Ted Kennedy: 'A coward beside heroes' (Writing an obit about Mary Jo's killer)

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | 8/29/09 | Ellis Washington

[JohnHuang2]

Have a great weekend y’all!

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

Has anyone Else noticed a LACK of cheap shots from Conservatives RE: Ted’s Brain Cancer?

How many Times have we all heard RATS claiming that Ronald Reagan’s Altzheimers had been afflicting his judgment Throughout his Presidency?

Amazing that Owning the Moral High Ground over Libs is so Easy to demonstrate, when you actually DO own it, isn’t it?

The Swimmer Was what he Was, and THAT Alone sufficiently condemns him. Nobody has to make up Anything about him.

The Truth can stand by itself.

[Born Conservative]

Ted (with neck brace), Joan, and Ethel Kennedy attending the Mary Jo Kopechne funeral in Plymouth, PA.

[Jemian]

Wham, bam! I hope to emulate your discretion. Good job.

[Elle Bee]

Brilliant ... Bravo

.

[BamaAndy]

Beautiful job writing! Well said and spot on.

[Northern Yankee]

Nice job!

I am surprised the New York Times didn't contact you.

[tet68]

Well done John.

We are often reminded “Not to speak ill
of the dead”, yet they are dead and
do not care. If we would not speak well
of them in life, to speak well of them
now would make us hypocrates and liars.
So too their “friends and admirers” who
knew well their foibles and failings
but because of their agenda choose to
continue the lie even in death, thus
revealing themselves as the hypocrates
and liars they always were.

Thus, these lines by Belloc are ever true.

Epitaph on the Politician Himself

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.

~~Hillarie Belloc

Tet68

[Howie]

Great post! I was taught “don’t speak ill of the dead” and if you can’t say something good about a man, stay silent” but it has really been a struggle for the last few days.

I feel much better now that I know I am not alone in my disgust!

[DirtyDoc]

My family has a tradition to say something good about the dead. In Ted's case “He is dead, that is good.”

DD

[Zakeet]

Yesterday's article in the London Daily Mail, Ted Kennedy Just Wasn't White House Material paid a similar tribute to Ted. Among other delightful quotes:

Ted couldn’t even pull off the favourite Kennedy sport and pastime – adultery – with much aplomb.

Too much scandal. Too many sins unpunished. And a little too much well-fed flesh on the bones. You couldn’t imagine Teddy getting his leg over Marilyn Monroe. He would have had a heart attack.

I love the way the Brits put Ed-Lard-O in the proper perspective.

[DH]

Excellent! You seem to be running on all 8 cylinders on this one.

Too bad, your piece won’t be shown in the newspapers and video news controlled by the Ministry of Truth.

[Redleg Duke]

Splendid assessment of Fat Ted’s life and accomplishments, Sir!

[ReleaseTheHounds]

Outstanding 2 Cents!

[sweet_diane]

This is a keeper!

[P.O.E.]

Most apt stanza of the week award...

and BTTT to the thread.

[Guenevere]

Thank-you!
Spot on, as usual.

[Dustoff45]

If we would not speak well of them in life, to speak well of them now would make us hypocrates and liars.

When I first heard the news of the Chappaquiddick incident, I had just turned 22 and was on my second tour as a helicopter pilot in VietNam.

I can not speak for the actions of the recently deceased younger kennedy brother, but when I first heard of the drowning event, I wondered how the young man had handled the event. I did not process at the time that he was 15 years my senior. For some reason, I still thought of him as the younger kennedy brother.

I thought of some of my first combat missions the prior year, coming under fire, later dealing with many dangerous situations and remembered the edge of fear and near panic that was often there.

For some of us, we can put ourselves in the shoes of the younger kennedy brother. We can know the panic of a crash like that. The impaired ability to function caused by alcohol. Even the denial that allowed him to fall asleep back at the hotel.

What we can not excuse is the actions of everyone else that made every effort to protect the younger kennedy brother.

The wearing of the neck brace at Mary Jo's funeral. The fact that others knew somewhat earlier in the evening based on the younger kennedy brother's own statement, and still they discussed and pondered the best actions.

All while Mary Jo was struggling in that air pocket of the inverted vehicle grasping her last breath on foul air.

The younger kennedy brother did not come to his senses and get help. That might have redeemed his career. Instead the younger kennedy brother looked to others to fix his mistake.

As a nation and as individuals, we can all understand the panic, stress and fear of any situation where immediate action is needed to save a life, even if it means the cost of our own life. Instead Mary Jo was sacrificed at the altar of the career of the younger kennedy brother.

May we all walk in forgiveness, Yes, but also wisdom that some people of privilege have no business being trusted with the lives of others. Such is the legacy of the younger kennedy brother.

[Albion Wilde]

This little gem from the article at your link:

Such desecration of hallowed ground.
A weed beside the rose.
Assured, not he with them would die,
Yet, worthy, thought he, with them to lie,
A coward beside heroes.

~ Anonymous