Found: One Troll

I’m not kidding about that title. That’s what the banquet was called. On the whole it was definitely worth going. I have heard reports that there were over 6200 people in attendance, making it the largest dinner ever in Arizona. As Denise and Kevin have noted, we kind of got stuck at the end of nowhere, but given the company I didn’t mind. The food was decent, the drinks were pricey, and the speeches were excellent; standard banquet fare.

John Stossel’s speech was excellent. He spoke on the evils of capitalism socialism and government regulation. Stossel is the only person in the media with a spine, and here’s why. It impresses me that he was willing to tell a socialist politian that he’s an idiot. Stossel was presented with a muster roll from the American Revolutionary War, which is indescribably awesome.

Oliver North’s speech was focused on the military and Armed Forces Day (which was yesterday). He’s an incredibly passionate speaker; I wasn’t sure what to expect from North but it was a very engaging speech that made one proud to be an American. North was presented with a custom flintlock rifle, with which he promptly imitated Charlton Heston, shouting “from my cold dead hands!” to a standing ovation.

After dinner we headed to the Hyatt hotel bar and bullshitted for a few hours before heading to bed. I talked with Sebastian about local politics and got some great insights from someone who’s been at this a hell of a lot longer than I have. Overall it was a great night.