Obligitory Emily Litella Follow-Up (Kennedy)

Never mind. Well, at least never mind my comment that no one was talking about Kennedy.

For those who haven't seen it, Kennedy has now released a letter he sent to Governor Patrick back in the beginning of July dealing with the awkward issue of his replacement. What I didn't know, and should have checked before writing, is that Massachusetts in 2004 passed a law requiring special elections with no appointment in the case of a Senate vacancy -- like, oh, if one of their Senators had been elected President of the United States while they happened to have a Republican governor. So now they have to pass a new law arranging for a temporary appointment or else the seat will be vacant for the several months before the special election can be held.

For the politics behind that, and for all your Massachusetts and Boston political news and more, you're going to want to follow the Boston Phoenix's excellent political blog, Talking Politics. (OK, he's my brother, but he's a terrific journalist nonetheless).