A curious bit of news from the New York Times involving former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, among other prominent Democrats and Republicans. Here's the truncated version from Robert Mackey on "The Lede" blog:

As my colleague Scott Shane reports, several former United States officials have been paid to make speeches in support of a banned Iranian exile group, the Mujahedeen e-Khalq, or People’s Mujahedeen, known as the M.

Retired Representative Patrick Kennedy got a nice little boomlet of media coverage last month with his push for a new "moonshot" - a la his famous uncle's push for a moon landing. This one, he says, would take us inside the human mind, unlocking the mysteries of mental illness.

Kennedy's familial ties add some resonance to his call.

OK, I'm going a little People here. The deets on Patrick Kennedy's engagement party, via Politico:

Patrick Kennedy's family is set to fete his engagement to New Jersey school teacher Amy Petitgout with a party at a private home in New York's Sutton Place this month, according to an invitation.

The event is being hosted by his aunt, Jean Kennedy, and his brother, Ted Kennedy Jr.

The alleged $10 million kickback scandal involving a Rhode Island-based Navy official and defense contractor Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow (ASFT) has focused attention on campaign contributions offered up by ASFT to members of the Rhode Island Congressional delegation.

There is nothing to suggest anything untoward by members of the delegation.

The Kennedy drought in Washington is looking, more every day, like it may be a short-lived affair. Former Rhode Island Representative Patrick Kennedy, whose departure left the capital without a member of the Camelot crew for the first time in 64 years, was on CNN last night touting the prospects of his cousin Joseph Kennedy III, a Cape Cod prosecutor who made a splash recently with a post-Arizona shooting speech on the decline of civic discourse.

You knew it was only a matter of time. From the New York Times, reporting out of Boston:

It was billed as a commemoration of John F. Kennedy’s farewell speech to the Massachusetts legislature 50 years ago this month, but a Beacon Hill ceremony on Tuesday was striking for another reason. Joseph P. Kennedy III, a 30-year-old grandson of Robert F.

The New York Times has a piece, today, on Patrick Kennedy's departure from Washington - and an end of an era. From the story:

Nightfall on the Kennedy era in Washington looks like this: Representative Patrick J. Kennedy’s office space surrendered to a Republican, his family memorabilia in boxes, and Mr. Kennedy yearning for a role away from the public eye.

A new issue of the Phoenix hits the stands today. And I've got pieces on Teach for America, the controversial program that recruits top-tier college graduates to teach in some of the nation's toughest schools, and the outlook for the Rhode Island Congressional delegation - in Washington and back home.

Of particular interest, I think, will be watching the trajectory of Congressman James Langevin, now that he's out of the shadow of retiring Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

For the Kennedy junky, this rundown from the Washington Post's political blog, "The Fix," on the next in line after Representative Patrick Kennedy steps down. And yes, 11-year-old Edward Kennedy III is listed:

When retiring Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy exits the House next month, it will be the first time in 64 years that no member of the Democratic party's first family will be serving in Washington.

The ProJo mentioned retiring Congressman Patrick Kennedy's plans to write a book in a piece this past weekend. Some detail from the New York Times:

Patrick J. Kennedy, a member of Congress and son of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, will detail his struggles with alcoholism, drug addiction and depression in a memoir to be released in the fall of 2011, the publisher said on Tuesday.

A piece appearing in the Washington Post this weekend focused on top Democrats pushing the late Senator Ted Kennedy's widow Vicki Reggie Kennedy to run for his old seat in 2012, challenging the popular Republican Scott Brown.

The Post reports tension within the Kennedy clan over the idea. And retiring Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy, who has been fairly open about his difficult relationship with his stepmother, is among the doubters:

A few stray media/politics observations as we kick off the week:

• The Politifact Moment: During last week's Congressional debate, businessman Anthony Gemma paused as he was recalling a statistic to note that Politifact, the ProJo's newish fact-checking service, was in the room and that he'd better get it right. A little indication of how the effort, the local version of a Pulitzer Prize-winning idea out of the St.

Independent Lincoln Chafee holds his lead in the gubernatorial race in the latest poll from Rasmussen and, significantly, fares better than either of the Democrats in the race - Frank Caprio and Patrick Lynch - among Democratic voters.

The poll is not great news for either of the Democrats. But the results are particularly tough for Lynch.

The late Senator Ted Kennedy spent decades fighting for health reform. And yesterday, at the signing ceremony for the health overhaul bill, Representative Patrick Kennedy gave President Obama a copy of the health reform bill that his late father filed in 1970. That was widely reported. But what did the Congressman scrawl on that memento? Politico has the details:

From the Washington Post, Patrick Kennedy leaves a graveside note for his father after passage of health reform:

The political odyssey of health care reform in many ways is the story of Ted Kennedy, and as President Obama signed the historic bill into law Tuesday, Kennedy's gravesite was a place of quiet celebration and poignant reflection.