R.I.P. Senator Ted Kennedy

[JonnyLytnin]

Sen. Ted Kennedy, the "Lion of the Senate" and the last of the great Kennedy brothers, has passed away at age 77. Regardless of how I have disagreed w/ his politics over the years, I have nothing but admiration for this true patriot, dedicated public servant, and great American. His passing marks the end of an era. He will truly be missed. :sad1:

[Lucy]

Rest in Peace.

[Lynner]

How sad. May he rest in peace.

[Magill]

It is sad to see the last of the Kennedy brothers pass, but I think we all knew it was only a matter of time, what with his grave medical condition. He must've had the best medical care possible to have lasted as long as he did. RIP, Sen. Ted.

[darkhorse23]

Sen. Ted Kennedy, the "Lion of the Senate" and the last of the great Kennedy brothers, has passed away at age 77. Regardless of how I have disagreed w/ his politics over the years, I have nothing but admiration for this true patriot, dedicated public servant, and great American. His passing marks the end of an era. He will truly be missed. :sad1:

I agree. May he rest in peace.

[mluque125]

May he rest in peace..

[ilianna]

Yes it is sad to see the last Kennedy brother go. May he rest in peace.

[Blackguard]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/54/Mary_Jo_Kopechne.jpg

When I think of Ted Kennedy, I always think of what happened to Mary Jo Kopechne at Chappaquiddick in July 1969.

He never explained why he waited to report the incident until her body was discovered. At the formal inquest Judge James A. Boyle, concluded that some aspects of Kennedy's story of that night were not true, and that "negligent driving appears to have contributed to the death of Mary Jo Kopechne."

After the inquest a two day investigation by a grand jury was commenced in April 1970. The grand jury returned no indictment against Kennedy. After the grand jury completed session, Judge Boyle made his inquest report public. Kennedy deemed its conclusions "not justified."

Ted Kennedy simply got away with it.

I have never liked or trusted him since this occurrence. I had hoped in later years he would have released a statement about his involvement in her death. But he died without saying or doing anything about Mary Jo Kopechne. You nice guy Ted Kennedy.

[JonnyLytnin]

When I told someone today that I was planning on watching the HBO documentary "Teddy: In His Own Words", my friend replied "(shouldn't it be) called "Getting Away With Murder and Milking Taxpayers Till Death?"

My response to him fits your post similarly Blackguard. "The same could probably be said about the majority of Senators in the country. With that said, I choose to remember him (Sen. Ted Kennedy) as a man who was devoted to a lifetime of public service to the state of Massachusetts and to the nation. While I certainly disagreed with much of his political positions, I honor & respect him as a leader in the nation and recognize his position in American history and lore."

Certainly Blackguard, we have all made mistakes, and it's human nature when in trouble to "fight or flight". I think that if Ted Kennedy truly was the cause of this woman's death, and it was not just a legitimate accident, then he should have come forward with the truth. However, he was NOT indicted and there was NO conclusive proof to prove such a thing. With that he remains innocent until proved guilty and we must accept that fact.

To throw out respect for this man because of mere speculation is your choice but one I do not agree with.

Sen. Edward Kennedy's legacy in the Kennedy family and his accomplishments for the country will always outshine the gab.

[Blackguard]

To throw out respect for this man because of mere speculation is your choice but one I do not agree with.

At least you respect my opinion in the matter.

"Kopechne's death and Kennedy's failure to properly deal with the accident, along with numerous discrepancies in his account of what happened, damaged his reputation"
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=4569

[FPSHOT]

In my opinion it is in general very much not the right time nor the right way to react to someone's passing by paying attention to a tragic long time happening or judge a person for that now, as terrible as the death of the woman is.

Other opinions are of course possible.

RIP Senator, the current US President honoured you well in his first reactions.

[Magill]

I have never liked or trusted him since this occurrence. I had hoped in later years he would have released a statement about his involvement in her death. But he died without saying or doing anything about Mary Jo Kopechne.

If it makes you feel any better, he now has to answer to a higher power for this. :god:

[Mccartneyluvr]

I couldn't agree with Blackguard more. Seems like everyone forgot about the whole incident. He was wrong. He got away with it. But for some reason, maybe because his last name is Kennedy, no one seems to care.

[heyjude]

To be honest, I thought there were only two Kennedy brothers. I didn't know about this man until he died.
Funny how we keep losing so much history. I mean.. most of my friends don't even know what the cold war is (I vaguely understand it myself), let alone the Kennedy family.

[MaccaGirl2891]

To be honest, I thought there were only two Kennedy brothers. I didn't know about this man until he died.
Funny how we keep losing so much history. I mean.. most of my friends don't even know what the cold war is (I vaguely understand it myself), let alone the Kennedy family.

This is why, when I become a teacher, I am making sure my students have a solid background on history before they even leave elementary school. I will suggest that they watch the news with their parents and/or read or glance through the newspaper or online news sites to keep informed. It's THAT important to me.
Really, I forgot that he was JFK and RFK's brother, but I knew that he was in the family. I don't see how people couldn't have heard about him. Last year after he collapsed, that was huge news.

[VersusBatman]

First Eunice, now Ted.

[twovirgins]

I thinK all of our Senators are a bunch of rich crooks who fly around in private jets and have fancy lunches with lobbiests on fancy golf courses..they are nothing like 95% of Americans ..They have been doing a terrible job running our country ,,I dont know anything they have done thats been good for the taxpayer or good for the country, They do what ever the Lobbyists pay them to do ..And look at the shape our country is in now! and what do they do? Spend billions and billions on unwanted wars They give 900 billion to their rich banker buddies and smoke big cigars drink 30 year old scotch and laugh at suckers like you and me who vote for these people .I have zero respect for any Senator right now ,,especially elite ones who lived high on the gravey train all their lives.

[JonnyLytnin]

I thinK all of our Senators are a bunch of rich crooks who fly around in private jets and have fancy lunches with lobbiests on fancy golf courses..they are nothing like 95% of Americans ..They have been doing a terrible job running our country ,,I dont know anything they have done thats been good for the taxpayer or good for the country, They do what ever the Lobbyists pay them to do ..And look at the shape our country is in now! and what do they do? Spend billions and billions on unwanted wars They give 900 billion to their rich banker buddies and smoke big cigars drink 30 year old scotch and laugh at suckers like you and me who vote for these people .I have zero respect for any Senator right now ,,especially elite ones who lived high on the gravey train all their lives.


That's great, you know, and a great place to show those feelings is a REST IN PEACE thread... :rolleyes:

For the most part I don't disagree, and I respect your right to have and express these feelings, but the fact is that this is the wrong thread for it :sad2:

[Magill]

That's great, you know, and a great place to show those feelings is a REST IN PEACE thread... :rolleyes:

For the most part I don't disagree, and I respect your right to have and express these feelings, but the fact is that this is the wrong thread for it :sad2:

I totally agree Johnny. Let's stop bashing the man and let him rest in peace for cryin' out loud. For those grave dancers, lighten up on the subject, alright? You are neither judge nor jury on the Koepeckne matter. Remember: "Judge ye not lest ye be judged." Leave it to the big guy upstairs. :god:

[Mccartneyluvr]

I'm not trying to be a grave dancer. I'm just pointing out how all the news coverage I've watched about his death hasn't mentioned the whole Chappaquiddick incident. When Michael Jackson died they mentioned his trial for child molestation, but seems there is no mention anywhere about this. Yes, he did many good things during his term in office, but let's call a spade a spade. You can't talk about his life without mentioning this.

[FPSHOT]

What a pity that a man who dedicated his life to US politics, is now still, within a RIP thread, convicted by some for something he may not even is guilty of.

The tragic case, well it is clear what happened, but the US have a reputation long lasting to have things covered up behind closed curtains by CIA, FBI and so on.

So also in this case, it might have been that he wanted to come out with it, but could'nt.

It wouldn't be the first time and sure will not be the last time.

At least many showed their respects.

Maybe it is good to do that here as well.

[Jerry]

Actually, I think a person's death is the perfect time to reflect on their life, good and bad. Especially if they didn't account for their actions when they first occurred.

[Magill]

I'm not trying to be a grave dancer. I'm just pointing out how all the news coverage I've watched about his death hasn't mentioned the whole Chappaquiddick incident. When Michael Jackson died they mentioned his trial for child molestation, but seems there is no mention anywhere about this. Yes, he did many good things during his term in office, but let's call a spade a spade. You can't talk about his life without mentioning this.
Not you, per se, Stacy but I've seen and heard other comments from people that seem pleased about Ted's passing. It's not like he murdered Mary Jo. It was a car accident in which he was injured as well. And he did publicly admit to the accident. Albeit it was a week later, but it's possible that the CIA had a hand in that. I suppose we'll never know. I just find it sad that Chappaquiddik is what he'll be remembered for and not his accomplishments during his time in senate. In regards to Michael J., I try not to remember him as a pedophile (which I firmly believe he was..and that's my opinion) but rather a misguided, troubled soul who was also a multi-talented legend in his own right.

[Magill]

Actually, I think a person's death is the perfect time to reflect on their life, good and bad. Especially if they didn't account for their actions when they first occurred.
Perhaps there should be a different thread for these opinions about the Chappaquiddik incident. I mean, the man lived out his last days with brain cancer. I mean, Yuck! God bless him, what a way to go! I wouldn't wish that on anyone. :nono4:

[hibgal]

I'm just pointing out how all the news coverage I've watched about his death hasn't mentioned the whole Chappaquiddick incident.
Haven't watched US TV broadcasts, for obvious reasons, but the CNN site certainly mentions this, which is where I read about it, probably other newsites as well. Maybe online news have better coverage?

[JonnyLytnin]

In several of the retrospective video montages I've seen on CNN the Chappaquiddick incident has been mentioned as well as in the HBO documentary "Teddy: In His Own Words" that CNN aired on Wednesday night.

I'm not against discussing his failures in this RIP thread, just against the negative speculating and outright demonizing. He was involved in Mary Jo's death, sure, but if the law doesn't find him guilty of murder then neither should we.

An interesting and beautiful story was posted earlier on a different message board that I frequent. I think it's interesting enough to post here...

"Look.... I do not agree with the guy politically.. But, as a person the guy did something for a friend of my daughters about 7 or 8 years ago that I'll never forget, so he is and always will be a champion in my book for selfish reasons....

"My daughter's friend and my next door neighbor's daughter was about 6 or 7 years old at the time and had Leukemia. She was getting treatments at Mass General in Boston and was really doing quite well. Her doctors had arranged some type of procedure with bone marrow that I think at the time, was quite new. Long story, short 3 weeks before the scheduled procedure that had been approved by the insurance company, they get a notice from Mass General that the insurance company was in fact not going to approve the procedure. Her parents freaked, called and argued with the insurance company for a couple days and got nowhere... Someone suggested that they call Sen. Kennedy's office and her father made the call and spoke to one of his aids. Her father blew it off and said, hey it was worth a shot... No joke.. Two days later they get a phone call from the insurance company and Mass General stating that the company was going to cover the procedure and there had been an "error". The next day, he gets a personal call from Ted following up to make sure everything was ok and letting him know that he personally made some calls on his behalf. Then Ted asked to speak to his daughter and they had a short conversation. If I did not hear this straight from the girls parent's I would not have believed it either.

"This girl will be going into Freshman year of High School next year with my daughter and is healthy and has been for a while now... That is why Ted Kennedy will go down as one of the greats to me despite Mary Jo and all the other demons he had."

This doesn't sound like a monster at all. I don't believe that good works atone for past sins in the end, but from what I've heard over the last few days, Teddy did this kinda stuff all the time and on a personal level that counts for something in my book.

[beatlebangs1964]

His grandson Ted III gave a stellar interview 8/28.

Ted Jr.'s tribute brought everybody to tears. That story about the sled was very moving.