It is one of those headlines or emails that comes across your screen and feels like a punch in the gut.  I was aware that his health was failing but you just don't think about losing someone like this until it happens.  And then it hits you that the world is somehow different.  It feels like the end of an era.

WFB, as he was often known, changed the face of American conservatism and politics like few others.  And like millions of others it was his writing, persona, and magazine that lead me to conservatism.  I own all of his books and have read them all excepting his last (Cancel Your Own Goddam Subscription)

His range was remarkable.  He wrote political polemics; syndicated columns; unique memoirs; books on sailing, language, and faith; and novels.  He singlehandedly changed the perception of what conservatism could be.  And in the process changed America.

RIP.

Norman passed away Sunday:

Christian music legend Larry Norman died Sunday of heart failure, according to his brother Charles Norman. He was 60.
Norman, a blonde, long-haired rocker who is often called the father of Christian rock music, was a giant in the Christian music industry, said Chris Willman, senior music writer for Entertainment Weekly.

Here is a YouTube of the classic Why Don't You Look Into Jesus:

Lyrics after the jump

Sipping whiskey from a paper cup,

You drown your sorrows till you can't get up,

Take a look at what you've done to yourself,

Why don't you put the bottle back on she shelf,

Yellow fingers from your cigarettes,

Your hands are shaking while your body sweats,

Why don't you look into Jesus, He's got the answer.

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Gonorrhea on Valentines Day,

And you're still looking for the perfect lay,

You think rock and roll will set you free,

You'll be deaf before your thirty three,

Shooting junk till your half insane,

Broken needle in your purple vein,

Why don't you look into Jesus, he's got the answer.

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You work all night, sleep all day,

You take your money, throw it all away,

You say you're going to be a superstar,

But you've never hung around enough to find out who you really are.

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Think back to when you were a child,

Your soul was free, your heart ran wild,

Each day was different, and life was a thrill,

You knew tomorrow would be better still,

Things have changed you're much older now,

If you're unhappy and you don't know how,

Why don't you look into Jesus, He's got the answer