what's worse, people here writing their honest opinions about kennedy or someone (cough edroso cough) who feigns moral outrage over said comments for the sake of scoring a few cheap political points among his few readers who are already on his political "team"? I think honesty in the face of all the self-righteous faux solemnity the media dishes out is far more honorable than cynically pretending to be upset about a few bad words slung at a dead politician.
im also surprised that the village voice is still published.... it must be about 70 percent porn ads by now. nothing like wading through escort ads to read some bad writing affirming political things you already believe... i feel the same way about the national review these days ha.
Ann Althouse, more in the spirit of an Irish wake, brings up "That time Teddy Kennedy called Obama 'Osama bin Laden.'"
They are all agreed that the worst thing one could do in Kennedy's memory would be to try and pass the health care reform to which he devoted decades of his life.
I don't think even the Village Voice sees it the same way Bobby McGee.
" They are all agreed that the worst thing one could do in Kennedy's memory would be to try and pass the health care reform to which he devoted decades of his life."
ha kennedy spend decades of his life trying to fuck up America and obama is able to do it in 8 short months. what a burn.
If you were lucky enough to attend Kennedy's actual wake (it will be interesting), you would hear a lot of stories like the one of Teddy mixing up Obama and Osama. The Irish are not very reverential about death or the lives of the departed, except perhaps before God. But this is from friends of the departed, or enemies important enough to be invited to mark their passing. For the rest of use to show just how cleverly insulting we can be is mainly crass.
I think Kennedy would understand the abuse, and accept the insults as a tribute to his influence and power.
Is there a Heaven? Did Ted Kennedy seek and receive sufficient forgiveness for his sins be allowed in Heaven? Does God have another test for Senator Kennedy before he passes the gates, such as a interview with Mary Jo?
To say that Ted Kennedy was corrupt, venal, sinful is to say he was human. He was hypocritical about his sin, which is to say he was human and a politician.
Perhaps in a hundred years, certainly in a thousand, Ted Kennedy will be all but forgotten. His worldly importance will have dwindled to a speck, as will our opinions of him.
I thought I had some Al Goldstein interviews from Imus saved but I don't see them, speaking of the Village Voice.
He's actually pretty funny and self-deprecating.
The last I remember was he was complaining that Bill Clinton was taking over his livelihood, and some amusing story of a run-in with postal regulations.
Kennedy was an embarrassment and an awful senator and a worse human being. From cheating in college to leaving Mary K. to die, he left a trail of slime. And he did everything he could to screw up America.
It's horrible to speak ill of the dead but unfortunately if we are going "weigh his legacy" as we so often do in this country when a member of political royalty passes on, then we must dispense with the hagiography, bless the man on his journey to the great beyond and speak honestly of him warts and all. The last time I checked, when a Republican dies, people of the Left do not hang their heads and shed a whole lot of tears. Don't make me search the internet for the horrible things said about Reagan, Snow, Buckley, etc.
Liberals are no where *near* as mean when people they hate die, and besides, they are BAD people, unlike Kennedy who was a good person and wonderful and... stuff. Not like those BAD people. So it's not at all the same, the things people say... because liberals only say them about BAD people and conservatives say them about GOOD people.
And without the faintest whiff of irony, too.
(I expect my comment there will either not appear or will disappear.)
I thought Catholics (at least in the US) sort of tend to pretend not to notice those sorts of things that might cause problems with strict observation.
God is a forgiving God. I've got no problem with people assuming the best. If it's otherwise, He will deal with it. We really don't need to and probably ought not. Scripturally it's not really our business to separate the goats and sheep, the wheat and chaff.
"Ted is getting a church funeral. I'm curious about that. A divorced guy, second marriage a civil one, I thought there would be sacrament issues?
Or is this one of those, another set of rules in MA for a Kennedy?"
Of course! even the Church must bow to the awesome power of the kennedys. if not teddy wouldve gone all henry the eighth on them and confiscated all of their property and money for himself.
besides we all know how serious and committed to their doctrine the MA roman catholic church has been in the past... ask an altarboy or bernie law.
only a far left liberal would see TK as some kind of icon--says much more about progressives than it does about kennedy--he was a flawed human being, as all of us are, and in 50 years he will be forgotten--like Senators dirkson, eastland, stennis, bilbo and vardemon. there are no good senators
" God is a forgiving God. I've got no problem with people assuming the best. If it's otherwise, He will deal with it. We really don't need to and probably ought not. Scripturally it's not really our business to separate the goats and sheep, the wheat and chaff."
if that's the case why bother being roman catholic?? if enforcing the doctrine you purport to solemnly believe is too judgmental then just give it up and become a unitarian.
vw: feali. what was wrong with the rc church in MA, they were too touchi feali.
America already offers universal healthcare access.
Now we need the 15%, who don't have insurance, to cancel their cable TV, stop smoking and drinking, cancel their cell and internet accounts and use all the money they save to buy their own health insurance.
He's not an icon. But he was a human being. And the gleeful expressions and cruelty that have been spewed here on the occasion of his death deserve to be called to the attention of those who think Althouse is some "moderate" and her faux cafes some kind of nice place.
And the left progressives respond as you would expect.
Using the death of Kennedy to advance their own political agenda against the will of the American People.
I said it before. They should be ashamed. They are waving the corpse of Kennedy like a bloody flag in a hypocrital and disgusting way to push an abomination of a health care bill.
Furthermore they are doing it, cynically, in the name of a most awful, digusting and sinful man.
They have no shame. I hope when this country falls into ruin and they are all dead they are judged harshly and accordingly for the pain and suffering they are guaranteeing to my children and grandchildren. They can't be judged soon enough.
daubiere, if I were saying that God doesn't judge that would be different. Much. Part of rightly dividing the Truth is understanding what is God's and not pretending it is ours... such as the right to judge a person's salvation. God sees the heart, we do not. God reserves judgment for Himself.
This is far far far from saying that anything goes. When we are *teaching* we have a responsibility to teach as close to Truth as we can possibly get. But if we're going to start saying with certainty who is within the fellowship and who is without we are not just in error but are *presuming* to take on something God has reserved for Himself, and that is *not* okay.
And as far as Catholic rules go... Ted Kennedy has known he was dying for a while now. What are the chances that he *didn't* have confession and absolution before he died?
"..he was a flawed human being, as all of us are..."
Sorry he was more than a flawed human being. I would never leave another human being to die just to protect my job. Nor would I trash honest men or cheat on an exam, or do a thousand other things the old drunk did.
That he was re-elected in Mass tells you everything to know about the people who live there. That's the blue states for you.
No doubt Franken could shoot someone & Minnesota would re-elect him.
Disgraceful is using his death for political gains like passing a health care bill that will not stand on its own merits.
I have no sympathy for a politician that literally got away with murder whether it be manslaughter or first degree. Now, if he would of served his time like any regular citizen for his crime, then I might have sympathy, despite the political differences.
this blog seems to have attracted a bunch of new posting douchebags expressing outrage--i am guessing its the SIEU or Du contingent--bobby mcgee rosemary etc--i feel your pain, but please go away you people are useful idiots
DBQ said: "Using the death of Kennedy to advance their own political agenda against the will of the American People."
This is good news for conservatives. The far left liberals are not beloved by the average American. The health care reform bill will lose even more support when they trot out all the far left Dems like Howard Dean, Pelosi, Waxman, Biden, Boxer, and Maxine Watters.
After enduring 8 years of unrelenting nastiness towards George W. Bush, and nearly everybody who worked in that administration, I'm frankly quite surprised that our collective response to the passing of an arch-liberal is as moderate as it is.
Ted Kennedy did as much as anyone else to create and nurture the partisan lack of civility that exists today. Stop it for him? I should think he'd approve of its continuation.
Most teachers hate him for the No Child Left Behind hell. Everyone thinks that's a Bush program but it was really Bush's tip of the hat to what Kennedy was pushing for years.
I think the general drift I am getting here is that:
When Left wing blogs say nasty things about someone who passes away it is disgraceful, mean spirited and typical liberal behavior.
But when Right wing blogs say nasty things about someone who passes away it is free speech, which liberals don't understand.
Face it, people saying mean and nasty things about people on the other side of the aisle who have just died is pretty much par for the course on both sides of the aisle.
It's called human nature brought on in part by peers and expectations. This blog expects nasty things said about Kennedy just like Daily Kos expects nasty things said about [name a Conservative].
The Kennedy boys were like the sick dog at the vet who bit the vet. They were trained into believing that a shadow government of cruel wealthy assholes really controlled most of life in America, like their Dad proved to be true over and over. In their defense, the boys each tried to fight that idea/reality with a viscious counter use of political power. They were poor at enemy recognition at times, but there was always a truth mixed into their world view. Ted was the weakest one, but he got some good licks in during his Senate Career. If we are hateful of Terrible Ted, why not direct that hate at the Massasschusetts politics that evolved in Boston area in the late 19th century. Money talks and BS walks in Boston and the political machine that survived in this Irish family created to win at all costs in that environment.
Using the death of Kennedy to advance their own political agenda against the will of the American People.
Indeed. I think it would be alot easier to say only nice things of Kennedy (despite his very real and human failings) if he weren't being used as a cane to try to beat the american public into guilty submission to a bill they so very obviously don't want. Bad show, dem's.
He's not an icon. But he was a human being. And the gleeful expressions and cruelty that have been spewed here on the occasion of his death deserve to be called to the attention of those who think Althouse is some "moderate" and her faux cafes some kind of nice place.
It was a disgraceful day on this blog.
If you think this is bad, I can imagine you perusing democratic Underground when some conservatives die and literally gagging on your vomit as you listen to cries of "good riddance" and "he deserved it". Wait, sorry, you're merely selectively outraged.Those sites were just speaking truth to power. This, like the suddden outrage at the use of nazi imagery and comparisons of presidents to Nazis, is merely a lefty projection of their own outright viciousness.
I'm not sure what to say except that he was a "silver spooner" who cheated in college and got a pass. That is the way it was back in the day when Dad could make a huge donation to the university.
When he was most likely drunk and left Mary Jo to die he showed his true colors as a man. An adulterer who left his tart to die. That said, maybe he spent the rest of his life championing the down and out all the while devaluing the Middle class.
"When Left wing blogs say nasty things about someone who passes away it is disgraceful, mean spirited and typical liberal behavior.
But when Right wing blogs say nasty things about someone who passes away it is free speech, which liberals don't understand."
Change the left and right there and add "but they really *are* bad, unlike the *good* people the right are mean about" instead of the free-speech part and you've pretty much repeated verbatim the linked article.
And no, really Matt, I don't expect liberals to suddenly pretend they like someone they never liked before, but I really can not even imagine an equivalent "the right does the same thing" in a case like that of Tony Snow, who wasn't even important and did absolutely NOTHING political AT ALL but take a job as Bush press secretary (or whatever the heck it was.)
It really is one thing to say the same political things about someone who has died as you said while they were alive but I would hope if anyone started going on about Kennedy's cancer and going on about his *death* instead of his life the way that people talked about Tony Snow or even how they talked about hoping Rush would die in some horribly painful way, har har har, ain't *that* funny? I would hope that even those who felt that Kennedy was a waste of oxygen would step up and say that, no, *they* would not wish cancer even on their *worst* enemy.
Also... it is not *nasty* to object to using somebody's bloody corpse as a freaking political rally point.
The American left well and truly whizzed any sub-sub-atomic vestiges of "moral authority" on this topic down its collectively anthropmorphised leg during the last eight years of presidential assassination death porn and gibbering, bug-eyed moonbats frantically waving giant papier mache heads about while shrieking "BUSHITLER!!!" over and over again at the very tip-topmost of their dear little lungs.
Hence, our simply rolling eyes and snorting disdainfully at all the Gloria Swanson-esque clutching of pearls and whatnot, re: "disrespecting" poor, tragically martyred Saint Teddy of the Four Roses.
You maniacs spent the last eight years doing every last thing in your spiteful, scabrous power to poison the well of civil public debate. Kindly spare us the transparently faux drama queening over how you now find the hard, metallic aftertaste of said liquid a cold and comfortless one.
"Ted is getting a church funeral. I'm curious about that. A divorced guy, second marriage a civil one, I thought there would be sacrament issues? Or is this one of those, another set of rules in MA for a Kennedy?"
It has more to do with the church that Mr. Kennedy belongs to.
Mr. Kennedy was a champion of the abortion of 1.5 million children a year.
And the Catholic Church gave the man sacrament.
So, you can see from where the madness originates.
Had Mr. Kennedy properly withdrawn from public life after his negligent & cowardly behavior, noone would much care. But he stayed in our faces. If the actual facts of the man's life didn't prevent all the reelecting, why does hearing the facts now pain the left so much?
your 4:32 AM comment, your memory is remarkably short.
Again: "You maniacs spent the last eight years doing every last thing in your spiteful, scabrous power to poison the well of civil public debate. Kindly spare us the transparently faux drama queening [...]"
He was the only Kennedy brother whose death was not a sudden, violent tragedy. He was the only one who got to play out his hand. If you are of a certain age, your life is entwined with that of Teddy's. The moments of tragedy and squalor are part of your conciousness. I think a few moments of respect are appropriate. We respect ourselves by doing so.
"To say that Ted Kennedy was corrupt, venal, sinful is to say he was human. He was hypocritical about his sin, which is to say he was human and a politician."
I know - I mean Obama admits smoking crack, so that's not even a smear - it's a fact. Our president is a crackhead muslim who smokes menthol cigarettes. But he is a socialist, so that makes it all good, right?
Kent, you were not around during Nixon, or FDR, I am assuming.
Assume away. It's your failed batting average, not mine.
Neither FDR or Nixon were ever subjected to the levels of shrieking, frothing, unhinged malice and opprobrium as was Bush -- a President I held in no particular esteem myself, incidentally. Anyone clumsily attempting to rewrite history otherwise, at this late stage in the game, isn't merely a dishonest con, but a staggeringly inept one as well.
Poisoning the well? Like saying Obama pals around with terrorists? Or like saying W. was a cokehead who went AWOL from the Air National Guard?
Or like saying W. knew about 9/11 and allowed it to happen simply to start wars. Or that he was directly involved with 9/11 and actually brought down 6 WTC and the Pentagon for some nefarious purpose? (Remember fire doesn't melt steel). Or that he only went into Afghanistan to enrich his Haliburton buddies and because of a nonexistent UNOCOL pipeline. That Bush had OSama bin Laden at the last election and was holding him for an october surprise. I'll stop there simply because to type out all the blood libel directed at Bush, not to mention all the endless Bush is Hitler and Kill Bush references, would take a week.
But if you think about it, if Bush was part of 9/11 and brought down 6 WTC not to mention the pentagon aren't the dems implying that Bush was palling around with terrorists and in fact is a terrorist? In fact some said he was the biggest terrorist. And in fact I remember distinctly the arguments that Bush was in league with the Saudis because of his oil interest. Suddenly though the dems and libs are OUTRAGED that someone would suggest Obama was palling around with terrorists as if that suggestion was somehow beyond the pale after the blood libel they spread for 8 years? When Reagan died you could go on any democratic site be it Huffington or Democratic Underground and find people cheering. Yet suddenly the libs on this site are OUTRAGED at a few people speaking ill of Kennedy. Pot meet kettle.
Edroso: There really are two very different kinds of people in the world. Those categories aren't "liberal" and "conservative," but often they seem to match up pretty closely.
Match up pretty closely to ... what?
Ants and grasshoppers? Foxes and hedgehogs? Peacocks and cocksuckers?
Madawaskan got there before I could - yep, that 25% approval rate is going to look good once Obama pisses off (or is that wee wees off) his base. The wars are ongoing, socialism isn't happening fast enough, and the crackhead in chief is no longer appeasing his base of liberal moonbats. How's Gitmo coming along? Still open? Budget deficit? Does that matter now? Where is that fierce moral urgency of just a few months ago? All gone? Imagine that. Liberals aren't opposed to anything other than loss of power.
Bush had a 25% approval. People hated that dunce. Deal with it. It wasn't just liberals.
And yet you and the other libs always accuse the rest of us of walking in lock step and worshiping at the altar of Bush.
Which is it? Does it depend on your time of the month?
Many of the commentors on this blog have repeatedly stated that we disagreed with many of Bush's policies and were not happy. Of course the reason that most of us (ok speaking for myself here) were unhappy were his liberal tendencies. Immigration, big spending, drug giveaway program, bank bail outs. All the things the libs love.
So which is it? Every Conservative loved Bush. OR Enough of us were also disenchanted...albeit for different reasons than you? You can't have it both ways.
So which is it? Every Conservative loved Bush. OR Enough of us were also disenchanted...albeit for different reasons than you? You can't have it both ways..
The conservative base shrunk to around 25-30% of the populace, that's what I think.
From the Village Voice comments section: "a reminder also that the young Mary Jo would/should have been aware of his intoxication as well and perhaps not gotten into the car"
"Poisoning the well? Like saying Obama pals around with terrorists?"
Does Obama NOT pal around with terrorists? Who is Bill Ayers? What is Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers? Did their kids go to school together? Did they not have parties in each others houses? Who is Bernadine Dorne? What is their claim to fame?
Discussing Obama's relationship with a man who participated the bombing of the Pentagon is not, sir, an example of "poisoning the well."
Saying Obama pals with terrorists misses the point that is probably more important and that is that he really and truly is on the far end of socialism philosophically.
And he's doing some disturbing stuff... and I'm not *even* talking about the magical thinking involved in the stimulous bill or the health care reform bill or occasional remarks about "fairness" being the business of government to enforce.
I'm talking about Honduras: An illustration of a rather extreme philosophical separation from any sort of care for the purpose of a Republic. Also, his continued direct use of street-level foot soldiers... appropriate when campaigning, perhaps, but not generally something we expect our leaders to *do* once they are in power. (I include asking people to "report" others not in line with his policies to Obama as a subset of "foot soldiers".) Once elected we expect our elected officials to work within the "system" rather than look for ways to subvert it or circumvent it. See, also, Zelaya... who was doing the same thing. And lastly, this new thing with the NEA. If true this is an absolutely freaky foray into outright State Propaganda efforts.
It shouldn't MATTER if a person thinks that Obama's policy ideas are the best ones. Anyone paying attention should find the similarities to... not Ayers *terrorism* but to Ayers POLITICS and the preferred METHODS of those politics to be downright chilling.
In 1974, Ted Kennedy berated Prez Ford for pardoning Nixon. Kennedy decried the two types of justice in America.
Ted Kennedy was phony, limousine liberal. If he had any class or any real remorse, he would have withdrawn from public life and gone and done volunteer work for the rest of his life.
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103 comments:
You look pretty ugly in the mirror, Althouse.
I think the left does not understand that the right thinks its version of niceness is ridiculous.
I've always found that the people you can count on are not the ones passing themselves off as nice people. Just the opposite.
You got your name next to a tart suckin' a popsicle...
How often does that happen?
what's worse, people here writing their honest opinions about kennedy or someone (cough edroso cough) who feigns moral outrage over said comments for the sake of scoring a few cheap political points among his few readers who are already on his political "team"? I think honesty in the face of all the self-righteous faux solemnity the media dishes out is far more honorable than cynically pretending to be upset about a few bad words slung at a dead politician.
im also surprised that the village voice is still published.... it must be about 70 percent porn ads by now. nothing like wading through escort ads to read some bad writing affirming political things you already believe... i feel the same way about the national review these days ha.
From the article:
Ann Althouse, more in the spirit of an Irish wake, brings up "That time Teddy Kennedy called Obama 'Osama bin Laden.'"
They are all agreed that the worst thing one could do in Kennedy's memory would be to try and pass the health care reform to which he devoted decades of his life.
I don't think even the Village Voice sees it the same way Bobby McGee.
"
They are all agreed that the worst thing one could do in Kennedy's memory would be to try and pass the health care reform to which he devoted decades of his life."
ha kennedy spend decades of his life trying to fuck up America and obama is able to do it in 8 short months. what a burn.
Um, what?
Sorry, in honor of Ted Kennedy I was distracted by Sex Cult Topless March in Central Park.
Hey Bobby McGee when you turn the channel to Rachel Maddow do you still call it "flagging a diesel down?"
"Try and ..." is hendiadys.
If you were lucky enough to attend Kennedy's actual wake (it will be interesting), you would hear a lot of stories like the one of Teddy mixing up Obama and Osama. The Irish are not very reverential about death or the lives of the departed, except perhaps before God. But this is from friends of the departed, or enemies important enough to be invited to mark their passing. For the rest of use to show just how cleverly insulting we can be is mainly crass.
I think Kennedy would understand the abuse, and accept the insults as a tribute to his influence and power.
Is there a Heaven? Did Ted Kennedy seek and receive sufficient forgiveness for his sins be allowed in Heaven? Does God have another test for Senator Kennedy before he passes the gates, such as a interview with Mary Jo?
To say that Ted Kennedy was corrupt, venal, sinful is to say he was human. He was hypocritical about his sin, which is to say he was human and a politician.
Perhaps in a hundred years, certainly in a thousand, Ted Kennedy will be all but forgotten. His worldly importance will have dwindled to a speck, as will our opinions of him.
All those good and kind folks who hoped Tony Snow died a painful death now demand naught but kind words for Edward Moore Kennedy. Wankers.
Sorry Ann, but Edroso is such a pathetic little twerp, I cannot imagine what prompted you to highlight the galloping nothing-burger with this post.
Bobby, I don't think that's Ann you're seeing in that mirror of yours.
I thought I had some Al Goldstein interviews from Imus saved but I don't see them, speaking of the Village Voice.
He's actually pretty funny and self-deprecating.
The last I remember was he was complaining that Bill Clinton was taking over his livelihood, and some amusing story of a run-in with postal regulations.
Kennedy was an embarrassment and an awful senator and a worse human being. From cheating in college to leaving Mary K. to die, he left a trail of slime. And he did everything he could to screw up America.
But lets not speak ill of the dead.
I thought the Althousian response was in the nature of comic relief.
What is our hostess's position on universal health care access, anyways?
There is an Imus interview with Paul Simon on forgiveness, come to think of it, that I have both audio and transcript for. lessee....
transcript.
real audio.
I believe the audio is a real audio re-encoding of a compressed .wav file, but tolerable quality.
Nov 17, 1997 I'd guess.
On redemption and whether it is possible and for what, of interest to Simon. 54 minutes.
Simon's Capeman "Trailways Bus" I like very much musically and lyrically:
But he can't leave his fears behind
He recalls each fatal thrust
The screams carried by the wind
Phantom figures in the dust.
As in Wordsworth's Lucy quatrains, a rhyming word is only alluded to: tears.
Mary Jo has been waiting a long time for this.
It's horrible to speak ill of the dead but unfortunately if we are going "weigh his legacy" as we so often do in this country when a member of political royalty passes on, then we must dispense with the hagiography, bless the man on his journey to the great beyond and speak honestly of him warts and all. The last time I checked, when a Republican dies, people of the Left do not hang their heads and shed a whole lot of tears. Don't make me search the internet for the horrible things said about Reagan, Snow, Buckley, etc.
I particularly liked the comments...
Liberals are no where *near* as mean when people they hate die, and besides, they are BAD people, unlike Kennedy who was a good person and wonderful and... stuff. Not like those BAD people. So it's not at all the same, the things people say... because liberals only say them about BAD people and conservatives say them about GOOD people.
And without the faintest whiff of irony, too.
(I expect my comment there will either not appear or will disappear.)
Ted is getting a church funeral. I'm curious about that. A divorced guy, second marriage a civil one, I thought there would be sacrament issues?
Or is this one of those, another set of rules in MA for a Kennedy?
I thought Catholics (at least in the US) sort of tend to pretend not to notice those sorts of things that might cause problems with strict observation.
God is a forgiving God. I've got no problem with people assuming the best. If it's otherwise, He will deal with it. We really don't need to and probably ought not. Scripturally it's not really our business to separate the goats and sheep, the wheat and chaff.
"Ted is getting a church funeral. I'm curious about that. A divorced guy, second marriage a civil one, I thought there would be sacrament issues?
Or is this one of those, another set of rules in MA for a Kennedy?"
Of course! even the Church must bow to the awesome power of the kennedys. if not teddy wouldve gone all henry the eighth on them and confiscated all of their property and money for himself.
besides we all know how serious and committed to their doctrine the MA roman catholic church has been in the past... ask an altarboy or bernie law.
only a far left liberal would see TK as some kind of icon--says much more about progressives than it does about kennedy--he was a flawed human being, as all of us are, and in 50 years he will be forgotten--like Senators dirkson, eastland, stennis, bilbo and vardemon. there are no good senators
"
God is a forgiving God. I've got no problem with people assuming the best. If it's otherwise, He will deal with it. We really don't need to and probably ought not. Scripturally it's not really our business to separate the goats and sheep, the wheat and chaff."
if that's the case why bother being roman catholic?? if enforcing the doctrine you purport to solemnly believe is too judgmental then just give it up and become a unitarian.
vw: feali. what was wrong with the rc church in MA, they were too touchi feali.
FLS:
America already offers universal healthcare access.
Now we need the 15%, who don't have insurance, to cancel their cable TV, stop smoking and drinking, cancel their cell and internet accounts and use all the money they save to buy their own health insurance.
Best comment I saw today was "Mary Jo Kopechne was not available for comment on Ted Kennedy's death" at The Other McCain.
The Onion also had a good headline.
He's not an icon. But he was a human being. And the gleeful expressions and cruelty that have been spewed here on the occasion of his death deserve to be called to the attention of those who think Althouse is some "moderate" and her faux cafes some kind of nice place.
It was a disgraceful day on this blog.
And the left progressives respond as you would expect.
Using the death of Kennedy to advance their own political agenda against the will of the American People.
I said it before. They should be ashamed. They are waving the corpse of Kennedy like a bloody flag in a hypocrital and disgusting way to push an abomination of a health care bill.
Furthermore they are doing it, cynically, in the name of a most awful, digusting and sinful man.
They have no shame. I hope when this country falls into ruin and they are all dead they are judged harshly and accordingly for the pain and suffering they are guaranteeing to my children and grandchildren. They can't be judged soon enough.
"It was a disgraceful day on this blog."
his tenure in the senate was a disgraceful 46 years in this country.
daubiere, if I were saying that God doesn't judge that would be different. Much. Part of rightly dividing the Truth is understanding what is God's and not pretending it is ours... such as the right to judge a person's salvation. God sees the heart, we do not. God reserves judgment for Himself.
This is far far far from saying that anything goes. When we are *teaching* we have a responsibility to teach as close to Truth as we can possibly get. But if we're going to start saying with certainty who is within the fellowship and who is without we are not just in error but are *presuming* to take on something God has reserved for Himself, and that is *not* okay.
And as far as Catholic rules go... Ted Kennedy has known he was dying for a while now. What are the chances that he *didn't* have confession and absolution before he died?
"..he was a flawed human being, as all of us are..."
Sorry he was more than a flawed human being. I would never leave another human being to die just to protect my job. Nor would I trash honest men or cheat on an exam, or do a thousand other things the old drunk did.
That he was re-elected in Mass tells you everything to know about the people who live there. That's the blue states for you.
No doubt Franken could shoot someone & Minnesota would re-elect him.
@Not Rosemary Port
Disgraceful is using his death for political gains like passing a health care bill that will not stand on its own merits.
I have no sympathy for a politician that literally got away with murder whether it be manslaughter or first degree. Now, if he would of served his time like any regular citizen for his crime, then I might have sympathy, despite the political differences.
Damnit!
}}} SLAM {{{
* looks up hendiadys *
Ah.
this blog seems to have attracted a bunch of new posting douchebags expressing outrage--i am guessing its the SIEU or Du contingent--bobby mcgee rosemary etc--i feel your pain, but please go away you people are useful idiots
DBQ said:
"Using the death of Kennedy to advance their own political agenda against the will of the American People."
This is good news for conservatives. The far left liberals are not beloved by the average American. The health care reform bill will lose even more support when they trot out all the far left Dems like Howard Dean, Pelosi, Waxman, Biden, Boxer, and Maxine Watters.
AJD-
It won't work. Whether you're sockpuppeting as "Bobby McGee" or as "Not Rosemary Port", it's still obviously your own nasty little self.
Ann Althouse believes in free speech, it's a concept hard to grasp for some-but each is responsible for his own comment..
And, there was plenty of differing view points and push back from Left and Right.
I know that's something alien to Liberal blogs.
*********************************
DBQ"s point here-
against the will of the American People.
To push that idea further somehow the electorate of Massachusetts suddenly cannot be TRUSTED to elect their OWN representative in the Senate?
It smacks of Elitism as does the whole of the Democrat party of late.
Oh and for frappe's sake-
being called out as irreverent, or whatever by the likes of The Village Voice is a little bit like being called an over-actor by Nicholas Cage.
It was a disgraceful day on this blog.
Compared to that other time you were here?
After enduring 8 years of unrelenting nastiness towards George W. Bush, and nearly everybody who worked in that administration, I'm frankly quite surprised that our collective response to the passing of an arch-liberal is as moderate as it is.
Ted Kennedy did as much as anyone else to create and nurture the partisan lack of civility that exists today. Stop it for him? I should think he'd approve of its continuation.
Most teachers hate him for the No Child Left Behind hell. Everyone thinks that's a Bush program but it was really Bush's tip of the hat to what Kennedy was pushing for years.
WV unders
seems appropriate somehow
I think the general drift I am getting here is that:
When Left wing blogs say nasty things about someone who passes away it is disgraceful, mean spirited and typical liberal behavior.
But when Right wing blogs say nasty things about someone who passes away it is free speech, which liberals don't understand.
Face it, people saying mean and nasty things about people on the other side of the aisle who have just died is pretty much par for the course on both sides of the aisle.
It's called human nature brought on in part by peers and expectations. This blog expects nasty things said about Kennedy just like Daily Kos expects nasty things said about [name a Conservative].
The Kennedy boys were like the sick dog at the vet who bit the vet. They were trained into believing that a shadow government of cruel wealthy assholes really controlled most of life in America, like their Dad proved to be true over and over. In their defense, the boys each tried to fight that idea/reality with a viscious counter use of political power. They were poor at enemy recognition at times, but there was always a truth mixed into their world view. Ted was the weakest one, but he got some good licks in during his Senate Career. If we are hateful of Terrible Ted, why not direct that hate at the Massasschusetts politics that evolved in Boston area in the late 19th century. Money talks and BS walks in Boston and the political machine that survived in this Irish family created to win at all costs in that environment.
Using the death of Kennedy to advance their own political agenda against the will of the American People.
Indeed. I think it would be alot easier to say only nice things of Kennedy (despite his very real and human failings) if he weren't being used as a cane to try to beat the american public into guilty submission to a bill they so very obviously don't want. Bad show, dem's.
That swim to Edgartown seemed to take forever! Still does!
wv: redish; the moment!
He's not an icon. But he was a human being. And the gleeful expressions and cruelty that have been spewed here on the occasion of his death deserve to be called to the attention of those who think Althouse is some "moderate" and her faux cafes some kind of nice place.
It was a disgraceful day on this blog.
If you think this is bad, I can imagine you perusing democratic Underground when some conservatives die and literally gagging on your vomit as you listen to cries of "good riddance" and "he deserved it". Wait, sorry, you're merely selectively outraged.Those sites were just speaking truth to power.
This, like the suddden outrage at the use of nazi imagery and comparisons of presidents to Nazis, is merely a lefty projection of their own outright viciousness.
I'm not sure what to say except that he was a "silver spooner" who cheated in college and got a pass. That is the way it was back in the day when Dad could make a huge donation to the university.
When he was most likely drunk and left Mary Jo to die he showed his true colors as a man. An adulterer who left his tart to die. That said, maybe he spent the rest of his life championing the down and out all the while devaluing the Middle class.
Thanks for pointing that article out. My site was mentioned in there too and I probably never would have seen it. I too, am a heartless rightblogger.
@madawaskan 8:20
Exactly my reaction.
These guys are heroes, not a skivvy politician trading on his dead brothers and family fortune.
Just when I didn't think it possible for Chris "Leg Tingles" Matthews to top his obsequious campaign coverage he proved me wrong today.
And we're the nuts? I think not.
Matt-
... it is free speech, which liberals don't understand.
No- I am saying that about this particular blog-
Althouse.
Go over to Daily Kos as a Conservative-pretend to be one and see how long you last.
Same with a variety of other "Liberal" blogs.
Go over to "Big Tent Democrat's" place Talk Left and try to post more than three comments on a thread...defending a Conservative.
Again, see how long you last.
Give it a good faith effort I bet you find it to be an eye opening experience.
I remember when Jerry Falwell passed away an acquaintance of mine baked a cake and brought it in to celebrate.
He passed away a few months later of cancer.
A divorced guy, second marriage a civil one
Apparently the first marriages of both Ted and Victoria were annulled. Likely their marriage was later solemnized, else why apply for an annulment?
FLS:
America already offers universal healthcare access.
Do you mean Althouse supports the status quo?
"When Left wing blogs say nasty things about someone who passes away it is disgraceful, mean spirited and typical liberal behavior.
But when Right wing blogs say nasty things about someone who passes away it is free speech, which liberals don't understand."
Change the left and right there and add "but they really *are* bad, unlike the *good* people the right are mean about" instead of the free-speech part and you've pretty much repeated verbatim the linked article.
And no, really Matt, I don't expect liberals to suddenly pretend they like someone they never liked before, but I really can not even imagine an equivalent "the right does the same thing" in a case like that of Tony Snow, who wasn't even important and did absolutely NOTHING political AT ALL but take a job as Bush press secretary (or whatever the heck it was.)
It really is one thing to say the same political things about someone who has died as you said while they were alive but I would hope if anyone started going on about Kennedy's cancer and going on about his *death* instead of his life the way that people talked about Tony Snow or even how they talked about hoping Rush would die in some horribly painful way, har har har, ain't *that* funny? I would hope that even those who felt that Kennedy was a waste of oxygen would step up and say that, no, *they* would not wish cancer even on their *worst* enemy.
Also... it is not *nasty* to object to using somebody's bloody corpse as a freaking political rally point.
BJM-
Heh, we must have been typing at the same time, just followed your link...couldn't agree with you more.
btw-
Anyone see this quote from Howard Dean Chair of the Democrat party for the past four years or so-
I can't find it but around the time of the town Hall he went to at the bequest of Moran he said something to the effect-
"When you attack the President, you unfortunately attack America."
It was on FOX News either today or yesterday.
Did anyone else hear that?
Nevermind-
I found the quote-
Howard Dean: And unfortunately, you have to undermine the country in order to undermine the president. I think that's too bad.
Via Ace: The Lion of the Senate.
If it's really "the health care reform to which he devoted decades of his life", you'd think we'd have a finished bill to look at by now.
Hey Bobby McGee when you turn the channel to Rachel Maddow do you still call it "flagging a diesel down?"
That one right there gets carved into the marble wall first thing in the morning.
Priceless.
All of the Kennedy's need to die.
They are commies who have ruined this country.
@ madawaskan: Later, when Dean was asked about that statement he turned around and flat out denied he ever said it.
When asked for her opinion on the Village Voice blog entry, Mary Jo Kopechne had no comment.
The American left well and truly whizzed any sub-sub-atomic vestiges of "moral authority" on this topic down its collectively anthropmorphised leg during the last eight years of presidential assassination death porn and gibbering, bug-eyed moonbats frantically waving giant papier mache heads about while shrieking "BUSHITLER!!!" over and over again at the very tip-topmost of their dear little lungs.
Hence, our simply rolling eyes and snorting disdainfully at all the Gloria Swanson-esque clutching of pearls and whatnot, re: "disrespecting" poor, tragically martyred Saint Teddy of the Four Roses.
You maniacs spent the last eight years doing every last thing in your spiteful, scabrous power to poison the well of civil public debate. Kindly spare us the transparently faux drama queening over how you now find the hard, metallic aftertaste of said liquid a cold and comfortless one.
You brewed it. You own it.
Veritos, we can tell you are a left wing plant of limited IQ - the word "Kennedy's" should not have an apostrophe.
Bad grammar - the tell of an illiterate lefty.
Back to gradeschool with you - and take hdhouse with you, k? Thx.
But Ann,
We're not being mean. We're just being ironic.
"Ted is getting a church funeral. I'm curious about that. A divorced guy, second marriage a civil one, I thought there would be sacrament issues? Or is this one of those, another set of rules in MA for a Kennedy?"
It has more to do with the church that Mr. Kennedy belongs to.
Mr. Kennedy was a champion of the abortion of 1.5 million children a year.
And the Catholic Church gave the man sacrament.
So, you can see from where the madness originates.
Ted Kennedy's Top Drunk Moments
Had Mr. Kennedy properly withdrawn from public life after his negligent & cowardly behavior, noone would much care. But he stayed in our faces. If the actual facts of the man's life didn't prevent all the reelecting, why does hearing the facts now pain the left so much?
Noone? Peter Noone? Herman's Hermits? That's a different thread.
kent, re: your 4:32 AM comment, your memory is remarkably short.
your 4:32 AM comment, your memory is remarkably short.
Again: "You maniacs spent the last eight years doing every last thing in your spiteful, scabrous power to poison the well of civil public debate. Kindly spare us the transparently faux drama queening [...]"
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
WV: "actuse" = when leftists act obtuse.
"You maniacs spent the last eight years doing every last thing in your spiteful, scabrous power to poison the well of civil public debate."
Poisoning the well? Like saying Obama pals around with terrorists? Or like saying W. was a cokehead who went AWOL from the Air National Guard?
He was the only Kennedy brother whose death was not a sudden, violent tragedy. He was the only one who got to play out his hand. If you are of a certain age, your life is entwined with that of Teddy's. The moments of tragedy and squalor are part of your conciousness. I think a few moments of respect are appropriate. We respect ourselves by doing so.
Kent, you were not around during Nixon, or FDR, I am assuming.
There is nothing new under the Sun.
"To say that Ted Kennedy was corrupt, venal, sinful is to say he was human. He was hypocritical about his sin, which is to say he was human and a politician."
Wow - by that metric he was superhuman!
I know - I mean Obama admits smoking crack, so that's not even a smear - it's a fact. Our president is a crackhead muslim who smokes menthol cigarettes. But he is a socialist, so that makes it all good, right?
Kent, you were not around during Nixon, or FDR, I am assuming.
Assume away. It's your failed batting average, not mine.
Neither FDR or Nixon were ever subjected to the levels of shrieking, frothing, unhinged malice and opprobrium as was Bush -- a President I held in no particular esteem myself, incidentally. Anyone clumsily attempting to rewrite history otherwise, at this late stage in the game, isn't merely a dishonest con, but a staggeringly inept one as well.
Don't make Daddy laugh. My lips are all chapped.
Deb-Dean could be pathological.
***
To the usual suspects-
You could think of Mark Sanford as a Modern Day Kennedy except;
he didn't love 'em and leave 'em quite like a Kennedy,
Sanford's staff wasn't as "co-operative" and-
he won't get re-elected over and over again.
Keep trying to establish moral relativism and/or equilibrium that should keep you busy till you die.
Poisoning the well? Like saying Obama pals around with terrorists? Or like saying W. was a cokehead who went AWOL from the Air National Guard?
Or like saying W. knew about 9/11 and allowed it to happen simply to start wars. Or that he was directly involved with 9/11 and actually brought down 6 WTC and the Pentagon for some nefarious purpose? (Remember fire doesn't melt steel). Or that he only went into Afghanistan to enrich his Haliburton buddies and because of a nonexistent UNOCOL pipeline. That Bush had OSama bin Laden at the last election and was holding him for an october surprise.
I'll stop there simply because to type out all the blood libel directed at Bush, not to mention all the endless Bush is Hitler and Kill Bush references, would take a week.
But if you think about it, if Bush was part of 9/11 and brought down 6 WTC not to mention the pentagon aren't the dems implying that Bush was palling around with terrorists and in fact is a terrorist? In fact some said he was the biggest terrorist. And in fact I remember distinctly the arguments that Bush was in league with the Saudis because of his oil interest. Suddenly though the dems and libs are OUTRAGED that someone would suggest Obama was palling around with terrorists as if that suggestion was somehow beyond the pale after the blood libel they spread for 8 years?
When Reagan died you could go on any democratic site be it Huffington or Democratic Underground and find people cheering. Yet suddenly the libs on this site are OUTRAGED at a few people speaking ill of Kennedy.
Pot meet kettle.
Edroso: There really are two very different kinds of people in the world. Those categories aren't "liberal" and "conservative," but often they seem to match up pretty closely.
Match up pretty closely to ... what?
Ants and grasshoppers?
Foxes and hedgehogs?
Peacocks and cocksuckers?
Stupid and evil is too easy.
jr565-
I'll only add-
Democrats were the party that challenged the vote of every military absentee voter in Florida 2000.
Bush had a 25% approval. People hated that dunce. Deal with it. It wasn't just liberals.
Ya hate is rational garage.
Today Obama has 44% disapproval from Gallup looks like he's falling fast.
And, if you want to compare the ascend of the deficit and the unemployment rate-looks like Obama has Bush beat!
Madawaskan got there before I could - yep, that 25% approval rate is going to look good once Obama pisses off (or is that wee wees off) his base. The wars are ongoing, socialism isn't happening fast enough, and the crackhead in chief is no longer appeasing his base of liberal moonbats. How's Gitmo coming along? Still open? Budget deficit? Does that matter now? Where is that fierce moral urgency of just a few months ago? All gone? Imagine that. Liberals aren't opposed to anything other than loss of power.
Liberals, can't live with 'em.
Liberals, can't live with 'em.
CAN live without them.
Bush had a 25% approval. People hated that dunce. Deal with it. It wasn't just liberals.
And yet you and the other libs always accuse the rest of us of walking in lock step and worshiping at the altar of Bush.
Which is it? Does it depend on your time of the month?
Many of the commentors on this blog have repeatedly stated that we disagreed with many of Bush's policies and were not happy. Of course the reason that most of us (ok speaking for myself here) were unhappy were his liberal tendencies. Immigration, big spending, drug giveaway program, bank bail outs. All the things the libs love.
So which is it? Every Conservative loved Bush. OR Enough of us were also disenchanted...albeit for different reasons than you? You can't have it both ways.
So which is it? Every Conservative loved Bush. OR Enough of us were also disenchanted...albeit for different reasons than you? You can't have it both ways..
The conservative base shrunk to around 25-30% of the populace, that's what I think.
"The conservative base shrunk to around 25-30% of the populace, that's what I think."
Pardner the conservative base is not your penis.
Was his Irish wake remark supposed to imply that you're a drunk? Because that's kinda funny.
From the Village Voice comments section: "a reminder also that the young Mary Jo would/should have been aware of his intoxication as well and perhaps not gotten into the car"
Yeesh.
But they had not yet formed Mothers Against Drunk Kennedy's so she was not informed at the time.
"Poisoning the well? Like saying Obama pals around with terrorists?"
Does Obama NOT pal around with terrorists? Who is Bill Ayers? What is Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers? Did their kids go to school together? Did they not have parties in each others houses? Who is Bernadine Dorne? What is their claim to fame?
Discussing Obama's relationship with a man who participated the bombing of the Pentagon is not, sir, an example of "poisoning the well."
It is not fair to say he "pals" around with terrorists.
He just wants to let them out of jail so he can make room for those nasty CIA guys who were trying to keep America safe.
Dead Ted is the one who loved terrorists. He was big with the IRA
and Noraid back in the day when they were killing people left and right.
Course you can't mention that either right?
Dusty Frog, I thought that he had actually repudiated them at one point. No?
Saying Obama pals with terrorists misses the point that is probably more important and that is that he really and truly is on the far end of socialism philosophically.
And he's doing some disturbing stuff... and I'm not *even* talking about the magical thinking involved in the stimulous bill or the health care reform bill or occasional remarks about "fairness" being the business of government to enforce.
I'm talking about Honduras: An illustration of a rather extreme philosophical separation from any sort of care for the purpose of a Republic. Also, his continued direct use of street-level foot soldiers... appropriate when campaigning, perhaps, but not generally something we expect our leaders to *do* once they are in power. (I include asking people to "report" others not in line with his policies to Obama as a subset of "foot soldiers".) Once elected we expect our elected officials to work within the "system" rather than look for ways to subvert it or circumvent it. See, also, Zelaya... who was doing the same thing. And lastly, this new thing with the NEA. If true this is an absolutely freaky foray into outright State Propaganda efforts.
It shouldn't MATTER if a person thinks that Obama's policy ideas are the best ones. Anyone paying attention should find the similarities to... not Ayers *terrorism* but to Ayers POLITICS and the preferred METHODS of those politics to be downright chilling.
In 1974, Ted Kennedy berated Prez Ford for pardoning Nixon. Kennedy decried the two types of justice in America.
Ted Kennedy was phony, limousine liberal. If he had any class or any real remorse, he would have withdrawn from public life and gone and done volunteer work for the rest of his life.
Dead Ted only dropped him after he thought they were going to lose.
You know like the rest of the Democrats did with the communists.
William @9:41...You said that well, and I could not agree more.
Trailways Bus, found on HD.
Probably encoded with the old SIPR9 codec, a modern real player will possibly ask permission to download it.
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