Most guys take sides...

One of the things I have hoped to do this year is to solidify my political party identity. I am the vice-president of the College Republicans at WKU and have considered myself a Republican up until very recently. I'm not saying that I'm a Dem by any means, but I have had some Libertarian\Constitutionalist leanings in the last year - characterized chiefly by my support of Ron Paul and Aaron Russo's Restore the Republic movemen. I was disappointed in the performance of the Republican Party in the 2008 elections. I felt that the principles which I thought were "Republican" were abandoned.

Today, I heard a few great speeches that have re-assured me. Mike Pence (R-IN) gave a great speech about the principles of conservatism and how the party has lost its way. Mike Huckabee (R-AK) also conveyed the same message. These thoughts give me hope that the GOP is not an empty shell of the Reagan era and can rise again. We have an excellent opportunity to take this dismal situation and bring forth a conservative uprising in 2010 and 12. I look forward to it.

I also loved hearing from Ambassador John Bolton. His speech was informative and very amusing. One of his main points was a subject that I strongly support - Missile Defense. This is something that we need to put a lot more focus on, and it looks like it will be a subject of much discussion while we're here.

After the conference, we ate at Ollie's Trolly by Metro Station and walked the National Mall. 

BTW - Joined the NRA today! 

~Alex Gerard

Look to the Past

Okay, so I wasn't exactly a quote, unquote happy camper today as I rode into the sunrise in a hatchback with my new friends. I hadn't had much sleep and the enthusiasm wasn't bubbling over, but just the same, Russell made me giggle.

Ride to Nashville: Slept

Airport: Turner made fun of me and my passport... nice. 

Plane Ride: Slept

Bus Ride: Heard Russell sing and ask Shane "are we there yet"

Hotel: Rave in Turner's room, okay not really, but it was crowded

Okay, so then it got really interesting and our D.C. adventure took off. After a few problems with the Metro Machine we got our passes and we're off. Some of the girls and I went out to eat (yummy) in ChinaTown and then on to the Smithsonian. 

I guess the sight of the Washington Monument or the Capital Rotunda may not seem like much to some with the artistic eye, but I was in awe. Not at the size or the grandeur, but the feeling that they gave me. Yeah, I'm a history and politics nerd (it's taken me a while to come out with this =] ) but I still wasn't prepared. I thought the feeling and newness would have surely dimmed by now, but the feeling is always there. You are standing at the exact spot that hundreds of thousands of the world's greatest leaders and thinkers have stood. Humbling? Most certainly. 

While I'm afraid that I might have been a bit of a bore for Ali as I explored the Smithsonian, I was happy. The Smithsonian is my heroin. I got high on exhibits following America's wars and busts of my old pal Abe. And while I joke a lot, I can't lie and say that I didn't kinda cry because I was completely in my element and blissfully aware of it. 

Our last stop was The Holocaust Museum. This is kind of my area of study and passion, so as I walked through the story of David's life, a child who survived; and as I stood in silence in The Hall of Remembrance there was a definite catch in me. I can't describe the experience to you except to say that I am certain each visitor to this hall leaves with a feeling of possibility for changing the world, it makes you WANT to change the world. "The government of the United States... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance." -George Washington. So the next time you want to be bitter, come to D.C. and feel the connection to the past because it will give you hope for the future.

Basically, today rocked. =) oh, and our waiter was dumb. 

p.s. I love you Momma =)

Hunter Stevens

I tried photos, but Macs hate me.

D.C. Day 1

The first day of our CPAC trip got off to a great start. After a relatively smooth early morning flight and a quick lunch, a few students and I took a trip to the Newseum. This is essentially a museum that chronicles the history of news, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, as those who know me would certainly vouch for the fact that I am indeed a news junkie. The Newseum had some very interesting artifacts on display, such as the Unabomber’s shack and the D.C. Sniper’s car, and it was also cool to see some of the things I discuss in my media and politics class, such as the first newspaper printed in the colonies and Stephen Colbert’s threat list. In addition to the Newseum I had hoped to be able to tour Ford’s Theatre. My wife and I have always been interested in the life of Abraham Lincoln, so that made the landmark a natural place to attempt to see. Unfortunately, we just missed the time cutoff for that tour. Hopefully I’ll be able to sneak that in over the next few days.

Tomorrow the conference itself gets going with a host of impressive speakers. I am personally looking forward to seeing Mike Huckabee, but there will also be appearances by John Bolton, Bob Corker, and a roundtable on the Fairness Doctrine which should be interesting. Let the conservative fun begin!

Turner

Day one cpac

We did a video blog! Enjoy!

Billy Bishop
Alex Gerard

Day One at CPAC

Although the morning got off to a rocky start with an early morning drive to Nashville the day turned out to be a very influential day. After our flight landed in Baltimore, MD we all gathered our luggage and set out for our hotel. Only when we arrived we found out that we could not check into the rooms, so it was throw everything into one room then head off to start our day. The goal of the day was to do something cultural. Of course that could mean an array of things especially in the cultural divide of Washington, D.C..

The first lesson learned was how to use the metro. Although at first this seemed to be a task that would take till the end of the trip to master, surprisingly I soon caught on. A group of six went out exploring and our first stop was lunch in China town. This was really cool to see this area of D.C.. All the signs were written in Chinese and the streets were flourished with Chinese decorations. After viewing the scenery we were off to the Smithsonian museum of American History. I have always wanted to go to the Smithsonian so I was really excited to be able to have that opportunity. When we went in we all divided up to make sure everyone got to see what they wanted. Miranda and I toured the War exhibit, the Abraham Lincoln exhibit, the first ladies exhibit, and we saw the popular culture exhibit. My favorite were the first ladies and seeing Judy Garland's slippers from Wizard of Oz. I have always been intrigued by the first ladies and to see the gowns they wore and their jewelry was a cool experience. I also have an obsession with the Wizard of Oz. I am into Wicked and have always loved the movie. To see the shoes that had such a prominent role in the movie was an inspiring moment that really moved me.

After the Smithsonian it was off to register for the convention. The coolest thing about registration was me and Miranda finding our way on our own. We had to read the metro maps and figure out which metro to take. Surprisingly we got there and after registration it was off to dinner with the group. The first day was exhausting, but a lot of fun. It is day one and I already have sore feet and can hardly keep my eyes open. I am interested to listen to the speakers at CPAC, and hopefully I adjust to city life for the next four days.


Whitney Waller

Day 1 @ CPAC

Today we left Nashville at 8:30 AM for the trip to Washington, DC to attend the CPAC conference. We arrived at BWI airport at 11:00 AM Eastern time and headed for our hotel in DC. After we arrived at the hotel, we tried to check-in but check-in was not until 3 PM so off we went to see the sights of Washington, DC. One group headed to the Zoo while another group headed to one of the Smithsonian museums. The group I was with went to the Newseum museum. The Newseum museum tells about the history of the news media and about news events that have made history in the last 200 years here in the US and around the world.
For supper, one group went to eat at a Chinese restaurant near the hotel while the group I was with went to the Front Page restaurant which is located on Dupont Circle. The Front Page Restaurant also has good steaks and sandwiches. The metro is one of the coolest and fastest ways to get around the city and you get to see many people from all over the world.

This post was created by Laura K. Green

Miranda Puckett

Today, Febuary 25th of 2009 I sat out from Nashville TN for Baltimore MD at 8:30 am. While going through airport security though before boarding my plane I had a small swiss army knife confiscated from my belongings. This just so happened to be a small set back at the beginning of my day the small swiss army knife was thrown away and I proceeded to board my flight. On my way to Baltimore, I met a senator who informed me of some interesting things to check out while visiting Washington DC for CPAC.
After the flight arrived in Baltimore, I snatched my luggage and began the ride to DC. Our instructor Dr. Turner informed us today was a day to explore the city and do something "culturally rellevant". Whitney and I decided to go to the Smithsonian Museum and check out some of the nations historical artifacts and displays. This was very enlightening and educational. The most exciting thing about today though was that I learned how to use the metro system which made me feel very liberated.

I Am The Bill O'Reilly Of This Hip-Hop Business

So Today uh...I woke up on a couch at Kalleigh's house. Next thing I know and I'm on a plane headed for our nation's fabulous capital, Washington D to the C. After an efficient transport from Baltimore, we arrived and had some time to kill. My dearest roommates and I learned the art of metro navigation, and took full advantage of such a skill. We progressed to the White House, and on to the Washington Monument. We abandoned our plans of visiting the zoo (fret not, we shall ascend to this destination at a later date) in order to go to the National Museum of Natural History. This was a great decision, as we spent hours exploring the many alcoves and crevices of preserved knowledge. I particularly enjoyed the bountiful bones displayed in a particular exhibit. I was also quite partial to the mummies I saw, and rather fond of the dead buffalo, to say the least. Oh yeah, and I saw this ancient colossal Mexican face so Betsy took my picture in front of it. Needless to say, we have quite the resemblance. D.C. is pretty awesome, but I'm ready to get my conservative A-game on for tomorrow's conference.

Well, that's all for now.

--ALLEGRA.

Once Upon A Time...

Today has turned out to be quite eventful! I saw dinosaurs! That was possibly one of the best moments of my life. Here's a picture of them (be excited):

Well, before the dinosaurs my group of friends roamed around the city in search of food when we went the wrong way and found ourselves in front of the White House. It was thrilling! I'd never seen it before! I mean, this is my first time to DC. Anyways, after the White House and some food, we made our way to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, which is where I experienced many new things, like enormous skeletons of whales and dinosaurs and a lot of gems. Plus there were mammals which was way cool.  Also, while I was somewhere in the museum taking a picture of Ali this man approached me and insisted that I take a picture of him because he was wearing a funny hat (his words, not mine), so I did. Here it is:

He asked me if he resembled Indiana Jones.

After the Smithsonian experience we ventured to the Washington Monument. It was just spectacular. 

Well, that's 'bout all I have to say for today. I've had just the hardest time uploading pictures to this thing, so I decided to include a picture of my dog, Bear, because it's funny and has nothing to do with CPAC.

-Betsy Whiteman

This shark could swallow me whole without even taking a single CHOMP!

Arrival and First Day in Washington D.C.

After our flight out of Nashville, meeting a Fox News Channel personality, and getting our luggage, we arrived in Washington D.C. and our hotel for the duration of our CPAC Confrence. Our group then proceeded to buy Metro passes to get around the city where afterwards people in our group split and my group along with Dr. Turner, Shane,Jeremy,and Laura among others that I may have forgotten about went to eat lunch at McDonalds near Judiciary Square. Then we went on to the Newseum where we looked at stuff that has to do with the different events that have shaped our public perception and have shaped our history. I saw some of the Berlin Wall and a watchtower that was near Checkpoint Charlie that was near the American Sector of Berlin. I also saw a piece of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. I also saw some Pulitzer Prize winning photography on exhibit. After the Newseum, we went to the United States Naval Memorial and we stopped at Ford's Theater where President Lincoln was assassinated. We did not go in because the theater was closed for maintenance until spring of 2009. After we saw the sights we went back onto the Metro to register for the Conservative Political Action Confrence at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. Tonight, we went out to eat at a steakhouse called The Front Page. I look forward to my first day at CPAC and I will post more in the days to come.

Day numero uno...

Today was a good day, after taking the short flight from Nashville to D.C. and riding from the airport to the hotel which seemed to take forever!! I finally made it to see some of the most awesome sights around, while I have seen many of these sights before seeing them again was still awesome. I took tons of pictures of the White House and the Washington Monument. For the first time I got to visit the Smithsonian of natural history, it was amazing! I saw a moose, bears, huge dino bones, and sweet jewels! Overall it was an awesome day, I got to spend the day in an awesome city with my super cool roomies for the trip! I'm hoping that tomorrow will be equally as exciting...Today's grade is an A+

Day of Firsts

Although I have visited most of the sites in Washington DC before, I had never flown or used the metro system. Flying was actually pretty cool, a little bumpy on the landing and my ears popped a lot but I made it through. As for the metro, it was crazy figuring out how to travel around and connecting from one train to another, but people were nice enough to help and we figured it out easily enough. After finally getting our metro passes, we went on a hunt for food and the Smithsonian only to be distracted by the White House, stopping to take pictures, before moving on. Now if you know much about the DC area, the Smithsonian and the White House aren't exactly right next to each other but exploring was all the more fun. We passed the IRS building, and the Reagan building and finally made it to the Museum of National History, which was pretty awesome. We went through the whole museum, seeing the dino bones and fossils, and all different types of mammals, and we explored the whole ocean section. One of the best parts of the museum were all the gems, and rocks. We saw the Hope Diamond and jewels Napoleon gave to his wife, and several other beautiful pieces of jewelry. After the museum we walked over to the Washington Monument before calling it a day. Dinner at the Chinese place across the street and sleep are the perfect way to end this day.
Kaitlin Vonderschmitt

An exciting first day in D.C.! It started out with a quick trip to the Smithsonian. My favorite exhibit was the one with past and present "Vote" posters. It was awesome to see how Americans got the message out in the past about an issue that is just as important today as it was then.

Next, some of the girls and I went to the Holocaust Museum. The outside of the building boasted a poster that read, "Think about what you saw," and the museum made me do just that. We walked through "Daniel's Story," which allowed us to experience the world of a young Jewish boy during the Holocaust. We also walked through an exhibit about Nazi propaganda. That got me really interested because it made me think about the ethics of media and consider the mindset of the people drawn to Hitler's beliefs. In unstable times, people are vulnerable, and those who have power or rise to positions of power bear a great responsibility. I think that is an important message for the U.S.A. to remember today, too.

Overall, my first day in D.C. has made me feel blessed to be an American. I drew pride from exhibits of our country's rich history in the Smithsonian, and felt comfort after walking through the Holocaust Museum. My dad's side of the family is Jewish (if you couldn't tell by my last name), so it was a sad, but grateful feeling to know that in this beautiful country, I will never have to endure the pain or hatred my ancestors faced in Germany.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Ali Edelstein

My First Day on the CPAC Trip.

Today I woke up at about 5AM to get ready for an early departure. We flew out at of Nashville BNA at 8:30AM and arrived in Baltimore at around 11AM. The flight was pretty uneventful, but it was pretty crowded. (Obviously room for my fat butt was cut with the rest of the budget) After our plane landed we took a shuttle van to the Days Inn in Washington DC. After arriving at our hotel we went to the metro station...and after some struggle with the evil ticket machine we finally got on the train. We then proceeded to the Newseum. (AKA the museum of News) It's located next to the Canadian Embassy which is pretty cool. God Bless Canada! The Newseum was alright, but not worth $18. The one really cool thing that I saw in the museum was a guard tower from Easter Germany...but once again that wasn't worth the cost. We then went to pick up our CPAC ID's and went to dinner. Was really good...props to Alex for the find! Anyway I am looking forward to tomorrow and the beginning of CPAC.

Jeremy

What a day!

After arriving in DC, myself and a group of 5 other girls
headed to the National Museum of American History, which I was so
excited about because that's where Dorthy's Ruby Red Slippers are, and
being the Broadway Geek that I am, had to see them in person! And Julia
Child's kitchen inspired me to cook everyone dinner tonight...but that
didn't happen...

After the Museum we went to the Holocaust Museum, which was such an
experience and made me tear up reading quotes from survivors.

After the long day of LOTS of walking, a group of 7 of us went to a
really cute little Chinese restraunt and our now getting ready for bed
because most of us have been up since 4AM, earlier for some.

I am excited for the Political Television Reporting workshop tomorrow,
because that's exactly what I would love to do.


Allie

Day 1: The Adventure Begins

After an early drive to the Nashville Airport, flight to Baltimore, and
bus ride we finally arrived in Washington D.C. this afternoon. My
navigation skills were tested today while we traveled around the city by
foot and on the tram. Allie Hembree will never doubt my skills in the
future. A group of us had lunch in China Town and then proceeded to the National Museum of American History. They had an exhibit on all the
First Ladies. It included dresses, china sets, video documentary, and
other artifacts. After that we visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum. It was a moving experience and I would recommend it to anyone
visiting D.C. The museum has quotes and scriptures engraved in stone on several of the walls. I found this scripture to be though provoking "Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them." (Deuteronomy 4:9)

Katharine Stewart

Looks like we made it!!!

We left Bowling Green at 5:30 am, Nashville at 8:30 am, and Baltimore at noon. We are now in the mystical DC. We are here to study the Conservative movement and Republican Principles at the Conservative Political Action Conference. 

After arriving and grabbing lunch, we split the group of 16!!! up to attend culturally relevant places in the city. I went with a small group to the Newseum. The Newseum is a museum dedicated to the first amendment and the media. The Newseum  has state of the art technology and communication tools. In there we saw several meters of the Berlin wall, and a guard tower from the wall. We also saw part of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In the basement they had the shack that the Unabomber lived in. One of the neatest things I saw was the DC Snipers car with hole in the trunk.

Dr. Joel Turner with his 4 D glasses on
Taking pictures of the capitol
The Newseum
True story
9/11 rubble 
Berlin wall and watch tower in the Newseum
Unabomber's shack
Alex Gerard and Dr. Joel Turner in the DC Metro
DC Metro
Lincoln Exhibit at the Newseum. Dr. Joel Turner, Laura Green, Russell Haggard
DC Metro
Billy Bishop and Jeremy Roe on the Southwest flight

One week and Counting

We take off from Nashville in one week, before then, we will have a meeting on Tuesday to dot the i's and cross the t's. We will also be taking everyone's pictures and making transportation plans.

SN

Facebook Group

Almost one week to go!!! With that said, we have created a facebook group to spread the word about the trip, we want all of your friends and families to be able to follow our every move. So please invite everyone you know to the link below. 

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=36947b62e72d49097fd11e850656a83e&gid=51988498692

SN

Cheap Luggage at Essex

If anyone needs luggage for CPAC, Essex on Scottsville road has suitcases of all sizes for only 10 dollars. They all have wheels and are all brand names. That is a steal!!!!!! If anyone has any questions let me know.

SN