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US President Barack Obama has the authority to launch air strikes against Syria. But he has to notify lawmakers in Congress -- a process which has begun, according to both sides. "The administration is actively consulting with members of Congress, and we will continue to have these conversations in the days ahead," Kerry said Monday in a strongly-worded statement on Syria.

One of the larger drawbacks to having John Kerry as secretary of state is his inane statements now have worldwide impact, instead of being limited to a domestic audience as was the case previously. Even worse, what he says now can cause real damage, while as a senator Kerry’s bloviating was relatively harmless since he was part of large collection of publicity-seeking bloviators. Kerry’s latest occurred last Sunday when he compared the jihadists trying to break Israel’s Gaza blockade aboard the Mavi Marmara with the victims of the Boston bombing. .... Israeli commandos were lowered to the deck from a...

BEIJING — Secretary of State John F. Kerry lobbied China on Saturday to lean harder on its Marxist ally North Korea, suggesting that Washington might reverse certain military moves in the region if the North gives up its nuclear weapons ambitions. Kerry argued that the North’s escalating belligerence threatens the entire Pacific region, including China’s interests. He won a modest restatement of the shared goal of a ­non-nuclear Korean Peninsula and a public call from China’s foreign policy chief, Yang Jiechi, for a way out of the tension “peacefully, through dialogue.” That was a clear warning to North Korea that...

Miké @ThePantau Samira Ibrahim's name has been removed from the State Dept.'s website. https://twitter.com/ThePantau/status/309766504084291584 … || https://twitter.com/ThePantau/status/309766552834682880 … 8:49 PM - 07 Mar 13 He’s right. The above page used to list 10 honorees, including terrorism supporter Samira Ibrahim. Now Ibrahim’s name is gone and only 9 women are listed.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) wants answers from the US taxpayer supported Export-Import bank about a $2 billion loan to Brazil for offshore drilling. Vitter’s home state is suffering under a moratorium imposed by President Barack Obama. Vitter said Louisianians “are frustrated” and he wants to know “why permitting domestically is nearly stalled…” Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) had questions about ExIM—nine years ago when he asked Congress to reject the reauthorization of ExIm for “economic, constitutional and moral reasons.” Vitter sent a letter to Fred Hochberg, Ex-Im president, on March 17. Vitter asked Hochberg to identify all US companies that have...

memory hole reminder The first documentary evidence that Vietnamese communists were directly steering John Kerry’s group Vietnam Veterans Against the War has been discovered in a U.S. archive, according to a researcher who spoke with WorldNetDaily. Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2004/10/27207/#615wufvA5oZXKuWK.99

If speculation about President Obama’s likely nominees to head the departments of State and Defense proves correct, the next four years could see a renewed focus on his early drive to engage with hostile and repressive regimes. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), tapped to succeed Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, and former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Nebr.), viewed a strong contender for the Pentagon, both have a record of favoring engagement over isolation and sanctions when dealing with such governments. The liberal Democrat and moderate Republican, both decorated Vietnam War veterans regarded as foreign policy experts, have called over a number...

Maybe Scott Brown will become the Manny Mota of politics — the guy who excels at pinch-hitting. After having just lost a statewide election to hold onto the seat he won in a January 2010 special election, Republicans want him back as their nominee if John Kerry gets his expected Secretary of State appointment. And according to a new poll from Boston’s NPR affiliate WBUR, Brown leads all of the expected Democratic candidates, too (via Sarah Rumpf): WBUR poll of 500 registered voters finds U.S. Sen. Scott Brown is in a strong position should there be a special election to...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won't testify to Congress next week on Benghazi, after fainting and suffering a concussion Saturday and due to her ongoing stomach ailment. "While suffering from a stomach virus, Secretary Clinton became dehydrated and fainted, sustaining a concussion," Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Philippe Reines said in a statement. "She has been recovering at home and will continue to be monitored regularly by her doctors. At their recommendation, she will continue to work from home next week, staying in regular contact with Department and other officials. She is looking forward to being back in the office...

President Barack Obama has chosen Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts to be the next secretary of state, a source has told Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed. His replacement as head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the Sneed source said.

When the facts and law are not in one’s favor, there is a natural temptation to appeal to the emotions of your target audience in order to win an argument. This is referred to as argumentum ad passiones—an attempt to manipulate an audience’s emotions by pulling on their heartstrings in order to bring them to your side. Such is the case with Senator John Kerry’s (D–MA) appeal in today’s Huffington Post in support of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), an international human rights treaty that is scheduled for an up-or-down vote tomorrow at noon. …...

Tuesday, November 13, 2012 GoLocalProv News Team A prominent Rhode Island lobbyist and Democratic fundraiser gave a $300,000 personal loan to the twin sister of Jill Kelley, the woman tied to the love affair that ended CIA Director David Petraeus’ career, court documents show. Bankruptcy records filed by Natalie Khawam last April list Gerald Harrington, the founder of the Capitol City Group, as an unsecured creditor on the loan. Khawam owes nearly $4 million in total. The loan was first reported by the New York Post. A message left at Harrington’s Providence law firm was not immediately returned. The Post...

Bloomberg News is reporting that UN Ambassador Susan Rice is the favorite to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she steps down as expected sometime in January. Six current or former White House officials, who all spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said Rice remains close to President Barack Obama and shares many of his views on foreign policy. They emphasized that the president hasn't made a final decision, and Clinton may remain in her post for some months into Obama's second term.Former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley and other officials said Obama's...

Hillary Clinton will step down as U.S. Secretary of State within 'days' of President Barack Obama's second inauguration in January, her spokesman said today. Her long-respected(?) departure is expected by most Democrats to be a prelude for a White House run in 2016, when she will be 69. The top candidate to replace her is believed to be Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the losing 2004 Democratic presidential nominee. …

WASHINGTON -- President Obama has been forced to cancel several debate practice sessions with Senator John F. Kerry, whom he tapped to play stand-in for Republican challenger Mitt Romney, leaving little time for them to spar ahead of next week’s first presidential debate. The Massachusetts senator has held at least one mock debate with Obama to help him prepare for the first matchup against the former Massachusetts governor to be held Oct. 3 in Denver, but several others were cancelled due to the the president’s busy schedule, said deputy Obama campaign manager Stephanie Cutter.

John Kerry: Obama being 'swiftboated' August 17, 2012 | 4:43 pm Paul Bedard Washington Secrets The Washington Examiner @SecretsBedard Sen. John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate on Friday charged that critics are trying to "swiftboat" President Obama with false and "ridiculous" claims and that Mitt Romney is a foreign policy rookie who embarrassed himself during a recent trip to London. In a letter to Obama's supporters, he railed on the charges Obama has been hit with, including those from the so-called "birthers." The attacks, he said, "remind me all too well of the notorious 'Swift Boat' attacks I faced...

Sen. John Kerry has the perfect audition piece for the secretary of state job he appears to covet — the long-stalled Law of the Sea treaty. He’s come armed with a throng of industry backers and pleas from the country’s top officials. But a cadre of conservatives remains determined to sink it. The international treaty, which governs use of the world’s oceans and affects everyone from shippers to telecom companies, has withered in the Senate for almost two decades. If Kerry fails to slip it through this session, the Foreign Relations Committee chairman doesn’t just miss out on the lead...

John Kerry acting as key Obama surrogate, fuelling secretary of state buzz By: Lee-Anne Goodman, The Canadian Press 30/04/2012 WASHINGTON - John Kerry, the Democratic senator whose patrician ways helped seal his defeat to George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election, is emerging one of Barack Obama's top lieutenants in the U.S. president's battle for re-election. Kerry's foreign policy gravitas makes him a natural to tout Obama's achievements on everything from ordering the successful hit on 9-11 mastermind Osama bin Laden a year ago to working to topple Libya's Moammar Gadhafi. The long-serving Massachusetts lawmaker has been the chairman...

A former staffer for Bay State Sen. John F. Kerry has been charged with leaking the names of CIA operatives, including one who was involved in the interrogation of terror suspects held at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, according to the U.S. Department of Justice and Kerry’s office.

BOSTON (CBS) – Senator John Kerry surprised a few people at the Boston Bruins Stanley Cup ceremony at the White House Monday afternoon. He had two black eyes and a swollen nose.