Oh, so that's why he's on crutches

[TayTay]

Portrait of a Progressive.
Roll Call 04-06-2005
By By Mary Ann Akers ROLL CALLSTAFF

Kerry Hobbled. All that snowboarding and windsurfing must have caught up to Sen. John Kerry (Mass.): The 2004 Democratic presidential candidate was seen walking around on crutches Tuesday.

Asked about the Senator's condition, Kerry's spokesman, David Wade, joked, "You should see the other guy."

But seriously, folks: Wade said that Kerry, a former marathon runner, had arthroscopic surgery on his knee during the recess. He described it as an "outpatient procedure" to repair some cartilage damage. Wade said the Senator is using crutches to keep weight off his knee for a couple of weeks.

Kerry is "paying a very small price for years of soccer, hockey and running," Wade said.

[JI7]

1. wasn't there a similar thing with his arm early in the campaign ?

i remember reading how he would not be able to shake hands for some days because of it.

i guess it's normal for people who are very active like he is.

[TayTay]

2. Yeah, that one was a mild infection

that came from someone who dugs nails into his hand. (Talk about a firm handshake.) Hand swelled up, required some minor attention and then all was well.

Must be an occupational hazard. The crutches, well, he does like all those high impact sports. They catch up with ya after a while.

[Pirate Smile]

4. That seems crazy. What the hell was under their fingernails? Weird.

[ginnyinWI]

5. he wrenched his shoulder

I think that is what you are reminded of. Their vehicle stopped short once, and he wrenched his shoulder, and had some surgery to repair it early in 2004, so that he could go into the main campaign and be able to shake all those hands and do everything else without pain.

[Pirate Smile]

3. On MSNBC, they just showed him viewing the Pope on his crutches.

[ginnyinWI]

6. doh!

I have the news on a lot, but never seem to catch Kerry! I have yet to see him on crutches.

[whometense]

16. The only place I've seen him

was on c-span2, when there's a senate vote.

[Lavender Brown]

8. I'm glad he got to go to Rome

Too bad Jimmy Carter couldn't have been with the group of Congressmen who went, since he was dissed by the presidential delegation. :eyes:

[karynnj]

12. I wonder if the funeral will be a problem - He can't kneel, can he?

Although with the crutches next to him, even the Republicans can't accuse him of being disrespectful.

[whometense]

14. You know,

it wouldn't surprise me if they tried anyway. Look what I found on Salon this morning (written by Sidney Blumenthal).

Culture of strife
Bush is exploiting the American Catholic Church's polarization to consolidate his conservative social agenda.

April 7, 2005 | For the first time, an American president has lowered the American flag to half-staff for the death of a pope and, also for the first time, will attend a papal funeral. George W. Bush, a militant evangelical Protestant, deliberately inflects his political rhetoric with Catholic theological phrases, in particular the "culture of life," words he used to justify his unprecedented imposition into the case of Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman whose feeding-tube removal was upheld 19 times by state and federal courts.

In the 2004 election Bush's campaign helped organize the attack on John Kerry's Roman Catholic authenticity by conservative bishops, who threatened to deny him communion. The White House coordinates both policy and personnel in line with right-wing Catholicism -- vetting not only issues like international population control, reproductive health and women's rights but also appointments. Only Catholics who meet the litmus tests receive jobs.

[karynnj]

15. Disgusting - but it sounds like over reaching

Hopefully there won't be cameras on the mourners, or if there are a certain squirmy President is unlikely to be able to deal with a 3 hour mass. Kerry will look fine in comparison. (Also, doesn't he know some Italian from when he went to school in Switzerland?)

[LittleClarkie]

20. It was said in an article on the campaign by the Globe

that the thought of not being allowed to take communion was personally devastating to Kerry.

[ginnyinWI]

21. oh, that's so outrageous!

Have they no decency? The poor man--the prices he's had to pay! I don't mean the reporters, I mean the people trying to get the Catholic church to dis-allow him! :grr:

(I'm not even Catholic, but this really gets me steamed!)

[WildEyedLiberal]

22. It is filthy

Communion is the centerpiece of Catholic worship, and the act of denying it has HUGE implications, because the only reason a Catholic would not be allowed to take communion is if his soul is in a state of mortal sin -ie, hellbound. So obviously that's not a charge to make lightly - indeed, not one that anyone has any business making at all. Who are these sanctimonious repukes to decide who is and is not pure of heart?

FUCK THEM. I'm serious. I hope God is more forgiving of them than I am. :grr:

[TayTay]

27. Calm down, he goes to Church in Boston,

It's okay. I found this on a Catholic fundie site. They were pissed off that the Senator was welcomed into the community of believers.

The Paulist Center
On Saturday at the Vigil Mass, Mr. Kerry received Communion again from the Paulist center. Fr. Joe Ciccone (Paulist Center): "We're following the directive of our archdiocese," said Father Joe Ciccone, who gave Kerry the Eucharist. "They have said we should give him communion."

This reply by Fr. Ciccone does not ring very true. In another story today on the Paulist center.

Sen. John Kerry regularly receives Communion {at a Church that} attracts Catholics uncomfortable with some of the Vatican's orthodox teachings or who otherwise feel alienated from the Roman Catholic Church.

The Paulist Center's congregation includes gay couples, whose adopted children are baptized there, unlike in some other Boston parishes. In November, its leaders refused to read aloud during Mass from a letter opposing gay marriage, as requested by the Massachusetts bishops.

The congregation is not geographical, but ideological, drawing people from as far as away as New Hampshire, said Drew Deskur, the center's music director and a parishioner for 25 years.

"It's not St. Around-the-Corner," Deskur said. "It's an intentional community that draws people from all over Boston. It tries to make sure that everyone feels welcome and that everyone participates in the liturgy."

Ahm, this is liberal Massachusetts. You don't actually think it would be hard to find a Church that would give John Kerry or any other Catholic communion now do ya? Geez, whatever happened to that 'land of the infidels' reputation we used to cultivate nationally. Geez, it's Boston people. No problemo.

[WildEyedLiberal]

28. I know he doesn't have a problem in Boston

It's still unconscionable that any Catholic from around the country would basically tell him he's going to hell by refusing him communion. That not a judgment for any priest or layman to make. I know he doesn't have problems in his own parish, obviously.

That doesn't mean that it wasn't unforgivable for some right-wing jackass to even suggest. It's the ultimate abuse of the sacraments and goes against every fiber of the Christian spirit. :mad:

[ginnyinWI]

29. right you are

And that's what I meant too. Not that he would have the problem, but the very suggestion must hurt. It must make you feel like a reject, defective in some way, to the Church as a whole. And it simply is not fair or right.

[elshiva]

30. Actually they aren't supposed to refuse anyone

who comes up for communion. I participate fully in communion even though I am not a Roman Catholic. I went to a Roman Catholic college and was taught that the priest isn't supposed to stop you or question you about being a Catholic. It's much more stupid in Kerry's case that they should make an issue out of this non-issue.

[karynnj]

23. As a former Catholic,

I wonder if they remember Jesus said to let he who was without sin cast the first stone. That direction should eliminate at least part of the Boston archdiocese. What's infuriating is that the threat was mainly political and it carries weight only against people who are sincerely and genuinely committed to the church. I can't figure out which one, but it has to be a sin to have used this kind of threat for political purposes because of the pain it can cause.

I'm sure there are many people who deserve that kind of rejection and censure more than Kerry. I also thought his and Kennedy's tributes to the Pope were so much more heart felt and real than all the Republican (mostly Protestant ones).

[LittleClarkie]

24. What tributes? What did I miss?

Senate speech? Press release? Television snippet?

[karynnj]

25. Tributes

I was meaning the statements that each put out - they're on their web sites. Hope I didn't misuse the word. I liked Kerry's best because it sounded just like him. Sorry to confuse

[LittleClarkie]

26. No problem,

I just went over there. You're right, it's a nice tribute.

I hate the red, though. The font is too thin and not as readable as well.

[ginnyinWI]

7. I like David Wade

And what a cool job he has!

[ginnyinWI]

9. do you think this is worth posting in GD?

For a little human interest PR for Kerry? People need to connect with a person, not a policy. :)

[Pirate Smile]

10. I do. I think a lot of people would be interested.

Keeping the positive/human interest info out there where everyone can see it does help IMO.

[karynnj]

11. Relieved to hear that he's ok

and that it was planned surgery, rather than an accident.

[whometense]

13. Thanks for clearing that up.

It didn't look serious, but it's good to know what's up with our guy.

So that's why he's had time to crank out all those emails. ;-)

[politicasista]

17. Wasn't there something wrong with his throat also?

I read somewhere (could have been drudge)that he had to have polyps removed from his vocal cord before the campaingn. Thanks for the article Tay Tay. I saw him a couple days ago on crutches and wondered the same thing.

[TayTay]

18. Jayzus, he's falling apart out there

Voice, arm, hand, knees. Good thing he's already got insurance, he'd be a hard guy to get medical for. (Joke, here, just a joke.)

[karynnj]

19. Dick Cheney is only 3 years older

although it may look like 20! The sports injuries seem worth it.