It is unfortunate that Jesse Helms died on July 4. It is an honor for any statesman to die on that date. Three of our greatest presidents died on that date (John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe). Jesse Helms was a bigot.
I write this with the full knowledge of the meaning of that word. I have known bigotry myself and I had a friend who frequently spoke just like Jesse Helms (that is why he is no longer my friend).
Support for my views is from data collected on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Helms. The Anti-Helms near the bottom of that listing links you to sufficient information to support my opinion.
· “Jesse Helms: 16th century thinkin'” — article at Freepress.org
· “Jesse Helms, White Racist” — a 2001 article by David Broder of The Washington Post
· “Media Downplay Bigotry of Jesse Helms,” FAIR, 2001.
· “A Career Based on Contempt for Democratic
· Rights” WSWS, 2001.
· Whitewash article by Barry Yeoman, Independent Weekly
· · “Jesse Helms says: Hey! I’m the Biggest Bigot Here!” — a collection of his more politically incorrect quotes
Just one more web site: http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/07/jesse_helms_is_dead.php with more postings by bloggers.
My next entry will be about something happy.
Coast Contact 
The late senator deserves a fitting memorial. See http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2008/07/05/jesse-helms/