For Ted

[Earth_First]

"For me, this is a season of hope, new hope for a justice and fair prosperity for the many and not just for the few, new hope. And this is the cause of my life, new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American -- north, south, east, west, young, old -- will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege.

Source: Speech at 2008 Democratic National Convention Aug 26, 2008

[liberal N proud]

1. Thank you Senator for all the work you did

I hope you are smiling down on us this morning.

[NJmaverick]

2. For Barack Obama's mom

[Earth_First]

5. +1 n/t

[mmonk]

3. From August 28th, 2009.

Forty years ago he began the quest for universal healthcare that became the cause of his life when he introduced his first bill outlining that goal. His final bequest to the Senate is the Affordable Health Choices Act, his version of the Obama administration's reform proposals, which was passed by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee last month. Republicans now say that if Kennedy had not been forced by illness to relinquish the chairmanship of that committee, he would have negotiated away the strongest provisions of that bill to win passage.

Kennedy's Republican friends should not make that disingenuous argument in his lamented absence. Lest there be any doubt about what he truly wanted, his bill includes a robust public option along with all the insurance reforms and cost controls that the president has endorsed since this process began.

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/joe_conason/2009/08/28/kennedy/

[patrice]

4. He'd be soooooo Happy for Us today!