A couple articles in the local media and AP

Deval Patrick and Sen. John F. Kerry will give key speeches at DNC
Dave Wedge By Dave Wedge

Massachusetts will be well represented at next week’s Democratic National Convention in Denver as Gov. Deval Patrick and Sen. John F. Kerry will give key speeches on consecutive nights, officials announced yesterday.

Patrick, a longtime pal and political ally of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, will speak Tuesday night before Sen. Hillary Clinton’s prime-time talk. The night’s theme is “Renewing America’s Promise” and Virginia Gov. Mark Warner is the keynote speaker.

Wednesday, Kerry will speak on national security issues alongside a who’s who of Dem heavyweights, including former President Bill Clinton, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Sens. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and Joe Biden (D-Delaware). Obama’s yet-to-be-named vice-presidential pick will give a prime-time speech.

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Kerry returns to stump 4 years after nomination

By GLEN JOHNSON – 35 minutes ago

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — The week before the 2004 Democratic National Convention, John Kerry drafted his presidential nomination speech and then set off on a cross-country trip that brought him home to thousands of delegates waiting in Boston.

Four years later, the senator was back on the stump in the second-largest city in Massachusetts, seeking the votes of 60 people who had been lured to a restaurant with a free lunch and Greek pastries.

Times have changed, but Kerry insists he's as committed to seeking re-election to the Senate this fall as he was to campaigning for the White House four years ago.

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The blend of local and national issues in Kerry's campaign-trail rhetoric highlights the balancing act he faces as he seeks his fifth Senate term.

His campaign speech sounds little different than in 2004. Since then, events at home and abroad have given resonance to his calls for energy independence and a redeployment of U.S. military forces away from Iraq.

"Twelve billion dollars a month — a month — are being spent in place where there was no al-Qaida and there were no weapons of mass destruction. And the place where there is al-Qaida and there are weapons of mass destruction — Pakistan and Afghanistan — they have ignored sufficiently that it's now at great risk," the senator told his Worcester audience this week.

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That support, along with Kerry's choice of Obama as the 2004 convention keynote speaker, have fueled speculation Kerry might join an Obama administration as secretary of state or vice presidential running mate.
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At the Webster House restaurant, Kerry rebutted accusations that he lacks major legislative accomplishments, listing amendments he put forth that improved heating-oil funding, raised military pay by 3.5 percent and increased the military death benefit from $12,000 to $250,000.
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The 64-year-old senator also touts his congressional seniority. He is now chairman of the Small Business Committee, the No. 3 Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the No. 5 Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.

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fficials: Climate right to go green
By Lauren DeFilippo
Wed Aug 20, 2008, 11:59 AM EDT



Thinking locally and acting globally is not a new concept.
Despite being an old dog, the idea is learning new tricks – particularly when it comes to going green.
Local consumers may not have much control over the price of fuel or other utilities, whose costs are set on a global scale, but they can control how much of those commodities they purchase, Jeremy McFiarmid, a staff attorney with Environment Northeast, a non-profit research and policy organization, said.
But, through a series of new state mandates, Massachusetts may be well on its way to changing the fuel marketplace a shade greener.
Education is key to the shift, experts at the first summit on energy and environment – organized by state Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton – said Tuesday. Public officials, business owners, and residents took part in the half-day event, which was designed to serve as an information gathering session for those interested in learning more about a handful of laws – passed during the state Legislature’s last session – that promote both increased energy efficiency and greener living now and in the future.
“Municipalities, and businesses, and entities that use huge amounts of energy, you now have the opportunity to literally get free advice,” Pacheco said.
It didn’t hurt participation that Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., was also the keynote speaker.
“Energy has to be first,” Kerry said, noting multiple benefits of making energy reform a priority.
Addressing energy consumption as a nation is key to revitalizing the nation’s economy, as well as critical to the environment, the country’s security and health of all Americans, he said.
By setting goals through legislation, a message has been sent to the marketplace, he said.

Speaking before the Taunton Daily Gazette’s Editorial Board in an exclusive interview earlier this week, the state’s junior U.S. senator said the sting no longer exists from losing the closest presidential election in the nation’s history.
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erry faces a Democratic primary challenge from Gloucester attorney Ed O’Reilly for his Senate seat. He is running this fall for his fifth, six-year term in office.
“As I always do, I make the rounds to ask people for votes. I don’t take them for granted,” said Kerry, who has served as a district attorney and the Commonwealth’s Lieutenant Governor under Gov. Michael Dukakis before becoming a U.S. Senator.
During a session that lasted more than an hour, Kerry touted his track record as senator, discussed what legislation he was pushing to help the citizenry and reflected on the state of the union over the past four years.

“I’m going out, trying to meet people,” he said. “All are having a hard time. They’re hurting. Business is down. The economy is hurting. Food and gas costs are up. There’s a lot of fear.”

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“I want to be known as a truth teller who fought for what was common sense and what was fair for the citizens,” he said. “I’m someone who plays it straight. That’s the best that you can do. And as I get more senior as a senator, I have much more ability to get things done.”