Ted Kennedy has been a longtime United States Senator from the state of Massachusetts for a great many years. He has been a champion of those in need, whether those without health care or those being treated unequal to others. With his recent diagnosis of having a brain tumor, lets take a look at 7 Things You Didn’t Know About: Ted Kennedy.

1. Senator Kennedy has written a children’s book titled “My Senator and Me: A Dog’s Eye View Of Washington, D.C.”.

2. Ted Kennedy ran for President in 1980 against a sitting President from his own party.

3. Ted Kennedy was initially expelled from Harvard for cheating, he then enlisted in the United State Army and would eventually re-enter Harvard, graduating in 1956.

4. Ted Kennedy was the sole survivor of a small plane crash in 1964 that left him with three crushed vertebrae.

5. In 2004, Senator Kennedy was stopped numerous times while trying to fly from Boston to Washington D.C. for questioning because his name was similar to that of a name that was on the Homeland Security list of names that needed additional screening.

6. In the 1955 Harvard vs. Yale football game which was won by Yale with a score of 21-7, Ted Kennedy caught the only Harvard touchdown pass.

7. Many TV and big screen movies have been made about the Kennedy family, Ted Kennedy has been portrayed on screen by Kevin Hare, Dylan Price, Craig T. Nelson, Jared Cook, Fraser McGregor, Patrick Labyorteaux, Matt Letscher, Jacob Richmond, Matthew Dundas, and Kevin Conroy among others.

No matter what the result of his illness, Ted Kennedy will go down as one of the most effective politicians of his era.

The United States Senate makes up one half of the legislative branch of the federal government. The Senate is made up of 100 Senators with each state in the union getting two senators apiece. But, here are 7 Things You Don’t Know About: The US Senate.

1. Up until 1913, US Senators were selected by their individual state’s legislatures.

2. The US Senate convenes in the north wing of the capitol building.

3. While each state has two Senators, elections are staggered so that no state’s two Senators will be up for election in the same year.

4. In the United States Senate’s history, 15 Senators have been expelled from membership. All but one of those suspensions was due to those Senators’ states seceding from the Union at the beginning of the Civil War. No US Senator has been expelled since then.

5. Two of the qualifications for a person to be allowed to be a Senator are that they must be at least 30 years old and must have been a US citizen for the previous nine years.

6. Three Senators have been elected to office and served before reaching the mandatory age of 30; Henry Clay (1806), Armistead Mason (1816), and John Eaton (1818). This was allowed to happen because the Senate polices itself and not enough scrutiny was given during those early days of operation.

7. The longest filibuster ever was done by Senator Strom Thurmond in 1957 when he spoke for over 24 hours in an attempt to stop Civil Rights legislation.

The US Senate is half of one of the three branches of government. Many of the more prominent people in public life have been senators and holding these positions comes with a great deal of responsibility. Making sure they live up to these expectations is part of the publics job.

John McCain is without question a national hero for his service to his country and his years of enduring torture at the hands of the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. But, here are 7 Things You Don’t Know About: John McCain.

1. John McCain was a wrestler in high school and a boxer while at the United States Naval Academy.
2. John McCain served the State of Arizona in the United State House of Representatives from the 1st District. The man that immediately preceded him in that seat was John Jacob Rhodes Jr. The man that served in that seat immediately following him was John Jacob Rhodes III.
3. John McCain’s release from captivity in North Vietnam came as part of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords.
4. John McCain has been awarded the Profiles In Courage Award signifying traits similar to John F. Kennedy, a Democrat. He has also won the Eisenhower Leadership Award signifying traits similar to Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican.
5. The military awards won by John McCain include: The Silver Star, The Legion of Merit, The Distinguished Flying Cross, The Bronze Star, The Purple Heart, and The Prisoner of War Medal.
6. John McCain shares his birthday (August 29th) with the following famous people: Ingrid Bergman, Isabel Sanford, Charlie “Bird” Parker, Richard Attenborough, Elliot Gould, Robin Leach, and Michael Jackson.
7. John McCain’s father and grandfather are the only father-son combination to both serve as Admirals in the United States Navy.

Win or lose during this presidential election season, John McCain will remain a national hero and someone who has dedicated a large part of his life to the betterment of his country.

In light of this election year, we’ll start with some of the names in the news as far as politics goes. Hillary Clinton is a former first lady, US Senator, and presidential hopeful, but her are 7 Things You Don’t Know About: Hillary Clinton.

1. During her freshman year at Wellesley College, Hillary Clinton served as president of the Young Republicans.
2. Though known as Hillary Rodham Clinton, her given middle name is Diane.
3. The summer after graduating from college, she worked washing dishes at Mount McKinley National Park in Alaska.
4. Hillary Clinton was the first student ever to give the commencement address at Wellesley College.
5. Hillary Clinton’s wedding to Bill Clinton was a Methodist ceremony that took place in the living room of the house they had just purchased in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
6. In 1988 and 1991, Hillary Clinton was named one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America.
7. From 1978 through 1992, Hillary Clinton’s salary was larger than her husband’s.

Whether you like her or not, Hillary Clinton will go down in history as one of the more interesting public figures.