The Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, is a militant group based in Northern Uganda. Under the leadership of Joseph Kony, the LRA has been staging a violent rebellion against the Ugandan government for 23 years. The rebels regularly attack civilians in Uganda, Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are notorious for mutilating their victims and abducting children as soldiers.
Last Monday, President Obama signed into law the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009. The new law gives the U.S. government 180 days to develop a multilateral strategy “to protect civilians from the Lord’s Resistance Army, to apprehend or remove Joseph Kony and his top commanders from the battlefield in the continued absence of a negotiated solution, and to disarm and demobilize the remaining Lord’s Resistance Army fighters.”
We will have to wait several months to see how the Obama administration moves forward with its strategy, but for now, the signing of this law is a monumental step towards eliminating the threat of the LRA and moving towards sustainable peace in Uganda and other unstable regions of Africa.
Secrecy: The American Experience (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998), by Daniel Patrick Moynihan
The title of Archie Brown’s new history of the USSR, The Rise and Fall of Communism, is emblematic of the recent paradigm shift in the understanding of the Soviet experience. Modern Soviet scholarship is conducted largely under the purview of history. Twenty five years ago, study of the USSR was focused firmly on what was happening and more importantly what would come; few contemplated the possibility of a world without the Soviets. Particularly not during the 20th century.
Some foresaw the fall of the USSR years, even decades, in advance. Vide Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Michael Barone lauded him as “the nation's best thinker among politicians since Lincoln and its best politician among thinkers since Jefferson.” That designation is not so prestigious in the modern United States Congress (Moynihan probably wrote more books, 21, than most politicians have read), but it does not take away from Moynihan’s dexterous mind. During a career that took him from the New York governor’s mansion to the White House to a legendary quarter-century in the Senate, Moynihan cultivated a reputation as a pragmatic and professorial leader on a host of issues. Many of his most impassioned pleas for reform stemmed from his close involvement with oversight of the government’s intelligence community. During the bulk of Moynihan’s tenure in the Senate, the CIA and its companion agencies focused intensely on the Soviet Union. Their (secret) budgets allocated a tremendous amount of resources to the gathering and interpreting of Soviet intelligence, so much so that the CIA was occasionally accused of forgetting about the parts of the globe not hidden by the Iron Curtain.
The clandestine methods of the federal government began to raise questions in the latter half of the Cold War. The rationale for stamping trillions of documents “Top Secret” was not altogether clear. In Secrecy: The American Experience, Moynihan chronicles the surge in government secrecy that emerged after the Second World War and grew exponentially during the Cold War era. It was during the Cold War that government secrecy policy approached absurdity. A precedent-setting event occurred during the gathering of the Venona intercepts, cryptically coded cables sent by Moscow in 1943 to Communist figures in the United States. After several years of laborious code-cracking, the National Security Agency realized that a Soviet spy network had been established in America (as Moynihan notes, almost all of those spies and sympathizers lived in urban centers—McCarthy’s theory of a widespread menace was erroneous).
But this information was never made available to, of all people, the president. Harry Truman was excluded from the inner circle at the behest of General Omar Bradley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who labeled the Venona intercepts as Army property. Bradley’s sworn duty to assist the president in matters of national security was overwhelmed by his desire to hoard bureaucratic secrets; as a result, Truman’s knowledge of Soviet espionage never advanced beyond what the likes of McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover wanted him to know.
The government became further consumed by Cold War-era secrecy, to the point at which “policy planners…did not entirely recognize when they had changed directions.” Moynihan notes that National Security Council report 68 (NSC-68), which offered detailed analyses ofSoviet infrastructure, military, and politics, became for decades the premiere policy guide for federal officials. It was entirely based on classified information gathered by the intelligence community…and was almost entirely wrong. Its estimates of Soviet economic and military strength were wildly out of touch with reality. Moynihan’s frustration is evident when he remarks that the NSC could have drawn much more accurate information from the pages of the leading social sciences journals of the day.
His assertion that secret information is not inherently more accurate than public information leads Moynihan to disparage the CIA. This reflects Moynihan’s very public crusade against the CIA, an agency that he called outdated and archaic. He points out that the CIA budget was, by 1990, five times as large as the State Department’s. There is something undemocratic about such a vast sum being spent in almost total secrecy with little or no accountability, and this makes it hard not to empathize with Moynihan’s sturm und drang.
Efforts to reform government secrecy have been underfoot for decades. Moynihan gives vivid descriptions of the findings of the various Congressional commissions charged with streamlining the process but notes that all failed to reform intelligence gathering. Wearily, he makes a hopeful case for the dawn of a new era, one of openness. The internet has, Moynihan claims, opened the eyes of the world and seriously compromised a bureaucracy’s ability to hoard secrets. With open sources, we have the vast majority of information needed to make informed decisions. This, he says, will wear away at the notion that “clandestine collection…equals greater intelligence.” He quotes George F. Kennan, who legitimized containment theory, as an authority who asserts that “upwards of 95% of what we need to know about foreign countries could be very well obtained by the careful and competent study of perfectly legitimate sources of information open and available to us in the rich library and archival holdings of this country.” Would it were that American policy could function off of this directive. It could have saved untold sums and lives during the decades of posturing that ended in 1991. But was secrecy singularly responsible? It seems more plausible that the ideology of the Cold War (edified by government secrecy) played a bigger role in holding the West hostage; it was us vs. them without any room for disagreement. Indeed, Moynihan’s own belief in the eventual self-implosion of the USSR was ignored for well over a decade. When the collapse came, the intelligentsia sat stunned. Had we won? Well, yes. But the bureaucracies and their secrets did not carry the day.
The Capitol is an amazing place. Even after giving tours more times than I can remember, to groups that most would consider unruly, I love every time when I walk into that building. Earlier this week I made my way back over to the Capitol on my day off to give myself a tour and actually take the time to take pictures. The artwork, the artifacts, the architecture, the history, I love it all. I have learned many interesting facts and stories along the way. This place is one of the most recognizable sights in the country, if not world, and I was able to not only get to know the main layout, but to explore many of the places that are off limits to tourists, and on some occasions interns such as myself. From the dome tour, to the sub-basement and the area underneath the crypt, I went all over the place, trying to discover as much as possible. I would recommend a tour of the Capitol to everyone, it is an excellent learning experience, and the sights are quite breathtaking. You generally cover the CVC/Emancipation Hall, see a short film, go into the crypt, followed by the Old Supreme Court and the Old Senate, then heading into my favorite room, the Rotunda, then finishing up with statuary hall. All along the way, you get to here little interesting tidbits about the art, the rooms, and the people that the statues represent. Though a more personal tour can be set up through the office of your Representative, you can also show up day of and try to get a tour through one of the CVC tour guides.
I remember waiting for another ordinary accounting class to begin when the professor stood up and told us that someone was here to talk about an internship program that was run out of the John Glenn School of Public Affairs. I blocked out most of the speech, knowing that my future would not be in politics. I did grab one piece of pertinent information, “This is open to all majors.” After hearing this, still skeptical, I grabbed a brochure.
“There’s no way that this program relates to me, and my hospitality degree,” I thought to myself, but something told me to that I should find a little more information.
Eventually, I found myself on the road, headed to the nation’s capital, a place I had never been, about to work in hospitality’s seldom seen public sector. I was nervous for many reasons; a new city, moving in with 10 other students, starting a new job I knew very little about, and the future unknowns.
Though there are many reasons to be thankful for this experience, one that tops my list must be the broadening of my professional possibilities. I have gone through school studying hospitality, somehow turning a blind eye to the ever-important public sector and therefore never grasping a complete understanding of the hospitality industry as a whole. I can honestly say I have found it, here in Washington D.C., while working in the Department of Commerce in the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. With this broad grasp of the industry, I have found something that I can take back to Columbus and pay forward to help our own program grow and prosper.
In retrospect, this has been an amazing experience and something that I will never forget. And it all leads back to one frigid winter morning in an ordinary accounting class in Columbus, Ohio…
I visited the Ford's Theatre. The theatre offered evening and matinee performances but I decided to go the Ford's Theatre Museum. The museum featured artifacts related to the assassination.
In November 1860 a sharply divided electorate chose Abraham Lincoln as the nation's 16th president. The Illinois Republican won barely 40% of the vote in a four-way contest. His party's opposition to the spread of slavery lad South Carolina, six weeks lare, to secede from the Union. Six other Southern states followed-with eight more slaveholding states hanging in the balance as Lincoln prepared to assume the presidency.
This quilt was made by two ladies for a fundraising auction at the 1864 Sanitary Fair in Philadelphia. With the start of the war, many who couldn't fight on the front lines-women, older men, religious leaders-wanted to volunteer and contribute to the Union war effort. In 1861 the government formed the United States Sanitary Commission to coordinate these efforts. The Sanitary Commission was a precursor to today's Red Cross. It was signed ny many well-known politicians, artists, and military and religious leaders including Abraham Lincoln. It was shamed that I couldn't recognize all names.
John Wilkes Booth was a famous actor and a conservative racist. He strongly didn't agree with President Lincoln's proposal of the abolition of slavery in the United States. He decided to kill President Lincoln.
After John Wilkes Booth shot the president at close range with his single shot deringer, he drooped the pistol on the floor of the theatre box. Pulling out his knife, he swiftly moved to jump over the balcony, grappling momentarily with Major Henry Rathbone, a guest of the Lincolns. Rathbone was severly cut in the brief scuffle with Booth and suffered major blood loss.
President Lincoln was taken to the Petersen House after the shooting and died there the following morning.
It was a good opportunity to learn about Abraham Lincoln's time in Washington, the civil war and the events leading up to his assassination. I would like to share President's a famous saying. "It is not merely for to-day, but for all time to come that we should perpetuate for our children's children this great and free government, which we have enjoyed all our lives." -Abraham Lincoln, August 22, 1864
Yesterday, I went to the United States National Holocaust Museum. It was by far the most depressing and disturbing museum that I had ever seen. It probably also had the most of an effect on me. Walking through displays and exhibits that show the history building up to such an event and the propaganda tactics that were used to convince people to go along with the anti-Semitism and the eventual extermination of millions of people. It was hard to walk through the main exhibit, viewing all of the disturbing pictures on the walls and small trinkets in display cases. As you moved forward it became even more difficult to comprehend the atrocity of these heinous acts, displays of the concentration and death camps, walking through a cattle car that had been used and where people had died, parts of streets and walls from ghettos were millions of Jews were thrown in and forced to stay until they were transferred to hard labor and the inevitability of death. It was at one of the final stops were many patrons of the museum became the most distraught and upset, walking though actual bunks that were in a labor camp, seeing all of the items on display such as uniforms and rusted bowls they were forced to eat from. At the collections of items that had been put on display, the shoes collected, the eye glasses, the silverware, the toys that had all been taken away from the prisoners before killing them, some people around me broke down in tears, the realization that all of these items belonged to people with lives that were cut short, some of them children became too much to handle. There were a few displays that were pictures and videos shown on monitors that were harder to reach in order to try and prevent small children from seeing the heinous and disturbing acts. These acts were of the shaving, disrobing, murder, and cremation of hundreds of people, the mass graves they were thrown in, the black smoke rising from the stacks coming out of the crematorium. It was at the monitors showing the bizarre medical experiments that were performed on people where I heard an individual saying they needed to get away and promptly left. It was very difficult to comprehend the displays in this museum, there is also the feeling as though humanity doomed, not because of just these events, but because similar atrocities have occurred and are occurring in the world. I recommend that people go to this museum, to learn and understand what we don’t always get from history books and classes, to see the pain and hate and to hopefully learn so that we may never repeat anything like this.
I visited both the Natural and American Smithsonian History Museums and was really impressed with pretty much everything. The vast amounts of artifacts as far as the eye could see. As I walked through the Natural History Museum I was really impressed by the hall of mammals and how many of the animals appeared to look as though they were still alive, it was almost like a zoo without the smell and all of the animals were mingling together. They also had interesting displays about the history of mankind and evolution, plenty of dinosaurs, in both skeletal and recreated versions, as well as many other extinct species. Possibly the most popular exhibit on display while I was there was the Hope Diamond. While it was not nearly as large as I had imagined, getting a closer look at it provided me with a better understanding as to why people liked it, it was really beautiful, and according to the signs around the display, very expensive, which is probably what catches most people’s eye. Moving on to the American History Museum, I walked through the impressive collection of items ranging all the way from George Washington’s uniform to Kermit the Frog. I enjoyed walking through the different galleries and was impressed by the one that contained a house. Yes an actual house that was very old and scheduled for demolition had people petition for its safety and preservation and the Smithsonian saved it and put it on display, keeping track of all of its history and tracking down everyone that had lived there since it had been first built over 150 years before. They also had an interesting display about the Apollo theatre with items varying from one of B.B. King’s guitar to a beat box used by the Beastie Boys. Abraham Lincoln’s top hat and well known black suit were on display in an exhibit based on his life. There were countless items on display throughout the museum and you never really know what you will see the next time that you go because the amount of items that they have on reserve is even more vast. I think people would like either one of these museums; they have something for everybody to enjoy.
A few weeks back, I went to the National Air and Space Museum. It was a great day to be there too as it happened to be the Annual Space Day at the museum. There were plenty of free giveaway items and informational booths set up throughout the museum. I spoke with many interesting people including astronauts, military personnel, and the people responsible for designing and controlling the satellites that the government and military use. Another interesting setup was a whole presentation where the museum was connected via radio to an individual in New Zealand. That may not seem that great, but this individual served as a middleman of sorts as he was connecting the audience to the space station, offering the crowd the chance to speak with an astronaut who was actually up in space at that exact moment. On top of all of this, there was of course the museum. It is pretty cool to see all of these famous planes, rockets and capsules (including the one John Glenn had been in). All of the exhibits provided people with an interesting look at aeronautics at different points in history, from the birth of aviation to World War II to the space race and all the way to today and what we can expect next. I did find out that I would probably be too tall to ever actually go into space, at least not yet. Some people have said this museum, while enjoyable, was nothing to exciting, I respectfully disagree and suggest that this be one of your stops while in D.C.
I made my way out to Arlington National Cemetery last weekend, it was amazing. The first thing that I did when I got there was head to the visitor center to find out how to find a specific grave and where all of the other sites were located. The staff was extremely helpful and walked me through everything. It is really nice to see how they are moving into a more technology based system for finding graves. If the individual was buried there after 1999, they are in a system and you can look them up there and it prints you out details about the person you’re looking for, where they are located, and a map for a reference. As I walked through the endless rows of grave markers, it hits you how many heroes this country has. Thousands upon thousands of graves, each one providing a different story of a member of the military or their survivors, it can be overwhelming. I finally reached my uncles grave and admired and respected not only the grave, but the fact that preformed acts of heroism during his time conflicts of Korea and Vietnam. I walked from the grave to visit all of the other memorials and tributes throughout the cemetery. I saw sites for everything ranging from the confederate soldiers, to rough riders, to nurses, to those who died during the Battle of the Bulge, to those on the Columbia shuttle, and so on. I also made stops by the graves for the Kennedy's and JFK’s eternal flame. On the grounds is also another site that not many people give much credit to, the Arlington House. That house belonged to the famous General Robert E. Lee. He had lived there up until he made the decision to lead the Confederate Army. The house is currently being restored so that it can continue to be used in the future, but you are still able to walk through. It does have a really beautiful view of D.C. from the front porch though. The most amazing sight there was the Tombs of the Unknown Soldiers and the changing of the guards. The tradition alone is quite amazing, but to see it is really amazing. My final stop that day was to the Marine Corps Memorial. I was blown away when I reached it, it was gigantic. In my imagination it was always more life size, but I was dwarfed by this amazing tribute to the Marines. I recommend everyone check the cemetery out if they get a chance.
I was lucky enough to have the chance to visit the White House a few weeks ago. It was quite an experience. Though slightly on the shorter side (due to the fact that important people were visiting and certain areas were off limits), you still get the chance to walk around and see the beautiful rooms and excellent views. The history behind all of the different rooms that you go through and the memorabilia and artifacts that are placed in cases for people to view can be quite breathtaking. You can imagine not only the presidents that have been through these same rooms and walks, but also the hundreds of other famous people, foreign and domestic, and all of the things that came of those times. As one may guess, Secret Service was everywhere and there were multiple security checkpoints that you were required to go through to get in, and this is after the long wait to actually get confirmed to get a tour. I did enjoy my time speaking with the agents though. Towards the end of my tour, an agent noticed my shirt which was a Bruce Springsteen shirt that I had picked up when he was doing a promotional concert on OSU’s campus back in 2008 supporting Barack Obama for President, he told me that he had done security detail for multiple concerts like that one during the campaign. Another agent joined in and we talked about different concerts and they had answered all of my questions that I had about being an agent. It was a really great experience.
As the weeks remaining in this internship are quickly being numbered, I begin to think about the wonderful experiences I have had over the course of the past several weeks. I vividly remember arriving out the outskirts of Washington D.C. and noticing the Capitol Dome peeking from within the trees and shrubbery. I shouted to my family to join me in staring in awe at my future home for 10 weeks. Once we arrived we aimlessly walked about the city, most likely we stood on the left hand side of the Metro escalators, behaved ourselves as tourists while gawking at motorcades and sirens (which I admittedly still do), and did everything possible to show to those around us that we were not Washingtonians. For a few days with the family, we attended the Friendship 7 exhibit, visited many National Monuments, and toured the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. While I was watching money being made in front of me, I can recall others absolutely amazed at the pallet of bills separated between them only by a incredibly strong pane of glass. I recall that the bills hadn't had as much of an effect on myself, and I knew it was because I used to work at a bank where handling money was routine. I was impressed, just not like the others, which led me to think "What will happen here which will in fact astound me so thoroughly that I will need to pinch myself to verify reality?" Little did I know that I was only weeks away from this. After my family left, I began to attempt to integrate myself, walking from shop to shop, and observing others to see what I could do to rid myself of my Columbus manners, and to be reborn a native of Capitol Hill. Time would tell. My first few weeks here included much sightseeing off of the Hill, National Cathedral, the Botanical Gardens, Folger Shakespeare Library, Library of Congress, etc. My first few weeks in the office were a Dream come true. As opposed to other interns who are stuck to administrative work, I was included in many meetings and office duties which seem to be reserved for non-interns in other offices. I began to realize that my amazement of my opportunities at work rivaled the amazement of those who were watching money being created with me weeks earlier. I dare to say that I was much more vigilant and gracious for what was transpiring at work, than many other interns. I began to fall in love with the mornings in which I would get the opportunity to spend another day in 113 Cannon House Office Building. Midway through the quarter is when the bread and butter of my memorable experiences may be recorded. Networking events, Private parties on the Hill, meeting leaders of different organizations, meeting ambassadors, and ultimately the interaction with congressmen, past and present, were so often happening that it began to seem perfunctory. Then I looked at my planner, and realized this dream world I was living in would soon end. As I was sitting in a congressional hearing regarding the stock market and its nearly 1000 point free fall, I was overcome with mixed feelings. I was saddened that I knew that those chances were limited, yet I was ecstatic to know that I would soon be home and recounting all these stories. I have been in the midst of it all. The most powerful country in the world has been my home and my employer. I only hope that as great as this experience has been, it will not tarnish the possibility of other internship opportunities in the future having as much of a profound effect on me. Yet, that may be the case, as I have considered these moments truly; once in a lifetime chances.
At four o’clock in the morning, Jerry YoungBey and Rubin Butler were startled awake by the sound of breaking glass, along with the sound of Mr. Butler’s two dogs barking. They believed their home was being invaded by armed robbers, and Ms. YoungBey dialed 911 for emergency assistance. The invaders threw flash-bang grenades into the living room, jumped through the windows, and battered down the front door from the inside, all while brandishing assault rifles. They did not identify themselves as officers of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) until they reached Ms. YoungBey’s second-floor bedroom door. Although the defendant officers had a search warrant, the timing and methods of executing that warrant made the officers’ actions unlawful. Ms. YoungBey and Mr. Butler bring action for damages and other appropriate relief for redress of this violation of their rights.
Ms. YoungBey contacted ACLU for legal assistance. When I heard of her case, I considered that it was obviously MPD fault. However, it was not easy to get through the deposition. The deposition was held in a small courtroom. There were ACLU interns, Metropolitan Police Department interns, the ACLU attorney, two witnesses, the Metropolitan Police Department attorney, a judge, and a court reporter. Every word of witness testimony was recorded during examination. After Jerry YoungBey and Rubin Butler were under oath to tell the truth and they must tell the truth, the deposition started.
There was a controversy on two issues between Ms. YoungBey and District of Columbia. ACLU argued that Plaintiffs had adequately alleged a Fourth Amendment Violation by the executing officers because the search was conducted in a constitutionally unreasonable manner. The unauthorized nighttime's execution of the warrant and the decision to enter without knocking and announcing independently made the manner in which this raid was carried out constitutionally unreasonable. On the other hand, Defendant District of Columbia argued that SWAT knocked on the door and identified themselves as police officers as police officers before breaking into the house. District of Columbia contested the fact that there was probable cause to believe that John YoungBey, the suspected murder, might be at his mother’s house or keep evidence linking himself to Malloy’s murder there, and that it was, therefore, appropriate to enter the premises at any time.
The Metropolitan Police Department attorney kept asking the same questions when witness felt nervous to answer questions. “Didn’t you know your son was suspected as the gunman?” “Have ever met John YoungBey before the day?” “Has John YoungBey ever been in your house?” Ms. YoungBey was in panic. However, she was able to avoid the difficult situation with the help of ACLU attorney. Asking questions and answering questions took for 6 hours and the deposition was finished. Through this unforgettable experience, I realized that it was really important to protect civil liberties. Of course, you can say "That’s none of my business." However, this case could happen to you or your family or your friends.
On Monday, two of the largest airline companies in the world, United and Continental, agreed in principle to a merger. It’s no hidden truth that the airline industry has generally struggled to keep its head above the red; high oil prices and the near-disappearance of business and corporate travel the logical culprits. To change this “misfortune”, conventional (and some unconventional) business and economic practices have been tested, to little or no avail. Wage and capacity cuts, higher fares, and polarizing new fees, used independently of one another, only act as temporary bandages.
No one can deny the importance of air travel to the global economy, individual country GDP’s, and local citizens’ lives alike. It affects everyone, everywhere, even if you’ve never been on a plane if your life and that’s the same reason why this merger is so important. This merger is relatively close to providing the industry with a super-conglomerate, and becoming the “Simon-Says” conductor. This merger will create a carrier that will overtake Delta Air Lines, which just completed its own merger, as the world’s largest carrier.
A necessary and pertinent step in a merger is the consolidation process. Through this process, redundant routes between the individual carriers as well as some small city routes will be nixed. Ticket prices are also likely to increase. Industry analysts believe this would have happened anyways because we are coming out of a period in which we witnessed decade lows for ticket prices, so there is nowhere to go but up.
When the public sees increased ticket prices coupled with a decreased amount of flights to smaller cities, blame will be put on this merger. This shouldn’t be the case though. This merger leaves the door open for all of the smaller, regional discount airlines that fly more fuel efficient aircrafts to step up (Southwest, AirTran etc.). In turn, the larger legacy carriers (Delta, US Airways and the new United Airlines) will be forced to become extremely efficient by using their capital to create new airplane and flight technologies.
Moral of the story: don’t be one to persecute the merger when ticket prices increase, some flights are stopped and it looks like two or three mega-carriers are to blame. It will take time, but the smaller regional discount carriers will come around. Just like the old adage; eventually, everything has a way of working itself out.
As we enter our sixth week in D.C., I think it’s safe to say we are all settling into the routine of the forty hour work week. This has definitely taken some adjustment, and one change I have noticed in myself is that I genuinely cherish the weekends now, especially Saturdays. Fridays are fun, but I still have to put in (almost) a full work day before I can celebrate. Sundays are nice, too, but I inevitably spend most of the day fighting my ever-growing to-do list. Saturdays are the best.
Saturdays mean waking up to the sounds of the city instead of the screech of my alarm clock. Saturdays mean baguettes, brie, and brunch at the Eastern Market. And most importantly, Saturdays mean adventure.
On Saturday, April 10, after a wonderfully lazy morning, a group of us decided to explore a new corner of the city. With no real plans to speak of, Liz, Elise, Scott, Mike and I hopped on the metro and headed downtown. We found ourselves at the Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival, a huge block party on Pennsylvania Avenue that celebrates the end of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. Scott seems to disagree, but I found the festival incredibly interesting: we saw Godzilla, tried on kimonos, grooved to Japanese music, and even met President James Buchanan (…or maybe just a wax figure). I’d call that a fulfilling afternoon.
