(Massachusetts Senator Ted)Kennedy’s Senate office released a written statement just after 2 p.m. today offering the first official confirmation, saying, “It appears that Senator Kennedy experienced a seizure this morning. He is undergoing a battery of tests at Massachusetts General Hospital to determine the cause of the seizure. Senator Kennedy is resting comfortably, and it is unlikely we will know anything more for the next 48 hours.”

This is actually good news as first reports indicated a stroke and a situation that might be life-threatening. If you are so inclined, send positive thoughts and/or prayers on behalf of this public servant and his family — he’s among the last of a generation whose work, despite the steady drumbeat of repeal from Nixon ’til now, helped lead the United States of America into the light of progress.