtain these aerial shots of the Carrington mansion:

Gardner has a solid grasp on his seat, but it is our sense that he should watch his back. Should Blake or Alexis become politically inclined, an “unaligned” Carrington Super PAC could bring down anyone.

The Salinger Family
“Party of Five”
San Francisco: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi

There seriously cannot be a better reference source for this project than a website called iamnotastalker.com, which makes plain that the Salingers live in Pacific Heights. This puts them in the district of the most powerful woman in American history.

Which is probably a good thing. We assume the Salingers have leaned on her office for casework as they contend with drunk drivers, alcoholism, domestic violence, Hodgkin’s disease, infidelity, abortion and child neglect. Remember how much fun they were?

The Newman and Abbott Families
“The Young and the Restless”
Genoa City, Wis.: Republican Rep. Paul D. Ryan

Ryan’s 2012 vice presidential run did much to overshadow the local political history of his district, namely the banner (albeit fictional) Nikki Newman-vs.-Jack Abbott state Senate race a few years ago.

This one took some thinking. There is an actual Genoa City, but it bears no resemblance to the city featured in daytime’s No. 1 soap opera. Still, the creators of the show have ties to the region, so we ultimately decided that Y&R must take place in southeast corner of Wisconsin — squarely in the House Budget chairman’s stomping grounds.

Angela Channing
“Falcon Crest”
St. Helena, Calif.: Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson

The vineyard of Angela Channing (Jane Wyman) is the Southfork of California — it’s a real-life place. With the help of “Falcon Crest” star Morgan Fairchild and IMDB.com, we were able to nail down Spring Mountain Vineyard as the Napa Valley home of the vicious Channing.

The unsung heroes of Capitol Hill are Thompson’s staff assistants. Channing is one nasty piece of work. Would YOU want to take a constituent call from this woman?

The Forrester Family
“The Bold and the Beautiful”
Beverly Hills, Calif.: Waxman 

The Forrester family made its fortune running a premiere American fashion house. The creators of the show based the fictional Forresters’ home on their own Beverly Hills mansion — formerly owned by Howard Hughes and Cary Grant, according to IMDB.com.

The Cohen Family
“The O.C.”
Newport Beach, Calif.: Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher

There is not much debate about where the O.C. takes place. The series tells the story of a how poor teen from Chino adjusts to Rohrabacher’s wealthy Orange County district.

Welcome to the O.C. …

Luke and Laura
“General Hospital”
Port Charles, N.Y.: Democratic Rep. Louise M. Slaughter

Wikipedia, a source we do not normally trust as a reference, has an extensive geographic analysis of Port Charles that essentially declares the city to be based on Rochester. We took the question to a childhood friend of ours who has loyally watched GH for at least 20 years. Although she declined to go on the record, she confirmed that Rochester is a logical bet.

The Colby Family
“The Colbys”
Bel Air, Los Angeles, Calif.: Waxman

We don’t remember much about this ’80s series except that it has the two most awesomely named characters in fiction: Fallon Carrington Colby and Sable Scott Colby. And, like so many other soaps, that it took place in Waxman’s district.

Check out our previous installments of Fictional Franchise:

• Baseball Heroes
• The Great American Novel
• Children’s Novels

The post Fictional Franchise: Who Represents Your Favorite Soap Character in Congress? appeared first on Heard on the Hill.

(Screenshot)

“I’m disappointed to see that no one advocated for Taco John’s in your call for hard-to-find regional food,” Fluit, who spends her days handling communications for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, shared.

The beloved chain, originally born in Cheyenne, Wyo., currently serves roughly half the United States, marshaling most of its resources in the northernmost and central states. The closest outpost to D.C. is in Athens, Ohio.

But TJ lovers needn’t despair.

Fluit and the rest of the South Dakota State Society (she’s on the board) will be doing their best to re-create Taco John’s signature snack, the Potato Ole, at Saturday’s 5^th Annual Taco John’s event.

Tickets to the fundraiser, scheduled to take place from 1 to 3 p.m. at the US-Asia Institute (232 East Capitol St.), are $5 for society members and $15 for the general public.

Attendees will be privy to a make-your-own taco bar, frosty keg beer and, of course, all the makeshift Potato Oles they can eat.

South Dakota State Society Social Chairwoman Maren Colon said staff has already acquired the 20-25 pounds of Taco John’s recommended crispy potato crowns for the event. Meanwhile, Fluit said they fully expect to spend all Saturday morning cooking (turkey fryer to the rescue!) and seasoning — with proprietary spices sent from the Taco John’s resto in Pierre, S.D., no less — the fabled spuds.

But you better act fast: Colon said that the “West-Mex” noshfest will likely need to be capped at 100-odd guests.

The post South Dakotans Want to Help Scratch Your Taco John’s Itch appeared first on Heard on the Hill.

Colbert, right, at a taping years back of “Better Know a District” with Democratic Arizona Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

“The Colbert Report” anthology of awkward congressional interviews was on the verge of extinction in recent years. But in the past few weeks, a handful of Democrats have sat down with Colbert for their fair share of abuse.

Most recently, Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., subjected herself to the Colbert treatment, and her Wednesday night interview was such a doozy that the show extended it for an additional segment.

The key part of the interview is in Part Two, when Colbert and Moore simulate a daredevil motorcycle jump. Capitol Hill staffers gushed about Moore’s performance.

Her staff encouraged the interview.

“We thought she had the kind of personality that can roll with a persona and a character like Colbert,” Moore spokeswoman Staci Cox said.

“She was definitely a little apprehensive about going on the show at first,” Cox said. “But then when she saw him at the Democratic retreat in February, she understood that he is a character and you have to go on the show getting the joke.”

The staff of Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md., similarly encouraged her to do “The Colbert Report.” Her appearance had the Hill buzzing for a week about Colbert’s term of endearment for her, “Sister Edwards.”

“I thought, ‘Why not?’” Edwards said in an interview. “I have a very engaging and encouraging young staff.”

She described the experience the way politicians used to describe interviews with Tim Russert.

“This is what I discovered — you can’t prepare,” she said.

Colbert grilled Edwards for about an hour, getting more than enough material for the seven-minute segment. Along the way, he hit her with past quotes and tweets that she “only vaguely remembered.”

Edwards was impressed with the research he put into her record and added that the show’s editing “didn’t so much change what was being said but changed the context.”

Interestingly, this was not Colbert’s first time to cover Maryland’s Fighting Fourth — he interviewed Edwards’ predecessor, former Rep. Albert Wynn in 2006.

“I think if you know yourself and you feel comfortable in your skin and you also recognize that there’s a potential that you’ll just look really ridiculous and sound hilarious … if you’re OK with that, you should roll with it,” Edwards said.

The post Colbert’s ‘Better Know a District’ Returns appeared first on Heard on the Hill.