A WFB Miscellany
Apropos of nothing save that I came across these three William F. Buckley, Jr., items in the same week, I offer them here for amusement. The first is a clip of Bill being interviewed by Woody Allen. I particularly like Bill's answer when a young lady asks him if he thought miniskirts were in good taste:
More relevant to today's political debate is Linda Bridges giving the back story to Bill's celebrated critique of Pope John XXIII's encyclical Mater et Magistra. She says she was provoked to correct the record after this article on Paul Ryan in the National Catholic Reporter that got it all wrong.
Finally, a delightful retelling of a Ross Douthat anecdote about the time he went skinny dipping with the father of the conservative movement. I won't spoil it, but here's the item.
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Re: A WFB Miscellany
That clip was truly delightful, Bill. Thanks for sharing!
Aug '10
Re: A WFB Miscellany
The Woody Allen stuff was alot of fun, but the picture of Janis Joplin popping up on the screen confused me. I clicked on it to be confronted with an aging Dick Cavett, oh well. Skinny dipping is the norm in Kansas, considering that the state has more miles of lake shore than Minnesota.
Once heard Chris Buckley read his article My Old Man and the Sea before it was published. Not a dry eye in the house after the gales of laughter had died down. The legend lives on. Thanks.
Re: A WFB Miscellany
What a hoot!
Oct '11
Re: A WFB Miscellany
Wow, what a delicious treat, I didn't realize how sexy the man was..(oh, NOT Mr. Allen). Thanks so much!!
Jan '11
Re: A WFB Miscellany
A man who can both think and speak is always entertaining.
Feb '11
Re: A WFB Miscellany
I saw the original airing of this interview. The only thing I remembered from it was the mini-skirt exchange. I was a teenager and barely knew who Mr. Buckley was, but it was clear from his performance that conservatism could be fun!
Thanks for posting it.
Jan '12
Re: A WFB Miscellany
Wonderful. This was era when Woody Allen was funny. I couldn't tell if Woody was a supporter of Israel, and the apparently just completed 67 war. Or was he pioneer in the oddly self-loathing anti Israel movement of many show biz and blue state Jews during the subsequent 45 years.
Jul '10
Re: A WFB Miscellany
Since I was born in 1967, I was disappointed that neither Mr. Allen or WFB mentioned it as a significant event of the year.
Regardless, it would be nice if similar sessions could be conducted in this day and age. Dialog can be a good thing.
Aug '12
Re: A WFB Miscellany
Just have to echo thanks so much for posting that. Such a shame that in our culture today celebrities with opposing viewpoints couldn't possibly replicate the same vibe of sly fun.
Feb '11
Re: A WFB Miscellany
WFB certainly got the bit about the Arabs' acceptance of the Israelis wrong.
More important, notice that no one used the word Palestinians. That of course is because the Arabs were just deciding that this was to be the new term.
(And, yes, for some of us, it is always about us.)
Edited on August 22, 2012 at 2:24pmNov '10
Re: A WFB Miscellany
John Davey: Since I was born in 1967, I was disappointed that neither Mr. Allen or WFB mentioned it as a significant event of the year.
Regardless, it would be nice if similar sessions could be conducted in this day and age. Dialog can be a good thing. ยท 9 hours ago
I particularly liked that they both placed primary emphasis on being funny, and put politics second. The problem with a lot of political humor is that it becomes all politics and very little humor.
Jun '10
Re: A WFB Miscellany
Israel Pickholtz: WFB certainly got the bit about the Arabs' acceptance of the Israelis wrong.
More important, notice that no one used the word Palestinians. That of course is because the Arabs were just deciding that this was to be the new term.
...
Yes, very interesting -- both points.
Regarding Buckley's prescience, I think at that time the notion of leftwing anti-Semitism wasn't as well represented. So, he probably thought that everyone would get together on supporting Israel -- and stay that way -- and that this would eventually force the Arabs into line. Who could have guessed that the anti-American aspect would trump the pro-Israeli and philo-Semitic aspects? The left just couldn't individuate when the right wing agreed with them -- and also, the Soviets were very against Israel and this doomed the American leftwing to staying with their first instinct of anti-American alienation and pro Commie.