Focusing on guns and politics, here is today's Second Amendment News Roundup:
I am a bit late getting on board with this (the death of Bill Buckley was a set-back), but Nicki has the story and two updates of the latest gestapo tactics of the AFT...the jackbooted thugs have struck again:
http://libertyzone.blogspot.com/2008/02/cavalry-arms-raided-by-atf-today.html
Nicki also has this from Congressional and Senate morons. The Democrats wish to battle rising oil prices by piling on more taxes! The federal government already takes more in taxes from a gallon of gas than the oil companies make in profits. But of course it is always corporate America that is greedy and evil, never government:
http://libertyzone.blogspot.com/2008/02/in-attempt-to-battle-rising-oil-prices.html
The War on Guns provides the updates to the latest ATF travesty, along with the background of the story. Just click on the links:
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2008/02/cavalry-arms-update.html
Mike McCarville is reporting today that Hillary's campaign continues to implode:
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2008/03/clinton-campaigns-implosion-continues.html
If you pray, put Red's Trading Post at the top of your list for Tuesday. Tuesday marks the date of the trial for Red's Trading Post vs. the ATF and their heavy-handed, gestapo tactics. Ryan gives us this update:
http://redstradingpost.blogspot.com/2008/02/reds-trading-post-trial-begins-tuesday.html
Alphecca has very discouraging news from Vermont:
http://www.alphecca.com/?p=658
This is today's MUST-read. Read all the way to the end. Breda has some shocking information on just how docile and sheep-like America has become:
http://thebredafallacy.blogspot.com/2008/02/of-mice-and-men.html
And while you're at it, read THIS from Breda! While most Muslims are harmless, the 7% minority want to kill us...that translates to 91 MILLION Islamic extremists who wish to wreak havoc:
http://thebredafallacy.blogspot.com/2008/02/numerology.html
Born Again Redneck has a very nice tribute to William F. Buckley, Jr., along with excerpts from a debate between Buckley and that a**hole Noam Chomsky, as well as my fav pic of my two political heroes/mentors standing together--Bill Buckley and Ronald Reagan:
http://bornagainredneck.blogspot.com/2008/02/william-frank-buckley-jr-november-24.html
Sebastian points to a paper that shows that relationship between gun ownership and freedom:
http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/2008/02/29/relationship-between-gun-ownership-and-freedom/
Dustin's Gun Blog posts Dennis Prager's 5 questions about the mainstream media's coverage of shootings at universities:
http://dustinsgunblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/five-questions-about-shootings-at.html
Say Uncle thoroughly takes apart the wolf in sheep's clothes, The American Hunters and Shooters Association:
http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2008/02/29/american_hunters_and_shooters_association_screech-2/
As always, Roberta X has a thought-provoking read, even if you find yourself disagreeing with some of it (but not much, at least with me..although I have a bone to pick with her on William F. Buckley):
http://twowheeledmadwoman.blogspot.com/2008/02/law-liberty-motherhood.html
Of Arms and the Law has the shocking information that most lower federal court judges do NOT believe the 2nd Amendment is an INDIVIDUAL right:
http://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2008/02/another_take_on.php
Showing posts with label William F. Buckley dies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label William F. Buckley dies. Show all posts
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
William F. Buckley Jr.: A Fond and Sad Farewell
Conservative intellectual icon William F. Buckley, Jr. died today while working at his office at his home. He was 82 years old.
Words cannot even begin to convey the impact Buckley had on the political process and the wide influence he had on America.
I have often said that if the conservative movement gained its greatest political triumph with Ronald Reagan, it was William F. Buckley, Jr. who gave the movement its intellectual foundation. And, it was Buckley who was the movement's most feared and most ardent defender against liberal attacks.
Buckley's power was with words alone rather than vitriol. His rise to fame came at a time when political debate was more focused on ideas, concepts, and the power of rhetorical acumen than the shouting contests to which we have all become accustomed.
Yet it was a big mistake to equate his gentlemanly demeanor with weakness. He was known to quickly dismantle his opponents' entire premise with wit, humor, sarcasm, and pure intellectual prowess. Nonetheless, he was largely respected by people of all political persuasions simply because they knew he was the real deal and had the intellectual authority to back up his arguments with facts and sheer logic.
When Buckley first burst onto the scene in the early 1950s with his classic book, 'God and Man at Yale,' he found himself the target of the intellectual elite at his Alma mater, who attempted to portray the young Buckley as a snarky upstart with no gravitas to be taken seriously.
Buckley, however, proved to be anything but an 'angry young man.' To be sure, he had a bone to pick with Yale and its liberal bias, including its tendency to hold up to ridicule all things religious despite its history as a religiously-oriented school. But Buckley set out to tackle Yale not with rage or vengeance but with ideas, all neatly and impressively expressed through the power of words and a manner of putting those words together in such a way as to maximize impact.
The mere fact that the Yale establishment felt it necessary to attack one of its own stellar graduates so vehemently is ample proof of Buckley's impact. They feared his influence, and indeed, he set the intellectual elite spinning on their heels as they circled the wagons.
Buckley capitalized on his new-found fame by launching what became the longest running TV program in television history in 1955--The Firing Line. The program was the perfect vehicle by which Buckley's powerful rhetorical skills could be placed on display to a national audience.
The Firing Line exhibited Buckley's famed skill as a debater. His guests included persons from across the political spectrum, many of whom would serve as Buckley's debate opponents on the program.
At times there was no formal debate format, but an informal exchange of ideas and ideology as Buckley and his guest sat comfortably facing each other at an angle. Even then, Buckley would deliver his famous good-humored barbs that his guests would have to endure.
On one show during the 1980s one such exchange occurred when a liberal was defending a certain politician for having a picture of Lenin hanging in his office. Buckley, of course, was horrified. The liberal, attempting to defend the display, stated, 'Oh, Bill, you know as well as I do that having such a picture proves nothing. I mean, even I probably have a picture of Lenin somewhere in my office.'
To which Buckley quickly replied, 'And you act like it.'
The Firing Line continued as a staple of PBS programming for over 30 years.
By the late 1950s Buckley had reached a level of fame not known to a conservative since the days of President Calvin Coolidge. He wrote another book, which became a classic in American political literature entitled, 'Up From Liberalism,' in which he postulated that liberalism as a political ideology appealed to the absolute lowest of human motivators, and that only a conservatism based upon the liberties delineated in the Constitution could provide the impetus for Americans to truly rise to their highest potential.
During this same period Buckley launched his magazine, 'National Review,' which for over 50 years has contained some of the most in-depth and thoroughly researched articles and commentary on the American political process.
It was Buckley through the National Review who first began to push the idea that former actor Ronald Reagan would be the ultimate great communicator for the conservative movement in the political arena, meaning of course, that the goal was to eventually elect Reagan to the Presidency.
When asked in an interview a year or so ago about the Reagan triumph during the 1980s, Buckley said merely, 'Finally, we won.'
I can say with pride that I served on the Buckley-Reagan team back in the early to late 1970s in an organization that Buckley founded called, 'Young Americans for Freedom.' This organization was nationwide but was focused on spreading the conservative message on college campuses...and to elect Ronald Reagan to the Presidency.
In later years Buckley continued to write articles for National Review, his syndicated newspaper column, and other publications, in addition to writing his popular spy novels and appearing in debates across the country.
The final few years of his life were not kind to Buckley in terms of health issues, however. He suffered from emphysema and sometimes exhibited the depression and despair that sometimes accompanies such devastating chronic illnesses. He even stated in an interview a while back that he wanted to die. As a man of deep faith--he was a devout Roman Catholic--Buckley felt that the afterlife would be a great relief to him.
Yet his still managed to treat us to a bit of the famous Buckley humor. He said that his doctor had placed him on an exercise regimen and that he hated exercise. Better to die than to be forced to exercise every day for the rest of your life.
Of course, this came from a man of 82 years after having lived one extraordinary life.
Ronald Reagan once said that Buckley was 'the most influential thinker and political commentator in modern times.'
And that one extraordinary life may well have saved our Republic.
Godspeed, Mr. Buckley, and thank-you.
Words cannot even begin to convey the impact Buckley had on the political process and the wide influence he had on America.
I have often said that if the conservative movement gained its greatest political triumph with Ronald Reagan, it was William F. Buckley, Jr. who gave the movement its intellectual foundation. And, it was Buckley who was the movement's most feared and most ardent defender against liberal attacks.
Buckley's power was with words alone rather than vitriol. His rise to fame came at a time when political debate was more focused on ideas, concepts, and the power of rhetorical acumen than the shouting contests to which we have all become accustomed.
Yet it was a big mistake to equate his gentlemanly demeanor with weakness. He was known to quickly dismantle his opponents' entire premise with wit, humor, sarcasm, and pure intellectual prowess. Nonetheless, he was largely respected by people of all political persuasions simply because they knew he was the real deal and had the intellectual authority to back up his arguments with facts and sheer logic.
When Buckley first burst onto the scene in the early 1950s with his classic book, 'God and Man at Yale,' he found himself the target of the intellectual elite at his Alma mater, who attempted to portray the young Buckley as a snarky upstart with no gravitas to be taken seriously.
Buckley, however, proved to be anything but an 'angry young man.' To be sure, he had a bone to pick with Yale and its liberal bias, including its tendency to hold up to ridicule all things religious despite its history as a religiously-oriented school. But Buckley set out to tackle Yale not with rage or vengeance but with ideas, all neatly and impressively expressed through the power of words and a manner of putting those words together in such a way as to maximize impact.
The mere fact that the Yale establishment felt it necessary to attack one of its own stellar graduates so vehemently is ample proof of Buckley's impact. They feared his influence, and indeed, he set the intellectual elite spinning on their heels as they circled the wagons.
Buckley capitalized on his new-found fame by launching what became the longest running TV program in television history in 1955--The Firing Line. The program was the perfect vehicle by which Buckley's powerful rhetorical skills could be placed on display to a national audience.
The Firing Line exhibited Buckley's famed skill as a debater. His guests included persons from across the political spectrum, many of whom would serve as Buckley's debate opponents on the program.
At times there was no formal debate format, but an informal exchange of ideas and ideology as Buckley and his guest sat comfortably facing each other at an angle. Even then, Buckley would deliver his famous good-humored barbs that his guests would have to endure.
On one show during the 1980s one such exchange occurred when a liberal was defending a certain politician for having a picture of Lenin hanging in his office. Buckley, of course, was horrified. The liberal, attempting to defend the display, stated, 'Oh, Bill, you know as well as I do that having such a picture proves nothing. I mean, even I probably have a picture of Lenin somewhere in my office.'
To which Buckley quickly replied, 'And you act like it.'
The Firing Line continued as a staple of PBS programming for over 30 years.
By the late 1950s Buckley had reached a level of fame not known to a conservative since the days of President Calvin Coolidge. He wrote another book, which became a classic in American political literature entitled, 'Up From Liberalism,' in which he postulated that liberalism as a political ideology appealed to the absolute lowest of human motivators, and that only a conservatism based upon the liberties delineated in the Constitution could provide the impetus for Americans to truly rise to their highest potential.
During this same period Buckley launched his magazine, 'National Review,' which for over 50 years has contained some of the most in-depth and thoroughly researched articles and commentary on the American political process.
It was Buckley through the National Review who first began to push the idea that former actor Ronald Reagan would be the ultimate great communicator for the conservative movement in the political arena, meaning of course, that the goal was to eventually elect Reagan to the Presidency.
When asked in an interview a year or so ago about the Reagan triumph during the 1980s, Buckley said merely, 'Finally, we won.'
I can say with pride that I served on the Buckley-Reagan team back in the early to late 1970s in an organization that Buckley founded called, 'Young Americans for Freedom.' This organization was nationwide but was focused on spreading the conservative message on college campuses...and to elect Ronald Reagan to the Presidency.
In later years Buckley continued to write articles for National Review, his syndicated newspaper column, and other publications, in addition to writing his popular spy novels and appearing in debates across the country.
The final few years of his life were not kind to Buckley in terms of health issues, however. He suffered from emphysema and sometimes exhibited the depression and despair that sometimes accompanies such devastating chronic illnesses. He even stated in an interview a while back that he wanted to die. As a man of deep faith--he was a devout Roman Catholic--Buckley felt that the afterlife would be a great relief to him.
Yet his still managed to treat us to a bit of the famous Buckley humor. He said that his doctor had placed him on an exercise regimen and that he hated exercise. Better to die than to be forced to exercise every day for the rest of your life.
Of course, this came from a man of 82 years after having lived one extraordinary life.
Ronald Reagan once said that Buckley was 'the most influential thinker and political commentator in modern times.'
And that one extraordinary life may well have saved our Republic.
Godspeed, Mr. Buckley, and thank-you.
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