TBOGG also mentions that Jonah Goldberg is off on the National Review cruise, and was posting about it at the NRO Kiddy Korner: LIFE AT SEA [Jonah Goldberg]
Well, the internet cafe seems to be working. Not much to report so far. We stopped at some place called Half Moon Cay -- basically an island owned by the cruise line. We had our first panels today. I was on one, moderated by Jay Nordlinger, with Brent Bozell and Richard Allen. The ship's very nice and so are all of the people. Lots of food, lots of drinking. I will give you the real skinny later, when the suits aren't monitoring my transmissions.
And here's the update that Jonah posted just a few minutes ago (I'd give you a link to it, but it has aready been removed; there is no comment about the deletion except for a cryptic note from K.Lo about Rich telling her she was fired): SHIP OF FOOLS [Jonah Goldberg]
Okay, I think Jay Nordlinger is asleep (he did have three Rusty Nails and a couple banana daiquiris after dinner), so I can give you my real report now.
First, I HATE Rich Lowry! He is, like, the most annoying guy I have ever had to share space with; even worse than Skippy Preston, my roommate at Goucher College (which was NOT a girls' school when I went there, despite what Rich was telling people during my panel presentation).
You are probably shocked that an important online editor-at-large such as myself has to have a roommate when his magazine sponsors a cruise. I can hardly believe it myself. We were SUPPOSED to each have a spacious cabin of our own (that's what the sign-up sheet said), but Remesh claimed that there was some sort of administrative error and they were a room short. He said that since Rich and I were the last of the NR speakers to come aboard, we would have share a cabin; he added that since it was a mini-suite, it shouldn't be a problem (and then he snickered something about how it's not like we'd need privacy because of all the women we'd be bringing back to the room).
HA! Let Ramesh share a cabin with somebody who never changes his socks and who talks in his sleep about Hillary Clinton (and not in a CRITICAL way), and then he might be in a position to say what is or isn't a problem. Ramesh is just jealous of Rich and me because we're younger and more popular than him anyway. Everyone says so.
I have lots more to say about Rich, but I'll leave that for later. . .
As for the other speakers, they are all big jerks. Kate O'Beirne bumped into me in the passageway and didn't even say she was sorry. (I know she thinks she's better than me just because she works for the print magazine and I work online, but has Camille Paglia ever said nice things about KATE'S writing???)
Ralph Reed tells long jokes that AREN'T EVEN FUNNY and then acts all pissy when you try to tell him about the latest Simpsons ep.
Midge Dector kisses a photo of Don Rumsfeld before she goes to bed each night! (I only went in her cabin because I was checking to see if Ramesh was lying about there not being any empty ones, and I DID NOT TOUCH HER, no matter what she may claim).
Stephen Moore ("President of the Club for Growth"???) is a big dork with dorky glasses and dorky clothes. And wow, I'm SO IMPRESSED that he's president of this hairclub for growth, or whatever it is. And Reverend Robert Sirico, (has anybody ever heard of this "Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty" that he claims to be President of?) may be a terrorist imposter. More about that later.
But RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie is a good dresser and a great American. (I think that maybe if I play my cards right, he will give me the Republican nomination for something. I know Mommie would back me and help me with fundraising.) I wanted to sit by Ed at lunch, but Midge pulled me down into a chair by her, and asked me to tell her all about Cosmo. And then she murmured that she is a passionate woman who could teach a young man a thing or two. She is starting to creep me out . . .
I was on a panel today, along with Brent Bozell, President of the Media Research Center (it's just him watching TV and reading online chat boards, so I don't know why he thinks he's so hot; I could be president of something too, if I wanted -- but I don't, because being the editor-at-large for online stuff at National Review is WAY more important than being president of some stupid made-up center). Richard Allen, who used to work as Ronald Reagan's security chief, was also a panel member. Nordlinger moderated, meaning that he got to boss everyone around (as usual).
Our topic was "The Reagans" mini-series, and whether CBS's decision not to air it means that conservatives now control the media. I said that it did, and that we owed our victory to Ed Gillespie for being such a good RNC chairman, and for sending a scary memo to the network (Ed was sitting in the audience, on the front row, and he LOOKED RIGHT AT ME when I said this; I think he likes me now). But Bozell disagreed with me about us conservatives ruling; he made some twitty remarks about how as long as pro-liberal shows like "The West Wing" and "The Power Puff Girls" are on the air, we are still a picked-on, mistreated minority, and we should keep asking for donations for our centers until our victory is complete.
Allen told a few anecdotes which reveal how nice Ronnie and Nancy were to homosexuals and other misfits; he also indicated that the movie was lying if it said they liked ketchup, because they didn't really care for it. Then he fell asleep.
So, I think I was the winner of that panel. However, Rich was talking to some blonde she-male about Legacy all while we were doing our presentation. He is so rude! I hope Ramesh made a note of his bad behavior for his NR permanent file.
But dinner was good. We had steak, mashed potatoes, Waldorf salad, and carrots. Byron York didn't take his Dramamine before boarding, like Mr Buckley told us to, so he had to run out of the dining room to be sick over the railing. His glasses fell overboard. That was the coolest thing that happened today.
I have to go now--Kate just came by and said that Norman Podhoretz is DEAD, and that one of us may be the killer!
More later.
So, I hope that Jonah is allowed to continue giving us the real skinny, and K.Lo isn't really fired, because otherwise we'll never get the dish on Rich.
3:00:07 AM  | 
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