Do You Read Lilek?

I don't read him every day, but he is such an eloquent speaker for nostalgia maybe I should. Reader's Digest is his post for Wednesday's The Bleat. He has a photo of the table of contents of a 1941 issue. Go read it, get notalgic, know why Reader's Digest just declared Chapter 11.

Reader’s Digest has declared Chapter 11 - or, as the final documents read after their editors finished with them, Chapter 5. I once wrote that Reader’s Digest contained the first practical application of Nanotechnology - no matter where you put the magazine, tiny mites embedded in the cover would pick it up and move it to the top of the toilet tank.
I have an issue from 1941. Take a look at the topic list.

Robert Novak has Died

I plan to put together a some tributes to this man who was a great reporter for many, many years. I am waiting till I have a chance to puruse more newspapers online for them. Many of them will mention the Valerie Plame affair and the conviction of Libby, I wonder how many will say it was a special prosecutor gone wild who knew early on it was Richard Armitage who started the "leak"?
Robert Novak was far better than that. I hope some of them will do the research on all he reported with his partner Rowland Evans. My sympathy to his family. More on Robert Novak later.

A Fair Article in the Denver Post on the Man who studied the Bill

One man's criticisms of health reform stir the debate
Fleckman's criticisms of health reform are being used at meetings nationwide.
By Michael Booth of The Denver Post

If the health-care town halls of recent weeks are tinderboxes fueled by mass talking points, then a good portion of the paper kindling was supplied by a guy who has dubbed himself Fleckman. One Peter Fleckenstein of Arizona is the Twitter-savvy keyboardist behind sheets of conservative talking points rolled up, waved and jabbed at testy forums across the nation.

Fleckenstein says he is a father of two in Phoenix and was in the military. Weeks ago, he began combing one of the primary health-care reform bills under his Fleckman persona. He blogged and tweeted, to more than 6,000 followers, with page references to what he saw as especially egregious liberal ideas in the bill, HR 3200.
"Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed," is one example, or
"Page 124 . . . put simply, private insurers will be crushed."
Fleckenstein's blunt review struck the right nerves, and speakers against the Obama- sponsored health bills have cribbed his words to attack the plans. "I don't know the gentleman who put them together, but they're everywhere," said Jeff Crank of the Colorado office of Americans for Prosperity, which is fighting the health-reform bills.

This is posted at The Denver Post, Mr Fleckenstein linked it at his blog Common Sense from a Common Man and praised it for being a fair representation of the interview.
Go give them both the honor of your attention and read it all.

"I'll leave you so you can do whatever the hell you do."

This is a quote is from a man walking out of Arlen Spector's Town Hall Meeting (8-11-09). He was told he would be allowed to ask a question, but then was passed up by the Staff Members handing out golden tickets -- which were white cards that meant you could ask a question at the microphone. They handed out 30 white cards.

CNN reports the truth... yet again!

CNN.com has printed a fairly-balanced story on the meeting which was attended by 250 unhappy people. And they reported only 1 person was in favor of the healthcare bill. Perhaps they noticed in their own survey that American approval ratings for the media are as low as for Congress. So they can't just print the Obama-Reid-Pelosi company line any more.

Click here to read the story at CNN.com. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/11/specter.town.hall/index.html