William F. Buckley, Jr

You wouldn’t necessarily guess it, but I used to watch Buckley’s Firing Line occasionally. I think it was on late Saturday night when I was a pre-teen. I found him insufferable, which was good, because we had a few things in common, including a love of language — specifically, big or obscure words — an admiration of wit — especially, one’s own — and a tendency to pontificate. Buckley had many of the worst attributes of an intellectual, as well as an upper-class twit. And yet, he was, in fact, the best conservative ever. Now, the “stars” of the conservative firmament are Buckley’s bastard lack-wit descendants, like Lush Limbaugh, proof-positive of the force of devolution.

Over the last few years, Buckley’s columns had become almost unreadable, as if his intellect were being crushed under its own weight. Still, I will always remember Buckley as an advocate for the legalization of marijuana and gay marriage, as well as one the many who recognized Duhbya as an idiot. Rest in peace, old top.

The Albuquerque Tribune

Unlike conservatives, I don’t regard corporations as living beings with all the rights of mere mortals and then some. Still, I have mourned the passing of a few businesses. The Tribune is not one of those, however.

Mind you, I’m not dancing on the Tribune’s grave (see how easy it is to anthropomorphize heartless, mindless, soulless businesses). I’ve read many eulogies for the Tribune this week and I don’t wish to add to the pain of the bereaved.

I wanted to like the Trib. I’m a part of that dwindling demographic: a newspaper reader. I grew up with a morning paper, an afternoon paper and a local paper every day. Even as an RSS-convert and webster, I appreciate that newspapers have always exposed me to things I didn’t know, unlike a highly-tailored Web-portal, filtering just what you want to know (which is more of what you already know). Hell, I even enjoy reading the Albuquerque Journal every day, which is like someone claiming to be a connoisseur of wine while nursing a bottle of Ripple.

Merri and I both gave the Tribune repeated chances. We both liked many of the columnists and reporters. (Though I despise Jeffrey Gardner, I find it valuable to read views I can’t stand. No shortage of that in the Journal.) We found a couple of comics to like. There just wasn’t enough of a paper there. It seemed even thinner than the Journal, if you can imagine.

On the other hand, the Trib’s website was far superior to the Journal’s. I agree with many others who wish the Trib would continue to live a virtual life. I felt the same way about Crosswinds, which I miss much more than I’ll ever miss the Trib.

peace,
mjh

PS: While conservatives also worship the holy Market as the bringer of all good things, I doubt continuing competition from the Trib would prevent things like this from appearing in the Journal.