Sen. Robert Byrd Dead at 92

I don't have a lot to say about Senator Robert Byrd, as I didn't really follow his career. I know he had some heinous things in his past (such as membership in the Ku Klux Klan), and that he also did quite a lot to redeem himself in his later years.  I'm personally of the belief that there ought to be an agreed upon age--not necessarily mandatory--that Senators, House Representatives, Supreme Court Justices and the like retire.  But that's a different subject for a different day. Here is Senator Al Franken (man, I love typing that) talking about Byrd.

Sen. Robert Byrd Hospitalized

Photo from source, Think Progress

It is ironic that two of the longest serving Democratic Senators were both in the hospital on the same day. OK, maybe not ironic (Alannis Morrisette has wrecked me). Edward Kennedy was in for brain surgery for a malignant tumor, and Byrd apparently for a fever, which can be bad for a 90-year-old. I've never been much of a fan of either man, though I wish them both well. And the fact that they are both perpetual punching-bags of the right (Sean Hannity has idiotic nicknames for both), puts me in their camp by default. Get well, guys.

[Excerpt]

Senator Robert Byrd hospitalized.

. . .Byrd, who is the longest-serving senator in history, voted during a 5:30 p.m. roll call Monday, then went home. Jacobs says that less than an hour later the senator began to feel ill. He was found to have a fever, and at his doctor’s request he was taken to a nearby hospital. . .

Read more at: Think Progress