Senator Inouye ascends to President pro tempore

Senator Inouye ascends to President pro tempore

In sad news, Senator Robert Byrd of West Va. passed away this weekend. His passing creates a void, not just in the Senate but also in the order of Presidential succession. A new President pro tempore must be sworn in (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/28/daniel-inouye-succeeds-ro_n_627990.html), and it's the current most senior member of the Senate - Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Inouye).

This should be a huge moment of pride for Japanese-Americans, natives of the State of Hawaii, and especially folks like me who are both. That this happens while our sitting President is also a native of Hawaii makes this a stellar year for leadership from the Aloha State. My condolences to Byrd's family and state, but this is a huge event for us.
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