Washington, DC
Saturday, June 30th

I think the entire SPS crew, students and faculty slept in today. When I finally woke up I helped get the gang ready to head over the Air and Space Museum near Dulles Airport. I have seen this already so I passed on the outing and I rode my bike down to the Adams Morgan neighborhood. I wanted to check out this place called Tryst. It is coffee house/bar/restaurant. I can already sense the anger mounting in Tusky and Weiss at the mention of a coffee shop. Well Tusky, this one has beer on tap so even you would like it. I hung out for a couple of hours. Just basically sipped some coffee, caught up on writing, and read some. All of these tasks were interrupted from time to time for some good old fashioned people watching. It was an enjoyable place and a quick bike ride away, despite the killer hill on the way back to school. I will definitely be back.

Tryst coffee house in Adams Morgan

More views of Tryst

After I got back to school I cleaned up and met up with Mason, another friend from Rhodes. We went over
to meet some his friends of his who were having a party. Their house was near Howard University in the Shaw district of DC. Brigitte, who is from Austria, was the women who hosted the party. Is was eclectic mix of people at the party, there were musicians, DJ’s, professors, embassy staff, World Bank economists, and of course a big bear. There were at least five different nationalities represented. The food was incredible. She made pork loin and had sausages from Austria. On top of those foods she made some sort of Peruvian ceviche that was incredible. Beer and wine flowed freely and there was also some incredibly potent Sangria.

Adams Morgan street views

Some of the folks I had met before. Emily is one of Mason’s friends from the World Bank. Good Bye Wolf’ man. She participates and sponsors these crazy road rallies all over the globe to raise awareness of different global issues. The most recent was the Greaseball Challenge 2007. The Challenge is a charity biofuel road rally from Washington, DC to Costa Rica.(Route) The point of the rally, besides the obvious fun, is to promote sustainability on a shoestring using renewable fuels. Check their blog. The stories are both hilarious and entertaining. Emily’s team was called, “The Quest for the Golden Grease”. One of my favorite stories is when they hung out with Willie Nelson for a couple days in Texas. Apparently the stories of Willie are not exaggerated at all. Here are links to their photos from the cross continental odyssey.

Emily(left) with Willie and teammate Nicky (right)

Washington, DC
Friday, June 29th

Today the students were on Economics and Public Speaking classes the bulk of the morning. I have been sitting in on the econ class because, as some of you know, I did not get a lot out of my Econ class at Rhodes. To more direct I rarely attended my Econ Class. In fact one time my Dad went to look me up after class. He did not see me in attendance so he naturally asked the Professor, Dr. Inskander, if he knew where I was. Dr. I responded something to the nature of this, “Oh John Stephany! Smart boy…… I have not seen him in this my class for months. I do however often see him on a coach outside the fraternity house drinking beer on Friday afternoons. Maybe you can find him there.” Spot on. Sure enough, my pop found me in the very spot Iskander described. Needless to say, Dad and I had a pep talk. Oh well, you live you learn. Here is the irony. I am still paying for that class in the form of student loans. Natural consequences are the best ones. So that’s why I am a 36 year old trying to steal some Econ knowledge on the cheap. I digress.

The rest of the day I knocked around the school checking in on the classes and getting my notes ready for a class that I’m teaching next week. Some of you may remember my friend from Rhodes, Graham. Well he is still works at St. Albans and we ate lunch a couple of times this week in the school cafeteria. Small world. I am planning a trip out to see him and his family in a week or so.

In the afternoon the class heard from Dana Milbank from the Washington Post. The morning was spent with Dana Milbank of the Washington Post. Milbank spoke of the career path that led from an intern with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette to Wall Street Journal to the New Republic and then to his present role with the Post. His self deprecating humor was quite disarming. Milbank's stories of his time in the White House Press core were as humorous as they were informative. He discussed the niche his page two column operates as a blend of straight news with an editorial flash. The Post describes it as, “an observational column about political theater in the White House, Congress and elsewhere in the capital.” When he worked in the White House Press corps he generally thought of the most hated reported of the entire corps. He wrote a book called Smashmouth, which was a behind the scenes look at the 2000 Presidential Election. He has a new book coming out called, “Homo Politicus”. He says it will be a mock anthropology of the Washington man.(Article)

In the evening the SPS crew went to the Marine Barracks near the Capital to watch there review performance. For an idea just remember the opening sequence in Tom Cruise flick, A Few Good Men. If you want a special treat, the next time any of you see Tusky ask him to do his rendition of Jack Nicholson’s memorable speech/diatribe on the defense stand. You will wet yourself. Sometimes he’ll just leave it on my voice mail for no apparent reason. Good times, good times. Anyway, I skipped the performance for and evening of crabs and beers at great crab shack called the Quarterdeck, in Arlington. I joined Norm to celebrate the birthday celebration of Sank. Sank is one of Bill’s friends from the Air Force Academy that Norm got to know from the Dewey Beach house of years past. Did you get all that? Well the crabs were nummy and the beers were cold. Another good night.

Smashing some Blue Crabs at the Quarterdeck in Arlington

Washington, DC
Thursday, June 28th

Today was a very lazy day. The students of SPS were in class most of the day I had no teaching responsibilities. I took a long walk, about an hour and half, through the neighborhood. I got myself lost on a number of occasions but honestly that was my goal. The way I figure it for every time I got lost I also realized were some street connected. This is helpful. However in DC there are two types of directions, driving and walking/biking. I feel pretty confident getting around DC with the Metro, Buses, and walking/biking. Despite having my car here I drive infrequently. In fact since filling the tank in Richmond on the way onto town I have not gassed up once and I still have a solid half tank.

Poltics and Prose Bookstore

One of the places I stopped for a break from my walk was Politics and Prose, this phenomenal book store on Connecticut Ave. I wrote about last year at length. This was my first time getting there this year and remembered why I liked it so much. Great coffee and a better selection of books. Thank God I was on foot without a backpack because if would have definitely overbought. This is a common malady of mine. I purchase waaay to many books respective to the time I have to read them. One of these summers I am going to take the whole summer off, go up to MisterCoachEricWell’s cabin in the UP(Upper Peninsula of Michigan) with a stockpile of books and read to my hearts content. Found a great website that allows you to register books that you read. It also lets you share that list with friends and others. At one level I’m sure it turns into some sort of, "Look how many books I read!” thing which it more than a tad bit obnoxious. The website is called Good Reads.

The Hiwatha National Forest in the UP.

Today is Thursday, so that means…., UGLY MUGS softball!!!!! The mugs once again took the field, this time in Anacostia Park in DC, in hopes to keep their record unblemished. The opponent this time was Capital Punishment. Do not let the team name nor their skull and crossbones jerseys fool you, this team was made up of mostly of middle 20ish girls who liked to get their beer on, my kind of women!!! The drank hard and played like they did not care about the outcome. They were a lot of fun. The Mugs used timely hitting and an error free fielding to again come out on top 15 – 4. Next week we play another undefeated team which will prove to be a much stronger test. Kais, the team captain, scheduled this game just yesterday in the hopes of improving our strength of schedule. Yes, they have a program that does this on a weekly basis, so we can stay in the Top Ten of the House Softball League.

The Ugly Mugs with some of its younger fans.

After the game a much smaller contingent went to our sponsor bar, The Ugly Mug, for some well earned mini burgers, pizza rolls, and beer. After the Mug Billy and I went to his house to watch the end of the US – Argentina soccer match in the COPA America tourney in Venezuela. The US squad made up of mostly 2nd and 3rd teamers earning their first international caps gave a valiant effort but finally succumbed to the Argentine squad of first teamers 4 to 1. Most of the US starters where back playing for their club teams in Europe after playing World Cup qualifying matches just a short time ago.

Washington, DC
Wednesday, June 27th

I was on duty the whole day. There was not as much going today in comparison to the last few days but that was good. We actually built in some free time for the students so they could catch up on sleep. Read for upcoming cases and generally be kids. I caught up on laundry and cleaning my room. Ok I just read what I just wrote…., boring.

I thought this might a great time to highlight one of the schools that two of our students come from in Houston, called YES Prep. Yes Prep was ranked the 39th best public school in the United States last year. (Full List) (Ranking Method) To put that ranking into perspective prestigious White Station High is ranked 917th in the country. Only one TN school is ranked higher, MLK magnet school in Nashville. For the Erie readers, Collegiate Academy is ranked 235th. We have two girls from this school in our program right now. What they and their school are accomplishing is nothing short of remarkable. Both of the girls I spoke to stated that they would have been completely lost without this school. One stated it saved her AND her families lives. Two years ago she was nearly failing out of school because she was afraid to go to school and she was not working hard at all. Three years later she has met a Supreme Court Justice and the White House Chief of Staff and shared a sustentative discussion with them. (Newsweek Article)

From their web site:

“Founded in 1998, YES is a free, open-enrollment public school system that serves low-income minority students in 6th-12th grade. Their charter mandates that students must be accepted to a four-year college in order to receive their high school diploma. YES is the only school in greater Houston to make Newsweek’s list of the top 100 public schools in America. There are currently four YES campuses in Houston that serve 1,500 students”

The demographics that the school serves make the accomplishments even more remarkable.

• 80% of YES students are economically-disadvantaged
• 95% are Hispanic or African-American
• 86% are first-generation college-bound
• Most students enter YES at least one grade level behind in math and English

Here are the results of the school in its twelfth year of existence.

• 100% of YES Prep's graduating seniors (six classes) have been accepted to a four-year college or university
• YES seniors have been accepted to 194 schools nationwide, including Duke, Columbia, Cornell, Wellesley, Notre Dame, Rice, Yale, Penn, Stanford, Texas A&M University, University of Texas-Austin, and 43 other Texas schools
• 90% of YES alumni are still enrolled in four-year and two-year colleges (compared to the national retention average of 50% for all ethnic groups and 22% for low-income students) It’s 76% for just the 4-year colleges and universities
• YES graduates have received over $13 million in scholarships and financial aid
  

The students sign a contract to be at school from 7:30 to 5pm Monday through, Thursday they can leave at 4pm. They are to be at School on Saturdays from 9am till 1pm when required. This is for test prep for ACT, SAT, and standardized tests. If they are not prepared for class their or show disrespect to the YES Prep team then they have to stay after school THAT day. They must also attend mandatory summer programs. Their teachers are available nearly 24/7 for homework and school questions. Here is the kicker, they do not get their diploma until they are acepted in a four year college.

When I think of the young and talented students who waste away in bas schools around the country it saddens me. There are no easy answers and the question frustrates a lot of people A LOT smarter than me. The answers don’t come with busing, prayer in school, laptops, internet access, or throwing tons of money at the problem. It takes hard work from the kids and their families, however that family looks. It takes dedication and creative thinking for their teachers and school administers. It takes the community at large to realize that this problem is not only for people with school age kids. It takes a definitive commitment from all of above people. And do not think that for one minute that I feel like a complete hypocrite for working at school that has duckies walking around campus that serves baked Mahi Mahi with chunks of crab smothered in Hollandaise for lunch.

If you want to read about group truly getting it done check at the Web site. (YES Prep)

Here is an article from the Houston Chronicle about Yes Prep and another school, KIPP Academy. (article) A friend of mine from Rhodes is the principal of the first elementary KIPP school in Houston. Here is a Washington Post article about the school and its possible impact in DC.

Washington, DC
Tuesday, June 26th

The morning started off another case study. The case would fit into a general theme for the day of safety and security issues. The day was packed for the students because they would be engaged one way or another from 9am till 9pm. They started the morning off with a case called “Threat of Terrorism: Weighing Public Safety in Seattle”. The link is to an abstract of the case from the Kennedy School of Government. It is an interesting case because it centers on the Seattle’s decision making process as it tried to balance civic safety and the major city event of millennium celebration. The students debated the pros and cons of canceling the festivities in the name of safety and causing a major disruption and probable scare if those events were cancelled. The students did an admirable job. There was some lively debate. Because this happened when they were around 9 or 10 years old they were not familiar with the details surrounding the case. We withheld the final decisions till the second session so they would not have the benefit of hindsight. They seemed to really get into the case.

Eisenhower Executive Office Building

After lunch we took the Metro down to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB). This building houses various agencies that compose the President's Executive Office, such as the Office of the Vice President, the Office of Management and Budget, and the National Security Council and is right next to the White House. We were heading down to meet with Ms. Frances Fragos Townsend, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. She has an interesting bio and her role in the President’s sub-cabinet really did not exist until 9/11. It was odd because when she first arrived she joked, “So I hear you met with my boss (Josh Bolton) yesterday.” Spoke at length of the fuzzy lines that have developed of the last few years between homeland security, foreign policy, and counterterrorism. Ms. Townsend was an impressive speaker. She really captivated the group. I think that the girls in the group particularly found her interesting because here is this very impressive high ranking public servant who is married, the mother of two, and in my opinion quite fetching. She spoke for about twenty minutes then handled questions for the remaining forty minutes.

Frances Fragos Townsend,

Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism

After we returned to the Close the students heard from Frank Waikart, Special Advisor to the FBI’s Financial Review Group. Waikart specializes in the tracking the financial aspect that finds terrorism around the country. Long story short, if you stop the flow of money to terrorist groups, you greatly reduce their effectiveness and subsequently their global threat.

After dinner the students heard from Evan Thomas, assistant managing editor of Newsweek Magazine. He spoke of the role of the media in public service and politics. The essence of his talk and the following Q and A was the role that the media played in the start up of the current war in the gulf, The statement that seemed to resonate with the students was this, “If you are a politician, the media is NOT your friend.”

After his talk I headed just down Wisconsin to a dinner part that Meg was having. Meg is one of sister’s roommates from the University of Dayton. She is a long time DC resident and works with State Department planning visits for foreign groups to DC and the US at large. It was a very nice affair with fantastic food and interesting conversation. I was joined by teaching colleague at the H and friend McGizzle. After hanging out for few hours we visited a few of Georgetown’s infamous watering holes. We ended up at the legendary Georgetown University hangout, The Tombs.

The Tombs, of Georgetown and St. Elmo's Fire Fame

A very busy, informative, and fun day. What’s the phrase, “They’ll be time to sleep when I’m dead!”

Washington, DC
Monday, June 25th

Pete at the White House

Today was just another day in DC. Lazy morning, reviewing case studies, then an evening at the White House with Josh Bolton, White House Chief of Staff, in the Roosevelt Room. Honestly, I can not believe I’m actually getting paid to do this stuff. I first got to meet with Josh Bolton last year during our White House visit. This year I came away from the visit with the same impression, he is a very sharp guy. I can honestly tell you that he is in the top 5 of impressive people of the numerous impressive people that our group has heard from. We met in the Roosevelt Room due to the continuing renovations in the Press Room.

The Roosevelt Room

A small note, as we were waiting for Bolton to arrive Karl Rove stuck his head in and said, “Hello!” The odd thing for me is that in the last two months I have met arguably the most ingenious and devious political puppeteers of the last twenty years. I had met, and spoke with, James Carville at speaking engagement he had at Rhodes earlier in late spring. Karl Rove was the architect of the carefully placed referendum issues aimed at whipping voters in the far right of the Republican Party into a frenzy in key states in the last Presidential election. I believe him to be a genius and pure evil.

Bolton spoke with the group for about an hour. The substance of the talk was him walking us through a typical day with the President and his related duties. The students got to sit in the cabinet and sub-cabinet chairs and he related how the daily 7:30am morning went. He then answered questions about policy, social security and the approval ratings of the present administration.

After the discussion we went on a tour of the White House. Here is a treat for you dog lovers. We got to see the Bush family’s two dogs, Barney and Miss Beazley. If you were wondering the links are to each dog’s biography. That’s right I said biography. The two were frolicking in the Rose Garden. The tour guides were all low level aides who kind of get volunteered for the duty by higher up s on the staff. I think the guides we had were particularly good because the favor was called in from a high placed source. It was a great discussion, tour, and visit.

Barney in the Rose Garden

The Rose Garden

The tour group in the Rose Garden

We have been taking the DC Metro a lot this summer which has worked out well. It helps us beat the traffic and gets the kids better acquainted with the DC layout. It is a smaller group than last year which makes it really easy.

Washington, DC
Sunday, June 24th

Today was one of those days that makes me really realize how lucky I ma to have this job. The morning started out with a visit to NBC’s Washington affiliate to watch a taping of Meet the Press. The guests in the first half hour were former Presidential Candidate, Pat Buchanan and Rep. D-(IL) Luis Gutierez. They “discussed” immigration policy. In the second half hour their was a panel discussion about immigration and the presidential race which included David Broder of The Washington Post, John Harwood of The Wall Street Journal and CNBC, Gwen Ifill of PBS’ Washington Week, and syndicated columnist Roger Simon. (Transcript) (Netcast)

The debate between Gutierez and Buchanan was the immigration at large and H.R. 1645 specifically. I have provided a link to a congressional site that has a great deal of information about this legislation. (H.R. 1645) There was not as much discussion as it was talking at one another. Sadly, Buchanan was the better debater. He had more facts while Gutierez focused more on emotional arguments. They both could learn from each other. Gutierez needs more a fact driven argument while Buchanan, well it is Pat Buchanan. It would help if every you time you heard him you didn’t imagine you were hearing the theme music for Darth Vader in your head. The panel discussion was much more informative.

After the filming Tim Russert answered questions for about 45 minute. His down to earth manner really puts the students at ease. They asked a number of questions mostly the usual of who did you get started, how do you prepare, etc. They also asked him about the Scooter Libby trial where he had to testify and he actually became part of the story. The response was good but long, in essence he explained he heard that he was the who told Libby about Valerie Plame’s identity he knew it was false and he had to simple explain that and that was it. When asked about his favorite interviews he mentioned Ross Perot, all of the candidates, and more recently Colin Powell. He is one of my favorite speakers that the program hears, partly because he seems to genuinely enjoy speaking to the students.

Russert talks with the students

When we returned from Meet the Press we broke again into small groups and headed out to various museums in and around DC. Some of places visited will be the Spy Museum, National Air and Space Museum near Dulles Airport (Not the one on the Mall), National Museum of the Marine Corps, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. I took a group to the Holocaust Museum. They enjoyed it, as much as you enjoy a museum like that. There was a small group and we took about two and half hours to go through the museum. They read, asked questions, and we all learned a lot.

After the groups all came back to the Close I took a group to church. The are a lot of kids who wanted to go to Catholic mass so we found a church called Holy Trinity in Georgetown that had a 5:30pm service. It was a beautiful old church right in the heart of the oldest art of Georgetown. The church dates back to the 1790’s. It is located about a block away from Georgetown and therefore logically has a long association with the Jesuits. It was a nice service with a good sermon. Only a Jesuit would base a sermon Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden when explaining the life of John the Baptist.

The inside of Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown

Pete and Tim Russert