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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Robert Kennedy, Jr. at Ralph Lauren's 40th Anniversary, September 2007. Photo by Christopher Peterson.
Born (1954-01-17) January 17, 1954 (age 71)
Washington, D.C., United States of America
EducationBA in political science (Harvard University)
JD (University of Virginia School of Law)
LLM (Pace University School of Law)
Occupationlawyer
Spouse(s)Emily Ruth Black
Mary Richardson
ChildrenRobert F. III, and Kathleen Alexandra by Emily Ruth Black,
Conor Richardson, Kyra LeMoyne, William Finbar, and Aidan Caohman Vieques by Mary Richardson
Parent(s)Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. during a speech in Urbana, IL, in 2007

Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (b. January 17, 1954 in Washington, D.C.) is the third of 11 children born to Ethel Skakel Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. He is an environmental lawyer and co-host of Ring of Fire on the Air America Radio network.

Personal life

Kennedy graduated from Harvard College in 1974 with a B.A. in government (interrupting his stay at Harvard for a year of study at the London School of Economics) and obtained a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia Law School, following a tradition started by his father and his uncle Edward M. Kennedy. He also obtained an LL.M. from the Pace University School of Law.[1]

Kennedy married Emily Ruth Black (b. October 15, 1957)[2] on April 3, 1982 in Bloomington, Indiana, daughter of Thomas Black and Helen Armstrong. They have two children:

They divorced on March 25, 1994 in the Dominican Republic. He married Mary Richardson (b. 1960) on April 15, 1994 on board a research vessel along the Hudson River. They have four children:

  • Conor Richardson Kennedy (b. July 24, 1994 in Mt. Kisco, New York);
  • Kyra LeMoyne Kennedy (b. August 27, 1995 in Mt. Kisco, New York);
  • William Finbar Kennedy (b. November 8, 1997 in Mt. Kisco, New York);
  • Aidan Caohman Vieques Kennedy (b. 2001).

In 1983, he was arrested in a Rapid City South Dakota Airport for heroin possession. A search of his carry-on bag uncovered 183 milligrams of the drug.[3] Upon entering a plea of guilty, Kennedy, then 30 years old, was sentenced to two years probation, periodic tests for drug use, treatment by joining Narcotics Anonymous, and 1,500 hours of community service by Presiding Judge Marshall P. Young.[4]

In 1984, Kennedy joined the Riverkeeper organization to satisfy the 1,500 hours community service to which he was sentenced. He worked with the group to sue alleged polluters of the Hudson River. After his 1,500 hours were complete, the group hired Kennedy as its chief prosecuting attorney.[5] Riverkeeper was founded in 1966 by a group of fishermen and residents from New York.[6]

Kennedy also founded, and is the current president of, the umbrella organization, Waterkeeper Alliance,[7] which connects and supports local Keeper groups. Today there are 157 Keeper groups worldwide operating under the trademarked "Riverkeeper", "Lakekeeper", "Baykeeper", or "Coastkeeper" names.[8]

Since 1987 Kennedy has served as a Clinical Professor of Environmental Law and co-director of the Environmental Litigation Clinic[9] at Pace University School of Law. The clinic allows second and third year law students to try cases against alleged Hudson River polluters. Kennedy also serves as a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council,[10] a non-profit organization based in New York which works to expand environmental laws and restrict land use.

Earlier in his career, Kennedy served as assistant district attorney in New York City.[11]

Media work and public activism

In 1998, Kennedy, Chris Bartle and John Hoving created a bottled water company that donates all of its profits to Waterkeeper Alliance.[12] They named their Manhattan based company Tear of the Clouds LLC., after the lake of the same name in Essex County which is the headwaters of the Hudson River. The Kennedy's have long been vocal stewards of the Hudson River.[13] Their product is bottled under the name Keeper Springs.[14]

Kennedy currently co-hosts Ring of Fire on Air America Radio with Mike Papantonio,[15] despite suffering from spasmodic dysphonia,[16] a disorder that makes speech difficult and causes the voice to sound quavery.

He has written two books and several articles on environmental issues. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, The Nation, Outside magazine, The Village Voice and many more. Since May 2005 he's been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post, a blog run by Arianna Huffington.[17]

Kennedy was named one of Time.com's "Heroes for the Planet" for his success in helping Riverkeeper to restore the Hudson River.[18]

He has angered some environmentalists[19] with his opposition to the construction of the Cape Wind offshore wind power project.[20]

Kennedy authored a June 2005 article in Rolling Stone alleging connections between the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal in inoculations and childhood autism.[21] Mainstream medical opinion is that there is no convincing scientific evidence to support this allegation.[22]

In an article in the June 5, 2006, issue of Rolling Stone entitled Was the 2004 Election Stolen?, Kennedy comes to the conclusion that the Republican Party stole the 2004 American presidential election. Farhad Manjoo, Technology and Business staff writer for Salon.com, has criticized Kennedy's interpretation and methodology.[23] Kennedy responded to Manjoo's criticisms in detail.[24]

Kennedy has been criticised for receiving royalty payments for participation in two family-owned oil drilling companies.[25]

On July 7, 2007 Kennedy appeared in New York at the Live Earth event. His speech challenged the public to question the implied position of the energy industry that economic and environmental policies are mutually exclusive. He referred to several media personalities (Glenn Beck, John Stossel, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh among them) as "flat-earthers", and "traitors.".[26] Kennedy's speech concludes with the statement "And I will see all of you on the barricades".

2008 Presidential endorsement

In late 2007, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [27] and his sisters Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, and Kerry Kennedy[28] (children of the late Senator and United States Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy) endorsed Hillary Clinton for the United States presidential election, 2008. In a January 29 2008 editorial they wrote, "By now you may have read or heard that our cousin, Caroline Kennedy, and our uncle, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, have come out in favor of Sen. Barack Obama. We, however, are supporting Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton because we believe that she is the strongest candidate for our party and our country."[29]

Sporting life

Kennedy is a licensed master falconer and former president of the New York State Falconer's Association.[30] He is also an avid white-water rafter and has led several rafting trips in Canada and Central America.[31][32]

Religious Beliefs

He is a practising Roman Catholic and a self-described pro-life supporter.[33]

Books by Kennedy

  • Kennedy Jr., Robert F. (1978). Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr: A biography. Putnam. ISBN 0-399-12123-4.
  • Kronin, John (1999). The Riverkeepers: Two Activists Fight to Reclaim Our Environment as a Basic Human Right. New York: Scribner. pp. 304 pages. ISBN 0-684-84625-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Kennedy, Jr., Robert F. (2004). St. Francis of Assisi: A Life of Joy. Hyperion. ISBN 9780786818754. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Kennedy, Jr., Robert F. (2005). Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and Corporate Pals are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy. New York: HarperCollins. pp. 256 pages. ISBN 0060746874.
  • Kennedy, Jr., Robert F. (2007). Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s American Heroes: The Story of Joshua Chamberlain and the American Civil War. New York: Hyperion. pp. 48 pages. ISBN 9781423107712.

References

  1. ^ http://www.backbonecampaign.org/cabinet/nominee.cfm?ID=62
  2. ^ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/kennedys/sfeature/sf_tree_text.html
  3. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE7DF1039F934A25750C0A962948260
  4. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE7DF1039F934A25750C0A962948260
  5. ^ http://riverkeeper.org
  6. ^ http://riverkeeper.org/ourstory_index.php
  7. ^ http://waterkeeper.org
  8. ^ http://waterkeeper.org/mainaboutus.aspx
  9. ^ http://law.pace.edu/envclinic/staff.html
  10. ^ http://www.robertfkennedyjr.com/about.html
  11. ^ http://robertfkennedyjr.com/about.html
  12. ^ http://www.keepersprings.com/theidea.html
  13. ^ http://www.charlierose.com/shows/1997/11/10/1/a-conversation-about-the-hudson-river-pollution-with-robert-f-kennedy-jr-and-john-cronin
  14. ^ http://www.keepersprings.com
  15. ^ http://shows.airamericaradio.com/ringoffire/
  16. ^ Leibovich, Mark (2006-06-25). "Another Kennedy Living Dangerously". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  17. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/
  18. ^ http://www.time.com/time/reports/environment/heroes/heroesgallery/0,2967,kennedy,00.html
  19. ^ http://www.grist.org/news/muck/2006/01/12/capecod/
  20. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/opinion/16kennedy.html
  21. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/7395411/deadly_immunity/
  22. ^ Doja A, Roberts W (2006). "Immunizations and autism: a review of the literature". Can J Neurol Sci. 33 (4): 341–6. PMID 17168158.
  23. ^ http://www.salon.com//news/feature/2006/06/03/kennedy/
  24. ^ http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/06/06/rfk_responds/
  25. ^ Schweizer, Peter (2005-10-25). Do as I Say (Not as I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy. Doubleday. pp. 272 pages. ISBN 0385513496. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  26. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Heku9oTLysg
  27. ^ Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. endorses Hillary Clinton
  28. ^ Kennedy Family Split On Endorsements
  29. ^ Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kerry Kennedy (2008-01-29). "Kennedys for Clinton". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-01-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ http://www.metroactive.com/metro-santa-cruz/01.11.06/rfk-0602.html
  31. ^ http://waterkeeper.org/mainpresident.aspx
  32. ^ http://www.robertfkennedyjr.com/about.html
  33. ^ http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2005/03/15/a_natural_devotion/

See also

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