Beacon Hill man looks likely to assume post in Washington in January

Based on wikipedia, Obama apparently created the role at the beginning of 2009 and after two years he dissolved the role, probably because the role is mere window dressing, with all the authority over everything being held by the Secretaries of Energy, Environment, Interior, and Transportation.

stop saying “window dressing”

By berkleealum
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 8:13pm

who cares what the title is? it’s really not that complicated - kerry has experience with climate diplomacy and it’s a good thing that he’ll be involved in any capacity going forward.

I don't know where you are

By brianjdamico
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 8:55pm

I don't know where you are looking on Wikipedia but the climate post was left vacant in 2017 according to this page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambassadors_of_the_U...

Todd Stern definitely held the position into 2016, which is more than 2 years after 2009.

"Based on"

By perruptor
Tue, 11/24/2020 - 6:29am

He's using artistic license, like Longfellow did when he wrote Paul Revere's Ride. In other words, he's telling it the way he thinks it ought to be.

Haha Special Envoy for Climate

By anon
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 3:01pm

Interesting choice. What does Kerry own, 6 houses, a private jet and a yacht.

We need another person from Brookline in Washington

By BostonDog
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 3:09pm

The world would be a much better place had Dukakis won in '88.

Pfft

By Will LaTulippe
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 8:12pm

He would have tried to overturn the 21st Amendment.

Remember: Joe Biden couldn't beat him, but suddenly, he's America's pick for President.

If by "suddenly" you mean "32

By CH
Tue, 11/24/2020 - 11:18am

If by "suddenly" you mean "32 years later" then... what? Dukakis wanted to bring Prohibition back? Are you sure about that?

I'd like to see someone with

By anon
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 3:26pm

I'd like to see someone with scientific credentials and not as wealthy, old, and white become the next Climate Czar.

Kerry and climate change

By adamg
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 11:13pm

He has some bit of background in it - he was the Secretary of State who actually signed the Paris climate accord.

It's a diplomatic job in large measure

By Bob Leponge
Tue, 11/24/2020 - 7:24pm

You ain't wrong, but at the same time the job is as much about diplomacy as it is about science; the heavy lifting will be convincing other nations that we're trustworthy. In this regard age and experience are worth something.

Retreads

By StillFromDorchester
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 4:39pm

That's how to fix things.

Succesful Diplomats, you mean

By Pete X
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 5:02pm

The very rational and internationally lauded Iran nuclear deal and the, well, better than nothing Paris Agreement were both at least partially thanks to John Kerry.

"Who among us" could deny that the world would be a much safer place if we rejoin those agreements post haste.

He should get Bob Dole for some bipartisanship

By StillFromDorchester
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 5:16pm

Bob Dole knows how to get things done and Bob Dole knows how to work with the senate and Bob Dole isn't busy.
-Bob Dole

Ah, thanks to John "A Bad

By anon
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 6:15pm

Ah, thanks to John "A Bad Deal is Better Than No Deal" Kerry.

Uh, yeah

By Matthew Miller
Tue, 11/24/2020 - 7:49am

That's often the case with deals. You need to go in to any negotiation knowing what the alternative outcomes might be for both sides and how important it is to avoid them. Turns out, a deal which seems "bad" is often better than the status quo — and just *wishing* you had a better one doesn't actually get it for you.

Trump was a “Washington

By Kinopio
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 5:10pm

Trump was a “Washington outsider”. And after 4 years of him the country is a disaster and an international joke. Experience is a good thing.

Cry harder, Wingnut.

By Scratchie
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 5:15pm

Cry harder, Wingnut.

Speaking of wingnuts?

By Parkwayne
Tue, 11/24/2020 - 10:29am

Did Fish inevitably die of Covid, get banned or get assigned a new posting job by his bosses in the Kremlin? He's been blessedly absent over the last few weeks.

Vladimir reassigned him

By Brent Jeffries
Tue, 11/24/2020 - 11:16am

to Georgia.

Close

By Parkwayne
Tue, 11/24/2020 - 3:12pm

I think Vlad's more into meddling in Armenia these days.

Coming out of retirement?

By SwirlyGrrl
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 5:28pm

Retreads are actually quite efficient:
https://www.treadwright.com/blogs/treadwright-blog...

So, how quickly did Howie

By Rob
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 5:41pm

So, how quickly did Howie Carr dust off his John Kerry environmental file? Make jokes about the yacht, the bike, the sailboard, the "Flying Squirrel"... and hey - since some of the jokes are over water, gotta joke about offshore windfarms and Ted Kennedy car crashes (gotta plug the crappy book, don'tchaknow...)
...at the same time, he'll be complaining that Biden didn't pick Gore for environment so he could use all the old mansion, private jet to environmental summits, and carbon credit jokes.

Time for the old madlib style

By SwirlyGrrl
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 5:53pm

Time for the old madlib style columns to be rerun.

reporting for duty

By bostnkid
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 5:47pm

head of hydrant security

Marty Walsh

By anon
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 6:18pm

Commissioner of Winds and Tides

John Kerry

By Will LaTulippe
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 6:27pm

Last time I voted Democrat in a presidential election. First full year I lived here. I always thought he was a bitch for not walking the few blocks from his house to Copley to address his supporters the night he lost.

Sweet misogyny, bro.

By tblade
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 6:37pm

There are plenty of non-gendered insults that one could deploy to express your 16-years-long dissatisfaction with Kerry.

Fun fact about words

By Will LaTulippe
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 7:09pm

They evolve and have different meanings over time.

Fun fact - it’s a sexist slur.

By tblade
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 7:53pm

Femininity is encoded in the word bitch and does not decouple from the word just because you pretend it does. Everyone knows it as an insult to women or a way to emasculate/feminize a man.

It’s a sexist slur. Not a good look.

Fine

By Will LaTulippe
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 8:13pm

He's a beeotch. I like that word better anyway.

And

By lbb
Tue, 11/24/2020 - 10:21am

...you're a person who uses a sexist and misogynist term, doubles down, and then tries to use a cutesy deflection as a get out of jail free card, and if that doesn't make you a sexist and misogynist, well you sure stink like one.

weird justification?

By berkleealum
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 8:18pm

if anything the evolution of language is exactly why bitch as a pejorative has fallen out of the lexicon.

and i will say it’s pretty interesting that you generally censor profanity in your comments but didn’t have a problem using bitch in this context.

The history of (expletive)

By Will LaTulippe
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 9:23pm

Gaffin asked me circa 2009 to stop swearing in comments, so I started using (expletive) for the harder four-letter words. Believe me, I pepper (expletive) quite frequently into spoken communication.

He also said that I can't post "erotic literature" or attack somebody based on their nationality (on which I've evolved anyway.)

Believe me, I pepper

By Scratchie
Tue, 11/24/2020 - 10:26am

Believe me, I pepper (expletive) quite frequently into spoken communication.

Don't worry, we all know you're a tough guy.

And dictionaries continue to record older and obsolete

By MC Slim JB
Tue, 11/24/2020 - 5:27pm

meanings of words, marking them as such. The issue I think you're missing is that social norms around a word can also evolve, as the society of speakers of a language recognize a particular usage as ignorant, offensive, bigoted, etc. I've been guilty of being out of step on certain words and amended my prose when corrected. Learning is good.

Mark Twain's characters freely used the n-word in his novels in a way that most white speakers would now recognize as offensive, disparaging, a slur. You can continue to use words any way that you choose, and some people will understand your intent, but that won't necessarily save you from the social opprobrium or dismissal as a Neanderthal for not keeping up with newer connotations. It's generally not flattering to be thought of Grampa Caveman. Be Best!

He was going to Swift-boat

By Rob
Mon, 11/23/2020 - 7:53pm

He was going to Swift-boat log-flume it downhill from Louisburg Square, but they couldn't find the hydrant wrench.

I always thought he was a

By Scratchie
Tue, 11/24/2020 - 10:10am

I always thought he was a bitch for not walking the few blocks from his house to Copley to address his supporters the night he lost.

Apparently you've forgotten that the election wasn't decided "the night he lost." Ohio was still up in the air.

I was set up and plugged in and ready to play with a band that was supposed to play a victory/consolation party for Kerry volunteers at one of those Boylston Place clubs on election night. The election wasn't called one way or the other and we didn't get to play and the club cleared out early.

I don't remember how soon after that Ohio was decided, but I don't think any of Kerry's supporters were still hanging out at Copley Square by then.

John Forbes Kerry, the other

By anon
Tue, 11/24/2020 - 6:41pm

John Forbes Kerry, the other white meat.

That sounds like an excellent choice.

By mplo
Fri, 12/25/2020 - 9:52pm

That sounds like an excellent choice, since John F. Kerry has a good record on the environment.

Beacon Hill man looks likely to assume post in Washington in January

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