At school in the city

It is still noteworthy to me how many national and international organizations have their headquarters or at least an outpost here in DC. It makes sense that anyone with an agenda would want to be part of the conversation here. Also, to raise their profile and get noticed in the resulting crowded field, every organization, agency, institute, and advocacy group sponsors events. What it means for me, a guy with a flexible schedule and no papers or tests to grade, is that I can choose from a rich daily menu of options - and this is above and beyond the offerings from the various federal institutions. Today, for example, I hit an eclectic trifecta. First thing in the morning, I attended a presentation at the John Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies on "The Great African War: Congo and Regional Geopolitics, 1996-2006." (Right up my alley; thanks to NWS alum Adam for the tip!) The Belgian professor, who has been on a US academic tour promoting his book of the same title, had his hands full with an animated Q&A, including some pointed questions from (according to him) representatives from the Rwandan embassy. Next, I ventured to the relatively tamer Senate viewing gallery. At first Senator Harkin seemed to be alone on the floor, earnestly addressing his remarks to C-SPAN. However, a group of Republicans (including McCain, Alexander, Grassley, Hatch, and others) soon appeared and began to deliver their arguments in favor of a McCain amendment that would eliminate Medicare cuts from the Senate version of the Health Care Bill. I couldn't help wondering how the display boards they were using as props came across on tv.

I left the viewing gallery to attend a screening of a pro-school choice (i.e. charter schools and vouchers) movie produced by a "free market" think tank based in San Francisco. The film, titled "Not As Good As You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School," used a particularly corrupt and dysfunctional California school district as its negative example (they had valid points, but the extrapolation was a stretch) and championed a particularly successful Oakland Charter School and Sweden as its positive models. While I think they were a bit too convinced by their own points, I found it interesting to be presented with an argument for reforms about which I am generally skeptical.

Tomorrow, I have a ticket to see the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit at the National Geographic Society. (Thanks for the tip, Steve.) However, the big task for tomorrow will be tracking the World Cup Draw! (For non-soccer fans, it's the dividing of the 32 qualifying teams into their groups for the first round of play.)