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Ted Kennedy and offshore drilling

joke · American political history · retold in 3 talks

Senator Kennedy, who opposed offshore drilling, was photographed by paparazzi making love on a boat in the Gulf of Mexico. A Republican colleague quipped at the next Senate session that he was glad to see Kennedy had 'changed his position on offshore drilling.' Žižek uses it to mock the gap between ecological rhetoric and practice.

2010: 2 talks 2022: 1 talk
≤2000talks it is told in, per year2026

As told 3

“I'm glad to see that Senator Kennedy has changed his position on offshore drilling”
46:31 Living in the End Times2010-07 · 1:46:47
“I'm glad to hear that our esteemed colleague has changed his position of offshore drilling.”
“the only offshore drilling that should be allowed is the one that kennedy was involved in.”

What it carries

one story, many jobs: the ideas this anecdote is deployed to argue, one tally mark per use (an idea page shows the same relation from the other end, as its shelf of stories)

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Every retelling 3

46:31 Living in the End Times2010-07 · 1:46:47
Senator Kennedy, who opposed offshore drilling, was photographed by paparazzi making love on a boat in the Gulf of Mexico. A Republican colleague quipped at the next Senate session that he was glad to see Kennedy had 'changed his position on offshore drilling.' Žižek uses it to mock the gap between ecological rhetoric and practice., illustrating ecological hypocrisy,gap between political discourse and way of life
Ted Kennedy opposed offshore oil drilling; he was then photographed having sex on a boat offshore. A Republican senator quipped he was glad Kennedy had 'changed his position on offshore drilling.' Žižek invokes this as an example of healthy dirty political humour that should be possible in a normal society., illustrating dirty jokes in politics,political correctness,sexuality and politics
A Republican senator jokes that Senator Kennedy, who opposed offshore drilling, changed his position after being caught in a love boat; the senator quips, 'the only offshore drilling that should be allowed is the one that Kennedy was involved in.', illustrating Irma’s injection structure