Comments on: Democrats Convert Stimulus Bill To PDF Format To Prevent Keyword Searches

By: Justin Noyes

Justin Noyes — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 04:28:43 +0000

Just when you thought that the dems could not sink any lower…

Oh well. I have a question. Where can I get a copy of the full text (preferably in a mainstream file format) of the so-called stimulus bill online from a neutral source?

I need some material for my blog and this bill will be the “gift” that keeps on giving.

By: DRK

DRK — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:30:24 +0000

If you actually bothered to go look at the bill, you would find that it is easily searchable. Here’s a thought: use your brains, instead of blindly spouting conspiracy theories. You are a conservative; surely there are many things in this bill you could find to dislike, if you actually took the time to read it. Perhaps, to shorten the time that would take, you could — oh, I don’t know–use the search feature that is clearly available on this document.

By: Chris Jones

Chris Jones — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:53:22 +0000

Way to go Michael! I was waiting for someone to finally get it. Thanks.

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:36:27 +0000

FYI ~ PDF files arent always searchable.

If the text within a PDF only looks like text but upon zooming in you find each page to be a JPG or other pixel based image the PDF is not searchable.

So, text searching PDFs is possible IF the PDF was made in such a way to allow it to be preserved as text.

However, with a standard office Kyocera copy center you could scan the 1,100ish pages in less than 10 mins as a single document that is made of pixels that ends up NOT being a searchable document.

Sure, maybe you could then use OCR tools to convert it, but 99% of the population would stop trying to search if you simply created the PDF as images instead of text.

By: Mister Twister

Mister Twister — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:45:12 +0000

You should do your homework before posting such BS. PDF files are certainly accessible by web search and are much easier to read. It is also much easier to search within a PDF document for relevant information. Duh.

By: Ms. Missive

Ms. Missive — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:27:33 +0000

bwahahahha!! D.U.M.B.

You can also convert the PDF back to whatever searchable format you want it in (just in case you didn’t actually realize that you CAN search a PDF file).

At least add a little update to your blog post admitting your error.

By: thehotjoints

thehotjoints — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 21:42:42 +0000

New blog post: Democrats Convert Stimulus Bill To PDF Format To Prevent Keyword Searches http://tinyurl.com/cb9nlx

By: Frank

Frank — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:55:58 +0000

Are you serious? You know you can do searches right? Seriously, do some research .

here http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/Recovery_Bill_Div_B.pdf

try that on

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:29:58 +0000

Uh, you know you CAN do word searches in PDF format, right?

By: Andrew S.

Andrew S. — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:54:40 +0000

Great observation! Yeah it’s not so much of a surprise to me. What does surprise me is the blind following of Obama…even still.