<p>No, it's not the same as joining a club. It's not the same because, at least in my school, no club pretends that membership is determined by merit or available only by invitation. Pretending that it is so, when in reality anyone with a healthy checking account and not in possession of a felony conviction (though I'm not too sure about the latter factor), can enter the program, is misleading and disingenuous. After all, if an organization purports to be selective, and pretends that it's a big deal to be admitted -- when in reality it isn't -- it is creating a false image. And as to it being a Not-For Profit organization -- p-l-e-a-s-e. What does that really mean these days? Chances are that Dr. Marguerite Edge (or whatever her name is -- she sure sent me so many pandering letters) gets a healthy check for her PR services. I have no problem with what the organization offers -- if high schoolers want to go to D.C., meet a bunch of political hacks (who've sent our guys into the maelstrom of Iraq) then kudos to them. But I do have a problem with the way they market themselves, and the ways in which they pander to the egos of those they solicit. Quite simply, it's deceptive marketing.</p>