The Huffington Post reports the death of a folksy American TV icon:

Actor Andy Griffith died on Tuesday morning in Dare County, North Carolina, reports WITN.com.Dare County Sheriff Doug Doughtie confirmed to the website that an ambulance went to the 86-year-old's home at 7 a.m. this morning.Griffith's good friend and former President of the University of North Carolina, Bill Friday, told WITN that the actor had passed away. The AP and CNN also confirmed the news. Details surrounding the actor's cause of death have not been released at this time.Griffith was best known for his role as Sheriff Andy Taylor in “The Andy Griffith Show,” which ran from 1960 to 1968, and later known for his role as a criminal defense lawyer on "Matlock," which ran from 1986 to 1995. The actor was honored with the the TV Land Legend Award in 2004, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush in 2005. Griffith was also a singer and musician, and his 1996 album "I Love to Tell the Story: 25 Timeless Hymns" went platinum.

Did you know that Sheriff Andy Taylor was a big Fourth Amendment proponent?

Watch this:

http://youtu.be/0wL9Li0f1Po

Now who's going to call Andy Griffith unpatriotic or un-American in the intemperate language of post-9-11 scare rhetoric? He's as American as apple pie.

Rest peacefully, Andy! America will miss you.