From My Living Room

*Cough**cough**hack*

Oh! Why hello there. Please, come in and have a seat. Would you like something to drink? I'm glad you stopped by, there were some things I wanted to discuss with you.

My voice? Oh, yes, I'm going on the second day of some sort of cold that makes me sound like a delirious seal. Is it contagious? Possibly. Here, have some Purell....I'll drop an Airbourne in your water, that should keep you healthy =)

Right! Well, I wanted to tell you about going to CPAC last week, it was quite eye-opening. Oh you've never heard of CPAC? Don't worry, I hadn't heard of it either before I went. It stands for Conservative Political Action Conference. It's basically the biggest yearly gathering of Conservative and Libertarian groups in the nation. They invite in speakers form across the country, some of them are political figures and some are academics. There is also a room where 'vendors' gather and pass out information about their organizations. It was quite the conglomerate of interest groups there.

In fact, there were a few moments where I had to stop and just enjoy the irony of the situational set up. I remember on the first day I was there, Thursday I believe, I was browsing through the various booths when I came across a table speaking out against the Islamic Masque being built in New York. I spoke with them briefly before moving on to the next table: Muslims for America. Somehow though, the man I spoke with at the Muslims for America table did not seem to have an opinion on the mosque building...or the ironic placement of his table.

Besides the tables, I also had the pleasure of seeing many big-wigs speak, including Donald Trump, Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Rick Perry, and Tom Pawlenty. It was most fun because I could come and go from the media box as I pleased, and see certain people without seeing others. Dick Cheney spoke! But I stepped out of the ballroom just before he got there...

Why yes! I'm delighted you remembered, my political views *are* rather moderate, I think that's why attending CPAC was so interesting. I was finally able to hear logical explanations for the platforms of the Conservative party, something I've always wanted to hear. People supported their statements with thoughtful answers, which I enjoyed pondering and discussing. However, I didn't feel their logic was anymore logical than my own logic, so I left the conference no closer to the political right than when I arrived. But it was still fascinating to hear. Here, take a look at these pictures. I took them so you could enjoy a few of the sights I encountered along the way.

The guy's name was DJ, he told me that supporters of Mit Romney paid him $300 to fly to CPAC and vote for Mit Romney in the Straw Poll. I forgot to ask if he had to buy an extra airplane ticket for his hat...

 At this booth, visitors were given eggs to throw at pictures of Al Gore.

 I'm not sure what these two were representing, but their hats made me feel a little closer to Portales. So I took a picture

You can't see him very well, but that is Donald Trump. He all but announced his candidacy for president in 2012

I wonder if this is what Facebook looked like before the internet was invented...

I found this man outside the convention after Rumsfeld had spoken

Definitely a wide spectrum of people attended CPAC. Not all of them supported the Republicans either; when Dick Cheney was speaking, somebody in the audience yelled out calling him a war criminal.

Interesting times we're living in my friend. I'm really glad you stopped by, feel free to come over anytime, I'm sure I'll have more to share with you in the future. Now, swig down that Airbourne before my cough germs take hold of you. Hopefully I'll shake this dratted thing soon...

More to come!