William F. Buckley died today at his home in Connecticut. He was 82.
There will likely be a lot published in the coming days about this man of ideas. Suffice it to say here that he made a great impact on many people, both through his books, articles, magazine and television show over the years.
I first read him in high school, before I had developed my political philosophy. The thing I remember about his writings then was his suggestion that if a person was to be truly effective arguing his case for any position, he must know the issue well enough that he could take the other side in a debate – and win!
Buckley was of course a Goldwater supporter in 1964. I was not – yet. After Goldwater's crushing defeat, Buckley wrote a one-word editorial in his magazine, National Review. It read simply: Aargh.
I had the pleasure of meeting Bill Buckley in 1968 when a group I belonged to invited him to speak at Oregon State University. Just before he arrived for his talk, news broke that North Korea had captured a US naval vessel, the USS Pueblo, off its coast. I was the one who broke the news to Buckley over dinner.
We can debate the specifics of his philosophy, but for now, let’s remember him as a man of ideas who influenced generations of Americans to think and engage in the battle of ideas. He will be missed.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
The postman winked and chirped
(The following was a letter I sent to Insight Magazine in response to a 1995 column by then Postmaster General Marvin Runyon.)
Americans make enough fun of the U.S. Postal Service without its esteemed Postmaster General compounding the hilarity. But compound it he did in his column "Postal Future Is in the E-mail" (Sept. 25). Trying to justify the post-office's existence in the year 2010, he simply confirmed how out of touch government bureaucrats can be.
His scenario had a future business person "Opening his computer" which "winked and chirped," showing him "how to get his message into the postal system." Doesn't Mr. Runyon understand that the computer was invented in-part to get our messages out of the postal system?
After eight paragraphs trying to convince us that his government agency has a future, he inadvertently stated the obvious. What, in his view, would be the greatest innovation by the year 2010? "Post-office lines will be a thing of the past." Of course they will, Mr. Runyon; you can't have lines forming in front of counters in an agency that has been replaced by more efficient, private alternatives!
Americans make enough fun of the U.S. Postal Service without its esteemed Postmaster General compounding the hilarity. But compound it he did in his column "Postal Future Is in the E-mail" (Sept. 25). Trying to justify the post-office's existence in the year 2010, he simply confirmed how out of touch government bureaucrats can be.
His scenario had a future business person "Opening his computer" which "winked and chirped," showing him "how to get his message into the postal system." Doesn't Mr. Runyon understand that the computer was invented in-part to get our messages out of the postal system?
After eight paragraphs trying to convince us that his government agency has a future, he inadvertently stated the obvious. What, in his view, would be the greatest innovation by the year 2010? "Post-office lines will be a thing of the past." Of course they will, Mr. Runyon; you can't have lines forming in front of counters in an agency that has been replaced by more efficient, private alternatives!
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