Kerry unveils bill to help Iraq war veterans with transition home

[whometense]

http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,SS_021605_Transition,00.html

WASHINGTON — Many guardsmen returning from overseas deployment are finding their families in debt and their small businesses on the verge of collapse, according to Sen. John Kerry, who unveiled a bill Tuesday to help ease that transition back home.

“A small veterinarian’s office or a small contractor, their business falls apart while their gone,” said Kerry, D-Mass., in a meeting with defense reporters. “In many cases they’re been sustained by the goodwill and patriotism of folks in their community so they can pick up when they come back, but it’s not without a lot of effort and a lot of work.”

Kerry’s legislation would provide tax incentives to employers who keep deployed guardsmen and reservists on their payrolls, and create new loans and grants for self-employed troops to help get their businesses running again.

“What we can do is try to provide economic incentives to cushion that impact and facilitate their efforts to survive,” he said. (

[TayTay]

1. Saw it on LegAlert News service

A bill to expand and enhance benefits for members of the Armed Forces and their families, and for other purposes.
LegAlert 02-18-2005


Bill ID: FD SB 460

Session: 2005-2006

Version: Introduced

Sponsor: Sen Kerry, John F.

S 460 IS 109th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 460 To expand and enhance benefits for members of the Armed Forces and their families, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 18, 2005 Mr. KERRY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A BILL To expand and enhance benefits for members of the Armed Forces and their families, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. (a) SHORT TITLE- This Act may be cited as the `Strengthening America's Armed Forces and Military Family Bill of Rights Act'.

[whometense]

2. TayTay,

I wanted to ask your opinion about something. I'm working on a post about Kerry since the election, and I wanted to bounce my idea off you to see if you think I'm off base or not.

Since I heard him say the "militancy" word at the JFK Library I've been seeing his actions in a different way, but I'm not sure if I'm reading into things too much. His senate record was always unfairly trashed, but since the election he's been on fire. He's everywhere at once.

The main thing I'm thinking is that he's a liberated man. I know a lot of people see his activity as motivated by a desire to position himself for 2008. At first I thought that too, but I don't anymore. I see him as so angry over the direction * is taking the country in that he's having a sort of rebirth of VVAW activism. He's doing it the way Kerry does such things - politely and with a smile, but with a spine of steel. I don't think he has made up his mind about whether to run again. But to me he seems to have completely abandoned any idea of political positioning, and is instead going for broke and following his heart.

If this is so (and I really do want to hear what you think), there aren't enough :loveya:'s in the world to convey how I feel about him. (And will anyone but us ever notice what he's up to???)

[TayTay]

3. We should ask Rox63 to throw her 2 cents in too

I agree with you. The carefully parsed sentences are gone. The harsh language of attack is back. This is always going to be a guy who is polite and erudite and it shows. But Kerry was very careful with what he said from '92 through '04. I don't see that anymore. I really don't. Other people are going to say, what are you talking about, he seems the same to me. He doesn't to me. He seems liberated to do what he wants to and to stuff the overtly political niceness. I don't think he cares anymore. I really don't. Why should he? What's the worst that can happen, they come after your family, your war record, your very honor? Been there, done that, still here.

This may or may not lead to another run. (Odds still favor it, but anything can happen.) But it will lead to a much better and more invigorated Senator. I think that's where he's getting his amazing energy lately. He is doing what he believes in and that seems to have just re-energized him. (He's full of vigah! or I would say at home 'piss and vinegah.')

I think he will get more strident. There are confirmations for the UN and the World Bank to come up and I think he will say what he thinks.

Now, if only I could get a read on how his Cape Cod Wind Farm position is going to go. I love that one cuz it's a real dilemma. What the hell do you do on that one?

[whometense]

4. Thank you!

I guess we are in agreement on this. He seems really different to me - not that the man was ever low-energy - but he is re-energized.

The wind farm question is an interesting one because it involves neighbors and friends as well as politics. It will be very interesting to hear what he finally does say on the matter (that one may come out kinda parsed...) ;-)

I'm going to message Rox63 and ask her to comment as well.

[rox63]

9. I'm not sure he has to weigh in on it

I thought the wind farm thing was a state matter, not a federal one. Or am I misinformed on that? The politically smart thing for him would be to avoid the issue, if at all possible, so as to not piss off any of his constituents. I'd like to think he would support it, because it's a source of clean, renewable energy. But I don't know the details of the matter. I imagine it's been in the news more on the Cape and islands. I'm up here in the Merrimack Valley, where the views are already blocked by the smokestacks on the old mill buildings.

[whometense]

27. I'm not sure he has to either,

but either way he's going to catch flak over it. He's already been criticized by both sides for not having taken a stand to this point. ("C'mon, Senator, you're the big environmentalist.") It's surely politically smarter to avoid taking a stand, but I'm not sure he'll be able to do it; since he's an island resident he'll be expected to carve out a position.

[TayTay]

29. He will have to take a stand on it

It is a major issue, and I think it has federal implications. Kennedy and Romney are against it. But Kerry is the outfront point man on ANWR and other environmental issues. The Wind Farm is a renewable energy issue, but it is also a fisheries issues because there is some evidence that the wind mills willl make navigation more difficult for small fishing boats and such.

Kerry votes no to express doubt about the Wind Mill Farm and the rethugs are all over him about flip-flopping on the environment when he had a chance to stand up for it. (Not fair, but true)

Kerry supports the Wind Farm and he takes crap from a lot of other interests in the state (and he is a national figure now, so this gets out as well.)

Fascinating thing. I just wonder how he is going to vote. And pressure is building for him to take a stand.

[sandnsea]

10. Nobody asked, but...

I disagree, in part. I always saw fire, I always saw somebody who knew just how bad Bush was. I saw it in John and Teresa both. Certainly not on cable interviews, but I saw it in the townhall meetings and heard it from people who had talked to him in off-camera situations.

BUT, I do think he didn't realize just how damned hard it is for people to make ends meet in this country. I don't think he realized how bad the media is. I don't think he realized how horrified we the people are over this Administration. Maybe it's him knowing that we really do care that has given him the energy he needed to fight harder for what's important.

And I think he's running in 2008 and has already made up his mind, provided Teresa is still game, their health holds up, etc. But I don't think much of what he's doing now has to do with that. We really do have to get organized and win some seats back in 2006 because there's so much at stake and that is where I see his priority.

[TayTay]

11. With all humility

I would say that this was true for post June 2004 Kerry.

Us Massholes were wondering where this was before June or so 2004. Our Senator was very buttoned up and, ah, well Senatorial. As I have said many times, this is a different guy than the one who started this campaign in Sept. 2003. We were, without trying to sound too provincial, comparing Kerry from 30 years ago (and of a more recent vintage) to today and what changes have come along the way. (Okay, maybe not Rox. She is far too young to do this. But old farts like Whome and TayTay can do this. Now Whome will kill me for saying that. Sorry Whome. I think I'll go crawl back into a hole now.)

[sandnsea]

12. Like I've said before

Northeasterners seem to be a different breed and enjoy beating up their own, for whatever reason. I've been watching Kerry my whole life and I've never seen him the way you do. I remember him being one of the first to criticize the way Afghanistan was being handled, I remember him being one of the first to criticize Bush and his rush to war and the need for "regime change". I remember the respect everybody in the media had for him, before last year. Well except for Massachusetts media. So I've never gotten what the bitch is anyway.

[whometense]

15. I don't know.

I've watched him for my whole adult life too. And usually with completely uncritical admiration. I genuinely love the guy (and ask anyone - especially my husband and kids - how ferociously I defend him.)

We're talking very very VERY fine points here, which is why I tucked the question inside a thread rather than give it its own. And I didn't intend it to sound critical, either. I do get a strong sense that he has been, in some essential way, liberated, and I love what I'm seeing from him.

But that is not in any way to diminish what he's done before this. He's always been an exemplary human being and public servant. I just think he took certain personal lessons away from the campaign, and is applying them to great effect in the political arena. I think when you've walked through fire (as he surely did) you either burn up or come out the other side a finer version of your essential self.

Kerry has never gotten his due from the Boston media, but what they write doesn't affect my opinion of him in any way. I'm too used to discounting 75% of it off the top. I don't think of it as us Massachusetts people being hard on our own (though we can be). It's just that our point of view is so close up that we see absolutely everything, and in great detail.

[FreedomAngel82]

25. I remember

reading how the first time he ran for Senator he lost and since then he's never lost anything again. Not long ago I read how he did learn from mistakes he made in the campaign. Maybe this time was a trial run for next time. I just hope he still comes on top in 2008 if he does run. If he doesn't he'll still be my favorite and personal hero. :loveya:

[whometense]

13. If the shoe fits...

No need to hide. It's all true. ;-)

[TayTay]

14. Hahahahahaha Sandnsea, you nailed us

But now that the Red Sox have won the World Serious, we will amend our ways and endeavor to give a pat on the back to someone when it is due!

(Oh dear, does this mean we are somewhat dour and navel-gazing by nature. Prozac for everyone.)

I like it when you guys nail me on my bullshit. Especially people who say, stop picking on your Sens. They are miles better than _______ or _________. I guess you are right!

EDIT: I am now officially torn over this. Do we in MA have an inferiority or superiority complex?

[sandnsea]

16. My Senator is Ron Wyden

He wouldn't know a fire if people were running at him with extinguishers!!

Wanna' trade?

You guys have filet minon and lobster and have had for decades!!

I think Kerry has been accustomed to giving eloquent speeches and continued to give them because people didn't pay much attention to those speeches. They were what were expected in the situations. He's finally figured out that everybody is watching everything and there's not much room for eloquent speeches anymore. But I think that's a reflection of him understanding the human environment, not a change in his commitment to the causes he's fought for his whole life.

[rox63]

22. I'm far too young?

I'll be 42 in a couple of months...

But thanks for the compliment! :hi:

[TayTay]

23. Well, I'll be 47 at the end of May

but I remember this all. We talked a lot of politics in my house when I was growing up, so I remember a lot.

I definitely remember all the statewise races from '82 on. My husband was a delegate to several MA state conventions and we talked over everything. I m really looking forward to MY first convention in May. It hope it will be fun and memorable. The funny thing about it is that on it's face, it's dull. (The issues convention's purpose is to amend the MA Dem platform. Okay, I read it and it looks good to me. Time to go home. But the real stuff is about getting Mittens out and reforming the Dem convention rules. That should be fun. Oh and certain pols who will be trolling for supporters. And the parties. I hope I get to meet interesting people.)

[FreedomAngel82]

24. I think you're right

I remember hearing an audio file of Kerry and he's whispering to someone next to him about how bad the Bush administration is and how criminal and he's just getting started. Does anybody have that? I think Kerry probably has a lot of things up his sleeves. I hope so anyways. I hope he runs again too. I'd love that. But again anything is possible and I think it's very smart he's not saying anything and focusing on 2006 and I agree with him. For some reason the media and republicans are bent on Hillary and talking about 2008 when it's only been not even three months since the election! Good grief. Maybe if we get more democrats in 2006 we can press for impeachment hearings. I'd love it if Kerry could head that! What better person?

[karynnj]

17. Going upriver, his sister said they were raised to be political activists

All of these posts are so interesting. I do think you are right that losing has in a sense liberated him. He seemed to get stronger through the primaries and especially in the last month. Since November, the thing that surprises me the most is that he has been so innovative in attempting to retain (or not abandon)the grassroots from the campaign.

I can't think of any losing candidate who had a high (or a positive) profile within a month of the election. (Well, Dole had a high profile, but it was for Pepsi and viagra ads) Between beautifully written comments on issues, emails, parties in several places for people who helped him in 2004, his speeches, and now the Kids first speeches, he is very vocal and visible. Some of the emails almost seem to be from someone leading an activist movement rather than a Senator. I can't think of any congress person who has attempted to get people behind issues and to have them lobby their congress people. He has told people not to trust Washington to lead. This seems almost revolutionary.

I do think that it is coming from a deep sense that the country is going in a dangerous direction and he, for the second time in his life, wants to wake up this country and get people to demand change. This time he fortunate to have a safe Senate seat to argue from. He may feel a responsibility to do as much as he can to position the Democrats for 2006.

For 2008, it might be that because he was the nominee, if he returned to voting to protect his "viability" and avoiding controversy, he would actually diminish his chances. By acting more aggressively, looking for creative ways to accomplish anything in the minority situation he is in, and being a leader of the opposition, he may either make himself unelectable or very popular. Which one depends on whether he can move the country.

[whometense]

18. I love your assessment!

He is combining his high profile, his office, and his beliefs in a way that really is pretty radical, though certainly called for by the times and by the situation we are in.

I completely agree with what you say about 2008. In terms of his viability as a candidate it could spin either way. But I think he sees his path clearly, and that is freeing.

If anyone's found a transcript of the JFK library event, I'd love to see it. I want to look at his comment about militancy again.

[karynnj]

19. I think it becomes a no lose situation

He does what his conscience tells him are the right things to do which has to at least feel like the right thing to do. If a large number of people like his direction and follow, it shows he is a leader and maybe an obvious candidate.

If he can't get people to follow, he will at least have done what he thought was right. (He is rightfully proud of his anti-war stance even though Nixon was still re-elected in 1972 and the war went till 1973.) It will be clear that he shouldn't run for President, but I can't imagine there's anything Kerry could have done in protest that would jeopardize his winning his Senate race.

[whometense]

20. Nothing short of an

unimaginable sharp right turn could jeopardize his senate seat!! We have his back.

[TayTay]

21. That Senate seat is his.

He has earned it. And there is nobody in the State, in either party who has the stature, brains or standing to take it from him. That is a 'take it to the bank' comment. He is, if he so chooses to be, a Senator for life. (I still have hope for a promotion though.)

It is exceedingly strange to talk about Sens. Kerry and Kennedy as both filet mignon and Lobster choices. Some of that is the basic New England tendency to not make too much of yourself. (It is unseemly and sounds like bragging, a big no-no.) It also sounds lordly, like you are looking down on other people (Another big no-no.) Since bragging and being lordly are sort of out of character for us Massholes, we are left with deep reflection, the picking of curious nits and worry. (We are exceedingly good at worry. In fact, we excel at worry.)

I never thought to give any pol floatie hearts before entering this group. It simply isn't done. (However, criticism is the God-given right of every New Englander. It is our sacred birthright and affects everything from the Red Sox to the US Senate.) Well, what would you do if excessive emotionalism, public displays of affection and deeply felt optimism were off limits to you? That's right, you'd be down with the picking of slight nits. But we mean it in a positive way. It's just what we do.

Before JK Forum: I am deeply committed to almost annoucing that I may harbor positive-like feelings for you. There I said it. What a relief. Gawd, that was an emotional release for me. Was it good for you too?

After JK Forum: :loveya: for my esteemed Junior Senator. (Point of order -- I reserve the right to pick nits. It's in my blood.)

EDIT: If it wasn't for that basic New England need to complain about things, we'd all be humming 'God Save the Queen' instead of 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' Complaining, getting mad and then taking radical action are also part of my NE heritage. It works both ways.

[Hans Delbrook]

26. Wow I hadn't thought of it but I think you're right

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose. He's free now - he took that run, I believe he has no regrets and I believe you're right that he feels liberated. That he's tuned out and turned off the consultants and managers. What we're seeing now is Kerry - pure and true. (Never simple!)

Man, if he can feel that way - maybe I can too! And I agree - his manners will always show. If you think back to VVAW - even at his most passionate moments he was always well spoken, well mannered and rational. I have always loved that about him. He will never be a gutter fighter.

Thanks for that insightful analysis! :yourock:

[rox63]

5. The opinions expressed here are not those of this radio station...

I'm not sure how this viewpoint will go over here. But here's my take on the matter.

There were points during the campaign when I was worried. I worried that the young John Kerry, the idealist who helped to end the Vietnam War, was lost to us. That he had been consumed by too many years in the heart of the beast, Capitol Hill. Yes, he was still a fine Senator, an honorable man who would fight for his constituents, and would do what he thought was right. But I wondered where the fire had gone. Did he see just how horribly wrong things had gone? Did he truly understand how greedy, manipulative, slimy, ok downright evil the Bush Crime Family and their Cabal is? And if so, how could he face them with a smile and a handshake?

Well, I've since realized that he is a lot wiser, calmer, and more poised than I could ever be in a similar situation. Seriously, I would have to be restrained to keep from slapping * and his cohorts.

I know that he has wanted to be President since he was a teenager. I suspect he still does, despite the way he was personally trashed by the Bush-Rove political machine throughout the campaign. I think he is mulling over whether he could more effectively fight for what's right from the Senate than he could as President. Because I think what is most important to him is doing what's best for his country.

Because JK is an introvert, I think the campaign took a lot out of him in just the sheer exhaustion of constantly having to be "on". It may also have put a lot of strain on his relationship with Teresa, which we all know is very important to him. So that might take some time to heal.

I think the campaign was a real eye-opener for him, getting him more in touch with how most poor and middle-class people live. I think that's the source of the fire we see in him lately. He simply can not tolerate the level of injustice ordinary citizens are forced to live under. And he will do everything in his power to change things for the better.

So I truly think he is undecided about what he'll personally do about the 2008 campaign. But he definitely wants to keep his options open. Doing what he is doing accomplishes several goals at once. He is doing everything he can to change things for the better. He is keeping higher-than-normal profile, which helps his chances at the Presidency in 2008. And he is opposing those who would hurt our country.

[whometense]

6. Thanks for weighing in, Rox.

So you do see an increased fire in him too?

By the way, I love what you said about him being an introvert, and the toll it takes to be "on" all the time. It's a weird paradox in his case. I think the lack of private quiet time did take a toll on him, but being out there with people energized him at the same time. When he says the campaign changed him, I believe him. I think it really did.

[TayTay]

7. This was great!

Whome and I have noticed the same things. Being in DC for such a long period of time can blunt the edges of idealism for anyone. And we both saw that with Kerry.

We both also see Kerry starting to shake that off. (It started last year.) We just think we see a more energized guy who is critiquing the Pres much in the way the old KErry would have. And I love it.

[rox63]

8. I wish it had happened sooner

I wish this fire we're seeing in him now had shown up earlier in the campaign. It would have slapped down all those people trying to portray him as aloof and out-of-touch. The problem was that he didn't have a national reputation before the convention. The majority of the country didn't have any idea who he was or what he stood for. That's not unusual. How much do most people know about Senators from states they don't live in? Very little, unless they are political junkies like us. Now that they do know something about JK, it's important that he maintain a high profile over the next couple of years, to strengthen his chances in 2008. I hope most people will know by then not to believe the lies, because they'll have seen what he's really made of.

[karynnj]

28. I'm not sure if the country as a whole would have been ready

for a more outspoken JK earlier in the campaign. Some of the polls actually showed that people thought Kerry, not Bush was running a more negative campaign. This most likely reelected that some people actually perceived any criticism of Bush as negative campaigning. The press did not laugh off Gillespie's criticism that in a time of war Kerry's statement that we need "regime change" here was inappropriate, although that WAS the question the election was designed to answer.

That Kerry did not have a national reputation meant that he had to demonstrate that he was Presidential and that people could trust him in a perilous time. (Unfortunately, Bush had to prove neither as he was President) He definitely was the only debtor who was Presidential, brilliant and legally sane in all 3 debates. Being both Presidential and militant at the same time would have been difficult to do. He did attack Bush hard, but in very polite language.

During the last 2 weeks of the campaign, he actually did sound like the "militant" JK on one issue - not securing Al Quaa. His outrage when he said that these explosives were "now killing our kids" was so obviously real. (I liked that he used "kids" vs "soldiers" ) The initial Republican/media attempt to still this issue failed when a local TV station had film showing that nothing was secured several weeks after the invasion. If the Bin Laden tape wouldn't have surfaced this would likely have been the issue the campaign would have ended on. (Although, the Republicans would probably have put up some false issue that last week-end)