Justice, fairness and compassion

He was the son of a bootlegger and a Nazi sympa- thizer, and a child of privilege. His eldest brother died in World War II, and his two surviving brothers were shot dead in public. I don't think it's surprising that he had problems after that with sex and alcohol. He was vilified almost daily by people who do that for a living, such as it is, and in my youth I was continually reminded what a horrible example he was -- of almost everything.

And yet over the next decades he got his act together, sponsored or supported legislation that focused on those without power, respect or influence -- women, children, poor people, sick people, old people, gay people, immigrants -- and made their lives better. If you need a reminder of his voting record, go here.

And when he died late Tuesday I felt, like millions of others, as if I'd lost someone among the damn precious few who cared about me, raised his voice to say so and worked to make our world better.

Farewell, senator. But . . . . “For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die.”