David Drake

Providence Bishop Thomas J. Tobin has forbidden Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy to receive the Roman Catholic sacrament of Holy Communion because of his advocacy of abortion rights, the Rhode Island Democrat said Friday.

“The bishop instructed me not to take Communion and said that he has instructed the diocesan priests not to give me Communion,” Kennedy said in a telephone interview.

Kennedy said the bishop had explained the penalty by telling him “that I am not a good practicing Catholic because of the positions that I’ve taken as a public official,” particularly on abortion. He declined to say when or how Bishop Tobin told him not to take the sacrament. And he declined to say whether he has obeyed the bishop’s injunction.

A Bernalillo County Sheriff's deputy escorting Vice President Joe Biden's motorcade was hit this afternoon at Gibson and Carlisle.

Police say a woman drove around two police units blocking the intersection and hit a car driven by a sergeant with BCSO.

No injuries or arrests have been reported, but the sergeant has been taken to Presbyterian Hospital for evaluation.

A sheriff's spokeswoman would not say whether the vice president had already gone through the area at the time of the accident.

The provision allows Medicare to pay for voluntary counseling to help beneficiaries deal with the complex and painful decisions families face when a loved one is approaching death.

[...]

Prominent Republicans singled it out as a glaring example of government overreach.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, at the time a lead negotiator on health care legislation, told constituents at a town hall meeting they had good reason to question the proposal.

"I don't have any problem with things like living wills, but they ought to be done within the family," he said. "We should not have a government program that determines you're going to pull the plug on grandma."

Senators diverted $2.6 billion in funds in a defense spending bill to pet projects largely at the expense of accounts that pay for fuel, ammunition and training for U.S. troops, including those fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an analysis.

Among the 778 such projects, known as earmarks, packed into the bill: $25 million for a new World War II museum at the University of New Orleans and $20 million to launch an educational institute named after the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat.

While earmarks are hardly new in Washington, "in 30 years on Capitol Hill, I never saw Congress mangle the defense budget as badly as this year," said Winslow Wheeler, a former Senate staffer who worked on defense funding and oversight for both Republicans and Democrats. He is now a senior fellow at the Center for Defense Information, an independent research organization.

Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, called the transfer of funds from Pentagon operations and maintenance "a disgrace."

"The Senate is putting favorable headlines back home above our men and women fighting on the front lines," he said in a statement.

If you can't get enough controversy over the government's role in end-of-life planning, there's a new brouhaha. The Department of Veterans Affairs is being criticized for a booklet that aims to help vets come up with a living will.

[...]

The VA booklet, "Your Life, Your Choices," was still available online when we checked this afternoon. One of the controversial parts is a checklist on page 21 that asks people to rate how they would feel about living in a wheelchair, being unable to recognize friends and family, and unable to "shake the blues."

Jim Towey, a former official in the Bush Administration, called attention to the booklet in a Wall Street Journal editorial last week and again over the weekend on Fox News Sunday. "I think the document is so fundamentally flawed that the VA ought to throw it out," he told Fox's Chris Wallace.

"What makes your life worth living" by using the following choices:

Life like this would be:
* difficult, but acceptable;
* worth living, but just barely;
* not worth living (not is underlined, by the way)
* or, can't answer now.

a. I can no longer walk but get around in a wheelchair.
b. I can no longer get outside—I spend all day at home.
c. I can no longer contribute to my family's well being.
d. I am in severe pain most of the time.
e. I have severe discomfort most of the time (such as
nausea, diarrhea, or shortness of breath).
f. I rely on a feeding tube to keep me alive.
g. I rely on a kidney dialysis machine to keep me alive.
h. I rely on a breathing machine to keep me alive.
i. I need someone to help take care of me all of time.
j. I can no longer control my bladder.
k. I can no longer control my bowels.
l. I live in a nursing home.
m. I can no longer think clearly-I am confused all the time.
n. I can no longer recognize family/friends
o. I can no longer talk and be understood by others.
p. My situation causes severe emotional burden for my
family (such as feeling worried or stressed all the time).
q. I am a severe financial burden on my family.
r. I cannot seem to “shake the blues.”
s. Other (write in):

Instructions: To help others make sense out of your answers, think about the following questions and be sure to explain your answers to your loved ones and health care providers.

If you checked "worth living, but just barely" for more than one factor, would a combination of these factors make your life "not worth living?" If so, which factors?

If you checked "not worth living," does this mean that you would rather die than be kept alive?

If you checked "can't answer now," what information or people do you need to help you decide?

Senator Ted Kennedy, who is gravely ill with brain cancer, has sent a letter to Massachusetts lawmakers requesting a change in the state law that determines how his Senate seat would be filled if it became vacant before his eighth full term ends in 2012. Current law mandates that a special election be held at least 145 days after the seat becomes available. Mr. Kennedy is concerned that such a delay could leave his fellow Democrats in the Senate one vote short of a filibuster-proof majority for months while a special election takes place.

[...]

What Mr. Kennedy doesn't volunteer is that he orchestrated the 2004 succession law revision that now requires a special election, and for similarly partisan reasons. John Kerry, the other Senator from the state, was running for President in 2004, and Mr. Kennedy wanted the law changed so the Republican Governor at the time, Mitt Romney, could not name Mr. Kerry's replacement. "Prodded by a personal appeal from Senator Edward M. Kennedy," reported the Boston Globe in 2004, "Democratic legislative leaders have agreed to take up a stalled bill creating a special election process to replace U.S. Senator John F. Kerry if he wins the presidency." Now that the state has a Democratic Governor, Mr. Kennedy wants to revert to gubernatorial appointments.

Beacon Hill has long sported heavy Democratic majorities, so the state legislature has the votes to grant Mr. Kennedy's wish. But does it have the chutzpah? An election is the more democratic option. After witnessing recent attempts by incompetent Governors in Illinois and New York to fill Senate vacancies, Massachusetts voters may have soured on such appointments. Especially when Mr. Kennedy's motivation for changing the law is so obviously born of partisan interest, not principle.

As the media continues to revere the life of recently deceased Senator Ted Kennedy, there is something they fail to mention: Kennedy liked to joke about Chappaquiddick.

During a discussion on “The Diane Rehm Show” on National Public Radio, Edward Klein – a friend of Ted’s – reminisced about Kennedy. The former editor-in-chief of The New York Times Magazine and former foreign editor of Newsweek stated:

[Laughter] I don't know if you know this or not, but one of his favorite topics of humor was indeed Chappaquiddick itself. And he would ask people, ‘Have you heard any new jokes about Chappaquiddick?’ I mean that is just the most amazing thing. It's not that he didn't feel remorse about the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, but that he still always saw the other side of everything and the ridiculous side of things, too.

Kennedy earned C grades at the private Milton Academy, but was admitted to Harvard as a "legacy" -- his father and older brothers had attended there, so the younger and dimmer Kennedy's admission was virtually assured. While attending, he was expelled twice, once for cheating on a test, and once for paying a classmate to cheat for him. While expelled, Kennedy enlisted in the Army, but mistakenly signed up for four years instead of two. His father, Joseph P. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to England, pulled the necessary strings to have his enlistment shortened to two years, and to ensure that he served in Europe, not Korea, where a war was raging. Kennedy was assigned to Paris, never advanced beyond the rank of Private, and returned to Harvard upon being discharged.

While attending law school at the University of Virginia, he was cited for reckless driving four times, including once when he was clocked driving 90 miles per hour in a residential neighborhood with his headlights off after dark. Yet his Virginia driver's license was never revoked.

The Boston Golf Club is once again putting out the fragile tableware.

I shan’t rejoice at the man’s passing like some people dance a jig of glee when a Republican dies.

I am not celebrating. No...really. I am not although Ted Kennedy has finally croaked...

Watching the Funeral Mass. Pastor offers the homily, and a bunch of knee-biting trustfundies lucky in the genetic Olympics are allowed to blatantly politicize what should be a familial, personal occasion.

Rot in hell you fat bastard.

* Ted Kennedy has been sober for 12 hours now.

* I wonder if Ted Kennedy’s funeral will be open bar?

* How did people find out Ted was dead? He didn’t show up to the bar this morning.

* Ted Kennedy never became president because unlike George Washington, he couldn’t cross a river.

* Ted Kennedy is a shovel ready project. (My favorite so far!)

* If Ted Kennedy is to be buried in Martha’s Vineyard, the island will sink below sea level.

* They have named a drink after Ted Kennedy. It’s called the Chappaquiddick. It’s made by mixing Gin and murky water.

Mike Huckabee tossed a hand grenade into the debate over who's politicizing Ted Kennedy's death Thursday morning when he told his radio audience that under Obamacare, Kennedy would be told to "go home to take pain pills and die."

Which Democrat will toss it back first?

Will any Republicans jump on it by challenging Huckabee head-on?

Kennedy made a mistake but made up for it

Accidents happen to everyone. It's sad to see people write about this who, if they were caught in the same circumstances don't know how they would have handled it, don't know what they would have done. If you're one of those people, the Internet trolls running around today, don't get upset if people treat you like you're treating Senator Kennedy after his death.

I for one, will not clap in glee at your tragedy.

Get this straight: Ted Kennedy had his day in court 40 years ago, was sentenced, and that was excused by the judge. You can't retry a case decades later and double jeopardy is a violation of Kennedy's constitutional rights.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy said Friday that his father, Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, has been "very frustrated" to be absent from Washington during the debate over health care reform.

Kennedy, a Rhode Island Democrat, told The Associated Press that his father, who has made health care a core issue during his 47 years in the Senate, has a unique ability to read his colleagues and negotiate compromises.

"Every other senator in that Senate knows that there have been very few senators like Ted Kennedy over the years that can bring both sides together and hammer out a deal that can then go to the president," said the younger Kennedy, who called his father a "master legislator" and statesman.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that the popular "Cash for Clunkers" program will end at 8 p.m. on Monday because the $3 billion allotted for trade-ins has been largely spoken for.

Intended to bolster the auto companies and encourage consumers to buy fuel-efficient cars, the federally sponsored buyer incentive program proved to be wildly popular, attracting far more auto buyers than originally projected.

[...]

Dealerships have been swamped with consumers looking to trade in their clunkers for a voucher worth up to $4,500 toward the purchase of a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle. Under the program, which kicked off July 24, dealers essentially front the money for the cash incentive with the understanding that the government will reimburse them once they file the necessary paperwork online and the deal is approved. But many dealers said they have not been reimbursed by the government and are becoming more cash-strapped.

Transportation officials said paperwork representing 457,000 sales, worth about $1.9 billion, had been turned in to the government. Just under 40 percent -- or 170,000 -- of the applications have been reviewed so far, accounting for $145 million in payouts. But a large number of those are incomplete or have inaccurate information, which means the application is sent back to the dealer to be re-submitted, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters Thursday.

Officials initially thought money for the program would last at least through Labor Day.

The National Automobile Dealers Association cautioned its members Thursday to not take more trade-ins, warning that there may be no more money left after the government processes thousands of backlogged applications.

"We are making dealers aware of the fact that [the Department of Transportation] has said that once the money is gone, that's it," said NADA Chairman John McEleney. "If there are more deals submitted than what the funds can support, there's a risk involved" that the dealer won't be reimbursed.

[...]

Another problem is that dealers have to pay off the loans they took out to buy vehicles from automakers once they sell the vehicles. But many dealers are now stretched so thin that without the reimbursement from the government they can't pay off their loans, and they are reluctant to sell more cars.

To deal with the onslaught of paperwork, transportation officials said they expect to triple the number of workers processing forms by the end of this week to 1,100. The Department of Transportation said it has reviewed 167,000 applications, out of 458,000. They say they've also held web seminars to help dealers understand how to fill out the paperwork properly.

Robert D. Novak, 78, an influential columnist and panelist on TV news-discussion shows who called himself a "stirrer up of strife" on behalf of conservative causes, died Tuesday at his home in Washington of a brain tumor first diagnosed in July 2008.

In recent years, Mr. Novak became known for publicly identifying CIA officer Valerie Plame in a 2003 column. The incident triggered a lengthy federal investigation into the government leak and resulted in the 2007 conviction of a top vice presidential aide, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, for perjury and obstruction of justice.

[ I don't see how one can "out" a CIA agent who wasn't covert or undercover, but that's another post. - Drake ]

Many followers of politics knew Mr. Novak from his television appearances on debate programs such as "The McLaughlin Group" and "Crossfire," which pitted liberals such as Bill Press and James Carville against conservatives such as Mr. Novak and Pat Buchanan and left them to spar on divisive social issues.

Mr. Novak said regular appearances on those shows heightened a more-combative aspect of his personality and helped define his reputation as a self-professed "right-wing ideologue."

"I found myself engaged on issues I seldom wrote about: capital punishment, gay rights, abortion and gun control," he once wrote. "I was never asked to take any position I opposed, but the process had the effect of hardening my positions."

He added that he rarely disliked those with whom he appeared combative. One significant exception was then-presidential candidate Jimmy Carter, whom the columnist called a populist demagogue and "habitual liar."

On one episode of "Face the Nation," Mr. Novak insisted that the candidate reveal which members of the diplomatic corps Carter objected to as "fat, bloated, ignorant" and unqualified except for being Nixon financiers. Carter declined to answer, and Mr. Novak persisted: "Can you name one, though? You make the accusation all over. There are only four ambassadors, governor, who have contributions to Mr. Nixon. Are any of them that fit that category?"

...was [Novak] the coolest man on the planet?

Of course not. But in my opinion, he deserves to be in the top 100 or at least ahead of Green Day.

See, Novak epitomized cool because he stole the left's stereotype of conservatism and made it his own. If being a fan of free markets, a strong defense and limited government made him evil, then evil he was.

And so he became Satan. And like the devil, he never changed.

Novak ignored trends: He looked Novakian for decades: Short, round, joyfully evil, like an alien marble that survived on puppy souls.

...a new CNN/Opinion Research poll of 1,136 Americans (with an oversampling of blacks) just released reveals that the barest majority of fellow citizens have a favorable opinion of the senior Massachusetts senator -- 51%.

That's down two points from last February and down five points from last August.

His unfavorable percentage is holding steady right at 35-36%. Three percent claim to have never heard of the guy. And more than one in ten (11%, up from 7% in Feb.) say they don't even have an opinion about the man who once carried the glamorous mantle of his slain brothers' Camelot days and even tried for the presidency himself unsuccessfully.

Relatively surprising numbers for a famous-named fixture in American politics for more than four decades. Is it the buried accumulation of feelings over his long-ago scandals -- the college cheating, the divorce, the Mary Jo Kopechne death?

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of President John F Kennedy and founder of the Special Olympics, has died aged 88.

She died at Cape Cod hospital in Massachusetts on Tuesday morning, her family said in a statement.

Mrs Shriver organised the first Special Olympic Games in 1968, partly inspired by her mentally disabled sister, Rosemary Kennedy.

She is credited with helping to transform views of the mentally disabled through her campaigns.

[...]

Mrs Shriver was the fifth of nine children of Joseph P Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.

After earning a degree in sociology from Stanford University in 1943, she became a social worker at a women's prison before taking a job at the Chicago juvenile court.

In 1957 she took over the Joseph P Kennedy Jr Foundation for the mentally disabled.

The Special Olympics grew from a summer camp at Mrs Shriver's home in Maryland in 1962.

They were designed to give opportunities to people with mental disabilities to be considered athletes in their own right.

[...]

Peter Collier, who wrote The Kennedys, an American Drama, described Eunice Shriver as the "moral force" of the Kennedy family.

The Senate confirmed Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court by a 68-31 vote, handing President Barack Obama a victory right before lawmakers leave town for their August recess.

All of the chamber's Democrats and independents voted in Judge Sotomayor's favor except for ailing Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, who was absent. Among Republicans, the vote was nine in favor and 31 against.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Sen. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Sen. Christopher Bond (Mo.), Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine), Sen. Richard Lugar (Ind.), Sen. Mel Martinez (Fla.), Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.) and Sen. George Voinovich (Ohio).