This Week is off the air, Atticus has left the courtroom, Ahab has gone down with the ship, and the guns of Navarone have fallen silent. Rest in Peace David Brinkley (1920-2003), one of television’s pioneering newsmen, and many condolences to his family. The same goes out to the family and friends of Gregory Peck (1915-2003), one of the big screen’s enduring heroes. They will both be missed.
Category: Memoriam
Deepest Condolences.
Deepest condolences go out to Missy on the recent and tragic loss of her father. Tears may blind the eyes, but the soul is not deceived. In this world, even winter ain’t what it seems. My thoughts are with you at this difficult time.
Next Stop, Moynihan Station.
As Senator Moynihan is laid to rest in Arlington Cemetery, New Yorkers devise a fitting tribute for their fallen statesman: Moynihan Station, to be completed on the site of the Post Office atop Penn Station by 2008. Update: Here’s some computer generated mock-ups of the future station, by way of Do You Feel Loved? (Thanks for the kind words, by the way.)
The Gentleman From New York.
R.I.P. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan 1927-2003. At a time when the Democratic party needs articulate, intelligent, and principled statespersons more than ever, we lose one of the big ones. He will be missed.
Godspeed.
R.I.P. Crew of Columbia STS-107
This is terrible. I only hope that NASA rebounds from this tragedy much more quickly than after the Challenger 17 years ago. We owe it to the dreams of the fallen today to continue to pursue the challenges of space.
R.I.P. Senator Paul Wellstone 1944-2002.
Oh no. This is horrible news. Wellstone was the progressive lion of the Senate. He’s going to be missed in so many ways. And, while it seems utterly rude to consider politics at this moment of personal tragedy, lest anyone else out there was at first imagining a Jeanne Carnahan scenario to save the contested Senate seat, his wife and daughter are also among the deceased. Will Governor Ventura appoint someone to the seat? Ted Mondale or Skip Humphrey? Whomever it is, I’m positive they won’t fill Wellstone’s shoes.
Paul Wellstone was one of the last champions of the little guy, fighting daily for campaign finance reform, corporate accountability, universal health care, and a cleaner, safer environment. When the Democrats were falling over each other to prostrate themselves before Gore, Wellstone broke ranks to support Bill Bradley. When all too many of his Democratic colleagues in Congress voted to cede their constitutionally-mandated authority to debate and declare war, Wellstone voted no to Dubya’s Johnson-esque power grab. In sum, Wellstone had in surplus those characteristics that are in such short supply in today’s Capitol — vision, compassion, and above all, integrity. In a sea of mealy-mouthed, equivocating liberals, he was a bold, fighting progressive.
And he is struck down in his prime. Meanwhile, Jesse “Race-baiting” Helms and Strom “Dixiecrat” Thurmond just go on and on and on. Sometimes the world seems so goddamn unfair I just can’t wrap my mind around it.
Many Condolences.
Many condolences to my good friend Jon on the passing of his father this week at the age of 71. Jon’s dad had been battling cancer for much of the past year. My deepest sympathies go out to he and his family.
9-11-02.
With all due respect to the families and friends who lost loved ones in the horrible attacks one year ago, I think there’s enough 9-11 memorializing out there at the moment without my further contributing. So I’ll confine my links to my post that day, W.H. Auden’s “September 1, 1939” (which I still think beautifully encapsulates both the despair of Ground Zero and the hope of Union Square one year ago), and the changes to your legal rights since then. (Last link via Genehack.) Let us hope that 9-11 stands alone with December 7 as a day that will live in infamy, and not as a prelude of darker hours to come.
In Memoriam.
Stephen King remembers Stephen Jay Gould.