When you work on human rights issues, you notice a certain pattern in government denial of abuse. First line of defense: it didn’t happen. Or if it happened, they did it to themselves. Or if they didn’t, we certainly had nothing to do with it. Or if we did, we didn’t mean to. It doesn’t matter if the issue is torture, forced evictions, or garden-variety employment discrimination. The response from those in charge is often, if not always, the same.

On an idle whim, wondering what the Pampered Princes of the Potomac, otherwise known as US Senators, were having for lunch in their exclusive dining room, I looked up the menu.

It’s easy to imagine the setting, clubby with attentive staff, and a table of the ultra-privileged starting off with some lovely Seared Sea Scallops over Broccoli Rabe, with Truffle Butter – $12.00.