Personal correspondence this evening:
Did he really say that (and that would be ME, Gentle Reader, taking the editorial liberty of addressing ourselves in the second or third person)? Nah... couldn't BE, could it? (insert smiley-face thingie here)
from Buck Pennington
to date subject mailed-by
From the blog:
That said, I'd be remiss if I didn't at least mention today's media blitz, or the "we'll beat you to frickin' DEATH with this, whether you like it or don't." I'm talking about the death of Senator Kennedy, of course. The worst thing about all this usual, customary, and UNreasonable overkill is the fact Fox News Channel canceled last night's Red Eye in favor of running the same damned 30-second video clips and inane comments from "those that knew him best" over and over and over. That hurt me. I'm not kidding... because just who the Hell is up at 0300 hrs (EDT) in the morning except for us Red Eye junkies? Answer: No one. And Red Eye junkies couldn't care LESS about Teddy.
But: RIP, Teddy. I couldn't possibly have disagreed more with your politics and found you supremely lacking in personal judgment (not to mention ethics) early in your career... but Mom always told me not to speak ill of the dead. I'm only bending her rule here, not breaking it. My condolences to the family and those others who loved him.
It's a public space and I'm always playing the "moderate," which is just the way I'm built, thanks to Mom. But, aside from being pissed Red Eye was preempted, I had this vision of Mary Jo Kopechne greeting him at the Pearly Gates and just beating the living dogshit out of him with what ever's handy while St. Peter looked on, approvingly. The asshat is on Charlie Rose as I speak, ruining what is otherwise normally a good show. To be expected, tho... all day, every damned day until they plant him in Arlington (Frickin' travesty, that) on Saturday.
Yet again: sigh.
- Hide quoted text -On Wed, Aug 26, 2009 at 11:41 PM, My Friend wrote:
Was it just me or did hearing about the last of the dead Kennedys
(Mr. A Blond in Every Pond) just somehow make your day?
Maybe I am just too sentimental but I got this warm and fuzzy
feeling of long delayed justice. Awww, yes, it was good for me.
Coming from the great state of Taxachusetts, I'll tell you that I voted against him every time I had a chance and I was on the other side of most of his beliefs. However, he did battle like a pitbull once he decided he wanted something and I admire that trait even in the enemy.
ReplyDeleteAs was said - I even said it to MY WIFE last night as we were discussing the man - I was taught not to speak ill of the dead.
I saw a very interesting documentary on the Kennedy family a few weeks ago. I believe it was on the History Channel.
ReplyDeleteSuffice it to say that the Kennedy's were not the saint's that most people believe them to be. Perhaps, however, it is best that the average person does not realize that.
While not completely deaf to the adage that says we should not speak ill of the dead, I do not feel that we should sing their praises to the point of elevating them to something they were not.
I do not feel that we should sing their praises to the point of elevating them to something they were not.
ReplyDeleteBR, I couldn't agree more! The whitewashing of what the Kennedy's really are began with Papa Joe in the 1950s. He was just a common bootlegger who made good, polished his image and reappeared as the calm, brahmin patrician.
B.S.
I grew up in MA and never understood the Kennedy mystique. My parents were no fans of theirs so I did get a healthy dose of something that was closer to the truth than most people saw.
They are a tragic family with alot of sorrow in their lives. Which I think could apply to 1 out of every 2 families all over the world.
Whitewashing - hell even completely omitting - what Teddy did at Chappaquidick is a dishonor to the memory of Mary Jo Kopechne and her family.
Which the Kennedy's perfected by paying to keep Teddy out of jail.
I agree with BR - I don't like singing the praises of someone and omitting the faults and murders - making them into someone whom the MSM thinks should be a hero. I don't mind talking ill of the dead - they should have thought about their legacy when they were alive rather than leaving ill thoughts.
ReplyDeleteAs I said on AD, I grew up in the UK believing you all hero worshipped this terrorist-loving, cowardly and shameless womanising p...erson! Out of respect for your blog and sentiments I won't post what I did on Vandeleuns. But the idea that a president would feel "heartbroken" for a man who left a woman to suffocate to death, while busying himself with his aides instead of the police and emergency services that night, is amazing, considering it is the anniversary of her death. Mind you we honoured the guy too.
ReplyDeleteAt least reading US blogs has shed some light on alternative sentiments towards him. It's been refreshing to read.
I love the photos in the post below btw!
I like it when you go off the moderate road, Buck!
ReplyDeleteI just wish they would hurry up and bury the bastard.
This is going to be a LOOOOOONG week. My favorite responses are lefties who are appalled that everyone didn't love him and they NEVER are mean - right, just look at the comments about Bob Novak last week and Tony Snow last year.
ReplyDeleteAs for Arlington, teddy hung onto his brothers coattails through live and is hanging on into death. I've always been offended that the politicians turned Arlington into another of their little exceptions to the rules.
All y'all have interesting takes on this subject... most especially you, Alison, speaking as the Brit you are.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking all of us are on the same page where St. Teddy is concerned. Perhaps it's a generational thing when it comes to my "moderation." Well... on second thought... the age thing probably doesn't anything to do with it at all, as I know plenty of folks in my age group who "call it as they see it." And sometimes excessively so, but that's just MY take.
I guess I was never taught to not speak ill of the dead. And I really have nothing BUT ill to speak of this despicable man and some of the terrible things he did in his lifetime. None of which I ever expressed any sorrow for, or paid any price for. And NOTHING he ever did good (whatever that was!) could possibly atone for the lives he ruined, including his own.
ReplyDeleteSorry....no moderate views here! :)
That was supposed to be "none of which HE ever expressed any sorrow for"....
ReplyDeleteSeemed to me Teddy was jealous of the real warmth of his brothers Jack and Robert. Wanting to be something you can never attain has to be a b**ch, I guess.
ReplyDeleteOur home is not mourning him.
Sharon: No correction needed... I understood ya perfectly. :D
ReplyDeleteCat: There's no black crepe here, either.