RIP

I learned yesterday afternoon that Al Weisel, better known to most of us as the blogger Jon Swift, died last week at the age of 46.

His mom brought the news via a comment on his last post, written nearly a year ago. Her comment appears about 50 down in the list, so you'll have to scan some to read it.

In a double tragedy, he died of ruptured aortic aneurysms complicated by a stroke - which hit him on his way to his father's funeral. In a darkly ironic touch, that last post, perhaps the one that made him lose his spirit for blogging, was to note that a friend of his had suffered "a terrible loss": His son had committed suicide.

I have come across any number of people on the web who do humor or attempt the far more difficult feat of satire - and while I find some amusing, I never came across anyone who did satire better. He did it so well that his comments were regularly filled with outraged liberals and applauding conservatives - and indeed on discovering him you weren't sure if he was serious or not and often you had to read a few posts (maybe more) before you really felt confident that yes, this was satire.

It was more than skill, it was artistry.

We have lost a voice for justice and an artist. The world is a bit darker today.

Footnote: My favorite comment at the site in response to the news:

"Rush Limbaugh lives. Jon Swift dies.

"There is no God."