Justin Raimondo, 1951-2019

I would be lying if I said Justin Raimondo and I were friends. Hell, I'd be lying if I said we had even been on speaking terms recently. Severe differences of political opinion and (in retrospect trivial, but far from one-sided) work conflicts created a situation in which we probably only communicated directly three or four times in the last three or four years, and not at all comfortably.

But I'd also be lying if I said I didn't love the guy.

He co-created one of the most important political sites on the web.

He authored the first (and so far as I know, still only) book-length biography of Murray Rothbard (not an affiliate link).

He wrote stridently, trenchantly, and well on the issues he cared about (mostly foreign policy).

I only met him once in person, when he came to Washington University in St. Louis to speak against the impending US invasion of Iraq. He tore that fucking room down.

He was a badass.

I miss him already, and the antiwar movement will miss him, and remember him, for a long time.

Here's his obituary.