JK offers major legislation package to help Katrina victims!

[kerrygoddess]

John Kerry Offers Major Package of Legislation to Help Small Businesses, Others Devastated by Hurricane Katrina
September 9th, 2005

A few days ago we heard from John Kerry as he reached out to his email list and asked for supporters to donate to the Red Cross to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Kerry said in his email, “I plan to work in coming days to find more ways that we can help joining with my colleagues in the Senate to support those who have lost so much and those working so hard to help them.”

I just received the following Press Release from John Kerry’s Senate office, detailing what John Kerry has been working on in the past few days. This legislation addresses far reaching aid that the Bush administration has neglected to address.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: John Kerry Offers Major Package of Legislation to Help Small Businesses, Others Devastated by Hurricane Katrina

WASHINGTON - With estimates that more than 400,000 jobs will be lost as a result of Hurricane Katrina, Senator John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) today unveiled a package of emergency economic aid and federal assistance for small businesses and others reeling from the destruction in the Gulf Coast.

“It is clear that our government failed the people of the Gulf Coast. In time, those responsible will be held accountable for what has gone right and what has gone wrong. Right now, we need to make up for lost time and help any way we can, and that means targeting the fastest relief possible,” said Senator Kerry. “Every small business we can help will help a hard-working family start to put the pieces of their lives back together. We should help small businesses rebuild themselves and these communities.”

MORE - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=484

[ginnyinWI]

1. that's why we haven't seen much of him

He's busy doing his job--trying to make up for the sorry botch the * administration is making of the relief and rescue of New Orleans.

He's got his priorities in order: help the people first, hold the administration accountable later. (leave it to the media, for now, which seems to be doing its job for once)

[WildEyedLiberal]

2. THATS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!!!!!!

WHY WONT HE GET UP ON TEEVEE AND CALL BUSH A LIER?????????????????????


HES DOING NOTHING THAT DLC PROWAR APPEASER!!!!!!!!! I HOPE HE RESIGNS BECAUZE WE DONT NEED ACTUAL BILLS OR POLICYS BUT WE NEED SOMEONE TO GET ON TEEVEE AND CALL BUSH AN ASSHOLE BECAUZE THATS WHAT REAL LEADERS DO!!

IM DONE WITH KERRY SKULL N BONEZ RICH WINDSURFING ELITIST ALOOF LOOSER!!!!!1 LETS GET A CANDIDATE WHO STANDS FOR PROGRESSIVE PRINCIPLES AND IS A WINNER LIKE KUCINICH OR CONYERS OR RON PAUL OR PAT BUCHANAN!!!!!!!!!!!!111 DOWN WITH PROWAR WEAK SPINLESS DEMS!!!!!!!!!11



:sarcasm:


Sorry, I've seen WAY too many of these assholes today. :argh:

[whometense]

4. Someone's been spending WAY

too much time over in GD.

It's even affected your caps lock and spelling. :D

Take a deep breath, WEL, and go look at the sexy JK pictures. :hug:

[WildEyedLiberal]

5. MY SPELING IS A RED HERING AND YOU KNOW IT

JUST BECAUZE I CANT RITE OR SPEL GOOD DOESNT MEAN THAT I AM RONG YOU DLC PROWAR BUSH APEESER!!!!!!!!!!!!!11




Okay, that might have gone overboard - I haven't seen spelling THAT bad outside of FR. My first post, however, I feel was an accurate representation of the lefty freeper moonbats and their lack of coherent communication abilities or critical thinking processes. I wish they would all go wring their hands somewhere else, like that other board comprised of lefty freeper moonbats which Shall Not Be Named.

*cough* Anyway... you mentioned sexy JK pix?? :evilgrin: Donde está Señor Sexy???? Yo lo quiero el Senatore caliente!

[whometense]

7. TO THE RESCUE!!!

AND



whew! If I smoked, I'd need a cigarette.

[Mass]

8. Thanks I needed that

Got into an argument with somebody on GDP who clearly thinks Edwards is the only one who can save the world and that everybody who does not like him is against the working class.

[whometense]

10. Well, Edwards seems like a nice enough guy,

but frankly I think he's inexperienced and, um, not as deep. If it was a choice between Edwards and Bush, I'd choose Edwards in a nanosecond. But between Edwards and Kerry - you must be kidding.

Besides, no one ever seems to remember that Kerry loaded trucks in the summer. Isn't that working class? It wasn't for a lark. He needed the spending money.

[Mass]

11. I normally dont say what I think about it, but these two threads go to me

Asking who would benefit from Katrina: Edwards or Kerry, and then making it clear that she thought it was Edwards because he was "such a decent man".

I regret to have done that now, but this was such a Kerrybashing over there that I could not resist.

[WildEyedLiberal]

9. Oh GOOD CHRIST whome

That was like the Greatest Hits of the Hotpix!! You picked some of the hottest of the hott!!! :loveya: I only must add:



and this one





and this one




and this one





Oh, Lord... I want him inmypants RIGHT NOW. :evilgrin:

I second that cigarette :smoke:

[whometense]

12. oh. my. god.

yes, those are totally amazing. :smoke:

[WildEyedLiberal]

13. I LOVE that magazine cover

I wish I had a real copy of it.

How about some of THIS for lunch today?




MMMMMMMM..... tasty. :evilgrin:

[whometense]

14. So's this:

I meant to post the jeans pic, but I think it's only on my home computer. :-(

[Island Blue]

26. MMMMMMMM indeed. Kerry in jeans.

Not THAT'S what I call a nice legislative package! :evilgrin:

[jillan]

34. Those are without a doubt the nicest jeans I have ever laid my eyes upon!

I have not seen that pic before. Looking at that pic, I almost forgot what this thread was about.

I say Kerry should wear those jeans more often. He definitely would win over all of the woman voters..and some of the men.

[kerrygoddess]

17. Thanks Whome -- those photos

coupled with what JK did today, made my day!

[Mass]

19. Bad day today - they even went after Teddy Kennedy.

[whometense]

21. Really?????

Teddy?? What did he do?

[Mass]

23. Here is the thread

I am not familiar with hte issue, so I cant answer.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2077441

antigop Donating Member (417 posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Sep-09-05 05:20 PM
Original message
How bad is it when we can't even count on Ted Kennedy anymore?


Edited on Fri Sep-09-05 05:22 PM by antigop

http://help.senate.gov/pen.htm

The Senate Help Committee passed a pension "reform" bill yesterday.
Kennedy (along with Hillary and others) voted FOR it. Kennedy was a co-sponsor.

One of the so-called "highlights" of the bill:

"Clarify the law governing hybrid pension plans, both retroactively and prospectively"

THEY LEGALIZED CASH BALANCE PENSION PLANS!

Harkin was the only Dem on the committee to vote NO.

<emphasis, not shouting>
THEY WILL NEVER BECOME THE MAJORITY PARTY IF THEY KEEP VOTING LIKE REPUBLICANS.

[whometense]

25. I'm not familiar with it either,

but if Teddy voted for it he must have had his reasons. Oh yeeah, right. I forgot. He votes like a republican. Silly me. :eyes:

[karynnj]

35. Many companies already switched

(Warning: I think this is basically correct for AT&T, but it could differ in how it was implemented elsewhere. Take with a grain od salt - this is from memory from about 1998.)


Several major companies announced that they were switching to the cash balance plans in the mid to late 90s (AT&T and IBM among them). The difference between them is the cash balance plans place money into accounts, the accounts increase in value like 401ks. An employee can keeps the account if he leaves the company.

Older pension plans were defined benefits. These plans grew very slowly in the first several years of time with the company and added much more when you had a lot of years with the company. These plans then typically paid monthly pensions when you retired. If you left before the pension was vested (typically 10 years), you usually lost it.

We were suspicious when AT&T sent a company wide announcement positioned cost benefit plans positively. Their point was that the anount contributed each year depended only on the amount of money made in the year - whether it was your first year or your thirty fifth one. So in the early years, the amount the company contributed for your pension went up faster than under defined benefits. It was also portable - you could take it if you left the company.

Under defined benefits, your future monthly pension went up as you worked longer. If you worked to 65 (or some other age), that was the pension you got each month. The company guarenteed the amount you would get - they took all the risk. With the cash balance plan, if the investment fund you chose went down, you had less money. You take the risk.

Some time in the either the late 90s or early 2000s, a class action suit was filed by IBM employees claiming that the change broke the promises made when they started their careers.

If someone were just starting with a company and and would likely switch jobs often, the cash balance could possibly be better - if the market over your life was overall positive. If you had already worked 20 years in a company but were not of retirement age yet, the net result was that your pension would be nowhere near as good as it would have been under the old plan - even if the market were ok.

The days of working for a company for life and then retiring with a defined benefits pension that would replace much of your salary are gone. There is way less security now.

[whometense]

20. Nothing like a good Kerry pic

to bring a smile!!

Still can't find that jeans pic.

[Vektor]

37. OMG pic #1 PANTS o_0

UNGH.

[whometense]

40. yeah.

I hear you. No sock, either.

[TayTay]

3. Thanks KG!

I saw this posted on GDP and it got flamed by the people who want Kerry to challenge the entire Bush Admin to a duel or something. (I think a duel would be a good idea. Although I no longer want John Edwards as a second. Maybe Clark or Durbin instead.) Then you get that pic of Kerry, with the billowing white shirt blowing in the slight wind and That Friggin Idiot with the drool falling out of his mouth, on the dueling grounds facing each other. (Hmmm, actually, I kind of like this. I'm a sicko/prevert.)

Anyway, I loved this action. It is real, will help actual real people and is good legislation. It is positive action, achieved in only a few days time and will result in helping people get back on their feet sooner after the devastating disaster.

Hmmm, now back to that mental image of the duel. Where was I? Oh yeah, billowing white shirt in the wind......

[whometense]

6. ooooh...

You made me swoon.

Ever see the Colin-Firth-as-Darcy Pride and Prejudice?? His Darcy is sooooooo Kerrylike (only without the goofy humor showing). There's this scene where he dives into a lake dressed in a billowing white shirt..and comes out dripping wet...

...mmmm, pardon my LLL moment. I read somewhere that videotapes were breaking by the hundreds in that particular spot, as they were rewound and rewound and rewound...

[beachmom]

15. Yeah that was in Bridget Jones' The Edge of Reason

Colin Firth is hot. Unfortunately, guys, the metaphor falls apart. Mr. Darcy was a man of property, and didn't HAVE to work for a living. In that sense, people have got JK all wrong. The atmospherics around him were very Edith Wharton/Jane Austen, but in reality, he is from the middle class. Since Teresa comes from a doctor's family (not an aristocracy), I always thought that that aspect of their pasts combined with either having or being around money makes it so that they have a lot in common. Being of the aristocracy, yet not part of it, quite. In a sentence, Teresa came INTO old money and Kerry came FROM old money, that was no longer there, so that he had to work for a living. This makes her a far more suitable choice than his first wife. Both in Sense and Sensibility. Okay, I'll stop with the Jane Austen talk . . .

[whometense]

16. No! Don't stop!! :-)

You're talking to a Jane Austen fanatic here. I can never get enough Jane Austen talk.

I never saw Bridget Jones' "The Edge of Reason" because I loved the first movie so much and heard such awful things about the second one. I didn't realize that clip from P&P was in it!

(I agree, by the way, that Colin Firth is HOT. He has that smoldering thing down to a fine art.)

As for Kerry-as-Darcy, I don't think so much about the money or class. To me it's more about a proud, smart, judgmental man who meets his match. If you take the money and class out of the equation that could be John and Teresa.

I was in a Jane Austen book group where there was a lot of discussion over which Austen hero was our favorite. I admit to a weakness for Emma's Mr. Knightly, but Mr. Darcy is a close second.

[TayTay]

36. I tmade me swoon too!

I started writing that as pure snark and then, ahm, I kind of liked it. Especially the billowing white shirt, with the nice big cuffs (or a poet's shirt, ye gods indeed.) Awh, mama, that is one hot pic.

I think I feel a story coming on, my muse done squatted on my head again.

I love the description of Colin Firth (oh is he ever hot.)

[kerrygoddess]

18. Can some post this on DKos for me?

Kerrycrat...

[whometense]

22. I'll be happy to

post and run, if you don't mind that. I can't stand hanging out there these days.

On edit: Ok, done. Link here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/9/18117/21412

[kerrygoddess]

24. Awesome!

Thanks! I am so proud of JK today!

[Noisy Democrat]

28. Sorry I didn't see this

before I posted a thingee on this thread to tell people about your diary. I'm glad you're getting the word out.

[Noisy Democrat]

27. Also please REC whometense's DKos diary

This is great news and needs to get out more. Whometense has done the honors this time of wading into the fray over at DailyKos: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/9/18117/21412#4

[politicasista]

29. I would but I am scared....

because I posted something Kerry related at an urban site yesterday, but it got slammed with "I like Kerry, but he was a weak candidate" or "He is a pussy, loser," and so on. It's really hard because peeps will say "he should have been doing or mentioning this during the campaign" ya da ya.

Any suggestions?

[Noisy Democrat]

31. Just hit the Recommend button

No one will bite you. I promise. :) You don't have to leave comments either.

[whometense]

33. Thanks for your help

and for your comments.

I just copied kerrygoddess's post, so I don't feel any particular ownership, but it's a good story.

[Mass]

30. Recommended. but I did not post

[whometense]

32. Don't blame you.

There are only 5 comments so far, but most are strongly positive. Unless people are changing their usernames, it seems like more and more Kerry supporters are emerging from the great silence to express their opinions.

I particularly loved this one:

Let me say this, (none / 0)

and I mean it, stop the Kerry attacks, hear that stop it. If he or any Democrat is speaking out and trying to be pro-active, then shut up and let them lead. That is what Kerry, Hillary, Reid, Pelosi, Joementum, Dean, Biden, Bayh, Clark and company should be doing. Speaking out laying out a plan and taking Bushco to task. People died on his watch, he is the target, he and his flunkies!!!

Stop the dam firing in circle shit that we do!! Stop it and get involved!!! Thank you!

"These guys are biggest bunch of lying crooks I have ever seen" John Kerry

by alnc on Fri Sep 9th, 2005 at 18:15:58 EST

Was it one of you guys??

[Vektor]

38. I'd like him to offer me his "package" too.

(Cue Beavis and Butthead chortling.)

[TayTay]

39. Hi Vek

We decided to have him cloned. Pacakges for everyone, in a true emocratic way.

[Vektor]

41. I like the sound of that.

Since there's an unlimited supply, I'll take three.

[TayTay]

42. Three is good. Nice symmetrical number

I like that. I'll take two. I don't want to be greedy and I am on heart medication.