Nope. I missed that button!

So Nixonian to arrest peaceful protesters

Judy raised an issue you might think over, Erick. If you've read the General's thread on Global Warming, a couple of scientists posted about errors in the text. Judy's thought was that an advisory group of "Scientists for Clark" could be formed to review Clark's statements for complexities that don't necesarily stand out to the lay reading public, but may be used to dispute his reasoning down the road. I thought it was a good suggestion.

Great idea. Maybe we can also find some "private pilots" and stenographers to help us too.

Any sense as how we proceed?

Eric, perhaps JOhn or WesPAC may be able to suggest a list of Clark "scientists" who'd be able to work towards this aim. I'd be happy to help review/address any science policy concerns, particularly on information regarding stem cell and/or general medical or biological issues, for example
______________________________________________________________________
"Debate, Dialogue, Discussion, Disagreement - that's not wrong -that's not unpatriotic, that's one of the highest forms of patriotism and love of country, and we need to say it!" - Gen. Wesley Clark (US Ret.)

I wish I had a private pilot and a private plane for you. That would sure save some money. But Judy is a scientist and I think she may be able to help you pull something like this together.

I realize your request for stenographers is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but why do you mention needing one?

Ya know, DC Poli Sci is a stenographer who takes a lot of congressional stuff in D.C., and I'm a stenographer too. As far as I know, DC and I were the only 'Court Reporters for Clark.' ;-)

is also a second year law student, I believe, so he's a busy guy. He did sign on for an account when I e-mailed him about the change. He was reluctant after getting slammed when Clark withdrew from the primary. I told him that was then, this is now. I hope he checks in and post from time to time as it's always educational and I think he's a good guy. He just wanted a Democrat to win so badly last time. He was totally ABB. He's always liked Wes.

Thanks so much for taking the time to keep us up to date. What can we do to help WesPAC, Wes Clark and Eric Massa to move forward to success?

To my way of thinking, the CCN ought to discuss a set of criteria by which the CCN determine who it should support in '06 and is discussed on these pages aside from what WesPAC does -- really to augment it.
Maybe a 10 point system that reflects military profile; CCN support; Clark 04 endorsement; taking on a Republican; geographic profile. With regard to Eric Massa www.massaforcongress.com I know that he has almost secured every county endorsement in the district. He needs to raise money to demonstrate to the crowd here in Washington that he has serious grassroots support. He also needs research help on agricultural issues and global warming too.

PA-8 is a real chance for a win. Patrick Murphy will give Mike Fitzpatrick a run for his seat. This is a no-brainer for support from WesPAC. At least in my perspective.

"With a changing political landscape that is currently punishing Republicans at all levels, Freshman Republican Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick is vulnerable going into 2006. Fitzpatrick is below 50% against a virtually unknown opponent – a dangerous sign for an incumbent.

· This is a competitive district where Democrats have a four-point advantage over Republicans on the Generic Ballot (40% Democrat / 36% Republican) – a three-point gain from a year ago.

· A majority (54%) of likely voters have an unfavorable opinion of President Bush – three points higher than last year.

· Mike Fitzpatrick currently leads Patrick Murphy by only a 46% to 35% margin with 19% still undecided. Despite the fact that Fitzpatrick has a Total Name ID advantage over Murphy of almost a 4-to-1 margin (88% Fitzpatrick Total Name ID / 23% Murphy) in Bucks County, the incumbent can’t reach 50%.

· One-third (32%) of likely voters in Bucks County gave Mike Fitzpatrick a negative job rating just nine months into his first term – a troubling sign for any incumbent.

· Nearly two-thirds (61%) of all likely voters in Bucks County believe, “Abortions should be available to women who choose to have them.” Mike Fitzpatrick opposes a woman’s right to choose even in extreme cases like rape and incest.

http://www.politicspa.com/temp/september_23.htm

There were some people with global warming and renewable energy backgrounds who posted on Wes' globabl warming post, toward the end. Perhaps they'd be willing to help Eric. I think some of them left contact information. As for agriculture, perhaps Scott in Iowa would have some contacts in Ames and there's always good work being done at K-State in Manhattan, KS. Perhaps, just calling there and asking would find him a source, if he explains he is interested in green solutions. Currently, farming is the biggest polluter in the country from recent newspaper reports. University of Nebraska also does lots of research in these areas, particularly related to things like runoff of herbicides and pesticides into water and contaminating it. Leads to various cancers and such. The former Sec. of Ag under Clinton now teaches at Harvard. Dan Glickman and Wes knows him. They were at the same table when Wes spoke at the kansas Ad Astra dinner.

Al Gore is more well known that General Clark, I'm sad to say. There's also the anti-military left, left wing members of our party who just don't trust a former General. It's a shame they can't see through the uniform and see the real man who exists there. All of us know General Clark as a true hero and American patriot, while others see him as a right-wing in donkey clothes. Hopefully, we can change their minds before '08.

Yeah, but, Gore's not better known than Wes on Kos where the butt kicking is occurring. Something else is up.

Current TV. Making its way through the blogoshere and is very empowering

Speaking of Current TV, would General Clark be open to doing a video interview by a CCN blogger to be submitted to Current TV for their consideration? If they choose not to air the interview it could be posted at SecuringAmerica. If they did choose to run it, I believe they have exclusive rights for 90 days, after which time it could be posted to WesPAC as well. I have a terrific potential interviewer in mind as well as a video camera. :)

It shocks me everytime General Clark isn't beat in polls by the likes of Kerry/Edwards/Hillary/Gore/Dean. From perspective as a political professional, factors such as name ID; approval and voter preference is greatly influenced by impressions people receive through the media, both paid and earned. When you evaluate that and read into it that those people have spent hundreds of millions of dollars and have been on news shows for more than a decade, of course they will get higher scores intially.

Going forward, however, and we see this in blogosphere polling, as people become acquainted with General Clark's persona and positions, he pulls away from the pack.

Now, having said all that, General Clark is not running for anything so the whole thing is academic punditry.

Well, that's true that he's not running for anything! These recent polls though are very odd. We've been working on this audience for a year. Wes wins every poll w/o Gore or Dean by a virtual landslide. And now Gore is killing us. It's just odd.

It's odd alright. How quickly they forget Gore's 'election issues issue' which is the first thing I think of whenever his name is mentioned. Next thing you know they'll be dragging lowercase jfk back to the forefront as well, same issues. How can you give someone your vote knowing full well that he won't put up one helluva fight for it?

1. Show up * 2. Pay attention * 3. Speak your truth, and * 4. Don\'t be attached to outcome -- Angeles Arrien

I am not troubled by this as of now. Gore is a very convenient consensus choice for virtually anyone who does not strongly support another possible 08 candidate right now. He is a Democrat of very high national stature, who is thought of as anti Iraq War while staying above the detailed debate for now. I suspect Gore is pulling support away from Feingold and Edwards and Kerry and Clinton and Warner etc., but very little if any directly from Clark. Yes I suspect that there are some folks out there trying to stir things up on Gore's behalf, but that is fair politics, let them try.

Actually I see Gore mostly as a rejection of Clinton; an attempt to come up with some other big name Democrat for 08 who is not Hillary. If Gore continues to get talked about that is a slap at Clinton. Clinton is perceived by the talking head pundits as virtually owning the 08 nomination if she wants it, mostly because of her high stature in the Party. I think any continuing attempt to talk up Gore will be seen as a sign of Clinton's lack of support among activists.

about Gore being the anti-Hillary.

General Clark is not running for anything....yet. ;)

Here's to hoping it backfires wildly on them!

My mission is to coordinate the many streams of input and output in the General's efforts through WesPAC -- Securing America's Future. I excercise my judgement to evalute issues and stories and I advise WesPAC on maximizing key resources. CCN is one of those resources and probably the most valued by the General himself. I see CCN's value tied to its capacity to respond rapidly to calls for action to promote a positive agenda and defensive manuevers when people lie about General Clark. Also, it has great value as a window through which we gain the experience and perspective of the thousands of people who care enough to share with the rest of us.

I've only read this somewhere,... but it's likely not too exaggerated after this past election cycle, given the growth of the internet campaigning. But, it suggests a remarkable pool of participants, but who can also become prey to opinions, mistruths and spin against Clark from other blogs, so I don't foresee that it will get easier for you or CCN'ers in the next few years, especially for those who are just beginning to enter the political dialoque for the first time, albeit for good intent. I believe that many will gravitate to popular sites that welcome open dialogue, and particularly to those that offer easier and highly functional "blogging tools", which I feel WesPAC and CCN'ers should always be prepared and ready to adopt.

This is why I feel that WesPAC and CCN must apply the most user friendly and technologically advanced interet tools available for bloggers disposal, mostly features and tools that permit instant access to resources that allow us to rapidly dispense facts, let's say in 3 minutes or less, ready for posting. These include internet conferencing features that include live webcasts, chatroom access that offer video/audio/communication capabilities. For example, if we can obtain Instant Messenger (IM) software, we can potentially "talk" online, rather than call by phone, and integrate this tool to effectively contact constituents of Democratic candidates, ...regardless time, and do so virtually live. Just a suggestion that I feel should be actively explored.

_______________________________________________________________________
"Debate, Dialogue, Discussion, Disagreement - that's not wrong -that's not unpatriotic, that's one of the highest forms of patriotism and love of country, and we need to say it!" - Gen. Wesley Clark (US Ret.)

I don't find any similarity between Bush's attempt to divert attention from his failures by transferring disaster response to the Pentagon and Clark's position on global warming. In fact I believe Clark's position is consistently against the idea that the military is the solution to all problems in today's complex world. Global warming will create situations that lead to conflict unless we use the other tools available to deal with the situation. It’s a national security issue that if tackled on a broad front will not come to a military solution.

Over the years I've had several students who attended the college where I teach while waiting for appointments to West Point or the Naval Academy. In every case when they came back after their first year at an academy these cadets and midshipmen had the importance of civilian control over the military drilled into them. It’s more than tradition, it’s how we have preserved our democracy and constitution for over 200 years. When called on by civilian authorities the military will respond as they always have, but I am convinced that from the cadets and midshipmen to four star generals those who lead would be opposed to any military take-over of civilian responsibilities.

Barry
Are you safer today than you were five years ago?

www.njforclark2008.com

I heard the Shrub yesterday on CNN mention that the disasters Rita and Katrina be thought of National Security issues. Hmmmm..... I wonder who said that first? Could it be a man with starch? Like maybe Wes Clark?
Geesh... I think someone somewhere has been listening to Clark and putting his words into Shrubbies mouth.
I thought to myself. Shut up Bush. There is no way you are ever going to be Da Man. Little alone sound like him.
Now it would be fine if he would really adopt some of Clarks ideas
But it wont happen in this lifetime
Clark is Da Man

But I don't think that person is reachable.

for other people to read.

The supply issue's seem like a farce to me. It seems more of an issue of the industry limiting supply and their capacity in order to maximize profits.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,170211,00.html
Saudi Foreign Minister Chides U.S. Policy

With oil prices rising amid disruption of Gulf Coast crude oil production and refining due to the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Saud rejected suggestions of an oil shortage and said prices should drop to $40 to $45 a barrel from over $65.

"The oil industry does not suffer from a lack of oil," Saud said.

He cited a lack of refineries in the United States and elsewhere and said Saudi Arabia had sought to help build a U.S. refinery, but had no takers.

....

Will this alleviate supply problems? I'm not an expert on this but I always thought it wasn't that there wasn't oil, but that they can't refine it fast enuff. So even if they tap the reserves they can't refine it. Does no good. Just what I heard a long while ago. Did they really tap them after Katrina, like they said? Will they this time? Or is it just satisfying words to make it look like they are actually doing something? I dunno.

There are two supply problems. Much crude oil production was lost in the Gulf in Katrina. Releasing the reserves helps with that as does OPEC's willingness to sell us a little more.

The major increase in gasoline prices, however, has been more tied to both the lack of refining capacity--that is the ability to turn the raw material, crude oil, into the product, gasoline--and the inability to get that product from the Gulf Coast to where it is sold.

Katrina took out 10% of US refining capacity; half of that had come back since. At the height of Rita, we probably had lost another 20% of the US refining capacity (that's a guess). Well over half of that will be back within a week. So, we may end up with 15% less gasoline than we're used to for quite some time. (The Rita numbers are guesses; I don't have the exact numbers off the top of my head.)

Now, that may not be that big of a deal. People do seem to be able to conserve when the price goes up. American's reaction to the 10% loss at the height of Katrina was phenomenal. I was both pleased and proud of the American public. Now if only they could do it without the threat of financial ruin!

Further, Katrina, but not Rita, took out pipelines that brought gasoline from the Gulf Coast to places like Atlanta. That may have had more to do with the crisis during Katrina than the actual loss of refined gasoline.

For some unknown reason, the media INSISTS on confusing crude oil prices and gasoline prices. Crude oil prices are raw material prices. If their price goes up, then gasoline prices go up. But gasoline prices may also go up even if crude oil prices do not because of refining capacity shortages. Except in a very strange speculation way, refining shortages do not affect crude prices. And, yet, nearly EVERY article or news story I see talks about refining capacity shortages and then switches to "crude prices" rising. Hubby and I, both being very oily for our entire careers, scream at the TV or newspaper every time they do this. STOP IT! STOP IT!!! STOP IT!!!!

So, back to the original question. Bush may be releasing reserves to help deal with the on-going crude oil shortage from Katrina, but I do not believe that Rita caused any additional shortage. And you're right that most of what we've seen in price hikes is from refining capacity shortages not crude oil shortages.

for explaining. I had forgotten about your oily credentials. ;)

That's the 2nd saddest thing I've ever heard.

I probably shouldn't laugh, because I am sad too. But I'm enough of a Get Smart fan to understand what you're saying.

"Never underestimate what a determined soldier can accomplish when he's fighting for his country." -- General Wesley Clark

That's sad. He was a great in that show.

Remember the "cone of silence"

http://www.cinerhama.com/getsmart/innovations.html

Yea, it never worked right.

very much.

Why?

Like I just mentioned, it doesn't seem that the Clarkies as a whole are posting as much as they use to. I hate to lose momentum. I use that (momentum) in a realistic way - unlike "JoeMomentum (whatever Joe Lieberman used)."

We're making progress... There is less going on on the open thread than their used to be on the GD. That's not a problem so long as the individual blogs don't disappear too fast because of turnover. John O. says they're working on that--a more dense blog listing page. It's hard right now to have a place to "sit" when you come here. We're hoping this new page will help solve that problem.

It's not quite as easy to come here and do a quick check for links or to sit here and converse, and I feel like I miss out on quite a bit because things are spread out all over the place and I don't have the time to spend navigating around the site to find things, but there IS more posting on the individual blogs.

Susan. For old time CCNers, it's difficult, but if you are new, it's more like the experience going to Kos. I read what's on the front page there and indivdual diaries. I never go to their open threads. I think the point was that by everyone posting in the GD thread all the time, others came and went thinking not much was going on here. Visit DKos and see if you have the same experience I do. Going into an open thread there, I don't have a clue who those people are and mostly wouldn't want to join in their conversation.

And that's fine. I personally don't go to DKos unless someone points me in the direction of a particularly good entry for the same reason the spread out nature of this blog doesn't suit me--I don't have the time to look for things. I'm usually multi-tasking when I'm online as it is. But that's okay, I can adapt. It's not going to influence my commitment to Wes Clark and I'll try to make the most of the new arrangement.

Just click on Community if you don't enter that way and go to the most recent open thread. It's the closest thing to what you're used to Susan.

I meant that I used to be able to find everything I needed on one thread and now things are getting spread around to individual blogs. It's easier for me to shop in a department store or a small shopping center rather than deal with a gigantic shopping mall--too many stores and too much leg work. So, there's a lot of things I never get around to seeing. But, I'll deal with it.

It's surprising after how fired up we were after NCCM 1.0 too. (Even if you didn't get to go)

Vacation's over. We're working. And we don't have an immediate campaign to attend to. I try to get here each day - a little at a time. But if I know there is a Wes appearance somewhere, on television or one that Clarkies are attending and reporting on, then I'm here for as much as I can be. And it's always exciting when Wes posts. I love that he is continuing to be as actively involved as he is. And presenting solutions!!

Leadership means lifting people up. --Wes Clark

many, many, times over the past few days. We've got what we've got, so you might as well get used to it. BTW, CCN has NOT stopped; it's still possible to link to a poll at my house and, frankly, I think user mileage is UP from the old site.

Why?

I'm certainly doing a lot more reading than skimming these days.

Unless you are part forensic scientist, it's hard to find a current thread with any continuity or many identifiable bloggers from the old site.

Well, there's always that difference between what we ARE doing there and what we COULD be doing there if we had a competent administration working all three sides of the problem.

and I believe so....I think his term ends in October so the indictments have to come down before that.

;o)

Melange, the term of the grand jury ends in October, and can be extended. Fitz stays with it.

Sorry for length -- go ahead and <1> this -- posted on my blog --

Clark is DA MAN
Clark2008

I've really enjoyed some of the posts by new folks on Wes' global warming post. People seem more interested in posting there and starting their own blogs. I had one guy e-mail me to ask how to start a personal blog. I don't think it occured to him to go to the open thread and ask. Could be the open thread isn't even apparent if you're not looking for it.

We do get the occasional odd duck, eh Westcott? They are never afraid to post what they think.

nt

1. Show up * 2. Pay attention * 3. Speak your truth, and * 4. Don\'t be attached to outcome -- Angeles Arrien

;)

that bigger is not always better, and I think that while we're in an adjustment phase now, eventually those of us who prefer smaller communities will settle into a pattern of interaction, while the Big Blog people will find what they want elsewhere within Clark world, and everybody will be happy. We'll all be doing our part in the ways best suited to our individual preferences.

I thought that too. I've been reading almost all of them, but haven't felt particulary qualified to contribute. But all of our stuff is being read. Right now, I think the goal is to beat larry for the front page. I have my money on tonyw and hogfan.

How about ;o) or :o) ?

"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."

Actually, I don't think we need to pay that price. We can have people constantly sitting on the open thread welcoming people. That would work. We were much bigger in the primaries and we still had that community spirit.

I don't like that people are posting so much to the individual blogs. I don't like pulling short snippits and links off of the "gd" onto the individual blogs. All that does is spread things out. It doesn't foster greater discussion. And it makes things harder, not easier, to find, particularly with our current 10 blogs per page limit. John's telling me we're going to go to 25, but I don't think that's enough unless people stop posting links to articles in their individual blogs and go back to posting them on the open threads. I dunno, maybe 25 is enough. I guess that works on other sites.

Part of the problem with the open thread is that we've been chastised so much for smalltalk that we've completely lost it. I still can't believe that's what Wes really wants. I think we need to have both serious discussions and smalltalk. We don't want to become a bunch of librul intellectuals.

Anyway, I think we should just relax and go back to the way we used to be. The software is close enough for that. We can cut down a bit on the smalltalk. And we can all -- each of us -- make an effort to once a week or so come up with something thought provoking and containing an individual contribution to post on our blogs. Then, we can all make an effort to visit them and comment.

As it is, it's hard to tell the difference between an individual blog that someone poured their heart into and one that somebody just posted a link on. So, hence, the lack of discussion on individual blogs even when someone tries really hard to get a conversation going.

and again you speak for me. Thank you icantbemeowwoof. Nailed it on the part about using an individual blog to post a snip and link. That's discussion stuff 99% of the time but not necessarily deep, ongoing discussions that require a whole blog. As a result they're just knocking the in-depth, thought provoking individual blogs down the line to oblivion.

Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest places if you look at it right.
--Hunter/Garcia

An individual blog that is just a short sentence doesn't really cut it for me. Plus many of us peak in from work. I usually can look for a few minutes at lunch, and that is not enough time to look at the individual blogs.

the part about "relax and go back to the way we used to be." I also hope we can figure out ways to make everyone (not from Finland, that is) more than welcome to vent, rant, shout, snicker, pontificate, pout, belch and fart at will.

Why not?