The Good People Who Passed On in 2012 | Eastern North Carolina Now

Ray Bradbury: Above.
    Ray Douglas Bradbury was born August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois, and became a prolific writer of science fiction, American fantasy, horror and mystery.

    Author Bradbury was well known for one of his earlier novels, "Fahrenheit 451," written in 1953, as well the "The Martian Chronicles," 1950, The Illustrated Man, 1951; however, Bradbury may be best known for his over 300 short stories, some translated into a movies, such as "Something Wicked This Way Comes."

    Ray Bradbury passed on June 5, 2012.
Sun Myung Moon: Above.
   Sun Myung Moon was born February 1920 in what is now North Korea, but then was just known as Korea, but under Japanese imperial rule.

    Reverend Moon became the founder, and then leader of the Unification Church, and for his claim that he was a messiah. Reverend Moon is also known for his outspoken anti-communist philosophy, his ability to bring large numbers of people together, peacefully, and marry large groups of people, en masse.

    Sun Myung Moon passed on September 2012.
Robert Bork: Above.
    Judge Robert Heron Bork was born March 1, 1927 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and became a great legal scholar, well regarded, and twice nominated to Federal Judgeships by Ronald Reagan.

    The man who would inspire the creation of a most expressive verb - to be "borked" - as well as some of the most succinct opinions on constitutional jurisprudence is Judge Robert Bork.

    Nominated to the highest court in the land by Resident Ronald Reagan on July 1, 1987, Judge Bork's approval process in the United States Senate was clouded by one Democrat Senator after another speaking vitriolically by stretching the true, coloring the unknown in outright lies. In that Democrat controlled Senate, their state of commentary was tempered by an attitude that nothing was politically "out of bounds" in the question of Judge Bork's character assassination. This circular Democrat firing squad, was led by ultra Liberal Senator Teddy Kennedy, of the Mary Jo Kopechne / Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts Kennedies, who was determined to employ his mentor's, Saul Alinsky's maxim, "the end always justifies the means," to publicly destroy this good man.

    Therefore, Judge Bork was the first man to ever be publicly "borked" - definition; the character assassination by a Democrat, using mostly lies, well told, to the betterment of Liberal ideals and policies. "Borking" has since become a common practice by adamantly practicing these Alinsky's interpersonal machinations to the benefit of all Liberals, and their many government funded needs, which continues today as practiced by all elected federal government Democrats in leadership positions. But that, however, is the qualified subject for another day.

    Judge Bork passed on December 19, 2012.
Yitzhak Shamir: Above.
    Yitzhak Shamir was born Icchak Jeziernicky on October 22, 1915 in Belarus. As one who had always dreamt of the promised land of ancient Israel, Yitzhak Shamir immigrated to Palestine in 1935, just a few years before the Nazis's mass extermination of the Jews of Belarus.

    After the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Yitzhak served in the Mossad between 1955-65. Before the establishment of the State of Israel, Shamir was a member of Lehi, and one of its commanders after Avraham Stern was killed.

    After Shamir's military service, he became a politician, and eventually was elected Israel's 7th prime minister, and remained in that position to become Israel's third longest serving prime minister after Zionist icons David Ben-Gurion and Benjamin Netanyahu.

    Yitzhak Shamir passed on June 30, 2012
Whitney Houston: Above.
    Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born on August 9, 1963 in Newark, New Jersey. She grew into a gospel singing vocalist of remarkable skill, eventually being discovered, and rendering, through her estimable talent, some of most soulful songs of her generation.

    Sadly, Whitney Houston died of complications from prolonged substance abuse on February 11, 2012.