Wednesday, August 26, 2009

R.I.P. Senator Edward M. Kennedy: 1932 - 2009

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the liberal lion of the US Senate, has died after battling a brain tumour. He was 77.

Kennedy's family announced his death in a brief statement released early Wednesday.

For nearly a half-century in the Senate, Kennedy was a dominant voice on health care, civil rights, war and peace, and more.

To the American public, though, he was best known as the last surviving brother of a storied political family.

Kennedy was elected to the Senate in 1962, when his brother John was president, and served longer than all but two senators in history.

Over the decades, Kennedy put his imprint on every major piece of social legislation to clear the Congress.

Source: The Star


Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, a son of one of the most storied families in American politics, a man who knew triumph and tragedy in near-equal measure and who will be remembered as one of the most effective lawmakers in the history of the Senate, died Tuesday night. He was 77 .
Continue reading..Edward Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Dies - NY Times

11 comments:

  1. Well....RIP then although I have no idea who on earth is he. LOL :p

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  2. Yeah just read about it from Perez Hilton's website lol. He usually doesn't blog about politicians.

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  3. hmmmm i don't know him.. but may he rest in peace..

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  4. What a shock! I know that most people outside America probably have no idea who he is, but for those of us born and raised in the USofA his dying is almost on a par with Michael Jackson's death. The country won't be the same without him.

    As for who he is, in a nutshell, he was a younger brother of President J.F. Kennedy and served as a member of the US Senate for many, many years. He has long been a very influential voice in politics, especially for the left-leaning Democrat party.

    BTW Happy, this is my first visit to your blog in a long time, and I'm glad to be back! I kept having trouble getting this page to load!

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  5. Tekkaus, he's a Kennedy, brother of John F and Robert Kennedy. If you're interested, you'll be able to know more about him and his family on Google or Wiki.

    Jim, I'm sure the Kennedys are highly-respected in the US such that even Perez Hilton blogs about him. Didn't know you read his blog.

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  6. SK, yeah, he will be missed.

    MM, somehow I feel the loss too. My condolences to the American people. John F Kennedy's assassination was such a shock and a real loss to the country (probably the world too) and then Robert Kennedy suffered the same fate. And then ten years ago, John-John's death. So sad, a family with so many tragedies.

    The Kennedys are a high-profile family so the outside world gets to know about them thru the media.

    Thanks for the information.

    MM, I noticed the long absence and thought you must have been extremely busy with your music, work and home affairs.

    I'm so sorry you were having trouble loading the page. Was it my blog or this blogger comment page? Several months ago, I too had difficulty loading my blog but I don't see the problem now - knock on wood. Welcome back, MM.
    Know that you've been missed.

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  7. First time I heard of him. But any loss is sad.

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  8. Anonymous10:44 AM

    He's JFK Jr's relative. There was a movie made about the tragic Kennedy family a few years ago..shown on astro.

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  9. Shingo, yeah, any loss is sad and to die of sickness is saddest.

    Mei Teng, he is JFK's brother, uncle to John Jr. and a father figure to Robert Kennedy's children when Bob died.

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  10. Edward "Ted" Kennedy was an icon of American politics. He was in office since I was 11 years old (and I'll be 59 soon!). He had the respect and admiration of people of both "sides of the isle" - Democrats and Republicans - for his willingness to do more than just talk about the issues. He always worked hard for the things he believed in.

    If you aren't familiar with his life and accomplishments, read up on it. He had his failings to be sure - who doesn't? - but his life has made a difference and his loss will be felt.

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  11. Thank you, PandaB, for sharing this information. I read that he enjoyed sailing too.

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