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Ted Kennedy
Posted Thursday, August 27, 2009, at 9:49 AM<< Previous | Read comments | Respond | Email link | Next >>
I am a bit more saddened about the death of Ted Kennedy than I thought I would be - I didn't know him personally or anything, but I remember hearing my family talking about him (and others in the Kennedy clan) when I was growing up.
I grew up in Connecticut, and in the fourth grade every public school takes a trip out to the state capital to learn about what happens there. I remember mine because my teacher and the 2 other fourth grade teachers were excited that we might see Ted Kennedy that day as he was in town to meet with our then governor. I didn't know who he was at the time, but I remember our tour guide pointing him out to us as he was leaving the capital building. I also remember thinking he was tall. I never thought much about Kennedy either way, I'm too young to remember JFK and RFK (although I saw Bobby and will say it was really good). I vaguely knew about what had happened in Chappaquiddick, but only because it was often mentioned in the cheesy magazines my mom would buy. I don't think I started liking him until I listened to the 2006 and 2007 justice confirmation hearings. I loved his Boston accent, it was like what you'd hear in the movies that you can't really fake without sounding fake. I liked how even though he didn't agree with a lot of the beliefs that Roberts and Alito had, he was still about to crack some jokes and seemed to treat them with respect - much more so than some of the other people who interviewed them. I guess in listening to people talking about him, I liked that he was so unwavering in his beliefs, but that he seemed to take the time to listen to what other people had to say whether or not he agreed with them. I also don't know of anyone else in politics that is like that, of course, really I don't follow politics very much, at all. Comments Showing comments in chronological order [Show most recent comments first] |
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No matter if you disagreed or agreed with his beliefs or views, you still couldn't help but respect the man and the passion he had to try and help the average American. Yes, he had some hiccups in his life in regards to bad decisions and especially what happened in Chappaquiddick and probably should have been punished more for that but he still did a lot for people and was one of the few actual politicians who seemed interested in reaching across party lines and bipartisanship and would listen to an opposing view and wasn't afraid of dialogue. Many politicians in Congress today definitely need to learn from him and have the same passion that he did.
Senator Kennedy introduced more than 2,500 pieces of legislation. Over 350 were enacted into law. Every one benefited working men and women. Minimum wage, no child left behind, immigration, safety in the work place, pension protection, health insurance, he was the leader. He was a target of scorn for every politician who wanted to keep the working class poor. It has been my experience that the more effective, and right you are the more of a target you become. He will be remembered in history as one of the most effective advocates for the working class. God Bless Senator Kennedy.
I agree that even though I rarely found myself on the same side as Mr. Kennedy, I respected him for a man of conviction. I am not sure about his conviction before and during Chappaquiddick but he was shaped by some very traumatic events in his life and I can not say how that would have affected me.
Steve - you have a point, I think that the traumatic things in his life did shape his outlook on things. I'm glad, in general, that his life chaged for the better...it could've just as easily gone the other way.
I really respected Mr. Kennedy. I did not agree with everything he always said but I have deep respect for him. My heart goes out to the family.
Thanks for the comment Tattos. His reward awaits him on the other side.
Will The Real Teddy Kennedy Please Lay Down
Since the seriousness of Teddy Kennedy's illness has been made public, have you noticed the attempt at canonization of old Teddy by the main stream media. They are saying what a "great American" he is. I say, let's get a couple things clear & not twist the facts to change the real history.
1. He was caught cheating at Harvard when he attended it. He was expelled twice, once for cheating on a test, and once for paying a classmate to cheat for him.
2. While expelled, Kennedy enlisted in the Army, but mistakenly signed up for four years instead of two. Oops, the man can't count to four. His father, Joseph P. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to England (a step up from bootlegging liquor into the US from Canada during prohibition), pulled the necessary strings to have his enlistment shortened to two years, and to ensure that he served in Europe, not Korea, where a war was raging. No preferential treatment for him like "he" charg ed President Bush received.
3. Kennedy was assigned to Paris, never advanced beyond the rank of Private, and returned to Harvard upon being discharged. Imagine a person of his "education" NEVER advancing past the rank of Private.
4. While attending law school at the University of Virginia, he was cited for reckless driving four times, including once when he was clocked driving 90 miles per hour in a residential neighborhood with his headlights off after dark. Yet his Virginia driver's license was never revoked. Coincidentally, he passed the bar exam in 1959, amazing!!!
5. In 1964, he was seriously injured in a plane crash, and hospitalized for several months. Test results done by the hospital at the time he was admitted had shown he was legally intoxicated. The results of those tests remained a "state secret" until in the 1980's when the report was unsealed. Didn't hear about that from the unbiased media, did we.
6. On July 19, 1969 , Kennedy attended a party on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts. At about 11:00 PM , he borrowed his chauffeur's keys to his Oldsmobile limousine, and offered to give a ride home to Mary Jo Kopechne, a campaign worker. Leaving the island via an unlit bridge with no guard rail, Kennedy steered the car off the bridge, flipped, and into Poucha Pond.
7. He swam to shore and walked back to the party, after passing several houses and a fire station. Then two friends returned with him t o the scene of the accident. According to their later testimony, they told him what he already knew, that he was required by law to immediately report the accident to the authorities. Instead Kennedy made his way to his hotel, called his lawyer, and went to sleep.
CONTINUED.............
Kennedy called the police the next morning and by then the wreck had already been discovered. Before dying, Kopechne had scratched at the upholstered floor above her head in the upside-down car. The Kennedy family began "calling in favors," ensuring that any inquiry would be contained. Her corpse was whisked out-of-state to her family, before an autopsy could be conducted. Further details are uncertain, but after the accident Kennedy says he repeatedly dove und ER the water trying to rescue Kopechne, and he didn't call police because he was in a state of shock. It is widely assumed Kennedy was drunk, and he held off calling police in hopes that his family could fix the problem overnight. Since the accident, Kennedy's "political enemies" have referred to him as the distinguished Senator from Chappaquiddick. He pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, and was given a SUSPENDED SENTENCE OF TWO MONTHS. Kopechne's family received a small payout from the Kennedy's insurance policy, and never sued. There was later an effort to have her body exhumed and autopsied, but her family successfully fought against this in court, and Kennedy's family paid their attorney's bills... a "token of friendship"?
8. Kennedy has held his Senate seat for more than forty years, but considering his longevity, his accomplishments seem scant. He authored or argued for legislation that ensured a variety of civil rights, increased the minimum wage in 1981, made access to health care easier for the indigent, and funded Meals on Wheels for fixed-income seniors and is widely held as the "standard-bearer for liberalism." In his very first Senate role, he was the floor manager for the bill that turned U.S. Immigration policy upside down and opened the floodgate for immigrants from third world countries.
9. Since that time, he has been the prime instigator and author of every expansion of and increase in immi gration, up to and including the latest attempt to grant amnesty to illegal aliens. Not to mention the Pious grilling he gave the last two Supreme Court Nominees, as if he were the standard bearer for the nation in matters of right. What a pompous ***.
10. He is known around Washington as a public drunk, loud, boisterous and very disrespectful to women. JERK is a better description than "great American."
Let's not allow the spin doctors to make this jerk a hero -- how quickly the American public forgets what his real legacy is...
Nocturnal Jeff:
Now tell me how you REALLY feel...
I've never been a big fan of the Kennedy family, especially Ted...
but he was a Senator for fourty years, so someone must have liked him...
Anyway, there's a time and a place for everything...
I never realized all the wonderful ways that Senator Kennedy was involved in the lives of others until yesterday. If half of us would follow his example the world would be a much better place.
No thanks, I tried being a drunken fool for a while. I didn't like the way it worked out. By the way, let's not forget that Mr Kennedy voted to allow the barbaric practice of late term abortion and he did vote to allow illegals to draw SSI, despite them not having paid a dime into it. Before you put some fool on a pedistal, it's best to know the truth. Who knows, maybe next month, Charles Manson will croak, and the liberal progressives will celebrate his life too. Ya'll can carve cute little X's in your foreheads, light candles and somberly chant the chorus of "Helter Skelter".
What I remember about Sir Ted The Swimmer:
He was born into wealth and privilege, and earned none of it. The family fortune was made smuggling bootleg liquor.
His older brothers all made something of themselves; he rode their coattails his whole miserable, worthless life.
He got drunk and ran his car off a bridge, left the girl (not his wife) riding with him submerged in the car to slowly suffocate while he ran off, phoned political friends for advice, and then waited 10 hours to report the accident.
He voted against helping the South Vietnamese after we pulled out, paving the way for communist conquest, mass murder, and near genocide in SE Asia.
He wrote and push through the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act which flooded America with welfare dependent people from all over the world.
He had his first marriage annulled, turning his 3 children into bastards in an instant, just so he could hit every skirt that walked by him at cocktail parties and bars.
In a drunken state along with Senator Chris Dodd, he sexually assaulted a waitress in a manner that was to be forever known as a "Waitress Sandwich."
He committed treason by working directly with the KGB to undercut President Reagan.
He ruthlessly slandered Robert Bork during his senate confirmation hearings.
He smeared Samuel Alito to the point of making Mrs. Alito leave the room in tears.
He was a blowhard bully who cared nothing for the "little guy."
He made sure poor minorities would never receive vouchers to attend decent schools.
He was the creator of tons of medical bureaucracy contained in his HMO and PPO legislation.
He helped get his worthless nephew off on charges after he raped a young woman.
Those are just a few of my memories of ol' Ted.
He will forever be a shameful stain on the people of Massachusetts.
According to nathan.evans, half the world should follow ole Ted's example...interesting point there nathan. Now let's do the math. Half the world's population would drive drunk, run off a bridge and kill someone riding with them, effectively eliminating the other half of the world's population. Is this your idea of population control or what? By the way, Nocturnal Jeff's comments are right on target.
To Nocturnal Jeff and Tattoos & Scars, just what good have you done for our country? Until you can equal or better his accomplishments, I can't put much stock in your opinions. What does your,life's record look like?
chs61m Because I didnt kill a woman while drunk and supported the KGB in undermining our ocountry, or wroet legislation that dneied millions of Americans medica care I ahvetn accomplished anything??
If what Ted Kennedy done is "accomplishments" I'll pass.
As for my life record. I havent killed a young woman, and I am not a filthy , womanizing drunk who spent his life living off of the American taxpayer.
In response to chs61:
I never killed anyone while drunk. (Thank God) Nor did I get expelled from the same college twice for cheating. I've never cheated on my wife. I've never assaulted a woman sexually, drunk or sober. I did not vote to allow illegals to draw SSI benefits, I did not vote to cut medicare for the a elderly. I was not a communist sympathizer nor Jane Fonda supporter during the war in Vietnam. I have never once done anything to undermine my government or my country. Unlike Mr. Kennedy, I do not believe in punishing success and rewarding failure. Though I am sure he will be sadly missed by loved ones and friends, I've never had any amount of respect for him or his liberal progressive views and anti-American agenda. But, then again, you probably shed crocidile tears along with the rest of the nation when that child molestor died a few weeks ago.
tattoos & scars - it's spelled "crocodile."
http://harrisonprice.com/2009/08/26/ted-...
Above is just one of the many sites which chronicle Kennedy's letter to then USSR leader Yuri Andropov. He wanted to work with them to stifle Regan's rebuilding of the European defenses.
Condolences to the family, however Ted Kennedy was no friend of the US or freedom
Nice try Nocturnal Jeff and Tattoos and Scars. Again, just answer the question. What have you done for your country? If you have done something more than criticize, I'll be surprised. Senator Kennedy is not guilty of 3/4 of your accusations. He has done more than 90% of the congressmen to help the poor and working class people. If you are one or the other, take another unbiased look at what he has done. Ted Kennedy could have been concerned only for the rich such as our two Tennessee Senators.
"As for my life record. I havent killed a young woman, and I am not a filthy , womanizing drunk who spent his life living off of the American taxpayer".
So what have you done with your life, besides write in a blog?
chs61...PROVE ME WRONG.
EVERYTHING I posted is documented, factual, and 100% TRUE.
Once again I say...PROVE ME WRONG. PLEASE.
I guess serving this country for 15+ on 3 continents years should be enough.
You guys cant handle it when the truth comes out can you??
Okay, Nocturnal Jeff: "The family fortune was made smuggling bootleg liquor". Not true. Joe Kennedy made most of his fortune on Wall Street , and had divested most of his holdings before the 1929 crash. (Wead, 2005) pg. 207.
Wead, J. (2005). The Raising of a President. The Mothers and Fathers of our Nations Leaders. Atria Books. New York.
Get a reference for your source, a book with references or even better a refereed journal article.
LOL!! You have to be very young , or very unlearned to not know about th Kennedy's and their liquor business.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi...
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topi...
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-Ken...
If that isn't enough, let me know. There is around One million more listings to choose from.
You also might want to do a little history study of the Kennedy's, especially their dad, and his ties to Hitler and their hatred for the Jewish people.
He sought to have our Govt APPEASE Hitler and not go to war in WWII.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-Ken...
Joe Kennedy loved books written by Brooks Adams, whose views paralleled Hitler and spoke hatred against the Jews. Joe Kennedy even referenced him in speeches.
"Grit", I suggest you study up on some history and research the facts a little better next time.