Boston area folk: Friday, Jan. 19: Small Biz Conference

[MH1]

http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/corner/procurement1_07_agenda.html

Agenda

Second Annual Massachusetts Procurement Conference and Business Expo

Northeastern University’s Curry Center, 360
Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115
January 19, 2007
Sign up for the event.

>> Participant Information

>> Exhibitors Information

8:00 am Exhibitor setup (Curry Hall)

3:30 pm Remarks from Senator John Kerry (Curry Hall)

Workshops will take place from 11 am to 5pm. Details to follow.

Event flyer: http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/corner/docs/Event_flyer.pdf

Participant info: http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/corner/procurement1_07_participant.html

Participants

You are cordially invited to Senator John F. Kerry’s Second Annual Massachusetts Procurement Conference and Business Expo


Co-sponsored by Northeastern University, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the New England Minority Supplier Development Council, the Center for Women and Enterprise, the New England Council, and the Smaller Business Association of New England.

The Honorable Mayor Thomas M. Menino will be on hand to kick off the conference with Senator Kerry at 10 a.m.

January 19, 2007
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

At Northeastern University’s Curry Center, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115

Maybe I should just give in and move to Massachusetts.

[whometense]

1. We should only

be so lucky. :-)

[Democrafty]

2. So jealous!

This small businesswoman will be there in spirit.

[kerrygoddess]

3. I think I might

give in and move back there myself. It's home for me anyway!

[MH1]

4. Kick - who's going?

:-)

[MarjorieG]

5. Still think small biz needs pushing

I'm so overwhelmed with e-voting, but I haven't forgotten wanting to focus on this. My hubby, who I'd be volunteering and works 2 1/2 jobs already, is a business writer. If we can get stories, like those micro-loan applicants you mentioned, where would they be most beneficial and not already placed? Pitching the Senator and House Chairs, Kerry and Nydia, and utilizing press releases. We'd write, but he could edit and certainly add essential content.

[TayTay]

6. He may have to cancel out

Depends on what happens with the ethics bill right now.

[beachmom]

7. What's happening right now?

Also, what about that non-binding resolution to say the Senate disapproves of the escalation? I heard McConnell is threatening to filibuster and could very well get the votes to do it.

[TayTay]

8. As of right now, the Ethics bill is dead.

McConnell outwitted and outplayed Harry Reid, as I feared he would. McConnell inserted a poison pill into the process. The Kentucky Minority Leader, much as I dislike him, is smart as a tack and is utterly ruthless in how he works in the Senate and he is 100% partisan toward Republicans. He basically beat Harry Reid up and took his lunch money this week, then kicked him in the head as Reid lay bleeding on the ground and then went out and went to Church to celebrate. McConnell is a real 'piece of work.'

The bill is stalled over the insertion of an amendment to give Pres Bush a line item veto. (BTW, remember Sen. Kerry favors this. Most Democrats do not.) McConnell has argued that the line-item veto is an effective buffer against earmark abuse and that it needs to be in any 'real reform legislation,' or else that legislation will be useless. I don't think McConnell cares two shits about ethics or reform (he is one corrupt bastid, after all.) However, this was a chance to derail the very first piece of legislation of the Democratic Senate and McConnell played this for all it was worth. He co-sponsored the bill, then used surrogates like DeMint and Coburn to add unpalatable things to the bill and to provisions specifically designed to make Harry Reid look like a hypocrite. IT worked. McConnell is off polishing his halo while Reid and the Dems can't get an ethics bill through the Senate.

Right now, the ethics bill is dead. This is bad.

[beachmom]

9. Why can't those amendments be voted down?

Or are all the Rs for a line item veto?

[Mass]

10. I was wondering.

It seems weird that Reid would not let this go to a vote if the votes were not there.

Whether it was the GOP fault or not, it will be spun as sign of weakness for Reid, if he cannot win the first bill he puts on the floor (and a significant one as well, because ethics was one of the reasons the GOP lost the election).

While I agree this has little to do on this bill, I could not get he would let this go to a vote when he realized he did not have the votes.

Coleman was the only one voting for cloture, and Hagel did not vote.

[TayTay]

11. filibuster

McConnell definitely controls enough Repub votes to filibuster the whole thing, which would be an enormous embarrassment for Reid.

[wisteria]

12. mcConnell has Reid's and many other Dem's number, so to speak.

Many dem's don't want real reforms, they only want to make it look like they want them. Unfortunately, Reid got caught because he isn't honest and he isn't slick enough to out maneuver McConnell.

[beachmom]

13. Here's an article about it. Josh Marshall has framed this as

the Republicans don't want ethics reform. Well, no they don't, but Reid is hardly blameless here.

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/16483891.htm

Byrd seemed to interfere with a possible deal to go around it, because he was opposed to a line item veto under any circumstances.

[MH1]

14. Sigh. This version of LIV is **NOT** bad.

(dons body armor, shouts "cover me!" while darting across the line of fire...)

The dispute was over an attempt by Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., to get a vote on a modified version of a line-item veto. It would allow the president to single out spending items for elimination. Under Gregg's proposal, Congress would have to agree to the items expunged.

So, that means the President (who will not always be named "Bush", and hopefully will not always be a puppet of the right wing, but hey, in a democracy we all get the gubmint we deserve, right?) gets to point to an item in a bill and say, hey y'all, I want to see an upperdown vote on this heah piece of work. And then the Senate has to have an upperdown vote on that item, putting all the Senators on record one way or the other on it.

Would it slow down the Senate? Sure. (that would be a problem, how?)
Would it bring more transparency to the bill process, and require more items to be voted on based on their own merits? That's how I read it.

For what it's worth, it's discovering little things like this position on the part of our esteemed Junior Senator from the Bay State, that puts a little smile on my face and lets me know the guy really is on the same page that I am.

But, knowing that Line Item Veto is anathema to most Democrats (at least as long as a Democrat isn't in the White House)...

:hide:

[TayTay]

15. In the MA Daybook from the AP

8 a.m. - 4 p.m. SEN. KERRY'S SECOND ANNUAL MASSACHUSETTS PROCUREMENT CONFERENCE
AND BUSINESS EXPO _ Sen. John Kerry hosts the Second Annual Massachusetts
Procurement Conference and Business Expo, which aims to help small businesses in
Massachusetts obtain federal contracts.

Location: Northeastern University, Boston.

Contact: Brigid O'Rourke, 617-565-8252.
*********************

3:15 p.m. GOV. PATRICK ATTENDS SEN. KERRY'S PROCUREMENT CONFERENCE _ Gov. Deval
Patrick attends Sen. John Kerry's 2nd Annual Procurement Conference at
Northeastern University.

Location: Curry Center, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston.

Contact: Kyle Sullivan, Cyndi Roy, Jose Martinez at 617-725-4025.

[whometense]

16. Looks like we can expect an NECN

report on this by tonight.

[TayTay]

17. Yup. 2 good Democrats

acting in unison to help Massachusetts Small Businesses get the help they need to navigate the maze of paperwork in loans and grant money.

How nice!

[whometense]

18. Video up now

http://www.boston.com/partners/worldnow/necn.html?catID=80778&clipid=1183550&autoStart=true&mute=false&continuous=true

Not enough JK, but a very positive story!!!!! ;-)

[wisteria]

19. Thanks, even a little Kerry is a good thing! n/t