Just thought I’d share, as one who loves words, the start of the NYT‘s Buckley story this morning:
William F. Buckley Jr., who marshaled polysyllabic exuberance, arched eyebrows and a refined, perspicacious mind to elevate conservatism to the center of American political discourse, died on Wednesday at his home in Stamford, Conn. He was 82.
Nice. Not great, but nice. It’s good when an obit can bring a smile while remaining respectful.
And speaking of words — no, I did not misspell "lede." It’s a jargon thing.
The hed was good, too: "William F. Buckley Jr., 82, Dies; Sesquipedalian Spark of Right."
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I think it is time the State joined the rest of us concerning the New York Times. The ” Grey Lady ” has gone senile. Even when the say something good or accidently tell the truth their smear of McCain and their hatred of all things southern make them a mute point.
You mean a “moot point.” Unless you meant that as a play on words, signaling that they are so irrelevant as to be effectively silenced.
If so, sorry to step on your pun, man.
I think if you’ll look at the records, the NYT has for many years had a disproportionate number of Southerners high in its organization. Are they all haters of the South?
Say what?
Sometimes I just don’t know where these comments come from. Who said what about the South?
Brad, for decades the NYT has had native Southerners high up in its ranks – Clifton Daniel, Turner Catledge, Howell Raines, Tom Wicker, etc. That was my rejoinder to Richard’s comment.
Buckley was a true wordsmith, unlike, say, George Will, who appears to carry around a thesaurus, but is intellectually corrupt. (See his remarks in last Sunday’s column, how it “might” seem tribal to have Jeb Bush on the McCain ticket as VP after having had a Bush on the ticket for the last seven of eight presidential campaigns).
And, too, Buckley is to be admired for refuting his earlier segrationist views, and the National Review’s stand against the 1960s civil rights legislation.
Not to mention the fact that in the last few years he had the “temerity” to point out what a ridiculous fiasco the Iraq occupation has been (as well as the rest of the Bush presidency, a refutation not merely of true conservation principles, but of reason itself). Perspicacity indeed.
Buckley’s keen mind will be missed–and I say that coming not from the conservative side, but as a human being who believes that intellect and logic trumps the rhetoric and appeals to dumb-aminal emotion that the Bush administration(s) have perpetuated upon the American people in the guise of patriotism (masquarading as a profit-making scheme for its corporate cronies).
Oh and Brad, I hope you guys are planning to run my letter I sent in regarding the developers’ remarks a couple of weeks ago about the Future Five plan. I assume you are holding onto it in anticipation of the March 4 DDRC meeting (or else the City Council session in which this will be voted upon)?
Sorry to deviate from the tread, but it was already taken off the rails by Wolfe’s bizarre and unsupportable assertion about the NYT and Southerners.
I long ago quit reading the NYT on purpose. It is important only because of its market, not its veracity.
Clifton Daniel, Turner Catledge, Howell Raines, Tom Wicker, and a thousand other journalists may have been born in the South, but they are not Southerners if they sold themselves out as hired critics of everything Southern, as most of them did to promote their careers.
I never read anything pro-South by Clifton Daniel, Turner Catledge, Howell Raines, Tom Wicker, but I admit to only giving each of them about 20 chances to impress me.
We’ve all given you innumerable chances to impress in this forum, Lee, and yet all you can do is post nonsense. Take a breather. Go outside and enjoy the weather.
Educate us. Post some pro-South editorials by Tom Wicker, Howell Raines, Clifton Daniel, Charlie Rose, etc.
Hard to find any pro-South editorials by Tom Wicker, Howell Raines, Clifton Daniel, and Charlie Rose, isn’t it?