It's Monday, which means that the NCAA women's basketball bracket will be unveiled. That should not be forgotten, even if the result is a foregone conclusion. Connecticut should run its winning streak to 78 and hoist another trophy. Just watch out for 30-1 Nebraska...

In case you were not among the living yesterday, you missed the best secular Sunday of the year (although some would argue there is something religious about March Madness - case in point, Kentucky in the SEC championship game, where the announcer joked that the Wildcats missing the tournament - like they did last season - is against people's religion in the Bluegrass state. Replied his partner "that's why they changed preachers". Kentucky has a new head coach this year). Anyway, with One Shining Moment being sung by Jennifer Hudson, the latest edition of March Madness will kick off on Thursday and is led by top overall seed Kansas.

For you Washington Husky fans, the Dawgs head to San Jose Thursday to take on Big East foe Marquette, alma mater of Dwyane Wade. My early favorite to surprise some people is actually California, which could legitimately be an Elite 8 team. This would only qualify as a surprise outside of the Pac-10 mind you.

As Terrelle Owens would say, "get ya popcorn ready."

Also, lost in the shuffle of yesterday was the fact the the Huskies actually received votes in the coaches poll, 10 of them, placing them 30th. The six teams directly above UW are all from non-power conferences.

And one more sports note, here is the NIT bracket. This is a tournament that could sell a lot of tickets this year given that both North Carolina and Connecticut are both in it. The No. 1 seeds are Illinois, Arizona State, Mississippi State and Virginia Tech. This could be the final season for the NIT if the NCAA does take up plans to expand the NCAA tournament to 96 teams.

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Other things will happen in the world this week, most notably a possible passage of the long-awaited health care bill. Yesterday on Face the Nation, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, "this is the week" that health care will pass the U.S. Congress.

Whether or not the Democrats truly do have the votes to make that reality really depends on who you ask. Markup for the bill is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. today and yes, should you really care (and think you'll understand what is going on), those proceedings are always on CSPAN.

This is the "shell" bill, the one they will markup today, but will then be sent to the Rules committee to have all of the negotiated changes actually inserted. It is, however, the foundation of what is happening.

With all that said, if you thought the fight was done, think again. According to the New York Times, organizations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have already spent $11 million this month, while proponents are at around $12 million in advertising in House districts. Experts expect that combined number to climb to $30 million by this weekend. That is in addition to the "get out the vote"-like activities happening on the ground.

Which brings me to a larger point about where we are in history. Sometime years from now, we may or may not know whether the effect this bill has on our country is positive or negative. We may have climbed out of debt or the way our country interacts with the world may fundamentally change. But this will be one of the things we remember forever. We may not remember the day. Most probably won't remember who Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid are even. But this will one of those Great Society type things that defines a generation. So don't miss it. Pay attention to what is going on. Respect that, like it or not, federal government plays a role in our lives and every now and then we get to experience these pivotal moments.

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Couple of other health care notes:
- The reconciliation bill is expected to contain President Obama's student loan reform package.
- This entire process is expected to be done by Thursday or Friday. This may well be one of the wildest weekends in a long time in DC, with staffers across the Capitol finally getting some rest and celebrating a big victory.
- One of the things I am most interested in seeing is whether a Republican actually does vote for the bill, with the historical perspective in mind. Remember, that happened originally in the House. There is a part of me that thinks that even Rep. Bart Stupak is a yes vote, even after all of his abortion-related objections.
- Even without passage of the bill yet, the implementation planning is underway.

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Other notes:
- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie declared a State of Emergency in the state, after another storm, this time packed with rain, ravaged most of the northeast. This morning as I rode the Metro into Washington, I saw the Potomac River well above it's banks, flooding the streets that run alongside it.

- Look out for your U.S. Census forms in the mail.

- President Obama is scheduled to unveil changes to the No Child Left Behind Act today, possibly moving toward adopting national education standards. These are being called "college-ready" standards, an idea which I am very much support of. The fact is the a high school diploma is not enough anymore, meaning that no student should graduate from one of our schools without the ability to go to college on some level.

- This story is especially scary for two reasons. Two Americans were murdered in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a city I have written much about. They were shot in their car within sight of the U.S. border crossing to El Paso, while their baby sat unharmed in the backseat. Now, even having Americans shot in that city, where 11 of the nearly 50 murders this weekend in Mexico took place, would not register as a major surprise. What does is the shooting of a government employee, as they were. In addition, spring break 2010 is in full swing across America, with Mexico obviously being one of the more popular vacation spots.

Lastly, but most importantly, on this day in history in 1965, President Lynden B. Johnson, a Texan, called for equal voting rights for all Americans, saying, "we shall overcome." Still, the community he was talking about does not vote enough.