I cannot say I knew Robert Novak well. I worked for him very briefly – on a six-week internship in October and November of 1987 as part of a program at the National Journalism Center. But working for him and his partner Rowland Evans was an important educational experience for me.

The first thing I feared was getting chewed out by Novak, which I had heard happened to many NJC interns. One of the first things I was assigned to do was assemble a news-clip file for Evans & Novak to interview then-Rep. Les Aspin about national defense. I mistakenly found a set of older Aspen clips in the Newsweek Washington bureau downstairs. Novak saw my thin folder and said in an exasperated tone to his secretary, "Caroline, tell the intern how we do things." (They wanted a pile of newspaper clips from the last few days.)

At this time, Novak was a busy man, taping Crossfire on CNN many weekday afternoons, and I remember being sent to discuss matters with him as he shaved shortly before heading over to CNN. He never did yell at me, and for that, I was grateful.

Some of the real treats of that short tenure were attending some TV tapings. I saw Evans & Novak interview Sen. Daniel Patrick Moyhihan for CNN (Evans was nice enough to ask me for my opinion afterwards, as if I knew that much.)

As Americans flood to town hall meetings and Tea Parties to express their opposition to ObamaCare, media members find it somewhat hypocritical that these same people might have looked upon anti-Bush protests with contempt.

This seeming contradiction was addressed on CNN's "Reliable Sources" Sunday when host Howard Kurtz asked his guests, "[H]asn't Fox, in fact, flipped -- some Fox hosts, I should say -- from slamming liberal protesters to defending these anti-Obama protesters?"

This question arose when Kurtz brought up last week's exchange between Fox News's Bill O'Reilly and Comedy Central's Jon Stewart (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript, relevant section at 8:45):

Imagine if the Congress passed a law mandating that all school students in America be indoctrinated in socialism? Yeah, I know that is precisely the type of indoctrination that is already going on in many classrooms but the reaction to such a law actually spelling this out would cause demonstrations that would dwarf even those currently going on at the tea parties in opposition to ObamaCare. Well, this is precisely what is currently happening in Venezuela where the Hugo Chavez controlled National Assembly recently passed just such a law.

As a result, many previously apathetic Venezuelans are pouring into the streets to protest against this proposed indoctrination of their children. Now it's personal. 

Unfortunately most of the MSM in this country are paying little attention even though the size of the demonstration yesterday, in which tear gas was used, is enormous as you can see in this video (note: the commentary reflects Chavista propaganda but the visuals give you an idea of the size):

Here is a brief description of yesterday's massive demostration in downtown Caracas by Rachel Jones of the Associated Press:

On August 5, Congressman Brian Baird (D-Wash.) likened recent town hall meeting protesters to Nazis:

"What we're seeing right now is close to Brown Shirt tactics. I mean that very seriously."

On Tuesday, at such a political gathering in Vancouver, a Marine Corps veteran named David William Hedrick blasted the Congressman for this disgraceful depiction.

What follows is a video from this town hall meeting in Washington state that every person in America -- especially those on the Left and their media minions who continue to shamefully besmirch average citizens for having the nerve to oppose the government takeover of healthcare!!! -- should be required to view (h/t HotAirPundit via Hot Air):

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Change we can believe in!

How much lower will Obama's approval rating go before it bottoms?

I just wanted to share with readers a piece of prose that reflects my attitude for the past ten years. I've been adding on when I can, but there is so much material out there that it will become way to long. It already is. I am just trolling for comments - pro or con. Feel free to use any part you wish and enjoy. Based on "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe which I recommend you read first to sort of get into the rhythm. Note: Sorry,I do not know how to format in this venue.

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Blogging for U.S. News & World Report, Paul Bedard reported a double standard in how President Obama and President Bush were treated (or ridiculed) when each wished Jews a Happy New Year a little early, or in Obama's case, a month early:

Washington Jewish Week and Politico tell us that Obama today reached out to about 1,000 Jewish leaders in his expanding campaign for health care reform. One of those on the call, Rabbi Jack Moline, tweeted through the call about what the president said. His Twitter page noted: Obama: "shanah tovah to all of you."