Eulogy

Ted Kennedy Jr.'s powerful eulogy for his father:

Part 1:

Part 2:


Boston Globe

But today I'm simply compelled to remember Ted Kennedy as my father and my best friend. When I was 12 years old I was diagnosed with bone cancer and a few months after I lost my leg, there was a heavy snowfall over my childhood home outside of Washington D.C. My father went to the garage to get the old Flexible Flyer and asked me if I wanted to go sledding down the steep driveway. And I was trying to get used to my new artificial leg and the hill was covered with ice and snow and it wasn't easy for me to walk. And the hill was very slick and as I struggled to walk, I slipped and I fell on the ice and I started to cry and I said "I can't do this." I said, "I'll never be able to climb that hill." And he lifted me in his strong, gentle arms and said something I'll never forget. He said "I know you'll do it, there is nothing you can't do. We're going to climb that hill together, even if it takes us all day."

Sure enough, he held me around my waist and we slowly made it to the top, and, you know, at age 12 losing a leg pretty much seems like the end of the world, but as I climbed onto his back and we flew down the hill that day I knew he was right. I knew I was going to be OK. You see, my father taught me that even our most profound losses are survivable and it is what we do with that loss, our ability to transform it into a positive event, that is one of my father's greatest lessons. He taught me that nothing is impossible.

New Name for The Public Option

Teddycare.

An Appropriate Memorial to Ted Kennedy

firedoglake: Name The Public Option, Not the Bill, After Kennedy

Put Kennedy's name on a weakened bill, and you'll likely be able to break the progressive bloc in the House in two seconds flat when "the Kennedy bill" comes out of conference with the individual mandate but no public option, and progressives are faced with having to oppose "the Kennedy bill." As strong as they've been on holding firm in their demands, putting the Kennedy name on a weak bill -- and remember, nothing at all prevents this -- can only drain their resolve.

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With the Kennedy Health Care Plan intact in the bill, there's no reason the legislative vehicle that creates it cannot also bear his name. But while there's still a fight ahead about just what will be in this bill, if we're going to lend Ted Kennedy's name to something, let it be done in a way that keeps him in the fight to fulfill his vision right to the last, and which keeps his name on people's lips when they are finally able to take their families to the doctor without fear of financial ruin, saying, "We're covered by the Kennedy Plan."

Whip The Senate Into Supporting the Public Option

Time to get the pusillanimous Democrats off the fence and lined up to support a robust public option available on day one of the healthcare reform legislation. Please take the time to send a fax to each of these fine recipients of buckets of cash from the healthcare industry. The fax will be sent by Howard Dean's organization "Stand With Dr. Dean".

* Send a fax to Mark Begich, asking him if he supports the public option!
* Send a fax to Tom Carper, asking him if he supports the public option!
* Send a fax to Jon Tester, asking him if he supports the public option!
* Send a fax to Mark Warner, asking him if he supports the public option!
* Send a fax to Ron Wyden, asking him if he supports the public option!

I took great pleasure in faxing all of them. I'm tired of trying to get more Democrats into office. From now on it's only better Democrats. If you're not with us you're against us.