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You
probably saw the signs NO DOGS and NO GUNS.
How about
this one?
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This week
American conservative minds mark 50 years of National Review,
an influential conservative journal, and National Review
celebrates 80 years of William F. Buckley Jr., the founder, editor
and ideological soul of the journal. Here are some excerpts from the
New York Observer (an influential left-leaning weekly!)
editorial for the occasion:
Fifty
years ago, William F. Buckley brought the conser-vative movement in
America back to life by founding the National Review; [...]
it earned the admiration of its allies and the grudging respect of
its opponents. Indeed, it could be argued that Bill Buckley has done
more to foster serious intellectual debate in this nation than any
other person in the past half-century.
Mr.
Buckley's brand of conservatism has always been suffused with
intellectual rigor, common sense, precision and a healthy dose of
humor.
To
run a magazine for 50 years is no mean feat; it was made possible by
Mr. Buckley's passionate belief in the power of ideas, and his
ability to inspire and educate an entire generation of journalists
and politicians. [...] Bill Buckley has, against all odds, created a
new breed of politician and political discourse in this country,
embodying not only what B. Goldwater once called 'the conscience of
a conservative', but also the heart and truly transcendent decency
of one.
I was not
aware of all that when I subscribed to National Review in
1988. Yes, it is true that I am of conservative mind, but the main
reason for the subscription was my disappointment in the level of
reporting and writing in Time and Newsweek. I’ve
enjoyed reading Mr. Buckley’s On the Right so much that I
searched for more enlightenments in his books Happy Days Were
Here Again and Nearer, My God. Fourteen years later I did
not renew my subscription; the reasons are twofold: (1) I've
realized that (unfortunately) I do not belong to Mr. Buckley's
social class, and I don’t like virtual life, and (2) I was
introduced to Economist, a very informative and very well
written journal.
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