Friday Night Music 9-25-2009

Ted Kennedy and Massachusetts

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Here in the Bay State aka Massachusetts there has been one hell of a GOP stink over Governor Deval Patrick filling Teddy Kennedy’s Senate seat. Most of it a joke in a state that boasts on being one of the bluest of blue states and the home of the Liberal Lion, Ted Kennedy. Being a Republican in Massachusetts is a rarity in government but not unheard of when you consider we elected Bill Weld to the Governor’s office twice, and Mitt Romney to the launching pad for his presidential campaign as a one term Governor. Where’s Waldo replaced on Beacon Hill with where the hell is Mitt?

Life in politics here is simple and the differences between a Massachusetts Republican and say for instance a Wyoming Republican are night and day. And in that difference is the strong belief that our state must have a torch bearer for Ted Kennedy’s seat in our nations capitol. Over at the Boston Herald they have a somewhat forever right leaning spin on Paul Kirk’s appointment by Governor Patrick…

By Laura Crimaldi

Sen. Paul G. Kirk Jr., D-Mass., was sworn in as the state’s interim senator this afternoon by Vice President Joe Biden in Washington D.C., after a Suffolk Superior Court judge in Boston denied an emergency request by state Republicans to stop Gov. Deval Patrick from appointing a U.S. Senate replacement for the late Edward M. Kennedy.

The four-page ruling by Judge Thomas E. Connolly cleared for Kirk’s formal swearing in. Kirk is due to serve until a new senator is picked to serve out the rest of Kennedy’s term in a special election Jan. 19.

In his decision, Connolly also allowed a motion from the state’s lawyers to dismiss the GOP lawsuit against Patrick. - Boston Herald

Paul Kirk will continue the life long mission of Senator Kennedy till January of next year when a special election will select his permanent successor. I have no doubts about that at all. Governor Patrick could have picked the Pope to replace Kennedy and that still would have suffered a GOP law suit. Vickie Kennedy and Edward Kennedy Jr. would not have endorsed the Governors choice if Senator Kirk was not willing to walk in his close friends footsteps. In selecting Paul Kirk, Governor Patrick restored the spirit of our Liberal Lion back to Massachusetts.

Papamoka

Rest in Peace Teddy

It might seem hard to understand how someone that has never met someone could feel such a great loss when that person passes away. Teddy Kennedy wasn’t just a senator or the lion of the congress that many news agencies have coined him to be. He was bigger than life even with the tragic legacy of his brothers as his shield and the love of the people that returned him to his office every six years for almost five decades. He was a simple man that just loved life and loved people and that was the ultimate source that made him a great man.

I spent the weekend watching the wake and celebration of his life at the JFK Library, the Mass in Boston, and eventually the burial in Arlington National Cemetery and I still can’t personally shake the loss of this man that some would call just another politician. I gave my own personal account of what he did for my father and my family without a second thought and I wonder how many other lives he touched? From the families that had loved ones on the planes that were hijacked on September 11th to people not even in his district he reached out to in order to heal their pain. Not just once but over and over again. Calling all of the families and loved ones personally to let them know that THEY were not forgotten. Their loved one was not forgotten. In doing so he formed a bond with the people and it was a bond that brought him closer to them as if he were family. It’s something that Teddy did his entire life.

His passing was like losing a father figure or the favorite uncle that you wished you had growing up. Teddy was bigger than life but he would be just as comfortable in a soup kitchen with homeless people as he would be dining at the Ritz. How anyone endures the loss of two of his brothers by assassination is beyond my personal comprehension and I‘m sure yours as well. How you lead a family and not implode after those events personally is a testament to his strength and spirit as a man and to his faith in God. Most people would have coward in fear and yet Teddy spent all of the days of his life in public service and in doing so sent a message to America, we can never give up if we believe our cause to be true. He carried the torch forward and honorably in the place of his three brothers.

My heart goes out to his family but especially to the love of his life Vickie. Without her, he would have been just another politician and the Kennedy legacy would have died. Yes, he could have still done great things but his mission would not be the same without her to heal him so he could help so many others. She saved him and he in turn saved countless others.

Rest in peace and you will be in our prayers Teddy.

Papamoka

Our Friend Teddy Kennedy

1932-2009

You can read all you want about the achievements of Senator Teddy Kennedy all over the internet and news blogs and get more information than I could ever supply. This is just a personal thought on what the man meant to me. Some people have called Teddy the Liberal Lion of the United States Senate and that was a badge of honor he never shied from regarding the context or use of the title. He didn’t care what people thought of him but he made people care about what he thought was right for America. And in that mission, he never failed.

My dad was a WWII U.S. Navy veteran and a Korea veteran. He earned many a medals during his time in service to his nation and the greatest being a Purple Heart for having his leg scattered with shrapnel on Iwo Jima. Dad was a medic and he was caring for a downed Marine at the time of his injury. Eventually, he was glad to see that he didn’t lose his leg but he continued serving his country.

Dad always kept his medals and ribbons in the top drawer of his bedroom dresser and as kids will do, we thought they were cool. Seven kids, lots of pretty ribbons, medals, and the memories that were dad’s for the most part vanished with seven curious kids. Being a WWII history buff, reading every first edition book there was on the subject he could have taught a college class on it. Dad wanted to display his medals in a proper manner and found most if not all gone with the passing of time. Dad spent two plus years contacting the Navy, the VA, anyone in the military that might be able to help him replace all of his medals. At each contact he was stonewalled or not replied to at all. He had given up for the most part on ever seeing them again and it showed at times but he just figured nobody gave a crap about an old veteran.

My mother called Senator Kennedy’s office at the suggestion of a friend and was asked to simply mail a copy of Dad’s discharge papers from WWII and Korea. Two weeks later a box arrived in the mail from Senator Kennedy’s office with every medal Dad had earned in service to his country. My brother had them mounted around a picture of my father in his navy uniform as young man. It brought back so many memories for Dad and had him very emotionally shaken. That picture with all the medals was displayed at dad’s funeral and it was something to be very proud of. It now is proudly displayed on my living room wall. Right next to the picture of Grampa Jack and two of my baby girls.

Being a Senator isn’t always about giving the greatest speeches or standing strong for your beliefs. Sometimes its just about touching one persons heart by one simple little deed. And yet, many of the things that Teddy did for America, many people take for granted as the way it has always been. So not true. Their but for the grace of God traveled the Liberal Lion continuing and finishing the battles his brothers could not.

Rest in peace Teddy, we love ya and we will miss ya.

Papamoka

Bashing Caroline Kennedy

I want to jump on the bandwagon of Caroline Kennedy for Senator Clinton’s Senate seat from New York. All of those people wanting to bash her lack of experience in politics have obviously no clue as to what she has done in politics her entire life. Over at Fire Dog Lake the consensus is that Caroline Kennedy does not deserve a princess appointment just because Daddy was a President of the United States. Check out what they have to say about her…

Caroline Kennedy? Thanks But No Thanks
By: Jane Hamsher Sunday December 7, 2008 8:00 am

Everyone seems to be salivating because Caroline Kennedy called David Patterson and is apparently interested in the Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton.
It's a truly terrible idea.

Her leadership could have been really helpful when the rest of us were trying to keep the progressive lights on and getting the stuffing beaten out of us by a very well-financed right wing for the past eight years. But when things were tough, she was nowhere to be found.

Now that the Democrats are in power, she'd like to come in at the top. We have absolutely no idea if she's qualified, or whether she can take the heat of being a Kennedy in public life. She's certainly shown no appetite for it in the past. She'll have a target on her back and if she can't take it, if she crumbles, she will become a rallying point that the right will easily organize around.
The woman has never run for office in her life. We have no idea how she'd fare on the campaign trail, or how well she could stand up to the electoral process. She simply picks up the phone and lets it be known that she just might be up for having one of the highest offices in the land handed to her because -- well, because why? Because her uncle once held the seat? Because she's a Kennedy? Because she took part as a child in the public's romantic dreams of Camelot? I'm not quite sure. - Fire Dog Lake

I will be the first from the Bay State to endorse her highly to my many friends and readers from New York. In Caroline Kennedy you get a humanitarian following in the footsteps of not only her father but her mother as well. While it is convienent for many people to sit on their asses and bitch and moan Caroline Kennedy has never done just that. She has always voiced her opinions on issues and if need be used her influence to make change possible over the decades since her father was murdered.

It outrages me when I see idiot comments on her qualifications for the position of Senator to the United States government. They don’t know her, they have never researched her, they have never researched anything that the entire Kennedy family has done for America since her father was murdered. She was a baby then but she is an adult now and all her life has been in service to America in the private sector for the betterment of the poorest and weakest among us. She is not a carpet bagger! How dare these morons declare from their trailer parks and dial up pc’s that she does not have the qualifications to serve America! What have they done to serve their fellow man other than bitching and stabbing anyone in the back?

Show me a Republican that has dedicated their lives after serving in office to helping the poor when it comes to heating their former constituents homes. Show me one Republican that has dedicated their lives to the children with Down Syndrome. Show me one Republican that actually cared about the poor not just for a day but decade after decade. There is not one!

Caroline Kennedy has dedicated her life to enriching the lives of the poor, the less fortunate, and those without a voice in our government. Don’t think that for a minute that this kind of attack on her is fair game. I’ve never met her, don’t think I would ever have the opportunity to meet her, but she is my sister in the work she has done all her life privately without boasting about it.

This brings me to this last thought, Republican’s are going to attack everyone in this new administration, it is up to us on the left to defend those folks that have not robbed the public trust but served it with honor and dignity. Do your own part on your own site and defend honest politicians and appointees that are not looking for a golden prize at the end of public service.

Caroline Kennedy never needed a Senate seat to use her name to get serious work done. For that matter, she does not need Senator Clinton’s seat in the Senate. It would be a gift to the American people and the state of New York to have Caroline Kennedy representing them though. It would be a larger plus to the Democrat Party to have her on the team fighting for what is right for the American people.

Long story short, regardless of what Caroline Kennedy critics have to say, she will have a walk in to the Senate seat if she so chooses. For that matter, she will be the first woman President elected in the United States after two terms of the 44th President Barack Obama. Mark your calendars and bookmark this page for reference.

Papamoka

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