Sen. Strom Thurmond dead at 100

[quade 4]

CNN Obit . . .

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/06/26/thurmond.obit/index.html

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[skygal3 0]

How long do you think they have had that prepared for? It seems awfully long and succinct. I remember when Frank Sinatra died; the Today Show had this very long segment dedicated to his obituary, and he had only been dead for a few hours...made me wonder. Same with Bob Hope. I wonder if all of these news organizations have a prepared commentary ready for when the news is released. Sad but true. Reminds me of Monty Python... "I'm not dead yet!" (...or the old Saturday Night Live where Tom Brokaw was prerecording breaking news on each and every current and or ex president dying in various atypical fashions like being swallowed by a grizzly..)

[Jessica 0]

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I wonder if all of these news organizations have a prepared commentary ready for when the news is released.

Yep. For anyone famous and old, most major news outlets have a prepared obit. They often get leaked by mistake.

Skydiving is for cool people only

[skygal3 0]

Define 'leaked'? Like..reporting a death when it is not true? It makes sense now that I think about it, but I would be pissed if I managed to hang on for 99 years and then someone started a rumor . (Doesn't that keep happening to Katherine Hepburn?)

[indyz 1]

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How long do you think they have had that prepared for?

There was a minor scandal a while back when somebody discovered that prewritten obits for various extremely famous individuals (the Pope being the only one I remember) were visible on the CNN website.

Edit to add: CNN pulled the obits quickly, but they are archived here.

[outofit 0]

he had been death sucking on a cracker for a long time. he held on long enough to turn 100 in the senate and then they put him out to pasture.

It is better to be dead and cool than alive and uncool!

[freefallfreak 0]

Quade,

One thing I didn't see mentioned was that Sen. Thurmond was for a long while, the Chairperson for the Armed Services Committee. Being a disabled Veteran from South Carolina, myself, I can say from experience,this man took care of "his boys" extremely well and always had time to speak with a veteran. I know, cause he helped me out on numorous occasions when the VA tried to cut me back from 100% to 80% cause I skydive. Strom Thurmond was truly an inspiration to me as he gave his best for us. I have nothing but respect for the man. Thanks for letting me rave on.

FFF

[JamesNahikian 0]

I would be pissed if I managed to hang on for 99 years and then someone started a rumor . (Doesn't that keep happening to Katherine Hepburn?)
__________________________________________________

I will pay good money to see "On Golden Pond Swoop." Do hang-in there.

D. James Nahikian
CHICAGO

[racer42 0]

Are we really sure he's dead?? There was a rumor that he actually passed away in 1974.

L.A.S.T. #24
Co-Founder Biscuit Brothers Freefly Team
Electric Toaster #3
Co-Founder Team Non Sequitor
Co-Founder Team Happy Sock

[quade 4]

When history judges a person it should be by their actions not words and hopefully within the context of the times the person made those actions.

I think it's also important to remember that pretty much everyone thinks that they really are doing the right thing at the right time -- even if other people don't.

I'm not trying to defend anything anyone has ever done, hold them up as examples of good people nor villify them either, simply pointing out that most people are doing what they think is "right". Sometimes they are and sometimes they aren't -- that's for history to decide.

Thurman lived a hell of a lot longer than any of us probably will and saw a great number of social changes. Some he was able to deftly adapt to and others he never did.

Some folks might be tempted to make some glib jokes about Thurmond, but today is not the day. Let him rest a bit.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[freefallfreak 0]

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Some folks might be tempted to make some glib jokes about Thurmond, but today is not the day. Let him rest a bit.

I totally agree.

FFF

[AggieDave 6]

And with Disney animatronics, he's running for Senator again next election!

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[SBS 0]

Phonecall to Trent Lott - "Strom has passed away"

Trent Lott to his Career - "Strom passed away today"

Trent Lott's career *banging head against wall* - "If only it had been a couple of months sooner..."

-S

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I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

[skygal3 0]

I actually live on the lake that was filmed on. Do you realize how many skydivers I have had over that have told me how badly they want to swoop it??

[2fat2fly 0]

http://www.thecarolinachannel.com/news/542244/detail.html

From a local tv station (Greenville, SC)

I am not the man. But the man knows my name...and he's worried

[Muenkel 0]

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Are we really sure he's dead?? There was a rumor that he actually passed away in 1974.

I thought that rumor was about Paul McCartney?

Chris

_________________________________________
Chris

[Muenkel 0]

Quote

When history judges a person it should be by their actions not words and hopefully within the context of the times the person made those actions.

I think it's also important to remember that pretty much everyone thinks that they really are doing the right thing at the right time -- even if other people don't.

I'm not trying to defend anything anyone has ever done, hold them up as examples of good people nor villify them either, simply pointing out that most people are doing what they think is "right". Sometimes they are and sometimes they aren't -- that's for history to decide.

Thurman lived a hell of a lot longer than any of us probably will and saw a great number of social changes. Some he was able to deftly adapt to and others he never did.

Some folks might be tempted to make some glib jokes about Thurmond, but today is not the day. Let him rest a bit.

Well put Quade. With that said, my condolences to the Thurmond Family, the people of South Carolina and the citizens of the United States.

Whether we agreed with him all the time or not, he truly was a great statesman.

To keep working till 100 is amazing. Hell, I want to retire today and I'm only 39.

Rest in Peace Mr. Senator.

Chris

_________________________________________
Chris

[Steel 0]

Yes I heard about it last night. But what I found interesting was when they were going through his life and his entire political career they said, "and in 48 he ran for president as an independent". We know he did not run as an independent. He ran as a Dixiecrat.
For anybody who doesn't know what that means, I will explain. See the Democratic party as convienience oriented and justice ignorant as they have always been were the ultimate racists. As times became more modern and this was less tolerated they had to keep their KKK meetings private. Many southerners found themselves fed up with the Demcratic party not being as openly racist as they had already been used to. So many of them including Strom Thurmond who were socialist left wingers at heart got together to form the Dixiecrat party and that is the party he ran under in 1948. The Democrat party had not really changed as a matter of fact their symbol was a chicken before a Donkey and the Chicken always had the words White Supremecy right under it. That finally changed in the 60's.

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.

[freeflyfrog 0]

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Some folks might be tempted to make some glib jokes about Thurmond, but today is not the day. Let him rest a bit.

All jokes aside, Thurmond was an ignorant racist, plain and simple. Same goes for his understudy Trent Lott.

Good riddance.

[Steel 0]

I agree that Trent Lott's comments suggesting America would have been better off had Strom Thurmond won the presidency in 1948 were stupid and inappropiate. But he was simply trying to pay the old guy a compliment at his 100th birthday. He, Trent Lott, was never a Dixiecrat or a KKK member. You can make all the assumptions you want about his inner beliefs. But the fact is that there is no hardcore evidence suggesting that he is a racist.

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.

[mirage62 0]

Wow you sum his entire life up so neatly, drop us a line after you've lived awhile.

Kevin Keenan is my hero, a double FUP, he does so much with so little

[freeflyfrog 0]

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Wow you sum his entire life up so neatly, drop us a line after you've lived awhile.

OK... is this summary more to your liking?
Strom

[AggieDave 6]

What Strom Thurmond was good at was detecting the tides of change in public opinion. For instance he switched his stance on segregation a bit over a year before it became popular, this was after being a very strong believer in it. He saw change coming.

Basically he was a very good politician. Beyond that I truely believe that he was a die-hard racist and should have been out of public office by the 1970s.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[freeflyfrog 0]

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"...good politician..."

Heh heh... is that an oxymoron?

[txblondie 0]

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"...good politician..."

Heh heh... is that an oxymoron?

"good politician" means "smooth liar"

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Blondes do have more fun!