Last month, I attended my first ever CPAC. It was quite the experience, complete with one extended chat with Max Blumenthal. I’ve wanted to meet Max ever since he launched an attack on James O’Keefe.  I figured maybe if I asked nicely he would issue an apology to James. But to my dismay, he didn’t feel like it at the time.

I guess attitude and environment really is everything because Max was clearly not ready to switch from confrontational mode to apologist in front of several cameras and dozens of on-fire conservatives in the middle of CPAC 2010.

My parents raised me with to have a “no fear” mindset and carefully select the environments I subject myself to. It has taken lots of trial and error in my life to perfect these skills, but nevertheless, its something worth understanding.

When I was 15 a lot of exciting things happened to me: I got into surfing, I got a car, I had an exciting job and I started home-schooling. (Quick note on the homeschooling thing: it was totally my choice and I had to beg my parents to allow it. Not hard to believe if you’ve done time in the Miami-Dade Public School system.) (more…)

My friend Jason Mattera, Young America’s Foundation spokesman and conservative gadfly, is never afraid to speak his mind.  Even if you don’t totally embrace his style, he’s thoroughly entertaining and a really great, energetic guy.  What he’s not, however, is a racist.  But that’s exactly what New York Times reporter Kate Zernike concludedafter attending a CPAC panel discussion in which Mattera participated yesterday.

She posted on the Times‘ political blog that Mattera had “bashed Obama…in racial tones.” GASP!

See full video of the speech and read relevant quotes from the New York Times article here.

Anyone who meets Jason quickly becomes aware of the fact that he’s from Brooklyn.  His accent makes it hard to miss.  Like many people, when he talks excitedly, the pitch of his voice goes up.  This combination, Zernike concluded, constituted a “channeling” of Chris Rock and an obvious case of racism.  If Zernike had bothered to, oh I don’t know, speak to the person at whom she was hurling a provocative and damaging accusation, she may have noticed that Mattera happens to speak “like Chris Rock” all the time.  With the slightest bit of effort, this New York Times reporter may also have discovered that Rock also grew up….in Brooklyn.  Maybe this New York (!) Timesreporter may have put two and two together before dashing off her insulting and pathetic blog post. (more…)