Posted on 08/16/2009 10:23:08 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
As soon as his cancer was detected, I noticed the immediate attempt at the "canonization" of old Teddy Kennedy by the mainstream media. They are saying what a "great American" he is. I say, let's get a couple things clear & not twist the facts to change the real history. In other words, let us not let our sympathy for his illness get in the way of truth.
1. He was caught cheating at Harvard when he attended it. He was expelled twice, once for cheating on a test, and once for paying a classmate to cheat for him.
2. While expelled, Kennedy enlisted in the Army, but mistakenly signed up for four years instead of two. Oops! The man can't count to four! His father, Joseph P. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to England (a step up from bootlegging liquor into the US from Canada during prohibition), pulled the necessary strings to have his enlistment shortened to two years, and to ensure that he served in Europe, not Korea , where a war was raging. No preferential treatment for him! (like he charged that President Bush received).
3. Kennedy was assigned to Paris , never advanced beyond the rank of Private, and returned to Harvard upon being discharged. Imagine a person of his "education" NEVER advancing past the rank of Private!
4. While attending law school at the University of Virginia , he was cited for reckless driving four times, including once when he was clocked driving 90 miles per hour in a residential neighborhood with his headlights off after dark. Yet his Virginia driver's license was never revoked. Coincidentally, he passed the bar exam in 1959. Amazing!
5. In 1964, he was seriously injured in a plane crash, and hospitalized for several months. Test results done by the hospital at the time he was admitted had shown he was legally intoxicated. The results of those tests remained a "state secret" until in the 1980's when the report was unsealed.. Didn't hear about that from the unbiased media, did we?
6. On July 19, 1969, Kennedy attended a party on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts . At about 11:00 PM, he borrowed his chauffeur's keys to his Oldsmobile limousine, and offered to give a ride home to Mary Jo Kopechne, a campaign worker. Leaving the island via an unlit bridge with no guard rail, Kennedy steered the car off the bridge, flipped, and into Poucha Pond.
7. He swam to shore and walked back to the party, passing several houses and a fire station. Two friends then returned with him to the scene of the accident.. According to their later testimony, they told him what he already knew - that he was required by law to immediately report the accident to the authorities. Instead Kennedy made his way to his hotel, called his lawyer, and went to sleep. Kennedy called the police the next morning and by then the wreck had already been discovered. Before dying, Kopechne had scratched at the upholstered floor above her head in the upside-down car.
The Kennedy family began "calling in favors", ensuring that any inquiry would be contained. Her corpse was whisked out-of-state to her family, before an autopsy could be conducted. Further details are uncertain, but after the accident Kennedy says he repeatedly dove under the water trying to rescue Kopechne and he didn't call police because he was in a state of shock. It is widely assumed Kennedy was drunk, and he held off calling police in hopes that his family could fix the problem overnight. Since the accident, Kennedy's "political enemies" have referred to him as the distinguished Senator from Chappaquiddick. He pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, and was given a SUSPENDED SENTENCE OF TWO MONTHS. Kopechne's family received a small payout from the Kennedy's insurance policy, and never sued. There was later an effort to have her body exhumed and autopsied, but her family successfully fought against this in court, and Kennedy's family paid their attorney's bills... a "token of friendship"?
8. Kennedy has held his Senate seat for more than forty years, but considering his longevity, his accomplishments seem scant. He authored or argued for legislation that ensured a variety of civil rights, increased the minimum wage in 1981, made access to health care easier for the indigent, and funded Meals on Wheels for fixed-income seniors and is widely held as the "standard-bearer for liberalism". In his very first Senate roll, he was the floor manager for the bill that turned U.S. immigration policy upside down and opened the floodgate for immigrants from third world countries.
9. Since that time, he has been the prime instigator and author of every expansion of an increase in immigration, up to and including the latest attempt to grant amnesty to illegal aliens. Not to mention the pious grilling he gave the last two Supreme Court nominees, as if he was the standard bearer for the nation in matters of "what's right". What a pompous ass!
10. He is known around Washington as a public drunk, loud, boisterous and very disrespectful to ladies. JERK is a better description than "great American".
Sure, Ted Kennedy deserves our sympathy for his illness. We wish him well and desire his speedy recovery. But why are we giving him a Medal of Freedom ?
This man DOES NOT DESERVE IT AT ALL ! Giving this unworthy person the highest civilian medal of honor is a travesty and cheapens the award.
I’m sad for his illness and health problems, but, it’s refreshing to see this reporting.
I had heard that his job in the Army was guarding NATO headquarters. And he enjoyed dating French girls in his off hours. Must be nice to be stationed in Paris rather than in a war zone.
Yep he’s the liberal lion. I agree he’s the liberal lion, but I don’t consider that a term of endearment, as the MSM would like it to be.
To this day, there has not been a full investigation of Chappaquiddick (sp?). The people who were at that party at that house to this day have not spoken publicly about anything.
Sometimes the MSM talks about the tragedies of the Kennedy family. I hate when they include events such as Chappaquiddick and the William Kennedy Smith rape case in those family tragedies. I think that the assassinations of JFK and RFK were true tragedies. But self-inflicted wounds like Chappaquiddick, William Kennedy Smith, the other Kennedy cousin who allegedly was involved with the under-aged babysitter, the other Kennedy cousin who was busted for drugs, etc. should not be excused or overlooked as part of a tragic family history.
I was also under the impression that he cheated at UVA and was suspended. Not true?
‘Ol Brain dead Overfed Ted.
“In his sophomore year at Harvard, Kennedy was expelled for cheating. In danger of failing a Spanish class, Kennedy paid a friend to take an exam for him. The student was recognized – and both were expelled. After a stint in the Army, Kennedy returned to Harvard, where he eventually received a degree.”
Teddy went to law school at UVA. Somewhere I thought I read he cheated there too.
Did Teddy ever have a real job?
I couldn’t find anything about him cheating at UVA, it would not surprise me if he did cheat, as for a real job, surely you jest! Ted wouldn’t know a real job if it kicked him in the a$$! He’s just like all the other hacks, clueless, a criminal, out of touch yet allowed to make laws etc. for the rest of us, how ironic.
True enough...but on a more upbeat note he most assuredly deserved the Lenin Peace Prize he was awarded in 1968.
busy “meeting his maker”
That’s what I wanted to say.....but I did not want to indulge myself with pleasant and happy thoughts.
Obama’s poll numbers are enough pleasure for one day.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.