Ted Kennedy's legacy: please don't tarnish it

After I learned of the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy I created my video blog on YouTube at around 1 AM today and later found a bunch of really nasty comments about Senator Kennedy on my YouTube channel's video page.

Comments referring to events of the past and assumptions about him based on reports of his battles with the bottle of long ago. I could go on about these, but I will not. I eliminated those comments and in some cases banned the people who wrote them. I ask you all to have respect for those who have passed on, even if one can't see you or know who you are online.

Show class.

Ted Kennedy has passed on to Heaven; let him rest on his journey.

Ted Kennedy did great deeds on earth and today many will remember those acts from one who was the third longest serving senator in our history. From the creation of the Violence Against Women Act to the Children's Health Care Act, Kennedy wrote 2,500 bills, 300 of which were made into law.

According to the Boston Globe, Kennedy specialized in the art of compromise, and learned that he would have to win small battles, in a process that for me recalls learning about "incremental planning" in college at Texas-Arlington and Berkeley.

Kennedy was 'relentless' here, introducing more legislation to achieve overall objectives than most any other U.S. Senator. And he managed to do this while not making enemies. Republican Senator John McCain just said on CNN that he "could do battle with you in the Senate, and then after all the speech-making was over, he could walk over, put his arm around you and let you all know we were friends."

Senator Kennedy was a great man.

For those of you who feel moved to write something nasty, I ask that you don't. Take at least one day, heck this whole week, to chill on your primal urge to be mean. Try being nice. What good does it do anyone, including yourself, to feel your negative energy, expressed in words, for all to see? None. So don't do it.

Please respect Senator Ted Kennedy in his passing. Please respect yourself and others today.