In The Lion's Den

When I went to bed last night, I had decided that my next blog entry was going to be a rant about how pathetic it is when married men piss and moan when anyone dicusses anything related to a woman's period around them. Especially men who are fathers.

However, in light of the recent passing of Senator Edward Kennedy, we here at Snack for Later had a unanimous vote in favor of a look back at his life and career instead of a rant about menstrual blood.

Sorry to disappoint.

A very distinguished gentleman passed away last night. Among most Americans, I think he was most known for his lineage as a Kennedy as well as his long occupation of a senate seat for Massachusettes (47 years!).

I wish people better knew him for the actual work he did while in the senate and not just the length of his senate career. He may not have put much of his brain power into foreign policy or the economy, but his list of accomplishments describes a man who wanted to improve the quality of life for his fellow Americans. See highlights from that list below:

• Chairman of United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Penisons
• Immigration and Nationality Act
• Bilingual Education Act
• National Cancer Act
• Title IX
• Employment Opportunities for Disabled Americans Act
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Ryan White Aids Care Act
• Civil Rights Act
• Mental Health Parity Act
• Family and Medical Leave Act
• State Children's Health Insurance Program
• Public Health Threats and Emergencies
• PROTECT Act
• Family Opportunity Act

Clearly, this was a humanitarian. Elephants and donkeys aside, the way you vote does not change that this was a great senator. Of course, he wasn't the end-all-be-all. There are events of his past that he's not proud of (some of which that may have kept him from winning his party's bid in a presidential primary) and even legislation that he worked to pass that Snack for Later does not fully endorse. But here's to a man that worked to leave his nation and fellow citizens in better shape than he found them. May we all have the balls to do the same.

Keep It Real!

Post Script: It should be noted that this blog entry was created separately and without the knowledge of a recent and very related blog entry from our friends over at A Cage of Words. Any similarities are completely coincidental, yet probably a sign of similar intelligence between the two authors.