But never mind. When nobody gave a crap about Cubans (most politicians don't), he listened to our concerns, and helped us most of the time. I'm thankful.
Way to take a bold stand. This is the response of a pseudo-libertarian Republican. If you don't speak out against what Jesse Helms stood for, then I guess the rest of us will have pick up the slack. Like we did with Bush-Cheney, Iraq, etc.
Terry Teachout addressed the speaking ill of the dead issue better than I can:
I can think of a lot of plausible responses to what I wrote (one of which I've already posted). But why on earth would anyone be offended by it? And what possible difference would it have made for me to wait a day, or even a week, to post it? Johnny Carson didn't read what I wrote, and I can't imagine he would have cared if he had. De mortuis nil nisi bonum has never made any sense to me whatsoever, nor is it practiced by the infinitely more robust obituarists who write for English newspapers. For them, the statute of limitations on candor expires when the death certificate is signed. I think that's as it should be, though to be honest all along is better still. I like what Rex Stout made Nero Wolfe say in The Black Mountain when he had occasion to speak frankly about his recently murdered best friend:
I pay him the tribute of speaking of him and feeling about him precisely as I did when he lived; the insult would be to smear his corpse with the honey excreted by my fear of death.
Terry Teachout addressed the speaking ill of the dead issue better than I can:
I can think of a lot of plausible responses to what I wrote (one of which I've already posted). But why on earth would anyone be offended by it? And what possible difference would it have made for me to wait a day, or even a week, to post it? Johnny Carson didn't read what I wrote, and I can't imagine he would have cared if he had. De mortuis nil nisi bonum has never made any sense to me whatsoever, nor is it practiced by the infinitely more robust obituarists who write for English newspapers. For them, the statute of limitations on candor expires when the death certificate is signed. I think that's as it should be, though to be honest all along is better still. I like what Rex Stout made Nero Wolfe say in The Black Mountain when he had occasion to speak frankly about his recently murdered best friend:
I pay him the tribute of speaking of him and feeling about him precisely as I did when he lived; the insult would be to smear his corpse with the honey excreted by my fear of death.
I'm no fan of Jack Kemp's, but your comment implies that you're itching to speak ill of him, but are deciding to take the high road, and avoid doing so. You can't have it both ways. Either don't make a statement about him at all, or say what you mean. You have to admit that it's a bit passive aggressive to be like
"I could say so many terrible things about him, but I will restrain myself out of respect for him."
One hopes the souls of dead and tortured El Salvadorean civilians will sleep a bit easier tonight, knowing that Jesse Helms has gone to meet a just God.
Certainly Jesse did some dumb things, but he also did some good things. Personally I liked his stand against the National Endowment for the Arts, not because the NEA was funding pornography, as I've been told Jesse claimed, but because there shouldn't be such a thing as the NEA. Plus, NEA-funded art pretty much sucks.
In any case, I'm familiar with the place where Jesse Helms grew up - even knew a lady who attended elementary school with him. Jesse and the people he represented weren't particularly evil, just run-of-the-mill evil in the traditional way, mixed with some run-of-the-mill good in the traditional way.
So, I don't see his death as a sign of much of anything other than that he was pretty old. Hopefully the current generation won't repeat the mistakes of the previous generation, and won't make worse mistakes - though right now the odds aren't looking good.
re: I hold no brief for Jesse Helms, but there was a time when one did not crap on the dead, either explicitly or implicitly, regardless of differences.
Apparently, that time has passed.
Nonsense. All through history there have been people so wicked that no one hesitated to speak ill of them when they were dead and to express gladness at their passing.
"Everyone knows that celebrity deaths come in threes. First there was Bozo the clown, then Jesse Helms." Don't forget, there was Fallwell not too long ago.
I'm just sort of stunned that
So you let all thses libs trash a dead conservative, but block all negative comments about your commie friend who got shot by members of his preferred minority group in a city that has the gun control that he loves.
Genius!
Died on the same day of the year as Jefferson and Adams. Adams, Jefferson, Helms intellectual giants and protectors of liberty.
Dante did it; as have others. And evil should be pointed out and named no matter where it manifests itself.
Jesse Helms professed himself a Christian, but was one of the grandest misanthropes, in word and deed, this country has ever seen.
In general, we can expect that 1:365 of us will die on July 4.
You just spoke ill of him.
But never mind. When nobody gave a crap about Cubans (most politicians don't), he listened to our concerns, and helped us most of the time. I'm thankful.
Everyone knows that celebrity deaths come in threes.
First there was Bozo the clown, then Jesse Helms.
Who's next???
If any liberal senator did a 10th of what Jesse Helms did in, say, running an independent foreign policy, then he would be lynched or impeached.
Speak ill of the dead. I just hope there is a just God.
Way to take a bold stand. This is the response of a pseudo-libertarian Republican. If you don't speak out against what Jesse Helms stood for, then I guess the rest of us will have pick up the slack. Like we did with Bush-Cheney, Iraq, etc.
Helms was a racist dickhead.
Nixon's getting a new roommate in hell!
Terry Teachout addressed the speaking ill of the dead issue better than I can:
(This comes by way of his post on Norman Mailer).
Terry Teachout addressed the speaking ill of the dead issue better than I can:
(This comes by way of his post on Norman Mailer).
I'm no fan of Jack Kemp's, but your comment implies that you're itching to speak ill of him, but are deciding to take the high road, and avoid doing so. You can't have it both ways. Either don't make a statement about him at all, or say what you mean. You have to admit that it's a bit passive aggressive to be like
"I could say so many terrible things about him, but I will restrain myself out of respect for him."
One hopes the souls of dead and tortured El Salvadorean civilians will sleep a bit easier tonight, knowing that Jesse Helms has gone to meet a just God.
Actually, you took the low road.
You spoke ill of the dead without taking personal responsibility for speaking ill of the dead.
"The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interréd with their bones.”
Helms did many good things, standing up for freedom and individualism and opposing communism and dictators around the world.
Maybe we can delay interring the good for a while.
Certainly Jesse did some dumb things, but he also did some good things. Personally I liked his stand against the National Endowment for the Arts, not because the NEA was funding pornography, as I've been told Jesse claimed, but because there shouldn't be such a thing as the NEA. Plus, NEA-funded art pretty much sucks.
In any case, I'm familiar with the place where Jesse Helms grew up - even knew a lady who attended elementary school with him. Jesse and the people he represented weren't particularly evil, just run-of-the-mill evil in the traditional way, mixed with some run-of-the-mill good in the traditional way.
So, I don't see his death as a sign of much of anything other than that he was pretty old. Hopefully the current generation won't repeat the mistakes of the previous generation, and won't make worse mistakes - though right now the odds aren't looking good.
The late senator deserves a fitting memorial. See http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2008/07/05/jesse-helms/
I hold no brief for Jesse Helms, but there was a time when one did not crap on the dead, either explicitly or implicitly, regardless of differences.
Apparently, that time has passed.
Helms was an asshole.
Regretably.
re: I hold no brief for Jesse Helms, but there was a time when one did not crap on the dead, either explicitly or implicitly, regardless of differences.
Apparently, that time has passed.
Nonsense. All through history there have been people so wicked that no one hesitated to speak ill of them when they were dead and to express gladness at their passing.
He didn't die on the 4th! His Doctor fudged his death certificate! Isn't that par for the course?
"Everyone knows that celebrity deaths come in threes. First there was Bozo the clown, then Jesse Helms." Don't forget, there was Fallwell not too long ago.
I'm just sort of stunned that
So you let all thses libs trash a dead conservative, but block all negative comments about your commie friend who got shot by members of his preferred minority group in a city that has the gun control that he loves.