When I first saw the headline this morning, I had the sinking feeling that it was an obituary. I was relieved and delighted to find that Ted Shannon's recognition is coming while he's still with us.
Ted Shannon, right, the Lebanese guy with the Irish name, is alive and well and will be honored in Madison tonight by the Social Justice Center for his lifelong progressive activism.
His son-in-law, Doug Bradley, offers this explanation for the name:
When Ted's Lebanese father (his mom was Lebanese too), Rizqullah Shaneen, arrived at Ellis Island in the late 19th century, they gave him the name "Mike Shannon." Go figure.
Of course, Dorothy [his late wife] was as Irish as Paddy's pig :)
Read John Nichols' column on Ted here.