Ted Kennedy

A reminder about the scapegrace from Massachusetts — John Kerry's Idol!

When Sen. Ted Kennedy was merely just another Democrat bloviating on Capitol Hill on behalf of liberal causes, it was perhaps excusable to ignore his deplorable past.
But now that he's become Sen. John Kerry's leading campaign attack dog, positioning himself as Washington's leading arbiter of truth and integrity, the days for such indulgence are over.
It's time for the GOP to stand up and remind America why Sen. Kerry's chief spokesman had to abandon his own presidential bid in 1980 - time to say the words Mary Jo Kopechne out loud.
As is often the case, Republicans have deluded themselves into thinking that most Americans already know the story of how this "Conscience of the Democratic Party" left Miss Kopechne behind to die in the waters underneath the Edgartown Bridge in July, 1969, after a night of drinking and partying with the young blonde campaign worker.
But most Americans under 40 have never heard that story, or details of how Kennedy swam to safety, then tried to get his cousin Joe Gargan to say he was behind the wheel.
Those young voters don't know how Miss Kopechne, trapped inside Kennedy's Oldsmobile, gasped for air until she finally died, while the Democrats' leading Iraq war critic rushed back to his compound to formulate the best alibi he could think of.
Neither does Generation X know how Kennedy was thrown out of Harvard on his ear 15 years earlier – for paying a fellow student to take his Spanish final.
As they listen to the Democrats' "Liberal Lion" accuse President Bush of "telling lie after lie after lie" to get America to go to war in Iraq, young voters don't know about that notorious 1991 Easter weekend in Palm Beach, when Uncle Teddy rounded up his nephews for a night on the town, an evening that ended with one of them credibly accused of rape.
It's time for Republicans to state unabashedly that they will no longer "go along with the gag" when it comes to Uncle Ted's rants about deception and moral turpitude inside the Bush White House.
The Democratic Party, not to mention Sen. John Kerry, should be ashamed to have the national disgrace from Massachusetts as their spokesman. And the GOP needs to say so out loud.

All right, Russell Crowe!

Russell Crowe "was so upset by a fire-bombing at a Jewish elementary school in Montreal, he called the school to offer a donation to help rebuild its library."

Class move, Russell. Good for you.

Sacrifice and Redemption in Auschwitz

So many of my friends have parents with stories identical to this one and my uncle (who recently left us) was one of the Americans (may this country be blessed for 1000 years) whom G-d selected to effect these miracles. Now, my friends have many children, and their children are beginning to have children. Each one of these is a testament to G-d's determination that the Jewish people will not become extinct. Each one of these children is a blessing sent from G-d... and each one of these children is a curse upon Hitler's memory and upon those who would destroy us!
In every generation there are those who come against us to destroy us. We Jews have, for thousands of years, been canaries in the coal mine - the ultimate warning system. Now there are those who have risen again to destroy, not only the Jewish people, but the entire Judeo-Christian civilization. It is America and its soldiers who, in this generation are now doing G-d's work. May G-d bless every one of them, and bring them home safely.

The 2004 Lyttle Lytton Contest

The 2004 Lyttle Lytton Contest award winners have been selected.

As you may know, the Lyttle Lytton contest champions the worst opening line (of 25 words or less) of a hypothetical novel.

This years winner:

This is the story of your mom's life.

Michael Moore truly does hate America.

I have blogged before about Michael Moore, the Jane Fonda of a new generation.

Now, he has sent out a letter to his fans that is absolutely obscene in its hate for America and Americans and is gleeful in the possibility that many American soldiers may be killed.

An excerpt:

The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not "insurgents" or "terrorists" or "The Enemy." They are the REVOLUTION, the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow -- and they will win.

They are the enemy, Michael.

I'm so utterly disgusted that this man gets awards and standing ovations by a fawning public.

A thorough fisking of the missive is available at Right-Thinking.com, which is good because I couldn't do it, since I had to keep breaking off my reading of the letter to dry heave.

Dennis Prager

I am an avid admirer of Dennis Prager. He is a truly ethical and wise man. Among the other things that I love about this column is his unflinching pairing in the last paragraph of two of the vilest people on G-d's green earth.

A Fabulous Legacy

As David indicated below, my Uncle Jack died last week at the age of 85. He practiced law until shortly before his death. Two weeks before his death he wrote his own eulogy, and his daughter, Arlene, read it at the funeral. It is pretty incredible, and I thought that you might be interested in reading it.
IF THERE IS ONE ABSOLUTE FACT, IT IS THAT EVERYONE WITHOUT EXCEPTION WILL DIE-SOME SOONER, SOME LATER. EIGHTY-FIVE YEARS OF LIFE IS PRETTY GOOD. THE BIG TRAGEDY IS NOT FOR THE ONE WHO DIED, BUT FOR THE ONES LEFT BEHIND. THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE CREATES A MAJOR TEAR IN THE FABRIC OF LIFE BUILT AROUND THE DECEASED. THIS TEAR CANNOT EVER BE REPAIRED. THOSE LEFT BEHIND TO MOURN MUST BE STRONG ENOUGH TO ACCEPT THE INEVITABLE.
I WAS MOST FORTUNATE THROUGHOUT MY LIFE. I WAS GRANTED THE VERY BEST REWARDS ANYONE COULD EVER HAVE. I HAD THE MOST WONDERFUL CHILDREN, ARLENE, PAULA AND ARTHUR. HOW LUCKY CAN YOU GET-WELL, ONE CAN GET LUCKIER. THEY BROUGHT STEPHEN, PAUL AND CAROLYN INTO MY LIFE. AND THEN THE BEST REWARDS OF ALL, SIX BEAUTIFUL GRANDCHILDREN. THEY WERE TRULY GRAND CHILDREN: BETH, SARA, DANIEL, SCOTT, COURTNEY AND EVAN. AND THEN I HAD 2 SPECIAL WOMEN SHARE MY LIFE, BOTH OF WHOM WERE SUPERB HUMAN BEINGS, BERNICE AND SELMA.
SO I LEAVE YOU ALL WITH HEARTFELT GRATITUDE FOR HAVING MADE MY LIFE AS EXTRAORDINARY AS IT WAS, MUCH MORE THAN I WAS ENTITLED TO. I ALSO SAY GOODBYE TO ALL MY GREAT FRIENDS, NIECES, NEPHEWS AND OTHER FAMILY WHO MADE MY LIFE ENJOYABLE AND REWARDING. SPECIAL THANKS AND GRATITUDE ALSO TO MIKE MACCO, RICK STERN, LYNN SMIAROWSKI AND THEIR ENTIRE STAFF. I OWE THEM MUCH FOR MAKING MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE AS COMFORTABLE AND ENRICHING AS IT COULD BE. TO MARILYN SIBER, CARMINE ROSATO, GERTRUDE HEMPEL AND ALL THE FOLKS AT THE KNOLLS, YOU HAVE ALL MADE ME FEEL SO APPRECIATED FOR MY EFFORTS IN THAT COMMUNITY. THE KNOLLS IS TRULY A VERY SPECIAL PLACE.
AND SO IT’S OVER AND ONCE AGAIN, I LEAVE EVERYONE WITH ONE THOUGHT. LIVING UNTIL 85 IS A REWARD IN AND OF ITSELF. DON’T CRY FOR ME, BUT REJOICE IN THE FACT THAT I HAD A GREAT, HAPPY AND REWARDING LIFE.

My son, David

Viz. the previous posting about my uncle... my son, David, is the best son in the world!!!

Abel Jack Schwartz, ZT"L

My great-uncle, Abel Jack Schwartz ("Uncle Jack") died on Thursday morning. We knew the end was coming; Uncle Jack was diagnosed seven weeks ago with acute leukemia, and his passing was, I suppose, mercifully swift.

I already knew some of the stories of this unbelievable man's life:

- He was the youngest man ever to sit for the New York Bar Exam (at 19).
- As a First Sergeant in General Patton's army, he liberated Buchenwald concentration camp, forcing the residents of the surrounding town to enter the camp and face what they had permitted to exist in their midst.
- One of the best storytellers ever. (Although that's really a family trait. Ahem.)

I knew he was a self-effacing man, modest to a fault. My father noted Jack's embarassment when, after Jack spoke at a Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration about his experiences in the war, a man came up to Jack, kissed his hand, and thanked him for liberating him.

At his overwhelmingly well-attended funeral on Friday, I learned that Jack stated that in his life he "just tried not to hurt people, and hoped he helped them."

I'm expecting my first child this summer. I hope as a parent I can communicate that simple rule.

Try not to hurt people. Try to help them.

Goodbye, Uncle Jack.