Speech today to Nurses Association

[TayTay]

March 30 - April 2. PEDIATRIC NURSES _ The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners holds its 27th annual conference.

Highlights:

10:30 a.m. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., speaks about his KidsFirst Plan to provide health care coverage for the 11 million uninsured children in America

Maybe they will have pics here later: http://www.napnap.org/index.cfm?page=12&sec=97

[karynnj]

1. He really is amazingly busy

It really seems like a very extended campaign.

[whometense]

2. One of my favorite things

from everything JK said in his two interviews yesterday was the part about how we spend a fortune warehousing prisoners but refuse to spent the relatively small amount it would take to prevent a large criminal underclass from forming in the first place. This is a pet soapbox of mine - having seen firsthand the small miracles Head Start can create in the lives of kids from poor and undereducated homes.

I'm a pollyanna about education - not in the forced testing sense (after all, I am a product of the sixties), but in the sense that improving childrens' lives when they are young and impressionable is the most cost-effective and humane way of tackling our most debilitating social problems.

I hope JK spends a lot more time talking about this issue. I think it could (and should) be a top priority for the country, and one that has no red/blue state boundaries. After all, Vermont (where I had most of my teaching experience) and Mississippi have much in common when it comes to their educational needs.

[karynnj]

3. The idea of preventing an underclass also

ties in with the Youthbuild project he was involved in forever. In 2004, one of the surprises was how consistent his involvement was on these things that try to help people get a decent start. As a fellow 60s person, those type of activities always seemed the basis of liberal philosophy.

Not to mention - it's hard to beat the photos Kerry gets from anything with kids or youths.

[jenndar]

4. I'm so glad he's still talking about his health care plan

for children. Imagine what a difference it would make if that succeeded.

[wisteria]

5. I am happy he is still promoting his KIdsFirst Plan. I was just

thinking about where he stood with this now.

[kerrygoddess]

6. I posted an alert about this yesterday -

I've had a lot on my plate the past few days and not enough time to get over here and cross post all of the Kerry news I have up. I'm posting the text of the speech now.

[TayTay]

7. Thank you!

I just happened upon the bare bones of this in the AP Daybook. (It's just a listing of events going on in DC. There are dozens and dozens of things going on there every day. I have a search 'bot that searches for Kerry-related stuff and it often ladels up the Daybook of events.)

I will go over and read the speech! Thanks for posting it.

[kerrygoddess]

8. It's a good speech

hits home for me - we have no healthcare.