Sept 9th Speech at Fanueil Hall on 'Real Security'

[TayTay]

Oooh, this should be good.

Dear TayTay,

On Saturday, September 9, I hope you'll join me at Faneuil Hall to discuss the biggest issue in front of our country -- real security for all Americans.

It is clearer by the day that the Republicans who run Washington have failed to make America safe, and that in fact, their disastrous Iraq policy has set us backwards in the war on terror. We were misled into a war that has become a dangerous distraction and a profound drain on our financial and military resources.

Nearly five years after the attacks of 9/11, it's clear that this administration hasn't learned the real lessons of 9/11 and has failed to take the steps to make us as safe as we must be. Osama bin Laden is still on the loose. The 9/11 Commission's recommendations to secure our most vulnerable infrastructure remain virtually ignored. Homeland security funding has been cut for cities such as Boston and New York.

But to make America safe, we Democrats can not be afraid to stand for something -- and to do so with pride and passion.

We know how to make our country safe and lead in a way that honors freedom rather than spreading fear.

Please join me on Saturday, September 9 at Faneuil Hall, where I will share a few ideas about how we can work to provide real security for all Americans. Please arrive by 10:30 a.m. Tickets are free, and seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Join me: RSVP to attend on Saturday, September 9.

For over 250 years, Faneuil Hall has served as more than just a meeting hall. Faneuil Hall is the cradle of American democracy -- an incubator of big ideas -- where leaders take responsibility rather than abdicate it and where change is advocated, not avoided. And this is a time when we need change for our nation.

Please join me on Saturday, September 9 to address this important topic together. Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you there.

Sincerely,

John Kerry

Arrive by 10:30? What time is the speech schedule to begin. (That seems early for Democrats.) The other speeches all began at noon. Maybe this one is scheduled for 11:00 am. (Ahm, West Coast people, so sorry here.)

Needless to say, we shall attempt to live-blog. The odds are much, much better since one of us has an addition in the family, a nice functioning air-card from Sprint. Oooooooh.

Maybe some people can check their schedule and see if they can 'Please Come to Boston' in early Sept. (The weather is really good, temps in the mid 70's.) BTW, Bush the Insane is making a series of speeches leading up to a 'Terror-a-rama' speech to commemorate the 9/11 attacks that seeks to make the case for more war in hopes of preventing terrorists from 'following us home.' Might be interesting to hear the opposing (sane) view.

[karynnj]

1. My husband and I definitely want to come

This should be fabulous - I'm so glad that Kerry is speaking on this - especially as so many are now saying Kerry was right!

[Blaukraut]

2. This will be very interesting

And you're right - it's earlier than the other speeches. Regardless - I can't wait!

[blm]

3. How about a push to get Cspan coverage?

.

[TayTay]

4. Yes!!!! They should cover this, since the Rethugs are going all out

to get the nation to forget Rethug failures of Katrina and remember the failures of foreign policy that resulted from the horrors of 9/11. (I swear, * said that if we don't fight the terrorists 'over there' and instead withdraw, the terrorists will "follow us home."

From the C-Span site:

Suggest Events: Submit a public event that you think C-SPAN should cover - [e-mail]

[wisteria]

7. That sounds fair. All the media will be focused on the Repubs

as they go about trying to capitalize on the tragedy of 9-11 and scaring the public while ignoring that Bush's disinterest in following up on pre-9-11 warnings played a part in the devastation that ensued.

[wisteria]

5. This should be a powerful speech. I am looking forward to it. n/t

[rox63]

6. I wanna go!!!

But I seem to have dropped off JK's email list. :(

Could you post or PM me with the link to RSVP for this? I've got next week off from work, so I should be good and relaxed by Saturday the 9th.

Rox

[TayTay]

8. The reply was to this address

http://forms.johnkerry.com/events/090906_boston.html

It's the blog, so it's in the public sphere. I don't think there will be a problem with posting 'out in the open' here.

Ooooh good. It will be great to see people there. Can't wait Rox.

[rox63]

9. Thanks!!!!!

You should see a slightly thinner Rox there. I'm down about 20 lbs so far. Give me another week and a half, and it might be 25. :)

[karynnj]

11. That's impressive

You are losing weight very quickly.

[beachmom]

16. That's fantastic, Rox!!

So any trade secrets to share with your success? I'm always interested in hearing what works (I'm a Weight Watcher myself, but it's an ongoing struggle, even in the Maintenance phase).

[rox63]

19. I'm doing NutriSystem

And I've still got over 90 lbs to go before I reach my goal. But I've already lost 20 lbs in about 6 weeks. I'm pretty happy with the results so far.

[karynnj]

10. They even print out as multiples tickets this time

with your name on them and all!

[Democrafty]

12. 7:30? Gee.

I got up earlier than that to catch the Kenyon speech, though, and it was totally worth it.

[karynnj]

15. You got to see the Kenyon one!

That speech seemed so warm and friendly on CSPAN and the college's streaming video. It really seemed the best commencement speech I ever heard. (and Teresa was there)

[Democrafty]

18. Yup, got up super early and saw the streaming vid.

So I got to see the student speaker, and see JK and THK get hooded, which was really lovely. And yes, the speech was really something. You could tell JK knew what a special and emotional day it was for all those graduates, and he gave a special and emotional speech.

[_dynamicdems]

13. This should be good! I'm looking forward to it.

Being a Saturday means the "joint" (ie: historic hall) will be packed.

[TayTay]

14. The joint should be rockin'

Sat speeches when all the college students are back in town and there is a good mid-term election going on and the Prez and his evil minions are going around saying that the Democrats are appeasing fascists, ahm me, what could be a better time for a nice sane speech from the good Senator.

And we should have connectivity. (Sprint phones work great over there. That's what the air-card is, a sprint phone mobil hookup for the internet.) I'm psyched to go.

[beachmom]

17. Speaking of which . . .

Any word on which date people think should be the big Meetup in New England -- Oct. NH event or JK's birthday? I'm thinking about it, but I would like to meet as many people as possible, and at least a handshake from the Senator.

[TayTay]

21. I have not heard anything about Dec. at all.

Ahm, maybe I can ask next Sat about Dec and if anything is being planned. (Shhhhh. It will be a secret.) There is no right answer on this. The event in NH is for the NH Democratic Party and the money goes to try to bring some light into that lost state and get them to elect more Dems. (NH currently is only served by Repubs at the moment, alas.) Sen. Kerry is an honored and invited guest, but, ahm, it ain't his party. Tix are $50 a pop, but include dinner. (I will try and refrain from describing my last dinner with NH Dems. Yummy is not the first word that comes to mind.)

The event in Boston, that we can't verify to a fare-thee-well right now, would be an event for Senator Kerry. It's more expensive than the NH one. (I think. The cost of a ticket last time was $100. OTOH, those Black 'N Tans at the bar we not exactly cheap, so ahm, maybe it was a wash in terms of money.) Should this event come off, it belongs to the good Senator, it's not for anyone else. There is, frankly, a greater chance of seeing the good Senator and getting, ah, a handshake. (And you get to meet tthe 'Wild Women of Boston,' who are real characters, let me tell you.) Ah, that this was a 'friendly' event last year is, ah, a bit of an understatement. (Ah, I still can't believe what happened there happened. AHm, and no stage this year. Dear Lord in heaven, that was amazing.)

EDIT: I am not recommending one or the other. Last year I was very surprised that so many good folks wanted to come to Boston. At the time, I didn't understand why, cuz, I am spoiled and get the opportunity to see certain Senators rather a lot, relatively speaking. Ahm, if people had listened to me and sent a check, well, that would have precluded a lot that has happened. I have decided that I don't know jacksh*t when it comes to recommending if people should come or not. I am not a reliable advisor on this. (I plan on redeeming myself someday, sigh!)

[beachmom]

22. Okay, cool -- that explains it better

Although the weather is better in Oct., I really think the birthday would be a better event to meet up, if at all possible. Plus, we'll know what the results of the '06 elections were, and have more to talk about in light of that (not that a bunch of "wild women of Boston" would run out of things to say without that result in). I mean it's not definite with me, but it would be helpful if I start warning my husband that I might be flying up north, and he'll have to take care of the kids (if it is indeed on a Monday - 12/11 - that complicates things, because then he would have to take time off of work, so we'll see).

[_dynamicdems]

23. Should be a boisterous crowd to say the least.

Did you hear that Shrub is going to give a series of speeches on Iraq? "If we leave the streets of Baghdad before the job is done, we will have to face the terrorists in our own cities," "Iraq will be a major ideological triumph," and more blather. Oh goodie. And you can bet he'll take lame aim (their aim is always lame) at JK and this speech in particular. Of course, this is certainly JK's volley at the Preznit and the contrast (Kerry's speech v. Shrub Tour) will be stunning. :D

Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said the president would continue focusing on the war on terror in speeches in Washington and around the country through Sept. 19, when he is scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly.

http://enews.earthlink.net/article/pol?guid=20060830/44f65ec0_3ca6_1552620060831-102730838

Big mistake. The contrast will be polarizing, but lopsided. Who will Shrubby have left on his side if he continues? Let's count: Cheney, Rove, three cattle farmers in Texas... He's lost the Security Moms, Nascar fans and most of the people who voted for him in 2004. Pathetic. Maybe he can hire some of those liberal actors in California to pretend to be supporters to fill auditoriums when he speaks. Why not? Us tax payers will foot the bill. We always do.

"They're not political speeches," Bush said Wednesday when asked if they might have an impact on the congressional elections just over two months away. "They're speeches about the future of this country, and they're speeches to make it clear that if we retreat before the job is done, this nation would become even more in jeopardy. These are important times, and I seriously hope people wouldn't politicize these issues that I'm going to talk about.

What a joke! We'll be paying for the Bush speaking tour so he can promote a partisan agenda and help Repug campaigns. He says these are not political speeches, but he's using 911 again, of course. I hope they are warming up a special place in Hell for this BASTARD.

JK is going to kick some ass in Boston with this speech. I hope as many Kerrycrats can get to Boston as possibly can. I think you're right: this might just be the one that brings down the house.

Rock and roll!
:woohoo:

[TayTay]

24. The material is certainly there

As a quick review, Sen. Kerry points out the good and bad of the DHS Appropriations bill this year. (That was a disgraceful session.)

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I support the fiscal year 2007 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill before us today. Our Nation faces a serious terrorist threat and we need to adequately fund our security agencies. I am concerned, however, that the bill falls short in some areas of what is needed to effectively protect the homeland.

For instance, the bill makes significant cuts to State grant programs from FY 2006 levels and does not ensure that funds are distributed using risk as the guiding principle. Although DHS Secretary Chertoff has assured us that the Department would follow the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission and distribute funds based purely on risk, when funding for the Urban Area Security Initiative was released in May the cities most at risk--New York, Washington, and Boston among them--received the deepest cuts. I supported amendments during consideration of this bill that sought to rectify this problem and I hope that the bill can be improved in conference to ensure that funding is distributed where it is needed.

I am also concerned that the bill calls for shutting down a large portion of the LORAN navigation system infrastructure, limiting it to Alaska and the northwest and northeast coasts. Although I realize that this is the result of a compromise, I strongly support maintaining the LORAN system nationwide and intend to work with Senator Stevens, Senator Murray and others in conference to prevent the premature shutdown of this important asset.

Mr. President, we must take steps to secure the border, though I opposed Senator Sessions' amendment to appropriate additional funds to construct fencing along the southwest border because it would have raided discretionary funds used to hire more border patrol agents, buy more detention beds, train first responders, and fund other pressing needs. Although I support some limited fence construction, I do not believe we should be undermining critical homeland security programs to finance them. I remain committed to passing balanced immigration legislation that protects the border and allows immigrants to earn citizenship, and I hope that the Congress can reach an agreement to accomplish that in the upcoming weeks.

Finally, I am pleased my amendment to repeal the Transportation Security Administration's exemption from Federal contracting laws was accepted. TSA has a record of mismanaging contracts and wasting billions in taxpayer dollars and it should not continue to be exempt from the same level of accountability that we require of every other Federal agency. I thank the managers for working with me to pass this amendment, and I hope that it is included in the final conference report.

I hope that some of these important issues can be worked out in conference and that we can send the best bill possible to the President.

July 13, 2006

[TayTay]

25. BTW, why did the DHS funds get shifted away from Big Cities

The Senator from New Hampshire explains:

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, let me begin by saying that when I read the article that was in the paper about the decision to basically transfer a significant amount of dollars from New York and Washington, I was surprised and quite shocked. I said to myself: That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Because I think most of us understand that New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, and a couple of other spots which are probably better not to mention, are truly the No. 1 targets. Certainly, New York is at the top of every list, as is the city of Washington. So I thought: Why are we doing that? Or why was the Department doing that? They did not advise us, obviously.

I looked into it, and they have a peer-review process for the application of these funds. All these funds go out under a threat-based concept. This has been the insistence of this committee. There are funds that do go out under the formula. I do not happen to be a big fan of the formula. It is not a lot of funds compared to the entire block of funds. But the vast majority of the funds flow out on the basis of threat-based decisions.

Now, what happened was, of the 46 cities that were in competition for these funds, New York came in 44th and the District of Columbia came in 42nd in evaluation of their proposals. And their proposals, in fact, were just plain poorly written; not only poorly written, they were poorly structured, and they did not have behind them the backup that was necessary to make them viable proposals.

In that context, the decision was made to take these funds and move them over to other applicants who had put in better proposals. I guess if I had been managing the Department, what I would have said is: Listen, we know that Washington and New York are the primary targets. We also know these proposals, as they came forward, were just not very good proposals and really did not accomplish the goals we are seeking in the issue of addressing threat and effectiveness. And effectiveness should be part of this. We should not take effectiveness out because there is no point sending money out if we are not going to get results for it.

Probably, if I had been in charge, had the magic wand, I would have said, escrow this money until we can work with these two cities, and regions in the case of New York and Washington, and get the plans in order. But that is not the decision that was made. The decision was made to move the dollars to other locales. So there are equities, in my opinion, in the arguments made by the Senators from New York and the Senators from Maryland and New Jersey. And the equities are strong enough that we actually put language in our report that requests that the Department place a higher priority on risk and that they focus on dealing with this type of a situation. And I am certainly expecting it will not happen again the way it happened this year.

But that is not the essence of this amendment. The essence of this amendment offered by the Senator from New York is to increase funding above our allocation--I guess it claims it as an emergency--and to basically put additional dollars on the table for the purposes of these types of threat-based grants.

Now, I think it is important to understand that since we started this program we have put $14.6 billion into the pipeline to try to assist the cities and areas of highest risk, and that in this bill we have $2.4 billion to accomplish that. That is a lot of money. And of that money, only $6.1 billion has actually been taken down. In other words, there is still literally close to $9 billion when you consider this year of money available to address these issues. And to put another big chunk of money on top of that, really, I do not think is going to improve the situation from the standpoint of what New York and Washington are concerned about, because I think there is enough money in the pipeline to accomplish much of what they desire.

The right way to correct this problem relative to New York and Washington is to have the Department understand these are the priority sites, and that if the proposals coming in from these two regions are not of a quality that give the Department confidence that the money is going to go out and be used effectively, then they should sit down with these two regions and work out the process so we do it right--escrow the money, sit down, work out the problem, figure out how the money can be used so everybody knows it is being use effectively. So that would be the way I would resolve this issue.

They didn't like the way it was written. Apparently, the money was re-allocated from New York to Indiana because New York flunked the written. Sigh! Rethug logic.

Gee, do you think it was a coincidence that money was shifted away from Blue States to Red States in this atrocious bill?

[ProSense]

26. We all know the

terrorists determine where to strike based on area officials' writing skills.
:sarcasm:


Can we use this rule to get rid of the entire Bush maladministration?

[TayTay]

27. It's just amazing to see such arrogance in print

The whole debate on the DHS Appropriations bill was a sham.

[karynnj]

28. Did it ever occur to him that the plans for NYC and DC

were likely far more complicated and that level of complexity may have meant that they couldn't propose simple plans like Indiana could. Have you ever tried to fill out a form where for some reason the questions don't fit?

[_dynamicdems]

29. I'm so ashamed of NH. What a bonehead!

Gregg is a very good at using a lot of words to say nothing. It is amazing he can talk at all with his head so far up his ass. That is a talent of a sort, I suppose.

[ProSense]

20. Cool!

Look forward to the speech. Judging by how many of you plan on attending, there should be a lot of first-hand reports and photos posted. :)

[ginnyinWI]

30. more and more people realize that they are not safer

with the repubs in charge. And I hope a lot of * voters now realize who they should have voted for.

[TayTay]

31. Completely OT, but I couldn't resist

Anyone coming to Boston for the speech. Turns out the Boston Arts Festival is happening the same day just down the street from Faneuil Hall at Columbus Park.. This could be a fun place to stop and look.

Ahm, the festival is called (ahts) Honest!

http://www.cityofboston.gov/arts/perform/06_arts_fest.asp

Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Target present the fourth annual (ähts): The Boston Arts Festival, taking place on September 9 and 10, 2006 from 11 AM to 6 PM, at Christopher Columbus Park on Boston’s Waterfront. This year’s festival is bigger than ever, as visual and performing artists will showcase their very best work. “Now in its fourth year, the festival is truly a growing new Boston tradition. Our city is home to so many talented visual and performing artists, and we look forward to celebrating their works,” said Mayor Menino.

Affectionately dubbed (ähts), The Boston Arts Festival is designed to launch Boston’s arts season and showcase more than 60-juried artists and Boston’s contemporary arts scene. These exceptional visual artists will exhibit and sell one-of-a-kind and limited edition works of art including paintings, sculpture, ceramics, pottery, jewelry, fiber art, fine glasswork, woodwork, mixed media, and photography. The festival will also include a children’s tent with interactive arts, magicians, clowns and storytelling.

We can get wicked smart by attending the speech, then get wicked culture by getting some food and haning out at the ahts festival. OOooooh, sounds like fun. Plus I have to get the (ähts) T-Shirt. It's so, ahm, me.

[karynnj]

32. Sounds great!

[Blaukraut]

33. Sure! That sounds like fun!

You can never get enough ahts, I say :-)

[rox63]

34. Where should we meet up on Saturday?

I'd like to hang with some of y'all at this event. Is there a spot where folks will be meeting up before-hand? Or should we just take our places in the waiting line and meet up outside afterwards?

[TayTay]

35. I hope to be in front of the hall, having coffee and a scone

at around 9:00 am. (Nothing says 'wake up' like strong coffee and a blueberry scone after all.) I want to go inside Faneuil Hall by 9:30 and set up. (Oooh, a real and reliable connection. I can send out e-mail! Ooooh how exciting! I promise I won't let the power of an actual internet connection go to my head. I will be very, very good. I will never upload pictures of food again ala: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=273&topic_id=90967#91028
I promise to be good and not goofy at all.)

Ahm, I was hoping to grab some food at Quincy Market after the speech and take in some of the (ahts) festival. So, I can bring a blanket thingee to sit on. We can talk, do photos, watch aht, stuff like that. It's all good.

[rox63]

36. Question about which side of the building is the front

Is it the side where we enter the building, or the side with the Sam Adams (patron saint of beer) statue?

[TayTay]

37. The Sam Adams side.

It has benches, which means I have a place to put the coffee, whilst I eat the scone. Ahm, it's not that crowded at 9:00 am around there, so we should find each other easily.

Ahm, people will have to wait in line. The line will probably start forming at around 10:00 ish. They promise to open the doors and let people seat themselves at 10:30 or so. (Hey, that's when we get a copy of the speech. Maybe. One time we got a copy of the speech, but had to give it back, cuz it got revised.) Ahm, I get to go inside and not wait in line, cuz I am, ostensibly, working. (Actually working this time, cuz the connection is there. Whoopee!!!!!) If it helps any, I feely guilty that I don't have to wait in line. (Catholic guilt knows no bounds.)

I am seriously, wicked psyched about this speech. I just got a feeling. I hope C-Span covers it either live or on tape. I think this should be good. Anyone hear the speeches in the Senate today? All the Dems took a shot at whacking * and Rummy around for their recent 'appeaser' comments. I can't wait to hear one of the best writers in the Senate have 'at it' on these people and their inept handling of national/homeland security issues.

[cadmium]

38. Hi Rox

I will be there too hopefully with Gil.

[TayTay]

39. My brother, sister-in-law and nephew are coming in

for the speech from Cape Ann. Way cool! (No not the freeper brothers. Only two of my brothers are freepers. Three are intelligent, thoughtful, sane human beings. My other brother is undecided and I don't think he votes. This is a shame I carry around with me all the time. Sigh! My sister is a Democrat. My Mom used to be a Republican, but she has repented and seen the light.)

I only invite selected relatives. Faneuil Hall isn't big enough to hold everyone in my family.