This post is from DCist intern Maureen Miller.

If conservative interns get a dorm and fitness room to enjoy at the Hertiage Foundation while they're cranking out reports on privatization, what sort of extra-curricular perks do interns for lefty groups get? While they might not live adjacent their offices, a project of the new Center for American Progress has been working hard to plan a smattering of events for interns for left-leaning groups.

This week, the folks at their Campus Progress project launched a new blog targeting interns called "Social Capital" with the stated goal to "make sure your social calendar remains packed while you're in DC" and "give you a place to share stories about those crazy things that always happen to interns." They launched the blog last night with a happy hour at Cafe Saint-Ex.

Precocious progressives packed the house to enjoy free snacks, (one) free Yuengling, and free intellectual discourse to a student-selected soundtrack. Although banter mostly consisted of the what’s-your-name, where-do-you-work and where-do-you-go-to-school routine for this DCist, we enjoyed ourselves. Assuming your filing projects at work aren’t satisfying to your latent activist’s conscience, you can also start your own blog on their site with the rest of the liberal-leaning masses. We recommend checking out two intrepid interns' investigative forays into the world of the College Republicans, who recently invaded Arlington County’s shores for their annual conference. And it’s not all wonky chatter – their "Sound and Vision" page has features about students’ favorite artists and authors. But don't go looking for an interview of Ted Nugent - they're all progressive. Of course, if the Heritage interns actually do play flip-cup at The Irish Times, we'd love to stop by.