There were anti-union, anti-Catholic, pro-Klan sympathies in my ancestors' political philosophies. They were entrepreneurs and small businesspeople who saw their eventual failures in those terms (at least my grandmother and a few others did.) It was not that they actively participated in such movements, but they were influenced in their political ideology by them (and Dubuque was a hotbed of all this.)

Thom,

My husband and I were discussing the spread of corporations around the globe. I was trying to think of an image that would help me understand it better.

Have they merged to form a "slime" that can only be attacked around the edges by the world's "little people" and thus undefeatable? Or could they be like the overwhelming alien forces in "War of the Worlds" who are overcome by weakeness from within? Or are they be like polio, which was a worldwide threat at one time? Then we innoculated the world against it and it virtually disappeared.

I hear you claiming that they are "polio." I hope you are right. It is good to hear James Hoffa and unions pushing back.

('Hope my metaphors aren't too confusing.)

DRichards, I share your concerns about dynasties in a democracy. One notes that the word ends in 'nasty". Thats why I never really considered myself a worshiper of the Kennedy clan, in spite of evidence I've recounted here. Until last weekend.... I realized that the story of Ted was worthy of worship in a way. Not only for what he did but what he overcame. He may not have deserved the seat in the first place but he became worthy of it over time. America is better for it. His story and that of his family in total is a tragic one and a triumphant one in the end. Thanks to Ted & Eunice. It's story offers an amazing counterpoint to that of the Bush family on so many levels.

DDay,

I was fascinated with your account of the Kennedys' influence in your life (and all our lives.)

My rabid Republican mother and a number of generations of her predecessors were from Dubuque. As you know, it is a beautiful city with an ugly history, with my ancestors on some of the "dark side" of it.

I thought, with all of Ted Kennedy's speeches and comments replayed last week, how STRANGE it would seem to hear a politician speak in such an impassioned way in behalf of average Americans, and human beings in general. That's why I thought so much of Paul Wellstone --- his heart was always in his words.

Kennedys were public servants, not America's royal family

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2009/08/28/harr2...

The hole idea of dynasties in a "democracy" concern me. I felt
that way about the Bush family, the Clintons, and I feel that way
about the Kennedys. Now I hear that Ted Kennedy's wife would make a
great replacement. Why wouldn't someone else make an even greater
replacement?

A note of apology to the readers of this blog for my long winded submission today. If you would like to skip to the meat portion just scroll to the last paragraph! The first portion and bulk of my words are an admittedly self indulgent recounting of personal experiences I've had with the Kennedy saga, They may or may not be of interest to you. So skip now!..... if so inclined. I spent many hours this past Friday evening and then again Saturday watching the wake and the funeral ceremonies for Senator Ted Kennedy. I feel compelled to comment in a personal way.
I never had the opportunity to meet the Senator, but his life and that of his family has criss-crossed my path for all of my life. It all came back to me as I watched the coverage of his passing.
Memories, some forgotten for a while, began to flood in as I watched the wake Friday night broadcast on MSNBC. The first jolt came when former Senator John Culver, (Dem. Iowa) one of Ted's oldest and dearest friends delivered his eulogy. (If you didn't see his eulogy, you should check it out on the web. It is hilarious.) I knew John Culver as a teenager living in Iowa. I first met him along with Bobby Kennedy in 1966 at a political rally. ( I still have both of their autographs from that rally in Dubuque, Iowa.) I was lucky to have met them again several times subsequently because of a friendship I had with a girl who came from Dubuque. Her mother had once dated Bobby and their families had remained close thereafter. (That girl went on to become well known as Captain Janeway, of Star Trek fame.) One time I had a surreal encounter with Bobby Kennedy while walking to grade school. A limo pulled up, the window went down, and Senator Robert Kennedy leaned out and asked me if I knew where the Country Club was? This was in a time without GPS. Later on in 1971, while visiting Washington D.C. then congressman Culver welcomed me into his office and treated me with great generosity and warmth. He even pretended to remember our previous encounters. These memories were refreshed as I watched John Culver talk about his friend Ted last Friday night.
The following year, 1972, Sargent Shriver came to town on a campaign swing as a candidate for Vice President. My High School newspaper sent me to cover it. He surprisingly took the time to speak with me for a few minutes. I still have the article I wrote about it. Once again I was struck by how gracious some important people were. I later learned, as an adult, how rare a trait this so often is with the famous. Some are just too fabulous for the "little people".
There have been other tenuous threads linking my life with that of the Kennedys. For instance, my neighbor and friend whom I consider an invaluable source of advice and wisdom, was the best friend of Orville Freeman. They were each other's best men at their respective weddings. Orville Freeman placed Jack Kennedy's name in nomination for President.
You may fairly wonder what's the point of this rambling narrative? Some people talk about the Six Degrees of Separation, but it seems more useful to think about how truly interwoven are lives really are. I'm a nobody who grew up in a small Iowa town. What connection could I claim to so great an American family? More than you would think, but, not withstanding the accidents of chance or fate I have experienced personally, the Kennedys are connected to us all of us by much more substantial ties than the kind I have recounted here. Watching the Funeral services of Senator Kennedy undoubtedly reminded tens of thousands of Americans of their personal ties and connections to this famous family. The cords which bind all of us to the Kennedy clan can be found in their contributions to society,concrete and real in our everyday existences. Consider Eunice Kennedy Shriver's work with the Special Olympics, or Senator Edward Kennedy's legislative legacy. Whom did they help? They remained not only accessible to us, but also concerned about us; the common people, not just to the rich and powerful elites of society from whom and where they came. Their deeds matched-up easily with their political ideologies. There was no need for an elaborate, tortured, construct of "Tough Love" or "Thousand Points of Light", or "Compassionate Conservatives", needing explanations and counter-intuitive mental gymnastics to justify the notion that doing less is really doing more. (Contrast this with the other dynastic, political family of our time) While those on the right were concocting these facile arguments justifying greed and indifference, these liberals from Massachusetts, sleeves rolled up, were doing more than paying lip service to the need all about us. Whether you agree with their politics or not, no one can deny that the Kennedy family has championed the least among us and fought courageously for them, often at a terrible price. None, more so than Senator Edward Moore Kennedy. He surely had feet of clay, but, that just as surely, that enabled him to exhibit more compassion, understanding, and courage than those who sought to so often marginalize him. His life was a testament to perseverance, service to higher ideals and ultimate redemption. He was.... the People's Senator. I wonder who can fill his shoes and leave such indelible imprints on our paths towards a better world?

Put a sign at the bottom of your T.V.

Cheney/Bush Did not keep us safe for 8 Years

This is the first lie that comes out of their mouth every time they speak. We as Strong Americans need to stop any conversation that starts with “We kept this country safe for 8 Years.” I have emailed MSNBC this morning on it. I recommend everyone to do the same. Contact the Democratic strategist as well.

This lie is propogated just like Iraq had something to do with 911. We have to stop the lies.

Two Freudian slips in the same segment, Thom?

Paul Krugman's op-ed today summed up our current political and reform problems very well. Here's the last paragraph:

"I’m not saying that reformers should give up. They do, however, have to realize what they’re up against. There was a lot of talk last year about how Barack Obama would be a “transformational” president — but true transformation, it turns out, requires a lot more than electing one telegenic leader. Actually turning this country around is going to take years of siege warfare against deeply entrenched interests, defending a deeply dysfunctional political system."

" Missing Richard Nixon "

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/opinion/31krugman.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

Obama Keeps Bush's Search Policy For Travelers
by Ellen Nakashima

The Obama administration will largely preserve Bush-era procedures allowing the government to search -- without suspicion of wrongdoing -- the contents of a traveler's laptop computer, cellphone or other electronic device, although officials said new policies would expand oversight of such inspections.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/08/28-10

"Emergency Control" of the Internet

By Tom Burghardt

URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=14964

Global Research, August 30, 2009
Antifascist Calling

You have to hand it to congressional Democrats. Mendacious grifters whose national security agenda is virtually indistinguishable from Bushist Republicans, when it comes to rearranging proverbial deck chairs on the Titanic, the party of "change" is second to none in the "all terrorism all the time" department.
While promising to restore the "rule of law," "protect civil liberties" while "keeping America safe," in practice, congressional Democrats like well-coiffed Republican clones across the aisle, are crafting legislation that would do Dick Cheney proud...

The limited definition of ‘force monopoly’ argument is about avoiding personal responsibility for community.

It is good to see personal responsibility is still so hotly argued against by the Ayn Rand Institute.