Ted Kennedy - Dead.

[Th0r]

It's been announced that Ted Kennedy, the last surviving Kennedy brother had snuffed it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8221686.stm

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I found this online just yesterday. (Coincidence?)

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An Honest Summary of Ted Kennedy?s Disgraceful Life

http://us.altermedia.info/images/kennedy2.jpg

As soon as his cancer was detected, I noticed the immediate attempt at the ?canonization? of old Teddy Kennedy by the mainstream media. They are saying what a ?great American? he is. I say, let?s get a couple things clear and 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 charged that 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?

http://us.altermedia.info/images/Kennedy3.jpg

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 sank into Poucha Pond.

7. He swam to shore and walked back to the party, passing several houses and a fire station. Two friends then 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 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. Kopechne was able to stay alive for a while breathing a bubble of air inside the car.

One source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chappaquiddick_incident) notes ?A diver was sent down and discovered Kopechne?s body at around 8:45 am. The diver, John Farrar, later testified at the inquest that Kopechne?s body was pressed up in the car in the spot where an air bubble would have formed. He interpreted this to mean that Kopechne had survived for a while after the initial accident in the air bubble, and concluded that: ?Had I received a call within five to ten minutes of the accident occurring, and was able, as I was the following morning, to be at the victim?s side within twenty-five minutes of receiving the call, in such event there is a strong possibility that she would have been alive on removal from the submerged 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 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 pay out 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 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.

9. Since that time, he has been the prime instigator and author of every expansion of an increase in immigration, 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 was the standard bearer for the nation in matters of ?what?s right?.

10. He is known around Washington as a public drunk, loud, boisterous and very disrespectful to ladies. JERK is a better description than ?great American?. ?A blond in every pond? should be his motto.

Let?s not allow the spin doctors to make this disgraceful drunk and whore of anti-American special interests a hero. It?s shameful that more people don?t know what his real legacy is.

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So, let's do what we do best at. Debating. In this case the life of an American senator who is apparently held with contempt by right-wingers and loved by left-wingers.

[death11284]

I thoroughly agree with ya th0r..

[Vallen]

Later, in a televised tribute, Mr Obama described him as one of the "most accomplished Americans to serve our democracy".
LMAO.....

[odin_dax]

Yeah, he was a disgrace as a human.

[lcnostra]

Do you guys even have any idea of what the Kennedy family, especially Ted, has done for America? Ted Kennedy serviced his country honorably right up until he passed away.

Put aside your ideologies for a minute and acknowledge that he was a rare breed of statesman and a speaking voice for Americans everywhere.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
The COBRA Act of 1985
The Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990
The Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996

I suppose it's pretty easy to take the sensationalist images and media so you can bash him from overseas. There's no honor in shitting on a dead man, especially the day after. Maybe I see things differently because he was my Senator, and has been for as long as I can remember. Always take into account that it's a whole lot easier to jump on the bandwagon and say something glib and meaningless like "yeah, he was a disgrace" than it is to actually read up on the guy's accomplishments. If you're going to embody the height of academic laziness, do you also have to be an asshole at the same time? There are plenty of Conservative pundits I disagree with, but I would never wish death upon or applaud the death of any one of them. I urge you to read up on what this man has done for his country; certainly a whole lot more than any of you or I ever will.

I'm not going to champion him as some angel or morally righteous being, but I encourage you all to compare his accomplishments up against the iniquities and strike a balance. For those who believe in heaven, this will surely be a tough one for St. Peter. While Ted was always a "liberal lion" and a symbol of progressive ideals, any knowledgeable person -- liberal or conservative -- can acknowledge his service and hard work. If you guys want to go on posting 4chan-quality remarks, by all means. I was just expecting a more open-minded tribute to the countless good things this man did for his country.

[DoctaD]

So a decimate who cures a disease should be praised for one and ignored of the other?

[odin_dax]

Do you guys even have any idea of what the Kennedy family, especially Ted, has done for America? Ted Kennedy serviced his country honorably right up until he passed away.


Arguably, he may have been a good senator, but a lousy man. Sorry, I can't respect a man that flees the sight of an accident and lets someone die, for example. I can't argue those acts you champion him for, since I don't know much about that (way before my time in politics). However, it doesn't matter.

You, sir, are an ass for assuming anyone here is happy he's dead because we voice opinions against his inexcusable actions. Maybe some of us just choose to remember him for all that he's done, not just the "good" people wish to remember him for. I didn't know the man personally, so why should I express some loyalty to him after death and refrain from talking about him for his actions? Last I checked, I lived in America where I have the right to free speech.

Glib and meaningless? I suppose you like to jump to conclusions rather than challenge the position, then draw a conclusion. You claim such statements are from the height of academic laziness, but I dare say that it must be very good view from where you are.

[Nox (ADVANCED)]

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 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.


All one point while 6 and 7 are arguably the same point. Sounds a little one sided to me.

[odin_dax]

All one point while 6 and 7 are arguably the same point. Sounds a little one sided to me.

I think it's one-sided in response to the praise he's been receiving. It wasn't meant to be a critique, rather a reminder.

[lcnostra]

Glib and meaningless? I suppose you like to jump to conclusions rather than challenge the position, then draw a conclusion. You claim such statements are from the height of academic laziness, but I dare say that it must be very good view from where you are.

I call 'em as I see 'em, and as of now I've yet to see you type anything insightful about TK's death or what he meant to America. Even if your views oppose mine, I'd at least appreciate a thought-out response that besets his politics as well as any life transgressions. Excuse me for expecting more than a one-sentence confirmation to an idiotic "list" similar to one you'd find in your email from grandma. Bombshock? Sure. I suppose I just have higher expectations of rorta.

I'm an ass because I've made assumptions about what people think? As far as I'm concerned, I haven't needed to make any assumptions because you all have made it pretty clear what you think. Nobody has to agree with me here; I'd just rather see more intelligent input. But hey, nobody has any obligation to do that for me.

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1918758-1,00.html

[odin_dax]

I call 'em as I see 'em, and as of now I've yet to see you type anything insightful about TK's death or what he meant to America. Even if your views oppose mine, I'd at least appreciate a thought-out response that besets his politics as well as any life transgressions. Excuse me for expecting more than a one-sentence confirmation to an idiotic "list" similar to one you'd find in your email from grandma. Bombshock? Sure. I suppose I just have higher expectations of rorta.

I'm an ass because I've made assumptions about what people think? As far as I'm concerned, I haven't needed to make any assumptions because you all have made it pretty clear what you think. Nobody has to agree with me here; I'd just rather see more intelligent input. But hey, nobody has any obligation to do that for me.

The assumption isn't that you know what we think, but rather the basis of why we think the way we do.

Excuse me for not writing an essay in response to an article that points out facts about a man being remembered for something more than he was.

Why do you call the list idiotic? Are they not facts?

[lcnostra]

Excuse me for not writing an essay in response to an article that points out facts about a man being remembered for something more than he was.

It's a hallmark of academic laziness and party-whipped myopia to just sit back and bash someone on the other side cause it's the easy thing to do. I wasn't expecting some enlightened essay on Ted's character; just acknowledgment that he transcended the barriers set by political parties and helped with a lot of substantial contributions to American policy. Time and time again you've made your point that you can compromise and see the big issue when it comes to politics. I guess I was just under the impression that you wouldn't take the easy way out this time and jump on the bandwagon with the other rethuglicans and degrade yourself to the same intellectual level as "birthers" and deep-South queer haters. Now you've eliminated my expectations, so it just makes everything easier for both of us.

[odin_dax]

It's a hallmark of academic laziness and party-whipped myopia to just sit back and bash someone on the other side cause it's the easy thing to do. I wasn't expecting some enlightened essay on Ted's character; just acknowledgment that he transcended the barriers set by political parties and helped with a lot of substantial contributions to American policy. Time and time again you've made your point that you can compromise and see the big issue when it comes to politics. I guess I was just under the impression that you wouldn't take the easy way out this time and jump on the bandwagon with the other rethuglicans and degrade yourself to the same intellectual level as "birthers" and deep-South queer haters. Now you've eliminated my expectations, so it just makes everything easier for both of us.

I'm sorry you don't like my statements about Ted Kennedy, and since you've already closed off any channel between us, then there is no point continuing any points about Ted.

As for the matter of call me a rethuglican (never heard that term before today) and other such nonsense, I've think you've overstepped your bounds. I think you're no different than what you accused me of being, in the sense that you just take the person of the opposite position and label them to invalidate any argument he makes. Fallacy much?

I don't know what you mean by "birther" and I doubt it has any relevance to this conversation. Certainly, "deep-South queer haters" absolutely has nothing to do with this conversation. You throw these terms around so easily, but why? How are you any different now than all the other political movements that use labels instead of understanding and facts to discuss something? You use these labels to negate an argument and end any investment in the conversation. You are a coward. You are more than a coward, as you have wrongly tried to invalidate me or anything I've said. Did I say anything that was incorrect? No. So instead of trying to argue what facts I did state, even in light of saying that I was commenting to an opinion piece and tried to remind people of the bad he's done, you just say "you're wrong because you're a queer hater." How obtuse can you be? I wish I could say more, but your sheer ignorance and stupidity has made me very frustrated. I thought you were going to school to learn something, but I guess you only learned to be a mindless drone.

If you want to worship your idol, go ahead, just don't be so stupid into thinking he's this great, innocent man because he's done some good.

Talk to me about academic lazines... HA!

[lcnostra]

What does education have to do with any of this? Besides elucidating the fact that you need some remedial English comprehension courses, it is completely irrelevant.

You made the same point twice: calling you an extremist makes me an extremist and invalidates what I say. Hypocrisy, got it. The reason I've raised the issue is because I've come to expect more from you than such bullshit. We've had some intellectual discussions, so I know you are more than capable of seeing beyond the right-wing hate machine and jumping on the bandwagon. However, the fact that the argument you'd make is tantamount to those of the very morons I think we both despise is upsetting. I don't actually think you're a sister-fucking yokel or Bush light-guzzling trailer trash, but you owe it to yourself to validate the things you say with more than the usual drivel that characterizes those types. I've seen you do it before and I know you can do it again.

Coward? Really? Ted closely paralleled my set of political ideals, but that doesn't mean I think he was perfect. It also doesn't mean I'd immediately dismiss the meaningful accomplishments of someone on the other side, just as you have done. Go ahead and look him up. So far your argument has been nothing but filler like this:

I thought you were going to school to learn something, but I guess you only learned to be a mindless drone.

I said before and I'll say again, I've yet to see you say anything intellectual on the subject. Th0r posted a montage you'd find circling amongst the most closed-minded and you just jumped in to agree that he was a disgrace. Is it really me who's the drone here? Without overlooking his iniquities, how do you think he did as a Senator and why? Go ahead and weigh in the things that made him a bad person. I know I don't have to be of the opposite party to critique my own. Sorry for calling you out. You sound like someone who's used to being around people who are less intelligent and you've developed some superiority. I guess I've caught you off guard, cause you've already broken out the "you're such an idiot that I can't even argue with you" card. Honestly, I don't think I've been out of line in asking for you to back up your opinion. If you can go back and read my posts twice and you still think I'm an asshole, by all means say so. Otherwise, I think I've made it pretty obvious that my request all along has been for a more informative statement. I've seen better quality stuff come from your posts, which is why my expectations are greater than what I've seen from you on this topic.

[odin_dax]

Well, I guess we're either hypocrites, or we're both accusing each other of the same thing. Besides that, you pulled out the "idiot" card before I did.

I knew what Ted had done in the past before he died. His death hasn't changed my opinion of him is, I believe, the point I'm trying to express to you. Why do I have to repeat anything that Th0r quoted when I already affirmed my trust and agreement with those statements? Why am I less than what you believe I am because you haven't disproved or made any statements in direct opposition to the facts of his life?

I really don't know what you're trying to argue without arguing against that position. I understand that his life shouldn't be summed up for all the bad, and I quite understand your position is "Here, look at some of the good he's done" but I simply can't condone any of his disgraceful acts when little or no regard for his actions were ever expressed at the time he committed those acts.

If the only point of your responses at this point are to get me to concede he's a good person because of his political career, or that he's done more good than bad, I would only ask you not to hold your breath. You made it quite clear some of the good he's done. I made it quite clear the good doesn't outweigh the bad. I don't disagree he's supported some good legislation, but can you tell me he's never supported bad legislation either? Politically, maybe he evens out, but what about personally?

I don't really know what you expect more than that, since I feel I'm being quite clear on the subject.