William F. Buckley - Deceased, Inanimate, In Permanent Repose

[Recyclerz]

William F. Buckley, one of the intellectual fathers of the modern Conservative movement, has ceased to be.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/business/media/27cnd-buckley.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Although I didn't agree with him on much, he was an imposing figure in the history of American intellectual life and sure knew a lot of big words. He had a pretty good, if somewhat arch, sense of humor and was intellectually honest enough to admit that Bush fucked up royally in Iraq. When one looks at the current "Conservative thought leaders", one will realize how much someone like Mr. Buckley will be missed, even by commie-symps like me.

Godspeed.

[Rockvillejoe]

yesssssss. or as he would intimate about his current condition: "ex post facto"....
rest easy, billy!

[Bulldogcakes]

He is one of the fathers of the modern Conservative movement. Buckley and Milton Friedman were the intellectual backbone for most of the past 50 years. They basically fused the Conservatism of the 50's with Libertarianism, which was pretty radical at the time. When he started publishing National Review, there was nothing else like it on the shelves. Now of course, there's a zillion imitators.

I've missed his "Firing Line" shows since they went off the air in 1999. They were a rare chance to see prominent public policy types not just give speeches telling us all what they believe, but having those ideas challenged and debated. You'll get some of that in a good interview, but not with as much follow up as you got from his debates. Some guests would start out with a premise that seemed perfectly plausible, and by the end of the show they looked 6 inches shorter than when they arrived.

I also owe him much of my own curiosity for language. There's a lot of truth to be found in etymology. Whenever he would use one of those ungodly terms, I would find myself rushing to the dictionary to find out what it meant. His shows on language were always fun as well. I'll miss him.

[TheMojoPin]

“The central question that emerges…is whether the White community in the South is entitled to take such measures as are necessary to prevail, politically and culturally, in areas where it does not predominate numerically? The sobering answer is Yes—the White community is so entitled because, for the time being, it is the advanced race.”
—William F. Buckley, National Review, August 24, 1957

Byrd, you're next.

[HBox]

Yeah, it was really hard for me to respect the man after reading shit from the National Review in the 50s and 60s. That quote is the tip of the iceburg.

[Snacks]

:drunk: :clap: :thumbup: :drunk: :clap: :thumbup: :drunk: :clap: :thumbup:

[Bulldogcakes]

Some highlights of his life

Feud with Gore Vidal

Buckley appeared in a series of televised debates with Gore Vidal during the 1968 Democratic Party convention. In their penultimate debate on August 28 of that year, the two disagreed over the actions of the Chicago police and the protesters at the ongoing Democratic Convention in Chicago. At one point Vidal called Buckley a “pro-crypto Nazi”, to which Buckley replied, “Now listen, you queer, stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I will sock you in your goddamn face, and you will stay plastered.”

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On the war in Iraq

Buckley had recently criticized certain aspects of policy within the modern conservative movement. He has said, "Bush is conservative, but he is not a conservative", and that the president was not elected "as a vessel of the conservative faith." According to Buckley, the war in Iraq was "anything but conservative. The reality of the situation is that missions abroad to effect regime change in countries without a bill of rights or democratic tradition are terribly arduous." He added: "This isn’t to say that the Iraq war is wrong, or that history will judge it to be wrong. But it is absolutely to say that conservatism implies a certain submission to reality; and this war has an unrealistic frank and is being conscripted by events".[17] In a February 2006 column published at National Review Online and distributed by Universal Press Syndicate, Buckley stated unequivocally that, "One cannot doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed." Buckley has also stated that "...it's important that we acknowledge in the inner councils of state that it (the war) has failed, so that we should look for opportunities to cope with that failure."

[scottinnj]

RIP Billy Boy, you were an inspiration.

[Ritalin]

I didn't agree much of his politics, but he sure made it more interesting.

[ADF]

If F. Murray Abraham goes next, I think the long-feared arrival of the F. Killer is here.

[PapaBear]

Are there any pot smoking right wingers left?

[scottinnj]

Are there any pot smoking right wingers left?

Not since the mandatory drug testing for delivery drivers.......oooooh! Someone give me a high hat!

[PapaBear]

Not since the mandatory drug testing for delivery drivers.......oooooh! Someone give me a high hat!
Right winger my ASS!:furious:

[scottinnj]

Right winger my ASS!:furious:

Oh its true, but like McCain, I'm veeerrry bipartisan.

[PapaBear]

Oh its true, but like McCain, I'm veeerrry bipartisan.
Oh. I thought you meant me.

[scottinnj]

Oh. I thought you meant me.

You drive too? Wait a minute, I'm lost now.

[PapaBear]

You drive too? Wait a minute, I'm lost now.
It's like you don't even know me anymore. I think we should "take a break".

[scottinnj]

It's like you don't even know me anymore. I think we should "take a break".

:thumbup: BWHAHAHAHA!!! OMG You made me laugh so f-ing hard! God I love it here!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: