The CA Capitol Building

We went to visit our state capitol building today as a field trip and I thought it was pretty cool. Here were some of my favorite parts.

• I found out that the CA government is based on English parliament. The carpeting in the Senate is red, to show the British "House of Lords" and the carpet in the Assembly room is red because of the "House of Commons", because the commoners had to sit on the grass.
• The people who built the building wanted to be recognized, so they found secret ways to be recognized. One put a tile in the floor on backwards, and another one carved his wife's name (Rita) in the plaster.
• Both the Assembly and the Senate were dominated by Democrats (Which Assembly member Connie Conway, who we met on the trip, seemed pretty ticked about.) I found it interesting that the microphones they use have stickers on them to represent their political party- Republicans are red and Democrats are blue.
• The Senate is more traditional. They vote and do roll call by voice, while the Assembly uses technology.
• The Senate is half the size of the assembly.
• The Assembly members feel very strongly about wrestling.