progressive involvement

Requiscat in pacem, Daniel Inouye

Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) has died.  He has been a United States Senator since 1962, the second longest-serving Senator, exceeded only by Robert Byrd.

Wrote Jake McIntyre of DailyKos in 2008:

Dan Inouye is one of the greatest living Americans.  ...Inouye is a bona fide war hero -- a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient -- who lost his arm fighting for a nation which was simultaneously interning thousands of his fellow Japanese-Americans.  He's a son of immigrants, who after the war joined with a number of other Nisei veterans to found Central Pacific Bank -- a venture which helped provide capital to scores of Japanese-Americans in Hawai'i unable to obtain loans from other sources.  And he was the first Japanese-American elected to the US House of Representatives, and subsequently the first Japanese-American elected to the Senate.  I was lucky enough to live in Hawai'i for a few years, and one of the first things I learned upon moving to Honolulu was how justifiably revered Dan Inouye is in the islands.  He's a truly remarkable American.

Requiscat in pacem, Dave Brubeck

 

Requiscat in pacem, Neil Armstrong

Requiscat in Pacem, Scott McKenzie

 

Requiscat in pacem, Gore Vidal

I've liked Gore Vidal ever since he called William F. Buckley a "crypto-Nazi" on national television back in the 60's.  It was a great bonus that he also wrote some very good books--in particular Lincoln, which I recently re-read.

His patrician snobbery was over-the-top, yet you never wondered a second if it was an act.  That was pure Vidal, along with his inveterate name-dropping.  Not too long ago, in the course of ripping the Democratic Party, he casually mentioned that Hillary Clinton had visited him in Italy.

He had an excellent grasp of history.  You might not always agree with him, but his views were expressed with erudition and backed by a sizeable reservoir of knowledge.  Read his novels of 19th century America and you will learn a very great deal about 19th century America.

So goodbye, you cranky old queen.  Thanks for the books!

 

 

Requiscat in pacem, Andy Griffith

 

Requiscat in pacem, Walter Wink

New York Times:  Walter Wink, an influential liberal theologian whose views on homosexuality, nonviolence and the nature of Jesus challenged orthodox interpretations, died on May 10 at his home in Sandisfield, Mass. He was 76.

Requiscat in pacem, Sen. Paul Sandoval

Former Colorado state senator, Paul Sandoval, 67, died late Tuesday from pancreatic cancer.  

Sandoval advised many high-profile Colorado politicians over the years.  Yet, he liked to describe himself as "a lowly tamale maker."

Sandoval's wife, Paula, is likewise a former Colorado state senator, and currently serves on the Denver City Council.

Said Governor Hickenlooper:

"Many a great conversation took place and many tamales eaten in the backroom of Paul's restaurant," he said in a statement. "While his family and friends were his passion, he loved a good political fight. He was a man with a deep reservoir of humility and compassion and an amazing sense of humor.

Paul and Paula are shown here at a fundraiser they hosted for Barack Obama in 2008.  During the primary season, Paula had supported Hillary Clinton.

Requiscat in pacem, Etta James

“A lot of people think the blues is depressing,” she told The Los Angeles Times in 1992, “but that’s not the blues I’m singing. When I’m singing blues, I’m singing life. People that can’t stand to listen to the blues, they’ve got to be phonies.”

Requiscat in pacem, Vaclav Havel

Anti-communist dissident, renowned playright, and first president of a free Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, passed away yesterday from complications of lung cancer.  New York Times:

...he came to personify the soul of the Czech nation. His moral authority and his moving use of the Czech language cast him as the dominant figure during Prague street demonstrations in 1989 and as the chief behind-the-scenes negotiator who brought about the peaceful transfer of power known as the Velvet Revolution, a revolt so smooth that it took just weeks to complete, without a single bullet fired.

He was also a gentleman.  Hillary Clinton loves telling how, when she was First Lady and visiting the Czech Republic, he met her at her hotel and stood in the street holding flowers.