A second good morning to you. Went to see if flags were flying at half mast today and the only one I could see was not. Would imagine they are somewhere or will be tomorrow.

All in recognition of news of the saddest kind that broke just after 1 am ET last night. Senator Ted Kennedy, who can only be described as an icon in America and American politics, has died after his lengthy battle with cancer. He was 77.

Not to age some of you who read here, but many will know more of his greatness than I, and that of his brothers as well. In a link I posted yesterday, John McCain spoke fondly of Sen. Kennedy and about how much he is missed during the current session.

Make no mistake - this is a mammoth political loss. However, the current Senate will continue on. It has spent much of the session without Sen. Kennedy already. What is more is the loss of another member of this family of giants. Sen. Kennedy was on of just two remaining children of Joseph Kennedy and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald. He is obviously the last of the boys to pass, the only to survive the 1960's. And Sen. Kennedy becomes the second in his family to die just this month.

He was the man who used his first Senate speech to rally for the 1964 Civil Rights Act. That should seem especially major today considering that it is the 89th anniversary of women receiving the right to vote. He was a vocal, adamant supporter of Barack Obama. He has made healthcare available to more people than it has ever been and yet the "cause of his life" is in the middle of maybe its most important hour.

But now he is home, with maybe America's greatest family. At peace.

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Right now I am going to stay away from some of Ted Kennedy's other problems. Most of you probably know about the double standards and such, but death precludes those right now. What we will see, however, is the tremendous effect this is going to have on a healthcare fight that seemingly has been in the 12th round for weeks. This is not the knockout punch. But it is a blow. One that seemingly only Ali, or Kennedy, could come back from.

But the fight will go on.

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Teachers wear so many hats. But this has got to be the scariest one and they deserve to be recognized. Many lives were saved.

The situation with the reality show where a woman was murdered has been big news, but I forgot one crazy part. No one dying is funny. What this is, is more of a sign of the apocalypse type thing. The evolution of modern "medicine".

Missouri is taking a groundbreaking approach at youth rehabilitation in correctional facilities.

I am not going to link to GoTopless day coverage, but those have been happening throughout the week across the country. Women wanting "equal rights" to go topless in public, just like men. Just a guess that many would just assume most men keep their shirts on too...

Almost the entire Politico front page is about Sen. Kennedy.

On how America struggles with talking about depression - Michael Beasley.

Blue Scholars just dropped a new EP.

It is pretty fun that FIU would complain this much about having to play UNC instead of Ohio State. It's going to be at least a 30-point blowout regardless.

Delayed Congrats to Jesse Baum, who is writing full-time for a newspaper in Lewiston. Yep, that's in Idaho folks. He'll be alright though.

And lastly, my brother turns 13 today. Yes, he made it to the teenage years.

More later