KOEB Meeting 06/13/08 Special Edition: RIP, Tim Russert

[Berry Cool]

:hi: Join us for Keith's tribute hour to Tim.

[SharonRB]

1. Hi, Berry

Who could have predicted I'd get so choked up about this? It's just so sad.

[Berry Cool]

2. The closer our own losses, the tougher it is.

"He is with the angels," says Andrea Mitchell.

"Now cracks a noble heart. Goodnight, sweet prince! May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest" --Keith.

[ailsagirl]

126. Lovely quotes. Brings to mind Stanton's quote after Lincoln died:

"Now he belongs to the ages."

[SharonRB]

3. KO's eyes look all red

I'm sure this is so very difficult for all of them.

[Berry Cool]

5. He's been teary all evening.

Asymptomatic coronary heart disease. It killed my mother the same way. No warning. No notice. No preliminary problems at all.

The doctor just on said that he could have had a stress test hours before he died and it wouldn't have shown anything.

[ralps]

4. Hi BerryBush, Hi Everyone!

:hi: :loveya: :hug: :pals: :grouphug:

[Berry Cool]

8. Hi, ralps.

:hi: Keith's writing is just stunning me already.

This kind of thing tests both his emotions and his ability to write quickly. He never fails to astonish me.

[ailsagirl]

130. Hi, ralps!! Good to see you here

:hi:

[SeattleGirl]

6. Hi Berry and everyone.

It still doesn't seem real.

[SharonRB]

9. I know

When I saw the first DU thread right after it happened this afternoon and followed the link to TMZ, I wondered if it was some kind of sick joke. Then it started showing up at other links and I knew it was true. So, so sad.

[SeattleGirl]

12. That was my first thought too.

That someone was playing a very sick joke.

[Patsy Stone]

15. I got the e-mail CNN alert

and I stopped speaking for a few seconds. Just stunning, and still a little stunned. That white board and flowers someone left outside the studio kills me.

[SharonRB]

16. I've been choked up since I first heard around 3:00

Hard to believe he's gone.

[ailsagirl]

131. As humans are accustomed to doing, we took him for granted.

It's just so hard to absorb-- no longer seeing him on
TV. He took such relish in politics-- was so jazzed
all the time. Intense but with that Irish gleam in his
eye. It's such a loss.

[Berry Cool]

35. Kills me too.

When they showed it on MSNBC I was just...Damn.

[WolverineDG]

7. Evening all!

Heard the news on my way back from West Texas this afternoon. :(

:hi:

dg

[Berry Cool]

11. Hi, Wolfie.

:hi:

Every death is horrible. Long, slow, lingering deaths because you hate to see the person you love suffer, maybe even become a person who doesn't know you. Quick deaths are horrible because you don't know they are coming and there is no chance, no time to say goodbye. No chance to say all the things you wanted to say.

[Patsy Stone]

10. Oh, man...

RIP, Tim.

[Berry Cool]

13. Hi, Pats.

:hi: My coworkers told me. I was shocked I didn't see it online first.

[SharonRB]

14. Hey, Pats

I'm sure he'd be upset that he became the news for today and that they're covering it wall to wall. He'd probably want them to continue on with other news, but I'm glad they're doing it this way. He deserves the accolades and attention.

[SharonRB]

17. Um, Tom?

It's not "ka-vetch." It's "kvetch." The "k" and the "v" kind of run together.

[Patsy Stone]

21. He's from South Dakota

some things just never come naturally. :rofl:

[SharonRB]

23. I'm sure he didn't know many members of the tribe

while he was growing up, but by now you'd think he would have heard it pronounced correctly.

[Berry Cool]

29. The only tribe I knew when I was growing up wore baseball uniforms.

And I think I pronounce it right, but who knows?

At least I had a mother who said "Oy gevalt."

[SharonRB]

32. That one would be hard to screw up.

[Berry Cool]

33. Now you're making me laugh.

Seems inappropriate. :-)

[Patsy Stone]

47. It is surprising

considering his life.

[Berry Cool]

38. This is Tom Brokaw. We're lucky he doesn't say

"k-uh-uh-uh-uh-vetch."

[SharonRB]

39. Okay...

now you're making me laugh.

[Berry Cool]

44. I guess we could use the laugh.

[SharonRB]

18. One of my first thoughts was that he didn't live to see the outcome

of this race.

[SeattleGirl]

19. Same here.

He was absolutely loving this race.

[SharonRB]

20. I know

He'll really be missed on election night.

[Patsy Stone]

22. Absolutely.

That doesn't seem fair at all, does it?

[SharonRB]

24. Sure doesn't.

[Berry Cool]

31. He will miss it. We will miss him covering it.

As much as we like to rant and, well, kvetch about the coverage.

[Patsy Stone]

40. There's a huge hole in my Sunday mornings

Who will I yell back at now?

[SharonRB]

45. I guess it depends who they put in there

If it's Tweety (which I don't think it will be), I'm sure you'll be yelling even more. If it's Rachel, I guess you'll have to give up yelling other than at the guests. Someone in another thread suggested Bill Moyers. He'd actually be great.

[Patsy Stone]

48. He would be great

but I'm not sure he'd do it. Just no David Gregory, 'k?

[Berry Cool]

61. Yeah.

GD is putting Keith's name in there and others are saying oh no, not Keith, he's too PARTISAN. :grr:

That's not the issue for me. I just don't know that Keith would want to move to DC, and he'd pretty much have to to do that show.

[Patsy Stone]

63. I saw one or two of those

and Feh! to all of them.

[Berry Cool]

46. Yeah, someone on Kos said they'd miss throwing their shoe at the TV

when he said something that bugged them.

[Patsy Stone]

25. I was wondering where Chris was.

It must suck to be over there when he probably wants to get right back on a plane.

[SharonRB]

26. I can still remember that

Florida!
Florida!
Florida!

on his whiteboard as if it were yesterday. If only it were and the outcome were different.

[SeattleGirl]

36. Definitely a funny note on a not so funny night.

[Patsy Stone]

41. It's in the Smithsonian

Wow.

[GigiMommy]

27. Hello Everyone

So so sad.

[SharonRB]

28. Hi, Gigi

Such a sad day.

[GigiMommy]

37. So true.

I'm stunned.

[Berry Cool]

42. Hi, GGM.

:hi: Trying to stay out of GD tonight for the most part. Some of them are bitching already about why is it MSNBC is devoting all this time when there is news to be reported.

They'd probably have grabbed me off my mother's grave and forced me to march in a protest of the Supreme Court stopping the Florida recount.

Fuck 'em.

[GigiMommy]

50. OK, now you're making ME laugh.

:hi: Hi Berry.

[bleever]

30. Russert was sincere and honest, and that's saying a hell of a lot.

He wasn't a hero, but he was authentic and he did his homework.

RIP.

[SharonRB]

34. He sure did.

And I know we complained about him sometimes, but he treated everyone the same -- Repukes and Dems. He gave them all the tough questions.

[SeattleGirl]

43. I didn't realize he had a Jesuit education.

I went to a Jesuit college, and I'll tell you, it's a great education to get.

[Berry Cool]

49. He also got his law degree in Cleveland.

At Case Western Reserve University. Every time he came to town for something like a debate (such as this last one) he was treated like a native son.

One thing I've noticed about Keith: it seems that mentioning the tribute Buffalo is paying makes him more choked up than anything else.

[Berry Cool]

51. Wow, this was the first commercial break MSNBC has had in hours.

It was a long time coming.

[SeattleGirl]

52. I noticed that too.

When he was on earlier, I almost expected tears to start running down his face.

[SharonRB]

53. NBC was a class act through this

waiting to announce anything until the family was all notified. Kudos to them.

[SeattleGirl]

54. Absolutely.

[GigiMommy]

55. Who announced his passing first?

I wasn't near a TV when this happened.

[SharonRB]

57. I first saw it on DU with a link to TMZ

Then there were links to the New York Post, the NY Times, Huffpo and finally CNN. MSNBC was about the last to say anything.

[GigiMommy]

60. Thank you Sharon.

A sad night indeed.

[Patsy Stone]

58. TMZ, I think

:hi:

[SharonRB]

59. Ahem..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=315&topic_id=122353&mesg_id=122412

[Patsy Stone]

66. For you

[SharonRB]

69. Thank you, ma'am. n/t

[GigiMommy]

65. Thank you. Hi Patsy

:hi:

[Berry Cool]

62. I don't even know, being at work.

TVNewser should know.

[ailsagirl]

132. My sister was listening to a radio talk show and the show was

interrupted with the news. She said she immediately looked it
up on the web but, at that point, there was nothing. But within
minutes it was everywhere.

[Berry Cool]

56. Yeah, and GD scorned them for it by complaining that they were showing nothing

while it was on all the other networks. Suggesting maybe it was a fake story.

[SeattleGirl]

64. While I wasn't sure right at first that it was true, I started checking

other sites and found more confirmations.

The ones who really got me today were the ones who always have to jump in and piss all over everybody. I got so angry at one such person, I told them to shut up, and I don't do that on this board.

[SharonRB]

68. I did the same thing

I got really pissed in the thread where people with their tinfoil hats on too tight were implying this could have been murder to keep him from testifying any further against the Bushies. The sub-thread has since been deleted.

[SeattleGirl]

71. I'm glad. I saw the post from the person who started that crap,

and decided not to read further, because I was already so pissed off at the other person.

[Berry Cool]

74. OH NO THEY DI'N'T.

*sigh* No, I can believe they did.

[SharonRB]

78. Oh, yes they did.

I got yelled at for saying they had their tinfoil hats on too tight.

Here's a sampling:

When I said this was a heart attack, no chance it was murder, they answered: "You're very certain for someone who has absolutely no reason to say such a thing."

and...

"How can you say anything which such certainty?"

The sub-thread is gone, so I can't quote any other posts in full. You get the gist, though.

[Berry Cool]

83. Oh my...the irony there is just TOO rich.

YOU were very certain for someone who has absolutely no reason to say such a thing???

How could YOU say anything which such certainty???

*sigh*

[SharonRB]

85. Yeah, I thought it was rather ridiculous

[Berry Cool]

72. Good for you.

Wow, I didn't know David Gregory was Jewish.

[SharonRB]

73. Yup -- I found that out just a few weeks ago, though

from our local Jewish News. Did you know John King just married Dana Bash and converted because she's Jewish?

David could have taught Brokaw how to pronounce kvetch correctly. :rofl:

[Patsy Stone]

76. LOL!

Excellent point! :rofl:

[Berry Cool]

84. No, I did not know that.

And yeah, maybe David should teach "Yiddish Expressions and Pronunciation 101."

[Patsy Stone]

67. Have you seen how pregnant Monica is?

I saw her this morning for the first time in a long time.

[SharonRB]

70. I haven't seen her in a few months.

[Berry Cool]

79. Me either.

Somehow it seems like she should have had that baby by now. I must be overestimating the time she's been pregnant.

[Patsy Stone]

81. She was on the news hour after Morning Joe

with Tamryn Hall. Seven months, at least. Best wishes, Gidge!

[GigiMommy]

75. Oh wow...

His Dad sounds like MY Dad. My Dad worked two jobs too. He wasN'T there for school stuff either but we knew where he was and what he was doing and why. My heart goes out to his son Luke, his wife and Dad. Father's Day's just not the same.

Edit: I was typing teary eyed. No excuse. I need to proof-read.

[Berry Cool]

86. And my heart goes out to his father

who should not have had to see his son go before him.

[Patsy Stone]

88. Absolutely

Tragic.

[SeattleGirl]

77. You know, listening to the personal recollections of his friends

and colleagues, I think Tim would have been a good person to know on a personal level.

Certainly a good man to have in your corner.

[Patsy Stone]

82. Everything but

the nagging me to have a kid thing (and the Buffalo Bills thing) would have been okay. :)

[Berry Cool]

114. Yeah, I guess that would be tough to deal with

from a man whose first words learned from the cradle were probably "Squish the Fish."

Please try to realize, it's not personal. It's just envy of your sun. When you get buried under seven feet of lake-effect snow regularly each winter, you come to hate Miami for understandable reasons.

[Berry Cool]

87. From the people who knew him better than we did

it sure sounds that way.

[Patsy Stone]

80. Buffalo mourns.

Did you hear the mayor earlier? All of the flags are at half mast.

[Berry Cool]

89. Yes. Every time Keith has mentioned it

he chokes up worse than before.

[Berry Cool]

92. The bobblehead story was funny.

Now Bob Costas. Keith is back in his element talking about Tim's connection to sports.

[Patsy Stone]

93. That was a great story.

I kinda want one of each.

[RevCheesehead]

111. I still want a bobblehead Keith.

Hell, I wanted one several years ago. Now that he's beaten BillO, do you think that maybe they'd consider it?

[Patsy Stone]

112. I'll bet they would

if you asked them very nicely. :hi:

[Berry Cool]

113. I could make a dirty joke here, but I will refrain.

Actually I thought they had one made back in '03, but the glasses on it make it look like Dominick Dunne.

They can do much better.

[Patsy Stone]

90. Bob Costas?

Now they may be stretching it just a tad.

[SharonRB]

91. Yeah, I thought so, too

Maybe they were friends.

[Berry Cool]

94. I gather there was a connection.

Now we have Chuck Todd and he sure is appropriate. He's become an essential member of the team what with all his number-crunching.

[Patsy Stone]

95. And he is making me cry again.

It seems they were really close. I liked the story about the car trips and Tim never wanting to eat at a chain.

[Berry Cool]

96. It seems obvious that what appealed to Keith about him a lot

was his passion for politics, his intelligence and his love of both sports and history--the same subjects Keith loves so much.

[Berry Cool]

98. And Keith just admits, it's the lowering of the flags in Buffalo

that just floors him every time he thinks about it.

We could tell, Keith. It was written in your choked-up voice and the fresh tears in your eyes every time you mentioned it.

Funny how you never know what's going to touch someone.

[Patsy Stone]

99. Yep

It gets me too.

Who said Tim was a force of nature? I missed the name. Was that Bill and Hill?

[Berry Cool]

108. No, Nancy Reagan.

Or whoever writes these messages for her.

[SharonRB]

97. No Olive Garden for Timmeh!

[Patsy Stone]

100. John Edwards... looking dreamy.

:loveya: Sorry it's under such sad circumstances.

[SharonRB]

101. Looks like he just got a haircut.

Wonder how much it cost? :sarcasm: I couldn't care less how much it cost, actually.

[Patsy Stone]

102. LOL

The haircut question crossed my mind too.

[Patsy Stone]

103. Really O/T, but a don't miss picture nontheless

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6354016

[SharonRB]

104. I saw that pic the other day...

it cracked me up then -- and again just now. :rofl: He's such an exciting candidate.

[Patsy Stone]

105. The wheeled walker.

OMG. :rofl: I asked if they were dead.

Aw, Charlie Rose. I just adore you.

[Berry Cool]

107. I peeked into GD again. Big mistake.

Those whiny, bitching SOBs.

"Why are they taking so much TIME with this? It's like freaking 9/11!!! PEOPLE ARE DROWNING IN IOWA and GETTING KILLED in a war and THEY DON'T CARE AND ARE NOT DOING THEIR JOBS!!!!!!"

Fuck. Them.

That is all.

[Patsy Stone]

110. Yep

Take a gander all the way through here. Someone must have peed in her Corn Flakes.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3448237&mesg_id=3448391

[Berry Cool]

116. Yeah. I say, if they think I'm too sensitive

fuck them and the horse they rode in on.

Oh yeah, and the ones who sit there in judgment and accuse others of having a "dead fetish." Sheesh. How do THEY react when someone they care about dies? Or hasn't it ever happened to them?

I just LOVE how a death brings out all the cold, logical Mr. Spocks on DU, telling us how absurd our behavior is and how far above it they are. :sarcasm:

[RevCheesehead]

117. That is totally and completely unfair...

to Mr. Spock.

Live long and prosper.

[Berry Cool]

119. You're right. I apologize to him.

Vulcans have more feelings than those clods.

[Patsy Stone]

118. My response to her

was deleted. All I said was that there were eight recs, and one of them was mine. Why would they delete that response? Hmmm.

[ailsagirl]

134. A tremendous amount of vitriol is flowing elsewhere on DU

You have to pity those whose hearts seem to be missing.

[Berry Cool]

115. That was excellent.

Sums up all the youthful excitement of the McCain campaign into one picture.

No They Can't!!!!!

[RevCheesehead]

106. I've been watching most of the coverage since 2:30 (CT)

I felt sad, and was touched by all the tributes. Then, at one point someone made the comment that Tim had just had to put his dad in supportive living ten days ago, and I lost it. You see, I know the stress that creates, and I ended up taking a month off. Tim kept going.

This is a very sad day. Godspeed, Mayor McCheese. O8)

[Berry Cool]

109. That's appropriate of you, Cheeser.

Missed seeing you here. Looks like Keith is in reruns. I'm signing off. I better stay away from GD. My blood pressure needs to lower.

[CC]

120. Maybe Timmeh should of talked with

you and learned it is better to take a month off. :hug: I took it harder than I would of thought I would. Then again it has been a rough week though Lilbear did eat on his own a couple times today. :) Downside is I think he has EEC and it might go through all the ferrets.

[RevCheesehead]

121. What is EEC?

I'm glad the li'l dude is eating, but sheesh... does he have to get sick NOW? :hug:

[CC]

122. Uh oh it is ECE though doubt that

helps much unless you were looking it up. Easiest way to look it is is to put in green poop in ferrets. lol Below explains some but really the vets aren't sure where it comes from, how they get it or what causes it.

ECE (E = Rapid spread throughout naive ferret, C = Containing Mucous E = Intestinal inflammation) a coronavirus, also known as "Green Slime" and "Green Poop", attacks the stomach and intestinal lining of the ferret as well as interferes and starves the animal of the necessary fluid and nutrient absorption needed. ECE is highly contagious and chances are all your ferrets will become ill at varying degrees (it is possible that some ferrets are carriers of this disease and show no symptoms). Currently there is no prevention or vaccine for this highly contagious coronavirus, though once your ferret contracts the disease, they usually do not get it again. The severity of this disease generally increases with the age of the ferret.
http://www.ferret-universe.com/health/ece.asp

The second trip to the vets got me the right drug for his digestive system and I have been aggressive in getting food, water and Pedialyte into him. I am also going to stock up on Pepcid A/C since I found directions how to make it into a ferret usable medication to prevent ulcers. I was already using Hill A/D food and baby chicken food along with nuti-cal. The boy lost lots of weight in a very short time and I wasn't taking chances. The good thing is it is rarely fatal and with lots of work he (and they if they get it) will be fine. That bad news is it spreads so much and most of the guys are elderly. He ate a bit more by himself yesterday and a bit more so far today but still syringe feeding him to be sure he gets enough. He is weak so tires easily and stops eating.

Not sure where he would of picked it up since I do not let them near other ferrets and am picky about who gets to play with them. I haven't been around other ferrets. Best guess is maybe he had something else and picked it up from the vets or Gambit brought it home with him from the rescue. I know Claudia is careful but from what I have read ECE is next to impossible to control. Right now I feel better knowing what I am dealing with and that I wasn't over reacting like the vet seemed to think I was.

[RevCheesehead]

123. that's a relief.

Green poop, eh? Is it also messy, and do they miss the litterbox (or whatever ferrets use)? You are such a good ferret mom. All the critters are so lucky to have you looking after them, knowing you'll go the extra mile to get them healthy.

Hang in there, Cindy. :hug:

[CC]

124. It is messy and fluorescent green

but he didn't miss the litter box. He is a good boy even sick he struggles over to the litter box. Now Bandit and Mysti they like to go next to the box so have newspaper under the boxes for them. If I catch them and they see me then they will get in the litter box. :rofl: Proves they know better.

[Berry Cool]

127. I'm glad I've never owned a ferret now, especially one with this problem.

Sorry CC, but if I saw fluorescent green ferret poop, I'd never be able to eat a Chicago Dog again. :scared:

[CC]

128. I'm not sure I could eat any food

that was fluorescent green. Plus side on ferret poo, it lands in a litter box not a diaper. If you change enough diapers (and I have) you see just about any color there is come out the back end. You ought to see what crayons look like after going through the digestive track.:rofl:

[ailsagirl]

125. Thanks for the heads-up... Russert was quite a presence and,

as someone said, "I can't imagine the election without
his contribution and input."

Farewell, Tim

[Patsy Stone]

129. Hi!

Come by for the show tomorrow and type along with us. :)

[ailsagirl]

133. I accept!! :=)