Rest In Peace, Teddy

Though we never got to know what sort of President Edward Kennedy would have been, we certainly got to know him as a senator. After 46 years as Senator of Massachusetts (a record broken only by Senators Robert Byrd and Strom Thurmond) he worked tirelessly on political reform, especially healthcare reform. The fact that we may now be on the cusp of the most radical healthcare reform in several decades must be somewhat bittersweet to the Kennedy family, its reform being, in Ted's words "the cause of my life."

Diagnosed with brain cancer in May 2008, Ted nevertheless looked more healthy in the past 15 months than he had in years, at least on television. I was, perhaps foolishly, optimistic about his recovery based largely on his appearance. I guess I'm easily fooled when I want to be.

Kennedy's political life was forever changed by two events: Chappaquiddick in 1969 and, ironically, Sen. Robert Byrd's successful attempt to unseat Kennedy as Senate Majority Whip in January 1971. Though the defeat was embarrassing and painful at the time, Kennedy would later tell Byrd that the defeat was a blessing, as it allowed him to focus more on issues independently from the Democratic party framework. Kennedy became chair of the Senate subcommittee on healthcare and played a leading role with Jacob Javits in the creation and passage of the National Cancer Act of 1971.

Politically, Kennedy never fully recovered from Chappaquiddick. It pretty much ensured that no attempt at the presidency would be successful. In 1974, in its "Encyclopedia Of Humor," National Lampoon ran the following copy (written by Anne Beatts) in its mock Volkswagen ad:

If Ted Kennedy drove a Volkswagen, he'd be President today.

It floats.

The way our body is built, we'd be surprised if it didn't.

The sheet of flat steel that goes underneath every Volkswagen keeps out water, as well as dirt and salt and other nasty things that can eat away at the underside of a car. So it's watertight at the bottom.

And everybody knows it's easier to shut the door on a Volkswagen after you've rolled down the window a little. That proves it's practically airtight on top.

If it was a boat, we could call it the Water Bug.

But it's not a boat, it's a car.

And, like Mary Jo Kopechne, it's only 99 and 44/100 percent pure.

So it won't stay afloat forever. Just long enough.

Poor Teddy. If he'd been smart enough to buy a Volkswagen, he never would have gotten into hot water.

As cruel (and, let's face it, brilliantly funny) as the joke is, it illustrates how Ted has been perceived unfairly as a public joke, politically speaking. Perhaps history will treat him more kindly.

- Edward Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Dies [New York Times]

Ron Asheton Dead at 60

Well, here's another bummer announcement.

Ron Asheton, guitarist for The Stooges and Destroy All Monsters was found dead at his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Tuesday and appeared to have been dead for several days before the police found him.

I think I speak for at least hundreds of people (mostly guitarists) when I say that Ron's guitar playing had a pervasive influence on punk and post-punk music, second only to Pete Townshend's. Ron's playing would have been legendary even if his sole output was "TV Eye," a song from the Stooges' 1970 album, Fun House, and one of my favorite riffs of all time.

I wanted to share this with you. It's an outtake of "TV Eye" (take 7, I believe) with an introduction featuring Iggy Pop impersonating an evil wrestler who's admiration for the Stooges almost rivals mine. It's a great performance all around. Enjoy it.

Click on the photo to listen.

- Stooges guitarist Asheton found dead in Michigan [Reuters UK]

Rock Massacres, Vol. 7: Pete Townshend

This extremely rare massacre took place in 1974 while The Who's Pete Townshend was rather long-windedly waxing poetic about the positive attributes of Rock Music. Interviewer Melvyn Bragg, usually possessing a keen eye and ear for journalistic detail, swears to this day that this mishap never occurred. Well, as much as I admire Bragg as a journalist, I must respectfully disagree here, as the footage clearly tells the tale.

As for Townshend, he was so inebriated during this interview that he didn't realize what had happened until The Who started assessing footage to be used in The Kids Are Alright almost three years later (The Who, perhaps mercifully, opted not to use this part of the interview for the film).

Click on the image to view the footage. Enjoy.

Rock Massacres, Vol. 6: Paul McCartney

There have been many rumors over the years about Paul McCartney being dead. There is recent evidence that contradicts the popular belief that Paul was killed in late 1966 in a car crash. Judging by this rare footage from early 1967, Paul was being interviewed by the BBC, talking rather incoherently, when tragedy struck. Take a look at the footage and judge for yourself.

Click on the image to view it.

Barack Obama Voted President-Elect

Well, I gotta say, this is even more of a shock than the Phillies winning the World Series, only because there are so many more ways to lose an election than a baseball game. This really fell into the "I'll believe it when I see it" category.

I just want to thank all of you out there for getting out and voting. I haven't felt this great about the future in a long time. Both McCain's concession speech and Obama's acceptance speech were delivered with the kind of grace and mutual respect that has been missing in American politics for far too long.

Thanks for being patient with my political rants of the past two months. I promise not to write about politics again, at least not for a month or two. From here on, it will mostly be the trivial nonsense you've become accustomed to when reading this blog. I promise.

- Obama rides wind of change to historic victory [Reuters]

Phillies Win World Series

Well, I guess I might as well let the cat out of the bag: I'm secretly from Philadelphia. I'm not ashamed of it; it's just never come up before.

The Phillies, for the first time in 28 years (and, yes, I was very much alive when it happened) have won the World Series for a second time. I can hardly believe it.

I really don't want to say anything else in case I jinx it (there's still time).

- Fightin’ Phils are World Series champions [Philly.com]

McCain's RoboCall, pts. 1-4

Here are the transcripts of the latest McCain-RNC robocalls about Bill Ayers, abortion, Hollywood and (yet again) Bill Ayers. Click on the links to listen to the calls:

Call #1:
"Hello. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country. This call was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202-863-8500."

Call #2:
"I'm calling on behalf of John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama and his Democrat allies in the Illinois Senate opposed a bill requiring doctors to care for babies born alive after surviving attempted abortions -- a position at odds even with John Kerry and Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama and his liberal Democrats are too extreme for America. Please vote -- vote for the candidates who share our values. This call was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202 863 8500."

Call #3:
"Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats got caught putting Hollywood above America. On the very day our elected leaders gathered in Washington to deal with the financial crisis, Barack Obama spent just 20 minutes with economic advisers, but hours at a celebrity Hollywood fundraiser. Where are the Democrats' priorities?"

Call #4:
"Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats aren't who you think they are. They say they want to keep us safe, but Barack Obama said the threat we face now from terrorism is nowhere near as dire as it was in the end of the Cold War. And Congressional Democrats now want to give civil rights to terrorists."

And here I thought the negative campaigning was over. Someone should alert the McCain campaign that a very unfriendly robot is saying all of these horrible and untrue things about his opponent. I'm sure he'll put an immediate stop to it once he's found out.

-Palin Dismisses Powell Endorsement, Won't Reject Robocalls [ABC News]