Phillip wrote earlier this morning about the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. It is a sad day in America today and the U.S. Senate has lost a tremendous leader and the progressive movement has lost a long-time friend.
President Barack Obama issued a statement this morning upon hearing of the Ted Kennedy's passing:
Michelle and I were heartbroken to learn this morning of the death of our dear friend, Senator Ted Kennedy.
For five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health and economic well being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts.
I valued his wise counsel in the Senate, where, regardless of the swirl of events, he always had time for a new colleague. I cherished his confidence and momentous support in my race for the Presidency. And even as he waged a valiant struggle with a mortal illness, I've profited as President from his encouragement and wisdom.
An important chapter in our history has come to an end. Our country has lost a great leader, who picked up the torch of his fallen brothers and became the greatest United States Senator of our time.
And the Kennedy family has lost their patriarch, a tower of strength and support through good times and bad.
Our hearts and prayers go out to them today--to his wonderful wife, Vicki, his children Ted Jr., Patrick and Kara, his grandchildren and his extended family.
In reading Phillip's post about Kennedy's last speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, I felt it necessary to post the video. There are too many great lines in there to quote individually.
When Sen. Kennedy first fell ill and suffered a seizure that, at the time, no one knew the cause of, I was just finishing up my graduation day at SUNY Fredonia. It was news that I hoped wouldn't be bad news, but days later it was revealed that brain cancer was the culprit of the tumor.
The Senate has big shoes to fill. But that can wait while we remember the life of a man who championed some of the most progressive legislation in our nation's history.
And one day, in Sen. Kennedy's honor and to achieve a goal he stated forcefully at the DNC last year, we will ensure that health care is a right and that every man, woman and child in the United States of America enjoys that right.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is currently addressing a joint session of Congress. He just announced that Queen Elizabeth has awarded an Honorary Knighthood upon the senior Senator from Massachusetts. Not too shabby, Sir Edward.
Senator Ted Kennedy's malignant brain tumor is not curable and his prognosis is not good.
The grim diagnosis that Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has an almost certainly fatal brain tumor was "a real curveball" that left his family stunned even as he joked and laughed with them, his wife told her friends.
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The diagnosis cast a pall over Capitol Hill, where the Massachusetts Democrat has served since 1962, and came as a shock to a family all too accustomed to sudden, calamitous news.
"He's had a biopsy, and we don't yet have final pathology or a plan or course of treatment. But I have to be honest, we've been pitched a real curveball," Vicki Kennedy wrote.
Doctors said the senator had a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe, a region of the brain that helps govern sensation, movement and language. Malignant gliomas are diagnosed in about 9,000 Americans a year; in general, half of all patients die within a year.
"It's treatable but not curable. You can put it into remission for a while but it's not a curable tumor," said Dr. Suriya Jeyapalan, a neuroncologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
The doctors said Kennedy will remain in the hospital for the next couple of days as they consider chemotherapy and radiation. They did not mention surgery, a possible indication the tumor is inoperable.
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Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., the longest-serving member of the Senate, wept as he prayed for "my dear, dear friend, dear friend, Ted Kennedy" during a speech on the Senate floor.
"Keep Ted here for us and for America," said the 90-year-old Byrd, who is in a wheelchair. He added: "Ted, Ted, my dear friend, I love you and I miss you."
I'm really not the praying type, but I'm sure I'm not the only one doing so today for Senator Kennedy.
In other news, yesterday when I first heard this sad news and began to post about it, I wondered aloud to myself how long it would be before some wingnut used Kennedy's illness as a joke. The sad answer is not long at all. Right wing hatemonger and complete and utter douchebag Michael Savage played a Dead Kennedys song "in some respect" for Senator Kennedy on his radio show yesterday.
On the day it was announced that Sen. Ted Kennedy had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, nationally syndicated radio host Michael Savage opened his show by interspersing audio of Kennedy singing "Ay Jalisco No Te Rajes" with clips of news reporters discussing Kennedy's diagnosis and audio from Kindergarten Cop in which Arnold Schwarzenegger's character says, "It's not a tumor." Later, Savage played the Dead Kennedys song "California Über Alles" after stating: "The poor guy's been suffering for years, you know? Unfairly he's been accused of alcoholism, but we see now that it was something much more deep-seated. And so, to cut this out in some respect for Ted Kennedy, here's a tune coming at you from the Dead Kennedys. Go ahead and play it, please."
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor. Doctors for the Massachusetts Democrat say tests conducted after Kennedy suffered a seizure this weekend show a tumor in his left parietal lobe. Preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma, they said.
His treatment will be decided after more tests but the usual course includes combinations of radiation and chemotherapy.
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His doctors said in a statement released to The Associated Press that he has had no further seizures, is in good spirits and is resting comfortably.
Malignant gliomas are a type of brain cancer diagnosed in about 9,000 Americans a year - and the most common type among adults. It's a starting diagnosis: How well patients fare depends on what specific tumor type is determined by further testing.
Average survival can range from less than a year for very advanced and aggressive types - such as glioblastomas - or to about five years for different types that are slower growing.
