It's a difficult topic, still. But in 1991, while still completing the investigation into BCCI, Senator Kerry was tapped by George Mitchell to lead the investigation into reports of prisoners of war and soldiers still missing in action in Vietnam.

As with the investigations into both BCCI and Iran-Contra, the Senator launched an intense examination, this time with the aid of Republican Vice-Chairman Bob Smith of New Hampshire, into the possibility that there might still be POWs and MIAs in Southeast Asia.

On the committee, in addition to Chairman Kerry and Smith, were a number of veterans, most notably John McCain and Bob Kerrey.

Senator Kerrey noted:

"John [Kerry], on behalf of this nation, brought us back to Vietnam with our heads held high. I think only John could have done it."

With all those smart people in one room, you'd think one of them would know how to use a video camera. Oh, well. There's audio.

Senator Kerry spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations yesterday on climate change and foreign policy. As often happens, the Senator was introduced as Senator Kennedy, which gave him the perfect opening to tell his Teddy story, which is pretty funny even if you've heard it (more than once) before. The Senator briefly mentioned the Red Sox win, then got straight to his comments on the connection between foreign policy and climate change, the isolation of the US that is the result of the Bush years, and the opportunities to come, beginning with the upcoming Bali conference.

Oh, and there were sound effects, which is another reason you really have to hear this. I think that's the first time I've heard the Senator do his impression of an escalator. I wonder if he does Cagney. If I find out, you'll be the first to know.

There's also a transcript of the Senator's prepared remarks, which were excellent. But JK really shines in the Q&A, and yesterday was no exception. The Senator is a great extemporaneous speaker, and he really seems to enjoy this format.

First, the big news. The Red Sox won the World Series in a four game sweep over the Colorado Rockies last night. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous going into this series after that incredible winning streak the Rockies had going, and last night's game was a nail-biter, but they were just no match for the Sox.

Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox on an amazing season, and thanks to both teams for a great Series.

It was an important week for the Senator, who made his way to western Massachusetts to meet with residents and the press. There was some excellent coverage by the local media which we detailed in a previous post.

In 2003, FCC Chairman Michael Powell attempted to loosen media consolidation rules, but was halted by a federal court in a landmark decision. Now, current Chairman Kevin Martin is threatening the same, and he's meeting with bi-partisan opposition in the unlikely partnership of Senators Byron Dorgan and Trent Lott, along with legislators from both sides of the aisle.

What Martin is attempting is to allow media ownership of broadcast and newspapers by the same owner in the same market. And he's given the public five days notice to voice our opposition.

It's important to remember here that the airwaves belong to the public. And the public needs news and opinion from diverse sources to make informed decisions. Without regulations regarding media ownership, newspapers, radio and television stations in our communities could easily be bought whole by huge media conglomerates giving the public little access to disparate opinions and threatening the core principles of our democracy.

That would be bad.

"The thoughtful exchange of diverse viewpoints not only helps guarantee our freedom as individuals, it ensures those in power can be held accountable for all that they do. But to engage in the debates that have always made America stronger, it takes a stage and a platform for discussion — and never before have these platforms been more endangered." -John Kerry and Barack Obama

Fall is a lovely time to spend in the mountains. I trekked across Pennsylvania this week, and came back with a couple pictures.

JK returned with a bit more from his trip to the Berkshires, and although I doubt he had time to take photos of the fall color, photographer Ben Garver snapped some good ones of the Senator.

Sen. Kerry spent yesterday in Western Mass., and the Berkshire Eagle followed him across the region. In the Eagle's editorial meeting, the Senator discussed the AG nominee, the '04 and '08 elections and Iraq. Here's a short clip of the meeting...

but there's a lot of good stuff in the video of the full interview on the Berkshire Eagle website.

For those interested in advocating on the need for increased resources for our VA system, the Charlotte Observer published the results of their analysis of a couple internal VA reports on the timeliness of care being offered to Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans on 10-21-2007. Here are some of the highlights of the article about their analysis which is detailed in an interactive feature on their site:

The analysis of 283,000 recent outpatient appointments showed that the VA scheduled 93 percent within 30 days, a key measure of the agency's ability to meet demand. That left 20,500 waiting longer.

At issue: Patients needing critical care accounted for 10.5 percent of total appointments scheduled, but 20 percent of those with longer waits.

The Observer's findings could signal that the VA is struggling to care for the neediest of the new veterans.

...Most VA hospitals, including all six in the Carolinas, showed lags in delivering outpatient care for serious problems, according to the newspaper's analysis. For example:

• Twenty-four percent of appointments nationwide for traumatic brain injury care exceeded the 30-day mark this summer.

• At the Salisbury VA hospital, 61 percent of appointments for the seriously wounded were scheduled more than 30 days out this summer, one of the worst records nationwide.

• At the Charleston VA in South Carolina, 13 of 14 patients slated to be seen for brain injury waited more than a month. At 93 percent, that was the worst record nationwide.

The Charlotte Observer's article also highlighted an investigative report (pdf) released on Sept, 10, 2007 by the VA's inspector general.

Yesterday, Senators Kennedy and Kerry introduced a Senate Resolution, to honor 'The Little Rock Nine' for their courage and integrity fifty years ago.

Senator Kerry:

“I am proud to help welcome the Little Rock Nine to Boston, and I’m glad that with this resolution the United States Senate which once defended segregation now honors those courageous young people who helped break the back of Jim Crow and ‘separate but equal’ in America. I remember first watching the news of the Little Rock Nine on a black and white television set when I was thirteen years old. It was like a punch in the gut to see that kids just a couple years older than me had to risk their lives just to go to school, all because of the color of their skin. Fifty years later, they’re older and grayer, but they still remind us of the journey we have taken and the march we must still finish to truly overcome. I am proud to do my small part to honor these men and women today and I hope that citizens of every generation will take some time today to learn the courageous story of these living heroes.”

Last night, on the 50th anniversary of taking a stand, these women and men were honored at historic Faneuil Hall - a fitting place. Here, where more than 170 years before, Abolitionists publicly denounced slavery, and where public school segregation was outlawed only 30 years after that, the Little Rock Nine were most welcome.

We hope to update our post with more on the Faneuil Hall event, but meanwhile we would like to thank Thelma Mothershed, Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Gloria Ray, Jefferson Thomas, Melba Pattillo, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls, Daisy Bates (NAACP President), and Ernest Green for their great courage so many years ago. They helped pave the way to a better society.

In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.

- Benjamin Franklin

When it comes right down to it, 'following the money' has often been the most direct path to exposing corruption. It worked back in the late 80s when Sen. Kerry followed the terrorist's money straight to BCCI, and it looks like the Senator has found another opportunity to crack open the door and shine some light by checking into an organization's finances.

Blackwater LLC may have found a way to avoid accountability for the indiscriminate killing of Iraqi civilians, for drawing weapons on our own troops and for weapons smuggling. They may be neck and neck with Halliburton for the no-bid contract championship. In short, they're 'getting away with murder'. Maybe.

Military contractors, or mercenaries if you prefer, have actually lost over a billion of our tax dollars in Iraq. Lost it. And in an astonishing and ironic discovery, it seems that one such company, Blackwater, may be cheating on their taxes. Which, in reality are our taxes. Because we're paying them for all this. Let me put that another way. We've paid Blackwater a billion of our tax dollars, and in return, they're believed to be scamming on their own.

Sen. Kerry queries Bush admin on Blackwater taxes

U.S. Sen. John Kerry on Tuesday asked the Bush administration about any role it played in the possible evasion of nearly $32 million in taxes by Blackwater USA, the private security firm already under scrutiny over the killing of Iraqi civilians.

"The Bush administration can't hide Blackwater in the shadows anymore -- it's time to bring all of their dealings to light," Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the Senate's Small Business Committee, said in a statement. Kerry sent a letter to the Small Business Administration (SBA), which his committee oversees, expressing concern that Blackwater relied on an SBA decision for tax purposes.

Last Friday, Teresa Heinz Kerry and Heinz Family Philanthropies hosted its 11th Annual Conference on Women's Health and the Environment in Boston. I was fortunate to be able to attend and take away a wealth of information, knowledge,and initiative.

Teresa opened the conference, speaking about her childhood in Africa, growing up a physician's daughter, familiar with illnesses and diseases. In her soft-spoken way, she warned of the ever-present toxins and pollutants in our environment, causing illness in children, women, and men alike, and how, in the course of our day, we would learn what makes us sick, and what we can do to create a safer place for us and future generations.

In her keynote address - The Secret History of Cancer and Women, Dr. Devra Davis spoke of the war on cancer, and how we have been fighting the wrong battles throughout history. Instead of targeting the causes, such as tobacco, alcohol, and environmental hazards, the target has been the disease itself.

Leaders of industries that produced cancer-causing materials largely directed this effort. It lay in their interest to find cures for the disease, but not preventing it. Dr. Davis gave but one of many examples:

Did you know that in 1977, shortly before a proposed investigation was announced into the safety of Aspartame, G.D. Searle, the major producer of Aspartame, hired Donald Rumsfeld as CEO of the company? He had just left office as Defense Secretary. He would prove his true worth (not his pharmaceutical expertise, but his connections to Washington) when, the day after Reagan was inaugurated in 1981, Searle reapplied for FDA approval. Ignoring all previous reviews, the new FDA commissioner Arthur Hayes approved aspartame in dry products on May 19th, 1981.

An example of bureaucracy and professional vanity getting in the way of women's health was rather shocking to hear:
Even though pap smears had first been proposed in 1928, they were not used as diagnostic and preventative test until the 1950s. Why? Because surgeons and doctors were not willing to relinquish diagnostic testing to 'mere laboratory workers' with no medical degree. They argued that only tissue removed from the uterus by a surgeon could be a reliable sample.
Surgeons argued with gynecologists who thought that regular observation and tissue removal rather than hysterectomies were the answer. (Surgeons likely saw their paychecks dwindle at this prospect). The decades-long fight was at the expense of countless women's health and reproductive abilities.

The morning panel's discussion moved into how we can use science to improve our lives.
Panelists included:

Dr. Davis, who heads up the world's first Center on Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

Tyrone Hayes, PhD, who focuses his research work on the effects of endocrine disrupting pesticides on amphibian growth development. He originally consulted with and did research for Novartis, which became the agri-chemical company Syngenta. His laboratory, showed, among other things, that the number one selling herbicide atrazine chemically castrates and feminizes male amphibians at even low exposure.
The company prevented Dr Hayes from publishing his findings or even presenting them at meetings. In 2000, he resigned and published his findings.

Wilma Subra, President of the Subra Company, and technical advisor to Lousiana Environmental Action Network. Ms. Subra provides technical assistance to citizens concerned with their environment by combining technical research and evaluation.

Shanna Swan, PhD, Professor and Associate Chair for research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of the Center for Reproductive Epidemiology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

The afternoon session included a surprise speaker, who introduced his wife, and the afternoon's keynote speaker. Watch for him in the following video:

Watching the Red Sox, so this'll have to be between innings.

First, I have to say that I was really pleased with the Senator's questioning of Sec. Peters at the Commerce Committee hearing. Rail is such an important issue, and the Bush administration seems to have little interest in it. Doesn't look like JK's going to let up, though. Thank goodness.

The Senator was also on hand at the Women's Health and the Environment Conference, sponsored by Teresa and the the Heinz Family Philanthropies. I wasn't able to make the conference in Boston, but I did attend the last one in Pittsburgh, which was fascinating. Kerstin went to this one, and should have something to post for us tomorrow.

OK, that was a disappointing inning. Still, we're up 3-1 going into the 5th, so I'm not too nervous just yet.

3-2. Yikes. OK, back to the Senator.

Kids healthcare -- for (He sent an e-mail. Sign up here).
Offshore tax havens -- against.
Small business -- for.
Korean War Veterans -- for.

Then there was the Politico.com piece that credits the Senator for the Dem position on Iraq, and notes that he was right about diplomacy with North Korea. It also points to his part in electing a Dem Congress in '06. Still the writer manages to sneak in an off the wall comment about wetsuits (I got the 'masculinity' part, but I'll have to look up 'effete'. Apparently it's the opposite of fake-cowboy cheerleader, so perhaps not as bad as it sounds.) and a couple other jabs. The piece flip-flops between 'Kerry was right and his endorsement would be a boon to an '08 candidate' and 'He should keep his head down so he's not attacked by late night comedians'. Good article, though, if you filter out the standard media misperceptions.

Back to the Sox. Enjoy the news.

Math quiz:

Q: If a train traveling from Point A to Point B at 240 mph never gets built, how long will it take you to reach your destination?

A: 42 years and counting.

During the Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing the other day, Sen. Kerry mentioned Maglev as a high speed rail option that's being used in Japan and China, and he asked Sec. Peters why the administration has done nothing to advance similar technology here at home. Her answer, I believe, was "We are looking at it very hard."

Maglev and similar technologies are not just a solution to overcrowded highways, but would also address environmental issues, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and restore our standing as a technology leader. Because with respect to transportation technology, we're not even close. Oh, we can build it alright. We know how. We just can't seem to cut through all the red tape and get it implemented. As the Senator says, it's shameful.

I mentioned when I posted about the hearing the other day that, as a child, I recalled witnessing a prototype of a light rail system in my home town of Pittsburgh.

It's amazing what you can find on youtube.

The title says 1967, but I think it was actually 1965 when Skybus made its debut at South Park Fairgrounds, about a mile from my house. I was six. You can do the math, but it's not part of the quiz, and I'd really rather you didn't.

Although Skybus looks a bit like a bus on an elevated platform because of the rubber wheels, it was in fact a computerized rail system, and was completely automated and totally fascinating to a six year old. Heck, what driver-less flying bus wouldn't be? Remember, this was of the same era as the original "Jetsons", and once you got buses off the ground, robot maids and talking dogs couldn't be far behind. Sadly, the Skybus program was quickly scrapped, but not because of the technology. A similar rail system was implemented in Morgantown WV (home of WVU) and is still a huge success today. No, Skybus was grounded because of politics. And 42 years later, in the very same city, history appears to be repeating itself for the same short sighted reason.

Maglev's Pennsylvania Project was selected along with a similar proposal in Baltimore for a federal grant to serve as a pilot for urban transportation needs in 2001. No funds have been appropriated for the project since 2005. The train, and the project, is stalled.

So, stay on 'em, Senator. I don't think we can afford to be digging up another youtube video 36 years from now so we can remember what the prototype looked like. And we certainly can't take "we're looking at it very hard" for an answer.

Extra credit: When the price of oil hits $100 a barrel by the end of the year, how many people will it take to push your car to work?

UPDATE: Me at the time of Pittsburgh's last state of the art mass transit project. I think that's our milk box in the lower right corner.

I haven't watched "Going Upriver" in a while. It's an excellent look at who John Kerry is, and in that sense, it's a damn good film. And George Butler does an masterful job presenting the Senator's story. Throughout most of the documentary, you see a young man who answered his country's call to service and who would later lend his voice to the anti-war movement, struggling to help stop the loss of life in Vietnam and speaking out against an administration hell-bent on continuing the carnage of a failed war against the will of the American people.

Some things haven't changed much in 35 years.

"The only change in the policy has been a change from admitting that we were there to try and defend that country from communism to changing it so that we can get out of there to somehow save face for the United States of America."

"... that means another 5,000 to 20,000 lives will be lost. And I'd like to take a tally in this country and see how many people are willing to be those lives ..."

-John Kerry on The Dick Cavett show, 1971

"As in Vietnam, we went into Iraq ostensibly to fight a larger global war under the misperception that the particular theater was just the latest battleground. And we soon learned that the particular aspects of the place where we were fighting mattered more than anything else."

"Presidents and politicians may worry about losing votes or losing face or losing legacies. I think it's time we worried about young Americans and innocent Iraqis who are losing their lives."

-John Kerry at Faneuil Hall, 2006

Watching the film, you can't help but see the parallels with where we find ourselves today or the consistency of the Senator's message then and now.

"And as in Vietnam, we have stayed and fought and died even though it is time for us to go."

Amen, Senator.

Although I own a copy of the movie, I hadn't watched it in some time. But the other night, I did. Because of this blog post. I figured, after reading it, that if I was going to revisit the past, might as well go for it.

Watch the full video here. The quality's not quite as good as the DVD, but it's worth watching if you've not seen it, and worth re-watching if it's been a while.

But it's important.

Have you ever been to Europe? Funny, but in the times I've been there, I've rented a car just once. Because if you go to London or Paris or Rome or just about anywhere else 'across the pond', you'll find that public transportation, rail in particular, will get you just about anywhere. Cheap.

Why, then, does the United States of America not enjoy the same convenience as our friends in Europe? For the life of me, I don't know. But according to Sec. of Transportation Peters, we've got a 'four point plan' to address our transportation woes.

Well, that ought to get you to work on time.

I'd really like to know more about this 'four point plan' of ours. I looked on the DOT website. Nothing. I googled 'four point plan for transportation', and I did find a site with a really cool picture of a high speed train and some plans for improving transportation. In Dublin. Still looking for ours.

Yesterday in the Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing, Senator Kerry questioned Peters on the viability of our infrastructure. It's not really a topic that catches the headlines unless something goes wrong. There was a lot of much needed focus on bridges and highways in the hearing and not only because they're falling down in places like Minnesota and all across America. JK talked a lot about bridge and highway issues local to Massachusetts yesterday in the hearing.

But what caught my attention was the discussion of rail. I know this doesn't sound like a really pressing issue, but it is. We Americans need innovative solutions to our infrastructure problems, desperately. In addition to meeting our highway needs, improving our rail system would address so many of our transportation problems. He talked about that, too.

A few days ago, KerryVision featured a post to complement the debut of Keeping America's Promise's Roadblock Republicans radio ads.

Today, Senator Kerry sent out an email- Clear the Roadblock For Kids' Health, in which he calls on all of us to contact our Senators and demand that they override Bush's veto of the S-CHIP program.

Hello Kerstin,

Here we go again -- another fight with the Roadblock Republicans.

We've talked about the Roadblock Republicans who say they want change in Iraq but stand in the way of changing course every time they're actually asked to vote for it.

Now the Roadblock Republicans are about to be tested on kids' health care -- and the circumstances aren't all that different.

With one stroke of his veto pen, President Bush actually declared unilateral war on children's health care -- vetoing a $35 billion extension of the kids' health care program. This time George Bush's "coalition of the willing" is even smaller than it was in Iraq: a handful of right-wing ideologues who are putting their rejection even of good government ahead of health care for poor children.

(Yes, President Bush, who never saw a spending bill he wouldn't sign when Republicans ran Congress, the man who signed bills to build "bridges to nowhere" and lavished billions on Blackwater vetoed health care for our kids -- some days I have a feeling that if Halliburton provided children's health care, the President would've doubled S-CHIP by now.)

While I do my happy dance.

Congratulations Congresswoman Tsongas! The first woman elected in Massachusetts since Lt. Governor Healy, but she doesn't count.

Q: What's better than having a Senator working your phonebank?
A: Having a Senator working your phonebank who brings DONUTS!

Damn, I would have paid good money to have this guy working my phonebank in '06. Not that we didn't have a great crew, but we couldn't manage a single Senator to show up, bring donuts, make calls and then blog about it.

But Niki did.

Election day is TOMORROW HERE, and Senator Kerry stopped by BMG today to rally the troops for Niki. There's still a lot of work to be done, so here's your invite from JK to lend a hand

My staffers' phonebank will be at the Massachusetts Teachers Association at 20 Ashburton Place. We'll be making calls from 10 AM until 7:30 PM, and we'll make sure that the call center is stocked with coffee, doughnuts, pizza, soda and snacks. And, I promise, the calls will end before the Sox game starts.

If you're interested in stopping by the phonebank and helping send Niki to Congress, please email volunteerforNiki@yahoo.com.

And if you are able to travel to the 5th on Election Day and want to help with the GOTV effort, call Tsongas Campaign Headquarters at 1-978-458-6454 or email field@nikitsongas.com.

FIRST ELECTION DAY UPDATE -- Tuesday 07:27:

ELECTION DAY IS HERE!
So, get out there and make a difference. Call Niki's HQ and see how you can help, and if you're in Massachusetts 5th Congressional District, don't forget to VOTE FOR NIKI.

The Senate was in recess last week, but it seems the Senator was not. At home in Massachusetts, we spotted JK working for Niki Tsongas, dedicating a Veterans' Memorial, and taking in a Red Sox game. Hey, a guy's gotta have some fun. Besides, the Sox are tied 1-1 in the ALCS with those evil Cleveland Indians, and we all know how important it is to keep an eye on the Buckeye state.

I'd guess he's also spent a bit of time tending to an injured Teresa, but (and I'm sure she's eternally grateful for this fact), we have no pictures or video of her broken foot, so we'll just wish her all our best for a rapid recovery. Well wishes to Teddy, too, as he recovers from surgery. We understand he's doing well, and we expect he'll be back in the Senate soon to help defend kids from Bush's war against children.

Thankfully, the Senate's back in session today, so if you would kindly send the Senator back to DC, I can return to feeding my C-SPAN addiction. For now, here's the news.

With all the (much deserved) emphasis on VP Gore and the environment this week, I thought it would be a good time to revisit a favorite TDS episode. In this clip, JK and Stewart discuss John and Teresa's book This Moment on Earth, Al Gore, and the need to put pictures in a book, just in case the guy interviewing you likes them.

John and Jon discuss TMOE in this classic The Daily Show interview.

In South Carolina on Friday, Senator Kerry told attendees at a roundtable discussion at the College of Charleston that he hopes VP Gore's Nobel Peace Prize award will provide additional focus on climate change in the 2008 Presidential race.

The Charleston Post and Courier reported on the event:

"It shouldn't take a Nobel Prize awarded to a former vice president to get people to focus on it. Obviously, I'm glad and hope that it does," he said. "I mean this should be on the tips of everybody's tongues. There wasn't one speech I gave in 2004, not one, anywhere, including the convention speech where I accepted the nomination where I didn't talk about energy independence."

"We need to hear very specific plans more often."

The local ABC affiliate interviewed Senator Kerry. They discussed the environment, Iraq, the plight of the middle class, and Bush's SCHIP veto.

Republican obstructionism has hit new levels with the 110th Congress, as Oliver Willis lays out in a recent blog post that includes this video, illustrating the lengths Republicans will go to support George Bush's priorities over those of the American people.

There is nothing these Roadblock Republicans won't do to try to deny the American people of the legislation we need to move the country in the right direction. From clean energy to government ethics to an increase in the minimum wage to getting the hell out of Iraq, these guys are on a mission to try to block good, common sense bills from becoming law.

The title of this post, "for the peace and brotherhood of men", is the same as the inscription on the coveted Nobel Peace Prize medal. As I type, it's only a few hours until we learn the winner of this year's prize.

The bookies' favorite (at 5:2), and ours, is Vice President Al Gore.

Most people are aware of the work VP Gore has done for the country and for the environment. In addition to being Vice President of the United States for eight years and winning the 2000 Presidential election before having it SCOTUSed from him by the current resident of the White House, his book, "An Inconvenient Truth" was a best seller, and his film of the same name won an Academy Award. He was a US Senator. He started his own TV channel. He wrote another book. Actually, a couple of them. And he invented the internet (not really, but he did help a lot).

Those were the words of Bruce Springsteen last Sunday on 60 Minutes.

"Silence is unpatriotic," he told interviewer Scott Pelley.

"What's on your mind? What are you writing about?" Pelley asked.

Bruce replied:

"I guess I would say that what I do is I try to chart the distance between American ideals and American reality. That's how my music is laid out. It's like we've reached a point where it seems that we're so intent on protecting ourselves that we're willing to destroy the best parts of ourselves to do so."

In response, Pelley asked Springsteen to elaborate. At that point, I guess he could have been giving Bruce an opportunity to continue with his thoughts. Either that, or he just doesn't get Bruce's music at all. Let's give Scott the benefit of the doubt.

Bruce explained:

"Well, I think that we've seen things happen over the past six years that I don't think anybody ever thought they'd ever see in the United States. When people think of the American identity, they don't think of torture. They don't think of illegal wiretapping. They don't think of voter suppression. They don't think of no habeas corpus. No right to a lawyer … you know. Those are things that are anti-American."

With that, simply stated, Springsteen eloquently summed up what has happened to our country under the reign of King George.

Pelley's follow-up was a shocker:

"You know, I think this record is going to be seen as anti-war. And you know there are people watching this interview who are going to say to themselves, 'Bruce Springsteen is no patriot'."

OK. Pelley no longer deserves the benefit of the doubt. I'm not sure what planet he's living on, but it appears it's one where they don't publish opinion polls. Because on the one where the rest of us live, the vast majority of people are opposed to Bush's war. Sure, there are people who are going to say that. Just not very many.

I think even Bruce was a little mystified by his questioning and reasoning, but answered like a true patriot.

Bruce continued:

"Well, that's just the language of the day, you know? The modus operandi for anybody who doesn't like somebody, you know, criticizing where we've been or where we're goin'. It's unpatriotic at any given moment to sit back and let things pass that are damaging to some place that you love so dearly. And that has given me so much. And that I believe in. I still feel and see us as a beacon of hope and possibility."

If I can get a little personal here, as the mother of a son who is a musician and songwriter, and a daughter who just graduated with a Music major, I can tell you that they know what Bruce is saying. On my son's website there is the quote, "Life is Music", and on my daughter's:  "Those in power write the history, and those who suffer write the songs".  I'm glad they can hear Bruce Springsteen telling them to speak truth to power and say what's on your mind, and that it's patriotic to do so.

Watch Pelley's rather bizarre statement in the video below and catch a snip of Bruce's new song "Last to Die". Senator Kerry has told us that he's very touched by it and if I may add, so are we.

"When you think of her smiling face, you think of a time when she made your day brighter. She was unselfish to a fault, and her physical well-being didn't matter. It was our well-being that made her happy," -- Pierce Durkin at the funeral of his sister, Ciara

Nearly two weeks after the suspicious death of Spc. Ciara Durkin, the family is getting some answers from the Department of Defense. Or are they? According to an article in the Boston Herald, the gay advocacy group Servicemembers Legal Defense Network has revealed “Our sources within the Armed Forces have confirmed that a gag order is in place."

Cerner is a US supplier of healthcare information technology solutions that optimize clinical and financial outcomes.

Its Mission, among other things, is

to connect the appropriate persons, knowledge and resources at the appropriate time and location to achieve the optimal health outcome. Cerner’s vision of proactive healthcare management drives innovation in the development of effective solutions for today’s healthcare challenges, while creating a foundation for tomorrow’s healthy populations.

One of the keynote speakers at this year's Health Conference was our own Senator Kerry, to discuss the current health care crisis and possible solutions. Despite the bipartisan audience, Senator Kerry's plans and ideas were very well received. This was proof that the current crisis in our health care system transcends politics and is acknowledged by all but the most die-hard anti 'socialized medicine' types.

At the end of his speech, Kerry was available for a Q&A session.

It was a special week for KerryVision, with at least part of the gang on scene at the latest Faneuil Hall speech, the main event in this week's newsreel.

But the Boston speech wasn't the only news from the Senator this week. There's lots more, including interviews on Bloomberg and Kudlow, some blogging for Niki Tsongas (MA-5, don't forget to vote on the 16th!), a terribly sad funeral for a National Guard member who was killed in Afghanistan, extension of the SBIR program, and a speech at a health care IT conference (more on that tomorrow).

So once again, for those of you with a lot of interest and little time, a full week of JK in five minutes or less.

Monday's Faneuil Hall speech reminded me that it's been a while since I've watched my all time favorite John Kerry speech. The speech is titled "A Right and Responsibility to Speak Out", but most folks simply call it "Dissent".

"Dissent" was delivered in historic Faneuil Hall, the Cradle of Liberty, where the words of American statesman Daniel Webster "Liberty and Union, Now and Forever, One and Inseparable" can be seen above the speaker's head as a reminder to all of his famous Senate speech "Second Reply to Hayne" in which he proclaimed, "It is, sir, the people's Constitution, the people's government, made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people.", a remark later expressed in President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

On the 35th anniversary of his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Kerry reminded us of the role we all play in our government, and the need of our government to listen to the voices of the people it represents.

Dismissing dissent is not only wrong, but dangerous when America's leadership is unwilling to admit mistakes, unwilling to engage in honest discussion of the nation's direction, and unwilling to hold itself accountable for the consequences of decisions made without genuine disclosure, or genuine debate.

Our country was founded on dissent. Holding our elected representatives accountable is not just a right, Senator Kerry reminds us, but a responsibility. Yet so many Americans seem to take such a passive role, it's as though we've forgotten who we are. Certainly, the administration has done everything in its power to try to make us forget. They use fear as a weapon and attack the patriotism of dissenters. The loud voices from the right treat dissent not as a patriotic duty, but as an act to be discouraged. They attempt to silence the voices that challenge the status quo, even of those who have fought to ensure that very freedom.

We must insist now that patriotism does not belong to those who defend a President's position-it belongs to those who defend their country. Patriotism is not love of power; it is love of country. And sometimes loving your country demands you must tell the truth to power. This is one of those times.

It's long past time for politicians to stop talking past each other and start listening to the American people. On important issues like national security, healthcare and the economy, we're not that far apart, most of us. We want to care for our children's health and education, to see our tax dollars spent wisely -- to improve our quality of life, not to support an immoral war of choice, and to protect the rights that so many have fought and died to defend.

But we can't ask them to listen if we don't speak out.

As Frederick Douglass said in Faneuil Hall in 1860, "Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one's thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist."

Oh, and keep an eye out for the young guy on stage with JK. Better yet, check him out here. Good luck, Captain Powers. See you on C-SPAN!

Transcript and video of the speech can also be found at Senator Kerry's website.

¡Feliz Cumpleaños!
Joyeux Anniversaire!
Buon Compleanno!
Parabéns!

Happy Birthday!

The gang at KV and a lot of our friends have had the great pleasure of spending a bit of time with Teresa over the past couple years. Although we're not able to wish her a Happy Birthday in person, we've put together a few of our favorite THK moments.

Thanks, Teresa, for all you do. Here's hoping your birthday was filled with happiness and your lifetime is overflowing with joy.

Oh, and we promise not to sing. We've been told we're not very good.

Yesterday, Senator Kerry blogged for Niki Tsongas here, here and here in support of her race for Congress in an October 16 special election.

Which is great. But it's not enough.

Because it's going to take each and every one of us to do something, too. We've only got a little more than a week left, so do it now. If you can't blog, donate. JK has set up an Act Blue page for her, which you can access from his post at johnkerry.com. If you can't donate, volunteer, and if you can't do that, then call, write or text everyone you know in the MA 5th Congressional district, and tell them to get out and vote for Niki on October 16. Better yet, do all of the above. You know you want to.

JK mentions Paul Hackett's campaign in his blog post. As someone who actually dragged herself away from the computer and drove the nine hour round trip to volunteer for Paul, I can tell you that as rewarding as that experience was, seeing Mean Jean Schmidt eek out a win was just as devastating. We can't let that happen again. So, get out your plastic, head on over to JK's blog, and let's all send a message to the White House and get another Dem in Congress now.

This one.

From Niki's website:

On October 16, 2007, the eyes of America will be on us as we choose the new member of Congress from the Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts. I believe we must send an unwavering message to America and to the White House: it is time to change the direction of our country, and it is long past time to change direction on Iraq.

Nice. Niki links to some pics with JK and Teresa from her site. Good luck Niki! See you on C-SPAN!

Burma, or Myanmar, as it is now called, has gone through terrible bloodshed since KV last reported on the revolution. Monasteries were stormed and monks beaten and killed in an effort by the military to quell the uprising that has been going on for two weeks now.

In the latest report by BBC News we find that 4000 monks have been rounded up and are to be moved away. In protest, many of them are refusing to eat.

The clear human rights violations and many calls for the US and other nations to do something, have prompted a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday afternoon. Senator Boxer chairs the committee, and Senator Kerry was ranking member in the 109th congress. Below is Kerry's opening statement:

When it was Senator Kerry's turn to question the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, he did not hold back. His scathing line of questioning pointed out the failure of the Bush administration to move on this issue.

Kudlow may have had more time with JK on Monday, but KV scooped him on the big question of the day AND got to talk to him first.

As I mentioned yesterday, events like the Senator's Faneuil Hall speech are more than just the speech, which was excellent by the way. They're also a chance for people to take part in the democratic process. It's more than just voting, folks. It's participating, and that's what we did on Monday. It's also a lot of fun, as you'll see in the video.

The Senator has a special relationship with bloggers. He is one, and he understands what it is we do and why we do it. So, after events like Monday's Faneuil Hall speech, he sets aside some time to talk to his on-line friends.

JK was hustled to several interviews before he caught a flight to DC for a vote yesterday, and we didn't have much time to chat with him. But Kerstin was able to catch a bit of our discussion with the Senator on video. The first question is from KV's good friend Karen, and the second is mine. I had a list of questions, some actually having to do with the economy and the speech, but as he was being dragged away for the CNBC interview, all I managed to fit in was a quick question about yesterday's big story, the release of the new Springsteen album.

I'll bet he gets good seats to the show.

So, Massfolk, thanks for your hospitality, and enjoy the video of your Senator. As for the rest of us, we'll just have to get ours to try a bit harder.

Today we post the main event, but that really doesn't give the full picture of what it's like to attend a John Kerry speech at Faneuil Hall. We'll try to show you a bit of that tomorrow. There's an energy around these things that's difficult to put into words. The gathering of people who want to hear how their Senator is going to help make their lives better, the anticipation of the speech itself, the interaction with bloggers and other media, staff and the Senator himself are all ancillary to, but inseparable from the actual speech. This is what democracy looks like to me, and if you haven't experienced an event like this, I hope we can at least give you a taste of it over the next couple days.

The Senator's speech was a populist rallying cry. Both a history lesson in what Americans have done when faced with economic challenges, and a call for what we can do to restore our disappearing middle class. As the Senator noted:

We need fundamental change— not bite sized ideas that are poll tested, sound-bite ready and destined to be mere footnotes to the times we live in. It’s time we end the era of incrementalism and begin a bold new age in progressive politics.

So shoot me. I missed the biggest JK story of the week.

We'll follow up with video if we can catch him tomorrow at the speech, but in case you haven't heard, Setti Warren, Senator Kerry's Deputy Director in MA, is being deployed to Iraq. And guess what? He's a real soldier (Navy, actually, like his boss), not a phony one! Yes, by God. An honest to goodness troop, who happens to be a Democrat, working for a Democratic Senator who, believe it or not, is a veteran himself! Who'd a thunk it?

Peter Gelzinis of The Boston Herald wrote a great column on Setti and his upcoming deployment, including reaction from JK.

Godspeed Setti. Come home safe and soon. The gang at KV sends our thoughts and prayers your way.

Speaking of bosses, Springsteen is releasing his new CD "Magic" on Tuesday, and I already have a favorite song. "Last to Die" is rockin and poignant and some of the words are vaguely familiar. My recommendation is buy. I've only heard the one tune, but if it's any indication, it's classic Springsteen.

I guess I should say something about the Senator. OK, I'm going to see him tomorrow at Faneuil Hall! Hmmm... I guess that was actually about me. But there's plenty of JK in this week's newsreel, so enjoy.

Thanks again to Danny and Shotgun Wedding for the tune. You guys rock.