Edward Kennedy dies at 77

[EvilMonkey]

A man, a patriot, recently dies, and you damn republicans can not just post your respect. He loved this country every bit as much as you.

A patriot? Teddy? You sure you have the right kennedy? Just because he was a Senator doesnt make him a partiot, no matter how many of his views you share. I am sorry for his family over their loss, that is the extent of my respect. The Senate is a better place without him. He should have retired long ago when his health issues sidelined him instead of depriving his constituants of representation, but his ego, and sense of entitlement led him to hang on and miss countless votes and not do his job.

[Texsox]

A patriot? Teddy? You sure you have the right kennedy? Just because he was a Senator doesnt make him a partiot, no matter how many of his views you share. I am sorry for his family over their loss, that is the extent of my respect. The Senate is a better place without him. He should have retired long ago when his health issues sidelined him instead of depriving his constituants of representation, but his ego, and sense of entitlement led him to hang on and miss countless votes and not do his job.

 

Interesting that his colleagues in the Senate, both Republican and Democrat have a view almost 180 degrees from yours.

[Texsox]

He is (was) a reason that we SHOULD have term limits.

 

Because the public should not have their choice in who represents them? You want term limits? Do not vote for your incumbent.

 

And you must have been a big Obama supporter because he had so little time in Washington compared to McCain

[NorthSideSox72]

A patriot? Teddy? You sure you have the right kennedy? Just because he was a Senator doesnt make him a partiot, no matter how many of his views you share. I am sorry for his family over their loss, that is the extent of my respect. The Senate is a better place without him. He should have retired long ago when his health issues sidelined him instead of depriving his constituants of representation, but his ego, and sense of entitlement led him to hang on and miss countless votes and not do his job.

Just curious... did you have the same stance on getting Minnesota's junior senator into his chair ASAP, so Minnesotans could have representation, instead of constant and obviously unwinnable appeals from Coleman?

 

[ChiSox_Sonix]

A man, a patriot, recently dies, and you damn republicans can not just post your respect. He loved this country every bit as much as you.

 

I didn't really see any of us damn republicans doing much criticizing in here. Not that there isn't room for it, but people have pretty much kept it to themselves. Keep trying to get angry though.

[Texsox]

He f***ed up a lot when he was younger, but a very good senator.

 

 

He is (was) a reason that we SHOULD have term limits.

 

 

Yep. He also loved drinking, driving, and leaving the scene of a murder.

 

But like Michael Jackson, lets forget about the horrible things, and concentrate on his music....

 

 

A patriot? Teddy? You sure you have the right kennedy? Just because he was a Senator doesnt make him a partiot, no matter how many of his views you share. I am sorry for his family over their loss, that is the extent of my respect. The Senate is a better place without him. He should have retired long ago when his health issues sidelined him instead of depriving his constituants of representation, but his ego, and sense of entitlement led him to hang on and miss countless votes and not do his job.

 

 

I didn't really see any of us damn republicans doing much criticizing in here. Not that there isn't room for it, but people have pretty much kept it to themselves. Keep trying to get angry though.

 

I thought I'd gather a few posts in case you missed them in reading the thread. And I'm not saying they are unfair criticisms or not worthwhile remembering. Everyone who spends so much time in the public eye, and in this arena, will have detractors and admirers. Perhaps it is important to remember all of that, and learning some lessons.

[StrangeSox]

What's the point of asking for fake sympathy from people?

 

I won't be sad when Cheney dies.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

I thought I'd gather a few posts in case you missed them in reading the thread. And I'm not saying they are unfair criticisms or not worthwhile remembering. Everyone who spends so much time in the public eye, and in this arena, will have detractors and admirers. Perhaps it is important to remember all of that, and learning some lessons.

 

I thought I'd gather the same quotes and add some comments in case you have a bad memory.

 

He f***ed up a lot when he was younger, but a very good senator.

 

Duke is about as far from a republican that this board has.

 

He is (was) a reason that we SHOULD have term limits.

 

Not necessarily a bashing. Look at Strom Thurmond, Robert Byrd, etc... there are a lot of people on both sides of the aisle who feel we should have term limits.

 

Yep. He also loved drinking, driving, and leaving the scene of a murder.

 

But like Michael Jackson, lets forget about the horrible things, and concentrate on his music....

 

This was quoted AFTER the guy called out the "damn republicans" so it can't be used as a reason he made the post.

 

A patriot? Teddy? You sure you have the right kennedy? Just because he was a Senator doesnt make him a partiot, no matter how many of his views you share. I am sorry for his family over their loss, that is the extent of my respect. The Senate is a better place without him. He should have retired long ago when his health issues sidelined him instead of depriving his constituants of representation, but his ego, and sense of entitlement led him to hang on and miss countless votes and not do his job.

 

See comment below previous quoted post.

Edited August 27, 2009 by ChiSox_Sonix

[EvilMonkey]

Interesting that his colleagues in the Senate, both Republican and Democrat have a view almost 180 degrees from yours.

On the patriot part or that he should have retiered part? I can see them all vainly hanging onto their position, for the power, perks, money, prestige, ego, etc. None seem to want to give it up. As for the patriot part, like I said, being a Senator doesnt make you a patriot. if you think Teddy served all those years 'for the good of his country', you are sadly mistaken.

[StrangeSox]

On the patriot part or that he should have retiered part? I can see them all vainly hanging onto their position, for the power, perks, money, prestige, ego, etc. None seem to want to give it up. As for the patriot part, like I said, being a Senator doesnt make you a patriot. if you think Teddy served all those years 'for the good of his country', you are sadly mistaken.

 

What did he serve for? The paycheck?

[GoSox05]

What did he serve for? The paycheck?

 

 

To promote his communist un-patriotic policies

Edited August 27, 2009 by GoSox05

[EvilMonkey]

What did he serve for? The paycheck?

Of course. And the 'prestige', family honor, all that crap. He took his brother's seat, to keep it in the family. Probably why they wanted to change the law again so they could appoint another Kennedy to the spot when he died, keep the legacy going. And sure teddy and family had money before that, but trust me, him being a Senator didn't hurt their finances any.

[bmags]

I'll pay my respects to a senator who fought on the right side of a lot of civil rights issues.

 

Ted Kennedy, the man, was deeply flawed, and I won't blame some snide comments aimed at him.

 

But, I'd rather have a flawed man, who killed someone, that was on the right side of civil and social justice, then Jesse Helms. And because when Jesse Helms died I said good riddance, I'm fine with the republicans here doing the same.

 

 

[bmags]

Of course. And the 'prestige', family honor, all that crap. He took his brother's seat, to keep it in the family. Probably why they wanted to change the law again so they could appoint another Kennedy to the spot when he died, keep the legacy going. And sure teddy and family had money before that, but trust me, him being a Senator didn't hurt their finances any.

 

Yes to the bolded, but no way he did it for the pay check. I'd take the argument he did it for the power, for sure, but senators don't make that much, and considering their name and education I'm sure he could've made quite a bit more in the private sector. And I doubt the Kennedy's have to work that much, anyhoo.

[Rex Kickass]

Since the announcement of his cancer diagnosis, a number of these stories have dribbled out into the press. For all his flaws and misgivings, Kennedy did a lot of good in this world - and I feel that it should be shared. 47 years in the Senate and he did a lot of positive things there and for his constituents. There are few Senators really like that left these days - Lugar comes to mind in Indiana, but I don't know of many others. In many ways, Kennedy represented the best of what I always thought a Senator should be.

 

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachus...d_it_in_others/

 

It was Aug. 18, 2008. The senator read in the paper that two servicemen from Mashpee had died in Iraq and Afghanistan. He knew their grieving families would be together that afternoon, gathering for sandwiches and fortitude before a candlelight service at Mashpee’s veterans memorial.

 

It didn’t matter that he was in the middle of yet another chemotherapy treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital. It didn’t matter that he was clearly exhausted. It didn’t matter that people would understand if he couldn’t make it. He wanted to be with them.

 

“When you think it’s the moment not to call, that’s the moment to call,’’ he always told his aides. “The sooner, the better.’’ He wanted the relatives to know he was there if they needed him and to tell them he had lived their pain.

 

Others didn’t think the visit was such a good idea, but that didn’t matter to Ted Kennedy. As his hours of treatment ended, he declared: “We’re going down there.’’

 

So he stopped off in Hyannis Port to freshen up, an aide recalled. He put on a blazer and dress slacks and headed right back out.

 

...

 

The Conlons and the McGuires knew he meant it when he thanked them for their great sacrifices.

 

“The first year is the hardest,’’ Maria Conlon, Paul’s mother, remembered him saying. “The first birthday, the first anniversary, the holidays. The pain will never go away, but it will be easier to bear. You will never forget them. They live forever within us.’’

 

The senator looked better than she’d expected - though he seemed tired and a little shaky on his feet. He sat in the living room for most of his visit, sipping water.

 

He leafed slowly through a photo album, asking Maria Conlon to tell him about her son. What was his nickname? Did he get into college? How did she feel about him going into the military?

 

His nickname was PJ. He’d gotten a scholarship to Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire. She supported his enlistment because it was what he had always wanted.

 

She told Kennedy that she had taken Paul to the compound in Hyannis Port to watch fireworks 18 years ago, when he was 3. The senator seemed to like that. She told him about the time her son, at 16, put a hole in the ceiling jumping on the bed because he “wanted to feel like a kid again.’’ That gave Kennedy a good laugh.

 

The ailing senator was in no hurry to leave. He had words of comfort for every person in the house that afternoon.

 

“It gave me great admiration for him,’’ Maria Conlon said, “that somebody going through such a hard time with his own life, and for everything he’s suffered in the past, and still, he took the time to go to the family’s house, to sit there, not for five minutes, but for hours.’’

 

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachus..._and_desperate/

 

They left their homes in Ethiopia to seek an education, and while they were away, in the 1970s, violent turmoil erupted in their country. A military regime seized power, targeted its enemies, and killed their relatives. Fearing for their lives, Abe Abraham and his wife, Azzi, sought permission from the government to stay in the United States.

 

No, came the answer from immigration officials, who concluded that the coup had not hurt the couple directly, and that they must go back.

 

Stunned, and with no idea what to do next, the Abrahams took a chance, as so many other frightened, desperate people have, on a powerful man they prayed would listen to their plea: Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

 

They wrote to Kennedy, and soon after, at the senator’s request, officials reexamined their appeal and granted them asylum.

 

“We owe our lives to the senator,’’ Abe Abraham recalled from his office at CMI Management, the thriving Virginia company he founded 20 years ago. “There is no doubt in my mind, if we went home, we wouldn’t be alive.’’

 

When a grieving, frustrated Julie Primeau was repeatedly rebuffed by federal investigators as she tried to learn the circumstances of her brother’s death, Kennedy demanded the reports on his diving accident and handed them over to the grateful Fitchburg woman. When Lauren Stanford, a Plymouth teenager with juvenile diabetes, wrote a letter asking him to support stem cell research, Kennedy became her pen pal and invited her to testify at a Senate hearing.

 

“She’s my kid and she’s special to me, but she is one of millions of people who need the attention of the US government, and for her to have gotten it the way she has is unbelievable,’’ said Moira McCarthy Stanford, Lauren’s mother. “For her to be heard the way she’s been heard has instilled in her a respect for public service that will live forever.’’

[lostfan]

Of course. And the 'prestige', family honor, all that crap. He took his brother's seat, to keep it in the family. Probably why they wanted to change the law again so they could appoint another Kennedy to the spot when he died, keep the legacy going. And sure teddy and family had money before that, but trust me, him being a Senator didn't hurt their finances any.

The Kennedy brothers were all trust fund babies (JFK didn't even take a salary for being president, he donated it all to charity). He really didn't need the 150k a year or whatever it is senators make nowadays, and he probably could've done better than that if he wanted to without the Senate.

[StrangeSox]

The Kennedy brothers were all trust fund babies (JFK didn't even take a salary for being president, he donated it all to charity). He really didn't need the 150k a year or whatever it is senators make nowadays, and he probably could've done better than that if he wanted to without the Senate.

 

Yeah, that's why I asked that. He was born into millions of dollars. He didn't need the paycheck or, arguably, the power.

[lostfan]

Yeah, that's why I asked that. He was born into millions of dollars. He didn't need the paycheck or, arguably, the power.

The prestige, the whole "legacy" thing, all of that makes sense. Money, not so much.

[Texsox]

On the patriot part or that he should have retiered part? I can see them all vainly hanging onto their position, for the power, perks, money, prestige, ego, etc. None seem to want to give it up. As for the patriot part, like I said, being a Senator doesnt make you a patriot. if you think Teddy served all those years 'for the good of his country', you are sadly mistaken.

Of course who would ever devote their lives to public service, that's crazy.

[southsider2k5]

I'll pay my respects to a senator who fought on the right side of a lot of civil rights issues.

 

Ted Kennedy, the man, was deeply flawed, and I won't blame some snide comments aimed at him.

 

But, I'd rather have a flawed man, who killed someone, that was on the right side of civil and social justice, then Jesse Helms. And because when Jesse Helms died I said good riddance, I'm fine with the republicans here doing the same.

 

Good post. Thanks for recognizing both sides of the coin.

[whitesoxfan101]

 

I don't know a lot about Mr. Kennedy. But if this is true, wow.

[mr_genius]

 

I don't know a lot about Mr. Kennedy. But if this is true, wow.

 

"Haha, hey guys, did I ever tell about the time I was driving drunk and killed my friend? IT WAS HILARIOUS! "

Edited August 29, 2009 by mr_genius

[Balta1701]

Senator Kennedy politicizes his own funeral. (letter addressed to the Pope, written by the late Senator, read at his funearl)

I want you to know, your Holiness, that in my nearly 50 years of elective office I have done my best to champion the rights of the poor and open doors of economic opportunity. I've worked to welcome the immigrant, to fight discrimination and expand access to health care and education. I've opposed the death penalty and fought to end war. Those are the issues that have motivated me and have been the focus of my work as a United States Senator.

 

I also want you to know that even though I am ill, I am committed to do everything I can to get access to health care for everyone in my country. This has been the political cause of my life. I believe in a conscience protection for Catholics in the health field and will continue to advocate for it as my colleagues in the Senate and I work to develop an overall national policy that guarantees health care for everyone.

[knightni]

"Hey Pope, 'Saint' me."

[EvilMonkey]

Senator Kennedy politicizes his own funeral. (letter addressed to the Pope, written by the late Senator, read at his funearl)

I can't find the link, but I know I read somewhere that back in the Nixon era, kennedy OPPOSED a version of national healthcare that was proposed back then. I have to find that later.