Alan Bock has done great work for freedom. His jovial good nature is rare in this biz. He can be a hardliner without being abrasive or bitter. In the waning days of the last century (12/27/2000), shortly after the Bush legal team had hustled a victory out of the Supreme Court, he sent me an email: “Dubya will make us free, right? — Alan.” This was typical of how he relied on irony instead of wrath.

The last time I saw Alan, he was visiting DC for a freedom-oriented conference in 2007 or 2008. He and I caught up for dinner at a hamburger joint in Arlington. The beer was better than the burgers, so I put away a few. At one point, Alan casually tossed out the smartest quote I ever heard from a monarch – King Edward’s quip that “a man should never miss a chance to hit the loo.”