I heard nothing on this during the brief time I had on any non investment media, so I thought I'd offer a link to a decent memoriam

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington...02/buckley.html

And to also say that that man was something else. Leave his politics out. What a mind. What a wit. What a vocabulary. Not a bad fiction writer either.

I gotta say, he had what appears to be a life well-lived. I only wish he could have had a little more of it and little better health toward the end.


Thanks for everything, Bill.

No Doubt. RIP.

Not all of us share positive memories of his beliefs, here is a quote from just one of many who disagreed.

"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness."
John Kenneth Galbraith

Galbraith never did know much about anything. But below is a link to a story about the Buckley-Galbraith debate in 1982, where Galbraith claimed that Reagan's policies would lead to severe inflation. Need I say that inflation at the time was double digit, and at it's peak?

http://www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/article.aspx?ref=346304

RIP Bill.

Galbraith did not know much about anything?
Typical conservative response, when you cannot change the facts that don't agree with your outlook, quickly attack the presenter.
Here is a very brief biography, that clearly contradicts your preconceived idea of his "nothingness". Attack this:


John Kenneth Galbraith (born 1908) was a leading scholar of the American Institutionalist school and arguably the most famous economist in the post World War II world. His views were a stinging indictment of the modern materialistic society that championed personal achievement and material well-being over public interest and needs. In spite of these views, he served as an advisor in both the American and Canadian governments from the 1930s onward.

John Kenneth Galbraith was born on October 15, 1908 in southern Ontario, Canada, on the shores of Lake Erie to a farming family of Scotch ancestry. He studied agricultural economics at the Ontario Agricultural College (then part of the University of Toronto; now, the University of Guelph) and graduated with distinction in 1931. He went on to study agricultural economics at the University of California, receiving his Ph.D. in 1934 after submitting a dissertation on public expenditures in California counties. In this year he also began his long, though frequently interrupted, tenure at Harvard University, where he became an emeritus professor. Galbraith's academic career frequently gave way to public service. He worked in the Department of Agriculture during the New Deal and in the Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply during World War II, where, according to John S. Gambs, he was "virtually the economic czar of the United States until he left in 1943" From his wartime work emerged a monograph, The Theory of Price Control (1952), which, though not widely influential, contained some of the seminal ideas of his major works.

board controllers posting topics that are politically related?

do as i say don't do as i do

Hey, one can laud one who has passed for his accomplishments without waxing political.

And, Norton, from what I've read of Galbraith (and bear in mind that I studied economics under Jon Hughes and Joel Mokyr at NU), he's been proven wrong as well as philosophically bankrupt (IMO). I've no great respect for his work at all.

Then again, if Galbraith was as entertaining and broadly talented as Bill (whom I had many core disagreements with), I'd laud him as well.

But he wasn't. We're talking about Bill Buckley. De mortuis nil nisi bonum.

So, anyway, a few words of appreciation about an interesting and entertaining intellectual. Leave the politics at the door.

Mark

okay Mark but if someone that i will miss much more like mick jagger or teddy kennedy kicks the bucket i expect the same courtesy .

ed rader

Ed,

They aren't allowed to die, I suspect.

OK on Mick, no so much on Ted. Unless he suddenly develops some wicked new skills (what? It could happen!).

Mark

Sure Mark, I am quite willing to drop it, but remember it was you who started this using this forum to mourn the passing of a noted conservative. I felt your action was inappropriate forum wise, in regards to your stated policy of no political (in this case
"conservative" threads. Buckley's philosphy, as is all of conservatism, was and is so repugnant to me personally that, well, I just had to respond. In the future if you keep your support of conservatism thoughts to yourself, so will I not note the passing of any progessives, as I have honored and respected the rules regarding this. I think you owe the entire board here an apolgy for breaking your own rules, and thereby encouraging response from someone like me, who has spent a lifetime disagreeing with people like you, politically speaking.

It was very sad for me to hear that he died. Back in the 80's, I just loved to see him on TV and I use to make a note to look up some of the words he used. When he reared his head back and wagged that tongue as he reflected on his response, he had no equal. What a great man.

I might also say that he was good friends with more than one political rival. I'd like to see more of that class these days.

If you didn't read the article, I would. It's quite nice.

Mark

That aspect of Buckley I can't argue with.

Time to close the thread Mark...

Norton, I often break the rules if I think it serves us well. I think this did. I will point out that I made no mention of politics, save to set Bills aside. You have little idea of what politics I support and that's the way I like it.

Regardless, we are more than our politics, or at least we should be. Reflect upon that.

I, for instance do not identify as a conservative nor liberal, but I can show honor to a great person who is great in their own right, as a human being, a personality, an essayist, and novelist.

The point is civility. We can look past politics and we do all the time. I want to encourage that. I DO encourage that on our site. We are traders, technicians, and students of the market here, and that's is irrelevant to any political stuff. With some luck many of us are friends despite some profound philosophical, political, or religious differences. One of the reasons I mentioned Bill's passing is that he was quintessentially civil. He was good friends with Hubert Humphrey, for goodness sake.

I know we're all (or almost all) one big raw nerve, or we will be soon enough when it comes to political stuff. I want to ruthlessly avoid any discussions of politics. It's so tempting, too at times. I know many of us would LOVE to get into it with one or another of our fellow posters. It can be fun, but it can also be hurtful and hugely distracting. My intent with this thread was to point out and reflect upon the passing of a great PERSON, one of who's finest traits was to look beyond the politics of his political adversaries and forge personal friendships.

I apologize if I muffed a "teaching moment".

I sure as heck don't want to rub anyone's nose in politics that they find repugnant.

The rest of the staff and volunteers agree, I'm sure.


Mark