Jackson Free Press

"/> John Kerry has never forgotten the lessons he learned as a young man — lessons that have been strengthened in his 19 years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has learned that America must work with other countries to achieve our goals and the world's common goals. From his ground-breaking work on the Iran-Contra scandal to his leadership on global AIDS, John Kerry has distinguished himself as one of our nation's most respected voices on national security and international affairs.

As chairman of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, he worked closely with John McCain to learn the truth about American soldiers missing in Vietnam and to normalize relations with that country. As the ranking Democrat on the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, he is a leading expert on that region, including North Korea.
Years before September 11th, John Kerry wrote The New War, an in-depth study of America's national security in the 21st Century. He worked on a bipartisan basis to craft the American response to September 11th and has been a leading voice on American policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, the war on terrorism, the Middle East peace process and Israel's security.

John F. Kerry was born on December 11, 1943 at Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Colorado. His father, Richard, volunteered in the Army Air Corps and flew DC-3's and B-29's as a test pilot during World War II. His mother, Rosemary, was a lifelong community activist and devoted parent. She was a Girl Scout leader for 50 years, and one of her proudest possessions was her 50 year Girl Scout pin. She was an environmentalist and a community activist.
Not long after John Kerry was born, the family settled in Massachusetts. Growing up there, his parents taught him the values of service and responsibility and the blessings of his Catholic faith, lessons John Kerry carries with him to this day.
Because his father was a Foreign Service Officer in the Eisenhower administration, John Kerry traveled a lot when he was young. On these trips, he learned firsthand what makes America a leader in the world - our optimism and our democratic values. And he learned that nations across the world share many common goals and that the best way to achieve them is through building strong alliances.

As he was graduating from Yale, John Kerry volunteered to serve in Vietnam, because, as he later said, "it was the right thing to do." He believed that "to whom much is given, much is required." And he felt he had an obligation to give something back to his country. John Kerry served two tours of duty. On his second tour, he volunteered to serve on a Swift Boat in the river deltas, one of the most dangerous assignments of the war. His leadership, courage, and sacrifice earned him a Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V, and three Purple Hearts.
But John Kerry's wartime experience taught him a painful lesson that he could not forget, even after he returned home. In the midst of battle, he had seen the lives of his fellow soldiers, his friends, put at risk because some leaders in Washington were making bad decisions. He decided he had a responsibility to his friends still serving, the friends he had lost, and his country, to help restore responsible leadership in America.

So he decided to become active as a Vietnam Veteran Against the War (VVAW). He became a spokesman for VVAW and later co-founded Vietnam Veterans of America. Only 27 years old, John Kerry sounded this call to reason in April 1971 when he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and posed the powerful question, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"

Later, John Kerry accepted another tour of duty - to serve in America's communities. After graduating from Boston College Law School in 1976, John Kerry went to work as a top prosecutor in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He took on organized crime and put behind bars "one of the state's most notorious gangsters, the number two organized crime figure in New England." He fought for victims' rights and created programs for rape counseling.

John Kerry was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1982. In that office, he organized the nation's Governors to combat the acid rain that was polluting lakes, rivers, and the nation's water supply. Two years later, he was elected to the United States Senate and he has won reelection three-times since. He is now serving his fourth term, after winning again in 2002.

John Kerry entered the Senate with a reputation as a man of conviction. He confirmed that reputation by taking bold decisions on important issues. He helped provide health insurance for millions of low-income children. He has fought to improve public education, protect our natural environment, and strengthen our economy. He has been praised as one of the leading environmentalists in the Senate, who stopped the Bush-Cheney plan to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

John Kerry has never forgotten the lessons he learned as a young man — lessons that have been strengthened in his 19 years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has learned that America must work with other countries to achieve our goals and the world's common goals. From his ground-breaking work on the Iran-Contra scandal to his leadership on global AIDS, John Kerry has distinguished himself as one of our nation's most respected voices on national security and international affairs.

As chairman of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, he worked closely with John McCain to learn the truth about American soldiers missing in Vietnam and to normalize relations with that country. As the ranking Democrat on the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, he is a leading expert on that region, including North Korea.
Years before September 11th, John Kerry wrote The New War, an in-depth study of America's national security in the 21st Century. He worked on a bipartisan basis to craft the American response to September 11th and has been a leading voice on American policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, the war on terrorism, the Middle East peace process and Israel's security.

John Kerry would not be running today if it were not for the enthusiastic support of his family. He is married to Teresa Heinz Kerry, and they have a blended family that includes two daughters, three sons, one grandchild, and a German Shepherd named Cym

John Edwards is running for vice president to fight for the same people he has always fought for — everyday Americans who deserve a better life. Whether in the courtroom or the Senate, John Edwards has been guided by the small-town values his parents taught him when he was young — hard work, responsibility, and community. And those same values guide him in his campaign to be vice president.

John Edwards was raised in North Carolina by his two hard-working and devoted parents, Wallace and Bobbie. The son of a mill worker, he was the first person in his family to attend college. He worked his way through North Carolina State University and later earned a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
After graduating from law school, John Edwards set out on a path to fight for families who needed help. For nearly two decades, he stood up for victims' rights against the insurance industry and stood down their armies of lawyers. He gave families hope in their darkest moments and helped them overcome challenges greater than any they had ever known. His passion and dedication to the people he defended earned him the respect, recognition, and gratitude of people across North Carolina.
In 1998, John Edwards took this commitment to public service to give a voice in the United States Senate to the people he had represented throughout his career. He ran for the Senate and won, defeating an incumbent Republican Senator.
In Congress, John Edwards champions the issues that matter to American families. He is working to provide Americans with quality health care and he co-authored the Patients' Bill of Rights and helped pass it in the Senate. He fought for middle-class tax cuts to help families save and get ahead. And he worked to improve our schools, improve teacher pay, and expand afterschool programs.

As a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence, Edwards has worked tirelessly to build a strong national defense and strengthen the security of our homeland. In the wake of September 11th, he served as a member of the joint House and Senate panel investigating the terrorist attacks. Whether in the courtroom or the Senate, John Edwards has defended people who deserve better. And today, he's running for vice president because he believes America can do better

Bios form the official John Kerry website

Previous Comments

ID

168377

Comment

AP today said that Edwards is getting personal in his own right. n. John Edwards, answering President Bush's blistering criticism of Democrat John Kerry, contended Wednesday that the Republican was "completely out of touch with reality" about the Iraq war and the economy. "He won't acknowledge the mess in Iraq. All you have to do is turn your television on," Edwards said. "They still don't recognize that there's any problem with jobs and the economy" despite rising health care costs and record job losses. "You can't fix these problems until you recognize there is a problem," the Democratic vice presidential candidate told a sign-waving audience in a warehouse at the Palm Beach County convention center. "They're in denial. They're in denial about everything." Earlier, in a speech in Pennsylvania, Bush accused Kerry of waffling in his position on the war on terrorism, pushing for higher taxes, and sending mixed signals to allies and enemies. "In the war on terror, Senator Kerry is proposing policies and doctrines that would weaken America and make the world more dangerous," Bush said. On the economy, he added, "My opponent is a tax-and-spend liberal; I'm a compassionate conservative."

Author

ladd

Date

2004-10-06T15:42:04-06:00

ID

168378

Comment

Kerry, Jackson tell blacks to ignore gay 'marriage' issue Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry and civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson told black voters at a church here yesterday that President Bush's support for a constitutional amendment against homosexual "marriage" shouldn't be enough to earn their vote. ... "How many of you ó someone from your family ó married somebody of the same sex?" Mr. Jackson asked of the congregation of about 500. After nobody raised a hand, he asked, "Then how did that get in the middle of the agenda?" "If your issues are cancer and Medicare and education and jobs and Social Security and decent housing, then how did someone else put their agenda in the front of the line?" he asked. Full story @ Washington Times.

Author

kaust

Date

2004-10-11T09:49:58-06:00

ID

168379

Comment

Former Republican Gov. William Milliken of Michigan endorsed Democratic Sen. John Kerry for president on Monday, saying President Bush has pursued policies "pandering to the extreme right wing." Milliken, governor from 1969-82, accused the Bush administration of rushing into the Iraq war, pushing tax cuts that benefit the rich and blocking meaningful stem-cell research. "I felt so strongly about the direction of this country that in the end, it wasn't a difficult decision to make," Milliken said in an interview Monday with Traverse City Record-Eagle reporters and editors. ABC News report

Author

ladd

Date

2004-10-18T12:50:08-06:00

ID

168380

Comment

DailyKos is keeping a list of Republicans/conservatives who are endorsing Kerry or openly saying they will not vote for Bush. List Here

Author

ladd

Date

2004-10-21T14:15:31-06:00

ID

168381

Comment

Another Republican jumps the Bush ship. Blogger Daniel Drezner writes: I've made up my mind. So I'm voting for Kerry. In my two threads on the subject (here and here), I've been amused to read suggestions by fellow Republicans that I'm overanalyzing things and should just trust my gut. If I had done that, I would have known I was voting for Kerry sometime this summer because of Iraq. To put it crudely, my anger at Bush for the number of Mongolian cluster-f**ks this administration was discovered to have made in the planning process in the run-up to Iraq was compounded by the even greater number of cluster-f**ks the administration made in the six months after the invasion, topped off by George W. Bush's decision not to fire the clusterf**ks in the civilian DoD leadershop that insisted over the past two years that not a lot of troops were needed in the Iraqi theater of operations. No, if I was voting based on gut instincts, I would have planned on voting for Kerry and punching a wall afterwards. Reading the New York Times recap of the postwar planning by Michael Gordon just brought all of this back to the surface. The failure by Rumsfeld and his subordinates to comprehend that occupation and statebuilding requires different resources, strategies and tactics than warfighting boggles my mind. Drezner blog

Author

ladd

Date

2004-10-23T19:29:40-06:00

ID

168382

Comment

Interesting comment from the Andrew Sullivan blog (who already jumped ship): Today a friend who is a Bush supporter called me. Direct quote: "I'm voting for Kerry." When I asked why she said: 'Bush doesn't scare me but the people who support and defend him do."

Author

ladd

Date

2004-10-23T19:30:54-06:00

ID

168383

Comment

Bwahahaha! That reminds me of the bumper stickers that state: "Lord, protect me from your followers!"

Author

kaust

Date

2004-10-23T20:38:46-06:00

ID

168384

Comment

Aren't we missing a few candidates in this section?

Author

Tre

Date

2004-10-29T12:42:46-06:00

ID

168385

Comment

Honestly, I'm not too concerned about the other candidates in this presidential election. It's not a year to throw away a vote on a third-party candidate, in my opinion, although I'd like to see third parties start breaking into races they can win. But if you feel like posting about them, go ahead. What I could do is go make a page with my interview with Ralph Nader when he was here several months ago. And when (Green) David Cobb was here recently, it was our press day when they offered us an interview with him and we had no one to do it, and not space to devote to it. It's been much more important, we believe, to run the JFP interviews with people from Mississippi. A Millsaps press person offered to do an interview with him for us, but that wasn't ethical for us to run a story written by the press person about an event that their institution was hosting. That would be like running a press release like it's a story, and newspapers can't do that, of course. Also, it's been much more important this year to talk about the issues facing voters this year, and point out the differences between the candidates on them, as we've used our space to do for several weeks now.

Author

ladd

Date

2004-10-29T13:09:00-06:00