Judgment and Jesse Helms

Well, it's his first column.

If we aren't to speak ill of the dead, it would be better not to speak of Jesse Helms at all. Sadly, he chose this path for himself: history will judge him harshly--where it chooses to remember him at all.

Why pussyfoot around in describing a really bad apple as rotten? Next, we'll read about the good side of Adolph and be sure not to judge him?

If we aren't to speak ill of the dead, it would be better not to speak of Jesse Helms at all. Sadly, he chose this path for himself: history will judge him harshly--where it chooses to remember him at all.

Another link to an ignorant and vile America past has left us. Good riddance.

Another link to an ignorant and vile America past has left us. Good riddance.

Jesse Helms spent most of his entire legislative life fighting to reach the pantheon of the worst examples of anybody to occupy a seat in the United States Senate. The damage he did to race relations along with fellow Senator Strom Thurmond will go down in the annals of the most disgraceful representatives this country ever produced. This is not to say that these two bigots' lives were useless. They serve as the best worst examples ever elected to public office since Reconstruction.

For all you young people preparing to vote for the first time, remember: Jesse Helms is the true face of the Republican Party. Isn't it revolting?

I believe Helms referred to the University of North Carolina as the "University of Niggers and Communists" why did you suger coat his quote. All things ill require enablers to succeed.

I have always attempted to live by one rule, leave somewhere better than when you came. This was absolutely not the case by Mr. Helms. He was devise, angry, bitter and hate-filled, much of this seems to have been instilled in him from his religious up bringing. Maybe we all need to listen to Bono, or maybe look into the true message of Jesus. Love each other, to do not hate, be nice to each other. If Jesse Helms had followed this, I guarantee the comments being posted here would be quite different.

Jesse Helms was an honorable public servant who fought for what he believed in with absolute decency and honesty. Nobody ever accused him of corruption. Those who hated him hated his views, but theirs was the bitterness of losers, since he won every reelection he sought.

Sometimes its entirely appropriate to speak ill of the dead. Jesse Helms was bigoted ignorant white trash. No person has made me more convinced that atheists are right, for no just God would allow a person like Helms to soil Congress with his vile existence as long as Helms did. And as for what Jesus can do for Helms, well, if Jesus is in the afterlife Helms will never meet him.

And I hope whatever killed him caused him excruciating pain.

I hope Helms gets everything due him in his next life ... I'm only sorry it took so long.

pat in nc

Strange combination of feigned restraint and sarcasm. Is there an editor in the house?

I hope Helms gets everything due him in his next life ... I'm only sorry it took so long.

pat in nc

It speaks volumes about the Republicans that despicable, cowardly bigots like Helms are their chosen representatives. May he burn in hell.

I'll miss you uncle Jesse. You were unafraid to confront the liberals and that will be sorely missed. You represented us proudly.

I grew to overcome my prejudices being a kid from New York City and I came to realize that Jesse Helms was a loving man with a deep sense of civic duty and patriotism and I shed the thick muck of hatred displayed toward Senator Helms by academia/left rougers, and came to admire him as a man that was worthy of my respect. The pomposity of those on the left fogged my view for so many years, but my heart was not hardened nor my ears deaf. He came around to listen as well. Judge not for you too come up short. May he rest in peace.

Such hatred here for a late public servant who cannot defend himself. Yours is the voice of negativism and bigotry, those of you who ridicule a dead man.

Oh... if only there were a hell, Jesse would definitely be burning in it. Even by the rules of Christianity, I'm pretty sure he wasn't a good Christian. As it turns out, he's just plain old dead, like George Carlin and Tim Russert. The moral of the story:

Live this life right. It's the only one you have.

Jesse was a vile and filthy child molesting creature who would have lynched blacks and homosexuals in the name of the lord if he could have. What a sad commentary of American life that he was ever allowed to serve in office when he should have spent his life in prison. Rot in hell Jesse.

Every decent American should make a pilgrimage to Jesse's grave and piss on it.

I cannot understand people who think Sen. Helms was so hateful...that they repeat the hate at his death..."let him who is without sin cast the first stone"

Helms has planted seeds of hatred that will continue to grow in our lifetime. The idea that one should not speak ill of him because he is dead gives the impression to those left behind that a bigot can still manage to earn our respect.

Amen

I grew to overcome my prejudices being a kid from New York City and I came to realize that Jesse Helms was a loving man with a deep sense of civic duty and patriotism and I shed the thick muck of hatred displayed toward Senator Helms by academia/left rougers, and came to admire him as a man that was worthy of my respect. The pomposity of those on the left fogged my view for so many years, but my heart was not hardened nor my ears deaf. He came around to listen as well. Judge not for you too come up short. May he rest in peace.

The harm he engendered. The suffering he was oblivious to. The idiotic sentimentality about a lost epoch in history wherein people enslaved each other. The judges he refused to confirm. The ones he helped seat on the bench. The cruelties his senate votes inflicted. The aid he denied. The hunger he helped inflict upon the poor. The hatreds he helped to inflame.

Is there a hell? Are my feet warmer today than they were yesterday?

We are what we repeatedly do. He was what he repeatedly did. He was a pig.

Im sure Mccain and Bush with say helms was a great american. They will say this because helms is and was a racist. God doesnt allow racists into heaven. Helms is in Hell as will Bush and the other asian hater racist mccain. So why vote for someone going to hell. Because YOU(republicans) are a RACIST NAZI HATE GROUP. God hates you and will reject you and your iraq genocide when your judgement day arrives.

We are what we repeatedly do. He was what he repeatedly did. He was a pig.

Im sure Mccain and Bush with say helms was a great american. They will say this because helms is and was a racist. God doesnt allow racists into heaven. Helms is in Hell as will Bush and the other asian hater racist mccain. So why vote for someone going to hell. Because YOU(republicans) are a RACIST NAZI HATE GROUP. God hates you and will reject you and your iraq genocide when your judgement day arrives.

Wow, Lu Franklin and I are on the same brainwavelength.

I wrote to onfaith and brought up Hitler and used the same exact phrase, "bad apples."

But one thing is clear, it isn't nice to bring up NEW bad things about a person, after they are dead, since they aren't around to defend themselves.

(Insert new, horrifying allegation about Helms here).

What an amazing display of arrogance! First, the author says he won't pass judgment and then promptly does just that repeatedly throughout the column. He probably doesn't realize it, though. Like the man he vilified, he assumed he was right in everything he said. I am surprised he didn't also smear the citizens of North Carolina who returned him to office again and again. Was Jesse Helms a bad man? I don't know. Was he a product of his times and his environment? Undoubtedly. What is the best thing we could learn from this man? To not blindly follow and elect those who are in office. To the jerk who said that Helms was the "true face of the Republican Party", I think you ought to take a hard look at the faces of the Democratic Party. One was even a Klan leader.

We are what we repeatedly do. He was what he repeatedly did. He was a pig.

How utterly beneath contempt.

Not Helms -- hate filled commenters.

Jack

I'm glad to seen these comments, here and elsewhere it looks like people do indeed recognize what is right and what is wrong. However, I for one wish Jessie peace, not that he deserves it but I really don't want to stoop to his level. It is important to regain the ability to disagree without being disagreeable, and I hope that he can at least serve as a counter-example.

We are what we repeatedly do. He was what he repeatedly did. He was a pig.

What about everything he did for BIG TOBACCO, like keeping Cuba embargo'd even after North Vietnam and Communist China became "most favored nations."

Helms was a scumbag politician even if you ignore his racism and judgment.

Someone like Helms is enough to even make aetheists hope and pray there's a God, and Heaven, and especially Hell.

I'm sorry for his family's loss. However, I couldn't wait to see the obituary, once my daughter called me. As long as I lived in NC, I voted against Sen. Helms. I was embarrased that he "represented" me in the Senate. Much to his chagrin, the New South began to blossom in Jesse's final years in the Senate. Jesse Helms' philosophical relations live on Georgia - i.e. Saxby Chambliss, Sonny Purdue, Newt Gingrich.

A yellow dog Democrat's work is never done.

The States of North Carolina and South Carolina should be ashamed of the two they sent to the Senate. Let's hope the last of the racist confederate flag waving so called "Americans" are finally dead and gone. Hopefully we can look forward to a great future.

I'm glad he lived long enough to see Gay Marriage become a reality and a black man get a presidential nomination. That ought to make him spin in his coffin on the way to hell!

Does that mean that you've never spoken ill of Caligula, Stalin, Pol Pot, Hitler, etc., after they died?

AIDS is like leprosy? Sorry, don't buy that line. Granted there were many in the 80's who got AIDS thru blood transfusions and certainly many who had sex with a partner they did not know had AIDS and thought condoms would protect them.

But AIDS is first and foremost a behavior related disease that is transmitted primarily via sex. Leprosy is not a behavior related disease. And AIDS spread in this country continues to come from the gay community.

In Africa, the story is different and the disease is spread primarily thru heterosexual conduct. But Africa has many problems besides AIDS including genocide, slavery, starvation and disease. And I am glad we have had a president the last 8 years who really has made an impact in Africa; not just my opinion, read Bob Geldof's article on George Bush in Time Magazine several months ago.

Yes, I'm conservative and born again. Yes homosexuality is a sin. But I do not pass judgement on gays, telling them they are destined for Hell because anytime "man with a man" is addressed in the NT, it's only a verse or two before or after those things like fornication are mentioned and that has been one of my sins. I seek mercy for mine, you can worry about yours.

Personally, I am absolutely opposed to everything Helms stood for, but all anyone is saying here is that they disagreed with him.

Amazing that some would use Jesse Helms views to condemn Republicans. We can find many examples of Democratic politicians from the old South who were bigots. At least one of these, Robert Byrd, was a former KKK member and still serves in the Senate.

Here is my judgment of your column: Your assessment of Helms seems fair but I have to agree with the poster that your "feigned restraint" makes your piece read as disingenuous at best, and amateur at worst. How can you say "So I'll pass on passing judgment on the late Sen. Jesse Helms" and in the very same sentence continue "who seemed to spend so much of his life passing judgment on anyone who didn't fit his narrow view of what is right and good and Christian."? Clearly your grandfather's lesson was not learned well. You continue "No doubt his family and friends loved, admired and respected him very much." What is the point of that sentence? Can't we take for granted that people's friends and family love them, etc.? Usually, we can. The subtext here is that you and perhaps most others do not care for Helms, i.e. well, someone's gotta like the guy. I don't think there's anything wrong with passing judgment on the dead (and I think harsh judgment is warranted in Helms' case), but there is something wrong, i.e. hypocritical, about claiming a nonjudgmental high ground before launching into a blatant example of judging. Please don't try to ride a high horse when you're about to sling mud, even at a deserving target. It cheapens you.

Newsweek, perhaps this comments thread is a good indication that you need a way to report more than one post as offensive at once.

I mean really, when 75% of your commenters are wishing death and damnation upon someone who is already dead, there's a serious problem.

He died, what do you expect to change? People's perception of him? Let what he did dictate that. If you want to rattle off a list of awful things he did and provide citations, then by all means do so, but keep the "good riddance" remarks to yourself.

Only with 'opposites' can we have a reference point to see who we really are and what we want to become. Jesse had a 'positive' impact for the USA, as he allowed us to see 'opposites', so that we would have a reference point to see what we dont want to become and what we dont want to act like.
Only humans create ideas of 'hell' and 'the devil'ha and yea Jesse is in heaven like we all will be after this very short drama called 'life'.

Perhaps he was kind to his wives, dogs, and children and they are saddened by their loss. I hope their sadness passes.

For my part, I can be glad that his role in the governing of this nation is over. America was not a better place for it. There are so many causes that he supported over the years that have lessened the world and this nation that it is difficult to list them out. His racism, support for petty dictators, the politics of division, and the list goes on.

It was said that he left the senate a better place.... simply by leaving it.

His life spanned a watershed time in US and World History. Slavery in the US was over less tham 50 years before? Airplanes barly existed. Cars were rare. No Computers. No A-bomb. No TV. Most citizens were farmers. X-rays if you were rich. No Antibotics. Ministers were typically the most educated persons in the communities.

I don't excuse the man but don't most people form their lifelong beliefs while young? That he changed as much as he did is something of a wonder. The true problem is that the good folk of North Carolina kept him in office.

What can one say? I recall over 3 decades his reactionary rants against the UN, gay people, his scurrilous and racist campaign against Harvey Gantt in 1990 and in my view his sullying of the Senate consistently. Yet here we are with the very real possibility of an Afro American ascending to the highest office in the land and the world. America has come this far despite the Jesse Helmses who for all their efforts to impede progress of this kind eventually historically lose the argument.

It is also ironic his passing by chance would take place on Independence Day and what that says.

The Lord works in mysterious ways. Perhaps Jesse Helms's bigoted, vitriolic tirades made us all look inside ourselves to see what prejudices might therein hide. Archie Bunker did it in a much different way. Both were effective.

Wow! I always felt JH represented the worse of the Republican party, but never dreamed he was so passionately reviled by so very many.

Helms spoke the underlying thoughts behind the republican party, which is basically white and racist. The best thing for this country at this time is to elect a black man for president. It is time for decent people of all parties to come together and reject fear and division.

NEXT TO THE CORRUPT, UNPATRIOTIC, IMMORAL LIBERAL DEMORATS IN AMERICAN GOVERNMEMT, JESSE SHOULD BE ELEVATED TO SAINTHOOD!

yeah, well my grandmother also told me to speak good of the dead.
he's dead. good.

Good Riddance.
Anybody defending Helms - it speaks volumes about your lack of humanity.It's bad enough being Ignorant bigoted, but to be a winger and actually go to bat for this pathetic excuse for a human being is over the top. Republicans are still the same racist bigoted bunch of loonies- they pass legislation hurting gays, women, people of color, and the poor, but these days they only verbalize their hatred - it's okay to disparage immigrants and gays, for example. We all know Republicans despise ANYBODY who is not white and rich. That's the way it's been since the rise of the "modern" Rethug party.Jesse Helms referred to the University of North Carolina as the "University of Niggers and Communists"

I wish him well on his next journey and hope they keep turning the embers under his feet. I am glad that he will finally meet his maker and may the judgement he so rightly deserves be his.

Mr. Helms knew not what he did, but his ignorance does not excuse his file acts against those who he hurt. He claimed to be a man of God, but he was not a man of the God I know. It is a sad fact that many of the religious right wrap themselves in religion or the flag to justify their hatred and fears. The author's attempt to stay above the fray is false. Public figures should be judged by their deeds. They serve the people. If that service does not aline itself with the ideals of our fore fathers, then it is contemptable. Mr. Helms was a bigot and spread hatred through his acts. His supporters have every right to follow him, but it is not a path of God, and it doesn't make Mr. Helms a hero. Why this writer feels the need to revisit the legacy of Mr. Helm is baffling. There are many people in office today who deserve a closer inspection, but I imagine the author would rather speculate on Mr. Helms after-life than the file realities of the present day government. Can an editor please help this writer to grow up.

I was taught ---- If you cannot say something good about a person , say nothing

So here tis "nothing"

The fires of Hades mush be burning brightly tonight as they prepare to welcome royalty.

We just got done talking about the evil butthead. We wondered if he was dead and bam! Google gave us the good news!

Mr. Helms knew not what he did, but his ignorance does not excuse his file acts against those who he hurt. He claimed to be a man of God, but he was not a man of the God I know. It is a sad fact that many of the religious right wrap themselves in religion or the flag to justify their hatred and fears. The author's attempt to stay above the fray is false. Public figures should be judged by their deeds. They serve the people. If that service does not aline itself with the ideals of our fore fathers, then it is contemptable. Mr. Helms was a bigot and spread hatred through his acts. His supporters have every right to follow him, but it is not a path of God, and it doesn't make Mr. Helms a hero. Why this writer feels the need to revisit the legacy of Mr. Helm is baffling. There are many people in office today who deserve a closer inspection, but I imagine the author would rather speculate on Mr. Helms after-life than the file realities of the present day government. Can an editor please help this writer to grow up. but then again, it is the Washington Post of today...not twenty years ago.

Well Bill, you're welcome to your opinion. Even idiots have opinions......

I suspect noone here knew Jesse Helms, I did not certainly. I know that many of his actions and decisions as senator were harmful. But hatred breeds hatred, and anger breeds anger.
Mark the ill he did, but leave off with the vitrol, it speaks of you, not of him.

The death of Jessie Helms only highlites the
need for term limits-as the peception of time,
and events change the world that we all share, and we must as a nation of people,also change.

Six years is long enough for any elected offical
to serve.With the side provision of a no lobby law to protect "we the people" from the abuse of
power.

Jesse Helms was a horrible and hateful human being. No commenter on this page could possibly achieve the same level of hatefulness and judgment that Helms himself spent a lifetime spewing. He does not deserve our restraint. As he and people like him pass from this earth, it can only become a better place.

The mere fact that he was a successful politician is enough proof that he broke at least three commandments.

The death of Jessie Helms only highlites the
need for term limits-as the peception of time,
and events change the world that we all share, and we must as a nation of people,also change.

Six years is long enough for any elected offical
to serve.With the side provision of a no lobby law to protect "we the people" from the abuse of
power.

Jesse Helms was a horrible and hateful human being. No commenter on this page could possibly achieve the same level of hatefulness and judgment that Helms himself spent a lifetime spewing. He does not deserve our restraint. As he and people like him pass from this earth, it can only become a better place.

Senator Helms embraced all and was a good man who spoke his mind. Senator Helms took time to listen to Bono and with his open mind allowed himself to shift his position and help Aids patients. His critics cannot touch his achievements.

People often claim that Jessie Helms was racist. I personally did not find this so when I worked with him during the 1991-1994 Haitian Embargo. I was injected into Haiti’s Forces Armees d’Haiti as an interface between both sides when diplomatic relations were effectively severed. I was in constant communication with the Senator and his staff members who made up a small, select intelligence operation.

He had a balanced, sympathetic approach to the Haitians and their endless problems, unlike the attitudes of his Congressional Black Caucus associates who used their color as a weapon. He was interested in the well-being of Haiti’s poor. The Black Caucus couldn’t have cared less, although they often gave lip service to the challenge.

Jessie Helms was respected by my Haitian friends and associates.

He was one of the best friends Haiti had, through these troubled times.

I am proud to have included him among my short list of honest friends.

Jesse Helms was a horrible and hateful human being. No commenter on this page could possibly achieve the same level of hatefulness and judgment that Helms himself spent a lifetime spewing. He does not deserve our restraint. As he and people like him pass from this earth, it can only become a better place.

How can anyone defend this man? What is wrong with you?

You lefties are sick !and maybe you will die soon and I can piss on your graves.
Bodhi Sativa I will pay for your ticket to go back to where you come from if only you will stay there for ever you sick pup.

It's no credit to North Carolina that he kept getting re-elected term after term - hopefully an era is dead and gone, along with master Helms.

I don't believe David Waters was passing judgment by quoting Mr. Helms or giving a synopsis of his views. To call Jesse Helms a 'monster' would be a personal judgment; to call him a 'bigot' is being technically correct.

Waters does implicitly allow his readers to pass judgment, but that is for the individual reader to decide. In addition, a negative judgment is more accurately a reflection of Mr. Helms, not Mr. Waters, in my opinion.

It's no credit to North Carolina that he kept getting re-elected term after term - hopefully an era is dead and gone, along with master Helms.

Finally.

People often claim that Jessie Helms was racist. I personally did not find this so when I worked with him during the 1991-1994 Haitian Embargo. I was injected into Haiti’s Forces Armees d’Haiti as an interface between both sides when diplomatic relations were effectively severed. I was in constant communication with the Senator and his staff members who made up a small, select intelligence operation.

He had a balanced, sympathetic approach to the Haitians and their endless problems, unlike the attitudes of his Congressional Black Caucus associates who used their color as a weapon. He was interested in the well-being of Haiti’s poor. The Black Caucus couldn’t have cared less, although they often gave lip service to the challenge.

Jessie Helms was respected by my Haitian friends and associates.

He was one of the best friends Haiti had, through these troubled times.

I am proud to have included him among my short list of honest friends.

I am 65 years old white male and have had to spend my life listening to this vile bigot who seemingly spoke for NC. To the rest of the world --He did NOT speak for a huge number of North Carolia residents. i can only hope that he is in a very warm place now.

Good riddance. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

May the liberation of North Carolina begin!

Dale, there's still room on the funeral pyre...you and Carl and Bill - Jesse would love the company. In fact, I think he'll need the company....

Cosidering all the comments regarding Senator Helms racism, I would assume that it would also pertain to a certain Senator from West Virgina or do we forgive one and not the other?

Dale, there's still room on the funeral pyre...you and Carl and Bill - Jesse would love the company. In fact, I think he'll need the company....

Speak out and act out against hatred every chance you get, but especially when hatred dies and people are taking notice.

The shame is not speaking out against the dead, it's failing to speak out--period!

Jesse was the living embodiment of evil and would have "cleansed" America of millions of lives if he had the power. Many suffered and suffer today with Jesse's legacy of ignorance and hatred.

Rot in hell Jesse.

There must of been some reason he was re-elected to serve 30 years representing his home state. I suspect those voters who elected him to represent them could care less about the opinions above.

Apparently, he did his job so well that the host of unpopular statements, that would have destroyed any other candidate, did not outweigh his contribution to his people. Sure, we can judge him, but the judgment of the majority of his constituents is the only valid judgment.

Having said that, I am at the far polar opposite of the man's politics, religion, morality and geography.

"We can find many examples of Democratic politicians from the old South who were bigots. At least one of these, Robert Byrd, was a former KKK member and still serves in the Senate."

Robert Byrd has stated many times that he was in the Klan when he was 18, and has repeatedly said it was a mistake. He has spent his whole life atoning for that mistake, and has become a statesman. Helms went out of his way to be mean to people whose beliefs he did not like. They are complete opposites.

Anyone who was not a white Christian, received his wrath.

I am Jewish, and have forgiven Byrd. Helms was an ant-Semite, and never repudiated that. If anything, he was proud of his record. His campaign against Gantt was scurrilous.

Its amazing how hateful and vitriolic the people commenting here sound. What's the difference between their rantings and those of the late Jessie Helms.

Helms lived for America not the Kingdom of God. Please don't confuse the two. It is very simple - you can't pick up the bible and carry a gun. You either live for America or The Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said it right before Pilate - John 18:36 "My Kingdom is not of this world."
I hate when people say they follow God & America is a Christian Nation what a lie. Don't deceive yourself. Helms was no Christian.

About time.

There are many Democrats and liberals in Congress who are as bigoted and racist as any can be especially in up state New York. David Walters obviously never listened to his grandfather.

Hemls had a distorted view of Christianity. His view was actually anti-Christ and contradicted everything Jesus said, did, and stands for. Other such hypocrites that come to mind include Falwell, Robertson, and all those TV preachers that spouse hate and/or glorify wealth. Bless us for he is gone!

"We can find many examples of Democratic politicians from the old South who were bigots. At least one of these, Robert Byrd, was a former KKK member and still serves in the Senate."

Robert Byrd has stated many times that he was in the Klan when he was 18, and has repeatedly said it was a mistake. He has spent his whole life atoning for that mistake, and has become a statesman. Helms went out of his way to be mean to people whose beliefs he did not like. They are complete opposites.

Anyone who was not a white Christian, received his wrath.

I am Jewish, and have forgiven Byrd. Helms was an ant-Semite, and never repudiated that. If anything, he was proud of his record. His campaign against Gantt was scurrilous.

David,

Why would you hide under the refrain, " But my grandfather taught me never to speak ill of the dead.

So I'll pass on passing judgment on the late Sen. Jesse Helms..."

I am a 56 years old Black american born in North Carolina whose parents, family, and friends lived through the horrors of political and actual terrorism at the hands of whites like Helms. That he has died is indeed a human event but how he lived his life and what he stood for is something that is worthy of debate. that you would hide behind the curtain of " not speaking ill of the dead" is, at least to my mind,one of the reasons why we as a nation have had such a long and difficult time in coming to grips with who we are a nation. America will only be better when we are forced to face our sins.

Having punted, you help to explain, to somehow give give solace to the racists who hide behind their conservative cloaks as if it is ok just because someone is conservative etc and love their country...et.al

.. there is no excuse for it and I regret that you didn't have the guts to raise your weak voice on july 4th...there is no excuse and I suspect that you know there is no excuse....what you will have to ask yourself is why did you punt?

Nat Irvin II

There are many Democrats and liberals in Congress who are as bigoted and racist as any can be especially in up state New York. David Walters obviously never listened to his grandfather.

Let's go down south and finish it!

There's no reason this bastard should have been allowed to walk the streets, much less represent the small bigoted hearts and tinier, blacker minds of North Carolinans.

Anyone that ever voted for him is HELLBOUND!

A towering figure. He will be missed

Helms lived for America not the Kingdom of God. Please don't confuse the two. It is very simple - you can't pick up the bible and carry a gun. You either live for America or The Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said it right before Pilate - John 18:36 "My Kingdom is not of this world."
I hate when people say they follow God & America is a Christian Nation what a lie. Don't deceive yourself. Helms was no Christian.

I am sure he is laughing at all you from heaven. You assume you are right and he is wrong. He held office, he served his country, and tried to make a difference. What have you done for America? Nothing I am guessing. Jesse Helms like it or not is a better person and American than most or all of you! He is going to be missed by true Americans who believe in there country and not the liberal press.

It will be interesting to see the disection of the career and thoughts of the grand Kleagle from West Virginia when he dies. The man is not dead 24 hours before the vultures start cirlcling.

It will be interesting to see the disection of the career and thoughts of the grand Kleagle from West Virginia when he dies. The man is not dead 24 hours before the vultures start cirlcling.

Jesse Helms put enough pressure on a foreign government to cause them to put me in Prison for 3 years even though that government said I had done no wrong and apologized and eventually pardoned me. I had never met the man but because of innuendo and the encouragement of another high profile self-righteous individual I, an innocent American man, have suffered much these past 20 years. Do I hate him? No, but I find no tears for a man who wrongly played God in my life.

Rest in peace, Jessie Helms.
God only knows your heart.
Everybody else doesn't matter.

Did Sen. Helms ever use his enormous power to actually help other human beings? Seems to me he seemed to view the purpose of government to promote Christian religion (in direct opposition to the First Amendment), and otherwise to preserve the status quo for the rich and powerful. Helms, like Strom Thurmond, was a brilliant tactician, a man who taught the extremist Christian movement a great deal about seeking and keeping power. But did he ever use that power to benefit ordinary people (as opposed to the wealthy tax-phobes who worshipped him)? I don't see it in his record or in his obituaries.

test

Have mercy for the blind of spirit, and compassion for the deaf of heart. Helm's lacked vision and ears....

Good riddance.

There are many Democrats and liberals in Congress of Helms generation who are just as bigoted and racist as any can be especially in up state New York. David Walters obviously never listened to his grandfather.

Jesse Helms put enough pressure on a foreign government to cause them to put me in Prison for 3 years even though that government said I had done no wrong and apologized and eventually pardoned me. I had never met the man but because of innuendo and the encouragement of another high profile self-righteous individual I, an innocent American man, have suffered much these past 20 years. Do I hate him? No, but I find no tears for a man who wrongly played God in my life.

Jesse Helms put enough pressure on a foreign government to cause them to put me in Prison for 3 years even though that government said I had done no wrong and apologized and eventually pardoned me. I had never met the man but because of innuendo and the encouragement of another high profile self-righteous individual I, an innocent American man, have suffered much these past 20 years. Do I hate him? No, but I find no tears for a man who wrongly played God in my life.

I am sure he is laughing at all you from heaven. You assume you are right and he is wrong. He held office, he served his country, and tried to make a difference. What have you done for America? Nothing I am guessing. Jesse Helms like it or not is a better person and American than most or all of you! He is going to be missed by true Americans who believe in there country and not the liberal press.

Mr. Waters (I will show you the curtesy that you failed to show Mr. Helms), your third and subsequent paragraphs made a complete mockery of what you wrote the first two paragraphs.

I have never been a supporter of and did not agree with the policy and actions of Mr. Helms. I too found him very much not to my liking, however, if I am going to say I will not speak ill of someone I will have the honesty not to do so.

The man is dead; if you wish to revel in his passing please do so quietly or at least wait an appropriate period before beginning your hatchet job.

What is lacking on the extreme right and left of this country is civility and honesty. We cannot wait to exploit the failures of the other and are so self-righteous in our infallibility (or shall I say our imagined infallibility).

I lived in NC for over 8 years, and also went to college there at ASU. Jesss Helms did NOT represent the views of all North Carolinians - not by a long shot. North Carolinians do not have "bigoted hearts and tinier, blacker minds" and that type of generalization and stereotype makes you no better than Helms.

There are many Democrats and liberals in Congress of Helms generation who are just as bigoted and racist as any can be especially in up state New York. David Walters obviously never listened to his grandfather.

The worst thing you can say about the people of North Carolina is that Jesse Helms was truly representative.

"Its amazing how hateful and vitriolic the people commenting here sound. What's the difference between their rantings and those of the late Jessie Helms."

If you understood the Bible you would know Jesus himself had little patience with hypocrites, as when he whipped the peddlers out of the temple.

I am sure he is laughing at all you from heaven. You assume you are right and he is wrong. He held office, he served his country, and tried to make a difference. What have you done for America? Nothing I am guessing. Jesse Helms like it or not is a better person and American than most or all of you! He is going to be missed by true Americans who believe in there country and not the liberal press.

Jesse Helms was a contemptible, bible-thumping, bigoted, soul-less pile of human garbage - period. It is high time to deride these self-righteous scoundrels! It will take decades to eliminate the stygian stench of Helms and those who emulated this living cess-pool; there is a special place in hell for charlatans of his ilk.

Jessie Helms was what my father called a mumser-the lowest of the low.He is now I am sure resting unpeacefully in hell.

If there is a hell, he is crackling crisply already. Good riddance !

Jesse Helms was a contemptible, bible-thumping, bigoted, soul-less pile of human garbage - period. It is high time to deride these self-righteous scoundrels! It will take decades to eliminate the stygian stench of Helms and those who emulated this living cess-pool; there is a special place in hell for charlatans of his ilk.

This being a supposedly free Country, guaranteeing the right of free speech, I can't see
any reason to lambast a person for their opinions that have been taught to them from childhood.Each of us have been "brain washed" by the beliefs of our ancestors. We don't always agree with others,but that is what makes this such a Great Nation. We have the right to "Vote" and make changes in law makers - so why was Jesse Helms re-
elected so many times if he was such a BAD person.
Shame on those of you who revile a man after he is dead and can't respond. Small minds are what causes unrest and problems.. God Bless America!!!

I lived in NC for over 8 years, and also went to college there at ASU. Jesss Helms did NOT represent the views of all North Carolinians - not by a long shot. North Carolinians do not have "bigoted hearts and tinier, blacker minds" and that type of generalization and stereotype makes you no better than Helms.

TO BILL......... IGNORANT PECKAH HEADS LIKE YOU GOT YOU EDUCATION OFF THE BATHROOM WALL!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! !

Good riddance, now I just want to know where he's buried so I can go piss in his face!!!

This being a supposedly free Country, guaranteeing the right of free speech, I can't see
any reason to lambast a person for their opinions that have been taught to them from childhood.Each of us have been "brain washed" by the beliefs of our ancestors. We don't always agree with others,but that is what makes this such a Great Nation. We have the right to "Vote" and make changes in law makers - so why was Jesse Helms re-
elected so many times if he was such a BAD person.
Shame on those of you who revile a man after he is dead and can't respond. Small minds are what causes unrest and problems.. God Bless America!!!

Hell just got a little warmer with him there...

Some of the commenters also don't know there history of the political parties in this country. It doesn't matter if your are Republican or Democrat, both parties have their racists. Wasn't Jefferson, who the democrats always seem to hale as their hero a slave owner? And lets not forget that Lincoln was Republican but fought to free the slaves. Racism and bigotry is an individual thing, and not affilliated with any political party.

Mr.Waters,you tell your readers that you will "pass on passing judgment on the late Sen. Jesse Helms". Then you proceed to unartfully do the very thing you disavowed as your intended purpose. My remarks are made to neither defend nor condemn Ol' Jesse. I just want to say that there is no reason for you to not step up and give your judgmental whacks. Just don't be mealy-mouthed when you come in the door to the judgement hall. Come in like a grown man and have at it. Then, leave like a man, head held high. Or,just leave him alone.

Hell just got a little warmer with him there...

I am told not to say anything bad about the dead. He's dead.... GOOD. May Jessie join with his brother satin in the bottom of hell.

Well, to Jesse Helms, UNC is the University of Negroes and Communists. To him, people with AIDS got sick as a result of "deliberate, disgusting, revolting conduct." I only have one regret... as Jesse Helms coasts effortlessly towards the hottest rings of raging fire in hell, he will receive the news that a liberal occupies the senate seat from which he once scorned others. I would have been delighted for him to live just a day under a new President, one from the race he despised so. But he did see it coming, didn't he?

Helms was a big racist--he called me a n----r personally at a Governor's reception here in Raleigh. He was virulently anti-civil rights--even fighting the renewal of the bill in the 1980's and he was a hate spewing TV commentator in the 60's on WRAL and used the word "nigra" and "keeping Negroes in their place" often in his tirades. He and his father were members of the KKK although he was not honest like Byrd and admit it. He was pro segregation to the last and never apologised. He even switched churches here in Raleigh because one of them let in 2 black collegians. Later, after the 60's, he was anti MLK and anti-Mandela,anti-UN( because the UN voted to sanction South Africa), and pro-apartheid,etc. He joined the Republicans in the 70's in response to the Democrats supporting the civil rights bills and Great society programs in the late 60's. He also was pro-Duvalier in Haiti so do not be fooled by the misguided Haitian writing above--Helms never met a corrupt dictator he didn't like and also supported the Contras and other clandestine oppressive groups in foreign countries. He was a facist along with his racism. He voted against food stamps yet was representing a state that had high poverty rates in all racial groups.

He also was not universally loved down here in NC--he only won most of his races by about 52-54% of the vote and the rest of the state HATED HIS VERY GUTS! Rest in Pieces and say hello to Satan, Jesse!

Why do I not believe in God? Here's a reason. My mother, a beautiful person inside and out, died a horrible death from cancer at the age of 52. Yet Jesse Helms, one of the ugliest persons, inside and out, who EVER existed, gets to live to be 86.

I will never forget the horrible things he said about Dr. Martin Luther King during the debate on making his birthday a national holiday. A few left leaning speeches made near the end of an obviously doomed life, and Helms could simply not let that go. Oh, but his buddy Pinochet could 'disappear' thousands in Argentina, and that was perfectly OK. No problem with that.

Jesse Helms was a horrible, HORRIBLE person. Please do not let the conservative spin machine lead you to believe anything but that.

Helms, like most politicians, is as irrelavant in death as he was in life. If you want to honor or denounce him it can be done in one act: go out and help your fellow man!

a SOB who dies is just a dead SOB...

To all who believe Jesse Helms was a good man, may you and your descendants rot in Hell like he is going to. He was just another perfect Republican/Christian RACIST.

Helms, Hitler same ideology.

Helms, like most politicians, is as irrelavant in death as he was in life. If you want to honor or denounce him it can be done in one act: go out and help your fellow man!

Helms, like most politicians, is as irrelavant in death as he was in life. If you want to honor or denounce him it can be done in one act: go out and help your fellow man!

Chadiam - take off the white sheet.....you no longer need to hide your identity.

I wish I believed in the Biblical concept of Hell, it would make this day that much sweeter.

Senator Jesse Helms is remembered today as a true patriot, a loyal son of North Carolina and an American worthy of the name. Where he beheld foolishness, he exposed it. He valiantly opposed the UN and its soverignty killing agenda. He saw the inroads made by communism and its fellow travellers and ever sought to retard their evil schemes. The senator understood organizations such as the NAACP for what they are: vocal and well-funded troublemakers intent upon taking what isn't theirs through confiscatory taxation and judicial meddling. Senator Helms honored the principle of States' Rights and understood by the Founding Fathers. In short, the late Jesse Helms was a man guided by his Christian convictions and by simple common sense. If one wishes to appreciate the man's goodness, one needs but consider who it was who roundly hated him. Jesse Helms loved America, the true America, that is, and he in turn was loved by true Americans.

Rest in peace, Old Hero. My choirs of angels speed thee to thy rest !

Hell just got a little warmer with him there...

Why do I not believe in God? Here's a reason. My mother, a beautiful person inside and out, died a horrible death from cancer at the age of 52. Yet Jesse Helms, one of the ugliest persons, inside and out, who EVER existed, gets to live to be 86.

I will never forget the horrible things he said about Dr. Martin Luther King during the debate on making his birthday a national holiday. A few left leaning speeches made near the end of an obviously doomed life, and Helms could simply not let that go. Oh, but his buddy Pinochet could 'disappear' thousands in Chile (correction), and that was perfectly OK. No problem with that.

Jesse Helms was a horrible, HORRIBLE person. Please do not let the conservative spin machine lead you to believe anything but that.

I believe in karma. The deeds we do have profound effects on what happens to us. It's no different for Jesse Helms. Our task now isn't to spend our energy on him. Our task is to look - hard - at what we need to do to make our country a better place and do that. We will have a far better effect on life - and ourselves - if we focus on what we can do, now. We are alive and can make a difference.

Chadiam - take off the white sheet.....you no longer need to hide your identity.

Jesse Helm's soul was as black as pitch, there could not be a Hell hot enough for him to spend eternity in!

I wish I believed in the Biblical concept of He11, it would make this day that much sweeter.

Jesse Helm's soul was as black as pitch, there could not be a Hell hot enough for him to spend eternity in!

They say the good die young. This dispicable vile and lothesome sorry excuse for a human being lived far too long and harmed far too many people to be missed by anyone. America is better place to live now that he has joined Satan.

Senator Jesse Helms is remembered today as a true patriot, a loyal son of North Carolina and an American worthy of the name.

Where he beheld foolishness, he exposed it. He valiantly opposed the UN and its soverignty killing agenda. He saw the inroads made by communism and its fellow travellers and ever sought to retard their evil schemes. The senator understood organizations such as the NAACP for what they are: vocal and well-funded troublemakers intent upon taking what isn't theirs through confiscatory taxation and judicial meddling. Senator Helms honored the principle of States' Rights and understood by the Founding Fathers. In short, the late Jesse Helms was a man guided by his Christian convictions and by simple common sense.

If one wishes to appreciate the man's goodness, one needs but consider who it was who roundly hated him. Jesse Helms loved America, the true America, that is, and he in turn was loved by true Americans.

How much better and how much happier a place would this America of ours be today had a spirit such as his guided her through the tempestuous seas of the 1960's and 70's.

Rest in peace, Old Hero. May choirs of angels speed thee to thy well earned repose !

"He held office, he served his country, and tried to make a difference."

...so did Hitler.

What a wonderful example of praeterition this column is! 'Twould be better if the readers knew some rhetoric.

This country gains in sanity each time a self-righteous pile of steaming fecal matter like Helms takes a dirt nap! This is only second to Jerry Falwell's passage to hell.

Has anyone put a mirror to his face to make sure the creep isn't still breathing, or better yet, drive a stake through his heart - or whatever organ he used to circulate blood - just to make sure it's not too good to be true?

We do live in a free society and are free to think and say what we believe. However, we are a progressive society that has been constantly evolving from it's conception. Simply because he was taught hatred as a child, does not excuse his actions as an adult. Of all the talk about peace and love in the Bible; it will continue to baffle me how entitlement and elites type mentalities emerge against others.

Ben Cameron - I suppose you've got a Confederate flag flying at your house today....seems obvious.

What an idiot...by the way, I live in Columbia, SC and its an absolute tragedy that they still fly that piece of garbage at the Statehouse. It's a disgrace to the state.....

And Strom Thurmond? He may be roasting with Jesse about now - but it's hard to tell....let's thank Strom for the republican party in the South - those long lost dixie democrats....

And you too Ella - you're a total idiot.

"Small minds are what causes unrest and problems."

Exactly. Like Helms' and yours.

Jesse Helms was no bigot. He was a good man, he called 'em as he saw 'em. Liberals will never like him. Jesse Helms can repent and has repented, which I belive few of his detractors could ever do. Please, someone tell me why the Negroes and Communists remark makes him a racist. I have come to believe that the word racist means merely and only a person who disagrees with the black political agenda in the U.S. (such as it is). If so, I see nothing evil about it.

I am so tired of blacks who think that we all owe them a living for what their ancestors went through.... That was then this is now so GET OVER IT.. At one time all our ancestors were slaves. WORK FOR IT LIKE THE WHITE PEOPLE DO... JESSE HELEMS DIDN'T SUPPOSE MOTHERS KILLING BABIES BY ABORTED THEM..

"JESSE HELEMS DIDN'T SUPPOSE MOTHERS KILLING BABIES BY ABORTED THEM."

Please learn English before posting your lame opinions..

The Jesse Helms era has come to an end. Hallelujah. Peace be with your family.

So many here .... so few minds that can't accept opinions that aren't their own. I wasn't a big Jesse fan but some of his conviction is sorely missed in a current world when the nominee for President of NO core values and spouts whatever his current audiance is in favor of . The state of the nation is indeed grim and unpromising for a future filled with conflict ... for a country that has now evolved to be weak willed and self absorbed ... facing enemies which will blow themselves up to slowly chip away at us. Guess all great countries eventually fall of their own coruption and greed.

I agree with those who feel it is futile to become agitated with hate and venom for the decrepit piece of Humanity that was Jesse Helms. But like someone wrote earlier, we need contrasts in order to measure the degrees between real good and real evil. Martin Luther King's life was a representation of what is really good. Jesse Helm's life was a representation of what is really evil.

I wonder how long it will take to unearth Jesse's mixed-race love child from a youthful indiscretion with a black woman.

Bigot kicks bucket.

Filmclip at eleven.
~

Please, Bob. The time of greatness for this country is yet to come. "The state of the nation is indeed grim and unpromising for a future filled with conflict" - yes and we can blame Bush for that. Greatness has certainly been absent for the last 8 years, thanks to Bush and the republicans.

The country and the world at large are better off without him. What a tragic life.

Jesse Helm's soul was as black as pitch, there could not be a Hell hot enough for him to spend eternity in!

Don't let them fool you. George Bush our current president was and is a brilliant leader and will be seen as such by history. Remember that President Truman was considered the worst president ever during his administration. But history has overruled those old public opinion polls -- and it will again.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt said "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." This includes the petty day-to-day fears that run our lives without our awareness. People such as Jesse Helms (and perhaps our current president) seemingly found it more convenient and easier to pander to their innermost fears rather than challenge those fears through introspection. While it is wise to refrain from judgement of others, it is equally unwise to praise some, such as Jesse, for their shoot-from-the-hip or knee-jerk judgment of others.

my grandfather & Helms are dancing together somewhere...in Hell today. Screw both those demagogues! If you live your life to spew hate, you do the Devil's work. Matter of fact, you become pure hate when you always speak it. Helms was no man, he was a tool of the Anti-Christ.

Waters begins "Judgment and Jesse Helms" by saying his grandfather his taught him to never speak ill of the dead. Then he speaks ill of the dead. Too bad his grandfather didn't teach him another platitude- if you don't have something good to say- don't say anything. Then maybe David might have kept his mouth shut and not hosted this hate fest on the fourth of July- picking apart a man before his body is cold.

In an oversight- David Waters has forgotten to tell you- Bozo the Clown died yesterday. He was 83. I'm sure the gleeful posters here will want to stick a fork in his rotting corpse too.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt said "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." This includes the petty day-to-day fears that run our lives without our awareness. People such as Jesse Helms (and perhaps our current president) seemingly found it more convenient and easier to pander to their innermost fears rather than challenge those fears through introspection. While it is wise to refrain from judgement of others, it is equally unwise to praise some, such as Jesse, for their shoot-from-the-hip or knee-jerk judgment of others.

I think pity is a much more appropriate emotion for a figure like Jesse Helms than anger or hatred. Much of the life he was given he wasted in malice and spite. His name will have to live with its stains for all time. Someone who threw away his gifts on a life like that deserves only our pity and regret.

He saw the news that a man of color was about to be elected President, and HIS HEART STOPPED. Rot in you-know-where, you evil old bigot.

Even if there really was a "heaven" I'm sure YOU wouldn't be invited. It'd be reserved only for GOOD people.

By the way, Mr. Waters, did you notice how you went back on your own promise not to speak ill of the dead? Jesse "is mean-spirited words and deeds?" You are passing judgement! When are you going to repent your own sins? Jesse was a beautiful soul, and he will be missed. He will be in heaven, not because he did no wrong, but because he confessed and repented. That is the Christian truth.

I try not to say things of a malicious nature, esp. of the dead. But those good manners that I have tried to cultivate extends only to humans. That's all I have to say about "Good Ole Boy" Jesse.

P.S. To his fans out there I just want to say I am one of those horrible pinko liberal communist mongrel race-mixing street thug lazy Negroes who collects welfare (or as I call it federal aid for college).

As, all politicans, there is no better place, for the IDIOTS than, HELL. Sure to follow are the idiots that are running this country, see you in HELL.

As, all politicans, there is no better place, for the IDIOTS than, HELL. Sure to follow, are the idiots that are running this country, see you in HELL.

This idiot belongs to the HELL for sure...he can say hello to his KKK buddies and to all haters

James P. McCampbell,

Well said. May you make the best of your education, put it to good use, prosper, have a good life, and do good to your fellow man. I'm absolutely sure you will.

Arminius, an old white liberal in Georgia

Miranda - Bozo the clown was not a world reknowned racist. Do you see a difference?

Unfortunately, Jesse Helms represented the absolute worst of American culture - a man who still stuck with the prevailing philosophy of the Old South some 150 years after losing the War Between the States (Civil War) - a war based on an opposition to the principle of slavery (among other things).

You really owe it to yourself to read the Gettysburg Address sometime. One of the greatest speeches in modern history, and lasting all of two minutes.

Lincoln - the first and last good republican.

I have no idea whether Senator Helms is down there where most of us think he deserves to be or not. That said, if God were ever to honor me by asking my opinion, I'd suggest He let Jesse through the Pearly Gates. Only there is Jesse likely to understand, finally, how much harm he caused to good, decent and honorable individuals, including many gay people---whom he would finally get to meet and understand on their own terms, in Heaven.

Miranda - Bozo the clown was not a world reknowned racist. Do you see a difference?

Unfortunately, Jesse Helms represented the absolute worst of American culture - a man who still stuck with the prevailing philosophy of the Old South some 150 years after losing the War Between the States (Civil War) - a war based on an opposition to the principle of slavery (among other things).

You really owe it to yourself to read the Gettysburg Address sometime. One of the greatest speeches in modern history, and lasting all of two minutes.

Lincoln - the first and last good republican.

James P. McCampbell,

I also hope you make the best of your education, put it to good use, prosper, have a good life, and do good to your fellow man. I'm absolutely sure you will.

Did you get your scholarship the old fashioned way (good grades), or was your race taken into account? My old fashioned definition of racism used to be "favoring one race over another." Evidently that is no longer the definition of racism.

I am hoping for a future where the definition of "racism" is not in itself racist.

Sorry Artimius - 140 years after the end of the Civil War.....I know you're a stickler for authenticity. Yours truly from Columbia, SC.

Despite my views on much of what Helms did and stood for, I agree with the Post’s policy on comments stated below at the bottom of this blog:

“User reviews and comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site.”

Most of what I have read here about Helms seems to violate that stated policy.

What does the Post staff consider to be a personal attack??

thank god he has left us..2nd best day since reagan died....he was an embarrassment to all from the old north state...he was a racist, did nothing for the aids community, never saw the good in people of color, thought tobacco was the saving grace of the nc economy..voted down the ryan white act. how narrow minded..so sad that someone with so much power didnt do more good for ALL PEOPLE..

Autonomous said,

"Sorry Artimius - 140 years after the end of the Civil War.....I know you're a stickler for authenticity."

Say WHAT? Directed at me? First, I am Arminius, not 'Artimius'. Second, I did not mention the Civil War. I can if you want.

A man who greatly improved the world--by his death.

Autonomous-

I prefer to remember Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address this fourth of July:

Fellow Countrymen:

At this second appearing to take the oath of the presidential office, there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then a statement, somewhat in detail, of a course to be pursued, seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention, and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.

On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil-war. All dreaded it -- all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war -- seeking to dissolve the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came.

One eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the Southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union, even by war; while the Government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the war, the magnitude, or the duration, which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge not that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh!" If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope -- fervently do we pray -- that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether."

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan -- to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.

Well - I guess it just depends on whose doing the judging. Seems that you and many of those commenting on your article feel free to judge Helms - some even judging him into hell. Why is it when someone purporting to be a Christian and "passing judgment" that it is considered "mean spirited" and "bigoted", but others such as yourself can pronounce all sorts of judgmental statements and use a wide variety of names on those you disagree with. If it is wrong for a Helms to pass judgment on others and seek to order the society around him in a certain way, why isn't it wrong for you to do the same? Are you not doing EXACTLY as Helms did but from your own prejudiced world-view? Honestly I didn't know a lot about Helms other than he was a Democrat in the days that he was resisting equal rights for blacks. He modified his views along later in life and aligned himself with a political party that had a longer history of defending black people (um; that would be the Republicans).

Dear ANONYMOUS, my grades for last semester was two high A's, one A- and a low B. I have successfully completed my obligations for a degree in Photography and I have an associate degree in Fine Art. My hope is to get into the venerable art program at Syracuse University. I was able to get onto the dean's list at the community college that I attend and I won first place in Digital Photography at an annual art show at my school.

I hope that's good enough. If you give me your e-mail and name I could send you an image of my grade sheet.

Though I'm afraid I'm not as smart as George W. Bush, otherwise I would be in Yale.

I think this weekend I'll honor the passing of Jesse by applying my artistic skills to create a portrait of 80's artist Robert Mapplethorpe (without the bull whip).

Helms made me ashamed to be from North Carolina. He did NOT represent the views of everyone in the state.
He was an embarrassment. His death is LONG overdue!

I pity Jesse him more than hate him. He seemed to spend most of his life fearing and hating people and things that he didn't understand. When Bono sat down with him and explained the AIDS crisis on Jesse's terms, he got it and was remorseful. What a pitiful and wasted life. He could have done so much to spread the true word of Christ

I pity Jesse him more than hate him. He seemed to spend most of his life fearing and hating people and things that he didn't understand. When Bono sat down with him and explained the AIDS crisis on Jesse's terms, he got it and was remorseful. What a pitiful and wasted life. He could have done so much to spread the true word of Christ

Miranda,

That is quite a speech, thank you. The last paragraph, of course, is classical and priceless. Sad that the Helmses, Falwells, and Bushes of the world never read it. MLK certainly did, and lived by it.

Arminius

Apologists for the racist Jesse Helms are no better than apologists for the racist Jeremiah Wright.

I won't revel in this man's death. It would be disrespectful to his family, who were exposed to a side of him that loved and was loved in return. They experienced warmth and kindness in and of Jesse Helms. They were the witnesses and benefactors to his largess and selflessness. So as they mourn, and prepare to bury their dead, I will not cast a single stone in his direction.

But, by the same token, I'm hoping that, after a period of mourning and estate settlements and divying up his Earthly goods and possesions,...that this family who knew Senator Helms better than anyone else, will treat the public with the same respect. Realizing that he is now impervious to harm, as we know it, I implore that they tell us...WHY...???

Why was it so necessary to be so scornful of those who only wanted to SHARE his view of America?
Why help to deny those who wanted to work and reap some of the rewards that the Senator, and in turn, you, were allowed to enjoy?
Why was blackness a disqualifier for America's grace?
Why was a private matter, like who someone loves, treated by the Senator as something less than human?
Why choose the UNC students, who, following their "advised" avenues to success and independence, to brand with uncivil and mean-spirited epithets?

I cannot and will not celebrate in your sorrow. But I can't share in it, either...
*

Does anyone have a problem with how the editor or whoever put the article together placed Arab children next to the Constitution and then Jesse and President Bush all at the top of the article? Talk about being one sided. Look I do not care for Jesse Helms at all but leave the Arabs, our President, and the Constitution out of the article. I hate it when the media tries to brain wash us. Our media is exactly what is wrong with our country. What ever happened to just reporting without special interest input?

Liberals are just upset that this bigot was not on their side. The Left has their own bigots. Helms was merely equal time.

Does anyone have a problem with how the editor or whoever put the article together placed Arab children next to the Constitution and then Jesse and President Bush all at the top of the article? Talk about being one sided. Look I do not care for Jesse Helms at all but leave the Arabs, our President, and the Constitution out of the article. I hate it when the media tries to brain wash us. Our media is exactly what is wrong with our country. What ever happened to just reporting without special interest input?

The people of North Carolina got the senator they wanted and voted for--repeatedly. The same is true of the people of Massachusetts in the form of Sen. Ted Kennedy and Rep. Barney Frank. Both of these latter two have done horrible things in office. Will there be snarky comment with vitriolic comments after their deaths? Somehow I doubt it.

Rest in peace, Senator Helms. You're beyond the reach of these anonymous cowards now.

Best news I have heard in about 10 years. He represented all that is wrong in this country and with mankind. Only wish it could have happened sooner.

So much of what I have read here smacks of the lessons not yet learned in "A Failure of Nerve", a book I commend to all.

While I often disagreed with the late Senator, I always knew where he stood, as opposed to the present crop on both sides, who have to take a poll to tell you what they think. A better friend was never had by the state of Israel. He ran a good constituitent service camp and a call to his office got results.

The great anomoly of late 20th century politics in NC is that we elected Helms 5 times and Jim Hunt 4 in the same time period.

How the mighty have fallen!

Go in peace, serve the Lord, while you live.

Bill

Your grandfather was wrong, Mr. Waters. A dead snake is still a snake.

You know there is no Justice when Bill Hicks dies young and Jesse Helms dies old.

Fortunately Hicks will be remembered fondly, Helms will be remembered for what Bill Hicks said about him.

The world is a less evil place with this man dead.

"Does anyone have a problem with how the editor or whoever put the article together placed Arab children next to the Constitution and then Jesse and President Bush all at the top of the article?"

Saldeen:

That's not Jesse Helms next to our President in the leader picture- that's the Pope...

Photoshopped to the hilt and making a false statement-

The media believes they no longer have to present unbiased news to the public and will try to influence an election by skewing what and how they report news to a "gullible" America. This is the year the far left drinks its own koolaid..

Hi James P. McCampbell,

My name is John Atwill, not Anonymous. Maybe I didn't ask my question well. I should have said "Did you get your scholarship the old fashioned way (good enough grades AND your race was not taken into account)?" You may or may not have had good enough grades -- that is generally related to how many people applied and how much money is available. But if race was a criterion for your scholarship, how can anyone ever know if you really deserved it? What is called Affirmative Action today used to be called racism. Most people today don't think Affirmative Action is racism. Someone explain this "newspeak" to me.

"While I often disagreed with the late Senator, I always knew where he stood, as opposed to the present crop on both sides, who have to take a poll to tell you what they think."

Well, we always knew where Hitler stood, too. Someone being clear about where he (or she) stands does not mean that they should be admired for being straightforward about their beliefs .

And to all of you who are just ready to jump in and condemn me for equating Helms with Hitler, I haven't done so. I am only commenting on the use of that old canard that we should respect anyone who tells us what they believe and and acts on those repugnant beliefs. At least Jessie never ordered the extermination of groups of people (although if he had had the power to initiate nuclear war against the Soviet Union, who knows what he might have done - I just hope he would thought about such actions, first).

There is no such thing as someone who reads the Bible literally. We don't have "Christians" clamoring for legislation making it a capital crime to work on Sunday, to kill people for wearing clothes made of more than one kind of cloth, to criminalize growing different crops on the same plot of land, or to stone non-virginal women in their fathers front yards. What we have are Christianists, with minds full of bigotry and hatred because they're not as good as other people, so they have to have someone to hate, so they hate people with less political clout than they have and blame it on cherry-picked Bible verses. For example, the same verse of Leviticus that calls homosexuality an abomination says that gays should be put to death. If you run into a Christianist who says homosexuality is immoral because the Bible says so, ask him if we should kill them as well. If he says no, and he calls himself a Christian, you call him a liar.

Jesse Helms died when he was 86. The world would have been a better place if he'd died when he was 26. Good riddance. I pity the plot of land where they bury that rotten soulless piece of flesh.

Someone said:
"What is called Affirmative Action today used to be called racism. Most people today don't think Affirmative Action is racism. Someone explain this "newspeak" to me."

"Affirmative Action" is just a fancy term that the Democrats use that has the net effect of telling blacks they can't do anything.

Sorry Arminius - those ancient Roman names can be confusing....by all means comment on your view of Jesse Helms and his philosophy if you've a mind to.

Melinda - good choice.....I wonder if Jesse Helms ever read it? But do read the follow-up - said
Gettysburg address.

I further recommend a visit to this great American spiritual site - I've been there (one 4th of July a few years back) and I can tell you it will move you. The battle reenactments are extraordinary........

If you fancy yourself a patriot and a citizen, you need to make an effort to reflect at those very geographical sites that the fact of 'freedom for all' actually occurred.

This reality is still unfolding.......

What David Waters forgot to say:

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY !!

As we approach our 232nd year as a Sovereign Nation, let us never forget those whose responsibility it has been to protect and to serve ALL of us. Their sacrifice, their dedication to God and country, and their devotion to duty have been shining examples of all that is good and just in this country. No matter your political or other views, the men and women who serve, day in and day out deserve our respect and admiration. God bless them all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maeaJHdiVVI

No great loss. One less gay-bashing racist on the public payroll. Good riddance.

I have no idea whether Senator Helms is down there where most of us think he deserves to be or not. That said, if God were ever to honor me by asking my opinion, I'd suggest He let Jesse through the Pearly Gates. Only there is Jesse likely to understand, finally, how much harm he caused to good, decent and honorable individuals, including many gay people---whom he would finally get to meet and understand on their own terms, in Heaven.

What sanctimonious claptrap. Jesse Helms was an evil, hateful man and his friends and family were probably as hateful as he was. His friends in the Senate certainly were.

People like Jesse Helms make me wish I believed in hell so I could picture him rotting in it. Whatever effect your Jesus has will be just a little too late!

Jesse Helms was a great guy. We could use a lot more like him. Requiescat in pace.

Autonomous,

No prob with the name.

As far as Helms goes, I'm not sure I ever agreed with anything he ever said. 180 degrees from what I believe.

Re the Gettysburg Address - totally remarkable, indeed, beyond remarkable. You implied that it was a follow-up to Lincoln's 2nd inaugural address - I'm sure you know the Gettysburg speech was first. I have never been to that hallowed site - I wish I could. How I wish that.

What I find interesting (and predictable) is the amount of vitriol on the Left about Sen. Helms' death. Will we expect similar diatribes from the Right when Sen. Teddy Kennedy dies from his brain tumor? Or is this more of a phenomenon of "Progressives?"

Dear John Atwill

The amount of financial aid that enabled me to go to school was based economic need not my race.

Class is perhaps a greater impediment to educational ambition these days than any other factor.

I have not as of late gotten a minority based scholarship nor Have I vigorously pursued scholarships based on a racial criterion because I have tried to work hard to pass my classes and create the best possible artwork for my portfolio. That being said I will explore all possible financial aid/scholarships hence forth regardless of how my eligibility is determined. And I will do so with no shame.

By the way JOHN, there is a hell of a difference between minority scholarships (which allow people a chance to better themselves) and the kind of racism in this country that has produced things like unjust convictions, lynchings, housing discrimination, and uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinners for interracial couples.

I hope I have explained myself to your satisfaction but I'm willing to S P E L L it out to you again should you require. I'm here all week.

Newsflash: John McCain has just heaped praise on Jesse Helms's "legacy".

Yeah, he's got my vote.

OK Will Robert Byrd be next? Every speech he gives exudes the pomposity of a hater. To all the liberals who like to deny the fact that a majority of Southern Democrats were racist, might I remind everyone of Govs Eugene Talmage and Lester Maddox of Georgia? Hypocrites. The Republican Party was actually formed to free the slaves (learn your history), it didn't pick up the mantle of bigotry until 1968, with Richard Nixon's "silent majority" strategy.

from wikipedia :

Jesse and Dot Helms were the parents of three children: Jane, Nancy of Raleigh, and Charles Helms of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Charles, their third son, was a nine year old orphan with cerebral palsy when he was adopted by the Helmses.[2]They decided to adopt him after reading in a newspaper that he wanted a mother and father for Christmas.[2] They had seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.[2]

***

Seems he has a good heart. But people commit mistakes like his view about blacks. Part of the blame should be put to Darwin's Evolution where it claims that black people are the nearest kin of gorillas.

Atheists believe this crap and yet they see themselves better than Helmes. Do you guys have an adopted child with palsy?

FOOLS!!

I keep reading that a debt is owed by America for the scourge of slavery. What about the debt owed to America for ending slavery?

The most important song on the Union side during the war:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5mmFPyDK_8

The world is now a little bit better without his hatred and utter disrespect for his fellow man. Any true Christian would recognize that.

For those of you who may be confused, the "leprosy" of the bible is not the leprosy disease of today; in the bible, it was a clearly visible skin affliction visited upon sinners, and the only cure was God's instance of forgiveness.

Hence, Jesse Helm's evaluation of AIDS as the modern day equivalent of biblical leprosy is in complete accord with his view of the AIDS epidemic.

Also, Senator Byrd may have once belonged to the KKK, but he has spent his life and career atoning for it.

Helms made his reputation by never apologizing for any stance he ever took, including the stance against civil rights.

Not the same.

Thanks Arminius - you really need to go. This weekend is certainly the busiest - and the town is crawling with people. Cute litte town though.

I lived closeby in Lebanon, PA about 10 years ago, but curiously never made it to Gettysburg until I moved to South Carolina. Had a girlfriend up north that took me back, which has often been the case between the North and the South - always a woman in there somewhere. I hope to go back again some day - the Gettysburg battle sites cover a vast geograpical area, so it takes a few days.

As a Civil War buff, it's a must...and travel through the Maryland battle sites on the way....Antietam, Fredericksburg, et al.

To Frompz:

Senator Kennedy is and never has been a hatemonger. Show me, with proof, where the Senator from Massachusetts has based his entire political career on defaming others???? There is a HUGE difference between the two of them.

Robert - you're kind of a dummy, aren't you? The dixie democrats became republicans right about the time that Strom Thurmand decided he didn't like the idea of integration back in the late 1960s. Where you been? The South has been republican since then.....where you from boy?

The not so surprising thing about Helms is how little he accomplished while a politician. He instead became the poster child for the far right tactics of demonizing your opponent, winning an election, demonize some more. Keep your face in the media, while your only goal is to bad mouth, create fear, win elections, and consolidate power. This is the cycle that Helms continued throughout his career. His association with El Salvadoran death squad leader Robert D’Aubuisson is truly frightening. I would think even hard core conservatives would abhor this person. Certainly anyone who counts God as part of their lives would. Hard to believe Helms was in politics so long and has nothing to show for it but a trail of hatred.

Autonomous,

I live now very close to a battle site, Kennesaw Mountain, where Billy Sherman got a bloody nose from Joe Johnson. And I worked in Atlanta, the site of another great battle, of course. No big park for the Battle of Atlanta, just historical markers. But Kennesaw Mountain has a nice site and museum. Also, I lived in Chattanooga, site of another great battle. And, of course, not far south of that is the Chickamauga site, and that is really worth a visit.

Before I die I hope to make a pilgrimage to Gettysburg. Somehow I identify very strongly with it. Have you read 'The Killer Angels'?

Arminius

Jesse Helms was a racist, bigoted, homophobic, mean-spirited hatemonger. When he could no longer publically advocate segregation in this country, he became a vociferous ambassador for Apartheid in South Africa. He was, however, an equal-opportunity hater: white, black, or purple, if someone publically disagreed with Helms, they were on his hitlist.

His legacy is hatred, and a few mumbled words at his retirement do nothing to offset a long, vicious career as a despicable human being. Gentleman? I see no evidence to support that conclusion.

Jesse Helms was a racist, bigoted, homophobic, mean-spirited hatemonger. When he could no longer publically advocate segregation in this country, he became a vociferous ambassador for Apartheid in South Africa. He was, however, an equal-opportunity hater: white, black, or purple, if someone publically disagreed with Helms, they were on his hitlist.

His legacy is hatred, and a few mumbled words at his retirement do nothing to offset a long, vicious career as a despicable human being. Gentleman? I see no evidence to support that conclusion.

Spiderman2, you get stupider by the post...keep going, because a big old rock is going to look smarter before long.

Whatever happened to your schoolin' son? You done got away from your mama boy, 'cause I know she hoped for better.

Charles Darwin is responsible for racism? Lord, Lord, Lord....can we return to the Scopes Monkey Trial for a review of how the South treated evolution?

I think you're mixing your metaphors...but we know your allegiances. You don't like your cousins, the monkeys.....you were, after all, a separate and very special creation.

Why you share 98% of your genetic DNA with chimpanzees remains a mystery.

Spiderman2, you get stupider by the post...keep going, because a big old rock is going to look smarter before long.

Whatever happened to your schoolin' son? You done got away from your mama boy, 'cause I know she hoped for better.

Charles Darwin is responsible for racism? Lord, Lord, Lord....can we return to the Scopes Monkey Trial for a review of how the South treated evolution?

I think you're mixing your metaphors...but we know your allegiances. You don't like your cousins, the monkeys.....you were, after all, a separate and very special creation.

Why you share 98% of your genetic DNA with chimpanzees remains a mystery.

The fact that mr helms could, at that late date, change his feelings towards AIDS after being told one simple thing the Bible said -- something that, surely, a devout alleged Christian as he had already read hundreds of times -- says much about his brand of Christianity -- it is a weapon, not a religion. It is a way to bend others to do as you think they ought to, not a way to make life better for anyone but yourself.

Selfish old bigot -- and there are too too many just like him, people who use religion as a means of controlling others, not as Christ intended. Tell them to treat others as they would want to be treated (Christ's words) and they look at you as if you had spoken greek, or mouthed some obscenity.

"Seems he has a good heart. But people commit mistakes like his view about blacks. Part of the blame should be put to Darwin's Evolution where it claims that black people are the nearest kin of gorillas."

What???!!!! Don't know anyone with a shred of decency who claims this. Is this some odd interpretation of the belief (based on research into the age of human fossils) that homo sapiens evolved in the Rift Valley? That does not equate "black people" with gorillas. The only place I hear that kind of idea is from folks such as those in the so-called Christian Identity movement (Aryan Nations, The Order and a lot of those which operated in the northwest), having the misfortune of hearing them on April 15th in front of the main Portland OR post office.

I believe that Darwin believed that skin color was superficial as opposed to the anti-evolutionist belief that each race a separate species and that of some who believed that blacks were an inferior species! The "mistake' in Helms' and other's view of blacks is awfully hard to lay at the feet of Evolution - why not lay it at the foot of a perverse reading of the bible?

So Sorry, in my last post it should read"...is not and never has been..." ...one to many margarita's toasting this man's demise.

Trailer-park dwelling white Americans have lost a true champion today. Jesse Helms dedicated his life to ensuring that white trash would always occupy only the second-lowest rung on the economic ladder, always one notch above the black man.

In his political life, he was a truly despicable public servant, representing the ugliest and most simple-minded of all Americans.

With that said, he also deserves credit and respect for adopting a child with cerebral palsy. There is some good in everyone.

Helms was a bigoted, racist, homophobic hate-monger. He was one of the most consistently despicable human beings to hold national office in the history of the republic. When he was forced, against his will, to stop advocating for segregation in this country, he became a vociferous ambassador for Apartheid in South Africa.

Gentleman? Patriot? I see no evidence to support those conclusions. Good thing for him that I don't get to choose his eternal destination: it would involve unspeakable acts, and tanker trucks full of lubricating jelly.

Helms was a bigoted, racist, homophobic hate-monger. He was one of the most consistently despicable human beings to hold national office in the history of the republic. When he was forced, against his will, to stop advocating for segregation in this country, he became a vociferous ambassador for Apartheid in South Africa.

Gentleman? Patriot? I see no evidence to support those conclusions. Good thing for him that I don't get to choose his eternal destination: it would involve unspeakable acts, and tanker trucks full of lubricating jelly.

OH JEZUS MARIA ONE HOMOPHOBIC PERSON THAT WILL NOT BE MISSED!!

Arminius - I do have the book and it's a great one. I have to say, if a person is graced with an intuitive sense, they will feel the battle in their bones if they walk the battleground in Gettysburg - folks can make of it what they will, but it's been reported too many times to count. It's all part of the experience.....

Arminius - I do have the book and it's a great one. I have to say, if a person is graced with an intuitive sense, they will feel the battle in their bones if they walk the battleground in Gettysburg - folks can make of it what they will, but it's been reported too many times to count. It's all part of the experience.....

Good.

People on this thread- make a note:

In Darwin's "The Descent of Man", one entire chapter was dedicated to “The Races of Man.” In that book, Darwin wrote:

"At some future period not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilised races of man will almost certainly exterminate and replace the savage races throughout the world. At the same time the anthropomorphous apes...will no doubt be exterminated. The break between man and his nearest Allies will then be wider, for it will intervene between man in a more civilised state, as we may hope, even than the Caucasian, and some ape as low as the baboon, instead of as now between the Negro or Australian and the gorilla. (1874, p. 178).

Dear James,

Thanks for writing about this - it is not heard enough. I remember hearing (in the 1980's) someone despised by many say much the same thing about financial aid, that we need to, as a country, look into income/class based aid. This was based in part on the time this person spent in the much maligned Appalachia. That was Jessie Jackson. And he said it much more than once. He was well received at picket lines, too, I know. And James Webb has said much the same thing, as well as talking about the great increase in concentration of opportunity into a smaller and smaller percentage of the population.

I was luck to have been born in the early 50's, so I was in college when one could afford to attend and work relatively few hours per week during the school year as good paying summer jobs were much easier to get (at least in the Northwest where there were still canneries and the like). I could even attend a very good college and graduate with a small guaranteed loan debt (not even hard to pay off on time, even during the recessions of the mid-1970's - low paying jobs and waiting tables, notwithstanding - and the early-1980's).

Keep up the good work and good luck in the art world or whatever you chose to do!

Michael

"James P. McCampbell:

The amount of financial aid that enabled me to go to school was based economic need not my race.

Class is perhaps a greater impediment to educational ambition these days than any other factor.

I have not as of late gotten a minority based scholarship nor Have I vigorously pursued scholarships based on a racial criterion because I have tried to work hard to pass my classes and create the best possible artwork for my portfolio. That being said I will explore all possible financial aid/scholarships hence forth regardless of how my eligibility is determined. And I will do so with no shame."

Faith and Reason, quit the lies and try to use "reason" instead of faith. Robert Byrd is still a racist:

Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, Ex-Klansman
by Michelle Malkin (March 8, 2001)

Ex-Klansman Robert Byrd, the senior senator from West Virginia, casually used the phrase "white nigger" twice on national TV this weekend.

autonomous:
Robert - you're kind of a dummy, aren't you? The dixie democrats became republicans right about the time that Strom Thurmand decided he didn't like the idea of integration back in the late 1960s. Where you been? The South has been republican since then.....where you from boy?

Anonymous coward, please learn grammar before venturing to post comments in a public forum. Also, one would think that using a derogatory term such as "boy" (as in calling blacks "boy") would be beneath leftists. Apparently not. Also, let's go back to what I said: the 1960s. You said: the 1960s. So, we agree on the decade. If you read the obits on Jesse Helms, he was originally a DEMOCRAT. The point is, bigotry is not limited to a particular political party.

Anon wrote "Why you share 98% of your genetic DNA with chimpanzees remains a mystery"

This is where evolution science get their idea that humans evolved from gorillas. If you look at the "evolution sequence" drawings, the chimp slowly turns into human. The idiot part in it is they depict a black person on that drawing turning into white instead of a white person turning into a black man.

They believe in evolution and yet they claim they are not racists.

FOOLS !!

I hope the whole of Africa open their eyes and deport all of these racist evolutionist looking for fossils in Africa and tell them instead to start digging in Darwin's own graveyard.

The "missing link" is in Charles Darwin's coffin.

Study his bones. His face looks like an ape. He looks at the mirror everyday and voila !! he discovered that he came from a chimp.

FOOLS !!

Anon wrote "Why you share 98% of your genetic DNA with chimpanzees remains a mystery"

This is where evolution science get their idea that humans evolved from gorillas. If you look at the "evolution sequence" drawings, the chimp slowly turns into human. The idiot part in it is they depict a black person on that drawing turning into white instead of a white person turning into a black man.

They believe in evolution and yet they claim they are not racists.

FOOLS !!

I hope the whole of Africa open their eyes and deport all of these racist evolutionist looking for fossils in Africa and tell them instead to start digging in Darwin's own graveyard.

The "missing link" is in Charles Darwin's coffin.

Study his bones. His face looks like an ape. He looks at the mirror everyday and voila !! he discovered that he came from a chimp.

FOOLS !!

Dear autonmous (did you mean "anonymous"? LOL):

While I in no way agree with Spiderman2, what is more worrisome is the hypocrisy that comes from people like you. Does putting down others make you a better person? Does calling someone a "boy" make you a man? (No). That one phrase is both ageist, classist, racist, and sexist: you're suggesting you are better than someone else, who is not "man" enough to be you. Measuring someeone by "manhood" is primitive, barbaric, and sexist. I am just pointing out that you are throwing stones while condemning others for their stupidity. "You done got away with" is NOT English. Please return to school, they have remedial courses available at the local community college that you might get into.

autonomous:
Spiderman2, you get stupider by the post...keep going, because a big old rock is going to look smarter before long.

Whatever happened to your schoolin' son? You done got away from your mama boy, 'cause I know she hoped for better.

Charles Darwin is responsible for racism? Lord, Lord, Lord....can we return to the Scopes Monkey Trial for a review of how the South treated evolution?

I think you're mixing your metaphors...but we know your allegiances. You don't like your cousins, the monkeys.....you were, after all, a separate and very special creation.

Why you share 98% of your genetic DNA with chimpanzees remains a mystery.

Spidey was right- be civil and apologise:

In Darwin's "The Descent of Man", one entire chapter was dedicated to “The Races of Man.” In that book, Darwin wrote:

"At some future period not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilised races of man will almost certainly exterminate and replace the savage races throughout the world. At the same time the anthropomorphous apes...will no doubt be exterminated. The break between man and his nearest Allies will then be wider, for it will intervene between man in a more civilised state, as we may hope, even than the Caucasian, and some ape as low as the baboon, instead of as now between the Negro or Australian and the gorilla. (1874, p. 178).

Now we only have to wait for Dobson and Robertson and Graham and the others and we can start to build a non-religionist (i.e. intelligent and humane) society.

He was filth and I'm glad he is dead.

Jesse Helms was a great, courageous leader. Liberals heap abuse on Helms because he stood for faith, family and the traditional values that made this country strong. Secularist liberals know that deep down they are afraid of God. The promiscuous potheads dread the consequences of their own decadence. Today they callously dance on the grave of Jesse Helms but fear the grave themselves.

Unlike probably the majority of my fellow contributors to this blog, I am from North Carolina. I voted for Senator Helms in every election in which I could vote, starting in 1978. It's odd that opposed to him seem to be the ones who are mean spirited and rude. I took no pleasure with the recent news about a man with whom I disagree almost on every issue, Sen Kennedy. It's a shame that many of my fellow contributors aren't as mature.

I'm glad that you at least mention race in your piece... I don't care for laundry lists of misdeeds, but can you believe that the Reuters' obit left out mention of race whatsoever (excepting a brief mention of affirmative action!)?

Anonymous:
Anon wrote "Why you share 98% of your genetic DNA with chimpanzees remains a mystery"

This is where evolution science get their idea that humans evolved from gorillas. If you look at the "evolution sequence" drawings, the chimp slowly turns into human. The idiot part in it is they depict a black person on that drawing turning into white instead of a white person turning into a black man.

They believe in evolution and yet they claim they are not racists.

FOOLS !!

I hope the whole of Africa open their eyes and deport all of these racist evolutionist looking for fossils in Africa and tell them instead to start digging in Darwin's own graveyard.

The "missing link" is in Charles Darwin's coffin.

Study his bones. His face looks like an ape. He looks at the mirror everyday and voila !! he discovered that he came from a chimp.

FOOLS !!

I hate to break it to you, anonymous, but scientific evidence (like gene sequencing) has led to the conclusion that Africans existed first (about 160,000 years ago) and that modern humans did not get to Europe until about 35,000 years ago (the Neanderthal having gone extinct). Thus, it is not bigotry, but scientific accuracy, that suggests that the oldest "race" of human comes from Africa. Please do some research before name-calling.

Robert wrote "I hate to break it to you, anonymous, but scientific evidence (like gene sequencing) has led to the conclusion that Africans existed first (about 160,000 years ago) and that modern humans did not get to Europe until about 35,000 years ago "

The science I read says that modern human started 40,000 years ago. Do you mean Africans are not humans?

FOOL?

Oops. I should have been clearer when I wrote:

"...Part of the blame should be put to Darwin's Evolution where it claims that black people are the nearest kin of gorillas."
What???!!!! Don't know anyone with a shred of decency who claims this..."

I assumed, that when you wrote the term "Darwin's Evolution" that you were referring to evolution in general, not to Darwin's specific writings, and that you were not excluding evolution and the beliefs of evolutionary scientists, etc., over the past several decades (particularly since the invention and perfection of isotopic dating techniques).

What I meant to make clear was that my statement, "Don't know anyone with a shred of decency who claims this...", referred to what appeared to be your claim that evolutionary theory says that "black people are the nearest kin of gorillas", as opposed to a small section of Darwin's work published 149 years ago (and I am still not convinced that your paragraph correctly states Darwin's beliefs).

Spiderman2, if you mean that evolutionary theory currently makes such a claim, then my statement stands and you can decide if that fits your beliefs (as I am not clear what your specific beliefs on evolution and pigmentation are).

The Aryan Nations and those groups all claim that god made the races separate - and THEY don't believe in evolution. Those who equate evolution with the the inferiority of people of African descent are a very small number of those who have studied and believe in evolution, if evolutionary scientists of that belief even exist. Those who selectively quote the bible (and purport to believe in that book) appear to be the vast majority those who believe in superiority of caucasians over other races.

spiderman2:
Robert wrote "I hate to break it to you, anonymous, but scientific evidence (like gene sequencing) has led to the conclusion that Africans existed first (about 160,000 years ago) and that modern humans did not get to Europe until about 35,000 years ago "

The science I read says that modern human started 40,000 years ago. Do you mean Africans are not humans?

FOOL?

Judging by your comments, yes, you are a fool. Let me say it more clearly: modern humans began about 160,000 years ago, in Africa. Africans are modern humans...neanderthals are not. Are you so anti-science that you'd give up your bigotry first? Amazing.

he was as intemperate, intolerant, and "unChristian" as they come ... I trust he will burn in hell, judged by his own hateful standards.

he was as intemperate, intolerant, and "unChristian" as they come ... I trust he will burn in hell, judged by his own hateful standards.

Charles Darwin wrote " The break between man and his nearest Allies will then be wider, for it will intervene between man in a more civilised state, as we may hope, even than the Caucasian, and some ape as low as the baboon, instead of as now between the Negro or Australian and the gorilla."

The guy did not treat Caucasians and Africans as equals.

Only fools believe in evolution and still think that they are not racist. Darwin was a racist pig.

Michael, do you want me to rephase Darwin's statement so you can understand it?

marjorie clark wrote:

Jesse Helms was an honorable public servant who fought for what he believed in with absolute decency and honesty. Nobody ever accused him of corruption. Those who hated him hated his views, but theirs was the bitterness of losers, since he won every reelection he sought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

this is nothing more or less than a poor reflection on the judgment and standards of the people of North Carolina, who I am sure have overcome the hateful legacy of this departed loser (the real loser)... may he roll in his grave if/when Barack Obama is elected).

Anonymous:

Spidey was right- be civil and apologise:

In Darwin's "The Descent of Man", one entire chapter was dedicated to “The Races of Man.” In that book, Darwin wrote:

"At some future period not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilised races of man will almost certainly exterminate and replace the savage races throughout the world. At the same time the anthropomorphous apes...will no doubt be exterminated. The break between man and his nearest Allies will then be wider, for it will intervene between man in a more civilised state, as we may hope, even than the Caucasian, and some ape as low as the baboon, instead of as now between the Negro or Australian and the gorilla. (1874, p. 178).

July 4, 2008 8:23 PM

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

It does seem as if the skin coloured racism, i.e. white vs non-white, comes more from Britain than from the European subcontinent, who are more focused on their ethnic roots, e.g. French, Germans, Italians, Spanish etc. Could it that the Brits are such a mixture of ethnic groups because of all the invasions that they can't think in terms of any particular ethnic group and hence think in terms of the white race?

Just a thought.

Autonomous,

As far as I am concerned, Gettysburg is a holy site. And that, despite the fact that I am a believer, has nothing to do with religion. It's almost as if I was there....

Robert wrote "Let me say it more clearly: modern humans began about 160,000 years ago, in Africa."

You claim that it is thru "gene sequencing" that they have that "fact".

Do you know what you are talking about? Check if part of what they are sequncing are gorrila genes, would you?

Bush says that Helms was a "kind and decent man".
That sets a very low standard for kind and decent.
If we have a similar standard for the quality of a presidency, Bush's presidency is still below average.

Oh Lucifer....
here comes another one!
I think you already know each other...
y'know, Strom's friend???

You people need to read Darwin's "Descent of Man"

Darwin was a supporter of early eugenics. Francis Galton was his half-cousin (the man who coined the word "eugenics" meaning to genetically advance man through breeding and sterilization). Too bad no one recorded their family table talk over dinner. Naturally, Darwin also believed in eugenic restrictions on marriage. (Descent of Man, 1871, vol. II, p. 403)

Oh, I could comment for hours, but I will keep it simple. I am said a man has died but I am also glad that "this" man will no longer be able to spread his non-christian values.

Christian values do not live in a man who could agree with the Jim Crow mentality toward other human beings. I hope he has his maker teach him about what a good person and the faith really is all about in the next life.

If he was a Hindu or a Buddhist he would come back a worm.

It doesn't matter how big a Republican A**hole you are you're still going to die. Good Riddance.

As with George Carlin, Helms is now awaiting the last step towards being interned as worm food.

It does not make any difference what is said here about the dead -- the dead certainly have no capacity to know or care, and the family won't be reading this anyway. He did seem like an ignorant, racist anti-science troll, but there's certainly no shortage of them around. Besides, it was the people of his state that kept re-electing him.

Does this mean Confederate flags will be at half-mast at Nascar races the rest of the year?

As usual, when one looks through the comment section as well as the public obituaries, the ones with the least tolerance are those who pretend to have the most. Those who decry the negative characteristics they perceive in others cannot help but display their own.

Just to set the record straight for the reporter who wrote this story and for our reading audience, no one in the Bible speaks more about hell than Jesus Christ Himself. Sin is real. That's why the Son of God Himself hung on a cross and rose from the dead.

I for one make no pretenses of having any kind of tolerance for bigots who would deny others their constitutional rights. Some things don't deserve to be tolerated. Good riddance and I hope the people of his state replace him with someone who can respect people who aren't mirror images of themself.

He was someone who claimed to base his feelings on the Bible when in fact he hadn't bothered to consider the Sermon on the Mount -- just like all the rest of his ilk. They pick and choose the parts of the bible that support their prejudices and ignore the rest. Then they call everyone else "cafeteria Christians." It's too bad there really isn't a hell because he would meet a bunch of his friends there.

As the song goes "everybody talkin' bout heaven ain't going there. some folks talkin' bout heaven going down below."

Jesus to Jesse Helms at the gates of Heaven: "I know you not."

PER GEORGE BUSH " STROM WAS A KIND AND DECENT MAN" HAHAHAHAHAH JUST ANOTHER INANE COMMENT FROM GEORGE REGARDING A HORRID RACIST> IT FIGURES

I am going to celebrate that the mad and crazy old man has kicked the bucket.
May he burned in hell, forever.

From the time I was a kid, I am now 56 , Jesse Helms was a shameful individual with regards to humanity. I remember him well. For his family I offer condolences but for Jesse Helms, what can I offer? Sen. Byrd at an advanced age repented from his earlier beliefs and embraced ALL people and publicy apolized for what was acceptable behavior for many individuals that were anti-civil rights. He was a young politician and had to work the WV political machine for votes. He was a poor person himself and need the machine for election help which was part of the Klan. Apples @ Oranges you can not compare. Sen. Byrd highly regrets his past actions and has soulfully attempted to make repentence. Robert Byrd "went public" with his wrongful ways of his youth.

If you believe the mythology, it does appear true that Jesus was as evil and twisted as was his father. It takes a special type of sadistic fetish to design a place of eternal torture, and Jesus seems to be the one in the Bible who is most enthusiastic about it.

Hell is a concept designed to keep people in churches and the coffers full. Even if it did exist, I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Dead at last. Dead at Last. Thank God he's dead at last. Also, "you're at the wrong gate Jesse. This is heaven. I think you want the door down the hallway. Go about a million miles. Then turn extreme right. It's the door with fire licking out from underneath."

Dead at last. Dead at Last. Thank God he's dead at last. Also, "you're at the wrong gate Jesse. This is heaven. I think you want the door down the hallway. Go about a million miles. Then turn extreme right. It's the door with fire licking out from underneath."

I have read many posts by bible-thumping yet morally vacuous imbeciles, though the following post(from earlier today) is an example of the cretinesque mindset of most southern baptists etal. - a disquieting paucity of critical thinking skills(or any cognitive ability whatsoever).

"Senator Jesse Helms is remembered today as a true patriot, a loyal son of North Carolina and an American worthy of the name. Where he beheld foolishness, he exposed it. He valiantly opposed the UN and its soverignty killing agenda. He saw the inroads made by communism and its fellow travellers and ever sought to retard their evil schemes. The senator understood organizations such as the NAACP for what they are: vocal and well-funded troublemakers intent upon taking what isn't theirs through confiscatory taxation and judicial meddling. Senator Helms honored the principle of States' Rights and understood by the Founding Fathers. In short, the late Jesse Helms was a man guided by his Christian convictions and by simple common sense. If one wishes to appreciate the man's goodness, one needs but consider who it was who roundly hated him. Jesse Helms loved America, the true America, that is, and he in turn was loved by true Americans.

Rest in peace, Old Hero. My choirs of angels speed thee to thy rest !"

spiderman2, I do understand the statement you quoted (your sarcasm is pretty simplistic) and also understand the time in which Darwin was born and raised and the attitudes of the time and the treatment by the Brits (I won't list all of the other nations) of those in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Ireland, Wales, the working class, and most of its colonies. You can also look at history and the number of big names who actually opposed such ides - pretty few at the time, and not just in Britain.

Believe it or not, Evolution did not begin and cease to develop as a science with Darwin. Nor did those who espoused Eugenics represent every believer and scientist in evolution. To read Darwin and claim that that is proof that evolutionists today are racist and remain racists to this day is as thick as saying that J.J. Thompson's 1904 "Plum Pudding Model" of the atom represents atomic theory and whatever Thompson wrote is what all "atomists" believe. Or even to go back a little further to Faraday and his doubts about the existence of atoms.

Thompson believed that electrons were surrounded by some positively charged "stuff". That does not mean that physicists and chemists believe that and everything which Thompson believed. Nor does it mean that all of is theories were groundless and were not some of important bases the ongoing development of atomic theory.

As for evolution, the point is not what Darwin wrote, but what you wrote and what you appear to have implied (and which you have had enough time refute) - that evolutionists believe what Darwin wrote about "lesser races". I submit that you will find tat belief primarily among those who do not accept evolution but believe in creationism.

The question is, do you believe that evolutionary scientists today "believe that black people are the nearest kin of gorillas." If so, then you slander hundreds of thousands of scientists and millions upon millions of those who believe in evolution. Tell us what you actually believe evolutionists today believe, not what Darwin and his relatives wrote over 100 years ago.

this board is filled with hatred. shame on you all.

spiderman2:
Charles Darwin wrote " The break between man and his nearest Allies will then be wider, for it will intervene between man in a more civilised state, as we may hope, even than the Caucasian, and some ape as low as the baboon, instead of as now between the Negro or Australian and the gorilla."

The guy did not treat Caucasians and Africans as equals.

Only fools believe in evolution and still think that they are not racist. Darwin was a racist pig.

Michael, do you want me to rephase Darwin's statement so you can understand it?

Spidey2, quit trying to use "racism" to bash scientific evolution...it won't work.

First off, more ancient does NOT necessarily mean more primitive. More recent does not mean more advanced. Darwin's views on race, while ignominous by today's standards, were actually ahead of his time. At the time he wrote his work, the prevailing view was that human races were separate species (or at least came from a single ancient origin and then evolved independently). Darwin's ideas supported the view that all races were the same species. So, his view was more enlightened than the generation before, and his ideas should be judged in this context. These arguments of yours are no different than saying that "George Washington owned slaves."

We've heard a bit about Darwin. Here's a little taste of how people like Helms still think:

"Ken Ham once put it this way: Lack of a belly-button on Adam and Eve would be one of the biggest tourist attractions in the pre-Flood world, as the grandchildren and the great-grandchildren would come up and say, “Why don't you have a belly-button?” And they could recount again and again, to generation after generation, how God had created them special by completed supernatural acts, and yet had designed them to multiply and fill the Earth in natural ways that are equally a part of God's continuing care for what He created."

LOL

Steve:

Hatred for the legacy of a hateful, morally vacant, self-righteous, piece of human garbage! It is time to expose this dead emmisary of hell for what he truly espoused - disregard and vitriol for anyone not rallying to his twisted "christian convictions." When will people open their eyes and see the Falwell's, Dobson's, Byrd's, Thurmond's, etc. (ad nauseum, ad infinitum) for what they represent - intolerance, blind-faith, and the spiritual rape of millions!

Robert Byrd has only said what he needed to say to placate those in the Democratic party. Just because he keeps his white sheet in the closet does not mean that he is not still a racist.

Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, Ex-Klansman
by Michelle Malkin (March 8, 2001)

Ex-Klansman Robert Byrd, the senior senator from West Virginia, casually used the phrase "white nigger" twice on national TV this weekend. Enraged civil rights groups organized a protest campaign against Sen. Byrd and demanded that he undergo sensitivity training ... not.

The ex-Klansman, you see, is a Democrat. Democrats can join hate groups and utter the ugliest racial slurs and get away with it because they are Democrats. They belong to the party of racial tolerance and understanding. They're paragons of virtue, and the rest of us are bigoted rubes.

The ex-Klansman showed his true colors when asked by Fox News Sunday morning talk show host Tony Snow about the state of race relations in America. Sen. Byrd warned: "There are white niggers. I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time. I'm going to use that word. We just need to work together to make our country a better country, and I'd just as soon quit talking about it so much."

The ex-Klansman, famed for Beltway blowhardism, should have quit talking a lot sooner. Why any prominent politician in his right mind would publicly and deliberately use the poisonous epithet "nigger" -- which most daily newspapers refuse to spell out, no matter the context -- is beyond comprehension. It's an open question as to whether the rant-prone, 83-year-old Byrd is even in his right mind, but senility doesn't excuse bigotry.

The ex-Klansman's admirers praise his historical knowledge, mastery of procedural rules, and outspokenness. They refer to the Senate's senior Democrat as the "conscience of the Senate." They downplay his white-sheet-wearing days as a "brief mistake" -- as if joining the Klan were like knocking over a glass of water. Oopsy.

This ex-Klansman wasn't just a passive member of the nation's most notorious hate group. According to news accounts and biographical information, Sen. Byrd was a "Kleagle" -- an official recruiter who signed up members for $10 a head. He said he joined because it "offered excitement" and because the Klan was an "effective force" in "promoting traditional American values." Nothing like the thrill of gathering 'round a midnight bonfire, roasting s'mores, tying nooses, and promoting white supremacy with a bunch of your hooded friends.

The ex-Klansman allegedly ended his ties with the group in 1943. He may have stopped paying dues, but he continued to pay homage to the KKK. Republicans in West Virginia discovered a letter Sen. Byrd had written to the Imperial Wizard of the KKK three years after he says he abandoned the group. He wrote: "The Klan is needed today as never before and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia" and "in every state in the Union."

The ex-Klansman later filibustered the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act -- supported by a majority of those "mean-spirited" Republicans -- for more than 14 hours. He also opposed the nominations of the Supreme Court's two black justices, liberal Thurgood Marshall and conservative Clarence Thomas. In fact, the ex-Klansman had the gall to accuse Justice Thomas of "injecting racism" into the Senate hearings. Meanwhile, author Graham Smith recently discovered another letter Sen. Byrd wrote after he quit the KKK, this time attacking desegregation of the armed forces.

The ex-Klansman vowed never to fight "with a Negro by my side. Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds."

If this ex-Klansman were a conservative Republican, he would never hear the end of his sordid past. "Ex-Klansman who opposed civil rights and black justices" would appear in every reference to Sen. Byrd. And even the "ex-" would be in doubt. Maxine Waters and Ralph Neas and Julianne Malveaux and Al Sharpton and all the other left-wing bloodhounds who sniff racism in every crevice of American life would be barking up a storm over Sen. Byrd's latest fulminations. Instead, the attack dogs are busy decrying latent racial bigotry where it doesn't exist, while the real thing roams wild and free in their own political backyard.

Thanks alot, David Waters. We still have an enemy who chants "Death to America". Next time try to unite not divide..

"The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence; the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize." - President Washington, 1796

We do need to spread unity - to stand united against everything that the dead piece of filth Helms stood for - to summarily reject a legacy of spiritual blindness!

Robert says-

"Tell us what you actually believe evolutionists today believe"

Peter Singer, a Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, believes "that the right to life is grounded in a being's personhood; that is, in the sense of a being's rationality and self-consciousness. In his view, infants similarly lack essential characteristics of personhood - "rationality, autonomy, and self-consciousness"- and therefore "simply killing an infant is never equivalent to killing a person."

Singer classifies euthanasia as voluntary, involuntary, or non-voluntary. Voluntary euthanasia is that with the consent of the subject.

Singer's book 'Rethinking Life and Death: The collapse of our Traditional Ethics' offers further examination of the ethical dilemmas concerning the advances of medicine. He covers the value of human life and quality of life ethics in addition to abortion and other controversial ethical dilemmas."

Hello.. The seeds of eugenics planted by Galton and his cousin Darwin have grown into a desire and willingness to devalue the life of the defenseless..

Dear David

Happy Fourth of July!

Nice to have you blogging, and I look forward to reading you ideas here.

Best wishes
Soja

GERMAN SUICIDE VIDEO

A German politician who helped a woman to end her life and released a video of her death has caused outrage in Germany and prompted the authorities to try to tighten their rules on assisted suicide.

Roger Kusch, a former senator in Hamburg and a prominent right-to-die campaigner, has said he advised Bettina Schardt, a healthy 79-year-old pensioner, on how to prepare a lethal cocktail of sedatives and anti-malaria drugs which would kill her. He said he then left her flat shortly before she died.

Mr Kusch filmed nine hours of conversations with the unmarried and childless woman, who said she dreaded being taken to a home for the elderly. However, she did not have a terminal illness and said: "I can't say that I am suffering."

The subject of euthanasia is particularly sensitive in Germany due to the Nazis who some historians estimate killed more than 100,000 mentally handicapped or incurably ill people between 1940 and 1945.

The Netherlands became the first country to legalise euthanasia in 2002 and it is also legal in Luxembourg and Belgium. Campaigners want to decriminalise it in other nations.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/2234720/Suicide-video-outrages-Germany.html

STEVE HANSEN sez:
"this board is filled with hatred. shame on you all."

Gee, if one can't hate a knuckle-dragging, racist bigot like Helms, who can one hate?

However you look at it, evolutionists believe that Europeans are at the top of the evolutionary ladder.

They claim that the first humans (which means those who are the nearest kin of gorillas) started from Africa and then migrated to Australia. The second wave of migration went to the Middle East and Asia. And lastly those from Asia went to Europe.

If you look at the map, Australia is much farther than Europe if Africa is the base point.

These guys would shamelessly twist geography just so they can "PROVE" that Europeans are the superior race.

FOOLS !!

Evolution is a racist doctrine and Africa should group together and throw this garbage out of their school curriculum.

***

The National Geographic Society launched the Genographic Project, headed by Spencer Wells.

In his book, The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey, Wells describes the exodus from Africa that began around 60,000 years ago, and the path we took to populate the world.

Following the southern coastline of Asia, the first early travelers crossed about 250 kilometers [155 miles] of sea, and colonized Australia by around 50,000 years ago. The Aborigines of Australia, Wells says, are the descendants of the first wave of migration out of Africa.

A second wave left Africa around 45,000 years ago and settled in the Middle East, with smaller groups going off to India, northern China, and southern China. As the glaciers of the Ice Age began to retreat around 40,000 years ago and temperatures warmed up, humans moved into Central Asia and multiplied quickly.

Small groups left Central Asia around 35,000 years ago for Europe. Around 20,000 years ago, another small group of Central Asians moved farther north, into Siberia and the Arctic Circle.

Jesse Helms on "negroes":
As an aide to the 1950 Senate campaign of North Carolina Republican candidate Willis Smith, Helms reportedly helped create attack ads against Smith's opponent, including one which read: "White people, wake up before it is too late. Do you want Negroes working beside you, your wife and your daughters, in your mills and factories? Frank Graham favors mingling of the races." Another ad featured photographs Helms himself had doctored to illustrate the allegation that Graham's wife had danced with a black man. (The News and Observer, 8/26/01; The New Republic, 6/19/95; The Observer, 5/5/96; Hard Right: The Rise of Jesse Helms, by Ernest B. Furgurson, Norton, 1986)

The University of North Carolina was "the University of Negroes and Communists." (Capital Times, 11/22/94) Black civil rights activists were "Communists and sex perverts." (Copley News Service, 8/23/01)

Of civil rights protests Helms wrote, "The Negro cannot count forever on the kind of restraint that's thus far left him free to clog the streets, disrupt traffic, and interfere with other men's rights." (WRAL-TV commentary, 1963) He also wrote, "Crime rates and irresponsibility among Negroes are a fact of life which must be faced." (New York Times, 2/8/81)
Helms on "degenerate, weak, sick homosexuals":
Over the years Helms has declared homosexuality "degenerate," and homosexuals "weak, morally sick wretches." (Newsweek, 12/5/94) In a tirade highlighting his routine opposition to AIDS research funding, Helms lashed out at the Kennedy-Hatch AIDS bill in 1988: "There is not one single case of AIDS in this country that cannot be traced in origin to sodomy." (States News Service, 5/17/88)
Helms being a racist:
And the man ABC News now describes as a "conservative icon" (8/22/01) in 1993 sang "Dixie" in an elevator to Carol Moseley-Braun, the first African-American woman elected to the Senate, bragging, "I'm going to make her cry. I'm going to sing Dixie until she cries." (Chicago Sun-Times, 8/5/93)
Helms filibusters making Martin Luther King day a national holiday:
A year before the election, when public polls showed Helms trailing by 20 points, he launched a Senate filibuster against the bill making the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. a national holiday. (David Broder, Washington Post, Aug, 29, 2001)
On cutting AIDS funding:
Sen. Jesse Helms says the government should spend less money on people with AIDS because they got sick as a result of "deliberate, disgusting, revolting conduct," The New York Times reported Wednesday....

"We've got to have some common sense about a disease transmitted by people deliberately engaging in unnatural acts," Helms told the Times.

If these evolutionist would someday see an "uglier" black person in Mars, Im sure they would conclude that African migration went first to Mars then back to Australia and lastly to Europe.

They would think that it's easier for Africans to go first to Mars before entering Europe.

FOOLS!!

I can't help but think that Spiderman2 doesn't really know anything about what modern evolutionists believe.

Most that I know of actually elevate Northern Africa and the middle east as very high on the evolutionary ladder. You know, it's only the birth place of....civilization, many modern mathematical concepts (like a little thing called "0"), not even to get into the other sciences that the middle east and northern Africans pioneered. So, following the logic of evolution of course these people had more advanced learning etc, as they had been around longer as they were located in the center of the birthplace for homo-sapiens. The concept of the middle east and Africa being full of ignorant gorilla-like savages, conversely, came directly from church doctrine and religious belief. The Roman empire, in its non-christian days (and even during, though they were short) respected the middle eastern and african empires a great deal.

Funnily enough, while the middle east was dabbling in sophisticated mathematics, astronomy and the like, Europe was in the midst of the Dark Ages. A time when...surprise surprise....fundamental christian doctrine was the rule of law...and Europe was at the height of ignorance in ages.

I can't help but think that Spiderman2 doesn't really know anything about what modern evolutionists believe.

Most that I know of actually elevate Northern Africa and the middle east as very high on the evolutionary ladder. You know, it's only the birth place of....civilization, many modern mathematical concepts (like a little thing called "0"), not even to get into the other sciences that the middle east and northern Africans pioneered. So, following the logic of evolution of course these people had more advanced learning etc, as they had been around longer as they were located in the center of the birthplace for homo-sapiens. The concept of the middle east and Africa being full of ignorant gorilla-like savages, conversely, came directly from church doctrine and religious belief. The Roman empire, in its non-christian days (and even during, though they were short) respected the middle eastern and african empires a great deal.

Funnily enough, while the middle east was dabbling in sophisticated mathematics, astronomy and the like, Europe was in the midst of the Dark Ages. A time when...surprise surprise....fundamental christian doctrine was the rule of law...and Europe was at the height of ignorance in ages.

Stakhanov wrote " Funnily enough, while the middle east was dabbling in sophisticated mathematics, astronomy and the like, Europe was in the midst of the Dark Ages. A time when...surprise surprise....fundamental christian doctrine was the rule of law...and Europe was at the height of ignorance in ages. "

Typical ignorant atheist. You should not equate the Dark ages to true Christianity coz Catholicsim is not christianity. You'll be burned at the stake if you were found reading the Bible or reproducing it.

Incidentally, European industrialization coincided when the Bible was spread across Europe leapfrogging the rest of the world in technological know-how.

The Bible made Europe great and it's rejection of the Bible would result to it's damnation a few years from now.

Stakhanov , if it's true as you claim that North Africans were the first humans, then why is it so hard for evolutionists to think that Europe is just "walking distance" away from Africa?

Why can't they accept that if they are not racist?

Why would Africans migrate to Australia first when Europe is so near to them?

You know why? It's because evolution is a lie and they have to make ridiculous stories just to support their fantastic doctrine.

Yea though one more self-proclaimed christian soul now burns in hell :-)

Alas, it is times like this that I truly wish I could defy logic, shake my atheistic integrity and genuinely believe that such a place actually existed.

As it stands, the lucky SOB merely died, when in reality he deserves to suffer the torments of Dante's Inferno for eternity... he got off light.

Stakhanov: Most that I know of actually elevate Northern Africa and the middle east as very high on the evolutionary ladder. You know, it's only the birth place of....civilization, many modern mathematical concepts (like a little thing called "0"), not even to get into the other sciences that the middle east and northern Africans pioneered. (July 5, 2008 1:36 AM )

Sorry to disappoint you Stakhanov, but as an Indian one of the things we were taught very early in school was that Indians invented the little thing called "0" and advanced mathematics was around in India long before the birth of Islam, even if Arabs took it from India to Europe.

http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/HistTopics/Zero.html

An Indian source of information

http://www.iisc.ernet.in/academy/resonance/April2002/pdf/April2002p4-19.pdf

Dear James P. McCampbell:

You are a racist. A self admitted, unrepentant, racist. And until you understand and repent of your racism, you are the enemy of all who love freedom. Jesse Helms was a much better man than you are.

Mr. Mark - Thank you for the documented misdeeds of the fresh corpse Jesse Helms. Only by loudly and repeatedly listing the horrible statements and actions of Mr. Helms will we prevent the sanitization and rewriting of his history. Future generations will look back on him with absolute horror and disgust. Do not be misled by his alleged "manners" or "charisma" or "Southern gentlemanly ways." These were the thin veneers of civility that distracted from the rotten core. The interesting thing is that Mr. Helms is one of a dying breed of openly vocal Southern racists. The old South would parade their prejudices openly and proudly. If you were not White, Baptist, or did not act exactly as they thought you should, you really knew they hated you because you were told directly. Jesse's people, the one's who still think as he did, are still out there in the South and they have poisoned their children and grandchildren. The difference between these Southern neo-bigots is that they no longer vocalize their hate in the clear, direct and disgusting public ways that Jesse Helms did. While their rhetoric is controlled in public, their attitudes are evident by the popularity of the right-wing causes, the Christian religion, the conservative radio personalities and the Republican party they support.

"We've got to have some common sense about a disease transmitted by people deliberately engaging in unnatural acts," Helms told the Times.

WELL, WELL, WELL..

"AIDS should not be considered a global concern for heterosexuals outside sub-Saharan Africa, asserts the HIV/AIDS director for the World Health Organization (WHO), Kevin De Cock, according to London’s The Independent newspaper (independent.co.uk, 6/8). De Cock made the declaration despite a discouraging report that his own organization—along with UNAIDS and UNICEF—issued less than a week ago showing that while 3 million HIV-positive people worldwide were getting lifesaving antiretroviral treatment in 2007, 2.5 million others became infected.

“It is very unlikely there will be a heterosexual [HIV] epidemic in other countries,” De Cock told The Independent. “Ten years ago a lot of people were saying there would be a generalized epidemic in Asia—China was the big worry with its huge population. That doesn’t look likely. But we have to be careful.”

De Cock acknowledges that AIDS should remain at the forefront of public health concerns, along with other chronic diseases like malaria. He suggested that more prevention efforts should be focused on men who have sex with men (MSM).

“In the developing world, [prevention for MSMs] has been neglected,” he says. “It is astonishing how badly we have done with men who have sex with men. It is something that is going to have to be discussed much more rigorously.”

http://www.poz.com/articles/aids_heterosexual_disease_1_14719.shtml

Thanks to Mr. Mark

Who provided quotes that make Jesse Helms sound like a prophet:

"There is not one single case of AIDS in this country that cannot be traced in origin to sodomy." (States News Service, 5/17/88)

It is not necessary to speak ill of this profoundly evil man. His own words uttered in life will live on to prove what a truly vile human being he was.

It is necessary to not only speak ill of the now freshly rotting corpse of Helms - but to also speak ill of Robert Byrd, who will hopefully soon join Helms in the bowels of HELL!

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Robert - Michelle Malkin is and always has been a republican apologist and a Fox News mouthpiece...
this take on Sen. Byrd of West Virginia is actually a defense of Jesse Helms in a roundabout way.

The underlying issue is that Byrd is a democrat and to GOP clones likes Malkin, that fact alone is always sufficient for a assault .... the 'other' fact that he has an ancient history with the Klan only makes it all the more juicy for sqeezing his lemons......

Byrd repented many years ago - whereas Helms died an unrepentent racist and homophobe, to the core.

Its fitting that Jesse Helms died on the fourth of July.

Robert - learn YOUR history....living in South Carolina as I do, we all know how the dixie democrats became republicans over integration issues back in the 1960s, and Strom Thurmand led the way - a gentleman who later proved to have fathered a black child out of wedlock....and quite a little scandal I can tell you!

We recalled (in the news) at the time of his death at age 100, that he had married a woman 40 years his junior (USC Homecoming Queen) many years ago & later divorced with several children -kind of a randy old goat wasn't he?

Byrd has now beaten his long-standing record for continuous service in the Senate. Byrd is still standing on his own two feet, whereas Thurmond required the use of a assistant for his last couple of terms.

The South has been republican ever since. As to good republicans, I'm trying to think of one after Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt comes to mind - a broad social reformer much like his distant democratic relative FDR (although Teddy didn't like atheists at all!). And the likable Eisenhower warned us of the dangers of the military-industrial complex.....which we unfortunately ignored. Now it's too late.

I think the decline of the republican party was kind of a gradual thing, but have to agree that with Nixon, the party went to hell in a handbasket over night - and we have our present day neocon nightmare as a result (with many of the same old players).

It would be kind of ironic if the South turned back into dixie democrats for this upcoming election - helping elect Obama and all.......there would be real justice in that outcome, I'm sure you'd agree.

Here's what Helms wrote after meeting with two other Christian leaders (Bono and Franklin Graham)

"When I was first told in 2000 that Bono wanted to meet with me to talk about boosting U.S. aid to Africa, I didn't know who he was. But my Senate staff certainly did. After so many years in Washington, I had met enough people to quickly figure out who is genuine and who is there for show. I knew as soon as I met Bono that he was genuine. He had his facts in hand and didn't have any agenda other than doing all he could to help people in desperate need.

Along with Franklin Graham, Bono, 45, helped me understand the scope of the tragedy in Africa, especially the pain it is bringing to infants and children and their families. Once I understood, I made both men a promise that I would do all I could to help. Senator Bill Frist and I were allies in creating and passing a bill to commit $200 million to fight AIDS in Africa. The challenges are still enormous, but I think there can be a very good future for Africa if the cycles of death, poverty and armed conflict can be overcome.

I admire Bono's dedication and his willingness to make decisions. There is no pretense about him. In fact, he has opened himself up to criticism because he has been willing to work with anyone to find help for these children. After our first meeting, he invited me to be his guest at a U2 concert. My grandchildren were only too happy to come along. Bono enjoys telling people that I said watching the audience swaying to the music reminded me of a cornfield rustling in the wind. It was also a reminder of the millions he manages to touch every day with his music and his heart."

This is why I don't have a blog on my website, bibleteacher.org. The loons all write because they feel they're all right.

Nobody's right nor perfect, and neither was Jesse Helms. I remember watching Jesse on WRAL News when I was a young boy with my dad. His editorials were clean, concise, and made good sense. Helms was a fundamental Christian, believing what the Scripture said without equivocation. So many call him a homophobe - a word made up by limosine liberals and sexual predators - but he wasn't a hypocrit as many of them are. So many today forget the Bible tells us that what you sow you shall reap, and we as a nation are reaping the whirlwind because we've sown foolishness in the wind. Maybe Jesse was a little intolerant - but we need a few more to be less hypocritical and more like him. I'll miss Jesse, as will millions of others.

"Fundamental Christian" - what a badge of honor! Those two words define intolerance, abdication of the intellect, and spiritual charlatinism to the tee. I sincerely doubt that millions will miss this pile of dung - although being a pastor, you are most assuredly adept in the skills of a professional liar.

God said that homosexuality was an abomination, not Jesse Helms, me, or anyone else. We are simply repeating what God has said. I never once heard Jesse utter a racist word. I voted for Jesse, because whether he cared for black people or not, he did peripherally by opposing abortion, which murders more black people per year than all other things COMBINED. Can't say that for Obama. He could care less if your 13 year old black daughter crosses state lines to murder your GRANDCHILD. Now who's the racist? If Jesse WAS one, then Obama sure IS one.

"God Said" - are those the only two words you pathetic bible-thumping morons can hide behind?

" Minister Fred Hatchett:

"God said that homosexuality was an abomination, not Jesse Helms, me, or anyone else."

Funny how, if you believe that, you don't really read the passage in the Old Testament that *says* that: it *really* says it's an 'abomination' to go into the sanctum of the *Temple of Jerusalem without cleansing' after committing 'abominations' like that, wearing mixed fibers, touching pigskin, having a cheeseburger, or other 'abominations' the likes of Helms somehow seem to feel exempt from.

He, and you, *chose* to see things the way you do.

I was interested to hear (for the first time, somehow,) of his 'repentance' of his support of letting AIDS victims suffer and die as long as he can get at gays that way.

Oops. Seems he learned to stay away from microphones at the same time, somehow.

I fail to see what Darwin's writings have to do with the current state of research on evolution. Unlike believers in the Bible, scientists look critically at evidence and revise theories according to what the evidence shows. Where Darwin was correct, his opinions stand. Where Darwin was incorrect, his opinions have been thrown out. That's how science works. It's too bad that critics of evolution project their own biblical "faith" onto people who are more... um... evolved.

Amy says:

"Where Darwin was correct, his opinions stand. Where Darwin was incorrect, his opinions have been thrown out."

I see Amy believes that time and knowledge are the only reliable correctors.

In Darwin's day- he and his fellow evolutionists believed everything he said was truth. In time, many evolutionists became enlightened (via the Civil War and the World Wars) that his thoughts on the racial inferiority of negros and eugenics (the attainment of superior, advanced humans through selective breeding and sterilization of lesser humans) was no longer valid- so they abandoned part on Darwin's "truth". How long until evolutionists futher abandon Darwin? It will happen in time. Science is not an absolute truth. That's how science works. Right, Amy??

Here's a nice little rundown of his righteous 'accomplishments:'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/04/usa

"Minister", "Pastor" - of what? A bevy of narrow-minded, self-righteous bigots! They are not worth the powder to blow them to hell.

I saw Minister Fred and Pastor David playing "stroke and poke" with Teri. But they did have their Bibles open and were clearly full of spirit.

Whose spirit?

Born Right the First Time:

Are you a homosexual man addicted to sexual behaviors that leave you feeling degraded? Just guessing this is what motivates your posts here. When you can't get out of a pit- you try to pull others down to where you are. If you are an adult- you know you only further degrade yourself.

Try to get some help.

Yes, Teri... science can toss out anything that turns out to be untrue. You and other fundies have such a hard time understanding that Darwin isn't an authority figure that parallels with your concept of authority. Evidence is the authority. If the evidence is there, the theory is supported. If the evidence isn't there, the theory is discarded.

You shouldn't reject the truth of a theory just because you fear the moral implications of it being true. It's true whether or not someone uses it for evil purposes. Evidence is evidence. You don't have to like it, just accept it.

Lets not get too carried away. We need stupid white men or else a lot of us will go out of business. I am a black man who owns a liquor store in a poor white area. I make a LOT of money off of white men who are all blue collar and stupid. They basically drink, have a criminal mind, and are genetically prone to be criminals. I don't hate them because it is in their nature. If men like Jesse Helms did not exist, I would be out of business. I figured out poor white men out a long time ago, all they have is their whiteness.

"Evidence is the authority. If the evidence is there, the theory is supported. If the evidence isn't there, the theory is discarded."

Amy has forgotten the evidence that Darwin provided to prove that the black races were close in evolution to the gorilla. He compared the skulls, nostrils, lips, eye-size and spacing with endless drawings and measurements to prove his theory and many saw his data and drawings and agreed.

The evidence that today's evolutionists are convinced is viable- will often just be the contents of tomorrow's ash heap of history.

Amy believes:

"Evidence is evidence. You don't have to like it, just accept it."

Well no Amy. I question it- as any inquisitive person will. Breakthroughs are found by pioneers who reject the norm of their day and think outside what is accepted as truth. I am thankful Darwin's "sciences" of eugenics and racial inequality were questioned and thrown down. So you may accept todays spin on evolution if you are convinced and I will continue to wonder and question.

Best wishes.

"Herb"

I question your post claiming to be a black man who sells liquor to poor white men.

To begin with- no one sells liquor to "whites only" or "men only".

But the real clincher for me that tells me you are a BIG FAT LIAR is something any black man knows.

"I figured out poor white men out a long time ago, all they have is their whiteness."

No. They have guns- usually several.

A fitting memorial -- http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2008/07/05/jesse-helms/

Wow, Anonymous.

Are you addicted to imagining people are gay and trying to 'degrade' them? Could it be you're the only one involved in degrading anybody or anything?

Could you be hiding some homosexual attractions yourself and trying to spank yourself out of it?

Cause it seems to me that you got a head full of 'degraded' before anyone in the room even remotely alluded to being gay.

As for Darwin, Amy's really hit it here:

"Yes, Teri... science can toss out anything that turns out to be untrue. You and other fundies have such a hard time understanding that Darwin isn't an authority figure that parallels with your concept of authority."

Bingo.

And, I seem to have missed a set of quote marks in my last post. The first 'paragraph' was quoted from Anonymous.

Apologies for any confusion.

Growing up in the research triangle area of NC during the 1950’s and 1960’s, I remember listening to his vitriol spewing out of the family radio and, despite my relative youth, remaining genuinely appalled that a so-called adult would be permitted to express such shameless racist prejudice on public airways. How terribly unfortunate that this angry, narcissistic wanna-be enjoyed such a long and destructive presence in the public sphere. The fact that this scourge represented NC contributed significantly to my decision to leave a state I had always loved. Regrettably, he lives in infamy garnering appropriate Tarheel shame. He contributed nothing and stole fraudulently from all of our well-being.

The banter about Darwinian theory is a tangential issue - the matter at hand, being the long awaited demise of one of the most vile mistakes to have ever been born - namely Jesse Helms, is reason for celebration. This pathetic pile of dung was a spiritual FRAUD - this is one of the seminal reasons for holding his miserable existence in the utmost contempt. This fetid heap of filth was proof that the human soul cannot evolve from a state of moral decay.

I hope he had a slow lingering death and suffered atrocious pain. It will prepare him for hell.

I tend to figure, Nite Owl, that thinking about Hells is part of the problem, not the solution.

Someone on this thread mentioned the new picture at the top of this thread bothered them. It bothered me too- but I couldn't really say why.

Today I realised the girls in the picture don't fit. If they are supposed to be pledging allegiance to the flag like the President and other Americans do- someone forgot to tell them to place their hand over their heart. Two have their hand on their sternum and one has her hand over her throat. Now that I've noticed it- its really obvious. What's with that?

Check it out.

Janis is right. The photo also makes it look like 3/5 of America is muslim. Someone went a little overboard on the political correctness.

That picture is frigging bizarre. Someone's going to capture it and it will make the rounds through emails proving Moslems don't really put their hands over their heart or pledge their allegiance to the American flag...

Unable to view Susan Jacoby's thread

Don't Know Much About Theology, Don't Know Much Philosophy...

Could you help? Thanks.

To DAVID WATERS ---

Unable to view comments on Susan Jacoby's thread now @ 531 comments:

Don't Know Much About Theology, Don't Know Much Philosophy...

Anyone else having the same problem? Please post reply on this thread.

To Paganplace:

Thanks for your post in support. I have found that the fundies have ABSOLUTELY no sense of humor. Therefore, using humor against them is a powerful weapon. They just do not get it. Rational minds will never convince them of anything that strays from their narrow and twisted view of the world and of science. Just poke fun at them and enjoy their predictable idiotic responses.

Has anyone else noticed that all of the WaPo stories (except this one) about Helms now have no comments? The comments now have been obliterated. I was following the online comments immediately after he died and 99.9% of them were either rational assessments of his vile career or were simple expressions of anger and relief at his long-desired demise. I think the words "good riddance" were posted by many. Evidently the WaPo was caught off-guard by the wide revulsion and anger that most of thinking America had for this man. I have detested him since the '80s when he hit his peak of power and as a result turned down a position at the University of North Carolina because of him. Even today, if I drive through North Carolina I do not stop and spend any money in the state. I might stop to drop a turd in one of their restrooms, but that's about the extent of my contributions there.

The Girls hold their hands a little high probably because it would be improper for Muslim girls to hold their hands over their breasts. That's my guess anyway.

Is this someone we are supposed to admire as a great Christian and a great American?

Jesse Helms (1921-2008) UK Newspaper Obituary

Senator Jesse Helms, member of the US Senate’s foreign relations committee for two decades and its chairman from 1995 to 2001, has died at the age of 86. To echo this newspaper’s memorable comment on the death of William Randolph Hearst, it is hard even now to think of him with charity. From his earliest years, Helms’s attitudes recalled those of an earlier southern bigot, Theodore Bilbo of Mississippi, who so outraged his Senate colleagues, that they eventually refused even to let him take his seat.

There was never a comparable risk for Helms, who maintained an old-world courtesy in his personal contacts. But that was only on the surface. He became one of the most powerful and baleful influences on American foreign policy, repeatedly preventing his country paying its UN contributions, voting against virtually all arms control measures, opposing international aid programmes as “pouring money down foreign rat holes”, and avidly supporting military juntas in Latin America and minority white regimes in Southern Africa.

In domestic politics he denounced the 1964 Civil Rights Act as “the single most dangerous piece of legislation ever introduced in the Congress”, voted against a supreme court justice because she was “likely to uphold the homosexual agenda”, acted for years as spokesman for the large tobacco companies, was reprimanded by the justice department and the federal election commission for electoral malpractice, and compiled a dismal personal record as a slum landlord.

There is much detail about his rise to power and his retrograde obstructionist record in the Senate that can be read in the original obituary. However the concluding paragraph about his retirement is worth including here:

The New York Times observed: “Few senators in the modern era have done more to resist the tide of progress,” and Robert Pastor, whose ambassadorship to Panama was scuppered by Helms in 1995, commented that, “nothing Jesse Helms did in his entire career will enhance America’s national security more than his retirement.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Really Flo-

You quote an obit from a UK rag?

Get an atlas.

The last time I checked North Carolina was still in the USA and isn't the UK that little country across the pond who has had to cede parts of their territory as "no go" zones?

Here's what they're saying in his home state:

"Jesse Helms understood the climate was changing," said Julian Pleasants, a historian now living in Chapel Hill who has written extensively about Tar Heel politics. "It was never a liberal state, despite people like Terry Sanford and Frank Graham. It was always conservative, and he knew that."

Helms arrived in Washington in 1973 during a low ebb in the conservative movement. Goldwater had been badly defeated a decade earlier, and Nixon was in the middle of the Watergate scandal.

"It was fractured," said Edwards, the author of "The Conservative Revolution: The Movement that Remade America." "It's looking around for alternatives. It's talking about a third party. Who is going to be our standard bearer? They needed someone here in Washington, D.C. Jesse Helms always took a point position. No pale pastels for Jesse. It was all bright, primary colors."

Perhaps Helms' most significant contribution occurred in 1976. Reagan had lost five primaries in his contest with President Ford, and there was growing pressure for Reagan to withdraw. But Helms and his political organization, the National Congressional Club, took over the Reagan campaign and delivered North Carolina to Reagan. The victory breathed new life into Reagan's candidacy and propelled him to the White House in 1980.

"If he had lost, that would have been the end of it," Edwards said. "Jesse Helms and his organization were absolutely key." After 1980, Reagan became the leader of the conservative movement, paving the way for the two George Bushes and the capture of the U.S. House under Gingrich. That meant a diminished role for Helms, even as he gained institutional power.

"At that point, Jesse Helms became somebody who was going to make sure we [conservatives] didn't slip back," Edwards said, "that we would not compromise too much in search for a majority. He still played a role, but not as public as he played before."

Not all Americans remember Jesse Helms in the same light as the British obit writer you quote.

Larry:

What a great legacy - "paving the way for the two George Bushes..." Are you in your right mind? Most "thinking" and "rational" Americans will remember this festering garbage heap as a charlatan and scoundrel of the highest order, who used his "religion" as a battering ram. I would imagine that the only low-life bottom feeders mourning the passing of this turd are Southern Baptists, etal.

"the only low-life bottom feeders mourning the passing of this turd are Southern Baptists, etal"

Yeah Ron- the same people Barack Obama is bending over backwards and twisting himself into a clown's balloon to pander for their votes.

And I'm afraid we ain't seen nothing yet..

I never said that I was an Obama supporter - in fact, there is not one candidate in the current spotlight that is worth a damn. All poiticians pander to these bottom-feeding baptist pond scum - while "ministers" & "pastors" keep fleecing their ignorant flocks!

We in NC remember all too well the obscene "hands" ad that helped Helms defeat Harvey Gantt. And who were the ad creators: Charlie Black and Paul Castellanos. Where are they now? Look at the McCain campaign.

In retrospect- Helms' thirty second 'Hands" ad looks like a generous helping of common sense.

No one- black or white- wants to be judged superficially. There should be a healthy competition of brains in America- not a battle of skin color.

A majority of Americans agree with Helms on this issue:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIyewCdXMzk

I'll bet if that ol' racist could come back now he'd become a Democrat. After seeing all his neoCON cronies down there, he must realize how wrong he was. There will be plenty more of his ilk
that will join him. July 4th, always my favorite national holiday, will now be more so, unless, of course, ol' dubbyah or darth dies on a holiday. Too bad Adams and Jefferson have to share the 4th with a very bad person like Jesse Helms

I'll bet if that ol' racist could come back now he'd become a Democrat. After seeing all his neoCON cronies down there, he must realize how wrong he was. There will be plenty more of his ilk
that will join him. July 4th, always my favorite national holiday, will now be more so, unless, of course, ol' dubbyah or darth dies on a holiday. Too bad Adams and Jefferson have to share the 4th with a very bad person like Jesse Helms

About the muslim girls in the picture above who either don't want to put their hands over their hearts or their hearts are in their throats-

I did a quick search to find other American Muslims saying the pledge of allegiance and this is what I found:

OUR PLEDGE-

As an American Muslim,

I pledge allegiance to ALLAH and His Prophet,

I respect and love my family and my community,

and I dedicate my life to serving the cause of truth and justice.

As an American citizen, with rights and responsibilities,

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

And to the republic for which it stands,

one nation,

Under God,

indivisible,

with liberty and justice for all.

This is from the Bureau of Islamic & Arabic Education (a leading institute in establishing the American Muslim identity) site:

The primary goal of the BIAE is to develop Qur'anic-, Islamic Studies and Arabic Language Education for the New Horizon Schools, ICSC Sunday School and the community by offering Arabic language classes to adults and Qur'anic memorization classes to all ages. The BIAE aspires to be a source of Islamic enlightenment. By focusing on the production of unique Qur'anic-, Islamic Studies and Arabic Language curricula, it aims to increase the impact of Islam on the daily life of both Muslims and non-Muslims everywhere. To ensure that this primary goal is met, the BIAE offers regular training workshops for teachers in the field of Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language as well as teachers in the Qur'anic and Islamic Studies fields. Our main focus is to provide teachers with the most current and up-to-date methods of teaching and disseminating these curricula.

http://www.biae.net/pledge.html

Teresa,

At first glance, I was outraged at your post - I thought we had another Islam hater on our hands But when I read it, well, now, not so bad! I can live with that, for sure.

Arminius, a Christian

" Dan:

"I'll bet if that ol' racist could come back now he'd become a Democrat. After seeing all his neoCON cronies down there, he must realize how wrong he was."

Well, I've always found it both in really poor taste and of little spiritual use to gloat over what you imagine someone's net life will be like.

Though, in this case, I suspect he'll be expecting rewards from a jealous God and instead meet the gaze of a very patient one.

In my belief, everyone comes back to live among the effects of their actions, and he's had a lot of effects I don't know he'll find so pleasant to see pan out. Hurt a lot of people, the man did.

But,

She changes everything she touches,
And everything She touches, changes.

I hope he deals with the changes well.

Arminius, a Christian says-

"well now, not so bad! I can live with that, for sure."

Great! How do you like this for a Christian pledge:

OUR PLEDGE-

As an American Christian,

I pledge allegiance to the FATHER, His Son JESUS CHRIST, and HIS HOLY SPIRIT,

I respect and love my family and my community,

and I dedicate my life to serving the cause of Truth and Justice.

As an American citizen, with rights and responsibilities,

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

And to the republic for which it stands,

one nation,

Under God,

indivisible,

with liberty and justice for all.

Then every different belief system in America can craft their own pledge to be allegiant to their religious beliefs over their country.

Arminius, what is your IQ and where were you educated?

It has become common place to reconstruct anyone who has recently passed, as someone whom they were not and never intended to be during the short period they lived on this earth. But sometimes this type-casting goes so far as to be incomprehensible and very troublesome.

And so it was with Jessie Helms. Clearly this was a man who thought that blacks could never be true christians, that the University of North Carolina was the University of Negroes (Negroes meaning bad & unfit), that there was a communist goverment waiting to take over South Afica and by analogy, any reprehensive and barbaric treatment meted out towards them was needed and probably even justified. And throughout his public life, Helms never relinquished the idea in his political campaigns, that "fear of blacks", created a winning formula. Just ask Harvey Gant.

Yet Bob Dole appeared on tevevison recently and inexplicably cited Jessie Helms as "decent" human being. Those remarks by Dole were just as reprehensible as the many tirades heaved in the directions of blacks, gays, lesbians and anyone whom Jessie Helms thought could be conveniently linked with communists, to name a few of the many classes he offended.

But Dole, or perhaps his remarks provides a perfect example of perhaps one of the few divides that exist between the Democrats & Republicans.

I will not be foolish enough to believe that there are not and were not white Democrats who harbored the same sentiments as Jessie Helms. The difference is that somewhere in their minds, they knew that any such remarks made publicly, may subject them to some scutiny and ridicule in some quarters anyway. Jessie Helms had no such fear. Indeed, Helms saw his modus operandi as a key to victory.

It is not known why Jessie Helms reneged on his dogmatic assault on aids victims after meeting Bono and I don't even want to guess. Suffice to say that even though Helms was not a scholar, it must be assumed that at that time, he could read & write. Consequently, he must have known or was reckless, or was merely solidifying his political base by his inhuman attacks on Aids victims. He must have known and could have easily found out that sufferers of this disease ranged from wives, children, babies to those persons who happen to have a blood transfusion at the wrong hospital. The vast majority of these victims were not practicing gays. I would not believe for a moment that Bono told Jessie Helms something that Helms did not know. If anyone reading this page does, well I have a bridge...

It was therefore with disgust that I watched Bob Dole try to reicarnate a man who throughout his life made no attempts to be thoughtful with regard to dead & dying victims whom he so consistently offended. The fact is that Helms benefited politically from those remarks at the time. Remarks that were designed to incite fear, to cement his Republican credentials (with a wink and a nod), to create a water mark between whites & blacks, Democrats & Republicans, but mostly, to ensure re-election to his Senate seat

Bob Dole could have said a host of things that would have shown Helms to be a Patriot of the Republican Party. But he chose not to do so.

You should be ashamed of yourself Bob Dole. But to be reasonable, shame is not in great supply these days.

Carl Reed

Teresa,

The Christian pledge is pretty good too.

My IQ? No idea. Education - BA in Classics from Sewanee, a small Episcopal liberal arts college in Tennessee.

No doubt hastening the old bigot's demise was the very real possibility that we are on the verge of having one of those "negroes" he hated so much sitting in the oval office.

The biggest problem with Helms and his Christianity is that it was clearly tainted by politics and nationalism, and his faith suffered as a result. If one claims to be Christian, then one must walk as Christ, and there's little about Helms's stance on any number of issues that was consistent with the message of Christ.

We have a serious problem in this country with what some call "civil relgion." Pastor Dan Yeary once commented, "One of the greatest dangers, both to government and to authentic religion, is civil religion. Civil religion is a mixture of religion and politics developed to serve the interests of the state. In civil religion, the religious institutions are used to drum up support for political positions. Approval is sought from religious leaders for actions of the state. The religious institutions and spiritual goals take a back seat to supporting the actions of political leaders."

Helms, a practitioner of civil religion, still called himself a Christian. The problem with civil religion is that its practitioners assume that God is on their side and supports their stances on issues simply because they claim to believe in Him.

Sadly, Helms had it backwards. Had he been a true Christian, he might have been surprised to discover that the God he supposedly worshipped instructed us to treat others as we wish to be treated, and love one another as God has loved us. In the end, it's quite difficult to reconcile the public Jesse Helms with these core tenets of the faith he claimed to follow.

http://sheriger-codex.blogspot.com

See, now, this is what you get when you ritually-divide 'One Nation Indivisible' as the original pledge said, with 'Under God'.

Notice the break in meter?

A Pagan version of the pledge would be much like the original, only it's be 'pledge allegiance *through* the flag,' or just an *oath* to the Republic for which it stands, and Liberty and Justice for all would be capitalized.

Let us just hope that Helms was the last of his kind, and that no politician could ever again be elected to the U.S. Senate mouthing the kinds of things Helms did.

Hey Arminius- poster child for the product of a University of the South education:

Did they forget to teach you separation of church and state at Sewannee?

God said this, God said that. There is no proof anywhere that God said anything. The Bible was written by forty men over a period of 1600 years, and they all had opinions or predictions, many of which came true, some of which were vile. There is something for everyone in it, just choose your poison; fantasy, love, hate, slavery, murder, incest, rape, war, famine, deception, execution, thievery. The Bible is fantastic, but men wrote it, not God.

God said this, God said that. There is no proof anywhere that God said anything. The Bible was written by forty men over a period of 1600 years, and they all had opinions or predictions, many of which came true, some of which were vile. There is something for everyone in it, just choose your poison; fantasy, love, hate, slavery, murder, incest, rape, war, famine, deception, execution, thievery. The Bible is fantastic, but men wrote it, not God.

Guess who started smoking on July 4?

Jesse!

Teresa, you asked,
"Did they forget to teach you separation of church and state at Sewannee? "

No, they did not. Episcopalians have never been political, and tend now to be liberal, as I am. If you're talking about "under God", etc., well, I am not thrilled about it being there, but don't make a fuss about it. I don't mind any religion prefacing something supporting their religion to the pledge.

Separation of church and state: 1st Amendment, yes. I still hold to the first part of the oath I took as a soldier many years ago, to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, domestic and foreign.

Well, have to disagree there, Arminius. Allegiance is allegiance, and 'liberty and justice for all was not meant to be qualified by 'Under (my ) God.'

That's how you divide 'one nation indivisible'

As has happened.

Hi, Paganplace,

"...under God" is a minor symbol, a sad remnant of the McCarthy era. As is the "In God We Trust" on our currency. There are more important things to be concerned with.

Arminius

Recognise this, Arminius?

"God of Light, Whose face beholding,
Israel's Leader learned Thy Will,
Fire and storm the Rock enfolding,
Where the Voice was calm and still,
Give Thy Children on this Mountain
Grace and power Thy Truth to know;
Open here a living fountain,
Whence Thy Praise shall ever flow.

On the world now grows the Vision
Love of Country—Freedom's call;
Gage of Battle, Life's decision,
Faith will see the Christ through all.
Clearer, surer, rings the story,
"Christ our Brother—God Most High!
Through earth's vapors sweeps the glory,
Wrong, injustice, sin must die."

For the warfare train us, Father,
God of battles, God of might,
That no mists of Hell may gather,
Darken or obscure the right.
Gird our souls with Thy compassion,
Purge our minds with fire divine;
Light of Light, the Truth incarnate,
Make our lives and thoughts like Thine."

It might be worth remembering..

'Teresa',

No, I don't know that. Apparently you are laying traps. Exactly what is your game here?

""...under God" is a minor symbol, a sad remnant of the McCarthy era. As is the "In God We Trust" on our currency. There are more important things to be concerned with."

Have to disagree, there, ....especially when people use the 'Under God' part as though it were the intent of the Founding Fathers to make everyone swear to divide the nation over religion.

Pagan thing, yes, but we take oaths and pledges very seriously. They have effects, and we can witness them in our recent history.

That's why people who want to make our unalienable rights and our loyalty to each other and the Republic *conditional* (and alienable) based on religion are so obsessed with making everyone pledge allegiance in that manner.

Commingling religion and politics in that manner is *never* a good idea.

Its Sewanee's hymn and was written by Bishop Thomas Gailor. He was a man who addressed the needs of his times.

Teresa,

Well, I am a bit embarassed....

Since you asked me, what is your educational background?

Paganplace,

Yes, I disagree when "people use the 'Under God' part as though it were the intent of the Founding Fathers to make everyone swear to divide the nation over religion."

I do take an oath seriously, like my oath as a soldier. But I have said the pledge so many hundred times that it has long ceased to have any meaning as an oath. Kind of like saying, at school, "Good Morning America".

Oops... words from one of my favorite songs!
Good morning America, how are you?
Say, don't yow know me, I'm your native son....

I went to UNC Chapel Hill.

My uncle is a priest and graduate of Sewanee. My father did his undergraduate work there- then went to MIT. So I do know a little about the history of your alma mater.

Teresa,

Did your uncle graduate from the college or the seminary? If the college, what year?

this man never apologized for his gleefully vicious and dehumanizing assaults on gay americans. he was a monster. he deserves no deconstruction by any "minister" or anyone who appropriates the mantel of jesus in the name of ate or in the process of excusing hatred, as this author attempts to do. rot in hell, helms.

You write: "If a rock star can have that sort of impact on Jesse Helms, there's no telling what Jesus can do."

Just imagine what a conversation with Jesus that Helms could have had:

Jesus: Love your neighbor as yourself. Love the weak and poor.

Helms: God damn it! This is where you queer, pinko, commie, N-loving leftists go wrong. You refuse to acknowledge that God made inferior and superior beings. He made white heterosexuals superior to anyone who doesn't belong to that club.

Jesus: Help the outcasts. Be the Good Samaritan.

Helms: There you go again! People are outcasts because God made them inferior. Why can't these outcasts respect and appreciate their superiors? Every day in every way I try my best to make sure that the inferiors realize their helpless inferiority that God condemned them to. Don't blame me! Blame God!

Ah,just think if Helms had paid as much attention to Jesus as he did to a rock star! But then we wouldn't be having this conversation would we?

Just to be clear: I expect to celebrate the Fourth of July every year as Helms' death day. Too bad that Fourth didn't come sixty or seventy years ago.

Arminius-

I prefer not to speak for my uncle.

Bishop Gailor was an inspiring man. When Hitler came to power- he was with the first to acknowledge the danger and to speak against the persecution of the Jewish people.

FYI:

"Bishop Gailor had begun by reviewing the German situation. He told the audience “It is impossible to believe that sane men would so indulge their madness. Their acts are sheer and brutal barbarism and a contradiction of the principles of civilization.” Then he went on, well before President Franklin Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms’ address of January 1941, to proclaim the requirements of and principles for a civilized society:

The right of the individual to freedom and happiness.

Individual, national and international intolerance to human suffering.

Mutual respect and co-operation among mankind.

Repudiation of religious and racial persecution and prejudice.

“Any violation of these principles,” insisted Gailor, meant “a relapse into savagery.” He ended his speech with the ringing declaration: “I stand second to no man in my admiration of the Jews and their accomplishments. I consider it a privilege to be here.”

Gailor’s public stance against the Nazi regime preceded by years that of most American political leaders and even church leaders; indeed, his warnings came even before the first major mass arrest of Jews and dissidents in Germany. His prophetic words were unfortunately forgotten as the 1930s continued and most Americans turned a blind eye to events in Germany. In 1945, a decade after Gailor’s death, Americans would see the realization of his worst fears in the horrors of the death camps and the Holocaust."

I'm sorry you did not know his hymn. I cherish it.

Good riddance...Jesse Helms was on a par with the swastika wearing thugs in the Nazi SS.

Do ya' think Bono or Jesus might convince Helms and his ilk to be pro-life, and by that I mean non-Christian, non-white, maybe even Muslim life? Nah, stupid question. That would take an act of God himself. Good riddance, Helms. You were the AIDS of American politics.

Teresa,

No problem about your uncle, I respect that.

Bishop Gailor was not just ahead of his time, he was a man for the ages. I am saving that hymn to disk, thanks.

its impossible to fairly describe the man without sounding judgemental. he did for religion and conservatism what hitler did for ovens. and he never had a moments regret.

Jesse Helms did not deserve to be an American. He was a vile, twisted spirit. Thank god he is gone for good.
Bush and McCain think he was just a dandy fellow...two others with the morals of snakes. I wait for their passing as well.

Old Jesse was nothing but a first class hypocrite , conservative republican, bigot SOB. It is high time the SOB departed from this earth. If his progeny has any more of his twisted kind, the sooner they exist this world, better it would be for man kind. To that end, this conservative republicans, their perverse inequality, rights only of their kind is a cancer that is tearing apart the decent fabric of this country. They are not only cheap, bigots that wrap themselves in the flag, but down right evil.

Thanks, Arminius.

Some things are still worth remembering and holding onto:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YirXjPStjAQ

The peace of the LORD be with you.

I'm one of those homosexuals who was the target of his wrath. Ding, dong, the witch is dead.

I understand that Hitler was quite a nice guy around the dinner table. That doesn't excuse his evil.

I understand that Hitler was quite a nice guy around the dinner table. That doesn't excuse his evil.

Whenever I wander in on "judgment" being passed on a recently deceased leader and read the ill-humored, churlish comments left- I am convinced the left in America is finished.

You are now devoid of the good humor, generosity, and magnanimity associated with civility- Only the lowest will want to join your hate-fest.

You are absolutely the worst of society- without a shred of guilt or common decency.

Let us hope that Jesse Helms is burning in hell. He was a racist facist who deserves nothing more. Just like the Republican party, he used race to divide and conquer the south, allying himself with those who would continue to oppress those with different colored skin or ethic backgrounds. Jesse Helms switched parties as did most of the Southern Democrats when the Democratic party did the right thing and disavowed segregation and racism back in 1964.

The sad part of our nation's history is that the Republican party immediately aligned itself with the segregationists and racists for nothing more than political advantage, Jesse Helms among them. Evil people, evil cause, evil party, evil ideology, and we suffer every time they gain political power.

Let us hope that Jesse Helms is burning in hell. He was a racist facist who deserves nothing more. Just like the Republican party, he used race to divide and conquer the south, allying himself with those who would continue to oppress those with different colored skin or ethic backgrounds. Jesse Helms switched parties as did most of the Southern Democrats when the Democratic party did the right thing and disavowed segregation and racism back in 1964.

The sad part of our nation's history is that the Republican party immediately aligned itself with the segregationists and racists for nothing more than political advantage, Jesse Helms among them. Evil people, evil cause, evil party, evil ideology, and we suffer every time they gain political power.

Arminus the Christian, do look up the expression "useful idiot" coined by Lenin in Wikipedia. Over the top support for political Islamists is over the top. Read the Quran and the history of Islam from a non-Muslim perspective for added measure. Love hand in hand with wisdom and prudence is not really a bad thing. Narrow minded political Sunni Muslims who will not preach plurality among their own, will not support non-Sunni Muslims in their interfaith work, support separation based along Sunni - Shia - Kurd lines in Iraq, support separate countries for Muslims where ever possible, talking of universality to atheists and Christians? Give me a break! It is hypocrisy 101.

Arminius the Christian, it has been said about Muslims that they feel an intense PRIDE about the *superiority* of their religion. In the Quran the Christians are liars for claiming Jesus is God. If you were to read the Quran you'd understand why. They are taught to feel superior to others. No sign of spiritual humility there. Theirs is an imperial religion. So over the top support for Muslims is like taking coals to the castle, for they already feel a sense of superiority over others and a sense of entitlement to special treatment. Look at how non-Muslims are treated in countries where there is a Muslim majority, how non-Muslim rights are ignored. Compare that to how they fight for their rights where they are a minority and feel slighted for nothing. One clear example is the Muslim anger about the Pope baptizing an ex-Muslim in public. They felt it was their right to dictate to the Pope whom he could baptize in public.

Arminius, here a correction ---

The expression was "Taking coals to Newcastle."

Jesse Helms was a scorpion whose painful sting is still being felt to this day. His brand of republicanism would have astonished my New England parents, whose own brand of republicanism featured fiscal conservatism coupled with a level of social decency that Helms never fully embraced.

I thought Jesse Helms was too old to learn and too mean to die. I was only half right.

I do not suscribe to the dei mortui nil nisi bonum sentiment.

Jesse Helms was a vile man who did terrible damage to society. The truth about him should be proclaimed and he should have censured in Congress and throughout the nation, presented as exactly what he was: a representative of the mentality of slave-owners who objectified black human beings for the sake of getting personally rich, and denatured their humanity except when they wanted to have sex with black women and men.

I hope there is no peace to his grave or for his soul.

Teresa,

That music is great - a moving way to start the day. Thanks.

And you said, "The peace of the LORD be with you."

And also with you! God bless.

We will all be judged by God. From a human perspective it doesn't seem that Jesse Helms is holding a strong hand but who knows. His lack of concern for the poor and minorities of the world does seem out of sync with the teachings of Jesus Christ. He may have loved God but did he follow Jesus' second commandment to love his neighbor?

We will all be judged by God. From a human perspective it doesn't seem that Jesse Helms is holding a strong hand but who knows. His lack of concern for the poor and minorities of the world does seem out of sync with the teachings of Jesus Christ. He may have loved God but did he follow Jesus' second commandment to love his neighbor?

Jesse had a pair of slippers at his beach house that one of his kids (Jane, maybe?) made for him. On one it said Jesse; the other Helms. But, they were reversed which explained to me how he never was sure about left pr right. That, or he thought his name was Helms, Jesse.

Chagasman:
Let us hope that Jesse Helms is burning in hell.

-- This is a terrible thing to hope, and if you are a Christian, you dare not do it. Remember, you will be judged as you have judged others. Condemn them to hell, and you condemn yourself. Only God has the right to judge the souls of men.

Cut the "Jesse was a Christian" crap. Jesse Helms remains one of the greatest stains on the bold history of America. His racist, myopic, even selfish attitudes towards anybody that was different can not even be shoehorned into a true church of any religion. Thank God, god, or whatever power that we are free of his being.

Right now Jesse Helms and Adolh Hitler are having a conversation about, How it all went wrong for them and why money can't buy their way out of hell.

Yes, may he rest in peace and may his soul be lifted up but sadly our funerals cannot be preached after we are gone. We live our funerals everyday. We cannot use flowery words and make a skunk smell good. If it walked like a duck and quacked like a duck on earth then it is still a duck six feet under. Thus, Jesse lived his own funeral and stating how he lived does not mean one is judging him. Remember, it's the dash that counts at the end the year of birth and the year of death is easy it's the dash that counts.

Yes, may he rest in peace and may his soul be lifted up but sadly our funerals cannot be preached after we are gone. We live our funerals everyday. We cannot use flowery words and make a skunk smell good. If it walked like a duck and quacked like a duck on earth then it is still a duck six feet under. Thus, Jesse lived his own funeral and stating how he lived does not mean one is judging him. Remember, it's the dash that counts at the end the year of birth and the year of death is easy it's the dash that counts.

Yes, may he rest in peace and may his soul be lifted up but sadly our funerals cannot be preached after we are gone. We live our funerals everyday. We cannot use flowery words and make a skunk smell good. If it walked like a duck and quacked like a duck on earth then it is still a duck six feet under. Thus, Jesse lived his own funeral and stating how he lived does not mean one is judging him. Remember, it's the dash that counts at the end the year of birth and the year of death is easy it's the dash that counts.

Millions around the world will continue to die (the present is the past) because right-wing haters in this country like Helms were frankly delighted in their blind hatred of gay people by the appearance of AIDS. They sat on their hands and did nothing for fifteen years because that would have contradicted the proganda value of this disease - God hates gays - and so they allowed it to spread. That the disease began among heterosexuals in Africa and was claiming far more heterosexuals world-wide than homosexuals was an inconvenient fact to be ignored in their war on gay people here at home. Helms only had a change of heart when the empty villages of Africa became all too undeniable. Had the disease only been killing gay men he'd have been more than happy to see it continue. If there's justice in this universe I wouldn't want to be Jesse Helms right now.

I can only hope that he will be judged as he has judged and that he will reap 10-fold what he has sown.

As for me, a half black/half white woman, I know that bi-racial people are symbols of everything that Mr Helms hated in life; even ignoring his own bi-racial daughter. I am saddened in his passing only because he did not live long enough to see a non-white person become president of "his" good ole US of A.

I am thankful that his hate and vile will no longer be spewed.

I can only hope that he will be judged as he has judged and that he will reap 10-fold what he has sown.

As for me, a half black/half white woman, I know that bi-racial people are symbols of everything that Mr Helms hated in life; even ignoring his own bi-racial daughter. I am saddened in his passing only because he did not live long enough to see a non-white person become president of "his" good ole US of A.

I am thankful that his hate and vile will no longer be spewed.

Sierra: While Jesse Helms was an abashed bigot, it must be clarified that it was Strom Thurmond, a likeminded racist senator from neighboring SC that fathered a child out of wedlock with a black woman. Helms had three kids, two with his wife, and one adopted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strom_thurmond#Illegitimate_daughter

So, this is what I take away from the Jesse Helms story and stories similar to his: you can toss as many bombs into a crowd, murder as many people as you want, yell FIRE in a crowded theater, sit in judgement of vast numbers of people through your bully pulpit, cause untold harm to millions of people, but if you then say, "Ooops, I made a mistake," you get to go to heaven anyway?

Christianity sure is a forgiving religion.

While there is no doubt in my mind that Jesse Helms is indeed the epitome of many of the evil attributes mentions in the previous comments, it is far too easy to scapegoat him. Yes, he was a racist and from that came so many of the other problems. But he could never have done the damage he did were it not for the fact the people elected him. It is not unlike George Bush who has such a low approval rating right now. Yes, he made all of these mistakes, but the blame must be shared with the millions of people who voted for him. He not only admitted he was a C student, but he bragged about it.

For some reason, many Americans seem to want to follow those who have simplistic (even if unrealistic) views. For example, Helms is joined in popularity with Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. I doubt that it is a coincidence that none of these finished college. These are people who jump on symbols, name-calling, mockery, and almost any other excuse for avoiding the in depth intellectual debates that the real problems of our time demand. Helms would not try to debate what he believed and let the majority win, he would filibuster, put holds on nominations, etc. Strangely, those who claim to believe in democracy want anything but.

This lack of continuing education may well explain why they seem to have such an opposition to science. Whether it be evolution, global warming, stem cell research, etc., instead of an intelligent debate, they contribute nothing but slogans and trying to find the outlier “scientist” who may take an opposing view and then claim science has not spoken. To his credit, he came around on AIDS. But that was from the intervention of Bono, not from learning some science.

So yes, it is fair to criticize him, but let us not let those who voted for him off the hook. Like Hitler, he was freely elected. When we look at all of that evil, let us resolve not to let it happen again. And then perhaps, some good will come from his life and death.

All Forgiven/All Forgiving/But Confused: No, it's not enough to just say 'oops'. Christianity requires tangible amends. For instance, George Wallace publicly apologizing is a good first step, but that is all it is. A first step. In the case of Helms, of course, he did not even take the first step.

TomfromNJ1: To be sure, the blame does fall on those who elected these people. It also falls on those who supported them or still support them. However, the LEADER or INSTIGATOR, always gets a larger share of the blame.

Wow, there's no one more vicious than a self-righteous liberal, is there!

If Helms and Thurmond repented before their deaths, God has forgiven them, no matter what they may said or done. Only God forgives and knows the heart. Who are we to condemn them?
Luke 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.

Mr. Helms was a vicious mean man who like most southerns used religion to segragate and discrimnate against a whole race of people. I grew up in South Carolina in the 50s and 60s and had to live in a world that was totally unfair and unforgiven for a black man. I saw my grandfathers and father treated as scum because of men like Mr. Helms. My mother died because she was unable to access proper healthcare because of segragated hospitals, I saw the Southern Baptist not only encouraged hate but to this day live it. I'm judging and I know that is wrong, but I hope Mr. Helms and people like him burn in hell for an eternity. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Wow what a column full of no principals,no morals, stinking liberals that have plagued this country. This is a nation that was founded on the principals of God. The man stood for what is right; so long we have outlawed homosexuality and abortion, but these liberals have come in like the sick scum that they are and infestied our country. LIBERALS MAKE ME SICK!!!!!

May this scumbag rot in hell. The people of North Carolina who voted and reelected him will have to live with themselves. Unfortunately, the lack of sophistication of these people allows them to see bigotry, racism, and ignorance as part of their heritage.
Thank God North Carolina today enjoys more diversity of people who do not share the views of that red neck.