Source: Novak's Victim Worse Than First Thought

[Changenow]

Source: ABC

The pedestrian who was struck by prominent Washington columnist and commentator Robert Novak is in worse shape than first thought, a hospital source tells ABC 7 News.

The victim, a 66-year-old man, appeared somewhat incoherent, said the source who had seen the victim. The man appeared to have casts on his neck and back. The victim was X-rayed and a surgical team plans to evaluate him, the source said.


Read more: http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0708/537957.html

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Poor Novakula.

Life for him has entered The World of Suck. Something tells me that he might want to start looking for a driver.

[roguevalley]

26. but for the good samaritan biker this would be a hit and run. put him

in jail. that is where you and I would be, his age be damned. Breathalyzer anyone?

[wordpix]

97. "There was a pedestrian splayed on his windshield" but Novak didn't stop

[Joe Bacon]

106. I hope Joe Wilson gets Novak's Little Black Corvette...

[yellowcanine]

109. Not being able to drive would put a serious dent in Novak's manhood ego, I suspect.

He is the epitome of the sports car penis substitute, imo.

[BOSSHOG]

2. I guess it wouldn't be appropriate to bring up novak's age

If you are conservative, the limitations which come along with age are not relevant.

[11 Bravo]

10. The doddering, traitorous, wingnut schmuck is in his 70's.

Hmmm. Sound like anyone else we know?

[BOSSHOG]

15. Let me pretend to be a right wing talking head putz

"Well mccain doesn't have to drive so why is novak's episode relevant to him having access to planet ending nuclear weapons?" We report you decide. We'll be right back after this message from viagra.

[Doug.Goodall]

41. Are you recommending McCain pick Novak for his VP?

[LSparkle]

3. Poor guy (victim) ... he needs to get a good lawyer and

SUE THE PANTS OFF NOVAKULA. That man should be in jail already, so
if he's going to be free, he ought to at least be BROKE.

[Richardo]

4. Sounds like the bike-rider would be a good start.

I read David Bono's bio somewhere around here and he's like uber-lawyer.

[LSparkle]

8. True -- how serendipitous that Bono was on the scene!

[Joanie Baloney]

11. Sorry...I have to say it

I've always been Pro Bono myself!

[Richardo]

12. *Someone* had to say it.

Why didn't *I* think of it?

[Dr.Phool]

27. Duzy!

[MiniMe]

42. It would probably be conflict of interest. He would probably be a much better witness.

[lonestarnot]

102. He wouldn't want to use his star witness as his lawyer.

hugh ugh.

[Jackpine Radical]

5. I don't see how he got off with no hit & run charges.

WHIP, I guess. (Wealth Has Its Privileges.)

[durablend]

7. Not WHIP...RHIP

Republican Has Its Privileges

[depakid]

9. According to the witness, it's a flagrant case

...the bicyclist told ABC 7's Suzanne Kennedy the pedestrian was splayed across Novak's windshield, and there was no way that Novak could not have known he struck someone. The cyclist, David Bono, also said that the pedestrian was in a crosswalk and had the right of way.

Yet another instance of Republicans believing that they're not accountable under the law....

[Tab]

13. We're not sure that he won't be charged

they're still doing the investigation.

However I wouldn't be surprised if he slides somehow, although the eyewitness makes it trickier.

He better give a heads up to his insurance company, though.

[Bob Dobbs]

17. If a rethuglican does it

it's not against the law.

[IntravenousDemilo]

6. I wonder if he'll try to get an apology from the pedestrian for putting Novak through such torment.

Y'know, like the one Cheney got from his drinking hunting buddy.

[durablend]

14. I expect the GOP is getting it's talking points squared away

"Pedestrian jumped in front of the car to cash in on easy money", "Bono gave to Obama which makes him a filthy pig", etc. etc.

[Dr.Phool]

28. I wonder if he'll try to get a pardon from the chimp!

[Ian David]

16. Wouldn't it be funny if it was Harry Whittington who he hit?

And then Harry apologized for getting in the way of Novak's car?

[billybob537]

18. Sounds like an ambulance chasers wet dream!

[spotbird]

20. The guy who caught Novak

was anything but an ambulance chaser.

[NashVegas]

19. Novakula Was Going to Keep Going If He Hadn't Been Stopped

I bet that biker is getting all kinds of offers right now. Offers to record interviews. Offers to forget what he saw ...

[ronnykmarshall]

21. A liberal PLANT!

This guy was planted by the liberal media to harm Novak!!

I figuered I'd give the freepers a freebee.

[libnnc]

22. He coulda killed the guy!

Fucking creep! How the hell could the DC police let Novak go like that?

I really hope the man presses serious charges.

[lpbk2713]

23. Novak can share a cell with Karl Rove.

Provided, of course, they both don't get an Executive Pardon.

No doubt about it. Novak is in a world of shit.

[opihimoimoi]

24. Novak was over dosed on Geritol??? Damn....

[RedShoes]

25. I pray God (or everyone's individual higher power) to help this man get better asap. nt

[Historic NY]

29. Why wasn't Novak charged with Reckless Driving, and

leaving the scene of a personal injury accident? Is he still buying off people?

[BearSquirrel2]

50. Hit and Run

He should be charged with hit and run.

[wordpix]

98. Novak got a $50 fine! WTF? C'mon DC police, are you bought off by the repukes, too?

[yellowcanine]

110. They didn't charge hit and run because he stopped within a block. But simple "failure to yield"

does seem a little light. I mean he did hit the guy. It should be reckless driving at the least.

[Truth4Justice]

105. One law for you and me and another for "them". We would have been booked into jail, at least.

[valerief]

30. In a few days we'll be seeing the victim from a hospital bed apologizing

to Novak for walking. You know, a la Harry Whittington.

[jberryhill]

31. I'm still in awe of that....

I want the ability to shoot people and have them apologize to me for it.

That's just so awesome.

[valerief]

32. It's like getting fired and having to train your offshore replacement.

The insults never end when you have no money.

[jberryhill]

45. Huh?

Whittington was no poor struggling victim of poverty. He was Cheney's "hunting" buddy (if that's what you want to call shooting semi-captive animals).

[damntexdem]

33. Hey, David Bono, don't go flying for a while.

At least until after you testify.

[ecstatic]

34. Even if he's not, he better take this as far as he can

Since the law won't protect him, maybe hitting Novakula where it hurt$ will.

[Caria]

35. $50 citation

for failure to yield the right of way. That's what Novak says he got. http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hRbiYrm8V...

WTF?????

[grasswire]

36. Is Bono a Republican?

I hope to God he is. That would be even more sweet.

[Peace Patriot]

37. I can't say it surprises me. Novak has been so sick with power for so long,

it's no shock at all that he wouldn't care who he's running over--if this incident happened as reported.

He should have been in jail long ago anyway, for treason--not just outing CIA agent Valerie Plame, a 20 year WMD counter-proliferation veteran, but then, a week later, taking pains to out the entire Brewster-Jennings WMD counter-proliferation network, putting all of its agents/contacts at risk of getting killed, and bringing their counter-proliferation work to an end. And I wonder who was feeding him information he shouldn't have had.

Here's the sequence of events:

May 2003: David Kelly (British counter-proliferation scientist) begins whistle-blowing anonymously to the BBC about the "sexed up" pre-war intel.

June 2003: Kelly mysteriously outed to his bosses; he is interrogated at a "safe house" and threatened with the Official Secrets Act.

7/6/03: Wilson publishes his op-ed debunking the Iraq/Niger nuke connection.

7/7/03: Tony Blair is informed that Kelly "could say some uncomfortable things" (Hutton report). (Note: "could say," not "had said.")

7/14/03: Novak outs Valerie Plame.

7/18/03: Kelly found dead, under highly suspicious circumstances; his office and computers are searched.

7/22/03: Novak additionally outs the entire Brewster-Jennings network. (Anyone whom the bad guys in foreign countries hadn't been able to identify from association with Plame, could now expand their likely murderous hunt to anyone who had contact with B/J).

-------

Novak has been outing good people since back in the days of Chile's heinous dictatorship. He is a total fascist dirtbag. But I guess with total fascist dirtbags running our government, our vote counting systems, our Dept. of Injustice, our Dept. of War Profiteering, the banking industry, the corporate 'news' monopolies, Congress and everything else, he just fades to vomit green among a mountain of Pukes.

[kimsterdemster]

38. from thinkprogess...

Politico notes that in a 2001 interview with the Washington Post, Novak said, “I really hate jaywalkers. I despise them. Since I don’t run the country, all I can do is yell at ‘em. The other option is to run ‘em over, but as a compassionate conservative, I would never do that.”

[Kire]

39. that interviewer scared me

"can you tell us what happened this morning?"

is she trying to traumatize him?

[Robb]

48. She was trying her best to be hardcore, that's for sure

..Sort of petered out there at the end. But peppering with questions is the way to do it, on the street, walking with a subject.

It was intense, but I think overall she did her job well.

[Caoimhe]

40. n/t

[Catherine Vincent]

43. I hope he recovers soon.

"But at least he's not dead".--Robert Novak

[jberryhill]

46. I doubt Robert Novak will ever recover from what's wrong with him....

...but I admire your hope.

[olddad56]

44. How did the press find out? Maybe Valere Plame leaked it to the press.

[mtnester]

47. Any other person on this planet would have been hauled away

to the BAC blower machine, or forced to sign a Refuse to Consent form for blood alcohol levels. I don't know DC's rules on refusal, but on Ohio, you lose your DL for a year, automatic.

[Blackhatjack]

49. Novak kept driving because the law does not apply to Bush cronies....

.... and his first response 'I did not know I hit anyone' after being flagged down 1/2 block away from the scene of the crime.

[Binka]

51. No he said "I didn't see him." He knew it was a him, and he knew he hit him.

He repeatedly tried to leave even after Mr Bono cornered him and called 911.

[spotbird]

52. Pedestrian Hit by Columnist Is Elderly, Homeless (still in hospital)

Source: Washington Post

The pedestrian who was struck by syndicated political columnist and television pundit Robert D. Novak remained in the hospital today but was sitting up in bed and talking with a relative and social workers.

After the traffic incident yesterday, police misspelled the pedestrian's name and gave the wrong birth year for him. He is 86-year-old Don Clifford Liljenquist, who has no fixed address. Most recently, he has been living at the Emery School Shelter on Lincoln Road NE. He declined through a family member to be interviewed.


Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

[wryter2000]

53. What would Bar Bush have to say about this?

"Well, he was old and homeless, so this is working out very well for him."

[Ian David]

61. Actually, if he survives, he may have one hell of a lawsuit.

I hope he bankrupts Novak and gets a mansion of his own.

[wryter2000]

66. Awesome!

I hadn't thought of that. Maybe he'll end up driving Novakula's Corvette.

[EV_Ares]

79. Yeah, won't be homeless long. Hope that attorney who is a witness and saw

asshole trying to get away, gets him some legal assistance. The witness may not be able to represent him as he would be the eye witness but being a partner in a law firm and he seemed pissed about Novak trying to get away may help.

[LiberalFighter]

96. Especially since he has had other run ins with those he doesn't approve of on the road.

[bullwinkle428]

65. HA! Great minds think alike!! See thread below...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[wryter2000]

68. LOL

Of course, someone named Bullwinkle would think up something clever.

[happygoluckytoyou]

70. sorry, not cluttering up her beautiful mind with this

[rfranklin]

78. Nice warm hospital bed and intravenous feeding!

Works for me every time!

[WriteDown]

54. He is homeless???

But sitting with a relative? Are they homeless too? I always wonder about families that leave people abandoned on the streets. I would sooner take 15 family members into my house than condemn them to that fate.

[Frisbee]

63. I think sometimes...

out of embarrassment, people successfully manage to hide their homelessness from friends and relatives. That said, I hope he manages to take Novak to the cleaners.

[WriteDown]

64. You could be right...

But I've also had friends who have relegated one or both of their parents to shoddy, lonely nursing homes because it would disrupt their yuppy lifestyle to have an elderly relative staying in one of their spare bedrooms.

[Frisbee]

93. Believe me, I know how that goes...

You listening, Aunt Ro?

[pnwmom]

92. Easy to say, hard to do.

For example, I have a friend who had a mother who had at times been diagnosed as schizophrenic. She was also a serious drug user. The mother pretty much hated her daughter -- would never have lived with her. My friend tried to get herself appointed guardian but her mother fought it tooth and nail -- and was deemed competent by the court. My friend helped to arrange several different placements, which her mother would then get kicked out of. My friend even bought her mother a condo to live in -- the mother turned it into a drug den and she and her user "friends" tore it apart.

I don't judge families when I see people on the streets. The law allows people -- even people who would seem incompetent to most of us -- to live on the streets if they "want" to. In many cases, there's nothing a family can do.

[harmonicon]

99. some people more-or-less choose the lifestyle

... or at least they choose it due to some level of mental illness. I knew a number of homeless people in my neihbourhood when I was in college. One guy sometimes had jobs, went to visit his mother and disabled brother every few weeks, had kids with an ex-wife who he kept in touch with, etc. He'd been to college and was a smart guy, but there was just something about him and the way he lived his life and viewed the world that forced him into that situation. He would walk off of jobs to get high, and of course get fired. I would assume he was similar as a husband and father as he was an employee. The thing is, he always knew what he was doing - a really strange guy who I none-the-less considered a friend. I knew another guy who was extremely well educated, and even moved away for a job in Florida for a year or two. Then one day I saw him on the street by my apartment. He said that he'd moved back (where he was homeless or living at the Y) to Chicago, because there wasn't much work as a translator (he spoke a number of languages, but mostly worked as a japanese translator) in the off season. There are all sorts of people in this world, and I'll never understand most of them.

[Catherine Vincent]

55. He's 86?

That poor man.

[Vanje]

56. "He's not Dead!....

Thats the main thing".

[DainBramaged]

57. Why wasn't the Douchebag of Freedom given a sobriety test?

Fucking favoritism while a man at the end of his journey sits in a hospital bed. By the time his lawsuit comes to trial, he will have probably passed on and the Prince of Fucking Darkness will have slid by on another one.

[mikeytherat]

62. He was/is drunk or he's had a stroke.

From the video, the way he slurred words and his speech patterns sound like a stroke victim or someone who's had several too many to drink.

mikey_the_rat

[orleans]

82. what video? i missed it. got a link?

i think he should have been at least ticketed for leaving the scene of an accident.

[mikeytherat]

87. Here's the clip (they have edited it - it was longer yesterday):

Wait for Novakula's best line of the clip:
"At least he's not dead - that's the main thing."

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0708/537957_video.html

mikey_the_rat

[orleans]

107. the video i'm watching from your link does not have the novak quote on it

they do not show novak interviewed

however--the frozen frame at the end shows a channel 7 microphone in novak's ugly face. i guess that was the part abc decided to cut.

[underpants]

83. I haven't seen the video but the first thing I thought of was the 5 martini lunch

or liquid lunch as they sometimes call it

Driving off from hitting someone in broad daylight-that sure sounds like a boozer to me.

But then Novak sold his soul to evil for possibly just this sort of thing.

[happygoluckytoyou]

71. sorry, his official title is the Douchebag Of Darkness... its a fact

[aquart]

80. Or an eye chart.

[frylock]

85. my first thought as well..

it wouldn't surprise me in the least to learn novack had indulged in a few eye-openers.

[sinkingfeeling]

58. Hope there's a liberal lawyer in DC willing to represent this man for free. Sue Novak for $$$$$.

Then the dear old man won't have to be homeless!

[nickyt]

59. He's f*cking 86?? Damn! So has that Novak guy popped over to visit

and see how the poor old fella's getting along? Sent a card, a bouquet of get-well floral wishes? Anything? Anything at all? Has he made a public apology and sent his deepest regrets?

[monmouth]

60. The bicyclist (also an attorney, Bono I think is his name) should

start drafting a beautiful lawsuit for this man. I'd help pay the fee...

[Chulanowa]

67. Odd name for a lawyer, really...

I don't think Novakula's getting out of this one, though. Good.

[happygoluckytoyou]

69. 10 RESPONSES FROM THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS

1. bend over i'll drive you home...oh wait...you're homeless...lucky you then, you're already there
2. i'm going to sue you for bashing my windshield with your head, i hope you have a lawyer
3. sue me, and i'll have you transferred so far into gitmo, even YOU'LL think you're an iraqi
4. if you think i'm paying for the small spot on my windshield that you cleaned, you don't know me
5. do i still have time for a presidential pardon, someone get me the whitehouse, tell them deep-shit is on the phone
6. i am The Prince Of Darkness, so get out of my way, POD coming thru, make a hole
7. i paid my $50, go buy some reflectors and be seen
8. be careful, i know people in the CIA... of course they are all outted now, but i know them
9. my son Alex is going to swift boat your ass
10. i didn't see anyone hit my car, but did you see the size of that mosquito on my windshield

[Blue Belle]

72. How does Novak manage to get only a $50 traffic violation???

The victim goes up over the top of Novak's hood and hits the windshield, but Novak isn't issued more than a moving violation? Hell, they charge you more of a fine for not wearing a seatbelt than if you mow down a pedestrian. No field sobriety test? Where did Novak hit this guy - D.C. or on some rich GOP bigwig's ranch in Texas?

[orleans]

84. cops don't want the piece of shit writing anything bad about them? n/t

[struggle4progress]

73. Right Winger a Serial Dinger (TMZ)

Posted Jul 24th 2008 1:35PM by TMZ Staff

... Back in 2004, Novak was cruising along when, according to the suit, he "failed to obey a red traffic light ... entered into the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and 6th St. at a high rate of speed and violently struck the motor vehicle being operated by Plaintiff Chad Clarke."

The suit, which settled in 2006, claims Clarke suffered "severe, painful and permanent injuries of body and mind."

Clarke sued for $100,000 ...

http://www.tmz.com/2008/07/24/right-winger-a-serial-din... /

[Timefortruth]

77. This deserves its own thread. nt

[tpsbmam]

86. oops, sorry! self delete

[yellowcanine]

108. The Prince of Darkness has a reputation for being an aggressive driver.

If there is a God the failure to yield puts enough points on his license that he loses it for a while. Though I suspects he will try to con some kind judge into giving him PBJ and no points. The fact that a pedestrian was hurt by his inattentive driving may prevent that though. I suspect Novak's lawyer us earning his fee trying to head off another lawsuit.

[merwin]

74. The "traffic incident"?

Rear-ending someone going 5 mpg is a traffic incident. This is injuring a fucking pedestrian.

And a $50 ticket for it? My God, what is wrong with our country when there is less of a fine for hitting a pedestrian than for going 5 over the speed limit.

[DebbieCDC]

75. I'm surprised he got cited for anything

This is DC remember -- if you are connected nothing's a crime. Jeebus, DC cops were out scoring drugs and hookers for Marion Barry when he was mayor, and acting as his personal goon squad. Then under former Police Chief Ramsey they evolved into arresting anti-war protestors by sweeping everyone into a park, blocking the exits and arresting everyone en masse (protestor or hapless pedestrian it didn't matter). I see not much has changed since I left that swamp. (That's not just a swipe, it IS built on a swamp).

[Politicalboi]

76. Cha Ching! Cha Ching!

I hope he sues the pants off of Novack. I bet this man has more relatives than he remembers coming to see him now ready to give him a home.

[tpsbmam]

81. Novak a "serial dinger".....

http://www.tmz.com/2008/07/24/right-winger-a-serial-din...

Robert Novak, the conservative columnist who hosted a CNN show on politics, is a safety risk in Washington, D.C., at least according to a lawsuit we turned up.

As you know, Novak struck a pedestrian yesterday in D.C. while driving his Corvette. By the way, apparently the guy isn't doing so well.

Back in 2004, Novak was cruising along when, according to the suit, he "failed to obey a red traffic light ... entered into the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and 6th St. at a high rate of speed and violently struck the motor vehicle being operated by Plaintiff Chad Clarke."

The suit, which settled in 2006, claims Clarke suffered "severe, painful and permanent injuries of body and mind."

Clarke sued for $100,000. The terms of settlement were not disclosed.

[David Zephyr]

88. Bonfire of the fucking vanities deja vu all over again!

Tom Wolfe's 1987 gripping novel "The is Bonfire of the Vanities" proves prophetic.

Here is a real clash of cultures of two old men who are about the same age, but live in two entirely different worlds. And there's no escaping that the world of Mr. Don Clifford Liljenquist was made harder and more oppressive and heartless by the actions of Robert Novak.

Karma has come. Look at the man in the mirror, Bob.

[Duncan]

89. In case any body missed it:

Asked whether he believed Novak's account of not seeing the pedestrian, bicyclist David A. Bono said, "No, I would not believe that."

Bono, 47, a partner at Harkins Cunningham law firm, said: "I can tell you what I saw. I was on K Street on my bicycle, and what I saw was a guy get hit by a black Corvette convertible. I see the guy go up on the hood, up on the windshield." As the Corvette turned right from 18th Street onto the service road beside K, Bono said, "the guy rolled off the hood and landed on the street."


$50 ticket!?!

[wordpix]

100. i'm outraged, too---$50 fine for a hit and run. GRRRRRR

[dave123williams]

90. It would be amusing to see Novak and this guy....trade places.

I would *love* to see Robert Novak die penniless, traitor to the nation that he is.

[proReality]

91. Now we know why Novak "didn't see him"...

the wealthy, arrogant, egotists never see the homeless poor.

[DCKit]

94. That's strange. Local Newz (DC), said the elderly victim man had been released...

with minor injuries, the day of the accident. I wonder if Novak, aka "The Sarcophagus" (around my house) is paying for his own spin, or if the MSM's corporate masters are covering for him across the networks at the behest of someone they're all afraid of.

If anyone here believes they could get away with hitting someone in broad daylight, in a crosswalk, against the signal, with a $50 citation, they need professional help.

It's a different world when you're part of the Republic machine.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

95. So Novak really didn't see him...

Just like a typical rethuglican. The poor, the homeless, the physically and mentally challenged, and the generally downtrodden are rarely seen by the conservative clique.

[yellowcanine]

111. He has a good excuse. He was texting Karl Rove at the time trying to arrange a date.

He got all caught up in the moment and just forgot to look where he was going.

[Changenow]

103. It's bullshit that this was merged

they are different stories.

[Zuiderelle]

113. I agree. This subthread / other thread CORRECTS his age as 86.

Not a good merge at all.

[mbperrin]

101. Novak drives a Corvette????????

Wouldn't Viagra make the same statement without being able to harm pedestrians?

[yellowcanine]

112. Yes, Novak is known for his pen - err - Corvette.

[CONN]

104. Still under investigation... but "failure to yield" and a person was hit???????????

Strange. If they know enough to give him a "failure to yield the right of way to a pedestrian" ticket and he hit the person and drove off, seems there ain't much to investigate. Charge him w/hit&run