Three years

It has been three years since I posted on this here blog. My reasons for abandoning my scribblings have been various. I took on a new job, one which raised my visibility in certain small corners of the political world, with the perceived danger that my ramblings would be mistaken for official policy. I had other outlets for expressing my opinions, including a Facebook page on which I amassed a considerable coterie of "friends" and, for a while, a radio show. I had less time to write this kind of writing.

The passing of Christopher Hitchens, however, has woken me from my slumber, however briefly. I met him in, I think, 2007 when he was on his book tour for "god Is Not Great." He engaged in a genial debate with Marvin Olasky, inventor of the phrase "compassionate conservativism" and a former Bush apparatchik. I say "genial" because Olasky's advocacy of the proposition "religion does more good than bad" was so tepid as to make me wonder whether he believed his own bullshit. I suspect he feared - knew - that were he to attempt an actual defense of the role of religion in Bush Administration debacles like pregnancy crisis centers, the war in Iraq, and other "faith-based initiatives," he would be eviscerated by Hitchens, who bantered good-naturedly with Olasky and moderator Evan Smith, but exuded a leonine alertness for opportunities to advance the thesis of his book's subtitle: "Religion Poisons Everything."

After the 'debate,' he signed books and chatted up the crowd. When I told him that I'd been a monk for ten years but was now somewhere between agnosticism and atheism, he was genuinely curious and spent about five minutes in conversation with me. I suspect he had many such conversations on his book tour.

Here's something else: when I was keeping this journal before, my goal was to be widely read. I hoped to publish ideas that were interesting enough, and frequently enough, that I would gain a readership. Now, I feel a little differently. The desire to write has been focused inward: to let me tell myself my own story. As I grow older, I find myself looking backwards more, wanting to recount the moments that formed me, wanting to tell the story of my life.

More on that soon. For now, I mourn the passing of a great intellect and fantastic writer.

Go With God, Fred Baron

Fred Baron passed away this afternoon at the age of 61 of, according to the Dallas Morning News, "complications of cancer."

There is some bitter irony in that, for Fred spent most of his adult life helping people deal with those "complications." Fred built his law practice fighting "toxic torts" -- a term that did not exist when he started representing workers from shipyards, petrochemical facilities and chemical plants who'd contracted asbestosis and other diseases. He discovered that those industries knew of the dangers of the carcinogens they used -- in some cases for many years. He helped the law to evolve, forcing courts to recognize and compensate for new dangers and new injuries, and paving the way for the society-wide attack on asbestos poisoning we've seen in the last 20 years. He was one of the best trial lawyers, ever.

In the spring of 1986, after my first year of law school, I was recruited to be a summer intern in Fred's Dallas office. They flew me up there and I spent a day with Fred and some of the other lawyers. Fred was the lawyer I wanted to be: smart, passionate about the law, ambitious to succeed for his clients, but charming and funny even under pressure. In the end, I turned down the internship and spent the summer with a law firm I already knew in San Antonio. I've wondered more than once how different my life might have been had I accepted the offer.

Over the years we stayed in touch. As his practice grew, so did his horizons. He rose in the ranks of the trial bar, eventually becoming the President of the American Association for Justice. He also became a significant contributor to Democratic candidates and causes. I was working for Governor Ann Richards and, later, Senator Rodney Ellis, and Fred was a loyal friend to both of them.

By the early 2000s, he'd move beyond his law practice and devoted more of his prodigious energies to progressive politics. He was the principal fundraiser for John Edwards in 2004, and then in the Kerry-Edwards campaign. He also was campaign chair for Edwards' 2008 presidential run. But that was the tip of the iceberg. He made enormous contributions to the Texas Democratic Trust, which funded party-building efforts here in Texas and helped turn the Democratic Party around.

His generosity was not limited to the Democrats. He also gave generously of his time and resources to progressive causes. While I ran the Southwest region office of People for the American Way, Fred was a constant source of strategic counsel and enthusiastic support for our efforts to build a grassroots activist network here. He and Lisa hosted a fundraiser for PFAW at their Dallas home featuring Alec Baldwin.

Fred and Lisa were enthusiastic members of the philanthropic community. When we scheduled the event with Alec Baldwin, we had to try for several dates. The symphony was having a benefit at the house this night, we were told. The homeless shelter was having an event this other night, we found out. It was amazing.

My condolences to Lisa and her family. Fred will be missed by all of us.