# RIP Ted Kennedy (No Politics)



## thetrailboss (Aug 26, 2009)

...the skier that was.  







He was known to ski at Stowe and Sugarbush back in the day.  

The above picture was him at Butternut Basin in Massachusetts.

Regardless of his politics, you have to admit that he was an interesting character.


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## ccskier (Aug 26, 2009)

The media shiticane has already started here on the Cape.


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## drjeff (Aug 26, 2009)

Might just have to break out the bottle of Chivas tonight for a memorial swig


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## Trekchick (Aug 26, 2009)

Whether you admired him or not, he is a part of our American History and deserves a proper tribute.

RIP Ted.


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## hammer (Aug 26, 2009)

Trekchick said:


> *Whether you admired him or not*, he is a part of our American History and deserves a proper tribute.
> 
> RIP Ted.


+1


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## thorski (Aug 26, 2009)

Trekchick said:


> Whether you admired him or not, he is a part of our American History and deserves a proper tribute.
> 
> RIP Ted.



-1


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## ccskier (Aug 26, 2009)

thorski said:


> -1



HA


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## Glenn (Aug 26, 2009)

thorski said:


> -1




Well played sir!


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## Marc (Aug 26, 2009)

(-1)^(1/2)


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## Grassi21 (Aug 26, 2009)

ccskier said:


> The media shiticane has already started here on the Cape.



My bud who works for ABC is up there today.  He gets to go to all the big events, good or bad.


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## ERJ-145CA (Aug 26, 2009)

Trekchick said:


> Whether you admired him or not, he is a part of our American History and deserves a proper tribute.
> 
> RIP Ted.



+2


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## highpeaksdrifter (Aug 26, 2009)

I remember Bobby Kenndy and family stayed at the scribner hollow lodge in Hunter in the 60's I believe. They use to have a picture of him skiing in the lodge at Hunter. Not sure if Ted ever skied there.


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## highpeaksdrifter (Aug 26, 2009)

Trekchick said:


> Whether you admired him or not, he is a part of our American History and deserves a proper tribute.
> 
> RIP Ted.



+3


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## drjeff (Aug 26, 2009)

Trekchick said:


> Whether you admired him or not, he is a part of our American History and deserves a proper tribute.
> 
> RIP Ted.





thorski said:


> -1


 -2



highpeaksdrifter said:


> +3


 +4

I'm torn about this


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (Aug 26, 2009)

Didn't he drive off a bridge???  My republican friends on Facebook down in DC are having a fun day of Ted Kennedy bashing...anyway there was an article about him in Newsweek about how he is for Universal Healthcare..RIP Ted..


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## wa-loaf (Aug 26, 2009)

Despite all the other stuff the one of the big things that kept him in office was his constituent services. He took care of the people that came to him for help. The man knew how to get stuff done.


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## andyzee (Aug 26, 2009)

We buried my wifes uncle today. I'll shortly be taking my wife out for lunch and have a drink and toast to him. As far as Kennedy and every other politician are concerned, they can all kiss my big black ass.


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (Aug 26, 2009)

andyzee said:


> they can all kiss my big black ass.



Awesome!!!!!


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## mondeo (Aug 26, 2009)

I'll give him, or really his family, a modicum of respect for a little while. Still the death of a fellow human.

Just because someone is part of history doesn't mean they deserve tribute any more than any other human.


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## highpeaksdrifter (Aug 26, 2009)

mondeo said:


> Just because someone is part of history doesn't mean they deserve tribute any more than any other human.



I could not agree with you more, but the flip side is they don't deserve to be ridiculed in death because they where part of history either. 

Upon the passing of one of our loved ones I doubt anyone would want to read vile comments about them and how others were glad he or she was dead.


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## dmc (Aug 26, 2009)

I'll miss him... (

He was the kind of Senator that stuck up for the little guy...   
He could join together both parties when it counted...

It's sad day for our country....


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## dmc (Aug 26, 2009)

mondeo said:


> Just because someone is part of history doesn't mean they deserve tribute any more than any other human.




Only if you hate the guys guts...   I guess if it was someone you agreed with politically you'd the give them a tribute...  

When Ronald Reagan died - I felt sad and enjoyed the tributes... I didn't really agree with his politics but i recognized the great things he DID DO for the US and the world...


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## ccskier (Aug 26, 2009)

GrilledSteezeSandwich said:


> Awesome!!!!!



+1


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## Geoff (Aug 26, 2009)

drjeff said:


> Might just have to break out the bottle of Chivas tonight for a memorial swig


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## Geoff (Aug 26, 2009)

Ignoring the politics and whether Teddy was just a figurehead or if he actually was involved in all that policy making, that 47 years of safe seat in the Senate created a huge amount of power because of the Senate seniority system.


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## Warp Daddy (Aug 26, 2009)

The man like so many other public figures was an enigma wrapped in a paradox !

His life and career was divided in stages  some not so admirable and at the latter third of life  considerably admirable . 

All in all ,  a human passes on and we can choose to react as human  beings and accentuate the GOOD or focus on the frailities that exist in us all .

 It was said over two thousand years ago "Let he/She who is WITHOUT  fault cast the first stone"  --still applies tody


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## andyzee (Aug 26, 2009)

dmc said:


> Only if you hate the guys guts...   I guess if it was someone you agreed with politically you'd the give them a tribute...
> 
> When Ronald Reagan died - I felt sad and enjoyed the tributes... I didn't really agree with his politics but i recognized the great things he DID DO for the US and the world...



Oh I've got plenty to say about Reagan, but will respect Trailbosses wishes and not turn this into a political thread.


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## snowmonster (Aug 26, 2009)

Trekchick said:


> Whether you admired him or not, he is a part of our American History and deserves a proper tribute.
> 
> RIP Ted.



+5


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## Marc (Aug 26, 2009)

Warp Daddy said:


> The man like so many other public figures was an enigma wrapped in a paradox !
> 
> His life and career was divided in stages  some not so admirable and at the latter third of life  considerably admirable .
> 
> ...



Especially if you are living in a glass house.  Or something.


I think, therefore I am... hungry.  I think I'm going to go get dinner.


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## andyzee (Aug 26, 2009)

Marc said:


> Especially if you are living in a glass house.  Or something.
> 
> 
> I think, therefore I am... hungry.  I think I'm going to go get dinner.



And as you're eating, think of all the starving Kennedys. Hey, great name for a band, The Starving Kennedys!


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## mondeo (Aug 26, 2009)

dmc said:


> Only if you hate the guys guts...   I guess if it was someone you agreed with politically you'd the give them a tribute...
> 
> When Ronald Reagan died - I felt sad and enjoyed the tributes... I didn't really agree with his politics but i recognized the great things he DID DO for the US and the world...


I'm with HPD on this one. I don't think the tribute is automatic, I also don't think it's fair to heap on insults and jokes because of his death. I figure I'll refrain from making the easy Ted Kennedy jokes for a couple weeks out of respect for his family, but will continue later on in the same manner I did before his death.

I just don't hold elected officials in that high of regard, no matter their politics. There was a column in Time's most influential people issue about who the columnist would rank as the most important. About 5 of the 100 for the official list made his, just because they were the ones he knew personally. If Sergey Brin or Larry Page died tomorrow, would it be the widespread news story Kennedy is? Linus Torvalds? Where was the tribute to Kelly Johnson or Ben Rich? There are tons of people more influential and deserving of tribute than Kennedy, the difference is Kennedy was in the spotlight. I didn't really think that much of Reagan's passing, either; especially given the two lived to be reasonable ages.


Marc said:


> Especially if you are living in a glass house.  Or something.
> 
> 
> I think, therefore I am... hungry.  I think I'm going to go get dinner.


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## deadheadskier (Aug 26, 2009)

Warp Daddy said:


> The man like so many other public figures was an enigma wrapped in a paradox !
> 
> His life and career was divided in stages  some not so admirable and at the latter third of life  considerably admirable .
> 
> ...



I'm with Warp.....RIP Senator Ted.  It's undeniable the man did some very positive things in his life.  As with anyone, in death, I think it's best to show respect for that.  

I can say this even though not his politics, but his career goes 100% against my belief that politics should never be a profession.  In my opinion, the biggest problem in government that creates such huge inefficiencies in progressing as a nation, is the career politician.  Ted did some wonderful things, that said, I think his tenure was about 35 years too long.  Anything over a decade is too much in my book, no matter how great a leader / decision maker.

I mean not to debate nor offend if those comments are too political.

RIP TED


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## Marc (Aug 26, 2009)

Ahaha, I love Demetri Martin.


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## OldsnowboarderME (Aug 26, 2009)




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## bigbog (Aug 26, 2009)

mondeo said:


> I'm with HPD on this one. I don't think the tribute is automatic.....


A tribute is a media _creation_...ie something that'll _SELL_ to more viewers than their competitors...  That's it.  All the a-holes solely driven, and paid, by political warfare need to get over it....but unfortunately the political warriors are paid to accomplish _nothing_, unlike those like Johnson, Rich, Craft...etc.


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## dmc (Aug 27, 2009)

mondeo said:


> I just don't hold elected officials in that high of regard, no matter their politics.



Don't have a high regard for JFK, Lincoln, Washington  etc?


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## mondeo (Aug 27, 2009)

dmc said:


> Don't have a high regard for JFK, Lincoln, Washington etc?


Not automatically, and not for JFK or even Washington's presidency in particular. Or Adams, Madison, Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Pierce, Buchanan, Grant as President, [I always get a little fuzzy with the Gilded Age presidents, but not for any of them,] McKinley, Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower as President, Ford, Carter as President, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, or Obama.

Presidents are batting 7 for 44 in my book.


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## dmc (Aug 27, 2009)

mondeo said:


> Not automatically, and not for JFK or even Washington's presidency in particular. Or Adams, Madison, Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Pierce, Buchanan, Grant as President, [I always get a little fuzzy with the Gilded Age presidents, but not for any of them,] McKinley, Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower as President, Ford, Carter as President, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, or Obama.
> 
> Presidents are batting 7 for 44 in my book.




Wow..  I respect the shti out of people that lead this crazy country...  I even have a certain degree of respect for the ones i don't agree with...


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## Marc (Aug 27, 2009)

So.... Monroe, Jefferson, Lincoln, Nixon, TR, Fillmore... who am I missing....


LBJ?

Are those the seven?


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## dmc (Aug 27, 2009)

Marc said:


> So.... Monroe, Jefferson, Lincoln, Nixon, TR, Fillmore... who am I missing....
> 
> 
> LBJ?
> ...



If I thought 90% of elected(some questionably) US Presidents sucked...
I'd probably find another country...    Or become a communist...


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## Warp Daddy (Aug 27, 2009)

mondeo said:


> Not automatically, and not for JFK or even Washington's presidency in particular. Or Adams, Madison, Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Pierce, Buchanan, Grant as President, [I always get a little fuzzy with the Gilded Age presidents, but not for any of them,] McKinley, Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower as President, Ford, Carter as President, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, or Obama.
> 
> Presidents are batting 7 for 44 in my book.



 Interesting  commentary-----------So given that scenario who are your TOP 7  Presidents  and more importantly what makes them standout IYO ?


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## Marc (Aug 27, 2009)

dmc said:


> If I thought 90% of elected(some questionably) US Presidents sucked...
> I'd probably find another country...    Or become a communist...



Well, it's like Churchill said... democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others that have been tried.


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## dmc (Aug 27, 2009)

Marc said:


> Well, it's like Churchill said... democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others that have been tried.



haha...

Govt isn't easy...  If it was they'd call it snowboarding...


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## SkiDork (Aug 27, 2009)

dmc said:


> If I thought 90% of elected(some questionably) US Presidents sucked...
> I'd probably find another country...    Or become a communist...



freakin commie...


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## mondeo (Aug 27, 2009)

Marc said:


> So.... Monroe, Jefferson, Lincoln, Nixon, TR, Fillmore... who am I missing....
> 
> 
> LBJ?
> ...


I can never get the Gilded Age presidents right, none count.

Jefferson - expansion of the presidency's power, especially with the Louisiana Purchase
Monroe - foreign policy, Monroe Doctrine
Lincoln - Handling of the Civil War, militarily, socially, economically
TR - Top president in my book. Unlike presidents who are ranked highly for their handling of a crisis, TR actually acted before monopolies and corruption reached a crisis point.
Hoover - didn't overreact to the Great Depression, but gets unfairly blamed for economic conditions that were in place well before he was elected. Upon a little more research, however, didn't have the policies that I remebered him having. Take him off the list.
LBJ - Most of JFK's positive legacy should probably be attributed to LBJ. More important to civil rights than even Lincoln, and did more than needed to simply placate those in the civil rights movement.
Nixon - Not going to argue at all that he was a good person, but he was a brutally effective president. Probably the smartest president in the last century, which explains some of the difficulties he had politically (Army studies show difficulty in leading when the leader has an IQ more than 30 points higher than those being led, Nixon was at least in the 140s.)

It's not that that the rest sucked, they just weren't anything special. In order for me to pay tribute to someone I don't know, they need to have done something really important. Most presidents just keep the ship afloat, which is repectable, but not enough to out them in high regard relative to the general population


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## dmc (Aug 27, 2009)

mondeo said:


> It's not that that the rest sucked, they just weren't anything special. In order for me to pay tribute to someone I don't know, they need to have done something really important. Most presidents just keep the ship afloat, which is repectable, but not enough to out them in high regard relative to the general population



Why so stingy and jaded? 

Do you disagree with Presidents day?


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## Glenn (Aug 27, 2009)

dmc said:


> If I thought 90% of elected(some questionably) US Presidents sucked...
> I'd probably find another country...    Or become a communist...



I'd go live in the woods. I'd be a combo of Bear Grylls and Les Stroud. I may even talk to myself and pretend I was talking to the cameras. "Using pinecones as TP hurts at first...but you get used to it...The natives around here used birchbark...until the great birch die off of 1845."


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## mondeo (Aug 27, 2009)

dmc said:


> Why so stingy and jaded?
> 
> Do you disagree with Presidents day?


All I'm saying is that other professions, such as IT, engineering, carpentry, whatever, are just as honorable as ones that get the spotlight.

Presidents' Day is just an excuse to have sales and give kids a day off from school, maybe instill civic pride under false pretenses. No particular problem with that.


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## dmc (Aug 27, 2009)

mondeo said:


> All I'm saying is that other professions, such as IT, engineering, carpentry, whatever, are just as honorable as ones that get the spotlight.



Sure.
Anybody that lives a good life and makes a difference is pretty honorable...
But - some people mean a lot to some people...  just not you but to millions...  It's honorable to do your thing...  put food on the table... clothe your kids...

But some people do more for more people and that makes them honored by more people...    I personally like to do good things anonymously - because I think there's honor in just doing something without expect accolades..    In the public eye things are different...  Especially when your dealing with constitutes that you've done a lot for and love you...


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## ctenidae (Aug 27, 2009)

Marc said:


> Well, it's like Churchill said... democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others that have been tried.



Or as Jefferson said, "Democracy is the best way to ensure the People get the government the People deserve."


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## Dr Skimeister (Aug 27, 2009)

It seems that it's an honor to Ted Kennedy that even his political opponents admire his ability to get the necessary deals made to get legislation he supported passed.

The following was posted on another forum I participate in and it echos my feelings:

"...he lost so many relatives in his life, and so
many at very young ages. But he kept on fighting what I thought of as the good
fight. I hope that his fight for good health care for all Americans will be won
someday. I cannot think of a single issue on which I disagreed with him,
although I'm sure there must have been some. And the fact that even his
staunchest opponenents held him in very high regard and both liked and respected
him really says a lot.


I think his loss, expected as it may have been, is a loss for all of the USA."

RIP


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## HollyCarter (Aug 27, 2009)

Every person on Earth has dirt, he did a lot for the country and will be missed.


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## wa-loaf (Aug 27, 2009)

Dr Skimeister said:


> And the fact that even his
> staunchest opponenents held him in very high regard and both liked and respected
> him really says a lot.
> 
> ...



Orrin Hatch was his best friend in the Senate. There don't seem to be many Senators left that can reach out to the other (either) side anymore.


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## ccskier (Aug 27, 2009)

My big thing is that I don't care who he was, what he did, etc...   I looked at the paper this morning and besides the 1st family sucking up my hard earned money on their vacation it was all about Teddy.  Sure he was a political figure, maybe did some stuff for people, but as Andy Zee said, I will tip my hat for those who are not recognized by the public at time of loss.  It is just more media crap for people to sponge off of like MJ.


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## dmc (Aug 27, 2009)

ccskier said:


> My big thing is that I don't care who he was, what he did, etc...   I looked at the paper this morning and besides the 1st family sucking up my hard earned money on their vacation it was all about Teddy.  Sure he was a political figure, maybe did some stuff for people, but as Andy Zee said, I will tip my hat for those who are not recognized by the public at time of loss.  It is just more media crap for people to sponge off of like MJ.



So the President should not take a vacation with his family?  Is he just supposed to work?  Our last president took more vacation then any other president - by some accounts 1/3 of his total term.  I'd love for a president to vacation in the Catskills...  All the $$ that it would bring in would be a windfall...  

He is a prominent American figure... Loved by more then just a handful of people on AZ and media freaks...  So you better hunker down and shut of the tube and not get the paper because there's going to be an outpouring of stuff that annoys you..    Maybe go out and buy some milk, eggs and tp because I'm sure magazines at the checkout counter will have it on the front page as well...

Or you read Al Jezeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/

or the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/

there's always Pravda...
http://english.pravda.ru/


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## bigbog (Aug 27, 2009)

*...a NYS guy too...!!*



SkiDork said:


> freakin commie...


..and not even a VT guy..!  _ROTFL_....

It was in the 50s in places last night and in the 60s here this morning...._*Severe Ski-Jonesing...*_ today...

STeveD


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## dmc (Aug 27, 2009)

bigbog said:


> ..and not even a VT guy..!  _ROTFL_....
> 
> STeveD



He spends more time in VT then the average Long Islander...


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (Aug 29, 2009)

RIP Helen Keller


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## Geoff (Aug 30, 2009)

dmc said:


> If I thought 90% of elected(some questionably) US Presidents sucked...
> I'd probably find another country...    Or become a communist...



The US constitution was carefully constructed to prevent royalty from happening in the US.  The result was a system of government designed to work terribly most of the time.   Unless it's a time if crisis, most presidents suck since they have Congress controling the way the money is spent and the court system to tell them they can't do things.   Therefore, the country can survive some very poor presidents since they're not empowered to truly screw things up.   You're seeing that now as change in government is quickly grinding to a halt after the first 6 months of Obama honeymoon.   I'm not expecting much in the next 3 1/2 years.   The congressmen have to stand for election in a little more than a year.   They're not going to vote for anything polarizing or unpopular or the gravy train ends.   That's how we have achieved 200-odd years of political stability.   It's really ugly but it prevents a Hitler, Stalin, or Mao.

To make this ski-related.   RIP Sonny Bono.


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## andyzee (Aug 30, 2009)

OK, let's make it ski and Kennedy death related in one. RIP Michael Kennedy


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (Aug 30, 2009)

andyzee said:


> . RIP Michael Kennedy



I'll play some skiing football to that...:beer:


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