It has recently come to our attention that long time poster Idealist707 passed away in Stockholm, Sweden on June 10, 2013. Our heartfelt condolences go out to all his family and friends. To those of you who knew him from and from outside this blog, you know he was an outspoken and colorful character who added much flavor to the conversations here. As a tribute to him and his contributions, this thread has been established for you to share in not just in his loss, but share in your memories of him, for no one is truly gone so long as they live in our memories.
Rest in peace, Idealist707.
This blog is richer for having known you and poorer in your absence.
(Of note, thank you to poster Malisha who informed us of this sad news and to poster Darren Smith for suggesting a memorial thread.)
~ respectfully submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger, on behalf of the Res Ispa Loquitur family
Hail and farewell, Idealist707..
Malisha, You brought up the other Italian trait of ID, a love of food. Like you, I shared recipes w/ him via email and loved busting his balls about Nordic food. I told him Nordic people living longer than anyone because of their bland diet proved God is also a ballbuster.
When I was swarmed by a hornet’s nest upon my arrival here, ID came to my side. He not only defended me, but enlightened me as to how the game is played here[not how it’s said to be played], and encouraged me to keep plugging away. I’ve said this previously in discussing ID’s death. He was a gracious, welcoming person, one of the good traits of us Italians. ID had an Italian soul, maybe from a previous life. There is not much welcoming of new people here. Even prior to ID’s death I have taken his lead and will continue to do welcome new people..our Walmart greeter.. Many here condescended toward ID because of his cryptic writing and other quirks. That’s some of the traits that endeared him to me.
I’ve been looking for posts from Idealist707 and have wondered how he was doing. I miss him.
I just spent a half hour or so reviewing old posts on here looking for an Idealist707 comment. In January President Obama was considering War in Syria. Today he is considering it again only this time he is stepping in. Idealist sent in a great comment which would be fitting today. Here it is:
idealist707 1, January 28, 2013 at 2:18 pm
Why should Congress oppose a new war.? Call it a police action. Say whatever skit is necessary to drum up public hysteria.
Congress is the victim of the war production factories located by MIC strategically for just that purpose. If he brings home his bit out of the pork barrel then he is safe for now.
What would Bolton do? Shoot them all—especially the UN.
That solid “against war” fraction is so easy to change. Propaganda!
—eind—
I like the phrase: Say whatever skit is necessary to drum up public hysteria.
So, this week President Obama and the henchmen are giving us the skit on chemical weapons.
Thank you Idealist.
i cant post here as much as i would like to thanks to not only cancer but carpal tunnel syndrome but have been a avid reader and poster when i can and so i feel i must add that thanks to Idealist 707 i gained plenty of knowledge that i know without his presence i wouldnt have gained. he’s not the only one by far. but many many times his comments bought laughter to my day or night and for that im deeply grateful to him. and send my heartfelt Condolences to his family
What a shame. Although we had our differences, I always enjoyed his posts and had wondered recently why I hadn’t seen any lately. RIP. You will be sorley missed.
I share also a sense of loss in hearing of his departure. It is certain he contributed many insights to this website and I am certain his posts were valued by many.
I came to appreciate his experiences he shared with us and he was most assuredly capable of articulating his views of the world. In trying to put kinship with someone who we have only known through his writings here, I would confidently venture to say he led a full life and had the will to seek out something of more interest to him, such as moving to a foreign land and taking on a new language. I would speculate he also was a lover of music and took interests in many books and interests outside the mainstream.
But I am sure we here who subscribe to this website were just one of several circles Jon chose to be part of. It would certainly be interesting to see how well he fared with each. I am sure he was valued by each.
And I am sure that when he contributed here, he contributed with a keen mind and a good nature. And what he left us with was much to appreciate as well as his sense of humor. Because you have not experienced Idealist707 until you’ve read him in the original Turley Blog.
Take care Jon !
I’ll post a few of the url’s he sent me in recent months; he was a genius at finding fascinating things on-line. A couple of months back he had some computer problems and after that, would send little messages from an I-phone kind of thing (I’m technologically impaired) without as much content, because of the typographical problems involved. He did have several medical procedures but seemed to be doing relatively well. He sent me recipes and menus — not so much in late April, and May. I’ll write more over the weekend, and try to put together a kind of collage of his writings.
And good night, thank you for putting up this article, it is comforting.
Jon (ID707) came to this blog like a whirlwind. He was a man of wisdom and knowledge that sometimes got muddled because of his spending so many years in Sweden, speaking Swedish. He was at first cantankerous, but much of that was due to his wavering health and with it there was a great deal of warmth that showed through. His comments were always interesting and I must admit I was attracted to his writing because for the most part he thought well of me. Yet he wouldn’t hesitate to spring into attack mode when he thought me too pompous, or overbearing. He’d back up his arguments with links and citations. I respected his independence and valued his criticism, even when it hit too close to home, because I felt he was not a mean spirited person. I liked his irony and his humor. That we had his perspective from Sweden was quite cool.
In his last full years of posting here he was cited by Jonathan Turley as our most prolific commenter. This pleased him and erased the doubt in his mind that he was an outsider. The thing that is so attractive about this blog is that all one has to do to become part of the “in crowd” is to comment regularly. I feel good about the fact that Jon gained pleasure and acceptance from being here. I’ve missed him of late and had wondered where he was, but considering some of his last comments here I feared the worst. This is a community in the best sense of the word and like all communities we have our differences at times. It is those differences that add relish to our interactions and yet we also reveal much of ourselves, even talking trash. Though connected only by the tenuous thread of the internet, many of us have established a tangible connection with each other and it is one that feels good.
Idealist707 will be missed by many here, myself included and that means that he had an effect on our lives. What more can any person hope for than that?
This is sad news. As a regular reader, I looked forward to reading what Idealist707 had to say about a particular topic/issue. Sometimes he showed a cool sense of humor about the madness in the U.S. I liked that.. Also, I kind of envied his ex-pat status. It would have been nice to know him. Now I think I envy those who did. May they find solace in their memories of good times shared.
Seamus,
That was beautiful….
If I should ever be so fourtunate to die,
Then give me a Viking funeral
So as one part of I drifts towards sky
The other sinks and moves with swell
So as I leave behind these shores
And yellow flames engulf my corpse
The weary sea is my deathbed
The final sorrow of the dead
Bury me not in the ground
As it is full of life
Push out the boat without a sound
Slash the ropes with your damned knife
And if ever, the time comes
When you remember me
Go please, to my one true love
Stare upon the Sea.
I will miss him. If someone finds a good comment of his posted in days and years past, it would be nice to see.
See Ya ID707, you were a goodly Rabble Rouser and you often goodly roused a lot of the goodly rabblers on this blog.
I will miss your comments and input. If there is a further journey keep a light on, I’m sure you will have more to say. :o)
Well said Gene. ID is missed, but he is not forgotten.
I thought this from Quintus Ennius would be something he might appreciate:
Let no one weep for me, or celebrate my funeral with mourning; for I still live, as I pass to and fro through the mouths of men.
– Quintus Ennius
Oh I am so sorry to read this. I had wondered why it had been so long since we had heard from him. His voice will be very missed.
Following….