Saturday, October 2, 2010

Joe Sobran: RIP

Joe passed away on Thursday, September 30th, 2010 at age 64.

As a young man, he was a protege' of William Buckley's, and for several years his name appeared on the masthead of Buckley's National Review, until the two men had a falling out over American policy towards Israel.

I blame the rift on Buckley, who fecklessly accepted scurrilous charges of anti-Semitism against both Sobran and Pat Buchanan, both of whom had incurred the wrath of Israel's powerful lobby when they deigned to question America's unqualified support of that state.

I've missed Joe's columns the last few years while he's been ill. He had a knack for articulating tertiary positions amidst left and right wing group-think. Here, http://www.sobran.com/columns/ in a column published ten years ago, Joe navigates a cogent course between reactionary, guilt-laden progressivism and obtuse, imperialistic mercantilism.

Joe reportedly came to believe in anarchism during his last years, which saddens me. I'm inclined to believe his once razor-sharp mind was weakened by his many ailments, compounded by the betrayel of many neo-conservative friends.