While the mainstream news this week was mostly focused on Benazir Bhutto's assassination, the bin Laden tape and the upcoming Iowa caucus, there were a couple items that flew under the radar. One was the SBA's underhanded interpretation of the Women's Procurement Program, which we'll focus on in a post this week, and the other was the Defense bill, in which the President is holding the troops' pay raise hostage due to an objection by the Iraqi government.

And then there was the Pats game which I watched with 34.5 million fellow football fans. Thanks to the Senator for helping change some minds on that one. We all appreciated his effort. I have to say that it was a nail-biter, and credit goes to both the Giants and the Patriots for an amazing game, and congrats to New England on the big win.

May we all have a peaceful and prosperous New Year. Enjoy the news.

Does the Bush administration even know?

Yesterday, we read about the latest rantings of the madman who led the attack on the United States six years ago. Or did we? Benazir Bhutto said last month that bin Laden is dead. Two days after her assassination, we have a 'new' audio message from bin Laden that strangely fails to mention her murder, even though al-Qaeda has been accused. Is it OBL or is it his specter that's again been dragged out with the same precision timing as he was in 2004? Or does this administration really not have a clue?

In the run-up to both '04 and '06, Republicans played the terror card to spread fear, thinking they could convince a frightened America to vote their way. Well, it might have worked in '04, but we wised up in '06, and now, if they plan to try it again, they'll just look pitiful. Because we're not more safe today, we're less safe. But we are smarter. And some of us still remember who did this:

Remember the 2004 debates? Only one of the people who was on stage that day had the right strategy to effectively protect America and help bring stability to the Middle East. He still does. Sadly, he's not the one in the White House today.

He's going to try, but I don't think Bush's attempt at a pocket veto will fly. For one thing, it only works when the Congress is not in session, and the Senate is currently in session. Even if the President closes his eyes and clicks his heels and wishes very, very hard, they're still in session and he can't change that since the Constitution says Congress is the decider here, not Mr. Bush.

It should be understood that the President possesses no pocket veto power as such. A pocket veto is something the Congress causes. It is the result that occurs when Congress waives its right to reconsider legislation when its adjournment prevents the return of the bill. CRS Report

The way I interpret it is that the Congress decides when they can accept a bill from the Executive, since the Constitution states explicitly that Congress makes their own rules. So, in my opinion, the pocket veto doesn't apply unless the Congress says it does.

Regardless, the Senate is in session, thanks to Harry Reid and some east coast Senators who were willing to come to work over break (it's what you get for living that close to the office), and Nancy Pelosi has the House covered.

When adjourning before Christmas, the House instructed the House clerk to accept any communications -- such as veto messages -- from the White House during the monthlong break.

"This is both a horrific and heartbreaking tragedy, and a lightning bolt wakeup call for anyone who had taken their eye off of the turmoil in Pakistan. Teresa and I send our deepest condolences to Ms. Bhutto's family. Benazir Bhutto returned home after years in exile knowing fully that she was taking a great personal risk to fight for change and democracy. When I met with her this fall just days before her return to Pakistan, she raised the issue of her own personal security. Subsequent to the bombing and assassination attempt that greeted her return home, I spoke to Secretary Rice about ways the United States might work with President Musharraf to ensure her safety.

“Her loss underscores the fragility of the situation in Pakistan and the perils of a volatile mix of unrest, tension, radicalism, and nuclear weapons. Her killing embodies everyone’s worst possible fears and reinforces how tenuous the circumstances in Pakistan really are. The loss of Ms. Bhutto demands of the United States and our allies an urgent focus on developing a Pakistan strategy that will crush extremists and provide freedom, peace, and security for the country that mourns her loss today."

Sen. Kerry's statement about the murder of Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto speaks not only of the political consequences of her death, but of the tragic loss of a brave and committed leader. Controversial to some, yet beloved by many, Mrs. Bhutto was willing to risk her life to bring democracy to her country, and that kind of bravery isn't something you see every day.

As Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East and South and Central Asian Affairs, which includes Pakistan, Sen. Kerry has spoken often of the need to focus on the volatile country, and introduced a Sense of the Senate Resolution expressing concern for Ms.Bhutto’s safety just last month, in which he specifically called for her protection.

... to call upon the Government of Pakistan to conduct a full investigation into the attempted assassination of former Prime Minister Bhutto and provide her and other political leaders with all necessary security to ensure their personal safety.

A mixed bag of WHAT, exactly? I was almost afraid to know the answer to my own question. Between stories of man-eating tigers and Huckabee's hunting trip, CNN has been attempting to shore up the image of the worst President ever with Ed Henry's piece "With one year to go, Bush's legacy a mixed bag" at CNN.com and ad nauseum repetition on the companion 'news' station.

Here's how Ed's tale begins:

It's the best of times, it's the worst of times -- a tale of two legacies as President Bush prepares to ring in the final year of his presidency.

First, Ed, I really doubt 'W' has read much Dickens, who he would most likely deem a 'librul' given his recurring themes of social injustice. In the Bush version of Dickens' tale, it would be Barb and Jenna's dad in the Bastille, not Lucie's (I think in the Bush version, Dickens would have just left him there to rot), and neither of the cities would be Paris, as even George knows Paris is French. Though I guess it was the best of times for Halliburton, Exxon and Blackwater. And the worst for homeowners, the US dollar, the troops, Iraqis, people who need healthcare, the Constitution and the planet.

It's my turn, and I object. To Republicans.

At the time that video was made five months ago, Republicans had obstructed a couple dozen Senate votes in the 110th Congress, and Dems attempted an all-nighter to block a filibuster of the Levin-Reed amendment. Republicans are now up to a record 62 cloture votes and they've still got a year to go. At this rate, they will more than double the record.

On Tuesday, December 18, 2007, conservatives in the U.S. Senate set a modern-day record for obstruction. They forced the 62nd cloture vote to move beyond a filibuster. The previous record was 61 cloture votes, reached during the 107th Congress in 2002. The conservatives of 2007 surpassed that mark, in only the first session of the 110th.

Source: Campaign for America's Future

Check the link (pdf) for an astounding list of legislation that has been blocked by Republicans -- things like AMT relief and support for the troops and restoring habeas corpus and children's healthcare. All blocked by obstructionist Republicans as part of a political strategy that has little to do with legislating and everything to with labeling the 110th as a 'do nothing' Congress and covering Bush's backside. Olbermann is right to use the football analogy. The Republicans in Congress and in the administration are playing political football with our government, where the winners are Bush and Cheney's rich oil buddies and the losers are the American people.

The filibuster was intended to be used by the minority in extraordinary circumstances, not to keep the troops from getting time off between deployments or lowering prescription drug prices. So, I object to Republicans. For what they've done, what they've failed to do, and for thinking we're stupid enough to let it continue. If it takes 60 votes to even the playing field under Republican rules, then next November we add enough Senators to do just that and get back in the game.

Happy Holidays and a Very Merry Christmas from KerryVision.

Not sure if the Senator managed to get his Christmas shopping done between speaking at the Center for American Progress and securing critical funding for Massachusetts, but I do see that the Republicans managed to break the filibuster record in the first session as a gift to the Bush administration. Seems to me I recall Scrooge being reformed by the end of the story, but apparently, he's come back in the form of Mitch McConnell.

Still, the Dems managed to get a lot done this year. We'll take a look at some of that over the coming days. For now, though, Happy Holidays to Democrats and Obstructionists alike. Enjoy the news.

Anybody who has ever heard of "Pascal's Wager" has come down on one of two sides: It is valid, or it is so flawed, you can shoot thousands of holes through it. Blaise Pascal made a fatal mistake by basing his wager on the presumed existence of only one God - the Christian variety - thereby limiting people to only four possible outcomes with two given choices. In order for his wager to have been flawless, Pascal would have had to take all deities and religious beliefs into account. This scenario would have looked entirely different and vastly confusing, leaving people with an almost endless amount of choices, of which all or neither might have been the proper one.

Take, however, Global Climate Change. Could Pascal's Wager finally withstand scrutiny if applied to that scenario? Quite possibly yes. The following video makes a case for action against Global Climate Destabilization, using a form of Pascal's Wager, and it does it quite well.

Think of it as the management consultant's approach to evaluating the risk of Global Climate Destabilization aka global climate change. Here's an argument that will make sense to business people accustomed to evaluating risk and managing based on that risk evaluation.

While the video also only uses two choices and four outcomes, thereby simplifying the presentation quite a bit, it is easy for the viewer to expand on the graph by mentally inserting a number of varying actions that will result in varying outcomes. The results of this mental exercise are rather interesting:  While the actions may vary, the outcomes are lined up on one path, deviating only in degree of severity.

Do click through to the youtube page and click on the "More about this video" option for additional background information on the video and links to other supporting videos put together by the same person.

Every year around this time, I find myself searching through a myriad of TV channels for two particular movies. It's really more of an urge than tradition, and just like figuring out which came first - chicken or egg, I'm not quite sure if my being in the holiday spirit makes me to want to watch my classics, or if watching them gets me into a festive mood.

My first choice is, and always will be "How the Grinch stole Christmas". No, not the silly and eminently unlikeable Jim Carrey version. (There is something to be said for toning down body acting when more subtlety is called for. Carrey cannot help but gyrate and undulate his torso reminiscent of an evil rattlesnake. Entirely too off-putting even for such a love-to-hate guy as the Grinch).
My favorite version remains the old cartoon classic, with the delicious narration by Boris Karloff. There is a reason I find myself singing "You're a Mean One, Mr Grinch" all the way through July after having seen the movie. .

The second classic I must watch in order to have had a successful and satisfying holiday week is the very old tearjerker, or what we nowadays call 'Chick Flick' "It's a Wonderful Life". Here is a man, at the end of his rope, ready to throw it all away because he sees suicide as the only alternative. Broke and destitute, debtors at his throat, wife and child potentially homeless, George Bailey decides to hop off a bridge into icy river waters. Surely ending his life would free his family from his ineptitude.

Luckily for George, Clarence the Angel is looking for a willing victim from whom he can earn his wings and finds Bailey a perfect choice. Clarence decides to show George how life would be if he had never been born. They visit various places and people (reminiscent of 'A Christmas Carol's Scrooge and his Christmas spirits) and with each visit, George likes what he finds less and less. Instead of being much improved, the world without George Bailey is sad and lacking.

"It's a Wonderful Life" would not have become a holiday classic if the ending had been anything but happy, so suffice it to say, they all lived happily ever after.

After watching this movie, and interesting phenomenon sets in with many people. They begin to imagine what life might be like, had they never entered it. Most of these 'what if' daydreamers arrive at the same conclusion George Bailey did. Life isn't so bad and it could be much worse without them.

But let us all imagine another George B. being given a walk-through of life without him. How would the world look without Dubya in it?

Stephanie Miller has this new take on an old Christmas classic.

Where is Clarence when we need him? Then again, the real George B. would probably make the same choice the movie George made, thinking life would be horrible without him in it. Unfortunately, he would pretty much stand alone with that opinion.

With all of Senator Kerry's recent efforts nationally and internationally, it is sometimes easy to overlook his accomplishments on behalf of his home state Massachusetts. Just last week, he, Senator Kennedy, and a number of US representatives from our state have announced a myriad of funding for various state-based initiatives for a total of 236 billion Dollars.

In light of this, one might consider the fact that Massachusetts is one of the states that receives the least federal spending per federal tax dollar paid - $0.79. Compare this to such states as North Dakota, feeding at the government trough to the tune of $2.03 per tax dollar paid.

To illustrate just how much of an accomplishment this is, just look at the headlines of the press releases:

12/20/2007 Kerry, Kennedy, Neal Announce Parts of Western and Central Massachusetts to receive more than $17 million in federal funding

12/20/2007 Kerry, Kennedy, Tierney Announce North Shore to receive more than $38 million in federal funding

12/20/2007 Kerry, Kennedy, Frank Announce Fourth Congressional District Communities and projects to receive nearly $52 million in direct aid as part of funding bill

12/20/2007 Kerry, Kennedy, McGovern Announce Central and Southeastern Massachusetts to receive more than $7 million in federal funding

12/20/2007 Kerry, Kennedy, Delahunt Announce South Shore, Cape Cod and the Islands to receive more than $35 million in federal funding

12/20/2007 Kerry, Kennedy, Tsongas Announce Merrimack Valley to receive nearly $4 million in federal funding

12/20/2007 Kerry, Kennedy, Markey Announce Suburban Boston area to receive more than $5 million in federal funding

12/20/2007 Kerry, Kennedy, Tierney, Frank and Delahunt Announce more than $13 million in federal disaster assistance for Massachusetts fishermen

These are much needed funds for our state, and I am grateful to Senators Kerry and Kennedy, and our Representatives for working so hard for Massachusetts. The Bay State may be small, but it has produced a fine delegation for the US Congress.
So here is a tribute to their efforts, and a bit of an homage to a place I am not native to, but have come to love as my home.

Thank you, Senator Kerry, Senator Kennedy, Reps. Neal, Tierney, Delahunt, Tsongas, Frank, McGovern, and Markey. You rock!

Said Senator Kerry in yesterday's speech at the Center For American Progress Action Fund on Post Bali Climate Change Policy. A fitting description of the US goverment's criminal refusal to even contemplate serious participation in a world-wide effort to solve this very urgent problem.

We stink up the world in more ways than one, but America's 25% usage of global resources and its 25% contribution to the world's carbon emissions, and the refusal to reduce our carbon footprint is one of those ways that has finally tested the patience of those nations who are serious about saving our planet.

Still, as Senator Kerry notes, despite the limitations due to our current administration, progress is being made on local levels in the US that indicate that America is ready and willing to lead the fight against Global Warming.

In Bali, I spoke with delegates from seven delegations, including the EU, China, Japan, Australia, and small island states, and spoke at our environmental community’s gathering, and everywhere I went, I said the same thing. Over 500 mayors across our country have pledged to “meet or beat” Kyoto commitments in their cities. Five Midwestern states recently joined 10 Northeastern and six western states in launching a regional emissions trading program to cap their output of greenhouse gases. That’s over half our economy. The world needs to know: this White House doesn’t represent the American people today, and it cannot represent America’s policy beyond January 2009.

It is a step in the right direction, and will ultimately lead to a nation-wide effort, supported by a new administration. The question that looms, however: Will the time until we have a Democrat in the White House be precious time lost in this fight?

Yesterday, the Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard Subcommittee of the Commerce Committee held a hearing in the wake of the recent San Francisco oil spill on the impact and the need for preventive rules that will protect our waterways and coastlines from this hazard.

Senator Kerry spoke on the topic and specifically on the impact of the Buzzards Bay spill, the Coast Guard opposition to the Massachusetts legislation, and the continuing effort to recover from the 2003 disaster.

“The Buzzards Bay oil spill caused severe damage to the bay's fragile ecosystem and shellfishing activities. It’s incredible that almost five years later, the community is still dealing with the after effects, and the Coast Guard is still fighting new protective measures,” said Senator Kerry. “1.6 billion gallons of fuel travel through Buzzards Bay each year, and local entities have the specialized knowledge to help prevent future oil spills. While the Coast Guard has done a good job responding to the oil spill, they haven’t been nearly as constructive preventing the next disaster. Preempting the State law which will help prevent future oil spills is a mistake we can’t afford. The number and severity of oil spills in Buzzards Bay are proof enough that this area needs the preventative actions that the state law intended.”

This one's not such a bad choice.

ASP Welcomes Newest Board Member

WASHINGTON, DC – The American Security Project (ASP) this week announced that Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) will join its bipartisan Board of Directors.

Senator Hagel, a two term Senator from Nebraska, joins an accomplished group of national security leaders, including fellow Vietnam veterans Senator John Kerry (D-MA), General Anthony Zinni (USMC, Ret.) and former Bush administration official Richard Armitage, who are working together to build consensus around a new strategy to enhance American security and improve U.S.-foreign relations around the world.

The second ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Hagel is known for his tough-minded independence and experience on national security.

“Senator Hagel’s record speaks for itself,” said Senator Gary Hart, the former Colorado Senator and ASP’s President and Chairman. “His willingness to question assumptions and his courage to speak difficult truths are qualities that are needed to end the paralysis that dominates the discussion of national security issues today. He has been an eloquent advocate for the use of all the instruments of American power and we enthusiastically welcome him to the board.”

The American Security Project (ASP), conceived by Senator Kerry and lead by Kerry, Senator Gary Hart and a bipartisan group of experts in the area of National Security and Foreign Policy is described on its website.

The American Security Project is a non-profit, bipartisan public policy and research organization dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of a range of national security issues, promoting debate about the appropriate use of American power, and cultivating strategic responses to 21st century challenges.

Listen here as JK, Gary Hart and Dr. Bernard I Finel describe one of the ASP studies and the Project's mission, and how understanding America's security challenges is critical to resolving them.

The Senator's statement on the FISA bill from johnkerry.com:

FISA, Congress, and the Constitution

by John Kerry on December 17th, 2007

There’s been a lot of discussion about the FISA bill today.

I was one of ten Senators to vote against cloture on the initial motion to proceed to the bill, along with Senator Feingold, Dodd and others.

Here’s the statement I filed with my vote, which is now part of the Congressional Record for today’s discussions:

Mr. President, today I voted against cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 2448 as reported by the Senate Intelligence Committee because I believe that we should instead be taking up on the Senate floor the far better bill reported out by the Judiciary Committee.

Congress has a duty to protect the American people — and to protect the Constitution. That’s the oath we take. It’s a solemn pledge, and in my judgment the Judiciary Committee bill better reflects the oath we each swear to uphold. Why? The Judiciary Committee’s bill gives the President the added flexibility he needs to hunt and capture terrorists who would strike our homeland — but it strikes an appropriate balance between protecting the privacy rights of American citizens and providing the President adequate tools to fight international terrorism.

This is no small issue. It’s the job of Congress to find the right balance between protecting privacy and safeguarding national security. The Judiciary bill makes critical improvements to the Protect America Act to ensure independent judicial oversight by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC). It allows the secret FISC greater authority to act as an independent check on unfettered Executive power.

The Judiciary bill provides the court the authority to assess the government’s ongoing compliance with its wiretapping procedures, places limits on the way the government uses information acquired about Americans, and lets the court enforce its own orders.

The Judiciary bill also safeguards Americans against widespread warrantless spying. It reaffirms that FISA is the exclusive statutory authority for conducting foreign intelligence surveillance, prohibits limitless “fishing expeditions” — so-called “bulk collection” of all communications between the United States and overseas, and ensures that the government cannot eavesdrop on Americans under the guise of targeting foreigners — what is known as “reverse targeting.”

Most importantly, unlike the Intelligence bill, the Judiciary bill does not provide retroactive amnesty to telecommunications providers that were complicit in the Administration’s warrantless spying program. I fear this Administration is deliberately stonewalling to avoid an adverse court decision finding its surveillance program to be unconstitutional. It is seeking political security in the name of national security.

The heart of the matter is that allowing Americans their day in court — introducing some kind of accountability, affording some kind of objective authority (in lieu of the Bush Administration) to adjudicate competing claims — will shed much-needed light on the Administration’s secret surveillance program.

If the lawsuits are shielded by Congress, the courts may never rule on whether the Administration’s surveillance activities were lawful. We must hold the Administration to account. And an impartial court of law insulated from political pressure is the most appropriate setting in which to receive a fair hearing.

If the telecoms were following the law, they should get immunity, as Congress explicitly provided under the original FISA law. But our courts should decide, not Congress — and that is a matter of principle protected in the Judiciary bill, which is the bipartisan bill that should be under consideration.

I’m gratified that Senator Reid has pulled the bill from the floor for now, to give all of us more of a chance to debate the bill and make sure we get legislation that protects our national security without infringing on our Constitutional rights.

Best news headline of the week goes to the Boston Herald for "Pigskin fans hail Kerry". I say that only because I didn't see "Taxpayers cheer as Kerry fights looming AMT", "US praises only Congressional representative at Bali" or "Kerry lauded for taking on the FCC".

Oh, well. I guess its better to take the laurels as they come, and not complain about the ones that don't. It was another full week of hearings and media events for the Senator. who continues to fight the good fight on issues like the economy, AIDS, media diversity and localism, small business, veterans issues and climate change.

And football.

He won't tell us why, but despite overwhelming objections of Senators and House members from both sides of the aisle, including Senators Kerry, Obama, Lott and Dorgan, and against the warnings of FCC Commissioners Copps and Adelstein and the will of 70% of the public, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is refusing to delay an attempt to relax media ownership rules on Tuesday. If successful, Martin will deliver his gift to big media just in time for Christmas, although the ensuing backlash may look more like the Fourth of July.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) asked Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin to delay a vote on media ownership until the FCC has followed the will of Congress and established a commission to look into minority and women media ownership. Kerry and Obama made clear that if Martin once again bucked the Congress, they would ask the Appropriations Committee to deny funding for implementation of the rule produced by the forced vote.

“This is a show-down with an FCC Chairman who is letting the FCC do the bidding of big corporate conglomerates without giving smaller media outlets a chance to fight back,” said Senator John Kerry. “I want to thank Sen. Obama for joining with me to help hold the FCC accountable, and ensuring that it promotes a more diverse, independent media in America.”

The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on Thursday to discuss media ownership. In it, Senator Kerry urged a delay on the rule change pending further scrutiny.

When does the man ever take a break? Fresh from a bloggers' conference call, which KV reported on yesterday, Senator Kerry phoned into the Ed Schultz Show for an amicable and interesting ten minutes.

After commiserating about the snow storms of the last few days, the two of them discussed the proposal by FCC chairman Kevin Martin and Senator Kerry's demand that the vote on media consolidation be delayed in favor of more discussion. He noted that most of the responses to Martin's proposal have been negative so far, and that even some of the commission members were telling it like it is and standing up to their chairman.

"Senator Kerry, is it time to redefine what the FCC is supposed to be about?" asked Ed near the end of that segment. "We're going to look at that", replied Kerry. "Senator Rockefeller raised the issue today, and it is something we may get to next year, but the immediate step is to protect the American people's interest, and having local and diverse interests represented in our media."

If you're not angry, you're not paying attention.

Well, it was clear from last evening's conference call that environmentalists and bloggers and Junior Senators from Massachusetts are all paying very close attention. And at its core, the ire is all directed at the same target -- Republican obstruction in Congress and in the White House. Even when it takes the form of observations and accusations that the Dems aren't somehow passing the legislation we need passed, we all know who's on the proper side of the issues. Last night, he was on the phone. And since we had the ear of someone in Congress who will actually listen, we talked.

If you've ever spent time in conversation with the Senator, you probably know going in that what you'll get from him is a frank discussion and answers that may or may not be what you want to hear. But you'll get the truth, and his honest opinion, and you'll get answers even if the questions aren't on the expected topic. So, when the focus of the call became obstruction in the Senate and not the talks in Bali, I wasn't surprised that he chose to address what was on everyone's minds and not try to redirect.

The frustration was obvious on both sides of the phone last night, with Senator Kerry and a group of bloggers engaged in what we'll just call a 'lively' conversation on environmental legislation. It so happened that the call was held after the Republicans obstructed the earlier version of Energy Bill (which later passed with changes), and a very invested group, including bloggers from grist.org, the NRDC, BlueMassGroup, Energy Smart and yours truly from KV all wanted to know what could be done.

JK was on Larry Kudlow's show yesterday, which is always interesting. It's one show that I really have to focus on when I watch, since a lot of what's discussed goes right over my head. The issue of Sarbanes-Oxley, though, is one I understand fairly well, and feel is critical. It ensures the safety of the business, shareholders and the general public, with the intent of avoiding another 'Enron'. But there is a drawback.

The problem with Sarbox (aka SOX) is that it's incredibly labor intensive and expensive for small businesses to comply. No doubt this extension will keep a lot of them from either noncompliance or inability to stay afloat trying to meet the reg. Nice work by Kerry and Snowe.
In addition to Sarbox, the Senator and Kudlow discussed subprime lending, the AMT, technology and investment, IPOs, why some companies are choosing to go private, and the dreadful management of economic issues by the Bush administration. A lot of stuff, and a really good interview.

After having been the only member of Congress to attend the Bali Climate negotiations, Senator Kerry held a debrief for the press yesterday at noon. He was joined by Kit Batten, Ph.D., Director of Environmental Policy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

As the callers introduced themselves, there was a moment of surprise when blogger Kerryvisionary announced herself, and named her blog johnkerryismyhero.com. Senator Kerry chuckled and noted that he had not known there was such a thing.

In a brief summary, the Senator expressed his regret at not having been able to attend the Bali conference for its duration, due to a conflicting Senate schedule. He noted that there was a great thirst out there for meetings with American legislators, and that people really had been anticipating the full delegation of House and Senate, which, unfortunately, did not happen.

Having met with, among many others, the Chinese delegation, Senator Kerry was impressed at their openness and willingness to have a productive discussion on this very important issue.

Proving his leadership once again, his discussions with Indonesia's Foreign Minister and Environment Minister extended beyond climate change to include American-Indonesian relations, Myanmar, China, and military cooperation.

Today is the Senator's birthday, and although we were able to spend a bit of time celebrating with him on his last two birthdays, this year we aren't so lucky. Or maybe we are, as the Senator has chosen to spend his big day debriefing his colleagues and the press on his trip to the UNFCCC conference in Bali. Not as much fun as partying with friends, but probably a lot more important.

Happy Birthday Senator Kerry, and to answer Sir Paul's question somewhat out of context, yes, we still need you when you're 64. Actually, 'still' isn't quite right. "Desperately" might be more accurate, in light of what's happening to our country under the current administration. No pressure, though. It's your birthday, and unfortunately, President Bush will still be shredding the Constitution tomorrow.

As expected, it was a killer week for the Senator, who returned from Africa, put in a full work week, then finished it up with a flight to Bali for the climate conference. Good that he went, since the Bush delegates aren't making many friends or much progress there. Something about the rest of the world wanting us to take some responsibility.

This morning's news reports of Sen. Kerry's participation in the conference are here, here and here. And speaking of news and climate change, I'm watching VP Gore get his Nobel Peace Prize as I type. Congratulations to Al on this highly deserved honor.

We're going to give Senator Kerry extra credit, too, for venturing into the land of 'fair and balanced'. Although I think he enjoys the tough interviews, he seemed to have more fun with Mason and Imus than he did with Geraldo. Still, all good interviews, and well worth another viewing.

The Senator also gave a speech at SAIS, wrote op-eds in the Globe and the International Herald Tribune, blogged at Huffington Post, and voted on some really important legislation that was Roadblocked by the Republicans.

I hope the Senator is able to sleep on a plane, because next week promises to be another busy one in the Senate, with a closed Foreign Relations hearing on the Iran NIE on Tuesday, another SFRC hearing on AIDS on Thursday, and an FCC hearing in Commerce on Wednesday. The Finance Committee hearing on exports to Cuba on Tuesday sounds like a must-see as well. Looks like another hefty newsreel next week.

That was bizarre.

Not the interview, which was great. What's bizarre is the graphics on last night's "Geraldo at Large", and why they chose to include Geraldo's strange reference to the Omaha mall shooting incident in an interview about Afghanistan. Watch the graphics, though. They're not in the video at the Fox link to the extended interview, but they were in the broadcast.

Now, what 'controversial' statements did the Senator make? All I heard was rational strategy and common sense. And what news source puts video of a crowd milling about before an Oprah Winfrey appearance over a United States Senator's interview? I guess Fox does. I don't often watch it, so I guess my perspective isn't the same as their regular viewers, but it seems pretty weird to me.

Still, a really strong interview. I'm not sure Geraldo 'gets it' about the criticality of focusing on reconstruction and the Afghan economy, but I'll bet the rest of us do. Watch the video above, and go to the Fox link for more in the extended interview.

What's left?
When the Bush administration runs out of laws to break and ways to mislead the public,and when Congressional Republicans can no longer cover, what then?

Lie?
Destroy the evidence?
Declare sovereignty?

Check, check and check. And that was just this week.

The Republicans are right about one thing. He is consistent.

And if that's not enough to make you re-read the Constitution for fine print, the lapdog Republicans in Congress, who are supposed to help provide oversight, are not just covering for the President, they're actively enabling him. This week? AMT relief and the energy bill were both Roadblocked by Bush's Republicans. They're well on their way to an all time Senate filibuster record, toeing the administration line on nearly every critical vote.

Hey, they're consistent, too.

We need to stop worrying about the latest Bush bogey man and start focusing on what's happening here at home. Between the torture and the illegal wiretapping and the lying and the cronyism, we've got some serious problems here.

Can't say we weren't warned.

"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."

— George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2000

I guess radio day is more accurate, but it's not the name of a movie, and I'm hoping to lure some Woody Allen fans here via 'the Google'.

Wonder if some days Senator Kerry just feels like talking on the radio. When he does, the interviews seem to come in multiples, and yesterday we got two good ones.

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

Mohandas Gandhi

Love him or hate him, Imus is back.

Personally, I like him. I know he's abrasive, and I know he's said a thing or two or a thousand that he wishes he could take back, but then most of us have. Hopefully, our transgressions were not as ugly as the one that got Imus booted off MSNBC. Of course, most of us don't have national radio and TV programs to say them on, but then most of us don't have to apologize to the entire country when we screw up either. And love him or hate him, Imus has done some really great things, like running a ranch for kids with cancer. His wife has written a book on 'green' cleaning. And he did vote for JK, so he has at least a few redeeming qualities. So let's just keep in mind all those bible verses on forgiveness we read in Sunday school and focus on a really cool interview, shall we?

 Listen here or at Imus's new site

The Senator also did an interview yesterday with Steve Mason, where the two discussed Boston sports and the NFL, and where Steve, God love him, introduced the Senator by saying "a little part of me died the day he didn't get elected President". Amen, Steve.

 Listen here or at 710ESPN

Funny, isn't it, that both Imus and Mason began their interviews by announcing their 2004 votes? I'll bet the Senator gets a lot more of that than Bush does. I don't know that for certain, of course, as I don't listen to many Bush interviews, but I'm guessing the number of vote proclamations preceding Bush interviews is in the general vicinity of none.

Good to hear those proud Kerry voters, though. A little sad, but good.

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photo credit: Rocketeer

Well, it does happen. Not frequently, but once in a while the Senator says something that I just can't get behind. Yesterday was one such time. You won't find it in his prepared remarks, but at the end of yesterday's speech at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), he said:

"Some of this is dry. It's not exactly the speech of stumps in a political campaign ..."

Well, that's true enough, Senator. It's not what we're hearing from the candidates. But have you listened to a Republican stump speech lately? Mostly devoid of meaningful content, often flat-out stupid. None worth listening to all the way through. So I'm afraid I just have to call you on the 'dry' remark, as I find real foreign policy strategy fascinating. Honestly, I wish the candidates would talk about meaningful issues instead of treating the campaign like a bad reality show, but I don't see it happening.

Anyway, that was the part I disagree with. Here's the rest:

 Listen here or at SAIS

Transcript of remarks as prepared

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change opened yesterday in Bali, Indonesia. In a report on the conference website, it's noted that UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer praised Australia for it's choice to join the rest of the world (with one notable exception) in ratifying Kyoto.

The morning's opening session was “very upbeat,” Mr. de Boer said, culminating in long applause when Australia announced its ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, which he called ”a very significant political decision.” He said that all countries except two who have been party to the Protocol have been disappointed to see two very important countries – the United States and Australia – take the decision not to ratify the Protocol, but that that group was now reduced by half. The long applause, he said, reflected appreciation for the courage shown by Australia in dramatically shifting its position and engaging more strongly with the international community on climate change, something which bodes well for Australia’s future role in the negotiations.

I'm kind of glad this video didn't include the part about the other half. It's pretty humiliating to be the odd man out when the issue is saving the planet. Good for Australia, though, electing someone who doesn't have his head buried in, well, you get the picture.

The site also has live webcasts, so if you can't wait for the massive influx of US media reports on the conference, you might want to catch it online.

A roadmap on climate change

By John F. Kerry and Jonathan Lash

Monday, December 3, 2007

After years of denial, delay, distraction and distortion, climate change is changing the political climate.

Australia's John Howard recently became the first national leader voted out of office in large measure because of his failure to respond to citizens' concerns about global warming. Newly elected Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said he'll make global warming his first priority in office.

Australia's awakening is not an isolated example. Eighty-three percent of Chinese support action on climate change. Between 2006 and 2010 China plans to improve energy efficiency by 20 percent, increase use of renewable energy sources by 15 percent and continue their very large scale reforestation program.

The dialogue in the United States is also shifting, albeit too slowly. While all of the Democrats running for president endorse strong action to reduce emissions, among the Republicans, Senator John McCain is the lone sponsor of national legislation to combat warming, and while Fred Thompson acknowledges global warming on his Web site, he won't concede it's human-caused.

more

Maybe Fred thinks it's the hats. I wouldn't be surprised.

Not much to report this week, as the Senator and Teresa wind up their trip to Africa. We do know that they spent some time visiting with orphaned children in the AIDS stricken KwaNgcolosi area of Durban. Senator Kerry also sent an e-mail describing a bit of his trip and calling attention to World Aids Day.

Next week promises to be busy, as Senator Kerry and Senator Boxer prepare for the Bali talks on climate change. Here's some of what's on the schedule next week for the committees of which the Senator is a member, as well as the logistical details for a major policy speech at SAIS.

The Senate Commerce Committee focuses on climate change in advance of the Bali talks on Tuesday.

Senator Kerry will speak at Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) on a winning strategy in Afghanistan on Wednesday.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on aid to Pakistan on Thursday.

Much more news next week!

Well, this won't help.

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration intends to slash counterterrorism funding for police, firefighters and rescue departments across the country by more than half next year, according to budget documents obtained by The Associated Press.

The Homeland Security Department has given $23 billion to states and local communities to fight terrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks, but the administration is not convinced that the money has been well spent and thinks the nation’s highest-risk cities have largely satisfied their security needs.

The department wanted to provide $3.2 billion to help states and cities protect against terrorist attacks in 2009, but the White House said it would ask Congress for less than half — $1.4 billion, according to a Nov. 26 document.

Look over to the right sidebar. See that number? Now take the $3.2 billion that has been requested to protect us here at home, and look two spaces to the left. That's what we've spent on Bush's war in Iraq that has made us less safe, that has ravaged a country that was not a threat to us, and that has taken the lives of 3,882 Americans so far.
We're spending $3 billion in Iraq every 10 days. That's 157 times the proposed DHS request But we can't afford to spend that on our safety here at home, because this guy says so.

At the age of most of the kids in this video, their biggest worries should be getting their homework done and making the soccer team. Instead, many children their age are orphans, forced to become surrogate parents to their own younger siblings. The Senator and Teresa witnessed this first hand this week on their trip to Africa, as he explains in his letter.

A message from Senator Kerry on World Aids Day:

Dear KV,

I wanted to take a very quick break from my travels not to ask for money and not to talk politics, but just to pass on some thoughts about two big global challenges which need to be on our minds: HIV/AIDS and climate change.

This week, Teresa and I experienced an up close and personal reminder of how far the world has yet to travel to defeat HIV/AIDS. Talking with people in poverty stricken KwaNgcolosi near Hillcrest in Durban, South Africa, we saw both the most inspiring and the most heartbreaking realities of a global struggle to defeat a global scourge.

We met orphaned children left with no choice but to assume adult responsibilities, caring for their young brothers and sisters. We met single mothers scratching out subsistence in mud houses, their husbands lost to a horrific disease. I have to tell you, experiences like this have an impact on you.

I didn't want to wait until I got back to the United States to say something to you, because tomorrow is World AIDS Day - and it needs to be a day of action. Challenge Washington to stop blocking better educational efforts and stop putting ideology before science. Demand that American leadership help convince nations like South Africa not to repeat our shameful denial of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s - and to commit their countries to saving lives not saving face. There is no fixing a problem political leaders refuse to admit exists.

There's something else - and I'll have much more to say about this when I'm back. I'll be leading - with Senator Boxer - a Senate delegation to Bali in December to the global conference where work will start on a new international climate change treaty. We can't wait until we have a new president; we need to get moving now. The world simply can't solve these problems without American participation and leadership. Stay tuned.

Bottom line - these are the huge global issues that demand that America be America again, and that we lead by example - and that we lead now.

Sincerely,

John F. Kerry

World Aids Day is focused around the 2005-2007 message, "Stop Aids, Keep the Promise". Keeping the Promise is a familiar phrase to us here, and the core concept is the same. It's not enough to make a commitment, you have to follow through.

From the World Aids Campaign website, it's noted that in June 2001 at the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS, 189 countries agreed to the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, which outlines a comprehensive response to the epidemic.

The challenge is in making sure that promise and others are fulfilled.

According to the World Aids Campaign, "Over 25 million people have been lost to AIDS so far, and 4.3 million people were infected with HIV 2006. The spread of HIV is quickening – with more people infected in 2006 than in any previous year."

We've got a long way to go.