And That’s Just the Way It Is
May 5, 2010
Ever wonder who speaks the most days on the House floor. The Congressional Chronicle tracks this. Just click on Congress in the Video Library and it shows the members who have spoken the most. We only count one appearance per day since many members may speak multiple times on the same day. In the 111th Congress, the current Congress, the House has been in 211 days.
One member, Ted Poe R-TX, has spoken 177 times. His nearest competitor for first place, Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-TX, has spoken 132 days. So, Rep. Poe is the run away winner.
Rep. Poe delivers a one-minute speech practically every day. His topics vary from immigration, to Israel, the death of Dr. Height, and local issues of Houston. To bring attention to his remarks, he closes each speech with the phrase, “And that’s just the way it is.”
Tune in C-SPAN whenever the House convenes and you will hear Rep. Poe saying “that’s just the way it is” in the first fifteen minutes of the House session. Check out the appearances of other members through the Congressional Chronicle in the C-SPAN Video Library.
C-SPAN Publishes Supreme Court Book
May 4, 2010
Remember the in-depth interviews C-SPAN conducted last year of each of the nine sitting justices of the Supreme Court. Also included where retired justices. They were fascinating, behind-the-scenes glimpses into their personalities and how they worked. Each is available for review in the Video Library. Just select Browse at the top of the page and then Series. (You may not get to the Supreme Court because you will find all the other memorable series C-SPAN has produced.)
Now, this significant Supreme Court series is captured in a newly published book, The Supreme Court. This C-SPAN book
* Is a collection of original interviews with all nine sitting Supreme Court Justices plus retired Justice O’Connor.
* Also includes interviews with Court reporters, attorneys and historians
* Is Illustrated with 16-pages of contemporary and historic black and white and color photographs
* Includes additional court resources including justice biographies, history of the Court, and more.
Don’t miss this valuable keepsake. For more information on the book click here.
Jay Leno at White House Correspondents’ Dinner
May 3, 2010
Jay Leno’s appearance this weekend at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was his third time speaking at that dinner. Leno has six appearances in the Video Library. He spoke at the 2000 and 2004 dinners. He also has an appearance at the National Press Club after he was first named Tonight Show host.
Lincoln and C-SPAN
April 30, 2010
Abraham Lincoln was president before the recordings of the Video Library. That should not keep you from typing his name into the Video Library search box. Yes, like 150,000 other people, he has a bio page. This page shows you the time period he served in the House of Representatives and even the committees he served on. The related persons link on the right side of his bio page shows twelve people who have portrayed Lincoln on C-SPAN. These include enactments of the Lincoln-Douglas debates as well as major speeches Lincoln gave.
The search results show that there are 529 programs that reference Lincoln in the title, summary, or keywords. You can narrow these to book programs by modifying your search. Click on add a search term, then choose tag, and then Book TV. This results in 176 book programs about Lincoln.
Finally, you will notice from the search page that there are almost 6,000 programs that reference Lincoln in transcripts. Try typing in Lincoln slavery in the search box to find about fifty programs on this topic.
If you would prefer to read more about Lincoln programs on C-SPAN check out the new Lincoln book now in paperback. Edited by C-SPAN and drawn from C-SPAN interviews, this book includes “Fascinating, little-known anecdotes about the president are brought to light in richly detailed essays drawn from C-SPAN interviews. Extras include 16 pages of color photos and four maps that detail where Abraham Lincoln lived, the location of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Lincoln’s Inaugural journey to Washington and the path his funeral train took when returning him to Springfield. A timeline of Abraham Lincoln’s life, brief biographies of the 56 contributing authors, and Lincoln’s most famous speeches are also included.”
There is much about Lincoln on C-SPAN each weekend on C-SPAN2 BookTV, C-SPAN3 History, in the Video Library, and now in our new paperback Lincoln book. Check it out.
Funerals on C-SPAN
April 29, 2010
The funeral service for civil rights leader Dorothy Height is an occasion to recall the funerals of other women on C-SPAN. C-SPAN covers many funerals because they feature prominent public policy speakers eulogizing the deceased. Some of the prominent women including civil rights leaders whose funerals C-SPAN has covered include Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, Barbara Jordan, Mother Teresa, Rose Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Pamela Harriman, and Bella Abzug.