Aw, I always liked him

Former surgeon general C. Everett Koop dead at age 96

He is best remembered for his official 1986 report on AIDS – a plain-spoken 36-page document that talked about the way AIDS spread (through sex, needles and blood), the ways it did not spread (through casual contact in homes, schools and workplaces) and how people could protect themselves.

The report advocated condom use for the sexually active and sex education for school children, pleasantly surprising liberals and upsetting many of Koop's former supporters. An eight-page version was mailed to every American household in 1988.

The brochure came in a sealed packet with the warning that "some of the issues involved in this brochure may not be things you are used to discussing openly."

He was the surgeon general as I came of age, and always seemed to have wonderful integrity. He was more interested in saving lives than playing politics, something you see rarely in government. RIP, sir.