The American Spectator

Bill Atley| 8.27.09 @ 6:47AM

Who is this sac-hanger Andrew Cline? What's he doing writing for The Spectator?

We all know Ted Kennedy was a socialist, lying, drunken, manslaughtering scumbag, and the people of Massachusetts deserved him.

What's with the BS here?

View from NH| 8.27.09 @ 6:48AM

Why is everyone ignoring Teddy's deliberate and treasonable attempt to betray his country by forming an alliance with Communist Russia to block the Reagan presidency? The offer is documented in KGB files and reported in the US press.

This 'man' is a disgrace.

Bram| 8.27.09 @ 7:43AM

Anyone who lives long enough loses family members. Anyone with an appetite or a sex-drive has temptations. Big deal.

If he wasn't Joe Kennedy's son he would have made an excellent toll collector on the Pike.

Robert Rosencrans| 8.27.09 @ 7:44AM

This article seems to feel that since Ted Kennedy was a scoundrel, he overcame it by becoming an even bigger scoundrel and a killer, and for that we should pay homage.

His legislative career was one of turning citizens into sheep to be sheared by an ever growing government presence. For this we should be proud?

The type of thinking emoted by the article is how we got into the mess we are currently in.

Joellen| 8.27.09 @ 8:39AM

Let me get this right. The writer states, "he APPEARS to have been AFFLICTED with a SERIOUS DRINKING PROBLEM, possible cocain use and was a serious womanizer. And if that wasnt enough, his first wife was an ALCOHOLIC, whose ADDICTION LED to the BREAKDOWN of the MARRIAGE. SAY WHAT! So, it was all JOAN's FAULT that his marriage failed. SHE was the ACHOLOIC, he just had a SERIOUS PROBLEM! Well, Sir I actually have a serious problem with how you and others can white wash Ted Kennedy's flaws. I suggest someone sit down with Joan and get her side of the story, the same with the family of Mary Jo. Yes our DEAR LORD will do the judging but let's not make this man a martyr at the sake of those who have truly suffered from his deeds and actions (and that would include those babies who have been aborted due to his STRONG STANCE IN advocating that it be legal to do so).

Ed| 8.27.09 @ 8:51AM

Are you people that thick-headed this morning? Have another cup-o-joe and read it again. Does irony or sarcasm mean anything to anybody?

Anthony| 8.27.09 @ 9:09AM

What a crock!! Perhaps Mr. Cline feels the need to pander to the expatriots who have fled MA, after having first destroyed it, by voting for reprobates like Ted Kennedy, decade after decade. Mr Cline, they still won't read your paper, so you've wasted your time and what's left of your reputation.
Mr. Cline, what exactly don't you get about rich, pampered and privileged deviants like Ted Kennedy? Of course people of Kennedy's ilk will be drawn to politics. It's the only vocation a loser like Kennedy could do and fulfill his lust for power at the same time. The man never held a job for more than 18 months outside of government; I believe he had a brief stint as an assistant D.A., in VA, but was a complete incompetent. The Senate has a number of folks like Kennedy, or haven't you noticed? For 50 years this man punished America, while he engaged in his lifestyle of recklessness, knowing people like you would make excuses for him and clean up his messes. Good God!! you should be writing for the Boston Globe, not TAS. No wonder New Hampshire is going down the drain, just like Mass.

Anthony| 8.27.09 @ 9:46AM

Hey Ed, if anybody needs another cup of joe, it's you pal. This piece of journalistic tripe was neither irony nor sarcasm; this was another weak-kneed conservative attempting to find something positive about the life of Ted Kennedy, in order to prove... hell, I don't know what Cline was trying to prove here.
I guess, given the non judgmentalism and moral equilivancy that has overtaken the psyche of America, there are fewer and fewer people with the guts to tell it like it really was. Mr. Cline, if I was a subscriber to your rag, I'd have cancelled it this morning. I guess I'm not in a nuianced sort of mood this morning.
Mr. Cline, please stick with your little rag in N.H. and do your emoting there.

Michael L. Hauschild| 8.27.09 @ 10:01AM

It is debatable (how obvious is that) the measure of Edward Kennedy’s worth. Rationalization of the balance sheet by constituents, cronies, and the trappings of political royalty is no longer an option. He has “some spainnin” to do and he will be standing judgment in water soaked loafers.

Pete| 8.27.09 @ 10:06AM

But...but...the media tells me I should be sad. I mean, right there on my Yahoo start page is the headline "U.S. prepares for days of mourning for Kennedy " What a joke. Though I did appreciate the sarcasm in the article, there is nothing positive to take from the gassbag's existence. He shouldn't have had the chance to overcome his demons to leave a "positive" impact on the country. He should have rotted in jail like an ordinary citizen, girlfriend to Tyrone.

Oldefarte| 8.27.09 @ 10:12AM

Andrew, I wholeheartedly [and respectfully]disagree with your position. Kennedy [and his family] solely brought on the misfortunes to themselves. It began with his father who brazenly and shamefully flaunted a hollywood actress/mistress in front of his wife/children; and who purposely raised/encouraged his male children to be fornicators and crooks. They all were nothing but HYPOCRITES and lyars, professing their liberal care/concern for the poor, while maintaining a private attitude of aristrocracy and royalty. When confronted by the young woman in the bar previous to his nephew's sexual assault of her, he exclaimed DON'T YOU KNOW 'WHO' YOU'RE TALKING TO? If he/they were so concerned with the poor/unfortionate in life, why did he [and all Democrats] maintain/promote a public educational system that is inefficient and ineffective? Answer----so that its poor inhabitants WILL NOT become educated from same, and will be forever dependant upon the Democratic Party, its brainwashing and their dispensing of public manta!!!! He/they are the opposite of kindness [as you say]!!!!!

Appleby| 8.27.09 @ 10:14AM

If he thought he had demons before he died, I bet he's wishing he could have them back in exchange for the ones surrounding him now.

The Kennedy Problem is that they never had to fight their demons. They just paid people to hush them up and get them off.

For those of us born to working class families, the confrontation and overcoming (or in some cases, armed truce with) our demons was the making of us. Heaven knows what I might have been if my Daddy had been born rich instead of so darned good-looking.

Steve| 8.27.09 @ 10:29AM

RE: Ed

Sadly, Ed, I think Mr. Cline is serious; although I had to read the thing through twice to ascertain that.....

That a sodden, useless lout works out his "inner demons" by foisting his entirely useless, thieving, despicable ass on the public for decades is not -- contrary to Mr. Cline's assertions -- reason to celebrate the man. It's reason to celebrate the burial.

Doctor Right| 8.27.09 @ 10:47AM

Excuse me while I vomit.

It's one thing to refrain from disparaging someone who has just died so as to spare his family and friends while they grieve his passing...

...But it's quite another to portray the late (and unlamented) Senator Kennedy as a tireless champion of the poor and downtrodden.

Ted Kennedy toiled for one thing, and one thing only: The power of the Kennedy family. This was based directly on the advice that Big Joe gave to his sons during the FDR administration, that the seat of power in the USA had shifted from Wall Street to Washington, and that the Kennedy's had better adjust accordingly to the new reality.

And adjust they did!! The Kennedy's have infiltrated themselves and their schemes directly into the Federal, State, and Local power structure across the nation. They love power, and they'll fight like cornered beasts to hold onto it. And Old Ted was their patriarch.

Well, the patriarch is dead. And with him will go substantial political capital. Even if his last-minute scheming with Deval Patrick to (once again!) change the Massachusett's process for Senate selection is successful, one senses that without Fat Teddy, even the voters of Massachusetts may finally be sick of them at the next election cycle.

So please...Let's stop portraying Ted Kennedy as anything but the scoundrel that he was. If I want this kind of drivel, I'll read the New York Times...

Kevin Hill| 8.27.09 @ 10:56AM

A great day for the Irish! An embarassment is now gone.

1FreeMan| 8.27.09 @ 11:15AM

For his next piece Andrew Cline will extoll the virtues of Satan himself for having seen the face of God and having been driven from Heaven (due to his own excesses) and yet Satan still triumphs daily filling hell with lost souls. Andrew will talk of Satans toil and suffering determination as hard, but necessary, work.

Give me a friggin break!

Talk about your apoligists! Kennedy rode his brother's shirt tail all the way to his very last political speech. Statesman? No. Con-man more like it.

If the entire revolting reply on the web is any indication the Obama-democrat crowd will do well to keep Kennedy's name out of the healthcare debate.

Todd| 8.27.09 @ 12:01PM

Andrew Cline has lost my respect with this article, this is the kind of thing I would expect written in my local crappy liberal paper, not on American Spectator. Ted Kennedy as an inspirational figure? For drunks and womanizers perhaps but not for good responsible American citizens.

What really took the cake was blaming his first wife for the break-up of the marriage, did it not occur to Andrew that she became an alcoholic because she was desperately unhappy to be married to a cheating scoundrel? Talk about blaming the victim! You better check your moral compass Andrew because from what you wrote in this pathetic article in praising this bastard for "overcoming his demons", it is pointing south.

Bob Alou| 8.27.09 @ 12:21PM

What a load of rubbish. Washington, D.C. and particularly the Senate, is the most forgiving place in the world if you are a democrat, not as much for republicans. To hear this fawning by the, ostensibly, conservative punditocracy over Ted Kennedy is disgusting. The measure of a Senator is not whether he upheld the convictions of his particular contemporary constituency, but whether he protected the freedom of future generations of "the people" by limiting the scope of government encroachment. Judged by this yardstick Sen. Kennedy was a constant betrayal to the principles on which our Nation was founded. We will all be called to account and judged by God one day for our personal shortcomings. In this I am wholeheartedly depending on grace and mercy found only at the cross of Jesus Christ. I trust and pray the late Senator has found that same full measure.

Daniel| 8.27.09 @ 12:38PM

Folks,
Let's all take a deep breath and calm down. This is not the time to criticize the actions of Ted Kennedy. I'm as conservative as any of you, and I despised what he stood for, but today I am silent. I think that as Americans we have to give him his due and save the vitriol for another day. I know in my heart that conservative Americans are far more informed, intelligent, sensitive and decent than liberals, and that the "mean-spirited" among the population are usually the left-leaning. Let's be an example to all that conservatives can hold their tongue and be magnanimous, especially at a time like this, OK?

Dean| 8.27.09 @ 1:02PM

To paraphrase Shakespeare, "I came to bury Kennedy, not to praise him."

Jocon307| 8.27.09 @ 1:20PM

Holy moly where to begin with this piece?

I'll just remark on this:

"As if that weren't enough, his first wife was an alcoholic whose addiction led to the breakdown of the marriage."

How does Mr. Cline know that it was Joan's drinking that led to the breakdown of their marriage? Maybe it was Ted's drinking, and snorting, and philandering that did it. Heck, maybe it was just all those repentant "good deeds", saints are hard to live with, you know.

Quite an example of praising with faint damns this piece, and quite undeserved by its subject.

Spicy Joker| 8.27.09 @ 1:36PM

Ted Kennedy became an even bigger scumbag after he killed Mary Jo Kepechne. He cheated on his wife, knowingly slandered Robert Bork, became a demogogue, and pulled strings to get his violent cokehead son elected in Rhode Island.

Todd| 8.27.09 @ 2:00PM

I would like to see Andrew apologize for scapegoating Ted's first wife Joan in a pathetic attempt to put him in a better light. Not only did he kill Mary Jo, he destroyed the life of Joan. His constant adultery quite obviously destroyed her sense of self-worth and drove her to alcoholism. What did they have to do to her to make her stand by Ted after Chappaquiddick in a desperate attempt to salvage his political career? A real man would never put his wife through such torment and disgrace. I have nothing but pity and sympathy for her but none for Ted.

If you read this post Andrew, I hope you can acknowledge your error of what you wrote.

L. Ross| 8.27.09 @ 2:12PM

Andrew Cline:

WTF, over!? As someone else said, if I wanted to read garbage like this, I would read the NY Times. I know it is impolitic to speak ill of the dead, but please. When the strongest praise you can muster for the man is that in spite of his myrad faults which read like the catalogue of the "7 deadly sins" he was re-elected to the Senate for 46 odd years. Please. Getting re-elected to the Senate as a Democrat named Kennedy in Massachusetts takes no effort whatsoever.

Let's focus on the positive. Michael Jackson is dead. Ted Kennedy is dead. It is morning in America.

edward del colle| 8.27.09 @ 2:41PM

i dread this type of sop! dr. cline, i've read very good things from you but this is weak kneed and gelatinized! the kennedy clan was taught that the rules that apply to you and i do not apply to them!ten kennedy was a poster boy for the sinecure! i doubt he ever had an original disinterested thought. i believe to add to his despicable lies about an original disinterested thinker like robert bork, a staff member of his was the person who cajoled or persisted with anita hill to come forth with her despicable imagination against a human giant like clarence thomas! this guy belonged in the hoosegow, to borrow a RET fav. he came to cause the death of another human being! let;s get real, gentlemen!

Joseph Baum| 8.27.09 @ 3:05PM

This article is one of the most fanciful and ridiculous that I have ever read. Ted Kennedy was an egregiously evil, spinless, hypocritical, amoral slug who advanced his career and fortune at the expense of virtually everyone with whom he ever came in contact. He is the symbol of the American dream becoming a bloated, puss filled nightmare.

Jobe| 8.27.09 @ 3:09PM

This to Daniel: If we gave Ted Kennedy his due, we would be writing far worse things in this comments column than we are.

Alan Brooks| 8.27.09 @ 3:13PM

"Let's focus on the positive. Michael Jackson is dead. Ted Kennedy is dead. It is morning in America. "

Agreed. but I want Pat Buchanan and David Duke dead, too, want both to die slow excruciating deaths from cancer.

Alan Brooks| 8.27.09 @ 3:16PM

save peace n love for church.

Alan Brooks| 8.27.09 @ 3:17PM

forgiveness? when Buchanan and duke are dead I will forgive them. Amen.

Anthony| 8.27.09 @ 3:55PM

To Todd: It appears Mr. Cline is as cowardly and haughty as his subject was. Mr. Cline apparently sees no need to explain himself for the contemptable excuses he proffers on behalf of a truly contemptable human being.
Several posters have made the observation that Joan Kennedy was indeed Ted Kennedy's first victim, much to the willful blindness and callousness exhibited by Mr. Cline. Even in death, Ted Kennedy has lemming enablers doing his bidding still. What form of pathology allows a person to offer such excuses for such an amoral and repugnant human being? Yes, Mr. Cline, please tell us, we folks at TAS are not used to people who think and rationalize like you.

Alan Brooks| 8.27.09 @ 4:19PM

Sorry, I digressed above, to say the least.

the author did a puff piece on Teddy Boy, worthy of The New Republic. And he ended up completely damning him with faint praise, like: "Ted was a troubled man who couldn't help snorting a little, well, you know, the sort of powder that looks very much like um, confectioners sugar. Ted liked to go to bed wth women other than his wife-- but don't we all? Why just last night I was in bed with an 18 year old girl; it was great. Let's stop being so judgmental. Larry Craig, though, is someone I don't approve of, he just rubs my fur the wrong way... in a manner of speaking of course.
I'm not gay!
not that there's anything wrong with being gay, of course. Look, Ted is just a human being like the rest of us, like Jacko and. By the way, you touch my kid, then I take a steak knife and turn you into a woman. But I'm very forgiving, as long as you don't step on my toes or look at me the wrong way. Ted was a decent guy who was better than you, you rightwing flyover resident! Who in the Hell do you think you're dealing with? My attorney paid twice as much to go to law school as your punk lawyer did, you republikkkan troublemaking homophobic Larry Craig forgiving ..."

gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com| 8.27.09 @ 4:23PM

I am extremely disappointed that Mr. Cline chose to blame Joan Kennedy for the breakdown of her marriage to poppa joe’s baby boy. Nowadays women in similar circumstances to hers simply put entry and exit holes into their respective slimeballs and justify their actions by claiming spousal abuse. Joan was every bit the victim Mary Jo was. The only difference between the two is that toddy-boy left the one to drown in a bottle and the other to drown in an Olds. He deserves nothing but enduring contempt.

Alan Brooks, I’m still waiting for you to prove your bigoted remark about Southerners being more sexually depraved than the rest of the country. All you offered was a personal anecdote from years ago. I want scientific facts. Your rants are quickly degenerating into automatic scroll-bys, just like make-up-the facts Bob's are.
Gill O’Teen ✝✡
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
Don’t Tread on Me!!

Mike| 8.27.09 @ 4:49PM

Ok, so ding-dong another Kennedy witch is dead. But don't be surprised if the good people of Massachusettes send a replacement that is even worse.

Todd| 8.27.09 @ 4:53PM

"Joan was every bit the victim Mary Jo was. The only difference between the two is that toddy-boy left the one to drown in a bottle and the other to drown in an Olds. He deserves nothing but enduring contempt."

Well said Gill. I am extremely disappointed to come across such propagandizing for this piece of trash on this site. Maybe Mr. Cline thinks he should not speak ill of the dead but don't give us excuses for a life of wickedness. I am no angel myself but I think what gets many of us so upset about the praise we hear for this sorry excuse of a man is the utter base hypocrite he was. His suppose concern for the common man while living a life of opulence, decadence and debauchery and ruining lives around him like Joan and Mary Jo and who knows who else. Shame on Andrew Cline

jr| 8.27.09 @ 4:58PM

Ditto, Mike, the people (?) of Mass. will find another to fit the shoes of the LION. They apparently cannot help themselves. The one good thing that I will praise Teddy for -- giving away all his millions to the poor, impoverished, crippled, needy, homeless, children without parents, and several other groups.

jr| 8.27.09 @ 5:02PM

How can anyone praise the Kennedys -- the bay of pigs was the area in which they all lived. Know what a limousine liberal is? That is the Kennedy group. Hey, Owlgore, did you see all of the gas hogs running the course for the Teddy funeral?

Michael L. Hauschild| 8.27.09 @ 5:18PM

It amazes me that people take the time to argue over what some one "meant" in the articles. All you have to do is call them up or e-mail them. If you are polite they will respond.

Claiche Neart| 8.27.09 @ 7:11PM

Oy jr,the millions Ted Kennedy gave away were not his dollars,they were taxed from all the names you see on this comment page and other hard working Americans.

Quartermaster| 8.27.09 @ 7:12PM

IN an earlier edition we get an apology for illegal immigration on TAS. Now we get a eulogy for an evil man.

I'm still getting the fund raiser pop up when I first come to TAS. When I see an apology for illegal immigration, and the piece of tash above, I see no reason to give a dime to TAS. We can get the same thing from the Old Grey Hag, or WaPo.

Kennedy's real legacy is entirely negative. We don't have to wait to know that. The man was lawless. He had a lot of company in both parties.

Solo| 8.27.09 @ 7:35PM

"Yet Kennedy's career already has provided us with a lesson that is universal. The way he lived his life teaches a fundamental truth -- that individual will has the power to overcome flaws of gene and judgment. That is Ted Kennedy's real legacy. Regardless of one's political views, it is a positive and enduring one. "

My god!!!!

I am speechless!

CS Lewis| 8.27.09 @ 8:08PM

ok... I'm outta here. Two articles trying to put a good face on Teddy! Sorry guys, can't be done and all your posters here want to puke.
Goodby.

Dave Lincoln| 8.27.09 @ 8:19PM

"But unlike Raskolnikov, who ultimately confessed, Kennedy worked out his guilt through good deeds. "

What good deeds did this man do, Andrew Cline? It's possible he helped some old ladies across the street, and I never heard about it. I know he tried to drive a young lady across an inlet.

A guy named Ed above said that we are all dense this morning (well, night now) and that the article is sarcastic. I fail to see it - is that true, Mr. Cline?

This guy did some of the most cultural damage ever done to our country due to immigration.

Here's a eulogy from VDare.com:
(you can use it in general for many politicicans - not tailored to this particular traitor)

Here richly, with ridiculous display,
The Politician’s corpse was laid away.
While all of his acquaintance sneered and slanged
I wept: for I had longed to see him hanged.
[Epitaph On The Politician Himself, Hilaire Belloc]

PCP Smoker| 8.27.09 @ 8:32PM

"his ultimate triumph over personal demons and recurring tragedies"
What was the ultimate triumph? dying?

Hey Peggy Noonan... smoke some weed and stop feeling it so much

Mary Jo| 8.27.09 @ 8:34PM

There once was a Senator from Mass.
Who wanted a new piece of a**
He lucked up and found her
He f**ked up and drowned her
Now his chance to be president has passed

Alan Brooks| 8.27.09 @ 9:36PM

"In an earlier edition we get an apology for illegal immigration on TAS."

thanks for reminding us, Quartermaster, Codevilla was even worse than Cline. His article was 70 percent preamble:
"the founders knew in that great year of '76 that immigrants would build this country...."

Alan Brooks| 8.27.09 @ 9:41PM

"Are you people that thick-headed this morning? Have another cup-o-joe and read it again. Does irony or sarcasm mean anything to anybody?"

by Jove you are correct. Why didn't we all detect it before? Cline is a faux-apologist straight out of Onion magazine. How slow of us!

Alan Brooks| 8.27.09 @ 9:43PM

Cline wrote an elaborate parody that was so clever we never would have guessed what it was.

uh. but, um. gee.
if most people don't get it, then... what good is it?

Alan Brooks| 8.27.09 @ 9:47PM

"Alan Brooks, I’m still waiting for you to prove your bigoted remark about Southerners being more sexually depraved than the rest of the country. All you offered was a personal anecdote from years ago. I want scientific facts."

Guill O. Tine,
I was just playing around, sticking a pin into Red.

chi original flat iron| 8.27.09 @ 10:27PM

He dies on the brink of the achievement of what might have been the greatest legislation associated with his name. Kennedy demonstrated how to be a Senator as few could.

gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com| 8.27.09 @ 11:42PM

Alan Brooks wrote:
“Guill O. Tine,
I was just playing around, sticking a pin into Red.”

Brooks, your playing around insulted and slandered thousands of my people. When we drove my Father to his final resting place in the quiet yard of the Southern church where his Grandfather O’Teen was choirmaster and is buried, complete strangers on the opposite side of a divided highway, stopped their vehicles, stood at the side of the road and bowed their heads in prayer. Living in a big midwestern town at the time, I was dumbfounded. Yes, there are depraved people in the South, but no region of the country has a monopoly on vice. To single one out is the mark of a narrow mind. Yet you scandalize a whole group of patriotic and God-fearing Americans in order to play around. I resent your vile statement, and you are a bigot for making it. You are no better than the Jew-hater whose cretinous commentary infests American Spectator.

Gill O’Teen ✝✡
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
Don’t Tread on Me!!

Paul from Massachusetts| 8.28.09 @ 12:00AM

Like many ethnic Catholic families whose immigration arc paralleled the Kennedy's in chonology if not in wealth and celebrity, our Massachusetts family voted the straight Democratic line until the emergence of Ronald Reagan coincided with the sharp left turn of the Democratic party.

Nevertheless, even after having left permanently the Democratic fold, most of us, and many of our neighbors, I'm sure, continued to vote for Sen. Kennedy as a tribute of thanks to a family which had sacrificed the lives of their three older boys, Joe, Jr., Jack and Bobby, to the country. We voted out of loyalty to the Kennedy family, not out of admiration for Teddy. I have little doubt that Ted Kennedy would have been handily elected and re-elected by the Massachusetts voters regardless of his policy positions; that is how strong the Massachusetts electorate's emotional bond was the Kennedy's and his brothers' legacy. Now, however, with Teddy's passing, that emotional debt has been paid in full and there is no question of the next generation of Kennedy's laying claim to it. Camelot is well and truly dead.

Likewise, in coming years, with Sen. Kennedy no longer setting the political tone and agenda of the Bay State, Massachusetts' most radical liberal tendencies are likely to moderate, and greater voice will be given to an underlying conservative streak in the state that has been largely in quiescence under Bobby Kennedy's influence and Ted Kennedy's reign. It will not happen overnight, but the likes of John Kerry and Barney Frank will face sterner electoral competition in the future, and the Bay State electorate will be listening with a more open mind to their conservative opponents.

R.I.P. Senator Kennedy

gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com| 8.28.09 @ 12:10AM

In the interest of full disclosure, I’d like to confess that toddy-boy konnedy is a huge reason I left the Catholic Church. I realized that any religion whose leaders claim to be pro-life yet allowed such a prominent baby butcher to sit at the head table at their too rich for my wallet banquets and granted him an annulment for a marriage that produced three children, essentially declaring them illegitimate, so that he could play house with a new squeeze is much too willing to make a pact with the devil for my taste.
Gill O’Teen ✝✡
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
Don’t Tread on Me!!

Dave Lincoln| 8.28.09 @ 6:52AM

"I'm sure, continued to vote for Sen. Kennedy as a tribute of thanks to a family which had sacrificed the lives of their three older boys, Joe, Jr., Jack and Bobby, to the country. We voted out of loyalty to the Kennedy family, not out of admiration for Teddy."

That sounds all warm and camelotty, Paul from Mass., but next time (if there is a next time) how about vote for the candidate that is for freedom instead of socialism and one who will defend the US Constitution, not treat it like toilet paper.

Y'all get what you deserve up there, the way you make it sound.

RIP, my ass.

Dave Lincoln| 8.28.09 @ 6:59AM

"RIP, my ass. " OK, that sounded a bit, say, wierd....

Rest in Peace, yeah, over my dead body!

Wait, sounded even queerer. OK, how about, glad he's dead.

JeffT| 8.28.09 @ 10:49AM

Kennedy's story would be more compelling if he weren't a Kennedy. A life of privilege, squandered, allowed him to "resurrect" himself, to our peril. His efforts in changing immigration laws (white, Irish guilt, no doubt) have ruined this nation and we will never recover from its passage . Everything he said about the change was off by 180 degrees. If he had gone to jail, as you or I would have, the nation would have been spared his considerable "weight" in shaping our downfall.

Paul from Massachusetts| 8.28.09 @ 10:00PM

Dear Dave,

Sorry to disappoint you, but you won't receive any expressions of regret or apology from me.

You seem to be a very bitter and unhappy person. Unforgiving, too. I'll pray for you.

Dave Lincoln| 8.29.09 @ 12:13AM

Paul from Mass. No prayer necessary, but thanks anyway.... it's too bad the stupid attitude of you and your family during voting time has done so much damage to the entire country.

I am unhappy with the direction of the country, Paul, but not otherwise. There is only a small period of time left to turn things around (maybe 2 or 3 years), just from my reading of history.

Nice job, buddy. Enjoy your Camelotty life style up there - don't mind the taxes and the rest of the Massholes.

ljc| 8.29.09 @ 2:25AM

I had a curiosity as to why the senator in question is going to be buried in Arlington. He did a spell in the Army from 51-53. Mysteriously was kicked out of Intelligence School, and spent the rest of his tour as an MP and embassy guard and was a PFC when he got out. Even Wikipedia where I read this, said that Joe got him out of going to Korea. But, he was such a good football player the Packers tried to recruite him in the mid 50s. And I suddenly remember that Penthouse used to always have a drawing of him standing in water with a steering wheel in his hand in PH's comicstrip Wicked Wanda(a weak version of Little Annie Fannie.)

ljc| 8.29.09 @ 2:36AM

All the stuff on Him's military time and the Packers stuff is from Wikipedia. I had never heard before that he had ever been in the Army. Why I was wondering about Arlington.

Paul from Mass| 8.29.09 @ 10:05AM

Dear Dave,

Message received and understood. No doubt your state's congressional representatives are paragons of virtue!

Cheers.

Dave Lincoln| 8.29.09 @ 10:52AM

Well, Paul, we've got one good one and one bad one it the senate, and no, I didn't vote for the bad one (he only won due to straight-ticket voters). Our house reps. are a mixed bag.

I don't think there are but 5 % of the congresscritters whom one could call a paragon of anything. It'd be better to look up the 1st 545 names in alphabetical order on yahoo people-search, as I think Bill Buckley said.

ClashWho| 8.29.09 @ 3:57PM

WTF? Teddy Kennedy "appears to have been afflicted with a serious drinking habit. " But his WIFE? Oh, she's an alcoholic! And it's HER addiction that killed poor Teddy's marriage. Screw you, Cline, and your whitewashing garbage. You ought to be ashamed.

Dave Lincoln| 8.29.09 @ 8:43PM

I guess we should face it. Cline is bucking for some job at a big newspaper, maybe the Boston Globe, so he cannot be truthful. Political correctness is mandatory for someone in his position.

The Spectator really ought to keep his junk from degrading this site in the future.

Sue| 8.30.09 @ 3:17AM

Ted Kennedy worked for peace, social justice and a better life for those among us who struggle to attain the blessings that are the promise of America. Instead of recognizing any of his accomplishments, most of you demonize the man because you disagree with his politics and/or cannot get past his personal sins.
As always, I'm so glad I'm not a conservative. On the whole, you are a mean and ugly bunch who offend my Christian sensibilites and make me feel hopeless about our country's future. How can we succeed as a nation when there is so much HATE being spread by you and your ilk! I'm so sorry I clicked the link that brought me here. WWJD? Certainly not agree with you all.

Jocon307| 8.30.09 @ 7:23AM

"...if most people don't get it, then... what good is it? "

I read this piece twice. I do not think it is satirical, only the Joan Kennedy part could be construed that way, it is so over the top. That is clear from it's being the most offensive part of the piece to the posters, anyway.

As you say, if this is satire, it really misses. But unless the author states that it is, I'll continue to doubt it.

Ted Kennedy's life is not a model for anyone, unless that person wants to become a meglomaniacal, hypocritical, selfish, self deluded embarassement.

I can only suppose he was good to his children and his many orphaned nieces and nephews, I'm sure that was quite a burden and he seems to have borne it fairly well. That is really about the only good think I can say about him.

In terms of his long tenured job, he did the best he could to ruin this nation, although for that I guess we must blame the people of Massachusetts, who really are guilty of a lot. It's been down hill for that state since the Revolution.

And, hey, my sainted father came from Worcester, Mass, so I am well familiar with them, esp. the Irish variety.

Dave Lincoln| 8.30.09 @ 7:33AM

"Ted Kennedy worked for peace, social justice and a better life for those among us who struggle to attain the blessings that are the promise of America." So, did a lotta guys, Sue, among them Chairman Mao of China, N. Lenin and Joe Stalin of Russia, Adolph Hitler of Germany... I kid you not. All of these guys wanted (WHAT THEY THOUGHT) was best for their countries, you can be sure. Again, I'm not comparing Kennedy directly to those guys, just stating the principle.

As I said up top (or somewhere), the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I'm sure the man thought everything he did, including the very hurtful immigration act of 1965 was something that was good for his country. It doesn't matter - his time on this earth only did harm to the United States of America, not good.

What would Jesus do? He'd walk out across the inlet, dive in, pry open a door to the car and get the lady out. He wouldn't be on the way to his lawyer and the pay phone..

By the way, on another thread (who knows anymore, I've been on a roll), I said I'm glad he's dead. Well, I'm not glad that a certain man is dead. I just wanted him out of any position in which he could do more harm to the US, in particular the position of senator. There was no way he was leaving without dying, so in this sense I am indeed glad he died. It's not personal, strictly bidness.

Sue| 8.30.09 @ 12:42PM

"It doesn't matter - his time on this earth only did harm to the United States of America, not good. "

That is such an OVER THE TOP statement that it probably isn't worthy of a response but I can't let it stand unchallenged.

You obviously have a different vision for our nation's future than Mr. Kennedy's and I can respect this. However, my vision has been shaped by my life experiences with minority students and the working poor whose lives have been very positively impacted by so much of the legislation that the Senator worked on. You may or may not give a rats tail about these people , but I certainly do and I welcome the legislation that has helped raise educational standards for those students, or has raised the minimum wage for the working poor.

Living in the northeast, I am quite famliar with the effects of the Immigration Act of 1965, and although it has had mixed results, I am grateful for the many foreign doctors and nurses who have enriched our system here in the tri-state area. I am also grateful for the people who work as busboys and servers in restaurants or housekeepers in our motels and hotels, and others like them who are employed in occupations that most Americans wouldn't dream of working at. I hope that they like, my Italian grandfather before them, will be able one day to look with pride on the accomplishments of their children and grandchildren.

Considering the leanings of most readers here, I suppose that my words will fall on deaf ears, but I just felt a need to post them for those readers who might still be undecided about the worth of Senator Kennedy's life's work.

boby hildenbrand| 8.30.09 @ 2:56PM

I hope no funds were paid for this article. It is absolutely silly. It says nothing about the man.
Other than that Cline loved him.

Dave Lincoln| 8.30.09 @ 9:02PM

First here is a great and fair article about the whole deal with this guy (politically) from a libertarian who writes for the Las Vegas newspaper:

http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/56171917.html

Yeah, Sue, we differ alright. I would like to see America stay America (under a document called the U.S. Constitution), that's all. I think that is the difference in our thinking.

This man has hurt blacks more than any other group, if you are going to persist in dividing Americans into racial groups, Sue. Between huge legal and illegal immigration, blacks are cut out of many job markets. The left-wing policies pushed by Kennedy and others have done nothing but make 65-70 % of black American children fatherless. Tell me how that's working out for them, kay? (it's due solely to welfare dependancy/handouts). Have you ever been to Detroit - I mean downtown? Check it out sometime, Sue. That is Ted Kennedy's future and legacy. Well, California is not far behind.

BTW, the minimum wage does nothing but cut teenagers out of jobs that would otherwise be available. If an employee can not make money if a certain job must be payed for at 2 bucks additional an hour, the job will not happen. In some cases (i.e. manufacturing) the job(s) will be done, but in China. No work for your minorites there, Sue. You state you are in the northeast, so I figure you could check out Martha's Vineyard sometime, or maybe you have. Most of the manual work is done by illegal alien Brazilians now. How does that help your poor minorities, or for that matter, maybe even a poor white kid who could use a starter job to learn the work ethic, showing up on time, and what taxes are really about?

I think the left-wing, including the creep Kennedy would like most poor Americans to be unemployed and on the dole, not working. That way, they will not learn about responsibility. The US gov't can not have too many of these independent-thinking people floating around - it gums up the works.

Like I said, glad he's dead. Don't send us any more reps/senators name Kennedy, mmmmkay?

Dave Lincoln| 8.30.09 @ 9:04PM

"Other than that Cline loved him."

Now that I think of it, I believe you're onto something, Bobby.

Andrew Cline, you're in love with him, aren't you? Admit it. You've always been in love with him.

Cris Worth| 8.30.09 @ 9:20PM

Let us not forget March 1991...Ted wakes up his son and nephew in the middle of the night in Palm Beach drinking and carousing trapping his nephew in a rape charge. The biggie Chappaquiddick serves as a microcosm of Ted's family destructive legacy. Mary Jo rest in peace and God Bless.

Sue| 8.31.09 @ 12:30AM

"I think the left-wing, including the creep Kennedy would like most poor Americans to be unemployed and on the dole, not working. "
What an ignorant thing to say! IN fact it is JUST RIDICULOUS! You and this website aren't worth another second of my time.

ClashWho| 8.31.09 @ 1:11AM

Sue: Most Americans wouldn't dream of working as servers, busboys and housekeepers? What America is that? That's not the America I know. Ted Kennedy attempted to collaborate with the USSR to undermine Ronald Reagan during the Cold War. How do your "Christian sensibilities" like that?

Dave Lincoln| 8.31.09 @ 2:56AM

Great point, ClashWho (I must have missed a bit of what Sue said or I would have brought this up too).

The reason Americans might not dream of these type jobs now, Sue, is that they have no chance of getting them. Due to minimum wage laws, taxes, 15 % SS/Medicare and lots of paperwork, you can hardly blame an employer for wanting to hire an illegal alien under that table, in order to keep the business profitable. So, the poor lower-class Americans are out of the picture. That's what I mean by saying you rich f__ks up in the NE would rather poor Americans just stay on the dole, watching the Government News Network and getting fat, so they will remain docile. That's your thing, isn't it?

Don't tell me you don't understand that, Sue - you are a northeastern intellectual, I thought, part of that Camelot crowd.

Oh, not to even mention school busing in Boston (holy cow!). That was a real winner, wasn't it, Sue?

Get out of your New England community, Sue, and look around you and learn. Then, sin no more at the voting booth.

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aj| 9.6.09 @ 2:04AM

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village idiot| 10.5.09 @ 4:24PM

A good communist is dead communist.
Ted is now a good communist.

Praise heavens for deliverance.

Jennifer Howell| 10.12.09 @ 1:12PM

One incredibly insulting and unconscionable statement of a many made by this pathetic author is: "As if that weren't enough, his first wife was an alcoholic whose addiction led to the breakdown of the marriage." Oh really? Based on whose assertion? And as for Joan being an alcoholic if that is the worst that can be said of her after having to 'stand by' this lush-let alone sleep with this pig- and support this complete embarrassment of humanity' for over 20 years then she is a living saint! Imagine your spouse cheating on you over '1000' times per this louse's own admission.

If any one ever had a legitimate excuse of being 'driven to drink' it has to be Joan Kennedy.

And obtw Ted's reason for an annulmment? " I had my fingers crossed when I made my marriage vows and had no intent to be faithful to my wife-so my 'marriage' is null and void". Too bad Joan didn't appeal to Rome like Sheila Kennedy!

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poptropica | 4.9.10 @ 11:58PM

You can see how to do this in the videos, but basically you need to jump up when the Hydra is about to strike. He will rear one of his heads back to attack and his eyes will bulge out.
Poptropica
When this happens, jump up in the air and then try to land on top of his head. That head will get knocked out. When all five heads get knocked out, the Hydra will be asleep and you can click on him to get one of the scales. poptropica
I’ll have a full written walkthrough very soon, but in the meantime, here are some answers to some of the frequently asked questions about Mythology Island. Having trouble? Post a question in the comments and I’ll try to answer it!poptropica

Getting Hercules to Help You

Hercules won’t help you until you have all five items from Zeus’ quest. poptropica
Once you have the five items, bring them to Athena. Zeus will appear and steal them. The big jerk! Once this happens, talk to Athena and she will tell you that Hercules will help you.
Poptropica
. You’ll need to have the magic mirror from Aphrodite because Hercules doesn’t want to have to walk. He’s so lazy!
Getting the Hydra Scale

You can see how to do this in the videos, but basically you need to jump up when the Hydra is about to strike. He will rear one of his heads back to attack and his eyes will bulge out.Poptropica When this happens, jump up in the air and then try to land on top of his head. That head will get knocked out. When all five heads get knocked out, the Hydra will be asleep and you can click on him to get one of the scales. poptropica

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Catherine SBBH| 7.2.10 @ 10:15AM

I'm loving this comment thread. These Kennedys don't half have a rabble-rousing effect -- opinion is divided, passions roused. One thing's for sure, the Kennedy clan is not a dull one.

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