our thoughts are with you, Senator Kennedy!

As everyone has probably heard, the senior Senator from Massachusetts has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Our thoughts here in govdocs land go out to the Kennedys. Elected in 1962, the younger brother of JFK and RFK cast his 15,000th vote. Here's an expert of Senator Kennedy's speech from the Congressional Record (153 Cong Rec S 110388-- find it in Lexis/Nexis Congressional!) commemorating that occasion:

...I could not take this moment without thinking back about, personally, the service in this Chamber. When I first arrived in this Chamber, I was fortunate to have two brothers, one a President and another an Attorney General. I had the opportunity to work with them on those responsibilities in that regard. Then, to have a brother who served in the Senate was a golden time for me during that period of time.

I have been enormously proud of the work my nephew, Congressman Kennedy, serving in the House of Representatives, and now Patrick, my son, who serves in the House of Representatives and is a leading voice in terms of the mental health issues for our country-I am so proud of all his good work.

We grew up in a family that believed in public service, that elective office can make a difference but also understood that other people make extraordinary differences in advancing the cause of fairness and decency in the Nation. I think of the work of my sisters in that undertaking, all of whom have been involved-whether Special Olympics or Very Special Arts or other programs in which they have all been involved.

We still believe in the importance of public service and the honor, the high honor that one has in elective office. There are many of those who dismiss that concept as an old-fashioned viewpoint, but I think any of us who have read the history of this Nation and who understood its history know there is no higher personal honor than to have that opportunity.

alms for the Census

We're fast approaching a year ending in a zero, which means: it's Decennial Census time! And, according to the New York Times, the most well-known and mandatory survey in the land is already underfunded: "Whether by intention or neglect, the Bush administration omitted the census from a list of several activities that needed to be exempted from that limit."

Way back when he was running for president the first time, Bush the second let it be known that he probably wouldn't fill out the long form, either, but hopefully somebody reminded him that it's actually illegal to neglect to do so.

cybercensus?

Senator Tom Coburn has voiced his opinion that the 2010 Census should be conducted on-line. According to an article on FCW.com, the Senator from Oklahoma is appauled at the Census Bureau's lack of vision when it comes to being able to utilize the internet for the country's largest (and required!) survey. Perhaps he didn't realize that the head of the bureau is uncomfortable with the security of the format (Title 13, anybody?). Or, maybe he and Ted Stevens of Alaska got to talking in the cafeteria one day.