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!!

Day 4 in Alaska - Tuesday Denali Park

• Got up about 4am again :) and ate the complimentary b-fast at the Hotel starting at 5am. A good b-fast, bagels, fruit, juice and coffee. At 6am the driver picked us up for the Wilderness Tundra Tour and we proceeded to pick up the bulk of the passengers from the Princess Hotel/Cruise Line Lodge. I think there was about 48 of us on the Bus. I met a nice couple from Canada who were taking a cruise from Whittier, AK after this portion of the tour.
• The bus enters the park and starts down the park road. If you were to take your car you can only drive the first 14 miles and after that there is a ranger station where only the tour buses can pass. The views/vistas are spectacular.

• The bus ride took about 8 hours and our job was to spot wildlife. We saw 4 bears, a couple of moose, some caribou, birds, a wolf and Dall sheep high up on a ridge. In the pics below you can see a Momma Grizzly walking right down the road with her cub and also a Willow Ptarmigan (state bird of Alaska) and her chicks.

• Back to the hotel and a few hours break before the white-water rafting ride on the Nenanna River. This river flows from the Nenanna glacier so the water has a bluish-tint and is only about 38 degrees. They put us in "dry" suits to keep us warm and it was pretty spectacular as I got drenched in about the first 2 minutes. The suit keeps you warm but my hands were freezing: Pic below of dry suit and the river:

• Back to the Hotel about 9:30pm and I'm exhausted. The day was Great !! and the weather so far has been picture-perfect. I would definitely recommend this but don't forget your wallet :) Went to bed and awaited my train ride back to Anchorage scheduled for tomorrow.

Day 3 in Alaska - Monday

Hello everyone, well the few that come to this page :): Been up at the National Park in Denali and no internet access. Just arrived back in Anchorage so I'm going to try and get up to date:

• Ate at the Country Kitchen again and then walked into downtown Anchorage. My bus trip to Denali wasn't until 3pm so some time to kill.
• Went to the National Park Visitor Center on 4th Street at 9am and walked around. They have a lot of info about Alaska and you can watch some "free" films here. Watched one about the animals native to Alaska which had some great film work. Here is one of the native animals: A Dall sheep:

• After this, I walked around and ended up at the Tony Knowles hiking/bicycling trail. Saw from the outside the home of Oscar Anderson- He was the 18th person to move Anchorage back in 1915 and was one of the first to open a business.

• Back to the visitor's center and they had a walking tour starting at 11am which focused on Captain Cook. Cook was one of the first European explorers to come to Alaska and the Cook inlet is named after him. If anyone saw the Glenn Beck interview with Sarah where she mentioned going to "Tastee Freeze". She has the cook inlet behind her like the photo below. Also notice the mountain in the background, Mount Sustina, the sleeping lady. This was the mountain that Team Sarah used in the birthday greeting to Governor Palin. Also notice that the Tide is out, this inlet has one of the most extreme changes of tide in the world, second only to the Bay of Fundy -- 40 Feet in a 6 hour period:

• Back to the Days Inn, checked out and took a taxi to the Anchorage Museum to catch my bus to Denali. Very new and nice museum, I particularly liked the section on the History of Alaska starting in prehistoric times. Great info about Alaska Statehood and the pipeline. This pic is taken outside the museum while we waited for the tour bus.

• We left at 3pm and the bus takes you North out of town past Elmendorf AFB and eventually onto the Parks Highway. On the way you pass through the Mat-Su borough and Wasilla. The bus driver said "Over to the left is Lake Lucille, home of THE Governor Sarah Palin."After you pass Wasilla, about the only community of size is Willow. We traveled a few more hours and took another road to the east towards the town of Talkeetna and the Talkeetna lodge. This lodge is owned by a Native American corporation and on a clear day has views of Denali/Mt. Mckinley but as you can see from my pic it was very cloudy -- Traveler's note: they say that for my visitors the chance of seeing the Mountain is only about 30%. Also the town of Talkeetna is where they take fly the mountain climbers from that are attempting to climb the mountain.

• Back on the bus and towards Denali Park, the drive took us about 6 hours and the bus driver dropped me off at the "Denali Bluffs Hotel." The rooms were very nice and this really is the "Land of the midnight Sun." By the time I had got a bite to eat at the Hotel it was about 11pm and it was still perfectly light. The views were spectacular although you cannot seen the Mountain because of the foothills. This little area of Hotels is where most of the tourists come as the Cruise lines have built lodges and hotels and my impression was that they are kind of "running" the area. There are also gift shops and restaurants for about a stretch of a 1/2 mile and after that, that's about it and the road heads North towards Fairbanks. This area is only active from May till Mid September and becomes basically a Ghost town afterwards as the seasonal tourist season ends and the Winter sets in. The first pic is from the Bluffs Hotel and the other is a shot of the Tourist area taken on Wednesday morning.

Day 2 in Alaska Sunday Anchorage Bus tour

• Had breakfast at the Country Kitchen across the street from Days Inn. Good b-fast, but things are pretty expensive here in Anchorage. I think I am in the tourist trap area :)
• Walked to the Hotel on 3rd Avenue and on the way took a picture of Balto, the sled dog who is the inspiration behind the Iditarod. This was on 4th avenue which was heavily impacted by the Good Friday Earthquake back in 1964 (9.2 on the richter scale, the biggest earthquake ever in North America).
  

• The bus left at 9:30am and we drove along Ship's Creek. This is where the city started back in about 1913 as a railroad depot for the Alaska Railroad. Ships were being used to bring in the supplies for the construction of the Railroad. They still fish for Salmon out of this creek because they come here to spawn.

• On to the Alaska Native Heritage Museum where all the native "cultures" are described. This was good but not great, don't know if it was because it was still early on Sunday and everyone was tired or what but the young interpreters (Alaskan natives) were very interesting and did a great job answering questions. Along the highway to the Museum we saw a Momma Moose and her calf.

• Bus went back to the Hotel and we changed buses and started to drive out of the city towards Cook Inlet and Turnagain Arm. This was beautiful and the Alaska you envision from the brochures. The mountains (Chugach range) rise spectacularly from the inlet of the Turnagain arm and their is all kinds of birds and wildlife. We saw a bald eagle being chased by some artic terns. This is also where you can spot Beluga whales and Dall Sheep. The bus ride took us to the town of Girdwood (this is where Senator Ted Steven's had his infamous chalet built) Alyeska ski resort and the tram ride to the top of the ski slope. The views from the top are breath-taking. You rise from an altitude of about 250 feet to about 3,500 feet. The Tram ticket comes with a complimentary lunch at the top.

• We then went further along the Turnagain Arm towards the Begich-Boggs Visitor center which is on Portage Lake. Visitor center gives good interpretation of glaciers. Next to the Visitor's Center is the Days Lodge, a gift shop and cafe. Had an ice-cream cone and back in the bus to the Portage Glacier tour on the ship, Ptarmigan (named after the State bird - the Willow Ptarmigan and I think this is how Sarah came up with her daughter's name- Willow). Simply AMAZING !! This is a glacier lake and as you turn the bend you come face-to-face with the Portage Glacier. Definitely include this on your tour!! We lucked as the weather was phenomenal and the guide told us that 8 out of 10 days it rains at this lake as you are actually in a temperate rain forest. The pics below do not do it justice, the face of the glacier is actually 300 feet tall. The lake has a bluish hue from all the silt and nothing lives in the lake because no photosynthesis can take place because of the silt. AMAZING !! The glacier "calved" as we were there, this means pieces of it break off and fall into the lake. Never seen anything like it.

• Off to Denali today and if anything like yesterday I can't wait !!

My Trip to Alaska Saturday Travel Day 1 June 27th Saturday

While this is mostly a political blog I did want to capture my trip to Alaska.

• Got up about 4am in Norfolk, Virginia. My flight was at 6:30am from Norfolk International Airport but was having trouble sleeping and if you ever sign up for a flight from Orbitz they call you and notify you of flight updates. In my case, they called me at 3am-- Geeze , thanks guys :)
• Got to airport about 5:15am and it was packed. Where is this huge recession they keep talking about, I know we are in one but people are still jamming the airports. By the time I checked my one bag and got through security (they took my carry-on toothpaste, deodorant and shaving cream - I had carried them with me because I thought they would lose my luggage but I forgot you can only carry a certain size -- Oh well :) ) it was about 6:10am.
• Went to my gate and it looked like I had plenty of time so I took my laptop around the corner and started sending out twitter messages http://twitter.com/billster
• Walked back to the gate about 6:20am and I didn't see anyone boarding for my flight to JFK, so I sat down.
• About 6:35am I noticed that people were boarding and I walked to the gate and saw that this was the flight to DETROIT. I calmly asked about the flight to NYC-JFK and they said that it had already LEFT !!! THAT's right I had missed my flight :( ... I mean aren't they supposed to call out your name or something, anyway I can only blame myself. So I then ask the Delta lady what am i supposed to do. She says, "Hold on and I will rebook you." At the same time, I am speaking with a lady who works for the airlines and is also trying to get to JFK and she says I will be lucky to get to NYC today because it seems all flights are booked.. OH NO!! I haven't even started and already I am messing up.
• So this huge sinking feeling comes over me as I watch the Delta rep typing away at the computer, thinking I will not be able to get out until tomorrow and I will miss my tour of Anchorage scheduled for Sunday.
• GOOD NEWS -- after about 15 minutes she says she was able to rebook me through Atlanta and I then have a direct flight to Anchorage arriving only 45 minutes later than my intended route!!! I'd like to thank this Delta person as she did a great JOB!!
• Flight leaves Norfolk about 9:30am and arrives in ATL about 10:45am. I have a layover till 2:50 PM. Get a bite to eat at Dominos and I buy Glenn Beck's new book -- Common Sense.
• We leave ontime and of course I get the middle seat on a 767, in the middle row that is between two other folks :). Right before flight, they move the guy to the right of me up to first class so I move over and we have an extra seat between me and another lady :) YEAH MORE SPACE .. I start talking to this lady and find out she is originally from South Africa and is coming back to Anchorage which is now her home. I feel bad for complaining because she has just had a 16 hour Journey from Johannesburg. Anyway, we talk for awhile and she is super-nice and tells me all about sites to see in Anchorage. I watch the movie "Gran-Torino" (great movie btw) and start reading Beck's book.. excellent book as well !!
• Arrive in Anchorage at 6:30pm local time. The views from the plane are phenomenal as I am standing up in the aisle trying to look out the window.. Snow-covered mountains and glaciers.. definitely a different world up here. We land at the South Terminal and when the pilot announces we are in Anchorage, people start clapping.. pretty cool and my feelings exactly :) See some of the pics above that I took at the South Terminal. Click on the last pic and see Sarah's message to the troops
• Since my bag went out on the JFK flight that I missed I find out that, that flight arrived at the North Terminal so I have to take a shuttle over to this new terminal -- named: Ted Stevens International Airport (you know the senator that they stole the election from on bogus charges :)
• My bag is actually still on the conveyor belt so I luck out once again!!
• I used the informational kiosk to call the Days Inn and they tell me the shuttle is right out front by the Taxis, so I venture out front and of course it is not there :) BTW: Temperature is 53 degrees with rain :)
• I call Days Inn and eventually about 15 minutes later get picked up by the shuttle. The driver is in the Army and works part-time for the Hotel.. One other passenger is with us, some guy from New York who is up here for kayaking. Driver makes a joke about "why do you think the flags are at half-mast?" He says, because of Michael Jackson (this was a sad story no matter your viewpoint) and then says "no not really, they are really that way because a troop got killed in Afghanistan and Sarah had them lowered" That sounds like the Gov, being a huge supporter of the troops.
• Arrive at hotel , finally, about 8pm and check-in. This Days Inn is ok, a little shady but OK :)
• About 8:30 pm I go to a Mexican restaurant behind the Hotel called La Cabana -- Have two beef burritos and a Tecate beer. The waitress actually says, "You-betcha" I thought that was funny
• Back to hotel and go to bed about 10pm. I watch some local Tourist channel that has some good info about Alaska including the 1964 Good Friday earthquake.. Note: the alarm clock goes off at midnight much to my chagrin and the girls in the adjacent room seem to talk all night :)
• Wake up at 4am, I think because of the time change and start typing this blog. So that brings me up to date. I have a Anchorage tour today starting at 8:30am from the Hilton .. CAN"T WAIT !!

Alaska Tomorrow

Hello Everyone,

Tomorrow I head to the Last Frontier, the land of the midnight Sun, Alaska. While I have always wanted to go, I became more interested when John McCain picked Sarah Palin for his VP. She inspired me to become more involved in politics and my hope is she chooses to run in 2012. I will be staying in Anchorage but visiting Denail and WASILLA, Sarah's hometown. Stay tuned to this blog as I will be adding daily updates.

NORTH TO ALASKA, NORTH THE MAN MUST GO :)