Ted Kennedy and Mary Jo Kopechne
Aug 26th, 2009 | 125 responses
Every person’s life is like a kaleidoscope. Some pick up another’s life, hold it to the light and all the glass chips fall this way or that. And the person sighting through the cylinder puts it down and turns away, saying they’ve seen it all, when in fact, they’ve only seen one facet, one pattern in another’s life. Thus some remember only one thing or two about the life of another long lived.
But there are other ways to see most of a life in depth, that is, to keep turning the kaleidoscope, letting the glass shards open and reveal, shade and hide, depending on the turn of the scope. Adding up all the patterns, keeping the sum of the brilliant and the dark turns: that’s a view in depth of the life of another.
I’d just lay out a few turns of the kaleidoscope of Ted Kennedy’s life here, a lost story:
Some of the glass shards part, and we see in paradoxically jeweled light that Ted Kennedy was born to a brutally ambitious father, Joe Kennedy, and his mother Rose, was a good Catholic girl, demure and subservient to her wealthy, bellowing husband.
Joe Kennedy true to his obsessive nature, kept his wife pregnant for most of sixteen years, she giving birth, not including miscarriages, to nine children in that time. Ted was the youngest born in 1932.
Ted would be eventually groomed and glossed, and also pressed to follow his father’s example… the ill and clearcut way the older Kennedy conducted himself politically and personally: teaching his male children that Kennedys’ get what they want when they want it how they want it for no other reason that they want it… and it is alright to use most any means to get it.
Another father, with different values, might have pressed an entire set of young Kennedy male offspring, to grow far more seated in heart and soul and clearcut ethics, far sooner.
As a young man, Ted, sent to the top school, Harvard, got kicked out for cheating. He was readmitted, but though some might say he cheated because of laziness, it may also be that his lack of studying and rousting about was his finger flapping in the face of his immensely overbearing father… yet Ted may have tried to fake the grade still fearing his old man.
Ted had reason to fear his father. Being the youngest child in the family, Ted was close to his sisters, and was doted on by Rosemary who was 14 years old when he was born. They laughed together and delighted in each other, and yet when Rosemary began displaying too wild a behavior by her father’s lights… showing interest in sex and sensuality… being too wild for her father’s hyper hypocritical tastes– he himself rumored to have many affairs–
Ted at age 9 witnessed his father dispose of his sister Rosemary as though she were a block of cordwood.
Joe Kennedy secretly arranged that his daughter Rosemary, age 22, to be forced bodily from their home, and incarcerated in a mental institution where Joe signed papers that were not his to sign, as his daughter was of legal age…
the papers the pater familias of the Kennedy clan signed were to ok a surgeon to slice into his daughter Rosemary’s brain through her eyelids, performing a lobotomy. This selfsame so-called “surgeon” would later be hounded from the medical profession for his butchery of human beings. But the good doctor at that time (1941), met Joe Kennedy’s needs.
Afterward, Rosemary no longer had sexual being. She also could not speak and could not hold her urine or her bowels for the rest of her life. She suddenly had the IQ of a child under seven. She had previously been, by all accounts, a bright, normal, willful, beautiful young woman, not retarded, not mentally ill. But to cover his egregious sin, Joe Kennedy spread the rumor over and over that Rosemary had always been ‘retarded.’
Women were a dime a dozen in his world, and Rosemary was shut away in diapers and babbling and out of sight, out of mind.
Joe Kennedy allowed no one to defy him without using all power at his disposal to destroy individuals. He was a bully and a boor. What he couldn’t get through power, he took by underhanded force… and then tried to cover his tracks, buying silence, or eliminating talkers.
To Joe, women were seen as Catholic scapulars, or as servants, or as good time girls. He carried and taught to his sons the old madonna/ whore split. A whore was to be used. A madonna was to be perpetually impregnated within marriage.
But a daughter, a woman, threatening his carefully built image, that was another story. For Joe, is was within his purview as a male to utterly harm a girl and leave her as good as dead.
Thus Joe Kennedy set hideous, puerile and murderous examples for his boys. And I believe, imprinted them, as well as intimidated and horrified them, when they were young… and yet evilly offered them riches and position as they became older… if they would just cover for and remain loyal to their corrupt father. He would be their Boston Machiavelli.
Thus he burnished and protected the family image at all costs. Except, in all his slit-eyed plans, all his prancing and smokers and under the table deals, all his pretense and vulgar displays of wealth and power, he never set in place examples of heart for others… Joe’s hope for his boys centered on eliciting in them and from them, chips off the old block, that is, greed and lust for power.
In time, as we witnessed, one of Joe’s sons, Ted, at age 37 would drive off the Dike Bridge late one night. A young woman, Mary Jo Kopechne, age 28, one of several “Boiler Room Girls” (girls who worked on Robert Kennedy’s presidential campaign the year before) who’d held a party that night, was in Ted’s car. Ted Kennedy made it to shore. Miss Kopechne did not. Ted Kennedy did not report the accident until the next day.
Some say he had a concussion and wasn’t thinking clearly. Others say he was drunk and out of his mind. Others say the unthinkable: that he did not value a human life. That he tried to cover up.
We may not know which one it was, or which two, or all four– or more. What we do know is that the ill trajectory for harming an innocent was laid down in spades in Ted’s young life by an exemplar father who was supposed to instill life-sparing and life-endorsing in his boys …instead of a careless regard for life… especially the lives of women, be they wives, mistresses, girlfriends, daughters, women one found attractive. For some observors and historians, the life’s end of Marilyn Monroe rings a similar bell.
Are the sins of the father the sins of the sons? I dont think we know for sure. It seems that sometimes hell is on earth for some— and I think of Ted Kennedy’s ‘cant face myself in the mirror’ for a long time after Miss Kopechne’s death… but also the prior hellacious loss of Rosemary… and the loss of a dear older brother in war… and also the harrowing of Ted’s soul after his two brothers were murdered. The lessons, the opportunities to become human and humane at last, came one after the other, relentlessly.
… and even more so of how ancient Ted Kennedy suddenly became on the small boat, his face collapsed into itself, his shoulders gone all ‘old man’… as he grimly sailed out to recover John-John’s body and the bodies of two others of the young from the tragic small plane crash in the ocean at niight… his nephew John, son of Jackie and JFK, who so promised in good looks and youth, in vitality and smarts… to maybe bring back the Kennedy political sheen… now the last charismatic male Kennedy of that generation was dead too. Also, literally, dead in the water. Like Mary Jo.
We who are religious are taught that all will be judged not with fury but with fairness when they die. Whatever was not learned on earth, some say, will be learned in heaven, or in a stopping and resting place on the way there. It’s said too that one receives credit for learning on earth from one’s abject suffering, no matter what crassness or separation from the God of Life and Love, preceded it.
So may it be for Ted Kennedy, having now left this world at age 77. So may rest continue for Mary Jo Kopechne who would be, had she lived, 68 years old this day.
Resquient In Pace, both souls.
______
CODA: Photo toptext: the Dike Bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, 1969
125 Responses to “Ted Kennedy and Mary Jo Kopechne”
From Wikipedia:
According to Kessler, Dr. Brown called the suppression of the truth “the biggest mental health cover-up in history”. Since the “public story” is still that Rosemary was retarded, the “lack of support for mental illness is part of a total lifelong family denial of what was really so. … Some of us knew the secret and kept it secret.
This is awful and pathetic (although, in my opinion the mentally ill are still suffering horribly at the hands of this society – something that needs to change STAT).
It reminds me of what happened to Francis Farmer and the sister of Tennessee Williams (whose name, co-incidentally, was also Rose). It also makes me wonder just how many innocents suffered such a fate due to bad psychiatric practices.
What an ungodly thing to do to a person!
As for Ted Kennedy….well….considering some of the things he did in his life that he never paid any type of restitution for …
I'll just leave it at, RIP Ted.
Thanks for the informative article Doc!
Ghost
How can facts with passion be cruel??
No always as the Chappaquiddick incident makes painfully obvious, but perhaps at least he partially made up for his actions there in his later life. People can change. But thats for God to judge.
Wow! So that whole thing of not bothering to report it 'til the next day just goes right on by? His responsibility in your mind is reduced to, “She died in a car wreck, it is what it is.” You're a real piece of work! I guess you'd look her parents in the eye and say the same? Of course, his famous drunkennesss and womanizing would just be a “Boys will be boys” thing to you, huh?
That's no leader or role model…..just another shanty Irish bum.
Dr. E, I love the kaleidascope metaphor. It describes so well the divide, the complication that so many feel about Ted Kennedy. One of the other ways I've seen him described today I also thought was apt: he was a strong man born into the highest echelons of priviledge, and he weilded that priviledge both for good and for ill. He left Miss Kopechne for dead without punishment, and he also used his power to loudly defend his nephew, William K. Smith, from charges of rape; he did this by heading up a smear campaign against the victim. On the other hand, he genuinely cared for the downtrodden in the world and in our country, and tried to enact legislation to benefit them, to the betterment of society as a whole. He fought tirelessly so that women would be able to excersize their right to choose. He seemed to truly recognize that the priviledge into which he was born was not shared by those of different social classes, different races, different genders, or different orientations; he used his own priviledge and power to try and shrink that gap. He was an excellent Senator.
I guess it's not for us to say whether the good outweighs the ill, or vice versa; the recognition that both existed within this man may allow us to recognize similar shades of grey within ourselves.
Unfortunately lobotomies were considered a type of treatment for behavioral problems back in the late 1930's and throughout the 1940's. H.L. Hunt of Hunt Oil had his eldest child, Hassie, lobotomized when it was thought that he had schizophrenia (he may have been bipolar like Rosemary). This is not to excuse Joseph Kennedy's other actions, but I think what happened to Rosemary needs to be viewed in the context of the times.
As for Ted Kennedy, all I'll say is that if anyone else left someone to slowly drown in a car accident, they would've served some hard time in the state pen.
Have to wonder if the souls of the unborn who are in heaven demand justice from the one who condoned their brutal deaths his whole political career…
And so you judge just as you despise the others for doing.
thankyoujim
leonidas? you take the name of a lionheart and espouse the squeakings of the mouse
ken1950 here here and well spoken my good man.when surrounded by brigands one lays about one with a sturdy staff until none are left standing.you speak well and swing a goodly blow to the squeakers
It's hard to imagine a more universal sanctimoniously hateful, uncharitable diatribe, written as if only the writer knows the truth, and anything that varies from this spiteful rendition would be the product of fools, or those purposely mis-representing the truth. The author clearly never lets the facts get in the way of seeing things as he imagines them to be, or to have been, so he might best be able to push his own hateful agenda. By the way, if you ever saw the bridge involved, on a dark night, it's not hard to imagine someone driving over the side inadvertently. And confusion at the time of such an incident would not be uncommon, even for those you would not normally expect it of. But then, why bother with such realities, right Ms. Estes?
Ted was a womanizing partying drunk.Shed not atear for him.He shed none for Mary JO.He got away with murder because of his name.What goes around comes around.
Ahhhh. the good old days when the extremely wealthy could kill someone in a DUI situation, dis-appear for 48 hours so he has enough time to sober up, and get an alibi from high powered attorneys, and suffer no conciquences for his actions. While poor Marys family is left with nothing but grief and un-answered questions. Someone should have shot him too.
autocompanydude
Frankly, I thought Doc Estes was quite honourable and kind about the whole thing.
Now if *I* were the one writing a post about Ted Kennedy, that would be ugly.
The Doc's post though, is pretty darn nice (especially considering who we're talking about here).
Ghost
PS For those of us who were alive at that time of Chappaquiddick and remember the scam, the cover, the poor girl left for dead….Some of us just don't carry that, “hope you're doin well” attitude towards Ted.
Forgive us our transgression of being a little peeved at the lack of justice done in a bygone era, eh?
Ah. I see the ghoulies and ghosties have begun crawling about the comments thread now.
Someone should have shot him too.
How special. Thanks so much for taking time from your busy subterranean life to visit with us here. I'd caution you about that free-swinging door near the exit, but… well… I'm actually kind of looking forward to the back-end contact.
I find it amazing to see the amount of people who were there to document Mary Jo's last moments on this earth. Did they sit by her side as she panicked and struggled for air? For all we know, in the pre mandatory seatbelt era, she could have been unconcious after hitting her head on the dash upon impact. Either way, it's nothing more than a sensationalist attempt to justify their disdain for a man they hold in contempt
With that being said, I am by no means belittling this tragedy. Should Ted have served time for what should have at least been negligent homicide if he was at fault…yes. Was his being born into a life of wealth and priveledge the mitigating factor in keeping him out of jail…yes. Hell, for all we know he might have wanted to turn himself him in but Ole' Joe threatened to have him lobotomized if he spoke one word that admitted any fault for that night.
That night will always be one of many dark stains in America's political history, but with the only other person who was in the car that night dead and gone, any speculation as to what happend that night in those cold waters is exactly that….speculation.
I find it amazing to see the amount of people who were there to document Mary Jo's last moments on this earth. Did they sit by her side as she panicked and struggled for air? For all we know, in the pre mandatory seatbelt era, she could have been unconcious after hitting her head on the dash upon impact. Either way, it's nothing more than a sensationalist attempt to justify their disdain for a man they hold in contempt
With that being said, I am by no means belittling this tragedy. Should Ted have served time for what should have at least been negligent homicide if he was at fault…yes. Was his being born into a life of wealth and priveledge the mitigating factor in keeping him out of jail…yes. Hell, for all we know he might have wanted to turn himself him in but Ole' Joe threatened to have him lobotomized if he spoke one word that admitted any fault for that night.
That night will always be one of many dark stains in America's political history, but with the only other person who was in the car that night dead and gone, any speculation as to what happend that night in those cold waters is exactly that….speculation.
The Kennedy men have a long and destructive history. News media, friends, family have covered their brutal tracks. God knows the truth and He is the ultimate and PERFECT judge. God ALWAYS has the last word.
Vehicular manslaughter. This is the very least you or I would be charged with, if that is it was reported right away. Otherwise Vehicular Homicide or Murder…. That is if you could not BUY or Bully your way out of it! Yes, we all have flaws, Now when was the last time you left someone for dead?? I was not there , no but there is no way I believe I would have gotten off scott free. Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. As to laying the blame on his father..All MEN are responsible for thier OWN actions. I am so tired of people blaming others for thier faults!
I know personally of what I speak. I do not do the things my father did. I take full responsiblity for my actions. I try to instill that to my own kids, in words and deed.
Judging someone else….No … He judged himself on that night….Now it is up to God to judge him.
But I just wonder what Mary Jo's family is thinking… Just a thought,,,Why are no reporters asking them?? If they are I have not seen it. Its all about the Kennedys.
Sad all the way around.
His good deeds… Well his did learn from an expert on covering up.
dear CKC61,
You wrote: “But I just wonder what Mary Jo's family is thinking… Just a thought,,,Why are no reporters asking them?? If they are I have not seen it.”
Miss Kopechne was an only child, adding to the tragedy of her death for her folks. There are no siblings, nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters. Her folks passed from this world for some time ago. Had they lived to today, they'd be in their late 80 or early 90s now. May they all rest in peace. All. Thanks for your comment.
Dr.E
Speaking of SHAME: A young girl was killed in vehicular manslaughter. He was not a great man, he was born into a family run by a mobster. Where do Americans get their values? A great man would have fessed up immediately. He did not. He was a cheating coward to the end. He played the name game. Without his name, he'd be nothing. Get a GRIP, father_time et al. You ignore the only fact that counts: a young girl was killed, and without the Kennedy name he'd be in JAIL. He isn't the only Kennedy that played that name to his advantage – there is a serial rapist in that family who skated free. Not to mention Martha Moxley the truth of which seems to be ever elusive when it comes to a Kennedy alleged perp. You should also be aware of the family tree of his current wife, which is more in tune with what his father was. THESE are the facts, but many cannot handle the truth.
devilsadvocate,
Maybe the included link will help you to see where I am coming from when I talk about the “gasping for air” comment that I made…if she gasped for air (as was likely the case according to the medical examiner), she also had a chance to panic (or would you be the kind to go peacefully?) about the rising water around her and the gulping of that water as it rose above her mouth and nose as she struggled for what was left.
The article notes that Mary Jo was found in the back seat with her neck in a position that would suggest to the medical examiner that she was not only alive after the crash but she was most likely in a pocket of air in the rear of the car (the front of the car is heavier than the rear and the rear is buoyed by the air pocket). Visualize your own daughter or son in her place as each last bubble left the car her pocket of life giving air diminished. What did not diminish was her terror. How long did she live in terror? Kennedy could have cared less,…he was only into saving his own miserable hide.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=8212665
BTW, no one is saying that the bridge wasn't a problem driving over…how easily anyone could have had an accident… All the more horrible that Ted chose to get into a car, after heavy drinking (how many times has he been caught for drunk driving). It was not the narrow bridge that caused him to leave the scene. It was not the narrow bridge that made he, his brothers and his legal counsel concoct a well scripted story for the publics consumption 12 hours after the accident. It was Ted.
Thank you Dr.E. I was not aware of that. On the news …All the talk of a “great Leagacy” at an end.
The Kopechne's legacy ended years ago. Poetic Justice some would say. I for one.
I am not going to think Politics will be less fortunate without a Kennedy male in the White House, but it sure would be nice to see Maria Shriver as California's Gov. I don't know about how the Kopechne family feels with Ted Kennedys passing, but I am glad the chapter of Kennedy's in the White House is closed.
So he intentionally left her there, caring less about her living in terror, trapped in the car. Then you mention heavy drinking, so he must have been pretty drunk then. How rational and coherent to you generally find drunk people to be?
And to those of you deciding what law(s) was/were broken, I had no idea Hollywood Upstairs Medical College also had a law school.
I hope that Ted Kennedy is burning in hell as I type this. He is the only Kennedy that lived long enough to get caught for all of the wretched and horrible evils that he has done. He lived a life without consequences and give a shi* less for others or what happened to them. I don't buy into all of his BS that he said as a politician–none of that is ever meant out of sincerity–only meant to gather votes–and he did in Massachusetts since 1962. Ted Kennedy was the spawn of the devil himself (aka Joe Sr) and so were his older brothers (Joe Jr, Jack and Bobby)–they just never lived long enough to be found out.
DUH! He rational enough to get himself out…Oh.. I am sorry.. He was drunk…so that makes it ok.
It was not his fault.
Lets blame the beer!! No that would make all the beer drinkers responsible.
By his own actions he judged himself.
maxpower999999
“And to those of you deciding what law(s) was/were broken, I had no idea Hollywood Upstairs Medical College also had a law school.”
Read the paper, watch the news, When there is an accident, a death as a result, driver leaving scene, drunk. Manslaughter, Murder, are the charges you see among others.
No not law school, common sense and paying attention.
Learn a lot from a dummy as the comercial says.
Dont drink and drive!
I sat here and read some of the statements made. And I thought to myself, “what comments would be made at my death?” I didn't know Ted Kennedy. I knew his beliefs in politics and some were the same as mine. But all I'm going to say is this–Judge not that you be not judged. Rest in peace and the knowledge that you did what you thought was right, not that you were always right.
Wrong. She died in a car accident of a drunken, over priveledged, snot nosed piece of shit who was too cowardly to try to save anyone but himself. He is NOT a great American, he is the youngest son of a piece of SHIT. He has not served his country, and he does NOT deserve to be buried in Arlington, next to so many true and great Americans. I can understand JFK being buried there, he actually served his country not only as Commander in Chief, but was in harm's way during WWII. Bobby? Did he ever serve? I don't know, and won't look it up here, but if not, he should not be buried in Arlington either……Ted Kennedy being buried in Arlington National Cemetary is an absolute DISGRACE to real Americans who have actually served their country and given the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Ted Kennedy was a piece of shite.
They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her
Have to wonder if the souls of the unborn who are in heaven demand justice from the one who condoned their brutal deaths his whole political career…
“The unborn”? What is that? I didn't know you could be a you if you haven't been born. What's the “you”? How can a “you” be a “you” if nothing has been born?
I am confused….
Ted Kennedy was a piece of shite.
Where is Jason when you need him?
This thread has gotten…ugly. I'm sorry, Dr. E, that your beautiful and nuanced piece has comments going in this direction.
Ironically, T Kennedy had a longer and more prolific political career than either of his two famous brothers. I imagine he believed in what he was doing and must have done some things we could judge as being worthwhile. Then again, practically all politicians are self-seeking and corrupt. TK probably could follow his heart more than other politicians because he was guaranteed a lifelong seat just because he was a Kennedy.
My greatest objection to him was that he symbolized the very thing that the Democrats claim to be against – privilege. Far from being the mythical common man, TK was from the ultimate in American families and literally got away with murder. Would any of us little people have walked away from that tragedy unscathed like Ted? At the very least, I would have expected his political career to be over, but he kept that and stayed out of prison too.
I did not respect him and was never fooled into thinking he was some kind of grand statesman. He wasn't. I am happy to finally be rid of the far left and poisonous influence of the Kennedy family in national politics. This was one dysfunctional family and simply not worthy of the adulation from the American public. In fact, there are plenty of examples of odious Kennedy's romping across the scene – just Google the family and you'll find all kinds of bad behavior.
I don't believe in a personal God or Heaven or Hell. But if there is an afterlife, and some sort of reckoning, then I hope Mary Jo is kicking Ted's ass or just leaving him locked in a car in the water under a bridge for eternity.
Hearing of this pond scums death made my freaking day.
The fondest memory I have of him was hearing of his seizure at the DNC.
Burn you piece crap!!!!!!!!
Thoughtful comment, with good ideas for thought.
Dr. E. do you know any stories about Hydra?. . .
Wait a minute, Ted didn’t just have an affair and cheat on his wife; a woman needlessly died, and the person responsible paid for it how? Ah ha, Dr. E, you’ve shaken the minds of so many today. You’ve poured a mixture of bootlegged whiskey into the minds of many, and shaken then stirred it to perfection. Perhaps today of all days, we should remember not just the good, but we should also remember the bad. None of the good things Ted Kennedy did can erase the one terrible thing we know about. Nor can all of the good things Ted Kennedy did erase the horrifying lives the Kennedy family endured at the hand of the father. It seems that many good things come after terrible tragedies befall innocent or not so innocent people. Perhaps the measure of a person is what they do with their lives in spite of or because of the trials of their lives. How can any of us judge the indiscretions of others, when we have plenty enough of our own; however we have the responsibility to temper our praise with raw reality. Indeed if many people hadn’t considered the reality along with the praise for oh so many years, Ted Kennedy would probably have been one of our presidents.
Alas, I cannot help but ask, “If I were driving that car, and waited until the next day to report the accident, what would have happened to me?” I don’t have an overwhelming grief resulting from Ted Kennedy’s passing, but I do have great sympathy for his surviving family. I also have a sincere hope…I hope he has had the opportunity to apologize, face to face, to Mary Jo Kopechene and she had the opportunity to forgive him.
When I asked my tenth grade classes about Ted Kennedy, they barely knew who he was. They never heard of Mary Jo Kopechene, and the Chappaquiddick Bridge was a meaningless bridge who knows where? Some of us remember very well as if the events happened less than a week ago, and it seems that many of us are still asking the same questions, “Why did he leave her there and not go for help?” and “Why isn’t he just now getting out of jail?”
How can we measure the good with the bad? We can’t.
Thank you ArchAngel, for showing us that there is thought and passion still in our hearts, and we still live in sight of justice.
You guys need to do a bit more checking. As I remember from an article from the time, that wasn't a 'bridge'; it was a pier. Part of the cover-up was calling it a bridge to make it look reasonable for him to be driving on it but it doesn't go to the other side. Take a good look at the picture. Why was he driving on it? Apparently he had been parked on some quiet road, presumably for R&R with Miss Mary Jo, was interrupted by a passing car and had taken off. The author theorized that in his panic to avoid scandal he made a mistake and drove onto the pier, lost control and went off the side. From the way the car landed in the water on its side (as determined by the damage to the car) and where it was found it was going too fast. Quite telling is that, as previously noted, he didn't swim to the adjacent shore with the pier but made a LONG swim to the other side, where his house happened to be. Extremely doubtful he ever tried to reach Mary. Showed up at the house soaking wet. A very juicy story, nicely suppressed.
Hmmm, the good Doctor is on point. The senator also was driving without a license – it had been revoked due to negligent behavior relative to the carbon fraction a year prior to the Mary Jo incident. The lack of licensure was quickly rectified in the middle of the night and produced by morning; so the main ingredient for a felony charge was erased.
You're right. I had forgotten that point about the revoked license but recall it now. Probably part of the reason for the panic. Especially if he had been drinking at the earlier party. And I'm sure he had, he was a Kennedy, after all. Would have completely destroyed his political ambitions if the reporters hadn't cooperated so well or if the local officials hadn't been so useful.
[...] Ted Kennedy and Mary Jo Kopechne (themoderatevoice.com) Related Ways to Take Action: Honoring Ted Kennedy [...]
Bobby served in the Navy like his 2 older brothers. Ted was in the Army. Perhaps Bob and Ted were never in harm's way in a combat zone as were Joe and Jack, but they served. Ted's 47 years' service to his country in Congress should count for something, regardless of how we feel about his political beliefs. Today, how many big-shot CEOs, or for that matter, Congresscritters, have children in the military? Not many. Ted could have loaded through life, living off his trust fund. Instead, he chose public service. The Kennedys were flawed people, but they genuinely cared about the little guy. That's what I choose to remember about them.
“That's what I choose to remember about them.”
And that folks is how you change history. Well said baysailor and very well done.
Point of fact: It was Herbert Walker and Prescot Bush who had several companies seized by the US government for continuing to do business with Nazi Germany AFTER we declared war in December 1941.
Yes, I agree with MORE checking….First, everyone here seems to be a little bit preoccupied with what they know as “facts”…the diver that pulled her body from the wreckage said “she was too buoyant to be full of water”…and the funeral director said “cause of death was suffocation, not drowning”…so the fabrication of the “facts” seem to be presented from the onset of this tragedy. The autopsy was prevented by her parents AFTER the Kennedy family and friends MET with them and “explained the tragedy”.. although; Ted never told them he was driving the vehicle, which her mother pointed out later, and after 500k from the insurance company and 90k+ from Ted himself, the whole incident was “laid to rest”. What appears to be the “story” is that several married men are partying with a group of single women at a vacation resort…Ted offered a ride to one of the ladies to take her back to her hotel…he turned down a dirt road by mistake and drove off the pier (being a resident to the neighborhood for over 30 years not knowing the area) … and then pulled his 6'2 stocky-build body out of his Oldsmobile and “left” Mary Jo in the car (she was 5'2 and thin built, and could have easily gotten out if conscious)…diving in many more times after the fact (guess he couldn't find her in the vehicle)….and then took a nice long swim… took over 10 hours to alert the authorities…and went back to HIS hotel room afterwards..I wasn't there, so I can't say what the actual “facts” are…but all this seems a little..Um..suspicious…
“…and the funeral director said “cause of death was suffocation, not drowning…”
I do not have any fact to dispute this statement, but if it is true….all the more horrific it must have been for Mary Jo to die the lingering suffocation that she endured. To “suffocate” underwater without drowning can only happen one way. She found a pocket of air, and for many long minutes…30?….40?…she struggled to gasp for air….finally after a very long time with her neck in an upright position in the rear portion of the car (which is the position that the divers found her in)….she “suffocated” in the oxygen depleted pocket of air….
Yes, how long did she live in terror while the good Kennedy chose to swim the mile AWAY from the scene of the crime to the safety of his room? How long on his swim back was Mary Jo in abject terror while he was trying to swim to his escape?
Yes! This is how I remember Ted (the humanitarian) Kennedy…and THIS it is how I will continue to choose to remember him. I will not conveniently change history by remembering only the portions that he and his attorneys have scripted for me to remember.
Not a big fan of Ted Kennedy's but he is entitled to be buried at Arlington, both due to his time in the military and his time in Congress.
I believe he served a short time, his father got him into color gaurd duty in Paris…such a touch assignment…