Posted on 08/20/2010 6:45:10 PM PDT by DollyCali
Thanks to FReeper libbylu
Congressman Billybob has died.
ACRU Mourns the Passing of John Armor
John Armor”John was a great American, a dear friend and a champion of liberty,” says Susan Carleson, CEO and Chairman of the American Civil Rights Union. “He will be sorely missed.”
On August 20, 2010, ACRU Senior Legal Counsel John Armor passed away in a North Carolina hospital, following cancer surgery. He had appeared to be in full recovery, so his death was a shock to family and friends.
Armor, a graduate of Yale University and the University of Maryland School of Law, had a long and distinguished career, practicing before the U.S. Supreme Court for 33 years and authoring eight books and hundreds of articles. His latest book, These Are the Times That Try Men’s Souls: America Then and Now in the Words of Tom Paine (ACRU 2010), is being released in early September.
“It was a blessing that he got to see it, hold it in his hands,” Carleson said.
These Are The Times That Try Men’s Souls A favorite at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and Tea Party events, especially in North Carolina where he lived, Armor dressed in colonial garb and impersonated Benjamin Franklin, explaining the origins of American liberties to 21st Century audiences. Some of his performances can be seen on YouTube.
“John was one of the first people that my husband Bob [Carleson] brought on board at the ACRU when there was no money, just great spirit,” said Carleson, who met Armor when they worked together on the National Commission of the Bicentennial of the Constitution in 1986. “He has been a delight to work with and will be sorely missed. This is a deep loss to his wife Michelle, to his children, his friends and his colleagues at the ACRU.”
Armor, who was one of the few attorneys to write an amicus brief in the presidential election case in 2000, was a well known legal scholar of American politics, particularly third party movements. He represented Eugene McCarthy during the Minnesota Senator’s challenge of Lyndon Baines Johnson’s presidency in 1968.
“John was also the first to figure out the constitutional basis of recalling federal officials,” Carleson said. “That led to the ACRU’s current campaign, RecallCongressNow.org, to educate Americans about the laws in 11 states that allow for recall as a way to ensure greater accountability.”
For the past several years, Armor wrote the weekly “ACLU Outrages” feature for the ACRU’s Website. “John had his finger on the pulse of the ACLU, tracking their misdeeds and writing amusing and disturbing accounts,” Carleson said. “He said he never worried about finding material, because the ACLU’s absurd stances came as reliably as ‘the rain falling on the fields of Ireland.’”
Susan Carleson, Chairman, CEO
It’s always toughest when the death is unexpected. I’ve had that happen to me. It’s like getting sucker punched when you hear the news.
I did.
I’ve been racking my brain. I can’t seem to recall ever having posted to John about anything.
I know I’ve read his posts, to the accompaniment of my own nodding head, but I never posted back to him.
I guess I never had to correct him about anything he had to say.
Rest in peace, John.
Considering his last post was abouit being cancer free, this just.. I guess the word would be “bites”.
What a terrible loss. Always enjoyed his posts and even followed him out to his home page where I read all about him. Great man. He was a someone I looked up to very much.
Prayers.
This is quite a shock because I saw him posting a personal article earlier in the week. May he have eternal rest in peace.
Yes, it wasn’t the cancer that got him, it was complications of the surgery to remove the cancer. Just dayum.
He was a good man. When you have 1000 posts that are all positive, that indeed speaks volumes.
And maybe he felt the same about you ;-).
Thanks for the pings, folks.
Very sad news.
That’s what I was trying to figure out. The article seemed positive. There must have been complications.
Ouch.
RIP Warrior of Freedom!
. I read all of hisposts, and I never disagreed with him. For ME, that is a miracle ;-)
Makes me want to clean up my act a bit. If I were to die today, there would be far more “good riddances” than “condolences” on FR, I’m afraid.
Thanks for the info. I was wondering about that.
This is so sad. We never had a chance to meet, although I’ve been to N. Carolina three times. We were grateful to John for his great contribution to our film, HILLARY UNCENSORED. He will be missed.
Only a few years ago, after his divorce, he got back together with his college sweetheart and got married. RIP, my friend. You did good work with the time the Lord gave you.
It might have been infection, aneurysm, embolism, a heart problem or a stroke. Hospitals can be dangerous places. Jerry Doyle, the actor and radio host, went into the hospital earlier this year for stress symptoms and anemia, picked up a Bad Bug, and nearly died. He was off the air more than four weeks ... and there was nothing seriously wrong previously.
Congressman Billybob was advising everyone to be alert for colon cancer, unless they’re very young. I’ve got a family history, and my insurer has approved a colonoscopy this year (I’m 44). I just have to wait until Frank sleeps a little more steadily ... maybe by October or November.
Thank you, Liberty Valance!
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