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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Ted Kennedy to receive knighthood
2009-03-04
"I dub thee Sir Rhosis!"
Veteran US senator Ted Kennedy, 77, is to be awarded an honorary knighthood. The Queen has agreed the honour for the brother of former US president John F Kennedy for services to the US-UK relationship and to Northern Ireland.

Gordon Brown is to formally announce the award during his address to both houses of Congress on Wednesday. The prime minister's speech comes on the second full day of his visit to which featured brief talks with President Obama on Tuesday.

Mr Kennedy, who has been a senator for his home state of Massachusetts for more than 46 years, is being treated for a brain tumour. The most senior living member of the famous Irish-American political dynasty, he was diagnosed with brain cancer in May last year after being rushed to hospital with stroke-like symptoms. He has since had chemotherapy and radiation to treat the malignant glioma, an aggressive type of brain tumour.

The father-of-five was elected to the US Senate as a Democrat in 1962 following the election of his brother as president.

Apart from his famous family connections, he is probably best known in the UK for his work on the Northern Ireland peace process. He has been intricately involved in politics there, meeting Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and other politicians during and beyond the Good Friday agreement.

He famously snubbed Adams during the latter's St Patrick's Day trip to the US in 2005 following the brutal killing of Robert McCartney. The IRA, closely allied to Sinn Fein, was accused of involvement in his murder.

Mr Kennedy joins a select band of overseas nationals given an honorary knighthood. Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates, former president George Bush senior, former mayor of New York Rudolph Giuliani and the film director Steven Spielberg have also received the honour.
I am sure he will do just swimmingly in that crowd.
Posted by:Atomic Conspiracy

#18  There are some interesting comments in the thread about this over at The Volokh Conspiracy.

My favorites:

"I can only hope that this is an exceedingly polite request by the Queen for Lord Chappaquiddick to retire at once."

"Perhaps Mary Jo Kopechne can be made 'Lady of the Lake'..."

"As for the wisdom of Kennedy being given this title by the Brits, Mary Joe Kopechne had no comment."

:-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2009-03-04 19:00  

#17  It's an honorary knighthood. He's not gonna be asked to swear fealty to the British throne. He's not gonna get a stipend.

They did the same for Dwight Eisenhower and some others, IIRC. Although generally with much more cause.
Posted by: mojo   2009-03-04 17:48  

#16  If nobody sues he will get away with it. If somebody, some organization does (eg the Repunlican Party) then the court will have to enforce the law.
Posted by: JFM   2009-03-04 16:24  

#15  Can a serving member of Congress *accept* this sort of faux ennoblement? It seems vaguely unconstitutional... let me see, Article 1, Section Nine:

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.


Yep. Definitively unconstitutional, unless they're waiting on his retirement, or Brown's going to fucking ask Congress for permission during his verkakte speech.

Monarchist wanker son-of-a-bitch!
Posted by: Mitch H.   2009-03-04 16:15  

#14  he must have set the new record for drinking
Posted by: rabid whitetail   2009-03-04 15:24  

#13  I always thought to be Knighted, you had to do something supremely noble,
not something supremely ignoble.
Posted by: Redneck Jim (WMOF)   2009-03-04 13:09  

#12  Does the suit of armor come with it? Because that could bankrupt Britain. Might provide a lotta shipyard jobs though...
Posted by: tu3031   2009-03-04 13:03  

#11  Apparently, all you need to be knighted these days is a pulse.
Posted by: mojo   2009-03-04 12:46  

#10  Lost me at Sir Elton John. Too Low for Zero indeed.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2009-03-04 12:22  

#9  Just out of curiosity I googled "joe kennedy gerry adams". Interesting. One of the first things I found is that there are some
conservative MPs who are none too happy about this.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2009-03-04 12:01  

#8  Yes. In one occasion a damsel fell in a barrel of whiky and he saved her by drinking it.
Posted by: JFM   2009-03-04 10:18  

#7  For saving drowning damsels?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2009-03-04 09:34  

#6  During Vietnam, Teddy once demanded that the US withdraw, then invade Northern Ireland to drive out the British army.

Old Joe Kennedy so hated England that as a reward from FDR, he was made ambassador to England prior to US entry into the war. He kept a known German agent on his staff, as an intelligence pipeline of US-British diplomacy, straight to Berlin.

Posted by: Anonymoose   2009-03-04 09:06  

#5  So it a nutshell a Knighthood means exactly nothing. Next in line: Sir Jesse, Sir Billy, Sir Barney, and Lady Nancy. Well done UK.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge   2009-03-04 09:04  

#4  Question: if they removed everything malignant in Teddy, would he still exist? I normally refrain from mocking the dying, but in his case, especially with his attempts to install his wife in his seat, I make an exception
Posted by: Frank G   2009-03-04 08:57  

#3  the Brave Sir Robin Teddy...
Posted by: Andy Ulusoque aka Broadhead6   2009-03-04 08:38  

#2  First he will spend an entire night veiling the arms and praying. Then he will kneel in front of the queen and will be handled two vigorous blows with the flat of his sword. The he will mount on his horse and will go looking for damsels in distress to save and the wine in the Holy Grail to drink.
Posted by: JFM   2009-03-04 07:50  

#1  I certainly hope there's a... 'no moat crossing' clause in his knightly contact.
Posted by: Besoeker    2009-03-04 07:27  

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