David Bloom – A man very much worth remembering

It always struck me as strange that in the early days of the Iraq war, when the embeds were filing remarkable stories, we lost the two (to my way of thinking) best journalists covering the war, the great Michael Kelly and the would-have-been-great David Bloom. And they both happened to be practicing Catholics. That struck me as strange only because it’s a profession with some, but not too many practicing Christians of any denomination, and we sure couldn’t afford to lose two of them within weeks.

Kellipundit has a very lovely blogpost about Bloom and she links to Michelle Malkin as well. Michelle relates a nice little anecdote and points us to an off-line article in Ladies Home Journal. Bloom is being remembered as part of DVT Awareness Month which is something bloggers (among others) who park themselves in their chairs for long stretches should be mindful of.

I really loved David Bloom’s reports, but I remember the moving things I read about him upon his death. A convert to Catholicism, he was a serious Christian. I love this part: “when the moment comes in my life when you are talking about my last days, I am determined that you and others will say ‘he was devoted to his wife and children, he was admired, he gave every ounce of his being for those whom he cared most about… not himself, but God and his family.’”

And you can read some of Kelly’s work, here.

Serendipitously – or Providentially – Matt at Stones Cry Out is touching on the issue of journalism and faith and he links to Rod Dreher’s really masterful exposition on the topic of religion as viewed by those in the newsroom, and the evolution of the Democrat party as the “Godless Party.” I remembered loving the piece back when it was published in 2003, and I loved reading it again. You will too. Dreher is one of my favorite writers, and not because he’s another Catholic! :-)

BTW, Matt writes: have come to firmly believe that liberalism, as it exists today, is not compatible with Scripture. He’s not the first one to come to that conclusion.

I’m going to add Liberalism is a Sin to my Bookshelf. Remember, if you go into Amazon through The Anchoress’ Bookshelf, all proceeds from sales will be donated to the extraordinary hospice which helped my brother and our family through his last months, so if you have something to buy, consider hitting the Amazon link here, and a portion of your purchase will be earmarked for a good cause!