***Monday, February 13 — Scroll down for updates***
Looking for the “podcast?” Download the MP3 at Captain’s Quarters.
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Third and final day of CPAC. I asked Judge Charles Pickering (pictured) his opinion of blogs. (See Judicial battles stem from culture war)
Blogging is citizen participation, which is good, and blogging is a lot like pamphleteering during the American Revolution. I made the same comparison in Blogging Matt Drudge. Responsible bloggers make great contributions to democracy.
I attended a session this morning called “The Entitlement Crash.” Standard fare about social security reform, health care reform, and the success of welfare reform, but a couple of comments at the end caught my attention. Moderator Peter Ferrara of the Institute for Policy Innovation made a reference to the Lord. Hold the phone! An elderly woman who asked a question about raising the retirement age takes care of her elderly mother. Long lives! Before Ferrara answered the question, he said something like, “You’re doing the Lord’s work taking care of your mother, by the way…”
The Lord’s work. I was overjoyed to hear that. As much as people malign Christianity, there is a strong sense of family responsibility throughout the Bible. I’ve heard some Christians argue that putting your elderly parents in a nursing home is unbiblical. Part of honoring our mothers and fathers means that we take care of them in their old age. Back in the day, that’s what a lot of people did before the nanny state took over. The very idea that we sacrifice and take care of those who took care of us is so…
3:24 p.m.: I broke off mid-sentence. Got distracted! First, I had lunch with the man from the endangered species list I mentioned yesterday and missed the session on illegal immigration. I’m not complaining, though. 
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Update (2/11): Follow the link for today’s CPAC post.
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I’m coming to you live from CPAC. I met a member of an endangered species: a single, straight, black, socially conservative, Christian man (and he reads my blog – excellent). Did I mention that he was single?
I couldn’t resist uploading this boring vanity shot, snapped at the black Republicans booth. They want me to join. I don’t know.
Just took a couple of photos with Glenn Reynolds, who’s here hawking his wares. Met the Instawife and Instadaughter. Nice folks.
I’m on the row with Sean Hackbarth, Jeff Harrell, Tom Bridge, Cam Edwards, Wendy Sullivan, and Bryan Preston.
The only session I will likely attend is the one having to do with blogging: New Media v. Old Media: Bringing Balance or Bias? Michelle Malkin will be here later signing books. So will Wayne Perryman, author of Unfounded Loyalty. Ann Coulter and Star Parker this afternoon. Speaking of constellations, I ran into Star yesterday. Forgot to mention it. So exciting. I love Star Parker.
I’m off to the new media presentation. More photos later. By the way, Michael Barone (who’s very friendly), columnist and McLaughlin Group semi-regular, knows who I am. Unbelievable.
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Friday, February 10: See updated post.
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I am pumped up, let me tell you!
I’m a credentialed blogger at the Conservative Political Action Conference for the second year running. I didn’t announce it before today because I’ve spent the past week nervously preparing for a “Crash Course on Blogging” seminar co-presented at the conference this afternoon with fellow consultant Ken Yarmosh, our second. (See Money, Blogs, DC, and Money) It somehow made me feel less nervous to keep it to myself. If you understand why, good, because I don’t. 
Anyway, I’m pumped up because I’ve finally found a way to beat the jitters while speaking in front of a room full of people that works for me: preparation, practice, passion and…out-of-body attitude. I usually do the first, skip the second, don’t show enough of the third, and discovered the fourth only today. This time I prepared what I wanted to say, practiced the speech several times a day for several days until the information was in my head, and focused on my passion for blogging. I performed much better.
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At the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Christians weren’t the only conservatives in attendance. Contrary to what liberals think, not all conservatives are Christians, either. That should go without saying, but sometimes you have to be explicit.
In that same vein, not all bloggers at Bloggers Corner were Christians. In fact, I noticed a high libertarian quotient. After the conference, when all was calm, I realized why. Bloggers Corner was sponsored by Tech Central Station (TCS), a right-of-center, free market (read: libertarian) publication. I’m not implying they were playing favorites, but the presence of several libertarians among bloggers at a conservative conference is worth mentioning.
Ryan Sager, a libertarian and fellow CPAC blogger, wrote a piece for TCS about what he calls the “arrogance” of the Republican Party in general and CPAC in particular, titled The Right’s Right. The arrogance we social conservatives show toward liberals isn’t the problem, he says. It’s the arrogance we show toward libertarians like himself that will be our downfall. He mocks:
[T]he arrogance that will prove problematic, ultimately, was that directed at the libertarian-leaning conservatives by the social conservatives. The message in that regard was clear: We Christians can do this alone, y’all who ain’t down with J.C. best be running along.
I believe “J.C.” stands for Jesus Christ. Arrogance isn’t limited to conservatives, I see.
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