William F. Buckley Jr.

Conservative William F. Buckley Jr. dead at 82

William F. Buckley Jr., a conservative icon and public intellectual, died today at the age of 82, The New York Times and Associated Press report.

National Review Online, an outgrowth of the magazine Buckley founded, describes his death at The Corner: I’m devastated to report that our dear friend, mentor, leader, and founder William F. Buckley Jr., died overnight in his study in Stamford, Connecticut. After year of illness, he died while at work; if he had been given a choice on how to depart this world, I suspect that would have been exactly it. At home, still devoted to the war of ideas.


Over the course of his career, Buckley's views changed on some issues, such as drug legalization, which he came to favor.

In his December 1, 2007 column, Buckley claimed to favor banning tobacco.

Buckley refered to himself "on and off" as either libertarian or conservative.

Buckley has recently criticized certain aspects of policy within the modern conservative movement. He has said, "Bush is conservative, but he is not a conservative", and that the president was not elected "as a vessel of the conservative faith."

According to Buckley, the war in Iraq was "anything but conservative. The reality of the situation is that missions abroad to effect regime change in countries without a bill of rights or democratic tradition are terribly arduous." He added: "This isn’t to say that the Iraq war is wrong, or that history will judge it to be wrong. But it is absolutely to say that conservatism implies a certain submission to reality; and this war has an unrealistic frank and is being conscripted by events".

In a February 2006 column published at National Review Online and distributed by Universal Press Syndicate, Buckley stated unequivocally that, "One cannot doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed." Buckley has also stated that "...it's important that we acknowledge in the inner councils of state that it (the war) has failed, so that we should look for opportunities to cope with that failure."

Buckley was well known for his command of language.

Buckley came late to formal instruction in the English language, not learning it until he was seven years old (his first language was Spanish, learned in Mexico, and his second French, learned in Paris). As a consequence, he spoke English with an idiosyncratic accent: something between an old-fashioned, upper class Mid-Atlantic accent and British Received Pronunciation.

Buckley is preceded in death by his wife, Patricia. Besides his son Christopher, Buckley is survived by three sisters, two brothers, a granddaughter and a grandson.

 

Wait, what was his callsign again????

 

Was he a ham?

If not, then why is he mentioned here?

 

He was a good guy. Most HAMS tend to lean towards the Conservative viewpoint.

I hope that answers your query.

-Kevin

 

He was not a ham. This thread should be removed at once. Where is the moderator?

k6bbc

 

I would like to set the FACTS on that statement so much is said and so little is backed up by FACTS. Backup the statement with facts and I'll consider the statement.

 

Did not know that Hillary and Obama were hams--

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

 

It's time to kill this thread -- totally inappropriate.

bbc