Kerry to speak on competitiveness at Chamber luncheon

[Mass]

First speech in the series Kerry announced last Monday.

This time, it will be in Boston - Who knows, may be Boston TVS will find a few seconds to spare reporting this.

http://www.eyewitnessnewstv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3897095&nav=F2DO

BOSTON Senator John Kerry is the featured speaker today at a luncheon of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
Kerry's office is touting the speech as a "major address" on the subject of "competitiveness."

In a recent speech at Brown University, Kerry blasted President Bush for his response to the devastation from Hurricane Katrina.

He's also been outspoken on his opposition to John Roberts to succeed William Rehnquist as chief justice of the Supreme Court. Roberts is expected to be confirmed this week.

Kerry's speech is scheduled for noon at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel.

[TayTay]

1. Competitiveness

Interesting. This brings together a lot of subjects. Education, labor law and a real reform of the tax laws all feed into this, as does so much more. (Competitiveness is a great umbrella topic, it covers a lot.)

It wil be interesting to see the speech. It should cover the fact that actual competitiveness has weakened under *. The Sen. also had some great proposals for bettering the American business competitive environment. I'm looking forward to reading the remarks.

[TayTay]

2. The Note (Which I generally find very snarky) says:

At 12:10 pm ET, Sen. John Kerry will take the stage at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel to address the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. Kerry is expected to talk about "competitiveness for the global economy" and will key off what he sees as the Bush Administration's lack of planning with both post-war Iraq and Katrina to suggest that the President is also without a plan to make the United States more competitive in the global economy.

Good. This makes all the speeches form a thematic whole. I like that.

[Mass]

3. From First Read.

At 12 noon, John Kerry addresses a Boston business group on the topic of competitiveness, a theme we’re pretty certain is going to figure prominently in the 2008 presidential campaign, in part because it gives Democrats a platform on which they can align with business interests — and sometimes against social conservatives on issues like the teaching of evolution. Kerry spokesperson David Wade tells First Read that Kerry will focus on improving education and on “removing roadblocks to competitiveness,” including energy and health care costs. Wade says Kerry will call for “shelving tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.” And excerpts suggest that Kerry will again attack the Administration’s handling of Katrina.

[TayTay]

4. Nice. Again, this makes for a thematic whole

I like this approach. The central attack positions are constantly and consistently mentioned and the positive policy changes are linked into a whole. Good. This is what should be done.

[Mass]

5. delete - wrong thread

[Mass]

6. Kerry urges national focus on global competition

First account of the luncheon - Short, but interesting until somebody posts the text of the speech.

http://www.wpri.com/Global/story.asp?S=3899978&nav=F2DO

BOSTON Senator John Kerry says Hurricane Katrina exposed the nation's lack on preparation for a natural disaster and he worries the United States is similarly unprepared for global competition with the likes of India or China.

The 2004 Democratic presidential nominee told a lunchtime crowd at the Boston Chamber of Commerce that the country needs to invest more in so-called building blocks like education and spend more time in eliminating what Kerry terms roadblocks presented by such things as soaring health care costs.

Kerry also is calling for a windfall profits tax on oil companies in the aftermath of soaring energy prices. And he wants Harvard and M-I-T to spend some of their endowments to support U-S-born math and science students.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[TayTay]

7. Oooh, Make Harvard spend some of their 40bil endowment

That is a good idea. Harvard has more money in the bank than a few small countries produce in a year. They ought to step up to the plate and fund some engineering and sciene students. MIT has all that money coming in from their unique business deals over products and such created at MIT. They should do this.

Good idea. Can't wait to hear Harvard explain why they can't spend any of their endowment on, yuck, students.

Oh, and why can't we get local coverage of this. What, does Rhode Island have 3 Senators. Geesh!

[whometense]

8. I don't know if you saw

my comment in the other thread, but they did a story about it on NECN. Maybe they'll repeat it.

Did you see it? They just showed it again at 7:15.

[globalvillage]

9. The text is at his senate website.

John Kerry Addresses American Competitiveness

"We must retool our nation to maintain our position in a global economy we largely created. America will not have national security without economic security."

BOSTON -- In remarks today to business leaders at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Senator John Kerry addressed America's ability to compete in the global economy. In his remarks, Senator Kerry emphasized that the current approach is only making the U.S. more beholden to countries like China and Saudi Arabia without giving American businesses any advantage in the global race to success. Kerry laid out a national strategy that offers Americans building blocks -- skills in science and math, affordable college education and a national research and development strategy -- while removing road blocks to competitiveness like soaring energy and high health care costs.
Senator Kerry's remarks as prepared for delivery follow. _________________________________________________________________________________

In the last weeks America has experienced the consequences of the failure to heed warning signs of impending or potential disaster. The nation has been painfully reminded of the price we pay - all of us - in lives and in dollars - for waiting too long to address critical challenges that are right before our eyes if we bother to look.

Sometimes these warning signs are so big and bright and alarming that they just can't be ignored. I'll never forget as a teenager standing in a field in October of 1957 watching the first man made spacecraft streak across the night sky. The conquest, of course, was Soviet - and while not everyone got to see that unmanned craft pass overhead at 18,000 miles per hour that night - before long every American knew the name Sputnik. We knew we weren't competing hard enough. We knew we had been caught unprepared. And we knew that failure to maintain our supremacy in science and technology was not simply a blow to our pride and prosperity; it was a blow to our strength and security as a nation in a dangerous world.

It was no accident that America's most immediate response to Sputnik was to enormously expand our national investment in higher education, with special attention to math and science. And it was no accident that the legislation taking this step was entitled the "National Defense Education Act."

Today, we recognize Sputnik as the symbol of an awakening of our country to a new competitive challenge. And now, the question staring us in the eye is whether the number "9/11" and the name "Katrina" will be remembered the same way by future generations of Americans. In fact, we've heard it said that 9/11 "changed everything" for government. I think it's more accurate to say that it changed too little.

more...

http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=246443

[globalvillage]

10. And yet, here is a front page story from Sun Post Gazette

on my HS alma mater's plans for a four day school week. Once again, under this admin, education is the victim instead of the solution.

:cry:


Brownsville pondering four-day school week
Sunday, September 25, 2005

By Cindi Lash, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

<snip>

"How great would it be to save on our operating costs by closing down the Monday of every week?'' said Golembiewski, a graduate of this district about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh and its superintendent for two years.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05268/577462.stm

[karynnj]

11. It's appalling that they

talk about the cost savings for the school,
the impact on parents,
but neglect to say what the impact is on education.

It might not be negative at the high school level where the longer class period may be a plus. Some topics that would have taken 2 days, might be doable in one longer period.

[globalvillage]

12. This is not a wealthy district.

Some of these kids get their only good meal at school. They will go hungry and cold at home on Mondays rather than getting an education and a halfway decent meal at school. And the last thing the HS kids need is another day 'hanging out'. They need more guidance, not less.
Education is the only way out for these children, the majority of them poor. Believe me, I know. Sen Kerry knows that, too. Sadly, the * admin does not.

[whometense]

13. I'm sure * would say

that it was very poor planning on the part of their parents not to have managed to be rich. :sarcasm:

[TayTay]

14. I'm sorry for you and for those kids

Educatio of the poor is not a priority for this Admin. And NCLB is a cruel joke that does nothing to advance real education.

Gawd, when I read Kerry's speech I realize just how awful things are here. We don't prioritize anything, except those damn tax cuts for the rich. It's just an outrage.

Of course, that said, I did love this bashing part of the speech:

And the current Administration's response to Katrina is a perfect microcosm of its response to our country's economic challenges. There really is no mistaking the pattern of willful negligence. When a crisis approaches, do the bare minimum, if that. When all hell breaks loose, shift the blame to others. When public action is needed, ignore fiscally responsible options and instead borrow lavishly from foreign creditors - the friendly bankers of Beijing and Riyadh. If innovative policies are called for, simply dust off every ideological gimmick you can find: vouchers, sub-minimum wages, "ownership" initiatives, corporate subsidies and wholesale abandonment of environmental regulations. And above all, don't forget the prime directive, the philosopher's stone, the alpha and omega, the answer to every question: never stop cutting taxes on the wealthiest individuals and the most powerful corporations, come hell or high water, in war as in peace, and in debt as well as in surplus.

I really thought most of the speech was a call to positive action before it's too late. But this passage was really good.

[karynnj]

16. Wow! I don't care how long the sentences are, this is spectacular.

I can see why the Republicans want to try to get rid of him - every word in this hits home. With this series of speeches, our shadow President is doing what the President isn't; giving detailed information and solutions to big vision problems. I doubt Bush could read this speech, much less write it.

[karynnj]

15. You caught me not thinking at all

I incorrectly thought of it with regards to my own kids' school. None of these kids will go hungry, though some will lack guidance. I should have realized that this was clearly a very desparate step.

Thinking only of academics, I immediately thought of comments last Saturday at a back to school day. The high school has 4 days of block scheduling with 4 of the 8 periods meeting T/Th and W/F having the other half. Monday has all 8. Monday is also a half hour longer. The teachers find the block days with the longer periods far more productive.

But I see what you mean that the school serves far more purposes than education alone. Sorry for my thoughtlessness I should have realized that for a district to think of this, it was an attempt to deal with a very very bad situation.

[globalvillage]

18. No need, but tell me how spooky this is

"I saw cases in West Virginia, here in the United States, where children took home part of their school lunch in order to feed their families because I don't think we're meeting our obligations toward these Americans."
"I'm not satisfied when the Soviet Union is turning out twice as many scientists and engineers as we are."
"I'm not satisfied when many of our teachers are inadequately paid, or when our children go to school part-time shifts. I think we should have an educational system second to none."

-JFK (The first one)
Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard M. Nixon
First Joint Radio-Television Broadcast
Monday, September 26, 1960


I listened to the Kennedy-Nixon debates today (anniversary) and although I've heard it many times before, I almost dropped my coffee cup this time.
My former school district is about a half hour north of WVA.
Does this tell you anything about how far we haven't come in the last 45 years?

[Island Blue]

17. Wow, a four day school week is a very bad idea

The hours between 3 - 6 p.m. are already a "danger zone" for high school kids. Giving them an entire extra day would most likely result in increased teen pregnancies, increased teen drug use and an increased misdemeanor crime rate among teens. Not to mention of course a decrease in educational standards. (I work with "at-risk" kids and see them coming through Juvenile Court all the time because they got in trouble when they had too much time on their hands.)

It's really sad that due to the Bush* Administration's poor handling of EVERYTHING, local officials are faced with making these choices. I heard the other day (can't even remember where it was now, not locally but maybe in the state) that a school district was going to be closing on Monday and Tuesday of next week so that the buses wouldn't have to run and they could therefore save that money. These are very sad times indeed we live in.

[whometense]

19. Boy, do I agree.

The teen years are tough enough without all that unsupervised time.

[Mass]

20. If anything, the school year is very poorly designed

In my kids school, they dont really have time to eat. 25 mn somewhere between 10:00 am and 12:30 am depending on the grade, somewhere in the middle of 6 hours of classes. They are out of school at 2:15 pm with very little after school activities from middleschool up.

In addition, the repartition of vacations throughout the year (2 months and a half in summer time, a few one week breaks throughout the year) are known to be extremely bad for educational reasons. The kids are too tired during the school year and forget everything during summer vacations.

Many European and Asian schoolsystems now use a system of 6 weeks of school, 2 weeks of vacation, with shorter summer breaks and it is a lot better for learning.

[TheDonkey]

21. wish I could hear him give it

reading speech text is not that thrilling for me haha. He needs some more facetime on CSPAN.