The Great Ted-Kennedy-Off

I've always maintained that were I to have an alter ego it would have to be an irrascible anti-hero; a politically conservative feline with a snaggle tooth and a penchant for evil.

Just last weekend, Blicky attended the Massachusetts State Democratic Convention in sultry Lowell, Mass. Perhaps he went undercover on a fact-finding mission. Although he missed his kittens, he knew they were happily feeding on junk food with other members of his clowder of cats. While Blicky was generally affronted by the lack of racism, warmongering and overall blickiness of the participants in Lowell, he was mildly interested in the I'm-the-most-Ted-Kennedy-ish contest between speakers. Challenger for Kerry's senate seat O-Reilly came out with an impressive level of Ted-iousity if only by virtue of his family resemblance. Some of Blicky's fellow attendees even speculated that perhaps that he actually was Joseph Patrick Kennedy II engaged in a covert attempt to rebrand himself in a more sodden, pugnatious format -- JPK2.0. Although our delegation had the nosebleed seats, so there's no way to know for sure. Round 2 of the Ted-Kennedy-off saw Kerry counter O'Reilly's Kennedy-ishness with a daring parry of Lloyd Bentsen-sonyishness. In the end Blicky decided Kerry was the Kennedyishness-esque, but was glad that someone was taking him to task for his vote for the war. 

The puzzling thing about O'Reilly's speech was that the drive of the anti-war message was subverted by the governing metaphor of his talk; the one-two punch. From what Blicky could discern, Massachusetts deserves a one-two punch from it's senators. Now we only have a one punch (Kennedy and his un-Kennedy counterpart), but his election would turn it into a one-two. Blicky admired the rhetorical flourish with which O'Reilly tried to persuade a room full of bleeding-heart peace-nicks to go punch out the US Senate. Maybe Massachusetts voters should really really kick its arse.  Maybe the congressional delegations of Rhode Island and Connecticut could hold it down while we deliver an uppercut to the Senate's abdomen. I think that would definitely end the war. They'd also realize that we're sending young people to war from up here in the European suburb of Massachusetts and that maybe they should send us some of that sweet, fatty, pork barrel they've been gorging themselves on.

Van Jones was an amazing keynote speaker who made Blicky wish he has accomplished more in life (although Blicky usually prefers evil). He hopes to turn collective concerns about the environment into an opportunity to strive towards greater social justice and equality. Perhaps a new WPA with clean energy conversion as a focus? His slogan is "green jobs, not jails."