The funeral mass from Boston has just begun and can be seen here:
Live video: Watch NBC special report on Sen. Edward Kennedy’s funeral
Tags: Edward M. Kennedy, memorialSen. Ted Kennedy’s Funeral Today; Obama to Deliver Eulogy
Political friend and foes mourn “greatest senator of our time.”Thousands of people lined the streets and filled the rows of a church in a diverse Boston neighborhood morning to pay tribute to Senator Edward M. Kennedy.Kennedy Funeral Underway
Family, friends and dignitaries are streaming into the Mission Church in Boston for the funeral of Ted Kennedy this morning. The burial itself will be at Arlington later in the day, not far from the burial sites of John and Robert Kennedy. We’ll be bringing you updates, photographs and live video through the morning.
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May his memory be a blessing and may his family and his other mourners find peace in their grief.
The full funeral program is available at http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/the-kennedy-funeral-program/
Ack! I overslept! I can’t watch the funeral.
I am supposed to be heading up to Austin for that health reform rally in 30 minutes. Are you going to be there?
It starts at 3 Gnome!
Not sure. Teen is still sleeping and I need to see how I feel sitting in the wheelchair.
There is a MoveON picnic/rally at the steps of the capital at 1:00 that then moves down to join the Doggett rally at 3:00 . My friend and I are going to do them both, so we need to round up our picnic “supplies” before heading up your way.
gnome de plume wrote:
Definitely not going to make both. Possibly the Doggett rally.
Been watching the service. Even though I know the goopers are probably already screeching “ZOMG politicized!!!1!” I am glad that no one has shied away from the core values and ideals that were the basis of EMK’s entire career in public service, instead reminding everyone of them.
What was the piece that Yo Yo Ma played? It was beautiful…
madmommy wrote:
Morning madmom. Program in comment 2.
Gnome, tejanarusa is also going to Austin this afternoon.
@ Texas Betsy:
Wish I knew what she looked like! Gotta run –
Thanks Betsy!
Watching Ted Jr. is heartbreaking. He looks so much like his father. And I know it’s a bit petty, but his son Ted III really, really needs a haircut.
madmommy wrote:
Yes, but he seems like a wonderful kid. Tweety and Keith had an interview from yesterday with him and he is worthy of his name.
@ Texas Betsy:
I missed that. Yesterday in the clips of EMK’s casket leaving the compound I saw him wearing a sport coat, shorts and flip-flops. Everyone else was either in dresses or khakis and sport coats. If he grows up to be half the man his grandpa was he’ll be OK.
We just got a whole bunch of music CD’s from larue!
Lollipop & her pop coming over shortly to visit and help with swim stuff.
MM @ 11:02 – that was Bach’s Suite for Cello #6 which Wiki says was probably written for a 5 string cello.
The amount of sound he gets out of that box is amazing.
Did anyone catch the Kennedy stuff last night? I didn’t watch much, but I was struck by the fact that Orrin Hatch’s comments seemed very heartfelt and sincere; much more so than McCain, who gave a quasi-campaign speech, and then blew right passed Vicky. Not one shred of humanity left in that guy.
Off to the store…
I’ve not watched any of the clips from last night’s tribute yet, but have them bookmarked. Biden and Hatch’s especially I’ve seen remarked upon that they were very touching and sincere. Not going to bother with McCain, he’s a miserable excuse for a human. I also saw in several places that he just blew Vickie’s wife off after his remarks. Not surprising, really.
Leftovers disappear in the vicinity of a teenager?? Really Gordon, such insinuations! You talk like they’re limitless eating machines
madmommy wrote:
@ madmommy:
Calling him human, even a miserable excuse for one, is an insult to humans. What a turd.
Madmom, if you’re around, please give me a call.
Lea, how was the baseball game? Didja get me a foul ball?
The game was awesome. The Rally Monkey made an appearance at the top of the 7th inning and the Angels scored 7 runs to go on top 9 to 6. They scored 2 more in the next two innings and won. Never doubt the power of the Rally Monkey. It was Big Bang Friday, so we stayed for the fireworks, which were great. No foul ball, but not for lack of effort on Hubby’s part. He takes his glove to every game.
I am working (at least in theory) on a post remembering Hurricane Katrina, but also still watching the events in Washington in memory of Ted Kennedy, so I may leave this post up for a while.
a must-read: There was nothing natural about the disaster that befell New Orleans in Katrina’s aftermath.
Texas Betsy wrote:
Damn, that was two weeks!!!!
Musta went thru customs!!!!
And please note there are DVD’s in there, also. Some might play on a DVD player to a TV, some might only play on computer. Some ya might have to open manually on the computer: Open computer DVD player, click open and source the desktop icon for your cd/dvd drive. THEN the screen menu of all the shows on the dvd will open and you can click on the show pic and start the show!
Have fun!
larue, i don’t think we had checked the mail since Monday.
We’ll open them on the computer. Thanks again!
Hi all! I’m home! But I am
I need to take a 
Make supper (fresh flounder caught by my idiot Libertarian friend. At least he is good for something! 
) And then I will work on a post about today’s healthcare rally in Austin.
Perfect. We have a Hurricane Katrina guest post, but that may go up tomorrow afternoon.
Powerfully emotional day what with the funeral this morning and the move to Arlington this evening.
No matter what one’s faith, I believe that no one knows how to throw a funeral like the Catholics. The liturgy spans the ages but still is modern.
Loved the younger generation doing the intercessor prayers using Teddy’s words.
MM, as for the objectors, they can’t say much because everything was based in their own scripture.
The exchange of letters between Ted Kennedy and the Pope read at graveside was an excellent touch.
Hi Sharonlee. I agree completely.
@ Texas Betsy:
You did know, didn’t you, that ndfg did my astrology report the other night and pronounced me perfect?
All right! Kids bathed and jammied up, got some football on the telly, doing a mani & pedi, printing off some reports I need for tomorrow, and surfing teh intertoobz.
The queen of multi-tasking!!
@ madmommy:
The queen of multi-tasking!!
MM, that is the description of most mothers.
@ madmommy:
I should paint my nails too.
@ Texas Betsy:
I’ve been putting it off way too long, they were a hot mess!
Yes, sharonlee, such is our lot
I’ve been thinking about McCain and the clip above. I did not see that in real time last night. I came in during John Kerry’s speech. I truly believe that McCain and Kennedy were friends and at age 72, McCain has to be feeling some morality issues himself. He seemed so intent on what he was saying and getting through it, he just walked across the stage to exit rather than coming down the steps where Mrs. Kennedy was sitting. It may have been that simple rather than a blow off.
I must say Mrs. Kennedy was most gracious through all of this. I can remember my parents’ funerals and how I felt. I would not have wanted the eyes of the world on me as I faced my losses.
@ sharonlee:
Sadly, this family has had way too much practice at dealing with personal grief in a very public way.
Sharonlee, people on twitter seemed to think it was intentional. Perhaps it was not.
vaceousageous lifeguards threatened by account sharks (well, I call them that because they have visors) that were freed from their underworld hatchery by a an undersea earthquake and subsequent tsunami (which curiously enough, came in like a big breaker, and then left the sea level elevated by 15′ for days and days; glassy smooth and nice clear water too, almost like a lake!).One can learn so very much from the Syfy channel!
@ gordon:
I have no idea what you just said. Except the part about Danny the Him-icaine.
@ gordon:
Every time it rains my dish bites the dust. The madhubby never misses a chance to make snarky remarks about it. I remind him that, after Katrina, once we got power the dish worked just dandy. Cable teevee, OTOH, didn’t get turned back on in our neighborhood for months after the storm. I am happy to wait for it to stop raining, because it always does, and then the magic telly machine works again.
I don’t think I’ve ever watched the SyFy channel. Seems like I’m really missing out!
@ gordon:
Sorry about the satellite reception. It seems so off-putting when watching tv is in the routine and storms remove the option. Not to mention in the middle of a “thriller.” Maybe you can go to the website and get an update.
I’m going to call it a night here. Hope your pain is much less now, Betsy. Pain-free sleep.
Good night sharonlee. Thanks.
The only show I watch on syfy is Eureka.
OK, done with dinner. Cowboys game on in the other room. I may need to make an ice cream run to Freddies before I can start writing.
Very sad news – Our good friend died this morning.
Funeral is Tuesday. So I will probably head up to Big D mid-day Monday and stay with friends. Mr. Gnome will be coming up from Houston.
Sorry for you loss Gnome.
@ Texas Betsy:
My loss is minuscule compared to his family’s loss. They were/are such a loving, tight-knit family. Hopefully that love carries them through. It is Mrs. P that I worry about the most. She and Dr. P were inseparable. She was 19 when she married him and never fell out of love.
@ Texas Betsy:
I think it was as close to intentional as that bag of shit can get (I don’t completely discount the idea that he’s been dead for years, and his corpse is animated by his out-of-control, gargantuan ego). I say that because his “rememberance” seemed completely phony and shallow. He had an audience and he could hardly remember the topic. He’d really love to do an interpretive “Ted Kennedy” tap-dance but he can’t, because of his limited mobility, but with his recent positions re Bushco waronterra tactics, we can’t get into that. Or, with his recent positions on healthcare, how he has as much mobility as he has.
Go away, John. You sold your “maverick” heritage for an inedible mass of encephalopathic haggis, and she seems to be self-destructing even faster than you.
@ Texas Betsy:
Eureka is a wonderful show. Warehouse 13 is getting into “pretty good” territory.
Syfy’s movies are pretty horrid, but there’s a tradition with me, my kids (and some of my nieces and nephews) of doing MST3K type commentaries while watching them.
LOVE MST3K!!
Just got back from the m-i-l’s party. Combination birthday party for my hubby and his brother and for his brother and wife’s soon-to-be new baby. E.X.H.A.U.S.T.I.N.G. She had every moment planned…pin the tail on the donkey, relay race with bouncy balls, presents for the guys, dinner, baby memory game, baby gifts, dessert and singing. In that order, no deviation.
Ted Kennedy Gets The Last Word
@ Lea:
I’m confused. Which of those events warranted pin-the-tail?
@ Texas Betsy:
Gee, it’s almost like he thought that the current members of the GOP would lie like a bunch of dogs about his position on health care and how important it was to him.
Pwnd from beyond the grave…so very poetic
Texas Betsy wrote:
here’s the video:
@ Texas Betsy:
Apparently the birthdays of the 39 and 33 year old men. Like I said,
And did I mention that this party was at a park?
Oh no! Pin the tail on the donkey in public?? What if your students saw you?
Fortunately, I live 3 towns over from where I teach, so I never run into my students around town. (knock wood)
Besides, my students would have been captivated by the group of completely inept adults trying to break a pinata at the front of the park. My brother-in-law and I were. They knocked it off of the cord, got it stuck in the tree, dropped the rope and then had to throw it back up in the tree, had to cut it open to get it started and then had to take it down and rip it open and we swear it was empty. It was an unbelievable display.
@ Texas Betsy:
Oh, you’d be totally screwed if your students saw that! Might as well call in sick for the rest of the year.
She really made full-grown adult-type people play pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey at a public park?
I think I would have tried to slip a Xanax or three in her Diet Coke
@ Lea:
The YouTube videos will be posted when???
Madmom and Gnome, you have mail.
@ Lea:
Are these the same people who didn’t think of using a ladder for some project a week or two back?
Oh, if only I’d had a video camera! Seriously, b-i-l and I were barely watching the baby gift opening portion of the event because of the pinata people. We were speculating that they were a church group or maybe a group fresh out of rehab, which of course led to speculation of what might be in the pinata. I love my b-i-l.
Betsy, I don’t remember a ladder related project. Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, just that I don’t remember it! I try to block a lot of stuff out when it comes to my m-i-l.
Okie dokie. I’ve catched up. I have not watched any of Teddy’s day. Except just now I started with McSame’s little video… snub? What y’all failed to mention in your comments is that Vickie moved up to meet him, and he *bolted* by. Her mouth moves ever so slightly, but years of *political upbringing and practice* made for a perfect poker face. I bet when all is quiet later, and only her bestest ever friends are with her, she will have something to say about McSame’s total rudeness. He’s a jerk, an asshole, a idjit, an arrogant S.O.B.
Not worth the air he consumes.
@ Lea:
Might have been someone else’s family then.
My post is done and is waiting back stage. Puppies think I should walk them. I will get ready and then come check to see if all is well with the post.
Hey MM, here is why I could never conceive a child to Barry White.
Of course, at this point in my life, I don’t thing even Al “Mr. Clean” Green could get me to take unnescarry risks.
And congrats on waking up to the fact that soul music had as big an awakening in the 60s as rock and roll. Possibly culminating in Marvin Gaye’s What’s Goin’ On.
And congrats to Pellora(?) for being a fan of the Pointer Sisters. They were from Oakland CA (where I lived for some years), and owe their career to Taj Mahal (one of my all time fave’s).
Witching hour for me. Sleep well, everyone.
New schedule: Gnome upstairs now. Sunday social now at 11AM so Gnome’s post can be up a bit longer. Elspeth doing a guest post tomorrow afternoon or evening.
@ gordon:
Sweet jeebus, that is just so wrong! On so many, many levels!!
I forgot about Al Green. He’s probably responsible for more than a few rugrats born in the early 70’s
Watching George W. Bush at the funeral of Teddy Kennedy on Saturday was, to say the very least, amusing. It’s always great fun to witness the members of the vast right wing conspiracy confronted head-on with the theological flaws that are inherent in their philosophy. Watching that event with my pal, Kevin Swanwick, we both were mesmerized and just slightly overjoyed to be reminded yet again that the basic tenets of Liberalism are in perfect harmony with our Christianity – our Catholicism: feed the hungry, shelter the poor and clothe the naked. Oh, how I wish the camera would have cut to Bush’s face the moment he was confronted with the most famous line (and justly so) from the Gospel according to Matthew:
“I tell you this: whatever you did to the least of these brothers of mine, you did to me.”
Jesus of Nazareth
One can only imagine how uncomfortable that passage from the scriptures must have made him feel. Or how about the Sermon on the Mount?
“Blessed are the peace makers
For they shall be called Sons of God.”
I imagine being confronted with the words of Jesus Christ might make old George just a tad uneasy. The prayers that were offered up by the youngest members of the Kennedy clan, in Teddy’s own words, were the most touching part of the entire day:
“That human beings be measured not by what they cannot do. That quality health care becomes a fundamental right and not a privilege. That old policies of race and gender die away. That newcomers be accepted, no matter their color or place of birth. That the nation stand united against violence, hate and war. That the work begins anew, and the dream lives on. We pray to the Lord.”
Lord hear our prayer.
After the mass had ended, and Kevin and I headed into town to get a cup of coffee, I was almost stunned by the good cheer I felt. Ted Kennedy’s funeral was truly a joyous event. Truth be told, it was damned-near therapeutic! The politics of joy as opposed to the politics of fear. There ain’t nothin’ like it in the world, Baby!
The stark contrasts between the ideals of the Progressive movement and the right wing’s backwards and greedy ideology were out in public Saturday for all to compare and contrast at Our Lady of Perpetual Comfort Church in Boston. The differences were so obvious, you could not have missed them had you tried.
http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
Welcome Tom. Nice to have you aboard.