"Khazei’s outsider career taught deep political lessons" by Jenna Russell, Globe Staff | November 18, 2009
At Harvard, during late nights in their dorm, the roommates had already hatched a plan for just such a venture, a domestic Peace Corps....
a volunteer army transforming broken cities....
His is the least recognized name in the four-way Democratic race and the most unexpected resume. He has never held public office, but he is not a true outsider, either....
Even as a boy, Khazei (pronounced “Kay-zee’’) was enchanted by government. In his childhood home, on a woodsy road lined with stone walls in Bedford, N.H., he listened over and again to recordings of old speeches by John F. and Robert Kennedy. “My dad revered the Kennedys,’’ said his younger brother, Lance. “I remember listening to those speeches, the idealism, the idea that people could determine their own destiny. . . . Alan fell in love with the idea of America as a kid.’’
It was the same love their father had. Amir Khazei was born in Iran, but left as a teenager to seek an education in Switzerland, where he never felt at home. He came to the United States at age 29, became a surgeon, and married a nurse, Carmeline Picardi. To him, democracy was sacred. But he also believed it was fragile, in part because he had seen his homeland’s democratic hopes dashed in the 1950s, when Mohammed Mossadegh, the elected Iranian leader, was ousted by a coup. The coup, the world learned later, was planned in part by the CIA, to protect American oil interests.
Yes, it was CALLED of Operation Ajax and have you noticed how UNMENTIONED IT REMAINS in the war propaganda articles regarding Iran?
Nope, found it buried by the BG in a Senate seat race in Massachusetts.
It deeply troubled the elder Khazei that such high ideals could be scrapped for the sake of expediency, and he often told his children the story as a cautionary tale. Alan grew up with the conviction that loving America meant fighting against such lapses. As Alan came of age, his father found a prep school for him, the elite St. Paul’s School in Concord. Founded in 1856, the private boarding school offered Gothic architecture, mandatory morning chapel, and a silver-plated roster of alumni including J.P. Morgan Jr. and William Randolph Hearst....
“My mom taught me that every person has potential, and my father taught me that America was the greatest country in the world,’’ Khazei says. “So I thought, if we had national service, every young person would have a chance to realize their potential, and it met my father’s vision of how to make democracy work, because we have a system that says citizens are in charge, but there’s no institution that gets people to be active citizens.’’
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Still, he is sometimes swept up by the moment, as when he invited his 7-year-old daughter to take the microphone at a well-attended women’s forum or when he danced his way to the end of a black church service in Worcester, then showed up late to the opening of his own new campaign office....
He could be impatient and demanding, but friends say he was also loyal, a skilled listener whose advice was highly valued. One of the people most in tune with Khazei’s preoccupations was Michael Brown. The two met on their first day at Harvard, where both were assigned to the same room in Grays Hall. Brown was from Belmont, a fellow Star Trek fan who shared Khazei’s sense of social justice....
Between the Kennedy and Star Trek stuff he can't be all bad inside, huh?
And he's IRANIAN!!!
Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a longtime City Year supporter who Khazei calls a mentor, to push the passage of the Serve America Act. The legislation, later named for Kennedy, calls for the largest expansion of national service since the New Deal....
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Yeah, that DRAFT in waiting BOTHERED ME considering these comments:
"He said the military should be focused more on Pakistan"
Ummm, no, sorry.
We should be LEAVING PEOPLE ALONE and APOLOGIZING to those we occupy as we LEAVE!!!
"Khazei takes gamble, calls for Obama to bring home troops" by Matt Viser, Globe Staff | November 17, 2009
CAMBRIDGE - US Senate candidate Alan Khazei called on the president yesterday to set a definitive timetable for troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying the United States should hunt terrorists in other regions.
“We have lost our way in Afghanistan.’’ Khazei said in a 25-minute speech that drew a standing ovation from 75 students, aides, and supporters in a wood-paneled room at Harvard University.
“We’ve lost our way, strayed from our mission, and now we are asking our troops to build a nation in a place that is laden with corruption,’’ he said. “This isn’t in our interest as a nation, and it’s not fair to our troops.’’
The speech put Khazei definitively on record as opposing any troop buildup - and, in fact, calling for withdrawal - during a week when President Obama might announce his decision on whether to add as many as 40,000 troops in Afghanistan. It could be a risky political move, potentially placing him at odds with the president....
But WITH the American people!
“If LBJ had listened to William Fulbright, we would have avoided Vietnam,’’ Khazei said, referring to the former president and the US senator who challenged his Vietnam policy in 1966. “I will stand firm on this.’’
The primary is just three weeks from today, and those who have not registered have until tomorrow to do so. In a campaign that has been largely focused on the economy and health care, Khazei is also hoping to draw more attention to foreign policy and to Afghanistan, which he said yesterday “is the most important thing going on in our country right now; it’s war and peace.’’
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While Khazei contended yesterday that there should be a timetable for withdrawal, he declined to say what the timetable should be, saying the decision is one the president has to make. He said the military should be focused more on Pakistan, a country with nuclear weapons, instead of on Afghanistan. “We must defeat the terrorists,’’ he said. “I don’t believe we can best do that by putting so many resources into rebuilding one single country, halfway around the globe.’’
How DISAPPOINTING to SEE THAT!!!
“For eight years, we have been losing our brave family members overseas in protracted wars in which often the rationale for, goals, and costs of war have not been clearly explained to the American people and the citizens of Massachusetts,’’ he added....
And HOW!
Start with 9/11 and those buildings falling down that way.
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“I don’t support the church on every question of doctrine,’’ he said - it almost goes without saying that, as a liberal Democrat, he is prochoice - “but I value the teachings of Jesus Christ, especially the message of service. That is how I want to live my life. Jesus influenced Gandhi, and he and Gandhi both influenced Martin Luther King. They were social revolutionaries with a powerful message of nonviolence.’’
But set up a draft in waiting and focus on Pakistan more!
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"Candidates spar at BU forum over green credentials" by Matt Viser, Globe Staff | November 18, 2009
Seeking to woo environmentalists, the four Democrats running for US Senate held a virtual green-off yesterday, touting the gas-friendly vehicles they drive, the clean energy policies they support, and their own minor contributions to saving the planet....
During a 90-minute forum held at Boston University and sponsored by several environmental groups, all the candidates said more should be done to combat global warming, and all said they would promote public transportation as a way to lower carbon emissions. And, in a significant break with the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the man they are running to succeed, all have said they support a wind farm in Nantucket Sound....
The four Democrats, who will face off in a special primary election Dec. 8, differed slightly on how they would vote on a pending climate change bill, which currently includes incentives for nuclear power and offshore drilling....
All four candidates said they oppose such drilling....
All of the candidates professed to recycle....
City Year cofounder Alan Khazei sought to top his rivals with an anecdote about his young daughter’s reaction when he told her he was running for Senate. “Daddy, if you’re senator you can help me get my gas-free, battery-powered scooter built,’’ Khazei recalled his daughter saying. And then, he boasted, “So I’ve got a 7-year-old environmentalist at home.’’
Proud of his brainwashed kid, great.
Khazei repeatedly chastised Coakley and Capuano for taking campaign donations from lobbyists and political action committees. He brought the issue up so many times that he twice apologized for being repetitive. “I’m curious Martha, I have a question for you,’’ Khazei said before several audience members started hissing. “Do you think that the big oil industry lobbyists that are raising money for your campaign and contributing to you will expect you to side with them, or the citizens who want climate change?’’
Several minutes later, Khazei suggested he wouldn’t meet with any lobbyists if elected, prompting Capuano to jump in and ask, “Does that include the lobbyists for the Sierra Club?’’
Khazei paused briefly before answering, “Yes,’’ and after the forum, Khazei confirmed that he would never meet with a lobbyist if he’s elected. But less than three hours later, Khazei sent out a statement saying his comment that he wouldn’t meet with Sierra Club lobbyists “was a mistake on my part’’ and that “I should have said that I will be open to hearing all views, will meet with citizen members of the Sierra Club as well as lobbyists they hire, and work to change the laws so that nonprofits do not have to hire lobbyists.’’
He picked up being a politician fast, too!!!
Khazei said he drives a 15-year-old
Khazei noted that his campaign car was a hybrid....
And the candidates did some fancy footwork to deal with a question about whether they would loosen federal protection of seals in response to complaints from fishermen who say a rebounding seal population is harming their catch.
“I like seals,’’ Khazei said. “The answer is no . . . I’m for seals.’’
But they can't vote!
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"Going negative has risky allure for Coakley rivals" by Matt Viser and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff | November 19, 2009
At an environmental forum this week, Capuano was visibly annoyed at Khazei. Capuano rolled his eyes and shook his head at times, at least twice blurting out lines directly challenging Khazei....
When Khazei directly criticized Coakley about accepting donations from lobbyists and political action committees, audience members hissed at Khazei....
"Foreign trip experience in Senate race varies; Coakley less well-traveled; Capuano goes mostly on policy-oriented jaunts" by Matt Viser, Globe Staff | November 29, 2009
In the short campaign to succeed Edward M. Kennedy - who spent part of his childhood in London and was a leading international voice on a wide range of foreign policy issues - the public discussion has focused mostly on domestic issues such as health care and the economy. But foreign policy is likely to take center stage this week, because President Obama plans to address the nation Tuesday night about Afghanistan, and the four Democratic Senate candidates in Massachusetts have a televised debate scheduled during the hour before the president’s speech.
A chief role of a US senator is to weigh in on matters that have an impact across the globe, including the ratification of treaties; the senior senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kerry, is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The four Democratic Senate candidates, who will face off in a primary election Dec. 8, have had no significant foreign policy differences, but bring very different kinds of personal experience to the debate....
Alan Khazei boasts of seeing South Africa with President Clinton....Khazei, a social entrepreneur who cofounded City Year, has traveled the planet to discuss issues ranging from national service to nuclear weapons, visiting the
Khazei, also a globetrotter, has participated in an array of service projects throughout the world, traveling with Clinton in April 2001 to lay the groundwork for a City Year program in South Africa. He went to Northern Ireland with Mayor Thomas M. Menino, and has been to the World Economic Forum in Davos.
So he is one of them, huh?
Asked about his nine-month trip around the world with his wife in the mid-1990s, he said:
“I fell in love with this extraordinary woman. We’re both change agents. We both had a travel bug. But it was more travel to learn. Our mission was to find out, ‘Where is change coming from? What are the new trends? Could the idea of national service work in other countries?’ ’’
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So who likes Khazei?
Khazei has several endorsements from those in the entertainment business, as well as Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City.
That isn't going to help him up here!
Globe Editorial For Democrats - Alan Khazei for Senate
That isn't going to help him out here, either.
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So what do the POLLS say?
"Coakley leads, but electorate unsettled; In Globe poll, 50 percent remain undecided; Capuano running 2d, but far behind AG" by Frank Phillips and Matt Viser, Globe Staff | November 22, 2009
Attorney General Martha Coakley has a solid lead in the four-way Democratic race for the open US Senate seat, but with just 16 days until the primary election, nearly three-quarters of likely voters have yet to decide who they will support, according to a Globe poll.
Coakley gets the support of 43 percent of respondents when asked who they would vote for if the primary were held today. US Representative Michael Capuano has support from 22 percent of the likely voters; Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca from 15 percent, and City Year cofounder Alan Khazei from 6 percent.
What we call an also-ran.
Ain't no Iranian going to get elected in Zionist-controlled Massachusetts.
The poll indicates Coakley is in a position of formidable strength among the state’s likely Democratic primary voters. Fully 71 percent of the respondents viewed Coakley favorably. She is by far the best-known candidate, with 91 percent name recognition. She is the candidate the likely voters see as the most qualified, best able to understand the problems of people like them, most desirable to have a beer with, and most likely to win....
I don't know; I wouldn't mind talking Iranian history and Kennedy with Khazei.
