William F. Buckley Jr., R.I.P.

There are many things one could say....and many will say much in these next few days and weeks.....about Buckley, but the one thing that comes to mind for me....is the word erudition. A true 'Renaissance Man', he embodied a higher order in thinking and action. Whether sailing, debating, writing, or playing the harpsichord, there was a sense that he was the best at it.

One of my first memories of Buckley was on his show Firing Line. He was interviewing Norman Mailer....and boy was it a verbal donnybrook. Other than Reagan, he was the first unrepentant conservative I'd heard...and I loved it(even though he and Reagan disagreed on the Panama Canal thing). Simply, his contribution was this...while Europe sailed towards a socially and economically crippling socialism, Buckley uttered those famous words of commandment....'to stand athwart history, and yell stop!'. He did....and now it is our turn. God bless you and your grieving family, Mr. Buckley....and thank you.

Here is Buckley taking on Noam Chomsky:

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