Wow, I haven’t blogged in MONTHS.  The two people that stumble upon this website must have think I died.

Anyway, I have some random only-at-CPAC-moments that I wanted to share:

- As the director of CPAC, I do a lot of random things.  At CPAC 2010, this included running up to my room to get hairspray for a Congresswoman, going to CPAC office at 10 p.m. on Tuesday night to move chalkboard that was accidentally delivered to office rather than hotel (and get chalk), apply 4+ coats of polyuerthane to chalkboard in order to preserve keynote speaker Glenn Beck’s thoughts, demanded hotel/beck and call boy get me ETA on Diet Coke shipment …  I’m sure more things will come to me.

- As I mentioned, both myself and my assistant drove to the CPAC office the night before major preparations.  A thought crossed our minds: What if we got into a terrible accident?  We would both be gone.  I wasn’t the only one with morid thoughts because my former assistant who now volunteers the week of the conference texted me and was appalled that we left the hotel.  She called me names that she later took back.

- There were a lot of surprises at CPAC this year.  Confession: I didn’t know about one of them. Any guesses on which one?

- Yes, some speakers use a teleprompter.   There’s nothing wrong with that.  However, just because teleprompter is visible doesn’t mean speaker is actually using it.  Only 5 or 6 speakers actually used it.  Not that there’s anything wrong with it…

- I enjoyed Twittering from CPAC this year.  It was fun posting photos of surprise guests and other insider information.  I hope people that couldn’t join us in person felt a little closer to the CPAC experience.

- I got flowers from one of the speakers.  I now have a new appreciation for pink roses.  Very cute.

- A DC-area hotel sales rep brought me and my assistant bottles of absinthe.  They haven’t been opened.

- The day before CPAC someone at the hotel asked if we were expecting any media.

- Despite the time crunch, I went to church for the first time in like 10 years the Sunday before CPAC.  I was surprised at how downhill acceptable church clothes have gone.  I insisted that my escort wear a suit.  He was one of the few that did.

- You can watch video of CPAC speakers and panels at www.cpac.org.

- I watched two pay-per-view movies the Sunday after CPAC: An Education and Zombieland.  It was the first relaxing evening I’ve had in almost two months.  I’m glad I took it because I was in full post-CPAC media mode by Monday morning.

- During another moment of peace on Sunday, I realized that the four people I trust the most were with me all weekend.  I hope they know who they are.

Let me reintroduce two eloquent, entertaining and battle-hardened generals in the ongoing war against global warming hysteria: Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer, the co-producers and directors of the documentary Not Evil Just Wrong.

You may remember Ann and Phelim from CPAC 2009, where they were voted as two of the top speakers. That’s a pretty remarkable accomplishment in and of itself! Ann and Phelim also have been all over the Internet the past week, thanks to their exclusive story that forced Greenpeace into retreat on a false claim the group made about melting Arctic ice.

Ann and Phelim made Not Evil Just Wrong as a much-needed counterpoint to the environmental propaganda being spread across America by Al Gore and his liberal friends in Hollywood and the media. To hear Gore and his allies tell it, the Earth is on the verge of annihilation by natural disasters and rising seawaters — and all because you drive to work and insist on using electricity!

While environmentalists are making claims that are threatening jobs during one of the largest recessions in recent memory, Ann and Phelim show that it’s all bunk. From melting icecaps to dying polar bears, environmentalists are “emotionalizing” issues. Not Evil Just Wrong also tells viewers what the liberal U.S. media won’t — that the British High Court found nine factual errors in Gore’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, and won’t let schools show it anymore without a warning.

Ann and Phelim expose the devastating consequences of Gore-like fear-mongering. In the past, environmentalists won a ban on the pesticide DDT and cost tens of millions of poor people their lives from mosquito-borne malaria. And in the present, environmentalists are inciting fears of global warming in order to justify “cap and trade” emissions regulations that would kill jobs, make cheap energy a thing of the past and cripple the economy.

Not Evil Just Wrong is an important weapon in the war against such costly and unnecessary regulation, but it is a film Hollywood doesn’t want America to see. That’s why Ann and Phelim need your help to spread the word.
They have adopted a unique and compelling Internet-driven distribution strategy that bypasses Hollywood and gives power to folks like you and me: At 8 p.m. EST on Oct. 18, premiere hosts in homes and on campuses across the country will push play at the same time and watch Not Evil Just Wrong. It will set a record for a simultaneous film premiere!

Ann and Phelim want you to be part of that big night. They are selling premiere packs that include a movie poster for your front door and a piece of red carpet for your porch. You can help combat global warming hysteria in your part of the world. So please visit www.noteviljustwrong.com today to purchase your premiere pack, and invite your family, friends and neighbors to join the first cinematic tea party!

The Other McCain has become one of my favorite blogs.  One highlight is RSM’s posts about old-school journalism.  From his latest visit to D.C.:

My trip to Capitol Hill yesterday was extraordinarily fruitful. People who don’t want to deal with reporters can dodge an e-mail or a phone call, but they get their salaries from the American taxpayer. They claim to be “public servants,” so they don’t have much choice in the matter when a citizen-journalist walks in the front door and says, “Serve me.”

If you want to keep old-school journalism going, be sure to hit up The Other McCain’s Shoe Leather Fund.

Some of the speakers at the conference included Rep. Paul Ryan, Phyllis Schlafly, Rep. Aaron “Abs” Schock and Sen. John McCain. Thankfully there was a tastefully scheduled lunch break between McCain and the “Why We Lost in 2008” discussion. I assume most of the discussion will be about “reaching out.” [UPDATE: I learned on Twitter that our friend David All said that Republicans lost because they didn’t utilize the internet enough. Now is the time I wish I had taken that picture of McCain in front of the CPAC booth with his iPhone.]

Friday night was the Lee Atwater Dinner Gala. Buddha has an objection to anything being named after Atwater. I wonder if he feels the same way about Goldwater. Both had “coming to Jesus” moments toward the end of their lives. The speaker at the Gala was Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Earlier this week Pawlenty announced that he wouldn’t be seeking reelection, so the speculation began that he would be running for president in 2012. Um, EVERYONE is running in 2012.

Buddha likes to focus on the crowd, so I suppose I’ll make a few comments. As usual, the girls are pretty in their TJ Maxx suits. White is in. White skirts, white pant suits.  I even saw a pair of white stripper heels.  What’s the rule?  White stripper heels are acceptable after Easter and before the season finale of Daisy of Love?  The boys are ok. On the plus side, they seem less dorky than years past. I think I may prefer the dorky boys over the frat boys. Of course, any media coverage of the CRNC will focus on the boys with the most ill-fitting khakis, red tie and blue jacket. I’d say less than 20% of the boys here are actually dressed that way.

One similarity between CRNC and America’s Future Now conference is lots and lots of Starbucks cups. Perhaps caffeine addiction (or the allusion, i.e.“OMG, I need a coffee, like, NOW”) could be what brings both sides together. It’s the 00s version of the “Buy the world a Coke” commercial. Starbucks should really look into this.

I had a nice chat with Chris Malagisi of the Young Conservatives Coalition. After getting an unsolicited autograph, we talked about me and Buddha’s experience at America’s Future Now. While the crowd wasn’t raucous, they aren’t laying down. They’re still approaching their issues as fights that need to be won. The other side is in power and they’re not sitting back and waiting for their agenda to pass. What are we waiting for?

Finally, in an effort to reclaim my youth at the biannual College Republican National Conference, I had a Shirley Temple for lunch. Buddha, an old soul, had a Bloody Mary.

WASHINGTON D.C. – Your eyes and ears on the ground returns to the nation’s capitol for a check-in of the College Republican National Convention.

Buddha remembers his first CRNC; it was 1993 or 1994. Bill Spadea ran unopposed, and Tony Zagotta was still tearing up the town.

What Buddha remembers about that 93-94 event was that the CRNC appeared to be an excuse for a bunch of frat boys to play playground politics with one another and celebrate running the winning campaign – unopposed, or course – with kegstands.

Ah, the 90s. [LOTUS: This year’s president was also unopposed.]

Happy to see so many young GOPers in the house. Your Buddha wishes that he could stick around to see what kind of stuff RNC Chairman Mike “Balls of” Steele says to get you guys pumped up for 2012, when you’ll actually be old enough to vote.

“Yo, yo, yo, what up my homeys! Can you dig it? My homey John Boehner came to bring the pain, hardcore to your brain! What! Y’heard? Step up to get your rep up, youngsters: you are the future!”

[LOTUS: Actually, this sounds more like Buddha introducing his next set at the Red and Black.]

In all seriousness, maybe the big guy will find his most receptive audience to date.

Great to see so many great groups represented here: CPAC, NRA, YCC, ISI, YAF, Eagle Forum… conservative groups.

N.B. CRNC: It’s conservatives who support your causes and pay to co-sponsor your events.

Did Republicans for Choice send a rep? [LOTUS: Yes, Michael Steele]

Is the Main Street Republican Partnership Here? [LOTUS: Yes, Michael Steele]

And where are the social groups?

Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America: where are you? [LOTUS: In the kitchen, where they belong. Just kidding, I love those chicks.]

You’re missing the fun. Their outfits are great. Unironic plaid pants, fer cryin’ out loud. You have got to check this out! [LOTUS: Buddha prefers for every item he wears to be ironic, i.e. Stop Global Warming arm bands, argyle sweaters, 2000 Olympics polo shirts, Prada eyewear, other people’s dirty socks.]

And kids, only treat yourself to a keg stand if you actually beat your opponent.

No opponent, no drinky-drink.

Actor and director Robert Davi recently wrote in The Washington Times about his family, Memorial Day, and the importance of teaching children about about our military’s heroes.  While many kids know everything about “going green,” few know about America’s military and why we celebrate holidays like Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day.

This Memorial Day, I had the honor of being part of the program at this cemetery. joining Robert Forster, Jon Voight, David Horowitz, Bill Sachs and Maj. Gen. JamesW. Comstock. The general had asked all to remember the first time he or she understood or felt patriotic. As I sat waiting my turn to speak, I reflected on mine. My father was a Navy gunner on a merchant marine ship during World War II. His ship was torpedoed in the Pacific, and he was in the water for three days. He lost some of his close friends and was awarded the Purple Heart.

My earliest recollections of my dad were that on every Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Independence Day until the day he died at age 57, he wore his Navy uniform and raised the flag in our front yard. I remember his solemn pride on those days. He also upset my mother a bit because he still fit in his uniform and had not gained any weight over the years. And, well, she had.

Click here to read more about Davi’s plan to go red, white and blue.

You may remember that in 2008 the media went berserk over Ann Coulter’s speech in which she said, “I was going to say a few words about Edwards, but it turns out you have to go to rehab if you say the word ‘faggot.’”

Coulter was referring to the recent Hollywood news that an actor from Gray’s Anatomy called another actor on the show a “faggot.”  He was told that he could return to the show after completing rehab.  Coulter defended her use of the word by saying that it was a “schoolyard taunt,” like sissy or pansy.

(Small confession — when I was 9 or 10 I used to label all the boys in Teen Beat and other magazines with either “Fine” or “Fag”)

New York Times columnst Judith Warner seems to agree with Coulter.  On April 16, Warner wrote:

Being called a “fag,” you see, actually has almost nothing to do with being gay.

It’s really about showing any perceived weakness or femininity – by being emotional, seeming incompetent, caring too much about clothing, liking to dance or even having an interest in literature. It’s similar to what being viewed as a “nerd” is, Bennington College psychology professor David Anderegg notes in his 2007 book, “Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them”: “‘queer’ in the sense of being ‘odd’ or ‘unusual,’” but also, for middle schoolers in particular, doing “anything that was too much like what a goody-goody would do.”

It’s what being called a “girl” used to be, a generation or two ago.

As Coulter herself has noted, the New York Times is a wonderfully informative newspaper once its political agenda is removed.

My favorite LOTUS Blog post of all time was written by Mr. Riggs and it’s time we gave him another assignment.  What are some good live-blogging events coming up? 

Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking with Robert Davi, the amazing actor who has been in EVERYTHING.  We talked about politics and his movie, The Dukes, which has already won numerous awards at the Rome Film Festival, Monte Carlo Film Festival, among many others.  In addition to playing the lead role (Danny DePasquale — no relation — HA!) Robert Davi wrote, produced and directed The Dukes.  In the next few weeks I’ll have a column/review of the movie.  Until then, check out the synopsis and preview here.  The movie opens on November 14.

From IMDB:

The Dukes,(Chazz Palminteri and Robert Davi) a Doo Wop group, were on top of the world at 17, now are struggling for survival in 2008. Their manager (Peter Bogdanovich) is desperately trying to get them work but is met with failure at every turn. Finally pushed to the extreme, they pull a heist only a fool would attempt, which leaves them even more desperate. When all seems lost, they find themselves. Underneath the laughter, “The Dukes” is a film that explores the intricacies of re-defining yourself; not only dealing with lost fame but applies to anyone whoever found themselves at the bottom of the mountain looking up where they once were; and how, in changing times, to hold onto your true self.

Tony Snow was the closing speaker at this year’s CPAC.  Following his speech, he stayed and signed autographs and took pictures with the attendees and volunteers.  Later than night I received a voicemail message from him thanking me for the opportunity to speak.  Sometimes it can seem a little hollow to hear the talking heads say how nice someone was.  But take it from a nobody like me — he really was as nice and gracious as they say.

Click here to watch Tony’s speech at CPAC 2008.

Click here to read the transcript of Tony’s speech at CPAC 2008.