O.T. Maybe I'm getting too cynical in my old age, but why should I, Mr.Taxpayer, pay for one iota of the search and burial for JFK Jr.? Yes he was an atttractive,smart,extremely likable guy.Yes we liked him very much. But I thought we had a Revolutionary war to get away from elitism and Royal families.My tax dollars should not be spent to pay for one red cent more than would be spent for a"common" citizen under the same circumstances. Mr. Cohen and Mr. Clinton should let me decide what charity I want my tax dollars spent on.I'm sure tthe Kennedys are very grateful to Clinton etal, But I would prefer my tax dollars be spent on the things government is supposed to spend them on.Otherwise give tthem back o me...I am sure I need them more than the Kennedys.

-- citizen (lost@sea.com), July 22, 1999

Answers

JFK Jr. was inexperienced and was in no condition to be flying that sort of plane at that time. If you want to get technical you could rule this a suicide/manslaughter case. He took the responsibility of flying and having passengers way too lightly and he paid the price. No where does it say that America has to compensate anyone for a suicide.

In China they charge the families of those on death row for the cost of the bullet used to execute them. How's that for justice?

-- (2 cents@worth.com), July 22, 1999.

Yah yuh bof ar rely rite, give the moniey back! Just who do they think thay are spending are moniey lik that??? thaks for the rely smart post, I nevar woud a thot a that! How do we git thim to give it back now?Thaks agan

-- willbe (glowingin@thedark.com), July 22, 1999.

Citizen,

Your key word was "red".

They think they are uncommon. And they are in an abstract sort of way! As in definition #5: STEAL, PURLOIN.. Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary

-- freeman (freeman@cali.com), July 22, 1999.

abstract...As in definition #5: STEAL, PURLOIN.. Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary

-- freeman (freeman@cali.com), July 22, 1999.

I agree with you all whole heartly, we as tax payers should not be paying for this. If everybody on this Forum wrote, called, and compalined to your government..maybe they would have a change of heart and have the wealthy Kennedy's pay for this search. I am sure John Jr. had a sizeable insurance policy..

-- Cassandra (american_storm@usa.net), July 22, 1999.

Well, I was thinking the same thing about all the millions that were spent on the Navy search, Coast Guard, you name it. For who? For what? However, on the brighter side, the family sure did get them cremated and thrown back in the sea real fast. Wonder about that too. And now the media frenzy can go on to other things, except of course for those specials about the great loss of a potentially great man.

-- Gordon (gpconnolly@aol.com), July 22, 1999.

Cheat on your taxes for what you think your portion of money was spent on the search and rescue. What would the Coast Guard and Navy being doing if they weren't out putting their skills to work? Swabbing down the deck? I just want the same treatment for every American under the same circumstances. I'll even chip in a $1.00 if need be.

-- sametreatment (sametreatment@same.com), July 22, 1999.

Gordon, we all have the potential of being great, it's just that I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth and I have to work harder at it.

-- underpriviledged (underpriviledged@underpri.com), July 22, 1999.

I was watching some of the sickeningly fawning news coverage of the Kennedy tradegy with my parents today. I told them they should consider selling their now-valuable cemetary plots and take a cruise with the money. Then, when they die,I ',m sure the U.S. navy will be happy to furnish our family with the battleship Missouri to conduct our funeral, wake, and burial at sea. Let's see, how about Bermuda?

-- doktorbob (downsouth@dixie.com), July 22, 1999.

Underpriviliged,

I agree with you, 100%. I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth either. In case you were wondering, that was my tongue in my cheek in the above post, no spoon. ;-P

-- Gordon (gpconnolly@aol.com), July 22, 1999.

I know Gordon, but I just couldn't resist!

-- underpriviledged (underpriviledged@underpri.com), July 22, 1999.

It is funny because my husband I are were just discussing the same feelings tonight as the "sour grapes". What had us really upset that the media has devoted now 5 days to this "circus" yet they are not giving us any info: re the Y2K problem. As one of our friends said. Perhaps Y2K will weed out some of the society craziness let us just hope that it will not be also us who are making and spending our hard earned money to get little bit prepared.

-- Jane Smith (wsch117361@aol.com), July 22, 1999.

At the risk of sounding indelicate, why the hell did they fish him out of the water only to toss him back in?

-- Mabel Dodge (cynical@me.net), July 22, 1999.

And so quickly, Mabel, so quickly. Out of the water, past the coroner and autopsy, into the crematory, back on the boat, into the sea again. Something fishy here, besides the critters that naturally belong in the sea.

-- Gordon (gpconnolly@aol.com), July 23, 1999.

The fact is, all Navy and Coast Guard personnel involved in the recovery operation, along with their ships and support facilities, would normally be on duty anyway, incurring the same wages and the same operating costs. No ships were pulled out of mothballs, no crewmen were called up from retirement to work this duty.

Taxpayer dollars were being spent, for sure. But the same dollars were being spent the weekend before, and will continue being spent in the future.

The CAP and the Massachusetts emergency people did have extra work. But they would gone through the same procedures for any private plane crash in those circumstances.

If you want to gripe, find something real to gripe about. That shouldn't be hard to do.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), July 23, 1999.

Its all a matter of principle, Mr. Carey. You do understand principles, don't you?

-- Yan (no@no.no), July 23, 1999.

This man lost a father who served this country proudly. A final farewell is the least we could provide him with. As for Y2K coverage, you cannot distract from what was barely covered in the media anyway. As for tax dollars spent, I think we have a bigger bitch with the Pentagon.

-- Gia (laureltree7@hotmail.com), July 23, 1999.

Gia: Do you remember JFK's romps in the hay with Marilyn Monroe and other women? No wonder the Kennedy's keep meeting the Angel of Death in their youth, what goes around comes around.

-- underpriviledged (underpriviledged@underpriv.com), July 23, 1999.

Underpriviliged,

JFK wasn't the only Kennedy doing a lot of "romping around." But, there is a significant part of the population that just loves this family, despite all that other stuff. Kind of like there is a significant support element for Clinton. Do you remember the movie The Bridges of Madison County? That was basically just a story of infidelity and betrayal, yet it caught and captured a lot of public support. Seems there is a market for the seedier side of life. Go Figure.

-- Gordon (gpconnolly@aol.com), July 23, 1999.

I'm not an american, so this is purely an objective opinion, and is certainly not intended to anger or provoke.

But it seems to me, as an outsider, that JFK Jr, if nothing else, was the son of a President of the USA, and in that respect there is justification for the actions which were taken in this case.

If the victim had been the son of any other President, and the death had been under different circumstances, would anyone have begrudged the expense of such a "mark of respect" in the investigation of the accident and the laying to rest of the remains ?

As to the efforts to locate the bodies, only to return them to the sea . . well it seems to me that the proper identification of the bodies, where possible, is a neccessary step to take, and that the subsequent cremation and commitment of the ashes to the sea was simply in line with the written request of the late Mr Kennedy in his will. Which part of this process do the complainers consider to be "surplus to requirements" ? The lawful investigation of an accident, the lawful confirmation of a victim's identity, or the compliance with the reasonable wishes of the deceased ?

IMHO it's only right and proper that the son of President Kennedy, having been unlawfully deprived of his father, and uncle, while in the service of the country, and since then having had to endure the scrutiny which his ancestry (through no fault of his own) thrust upon him, was given the respect which has been shown in this sad case. Politics aside, I believe that the direct offspring (or spouse) of any President past or present, should be extended the same mark of respect.

Kind Regards

W

-- W0lv3r1n3 (W0lv3r1n3@yahoo.com), July 23, 1999.

I do believe the young JFK jr. would happily have traded away every cent of his privledged existance if it could bring his father back.

While I was annoyed by the massive coverage of every iota of the search and funeral,..I'm glad they recovered his body. Otherwise, we would have been subjected to "JFK jr. seen with Elvis on Moon" stories for the rest of our lives. Avoiding THAT alone is worth the price to me!!

-- kritter (kritter@adelphia.net), July 23, 1999.