For quite some time on this blog, I've quoted or linked to posts by a gent named Kevin Drum. Of all the folks I've come across on the 'net writing political commentary, he seemed to be the smartest and the most fact-based, meaning that he almost always backed up his views with statistics and history…and this is rare: He was willing to amend or reverse an opinion when the facts warranted it. Too many people double-down on bad calls and defend them to the death.
For some time now, his political writings have been interlaced with reports on his health. In 2014, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and last Friday, it took his life. He spent some of his last days blogging feverishly, which in his case meant meticulously reading and studying what he was writing about. I invite you to read some of the recent postings on his blog at https://jabberwocking.com/. I have no idea how long it will remain up but I hope forever. Lots of wise writings there.
Kevin and I had a brief e-mail friendship which led to a lunch together one day. I asked him about political issues and he asked me about comic books and we also spent a lot of time discussing great places to get barbecue. Very nice man. Very smart man. I'm already missing being able to go to his page and learn things. One thing I learned from him is that an awful lot of Bad News we see in the headlines is not as bad as it seems.