ABOUT:
Defense policy analysis, commentary and discussion.Neda Semnani is the Heard on the Hill reporter for Roll Call. She joined CQ Roll Call in 2008.
Neda was the deputy editor for BillTrack, CQ Roll Call’s legislative tracking product, for two years before moving a few desks and diving into a whole new gossipy world.
Before falling in love with all things Congressional, Neda consulted for the World Bank, managed programs for nongovernmental organizations in the Middle East and later a nonprofit in New York City.
She is a graduate of the University of Maryland College Park and the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Semnani no longer works at Roll Call.
How many lovers and families struggle to remain connected and whole, even as they fall victim to great, passionate, all-consuming love affairs? And of these great affairs, how many of us carry on with that most insidious of mistresses: our career?
If you’re looking for a dark, heartbreaking tale about a talented young woman sacrificed too young to a hardcore junk habit, “One Night With Janis Joplin,” which is scheduled to return to Arena Stage on Friday, will not be that show.
In Tom Stoppard’s 1982 play “The Real Thing,” the character Henry, a successful playwright, says that it is nearly impossible for him to write about love with any level of profundity. It comes out juvenile or rude, even boring.
Have you ever seen America roll out before you like a picture postcard? When was the last time you got to sit and talk, and brainstorm, explore and create for days and days on end?
Rochelle Behrens, an ex-lobbyist for Quinn Gillespie, did mind the gap.
That bouncing noise in the Cannon House Office Building on Tuesday is the sound of grandmothers in better shape than you.
It’s that time of year again. The start of those long, swampy months when true Washingtonians trudge into offices, swipe at mosquitoes and rely on interns to pick up their slack. That’s right, everyone. The interns are coming.
In honor of Memorial Day, we present to you the following, courtesy of Massachusetts’ junior senator.
There are times in life when words aren’t enough. For more than 120 D.C. students, this is one of those times.
Everyone’s favorite dysfunctional family is coming to Netflix on May 26 (Squee!) and binge TV watchers everywhere are rejoicing at the return of “Arrested Development.”
The Congressional Women’s Softball Game has a bit of a fanatic following this year beyond the dedicated members of Congress, female journalists of the Capitol press corps and their long-suffering families and friends.
Six hours before the start of the new year, the Senate was about to reach a deal on the fiscal cliff and longtime staffer Patrick Mullane was getting ready to leave the Hill for beer. It’s just that it’s taken a few months to get the kegs tapped.
Henry Rollins was supposed to talk about clean-water issues and his relationship with the charity Drop in the Bucket, whose mission is to build wells and sanitation systems in schools and to provide education, health and gender equality programs across sub-Saharan Africa.
Maybe it’s hip to be square? Or maybe it’s hip to be hop? At any rate, lately Congress seems to have embraced popular culture generally and hip-hop specifically.
Kids, you can go anywhere! Take a look! It’s in a book — being provided by the fine folks at the Junior League of Washington and their partner, Reading Is Fundamental.
Rep. Patrick T. McHenry, R-N.C., is obviously a pretty with-it guy.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.’s Wednesday grilling by the House Judiciary Committee was pretty tense from the start, so thank goodness Rep. Melvin Watt, D-N.C., provided America with a much needed “aww” moment during the hearing.
Leo Tolstoy may have been right when he said that unhappy families are all unhappy in their own way, but he was wrong about happy families all resembling one another. Or perhaps he would have amended his feelings if he had seen Jon Robin Baitz’s “Other Desert Cities,” a close look at a family of elite Californians coming to grips with their fall from grace and their long climb back to it.
Thirteen members of Congress and more than 60 staffers will join CNN’s Jake Tapper and celebuchef Spike Mendelsohn to hit up the 5th annual Home Runs for Horton’s Kids.
Even in the age of sequestration and curbed official travel, U.S. senators, their spouses and staffers will be heading to the Paris Air Show as part of an official congressional delegation this June. But just how many of them are planning to go is still up in the air, and many offices are hesitant to boast of a summertime trip to the City of Lights.
In Washington, it sometimes feels like every week is World Cocktail Week.
Two-time Grammy winner Arrested Development and super-producer Kevin “Khao” Cates will perform at the N Street Village‘s Night Sessions on May 16, a young professionals event to benefit the D.C. nonprofit.
Who knew that 94.7 Fresh FM’s “The Tommy Show” could be the launchpad for a congressional career?
The Western Representation Political Action Committee has some pretty passionate beliefs about gun control.
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Roll Call has launched a new feature, Hill Navigator, to advise congressional staffers and would-be staffers on how to manage workplace issues on Capitol Hill. Please send us your questions — anything from office etiquette, to handling awkward moments, to what happens when the work life gets too personal. Submissions will be treated anonymously.
