Bob Novak Dies - Conservative Columnist/Reporter

Robert Novak (1931-2009) died today of a brain tumor. He was a syndicated columnist most well-known for his Evans-Novak Column and his appearances on CNN's "CrossFire" and "The Capital Gang." He worked as a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. I remember him from the "Crossfire" show back in the days before Fox News where he was one of the few conservative voices out there. My Dad and I saw him at a Washington Bullets game a number of years ago driving a Mercedes:). He was good friends with Pat Buchanan and Pat had this to say about him, "Best columnist-reporter in last fifty years. And a reliable friend in times of trouble.." He was a solid conservative voice and will be missed by all!! RIP Mr. Novak






Here is some additional information about Mr. Novak that was on CNN's page (usually don't like to source them but he did work for them for 25 years).

He was dubbed "The Prince of Darkness" by friends for his pessimistic persona, and he used the nickname as the title of his 2007 memoir.

Novak got his first newspaper job in 1948, when he was still in high school. He served in the Army during the Korean War before turning to the news business, eventually starting his column with Evans at the now-defunct New York Herald-Tribune in 1963.

In 2003, he found himself at the center of the scandal over the exposure of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, when he published a column revealing her CIA status days after her husband challenged a key Bush administration justification for the invasion of Iraq. The scandal ultimately led to the conviction of Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, on charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators probing the leak.

Novak cooperated with a special prosecutor and was not charged in the case.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/08/18/conservative-columnist-novak-dead-at-78/
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¨Rush Limbaugh, syndicated talk show host and author: Bob Novak held my attention, always. He was so hard working and so wired into DC. I always wanted to know what he knew and thought about things because he was the best. I never doubted a Novak story. I can't say that about anyone else in journalism today.
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This is the image from the front-page of The Drudge Report:

Ronald Reagan Speaks out against Socialized Medicine

Wow, You have to listen to this audio from Ronald Reagan. Recorded in 1961 it speaks presciently to us today as we engage in the battle against socialized medicine proposed in 2009 by President Obama and the Democratic party. I truly believe that this "health care reform" proposed by the Democrats is the "foot" in the door which we hear Reagan mention in the audio. Despite countless assurances that Obamacare will not effect the current relationship we have with our private insurers, I think many of us, like Reagan, know what the end-game is, and that is socialized medicine and less freedom for all of us. We must continue to fight and write and attend town halls to let Obama and the Democrats know we do not share their "utopian-collectivized" vision of America.



Let's remember the warning of the American Socialist Norman Thomas:



"The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under
the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist
program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without
knowing how it happened."

American Spectator Results: Sarah Palin August 3, 2009: 12:15pm EST

Here were the results about 12:15pm EST for the Sarah Palin Survery: CLICK ON IMAGE TO SEE RESULTS!!

QUIT MAKING THINGS UP!!! Another bogus story: Sarah and Todd Divorcing

Yesterday another scurrilous rumor was reported about Sarah. This time she was getting divorced from Todd. Of course, this has been severely debunked. Please check out the great info from the folks at C4P: http://www.conservatives4palin.com/2009/08/palin-camp-shoots-down-ridiculous.html
It was only a week ago during her "Stepping UP" speech in Fairbanks, AK that Sarah told "certain" members of the media to "Quit Making Things Up". See Video:


Well only a week later and Sarah's intuition proved right again. They are still making things up!!

Photos by Karen Allen from Annie Oakley.org

Hello everyone (well those few that may come here :) sorry but haven't posted in awhile since I got back from Alaska and still need to post my update from July 4th in Wasilla with Pictures.. Let's just say --- IT WAS AWESOME !! but in the meantime I would like to share with you the two following pics done by Karen Allen. Karen is a member of Team Sarah and is an ardent Sarah supporter. I feel her work, photos and videos, are some of the best out there. Please also check her out at www.annieoakley.org

Day 6 in Alaska Thursday July 2

• Nothing planned today except to go to Wasilla and meet some TS friends and do a tour :). So I ate b-fast at the Sheraton and then walked downtown to get my rental car. The rental guy told me to meet him at 10am but didn't show up till about 10:30am. This was not one of your "name" rental companies but a local Anchorage operation who happened to have a much cheaper rate than the big national companies. This was quite an experience as they gave me an old Ford Taurus with about 80,000 miles on it.. It looked like it had been wrecked and wasn't vacuumed out or anything but the rate was about half of what I was quoted from Avis. Picked up the car and drove back to the Sheraton --- Cost $10 to park for a day. The car had power cords sticking out of the front. Being a Virginian , I had no idea that these were used as a heater to warm the engine during cold weather :)
• Walked back into town as I had some time to kill and was reading the historic signs on the sidewalk about Anchorage. Decided to go to the "Snow Goose" restaurant on 4th street just down from the Hilton. Our bus driver from the Sunday tour had recommended it and it has an outdoor patio with awesome views of the Cook Inlet and downtown. They also have a little micro-brewery called the "Sleeping Lady" after Mount Susitna.
• Then walked back into d-town, this is a very touristy area kind of like a touristy beach area but instead of dolphins and sharks as the theme, there are moose and grizzly bears :). Plenty of gift shops, tour companies advertising cruises, restaurants etc.. The weather was absolutely perfect, a cool breeze and sunny skies. I know the winters up here are rough but the Summer, from my brief experience has been fabulous.
• Ate at a sidewalk vendor - had a reindeer sausage, chips and a Dr. Pepper. The sign on the vendor's machine said, "no you are not eating Rudolph." That made me feel better :)
• Left Sheraton to head towards Wasilla, the Sarah Palin portion of the tour. Wasilla is about 45 minutes North of Anchorage and on the way up actually got caught in a small traffic jam in Wasilla -- the area is actually a lot more congested than the Media's impression.
• Met Jill from Wasilla and Denise from TS at the Wasilla Chamber of Commerce which is actually where the Alaska Railroad makes a stop:

• Jill took us to the Wasilla Bible Church, this is Sarah's church and also Jill's. This was the church that some nuts tried to burn down but now it is looking great and doing fine !!! I sent a donation and Jill said that inside you can see a pin on the map of all the people that donated. We couldn't get in but I took a picture out front:

• Next stop Wasilla High School. The alma mater of the Governor of Alaska. Jill said inside they have a trophy of Sarah's high school b-ball championship.. GO WASILLA WARRIORS !!

• Next stop: City hall: This is where Sarah was the Mayor and I think this is where her and Todd voted in the presidential election. The building is actually a lot bigger than this photo captures as it extends around the back.

• Last stop: Iditarod headquarters which is located in Wasilla. Jill said that the event used to start from here but has been recently been moved to Willow, which is North of here.

• Back to Anchorage and got back about 9pm. I'd like to thank Jill and company :) for taking her time and showing me around. It was great!! You get a lot different perspective when you actually see the sites first-hand.
• Plan for today Friday is to tour Anchorage, might take in a hiking trail and either go to the fireworks in Wasilla tonight or will be definitely heading out there on Saturday for the July 4th parade, Tea Party and cookout!! Stay tuned more to come from Billy's excellent adventure to Alaska :)

Day 5 in Alaska Wednesday July 1

• Ate b-fast about 7am in the Mountaineer Grill at Denali Bluffs Hotel. Then I walked down into the row of shops and restaurants. You have to check your luggage in and they transport it to the railroad depot. My train was scheduled for 12:15pm.

• I decided to walk to the Train Depot. The clerk told me it was about a mile, it ended up being about 3 miles but hey it was good for me. The park service visitor center is also located right across the street from the train, it's worth a look and is a really nice facility. They have a film and some ranger tours you can take. The train arrived on time and we left about 12:40 after everyone had come off and we boarded. I was booked on the "standard" fare which is the cheapest price with the Cruise lines having the more expensive cars with the Glass domed roofs. To tell you the truth, I thought the standard fare was fine, I had plenty of room and we actually had a couple of cars with the "domed" roofs which we could use. I had no problems getting awesome views of the surrounding countryside.

• If you ever go to Alaska I would put this train ride at the top of your list. Granted, I got lucky and had a beautiful day weather-wise but I think on any day the views will be spectacular. The Train travels slow (we arrived back in Anchorage at 8pm) and you have plenty of time to take in the vistas. We got really lucky in a few spots because the clouds had cleared from Denali and we could see it perfectly. My tour agent had told me that some people prefer the bus ride, which I had done on the way up, but there really is no comparison. The train, in my mind, is the way to go!!