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R.I.P. Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 09, 2015 8 Comments
There I was, minding my own business on Twitter, when Kurt Schlichter retweeted this tweet and it hit me in the gut: What jumped out at me was not just that another American soldier was killed in Afghanistan. It was his hometown, Bristol, Rhode Island. As readers know, I used to live in Rhode Island (where we would be when law school was not in session) until two years ago, when we relocated full time to Ithaca. But Rhode Island emotionally is still home. It's a small state, and everyone knows someone who knows someone. Bristol was just two towns over from where we lived, and it was an easy bicycle ride on the East Bay bike path from Barrington. We often ate in Bristol, or cycled to Roger Williams University (where I taught for a semester) or along Poppasquash Point. Bristol has the oldest continuous 4th of July parade in the nation. While Bristol wasn't home, it was part of home. McKenna is a pretty common name in Rhode Island. So while we didn't know Andrew McKenna or his family, we probably knew someone who knew them.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 05, 2015 16 Comments
The British-American historian Robert Conquest died on August 3, 2015, at age 98. That name may not ring a bell to you, but it does to students of Soviet history, of which I was one in college. In the 1960s Conquest documented the extent of Stalin's terror, which outlets such as The NY Times had covered up as they were happening in the 1930s. For that, Conquest was hated. But eventually recognized, including the 2005 Medal of Freedom. The Wall Street Journal writes in its obituary:
Robert Conquest, an Anglo-American historian whose works on the terror and privation under Joseph Stalin made him the pre-eminent Western chronicler of the horrors of Soviet rule, died Monday in Palo Alto, Calif. He was 98 years old. Mr. Conquest’s master work, “The Great Terror,” was the first detailed account of the Stalinist purges from 1937 to 1939. He estimated that under Stalin, 20 million people perished from famines, Soviet labor camps and executions—a toll that eclipsed that of the Holocaust. Writing at the height of the Cold War in 1968, when sources about the Soviet Union were scarce, Mr. Conquest was vilified by leftists who said he exaggerated the number of victims. When the Cold War ended and archives in Moscow were thrown open, his estimates proved high but more accurate than those of his critics....

Posted by Miriam Elman on July 21, 2015 15 Comments
Louis (Lou) Lenart, an American fighter pilot during World War II who later helped to fend off an Egyptian advance on Tel Aviv during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence passed away on Monday (July 20) at his home in the central Israeli city of Ra’anana. Lenart is a legend in Israel, where he’s hailed as “The Man who Saved Tel Aviv”. https://youtu.be/6NH5FYlCrts?t=3m20s On May 29, 1948—just two weeks after the fledgling Jewish state was invaded by the armies of five Arab nations—Lenart led the newly-formed Israel Air Force’s (IAF) first combat mission, stopping a massive Egyptian army column less than 30 miles away from Tel Aviv. In what can only be described as one of the greatest fake-outs in military history, Lenart—who, as the most experienced pilot, led the assault—and his three buddies flew four junk Czech-built German Messerschmitt fighter planes for a country that had no actual airforce. Dropping 70 kilogram bombs on the Egyptian column and attacking them with gunfire, this bit of daring-do managed to convince the Egyptians that there was enough competition in the sky to warrant a retreat. There can be no doubt that Lenart helped to turn the tide of the war.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 01, 2015 12 Comments
On March 1, 2012, Andrew Breitbart died. My post upon hearing the news tried to capture what many of us were feeling, including reactions from friends and foes, Andrew Breitbart dead. We've tried our best to remember his death each anniversary: As well as his legacy: Later in the day on March 1, 2012, I wrote A personal note on the death of Andrew Breitbart. There's not much I can add to it now:
I only spoke once with Andrew Breitbart. He reached out to me, and we spoke by phone. The topic is not important, but I was shocked that he even knew who I was; but as I’ve come to learn, Andrew seemed to know who everyone was in the conservative blogosphere. He was just that way. Since my wife called this morning to let me know of Andrew’s death, it has been hard to focus on anything else. In her words, we don’t have that many bright media lights, and to lose him hurts.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 16, 2015 5 Comments
Lesley Sue Goldstein, better known as Lesley Gore, was featured for a week in our Video of the Day series in December. She's best known for "It's My Party" but that was just a part, and not even the best, of her music. Fox News reports:
Singer-songwriter Lesley Gore, who topped the charts in 1963 at age 16 with her epic song of teenage angst, "It's My Party," and followed it up with the hits "Judy's Turn to Cry," and the feminist anthem "You Don't Own Me," died Monday. She was 68. Gore died of lung cancer at New York University Langone Medical Center in Manhattan, according to her partner of 33 years, Lois Sasson. "She was a wonderful human being — caring, giving, a great feminist, great woman, great human being, great humanitarian," Sasson, a jewelry designer, told The Associated Press. Brooklyn-born and New Jersey-raised, Gore was discovered by Quincy Jones as a teenager and signed to Mercury Records. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in English/American literature. Gore's other hits include "She's A Fool," ''Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows," ''That's the Way Boys Are" and "Maybe I Know." She co-wrote with her brother, Michael, the Academy Award-nominated "Out Here On My Own" from the film "Fame."
Here are two of my favorites:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 22, 2014 10 Comments
He died today. The BBC reports:
Singer Joe Cocker, best known for his cover of the Beatles' With A Little Help From My Friends, has died aged 70, his agent has confirmed. The Sheffield born singer-songwriter had a career lasting more than 40 years with hits including You Are So Beautiful and Up Where We Belong. His agent Barrie Marshall said Cocker, who died after battling lung cancer, was "simply unique". Sir Paul McCartney said he was a lovely guy who "brought so much to the world". Cocker's friend Rick Wakeman, keyboard player for the rock band Yes, called his rendering of With a Little Help From My Friends "sensational" and said: "He had a voice that was just unique."
He'll always be most remembered for his rendition at Woodstock of With A Little Help From My Friends: It was more than a rendition. It became something of a cultural icon:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 20, 2014 21 Comments
Mike Nichols has died at age 83. His accomplishments were many, and are reviewed in the ABC News video at the end of this post. But for me, his great accomplishment was directing The Graduate. There are few movies that had as much of an impact on me growing up as The Graduate. He was married to Diane Sawyer.

Posted by New Neo on August 12, 2014 20 Comments

Suicides, whether famous or not, leave behind a legacy of pain for their families and friends....

Posted by Mandy Nagy on May 17, 2014 6 Comments

Follows passing of Bush family dog Barney, who died last year....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 25, 2014 18 Comments

RIP, The Professor: TV’s Most Famous Professor Dies at Age 89 Because real life professors could not live up to The Professor: The Loss of Trust in Higher Education Nasty guy: Rural Schools Targeted by Obama Administration during Sequestration Don't rub it in: Job Prospects for College Grads in Two Charts Student Debt:...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 26, 2013 3 Comments

I took the long way home all afternoon into evening. Thanks to the other contributors for helping out. I heard the news that George Jones died: ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 22, 2013 8 Comments

I previously have written how I saw Richie Havens live at My Father's Place when I was in high school, at the time we ran several of his songs as Videos of the Day in late January 2012: I saw Richie Havens at My Father’s Place...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 12, 2013 5 Comments

TMZ reports (h/t @baseballcrank): Jonathan Winters, the comedic film and TV actor who was huge in the '70s and '80s on shows like "Mork and Mindy," has died at age 87 ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 27, 2013 9 Comments

Van Cliburn died today at age 78. The name lives on with the piano competition named after him. RIP, tall Texan: Renowned American classical pianist Van Cliburn died Wednesday morning at the age of 78 after a battle with bone cancer, publicist and longtime friend Mary Lou Falcone...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 01, 2013 22 Comments

He died this morning at age 88. I didn't always agree with him, but he was a unique character and a fierce defender of our quality of life, the law, and Israel. There are few people who established such a force of personality. Update -- via Twitchy: https://twitter.com/laichungleung/status/297310471818735616 ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 27, 2012 11 Comments

Just breaking: The Associated Press is reporting that retired General Norman Schwarzkopf has died. He was 78. Schwarzkopf served as the commander of coalition forces during the Persian Gulf War in 1990. His strategy of using a “left hook” to go behind Iraqi forces occupying...

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