RIP Ted Kennedy

[SteelersinCA]

Originally Posted by lamberts-lost-tooth

I may not agree with everything that has been said in here...but make no mistake...Ted Kennedy epitomized all that is wrong with career politicians. My heart goes out to those who called him "Dad" or "Grandpa".

..but I find little sympathy for a man who drove drunk, killed a young lady and avoided prosecution for it...Who was kicked out of Harvard for cheating...Who used political pull to smear the name of a young lady raped by his nephew...and whos career was less "merited than inherited"

I respect those who deserve it and those whose position deserves it...I feel bad for the Kennedy family but find no place in my heart to warrant respect for Ted Kennedy.

Right on, respect is earned not gifted. Does it get much worse than treason and murder? At least OJ has a leg up on him with treason.

[Venom]

As soon as cancer was found, I noticed the immediate attempt at canonization of old Teddy by the main stream media .. telling us what a "great American" he is.

I say, let's get a couple things clear & not twist the facts to change the real history .. he was caught cheating at Harvard .. while attending, he was expelled twice, once for cheating on a test, and once for paying a classmate to cheat for him... While expelled, Kennedy enlisted in the Army, but mistakenly signed up for four years instead of two.. great .. the man can't count to four .. His father, Joseph P. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to England, 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 charged President Bush received ... 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 ...

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 neighbourhood with his headlights off after dark. Yet his Virginia driver's license was never revoked. He passed the bar exam in 1959 ... amazing !! 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 DUI .. the results of those test remained a "state secret" until in the 1980's when the report was unsealed ..

On 19 July 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. He swam to shore and walked back to the party -- passing several houses and a fire station -- and two friends returned with him to 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.

Kennedy called the police the next morning. 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 favours", 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 under 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" ?

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 roll, 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. Since that time, he has been the prime instigator and author of every expansion of and increase in immigration, up to and including the latest attempt to grant amnesty to illegal aliens.

[Kittyfish]

The act of dying shouldn't grant anybody automatic respect - it is certainly nothing special or extraordinary, it is something we all will be doing at some point. If you didn't respect someone while they were alive, I don't see where they should automatically be given respect simply because they died. I thought the way Anna Nichole Smith was suddenly practically cannonized because she happened to die young was in poor taste, really - no one much seemed to respect her when she was alive when she might have appreciated it and it might have done some good. I felt badly for ANS as I might for anyone who died before their time, but beyond that...no. Her death certainly didn't make me respect her more than I had before. The same goes for Senator Kennedy. I'll let my friend LLT speak for me there - I am certainly sorry for his family's sorrow and loss but beyond that...no. He never earned my respect when he was alive and I won't pretend he has my respect now simply because he's passed on.

[lamberts-lost-tooth]

Originally Posted by Kittyfish

The act of dying shouldn't grant anybody automatic respect - it is certainly nothing special or extraordinary, it is something we all will be doing at some point. If you didn't respect someone while they were alive, I don't see where they should automatically be given respect simply because they died.
.... He never earned my respect when he was alive and I won't pretend he has my respect now simply because he's passed on.

It can't be said any clearer than that.

[7SteelGal43]

Here's a sobering thought though. I'm 44 years old and this is the first day of my life that Ted Kennedy has not been a Senator in Washington.

[hindes204]

i definately did not agree with him as a polotician....but i would not wish death by cancer on any familly...R.I.P.

[JEFF4i]

Originally Posted by Kittyfish

The act of dying shouldn't grant anybody automatic respect -... He never earned my respect when he was alive and I won't pretend he has my respect now simply because he's passed on.

Then get the profanityfilterprofanityfilterprofanityfilterprofa nityfilter outta the thread, huh? Make another thread, and show respect for a thread meant to farewell even if you don't agree.

That said...

RIP Senator Kennedy.

[The_WARDen]

Originally Posted by JEFF4i

Then get the profanityfilterprofanityfilterprofanityfilterprofa nityfilter outta the thread, huh? Make another thread, and show respect for a thread meant to farewell even if you don't agree.

That said...

RIP Senator Kennedy.

[Killer]

Originally Posted by Killer

Next up

In honor of Ted Kennedy, we must pass the Health Care Reform Bill


...because it's what he would have wanted...sniff...sniff

Just like I predicted:


"Senator Kennedy had a grand vision for America, and an unparalleled ability to effect change. Ted Kennedy's dream of quality health care for all Americans will be made real this year because of his leadership and his inspiration." ~ Nancy Pelosi

[7SteelGal43]

Originally Posted by JEFF4i

Then get the profanityfilterprofanityfilterprofanityfilterprofa nityfilter outta the thread, huh? Make another thread, and show respect for a thread meant to farewell even if you don't agree.

That said...

RIP Senator Kennedy.

Misplaced anger much, Jeff ? Why of all the posts in this thread did you go after kittyfish ? Did you smell an easy mark ? Why didn't you go after the ones that posted things like....

"Like Justice for Mary Jo Kopechne? Or justice for covertly traveling to Moscow at the height of the cold war for his own political gain? That kind of justice, Kennedy family? Good riddance to bad rubbish"

"Rest In Peace Murderer"

"I'm not much for dancing on graves - so we all should find something positive to say, -- "He was a good swimmer"

"I respect those who deserve it and those whose position deserves it...I feel bad for the Kennedy family but find no place in my heart to warrant respect for Ted Kennedy"

"Right on, respect is earned not gifted. Does it get much worse than treason and murder? At least OJ has a leg up on him with treason."



bring that shit to me, man