Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: Raptor
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 08:28 AM

Ya Cats one dead girl and they call you bad, unbelievable.

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 09:30 AM

In between all the news about Michael Jackson I heard something about Ted Kennedy dieing of a brain disorder. I turned to CNN and there was Sen. Orrin Hatch saying "Ted Kennedy was a monstrously partisan tax and spend Liberal. No one matched his verbiosity..."

Hmmm

I heard more reasoned accounts of his life and death on npr.

My wife had the wonderful opportunity to work with this man and at a facility sponsored by his siter Eunice. I only met him once here in DC. Everything about him was unselfish.   His dedication to justice fairness and the dignity of the common man and woman is unmatched by anyone I know perhaps due to the crippling breaks he recieved in his early life.
Hemmingway wrote, "Everyone's life is broken in places but there are rare people who grow stronger at those breaks and become larger than life itself.

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: Arkie
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 10:23 AM

Ted Kennedy had his personal demons, but he also used his talent, wealth, and influence to make life richer and more satisfying for the common folk of this country. He could have lived a life of luxury and indulged himself completely, but he chose to battle for those others would repress and exploit. His political life was spent serving the people of his state and country and he served them well. He died with the welfare of his country on his mind.

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: akenaton
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 11:51 AM

Sharon's right.....Mr Kennedy was 100% "liberal" and 100% hypocrite.

It's easy to be a "liberal" when your born with a silver spoon in yer mouth.

The whole family including old Joe and JFK were no sort of role models....Capitalist to the core and carrying the guilt that only the ultra rich know!

Destructive lifestyles.

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: Greg F.
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 12:41 PM

There's what he was, and there's what he accomplished. May be two sides of the same coin, but the former doesn't negate the latter.

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 12:44 PM

Probably just as well Jesse Helms died first, or he'd be quick to hop on this thread also.

The News & Observer, a North Carolina newspaper.

SRS

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 02:14 PM

Donuel says: I turned to CNN and there was Sen. Orrin Hatch saying "Ted Kennedy was a monstrously partisan tax and spend Liberal. No one matched his verbiosity..."

This is another quote you'll find only on Mudcat. You heard it here first, folks, straight from Donuel's rather vivid imagination.

So, what's the truth, Donuel?

The truth is that Senator Hatch had some wonderful things to say about Ted Kennedy. See CBS News for moving tributes from Hatch and other members of the Senate. Also see the Los Angeles Times for how Hatch responded to Kennedy's seizure at the Inaugural luncheon. The press often referred to Republican Hatch as a "very close friend" of Ted Kennedy. In a very moving article, the Deseret News of Utah described old friends Hatch and Kennedy as "the odd couple." Hatch and Kennedy were wonderful examples of how respect and friendship can overcome ideological differences and bring about reasonable and workable compromise.

Donuel, if you keep twisting the truth, how can you expect anybody to believe you?

-Joe Offer-

Subject: ADD: Headed Home (Sen. Orrin Hatch & Phil Springer
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 02:43 PM

Oh, and since this is a music forum, let's take a look at the song Republican Senator Orrin Hatch wrote to honor his friend Ted Kennedy:

HEADED HOME
(Senator Orrin Hatch and Phil Springer)

Through the darkness
We can find a pathway
That will take us half way
To the stars.

Through the rain and fog
We can find a clear day
Shoo the shadows and doubts away
And touch the legacy that is ours.

Yours and mine
And our children's
For all time.

Just honor him
Honor him
And every fear
Will be a thing of the past.

America, America
We're headed home
We're headed home
At last.

Just honor him
Honor him
And on the reefs of despair
We shall not crash.

America
America
We're sailing home
Sailing home
America
America
We're headed home
Headed home
At last.


Song text from this video and article (click) from ABC news. I'm not sure I like the song all that much, but I sure appreciate the sentiments.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: akenaton
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 02:49 PM

Better fasten your seat belts Joe....Just in case.

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: Ebbie
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 03:04 PM

Thanks, Joe. It needed to be said. I think I'll post this:

"Personally, I mourn the loss of my dear friend Ted Kennedy. I will miss sparring with him over policy, his unparalleled skills as a legislator, his wonderful sense of humor, and his generous nature. And Americans from all points on the political spectrum can surely admire the example of a United States senator who was dedicated to the last to advancing the vision of America that he held so dearly." Senator Orrin Hatch

Orrin Hatch's REAL Opinion of Ted Kennedy

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: Azizi
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 03:21 PM

Regarding the "Heading Home" song whose link Joe posted:

See these two viewer's comments from the YouTube video:
(which isn't a video and doesn't include a photo collage, but does have one photo of Senator Kennedy and Senator Hatch)


zipster53:

"Senator Hatch:
As a further tribute to your old friend, could you help fulfill Senator Kennedy's dream of ensuring all Americans affordable health care? That would be a real tribute to Teddy."

**

mukome:

"Dear Senator Hatch,

Everyone on the YouTubes is saying this is you singing.

Please inform people that the singer is actually Tony Middleton. Thank you."

http://www.youtube.com/comment_servlet?all_comments&v=Hr5oyEDGYkw&fromurl=/watch%3Fv%3DHr5oyEDGYkw


**

For what it's worth, if I were rating this song on my aesthetic scale, I'd give it a "3" out of a possible "5" (with "5" being the highest). I thought the words & the tune were just okay. But the tempo dragged a bit for my taste.

And, also for what it's worth, I co-sign what zipster53 wrote. If Senator Hatch wants to honor his friend Senator Kennedy, he'll support the public option in the health care bill, and he'll advocate for that option among his fellow Republicans.

Do you see either of these real ways to honor Senator Kennedy happening?

Me neither.

For that reason, I'd give that song a FAIL.

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: GUEST,Cocytus
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 03:33 PM

I'm glad Ted Kennedy is in his new resting place.

Dante's Hell, Level 9 - Cocytus

This is the deepest level of hell, where the fallen angel Satan himself resides. His wings flap eternally, producing chilling cold winds that freeze the thick ice found in Cocytus. The three faces of Satan, black, red, and yellow, can be seen with mouths gushing bloody foam and eyes forever weeping, as they chew on the three traitors, Judas, Brutus, and Cassius. This place is furthest removed from the source of all light and warmth. Sinners here are frozen deep in the ice, faces out, eyes and mouths frozen shut. Traitors against God, country, family, and benefactors lament their sins in this frigid pit of despair.

He would have got there a lot sooner if his Deathcare was in place. No brain tumor treatment for anyone in their seventies.

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 04:18 PM

Azizi, I don't think Ted Kennedy would have expected Orrin Hatch to sell out to the other side. What Hatch and Kennedy did that was so remarkable, was that they were able to do the hard work to harrmer out a compromise that served the needs of all.

-Joe-

Oh, and Cocytus, welcome to the Mudcat Cafe. Remember to use the same name each and every time you post.

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: akenaton
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 04:25 PM

Reality will be resumed on the Sheehan thread!

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: civilservant
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 06:25 PM

A couple of anagrams

Edward Kennedy - Ed randy, Ed knew!

Senator Edward Kennedy - Drowns dear and keen yet

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: Azizi
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 07:41 PM

Joe, the public option is a compromise.

And that's all I'm gonna write in this thread besides RIP, Senator Kennedy.

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: GUEST,Greycap
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 07:46 PM

JAFP - Just another politician.

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: GUEST,bflat
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 11:48 PM

As I watched the News Hour with Jim Leherer this evening, the lead story was of Sen. Kennedy's passing. Among the comments of average people was the story of the young girl who he mentored in a reading program, one on one. Apparently, this was something he did regularly with this child, building a relationship to encourage education. When he became ill he wrote to her that he wouldn't be able to continue and sent along an autographed book with a personal message to hopefully inspire her to continue to enjoy reading. I believe he also secured his replacement. She is still too young to fully appreciate the Senators' involvement in establishing the literacy program, but one day she is likely to understand.
There doesn't seend to be that there was ever an occasion for hoopla, or political breast pounding as far as I can see. I think this example tells a lot about a person. To me, he is a man who had redeemed himself. And his legislative oeuvre earned him the love and respect of millions of Americans and Internationals.

Ellen

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 28 Aug 09 - 05:36 PM

I got this on an e-mail list today, and thought it might be of interest to many of you. The memorial service startes at 7PM Mudcat time, not long from now.
-Joe-

Dear Joe,

Tonight, we will celebrate Senator Kennedy's life at a memorial service at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston.

We would like to remember his life in the same way as he lived it: with all of you.

Join us at 7 p.m. on TedKennedy.org, which will feature a live video stream of the service:

http://www.tedkennedy.org/live

Tens of thousands of you have shared your memories and sympathies with us in person at the library, on TedKennedy.org, Facebook, or Twitter.

Your words have made us laugh, cry, and remember. We could not be more appreciative. Thank you.

The Kennedy Family

p.s. If you'd like to share your own memories of the Senator, please click here:

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 28 Aug 09 - 07:08 PM

The memorial service is on now: http://www.tedkennedy.org/live

Who was the sailing buddy with the curly hair, who spoke early in the service? Most of the speeches were very good, but this guy had a screw loose. Oh, it was Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II.

The guy who sang "Love Changes Everything" wasn't a professional singer, but he sang it with heart. I've always liked that song.

The Governor of Massachusetts gave a moving speech, and said some wonderful things about Kennedy's love of singing. That's something I hadn't know about Ted Kennedy.

John McCain's speech was very good, but the first speech that moved me to tears, were John Kerry's and that of Orrin Hatch. the list of speakers is here (click). It's interesting that no women spoke, except for Caroline Kennedy at the end.
Joe Biden and Caroline Kennedy did the final speeches, and moved me to tears. Then everybody sang "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," and it was over.

What stuck me most was how very human this evening was. It wasn't a political event, even though almost all of the speakers were politicians. These were people grieving a man they loved, telling loving stories about him. It was over three hours long, and I'm glad I watched the whole thing.

God bless you, Ted Kennedy.

-Joe Offer- (revised at 10:25 PM, EDT)

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: Joe_F
Date: 28 Aug 09 - 08:59 PM

"...spoke to a friend and two lawyers before finally calling the police."

ObSongs: In Leslie Fish's version of this nasty story, it was some family members and his campaign manager.

If that is a libel, it is pretty vile. If it is true,....

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: Alice
Date: 28 Aug 09 - 09:19 PM

A news story on this yesterday described how the family would sing around the table at the end of dinner, and this became even more important to Ted Kennedy in the last year of his life. His wife Vickie gave him the gift of singing lessons because she knew he loved it so much. He would sing in his office, in the hallways of the Senate, while sailing... it was a part of his life and what the family also considered as part of their Irish American heritage.

Alice

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: robomatic
Date: 28 Aug 09 - 10:16 PM

I think he was not the sharpest knife in the drawer of the Kennedy clan but he did his best with the material at hand, which I find genuinely inspirational.

His moral career is somewhat checkered going back to his college days and lasting into his dotage, but I think he meant to do well for the most part and he certainly could have done worse.

He came to my high school arguing against the Volunteer Army and asked our assembly: "How many of you are in favor of a Volunteer Army?"
All hands rose.
"How many of you would volunteer?"
All hands fell.
I agreed with him on that.

I was visiting his offices in DC during his brief run for President. His offices were loud with the ringing of every phone and harried staff trying to stem some reportorial tide. I found out later that someone had stuck a microphone in his face and asked him why he wanted to be President and he'd stumbled the answer.

His campaign against Mitt Romney in the 90's used anti-Mormon tactics and it made me believe that he had outlived his career.

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: GUEST,Yar it's me
Date: 29 Aug 09 - 01:48 AM

Widespread -- and credible -- supposition suggests that the young woman whom he left trapped in the submerged car had an air supply and died of suffocation. Due to Kennedy's cowardice and grotesque self-servitude, he and confederates neglected to dial for emergency services and didn't call the authorities for 10 hours. It's very reasonable to believe -- if you give credence to the suffocation-rather-than-drowning theory -- that she could have been saved if emergency-response had been quickly called in, rather than the 10-hour delay in which Kennedy went to bed and presumably tried to sober up and weighed his "options" while Mary Jo was left trapped and alone in the dark to suffocate.

Due to the 10-hour delay Kennedy should have been imprisoned, and exiled from holding public office. Any "ordinary" person would have been prosecuted enthusiastically. But he was connected, and he was a Kennedy. Had it went to a jury, I think it would have been a quick deliberation.

As to the disgustingly disingenuous and/or hypocritical and/or unforgivably obtuse liberals here who will defend any and all actions of any and all self-serving power-hungry leftist hacks with a "D" next to their name -- eat crap, creeps. You wackos are pathological. Maybe take a visit over at HuffPo; I understand there's a really sickening article there titled "What Would Mary Jo Kopechne Have Thought of Ted's Career?" that fairly illustrates the nausea-inducing can of worms of the typical reprobate liberal mind.

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 29 Aug 09 - 10:49 AM

The funeral is on now. Wish I had time to watch it - click.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Obit: Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009)
From: robomatic
Date: 29 Aug 09 - 11:43 AM

As for Chappaquiddick, it made a difference of course. I think suppositions are just that, and just about worthless. Massachusetts loves the Kennedys, and there was an unspoken understanding (probably spoken a little I s'pose) that Teddy made a fine Senator, but would never be President.

He was not loved without reason.

Considering the outpourings of hagiography over President Reagan, the memorialization of Senator Ted is small potatoes.