A lecture series for interns only

Every summer, interns from across the country come to work on Capitol Hill and enjoy what D.C. has to offer. An internship on the Hill also guarantees a ticket to one of the best lecture series around.

The Congressional Intern Lecture Series was created due to the Congressional Accountability Act and is co-sponsored by the Committee on House Administration and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration — the aim of the program being to provide educational opportunities for interns.

This year’s lineup is the best yet, says Rob Ellsworth, professional-staff and lecture-series coordinator.

Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) kicked off the series June 7. Also scheduled throughout the summer: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D- N.Y.), Chief Justice John Roberts, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld.

“In years past, our biggest draw has been Powell,” said Jon Brandt, press secretary for House Administration Committee Chairman Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.).

However, this year Powell may have to compete with Roberts, whose scheduled appearance has ignited excitement among interns.

The series’ success so far this year has been stunning, with the rooms oftentimes so crowded that standing becomes the only option.

Some interns look at the lecture series as a way to meet some of the big names in D.C. and feel that it makes a good incentive for interning.

Michael Moore (no relation to the liberal filmmaker), an intern for Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), noted that one of the best things about the series is the fact that interns get to ask the questions that are on their minds instead of relying on the press.

A Senate employee recently remarked that Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) is packing on the pounds — not in the face, he said, but around the middle.

Santorum has been known to be a frequent visitor of the candy desk, which is equipped with Hershey chocolates, near Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) desk on the Senate floor. Santorum represents Hershey, Pa., the home of Hershey chocolate and Kisses.

Santorum’s office did not return phone calls by press time on the matter.

D.C. elephant-polo team gears up for Thailand trip

Given the scarcity of the elephants in the D.C. metropolitan area, the D.C. elephant-polo team is planning a trip to Thailand in September, where the team will play in the King’s Cup Tournament in Hua Hin.

The tournament is a fundraiser for the Thai National Elephant Conservation Center and elephant hospital. Toward that end, the team will hold a benefit horse-polo match Aug. 20 that will include a 75-foot-long Chinese martial-arts dragon dance.

The match will take place at the Capitol Polo Club, at 14660 Hughes Road, Poolesville, Md. Gates open at 11 a.m. and events begin at noon. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the gate. Reserved tailgate spots are $25.

Kimberly Zenz, an avid equestrian and adventuress, created the elephant-polo team about nine months ago. Mark Polyak, chief analyst of integrated biodefense at Georgetown University Medical Center who occasionally briefs Hill staffers on bio-surveillance issues, is also on the team.

Polyak says he’s really looking forward to riding atop an elephant for the first time in September. For now he trains by creating similar obstacles on team members’ decks. He said there can be two to three people on an elephant at one time, so it’s not so scary.

“Elephants don’t move really fast, and these are trained elephants,” he said.

Is he worried about the elephant falling over? “If they fall down I will consider this my obituary,” Polyak added.

For more information about the team and to purchase tickets for the benefit, visit www.dcelephantpolo.com.

There’s political terminology, and then there’s nonpolitical terminology that politicians need to know.

Democratic candidate Jim Pederson, challenging Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), recently visited Pink Taco, a new restaurant on the Scottsdale waterfront, unaware that its name refers to a female body part.

Scottsdale Mayor Mary Manross (D), better briefed on local slang, has asked that the name be changed, according to an Associated Press report, but the owner refused.

Asked about the campaign stop, Pederson spokesman Mark Bergman said his boss “doesn’t know what the name … [implies], and he doesn’t frequent restaurants like Hooters.” It “wasn’t scheduled [but] part of a business meeting. I don’t even think he picked the restaurant.”

Announcements

Spokeswoman for blunt declares: ‘It’s a girl’

Jessica Boulanger, press secretary for House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), and her husband, Todd Boulanger, a lobbyist at Cassidy & Associates, welcomed the birth of their baby girl July 5.

Her name is Avery Ruth Boulanger. She weighed in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was 21 inches long.

Jessica Boulanger is on maternity leave.

DCCC spokeswoman weds Sen. Bayh spokesman

Democrats are trying to take back the House while Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) is possibly gearing up for a White House bid. But talk of campaigns, at least for a little while, will be put off for Sarah Feinberg and Dan Pfeiffer.

Feinberg, press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Pfeiffer, communications director for Bayh, got married Saturday in Feinberg’s hometown of Charleston, W.Va.

Feinberg, 28, and Pfeiffer, 30, met while working on the presidential campaign of former Vice President Al Gore in 2000. Pfeiffer was in Nashville, Tenn., at the time, working as Gore’s communications director for the Northeast, and Feinberg was working as press secretary for West Virginia. They did not begin dating, however, until 2002 in South Dakota while working on the reelection campaign of Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson.

“I’m the luckiest girl in the world,” Feinberg says.

They are honeymooning in Anguilla, a small island in the Caribbean.

Committee women reveal thoughts on Hill eye candy
Life on a committee staff can be difficult — especially during long hearings where politicians seem never to tire of hearing themselves speak. But we recently received some input from a certain committee on who should be on The Hill’s 50 Most Beautiful People list, which will be unveiled next week.

Here are two of their recommendations:

“A new and welcome addition to Rep. ———’s office, this handsome all-American boy is just the kind of guy ladies on the ——— committee would choose if we could actually implement a screening process for new LA’s.”

“Our front office staff pretends to be upset when Ms. ———’s legislative aide forgets to return the keys to our conference rooms, but it provides them with a wonderful excuse to call and hassle him until he graces them with his presence to return the keys. He usually apologizes profusely, and they always forgive him because, according to certain press assistants, he’s ‘absolutely gorgeous.’”