MetaFilter posts tagged with Buckley

Or have we eaten on the insane root that takes the reason prisoner?

The Whelk — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:09:04 -0800

“Josephine had practically every desirable personal characteristic, except wisdom and mercy.” Gee, that sounds like she actually isn’t a nice person at all! Gary Brecher (previously) reviews Banquo’s Ghosts, a political-minded spy thriller from National Review editor Richard Lowry and novelist Keith Korman. Lowry describes it as an "episode of “24″ written by Proust. " Bonus Conservative Potboiler Review: Matt Taibbi on William F. Buckley's Tucker's Last Stand.

In historical perspective.

markkraft — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:29:26 -0800

The fierce urgency of now and then. On May 24, 1963, concerned about the potential for race-related riots nationwide after Birmingham, Attorney General Robert Kennedy met with group of prominent black intellectuals and artists, such as Kenneth Clark, Clarence B. Jones, and Harry Belafonte, in a meeting organized by James Baldwin (YouTube 7:07... and also 6:27 and 6:28, if you're interested.) The tone of this emotionally wrenching meeting, however, would be greatly influenced by the presence of fifteen-year-old Jerome Smith, a nonviolent CORE volunteer who was being treated in New York for jaw and head injuries sustained after a brutal beating by segregationists in Mississippi. Kennedy, who at first tried to address the meeting with facts and figures, soon found himself on the defensive, confronted by Smith's revulsion for the very necessity of the meeting, and his unwillingness to fight a theoretical war in Cuba while American civil rights workers weren't protected at home, and were perilously close to renouncing nonviolence. "Kennedy said, as he had before, that his grandparents had encountered discrimination and now, two generations later, his brother was President; a negro would be President within forty years. Baldwin replied furiously, "Your family has been here for three generations. My family has been here far longer than that. Why is your brother at the top while we are still so far away? That's the heart of the problem.'"

Vidal Strikes Back

naoko — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:59:50 -0800

Gore Vidal Speaks Seriously Ill of the Dead Annoyed with the rose-tinted view of William F. Buckley displayed by some of his obituarists, Vidal slams Buckley, Newsweek, and the media in general. (MeFi Buckley obit thread here).

RIP William F. Buckley, Jr.

Class Goat — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:36:29 -0800

RIP William F. Buckley, Jr. Like him or hate him, agree or disagree, there's no doubt that he was articulate, entertaining, and influential.

Life before American Idol.

bardic — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 14:53:34 -0800

Chomsky v. Buckley, 1969 (videofilter). The primary subject is Vietnam, but other topics abound.

Bear with Jonah

orthogonality — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 18:51:03 -0800

"Bush should then set out to track and kill a black bear, after which he should eat its still beating heart so he can absorb its spirit." The National Review Online's Jonah Goldberg (previously, previously) channels Stephen Colbert [youtube], or maybe he's found Hunter Thompson's lost stash. (Do we await the seminal God and Bear at Yale?)

You know, in certain older, civilized cultures, when men failed as entirely as you have, they would throw themselves on their swords.

EarBucket — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 04:15:51 -0800

William F. Buckley: "If you had a European prime minister who experienced what we've experienced it would be expected that he would retire or resign."

Snobbery

growabrain — Tue, 01 Feb 2005 22:34:42 -0800

Snobs & the uber-snobs who snub them by William F. Buckley, Jr. "...Snobs should read this book. Also, anti-snobs. Also those who wonder... deep down whether they are more like... Aristophanes, Shakespeare, Dante, and Christ"

raysmj — Mon, 16 Jul 2001 07:50:50 -0800

Buckley (Heart) Elvis? No, it's not a liberal v. conservative thing. Writing an Elvis book just does not fit the William F. Buckley image. Ontime spy novelist. Erudite PBS show host. Shows up in places like House Beautiful, waxing witty about homes and home decor, with references to the Metropolitan Opera and such. I too love the Big E, but this is baffling and hilarious. He apparently discusses his E fixation in the upcoming (and usually outstanding) Southern Music Issue of the Oxford American. Thoughts? Is the new American literary dream to retire and write an Elvis book, as opposed to the Great American Novel?