Robert Novak, RIP (1931-2009)

Robert Novak died this morning at home after a long battle with cancer.

Robert D. Novak, who began covering Washington during the Eisenhower administration and later achieved fame as a columnist and television commentator, died in his home Tuesday morning after a year-long battle with cancer. He was 78.

A nationally syndicated columnist for 45 years, Novak wrote “Inside Report”—a reported column on the inner workings of Washington policy and politics—with Rowland Evans six days a week from 1963 until Evans’ retirement in 1993. For 15 years, Novak continued the column—thrice weekly—until a brain tumor forced his retirement in July 2008.

Cable television made Novak’s a familiar face nationwide. An early star at the nascent CNN in 1980, Novak was a fixture on the right at CNN’s Crossfire, and he relished his work as the executive producer of the Capital Gang.

An outspoken conservative in later decades, Novak came to Washington as a moderate—he and Evans originally planned to take no sides in their column, except for support of civil rights. Novak progressively moved rightward, becoming a flag-bearer for the supply-side economics that drove Ronald Reagan’s 1981 tax cuts.

Still, Novak often sparred with the power centers on the Right. President Richard Nixon ordered his staff to “cut off” Novak and Evans from the White House and solicit “tough letters” to the journalists from subscribers of the Evans-Novak Political Report, after a critical paragraph in the newsletter.

Thirty-five years later Novak’s criticism of the Iraq War—and skeptical reporting on the intelligence justifying the invasion—made him persona non grata in the Bush White House and earned him slurs from the most hawkish conservatives.

In 2003, on a tip from Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Novak reported that Ambassador Joe Wilson—an outspoken critic of Bush claims about Iraqi weapons program—was sent on an intelligence mission to Niger because his wife was a CIA employee. The report sparked a federal leak investigation that became an issue in the 2004 election.

Novak began his journalism career covering sports for local and school papers in Joliet, Illinois, and after serving in the Army during the Korean War, he worked for the Associated Press in Omaha, Indianapolis, and Lincoln, until 1957, when the AP brought him to Washington for good. Novak moved to the Wall Street Journal in 1961, and the New York Herald-Tribune hired him and Evans as syndicated columnists in 1963. The Chicago Sun-Times became the column’s home paper in 1966. Over 150 papers carried it, most importantly the Washington Post.

Novak authored or co-authored six books on politics, including his 2007 memoirs.

Novak married Geraldine Williams, a secretary for then-Vice President Lyndon Johnson in 1962, and Johnson hosted the wedding reception. The two had two children and eight grand-children.

Novak and his wife converted to Catholicism in 1998.

Nugatory

adj.

1. Of little or no importance; trifling.
2. Having no force; invalid. See synonyms at vain.

Producers evict Chima Simone from 'Big Brother 11'

Chima Simone is no longer in the "Big Brother" house.

CBS said producers removed the 33-year-old freelance journalist from the voyeuristic reality series for breaking the show's rules. The network also said Simone will not be part of the jury that selects the $500,000 grand prize winner.

"Chima has been evicted by the producers from the 'Big Brother' house for violating the rules," CBS said in a statement released Saturday. "She will not be part of the show's jury. Her eviction will be addressed on an upcoming broadcast of the show."

A CBS spokeswoman did not immediately return messages seeking further comment.

Simone, from West Hollywood, Calif., was last seen on the show conjuring conspiracy theories after her ally, bodybuilder Jessie Godderz, was spontaneously nominated for eviction Thursday because of the "coup d'etat," a power secretly voted on by viewers that was used to overthrow Simone's nominations.

"Looks like me and the producers need to have a little bit of a talk," she said.

Since entering the "Big Brother 11" house last month, Simone has been one of the season's most outspoken houseguests. When she was nominated for eviction during the first week, CBS censored her live last-plea speech, which referenced derogatory terms used by her competitor.

Seven contestants remain on "Big Brother 11."

Usain Bolt 9.58 100m World Record

Usain ‘the Lightning’ Bolt, the speedy Jamaican, dominated and crushed the competition in tonight’s 100 meter men’s race in Beijing to win gold. The amazing part is that Bolt won the 100 meter race in just 80 meters. He was so far ahead after 80 meters that he pulled up and started celebrating and pumping his chest as he crossed the finish line in a world record time of 9.69 seconds.