I had no viciousness — as I wrote before, when I visited the JFK library, that family photo on display in it made me think about how they were getting the last laugh on all those who were jealous of them.

The Kennedy brothers are all gone now, and with them goes the era and the family mystique.

Since the comment was on my post, I will see if I can delete it myself.

DLS, while it means a lot to me, your apology and retraction really mean much more to the memory of Senator Kennedy. I think you'll feel much better when you visit the Kennedy brothers' graves at Arlington.

Again, thank you

Dorian de Wind

There are many quotes I could use about the strength of a person for apologizing, but I believe in this case the next one is probably also appropriate:

“An apology is a good way to have the last word.”

And so you do.

Thank you

Yep.

Someone made a bet with me about how such a thing would have been received on this liberal Web site and given the excesses on here, the more vile things directed against Bush and Reagan routinely in the land of liberalism, etc, ad nauseum — I agreed to post it, and certainly the results weren't “disappointing.”

For the record, it wasn't my view of Kennedy, I retract the statement, and (especially given how you still resent it deeply) I specifically apologize to you — I knew it was an ugly thing to say and admit it here.

And I'll conclude by repeating again that my own view of Kennedy's death includes the stronger motive than ever now to visit the now-complete Kennedy Brothers site in Arlington the next time I am in DC.

I am grown up, DLS. Obviously more than you, since you continue to attempt to minimize or justify some of the most distasteful comments I have seen on this site…or anywhere.

Let me ask how you would feel if someone had made similar comments about your loved ones, just because that person “was challenged to post them” and “because they were provocative”?

No, DLS, you grow up and apologize.

Oh, grow up, already. (The guy who broached it with me won the bet he made with me, obviously.)

That explains a lot.

“His reference to Ted Kennedy was a sick appeal to emotion (where was the viola being played?),”

At least his references to Senator Ted Kennedy have immeasurably more class than your truly sick remarks on the occasion of Senator Kennedy's burial at Arlington National Cemetery:

“Worm Food

ARLINGTON, VA — The third and final course of Kennedy Brothers worm food has been served.”

Could you please entertain the thought of retracting this?

Not just making excuses as to some kind of a challenge, bet?

Thank you

It's beyond the intellectual power of those who found nothing wrong with Obama's speech, or who are ignorant of the basics of English understanding and of political reality with the Dems' building problems this year, but not beyond some of us who find amusement at the idea of “South Carolina” and Wilson being sent a cane:

(The cartoon may be difficult remedial reading for some, but worthwhile to everyone else.)

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/res…

Comments like this make it appear that you've gone off the deep end and into crazy right wing wacko land….at least on this subject.

There is no defending what Wilson did and it is no shock that he is a southern white male. Between Wilson and Sanford, SC conservatives have found themselves two perfect representatives.

It never was. (An amendment to the House legislation was passed already, for example, that permits the public option health plan[s] to provide abortion, so the issue isn't dead as Obama has dishonestly said for weeks now, just because technically it was not in the original bill. Etc.)

Nor was intelligent listening to and review of his speech.

He gets a correct rating somewhere in the fifties on a scale of 100 because he laid out his positions in addition to slathering everyone with false or incomplete statements, and stupid emotionalism (I'm still disappointed someone didn't start playing a viola when he referred to Teddy Kennedy). At least he laid out a set of positions in a more clear and direct way than the other lib Dems have this year.

“Town Halls”:

I noticed the clucking little cluckers on NPR and CNN failed to note this, an obvious thing to note:

The shout by Wilson, the one or two signs, the waving of GOP legislation ignored by Obama and the Dems so far — it was reminescent of the “town hall” events that have been happening, when not avoided by the Dems.

What about the speech itself? Fifties on a scale of 100. Notable defects in addition to being more clear and purposeful than what the lib Dems in Congress have been doing.

Rather than portability, he wants to maintain the employer system, at least now, in order to get money from it and get people dumped into the “exchanges” and available to use the public option. His calling employer provision of health benefits “responsibility” was an insult to the intelligent, even if the Herd loved it, and missed the hypocrisy inherent in it insofar as ending the employer model goes.

His reference to Ted Kennedy was a sick appeal to emotion (where was the viola being played?), as was the debasing description of Washington as a nurturer of people. It's nauseating to better people.

What is his position, or set of positions? He wants the feds to take over the high-risk pool (AIDS and cancer patients, for example, those with pre-existing conditions who can't get insurance, in real-world terms), separately from a universalist public option (for everybody, that is), that he supports and would like to see (in rigged “competition” with private insurers, methodically replacing the latter). Employers who don't offer insurance benefits would have to pay fines (it's obvious to all but the faithful Herd that it means employers will be encouraged to end their plans and move individuals to the exchanges and to the public option, which no doubt is sought by Obama and others). Individuals would have to have insurance (not only raising revenue for the public option and lowering per capita costs in theory, but also getting people used to paying something like taxes, part of conditioning toward the long-sought “single-payer” model later), with subsidies or tax credits, as in the Massachusetts model.

Nobody intelligent believes Obama's slicker statements about the state of affairs currently, regarding immigrant benefits, abortion, or expecting to keep one's doctor or insurer, etc. Those were feel-good blatherings to please the exploitable and already-faithful Herd.