OLD General Discussion 9:00PM EDT
Submitted by JustTalking on August 29, 2005 - 8:59pm.
Next thread is here: http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/203
Previous thread was here: http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/181
You will always be able to find the latest GD thread here:
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/blog/170
I know....I'm slow!
Nothing is more American; nothing is more patriotic than speaking out, questioning authority and holding your leaders accountable. Wes Clark
What am I?
A fragment of ancient wrongs,
A javelin, fallen in the grass.
The son of Atreus, the leader of nations,
Is dead--and I, a man of no account,
Am alive.
--Agamemnon's Warrior, Gumilyev
Har! Just kidding. Even I don't take myself that seriously.
Just my long winded way of saying, "No one in particular; why do you ask?"
:-P
....it better.
Who were you on oldCCN?
Nothing is more American; nothing is more patriotic than speaking out, questioning authority and holding your leaders accountable. Wes Clark
On, WESconsin! On, WESconsin!
Plunge right through that line!
Run the ball clear down the field,
A touchdown sure this time.
On, WESconsin! On, WESconsin!
Fight on for her fame
Fight! Fellows! - fight, fight, fight!
We'll win this game.
On, WESconsin! On, WESconsin!
Stand up, Badgers, sing!
"Forward" is our driving spirit,
Loyal voices ring.
On, WESconsin! On, WESconsin!
Raise her glowing flame
Stand, Fellows, let us now
Salute her name!
Those of you heading for Madison, I'd love to be with you tomorrow as I had planned. However, Katrina has changed my plans for me. Due to the cancellations of flights earlier in Miami, I am driving to Mpls. tomorrow to pick up a young family friend from Bolivia who is coming to UWEC for her MBA(I was to have picked her up on Saturday). I will look forward to your reports.
Hopefully, next time.......
Before making a contribution to the Red Cross for relief of Hurricane Katrina survivors, be sure to check if the company you work for will match it if made through Corporate offices.
Nothing is more American; nothing is more patriotic than speaking out, questioning authority and holding your leaders accountable. Wes Clark
Once there was a way to get back homeward
Once there was a way to get back home
Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullabye
Golden slumbers fill your eyes
Smiles awake you when you rise
Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullabye -- The Beatles
Nighty Nite, Maria!
I don't approve of political jokes.....I've seen too many of them get elected.
There is a diary at dKos promoting Russ Feingold for President. I just noticed it, but maybe it has already been mentioned. It has 225 comments right now, so I did not have time to read through them and get a sense for the opinions. But, it is at the tippy top of the recommended diaries, so that tells you something.
They link to a site that looks like a Draft Feingold site. I certainly don't think he has announced.
I'd love to see a Clark-Feingold ticket. I have tremendous respect for Russ. I do think there would be many in the U.S. that would be a bit put-off by a twice-divorced man at the top of the ticket, regardless of how honorable he was. But I think a Clark-Feingold ticket would appeal across the Dem landscape and attract many indies as well - even a few Repubs.
Me likey Russ Feingold as well- I share your respect for Russ Feingold.
Um, no Senators next time regardless
Can't see any real reason to weigh in on Kos about it tho
:)
Wes Clark: American Eagle
Oh man, do I agree with that! All together now - No Senators!
No, I didn't post in order to solicit comments at dKos; just wondering what people here thought, and of course I don't want anyone running for pres except one man in 2008, :) so it did bother me to see the potential support at dKos.
I am going to post a very mild remark about Senators over there.
...it's time to stop thinking and start playing video games.
G'night, my Clarkista comrades =)
It's really great that you guys put the link to the new GD thread at the end of the old one! Nice touch meow! :)
Did you guys check out jai's blog? She links to the KS Dem blog where she posted an amazing piece with links to all General Clarks past few days articles, transcripts, podcasts, blogging, etc. Good idea that we could all do this on our local Dem blogs!! I tried my best to post on the Bring Ohio Home blog but it's not accepting HTML tags for some reason... Go see her blog and rate it up to BoB!!
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest places if you look at it right.
--Hunter/Garcia
"Gen. Wesley Clark, considered by some to be a leading Democratic presidential hopeful in 2008, will be in Madison tomorrow. Here's the info:
MADISON – Former Supreme Allied Commander General Wesley Clark will visit Wisconsin on Tuesday, August 30, 2005, appearing with Wisconsin veterans at the State Capitol in Madison."
http://www.journaltimes.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=1830
Blue State of Mind
Speaking of 5s. Are you all using the ratings? I have only a couple of times, and then I can't tell what is rated what or if, in fact, anything is rated at all.
Also, where you vote 1 through 10 for a blog entry, once I saw 9 point something and wondered if I had accidentally not given it a 10. I couldn't tell what my vote was, or who voted what. So, if it was me, I couldn't correct it.
thread up when I first enter a new thread, but the rating for individual posting seems not to be working yet.
For an experiment, I just gave you a five. :). Now the rating box is gone so I can't rate your post now - again. So, I assume that means my rating went through. But, I have no idea what your overall rating is, or if anyone else has rated you.
OL - we haven't figured out the rating thing yet. If you rate a comment, it gets a little thing saying "rating", but beyond that it doesn't do anything. Someone asked for a FAQ, but I'm sure that request was lost in one of the GD threads.
about rating a comment is that once you go down and hit the little moderate comments box, that huge moderation link disappears! 
at least on that particular post it does... may be worth going through a thread, rate each post click the moderate comment and clean up the thread for yourself! LOL!!
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest places if you look at it right.
--Hunter/Garcia
Nothing is more American; nothing is more patriotic than speaking out, questioning authority and holding your leaders accountable. Wes Clark
Oh Thank you, PA -
Also, a very nice summary on that page, and they included his Web site:
Clark was raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1966, he graduated first in his class from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He also won a Rhodes Scholarship. Captain Wes Clark commanded a company in Vietnam, where he was shot by the enemy and won the Purple Heart, the Silver Star, and the Bronze Star. He rose to the rank of Full General and served as NATO Commander and Supreme Allied Commander Europe. General Clark is retired from the Army and lives with his wife, Gert, in Little Rock. He is the author of two books, “Waging Modern Wars” and “Winning Modern Wars.” General Clark has a website, www.securingamerica.com.
I received this in email from a google alert for Wesley Clark, too.
Sunday night I received in my email from google the transcript from Meet the Press! I should quit being surprised, but I still am happily surprised to see how well it works, and to see Wes in the news.
I don't do Google alerts, but I have customized the news page and it pulls up a lot of obscure Wes stuff for me.
Blue State of Mind
Perception, as they say, is reality.
It's funny how different things bother different people. The moderation boxes for each comment don't bother me, but from other's comments they are an annoyance.
I like subject lines that give an idea what will be in the text - if we must have subject lines at all.
I do miss the numbers, but the "new" tag I could care less about.
So many eyes seeing the same thing so many different ways.
I'm happy with my reality.
Jeevan Vasagar and agencies in Nairobi and Julian Borger in Washington
Tuesday August 30, 2005
The Guardian
A senior United Nations official has accused President George Bush of "doing damage to Africa" by cutting funding for condoms, a move which may jeopardise the successful fight against HIV/Aids in Uganda.
Stephen Lewis, the UN secretary general's special envoy for HIV/Aids in Africa, said US cuts in funding for condoms and an emphasis on promoting abstinence had contributed to a shortage of condoms in Uganda, one of the few African countries which has succeeded in reducing its infection rate.........lots more
As if the people down south don't have enough problems from hurricane Katrina, how'd you like to have to walk outside and face this...
One Horrid Result of Hurricanes
okay, so this photo is from Hurricane Carla, 1961... but dayum!!!
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest places if you look at it right.
--Hunter/Garcia
Seattle, Seventh Heaven
For the religious right, that is.
by Knute Berger
Seattle likes to think of itself as a bastion of deep blue, a liberal city that keeps the beacon of progressivism lit in the dark days of Bush. We've long patted ourselves on the back for our technological and culture exports, too, from Boeing jets and Microsoft software to artisan coffee, beer, and outdoor gear.
But our chief export these days is right-wing extremism.
A poster child for this is local right-wing radio rabbi Daniel Lapin, who founded Toward Tradition, a national organization devoted to forging ties with the Christian right. Among Lapin's influential pals are Tom DeLay, Ralph Reed, and Grover Norquist. His devoted followers include the conservative cultural critic Michael Medved.
As a promoter of "Judeo-Christian" values, Lapin uses a politically charged phrase. Back in the 1930s, "Judeo-Christian" was how broad-minded mainline Protestants rhetorically expanded the big tent to include once-reviled Jews and Catholics. Today, it is code for suggesting that those who don't accept Judeo-Christian values are un-American or worse. I remember listening to Lapin speak at a local GOP banquet where he assured his audience that (wink, wink) there was a reason God sent typhoons to places like Bangladesh. The idea was that God rewards Judeo-Christian free marketers and punishes the unbelievers.
In Lapin's view, the Judeo-Christian God was punishing the heathens with typhoons and tsunamis, not sweatshop owners. The latter are apparently doing God's work with the help of Lapin's best political friends, like the newly indicted Jack Abramoff, the former Preston Gates sweatshop lobbyist who was also on Toward Tradition's board while helping spread Judeo-Christian morality.
But before we snicker at how sleazy it all is, consider the scary part: Back in the 1990s, Lapin was considered a religious outsider and a political nut. But long before 9/11, the war in Iraq, or the elevation of Manichaeanism to official White House policy, Lapin anticipated the world that Bush and the neocons have forged. It's a world where Jews and many conservative Christians have come together to fight a common enemy for biblical lands, one in which free-market capitalism is the instrument of God, and one in which my-way-or-the-highway moralism dominates.
A crackpot in the era of Clinton, Lapin has become a prophet in the age of Bush.
If you read The New York Times Sunday, Aug. 21, you might have seen a story about another conservative gift that has, uh, evolved in Seattle. It was a profile of the Discovery Institute, the local think tank founded by former Seattle City Council member Bruce Chapman. Discovery is also the headquarters of the "intelligent design" movement that is aimed at undermining the scientific theory of evolution. It seeks to replace the idea of random mutation with the notion that "a creator" is running the evolutionary process.
Intelligent design is not new. In the 19th century, many attempted to reconcile evolution with old-time religion and came up with ideas about God's guiding hand. Its currency isn't based on scientific discovery but by religion-powered politics and funding from the likes of Richard Mellon Scaife and born-again billionaires like Roberta Ahmanson. Intelligent design is, in essence, creationism gussied up for mainstream consumption. Recently, both Bush and GOP Senate majority leader Bill Frist endorsed adding intelligent design to school curricula, and they weren't talking about classes in mythology.
Intelligent design advocates argue that they are not creationists because they don't specify who the creator is or how he/she/it did the creating. But how unintelligent do they think we are? Their funding comes from right-wingers of the Judeo-Christian persuasion, and, somehow, I don't think this crowd would be satisfied if presented with absolute scientific proof that the universe was created by Ymir and the frost giants and ruled by Odin.
Another example of local influence is the crusade against sex slavery led by former Seattle GOP Congressman John Miller. Miller, like Chapman, a former Seattle City Council member associated with the Discovery Institute, is the Bush administration's ambassador-at-large devoted to so-called human trafficking (in fact, he is speaking at Discovery Thursday, Aug. 25). While few Americans—and even fewer liberals—would argue in favor of human trafficking and slavery, it turns out that squishy definitions and exaggerated claims have lead to an "abolitionist" movement that seems to have something in common with the white slavery hysteria of former times. The problem may be real but is often overhyped. It has also experienced mission creep to the point where U.S. policy is now to eradicate sex work even in countries where prostitution is legal, regulated, and voluntary. Why? Because all forms of prostitution are sex slavery, period.
This absolutist view of sexual exploitation might please some feminists, but it also delights religious and political zealots. It has injected a new kind of moral fervor into America's foreign policy. It is not enough to make the world safe for democracy—a tall order in itself—but we must promote policies based on conservative religious principles. While Miller is undoubtedly doing good by bringing attention to the overall trafficking issue, he's also providing cover for those who believe that American foreign policy must be fueled by missionary zeal and that our diplomats must become an international sex police force.
It is truly a sign of Seattle's intellectual liberalism that we are the incubator of powerful ideas. Even bad ones.
"Those who cavalierly reject the Theory of Evolution, as not adequately supported by facts, seem quite to forget that their own theory is supported by no facts at all."
--Herbert Spencer: Nineteenth-century English social scientist
My first post ended up on my Blog. I posted in the wrong place. I was so frustrated watching all of you finding your way around in here the past few days and I kept being refused. But I finally got it straightened out. Glad to be back. Lots of changes. Hope I can figure this all out. LOL
Barb
We're mostly all just wandering around trying things out, but you know you just have to ask here and any Clarkie will try and help.
But welcome again!
You'd be taking them to the Better Business Bureau if you bought a washing machine the way we went into the war in Iraq. Wes Clark, CNN Aug 17 2003
Meow (ican'tbelievei'mvotingforageneral) has devised a handy little system for us to find our way to General Discussion thread (GD). We're keeping GD threads to 150 comments (that's the max comments you can view per page). Once 150 is reached, the thread name is changed to "Old" General Discussion and a "New" GD thread is started with a link to it at the end of the old. The "poster" of the thread is Just Talking. If you add Just Talking to your buddy list then you can always click the name, hit "track" and see the threads listed. You can also check "recent comments" to find where people are. AND lots of great blogs being posted as well!
I'm outta here and it's pretty quiet but I'm so happy you're finally in and will hopefully see ya tomorrow!
G'nite all! Keep the blog fire burnin'! :)
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest places if you look at it right.
--Hunter/Garcia
Testing...1,2,3
John Dobson, the high priest of amateur astronomy, stays true to his calling.
By Hugo Martín, Times Staff Writer
Monmouth, Ore. — John Dobson fumes while shuffling between half a dozen homemade telescopes arrayed across a yard like cannons.
It's hot here in the Willamette Valley, and Dobson has been teaching pupils the intricacies of telescope building for three weeks, and he's losing patience. The heat is baking the old man's shirtless skin red, and his white ponytail glistens.
He roams among his students, some in their 30s and others who are seniors, as they polish reflecting mirrors by hand. Dobson fixes his glare on one struggling scope maker, who can't figure out why his mirror is out of focus, then blisters him like a drill sergeant.
"Why would the light from the center be brighter when it's out of focus!" Dobson roars.
Befuddled, the student freezes, stares at his telescope and suggests the center of the mirror isn't hollowed out enough in the middle.
"So, the center is too high!" Dobson bellows. "Is that so complicated?"
He tells the pupil to hand polish the mirror more. Dobson knows his bellowing unnerves some students, but he'll turn 90 next month and he says he's too old to change. "I just get impatient," he shrugs.
And no one protests. They don't even bad-mouth him, so great is their reverence for the man. He has devoted his life to wrestling astronomy away from the pointy-headed astrophysicists in universities and has brought stargazing down to common, Earth-bound people.........lots more and stunning photographs if you click on the photo link on the right
I've had Aaron on in the background whilst reading here. The reporting from NO and area is very, very disturbing. Aaron was talking with Jean Reserve (sp) a very experienced reported who was crying as she was reporting on today's events. There are apparently hundreds of people stuck in their homes, many in their atics unable to get onto their roofs. She came across many poor families, they were also talking about the numbers of disabled poor people and lots of family pets left behind.
Also, someone blogged over at DailyKos that the Bush Administration had cut back on funding the disaster funding for that area prior to this hurricane happening.
My heart goes out to all the people stranded.
Sunnis in crisis over Iraqi constitution
The Guardian: http://tinyurl.com/9q63e
Rory Carroll and Qais al-Bashir in Baghdad
Tuesday August 30, 2005
Thousands of Arab Sunnis took to the streets of Iraq yesterday to demonstrate against the country's draft constitution - but a moderate Sunni group hinted it might back the constitution in a referendum due in October.
Crowds in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit waved placards of the former president and vowed to defeat a constitution, which they said betrayed the once-dominant Sunni minority.
""
(more at link)
"In too many areas we have spawned 'leadership' that does not lead, that panders to our whims rather than telling us the truth, that follows the crowd rather than challenging us, that weakens us rather than strengthening us." - Sen. Paul Simon
Chirac clears poverty tax for takeoff
The Guardian: http://tinyurl.com/7t8th
Jon Henley in Paris
Tuesday August 30, 2005
France plans to launch a "solidarity tax" on airline tickets as early as next year to help fund the global fight against poverty, Jacques Chirac said yesterday.
Saying he wanted his country to be "in the forefront" of efforts to boost aid to Africa, the French president - eager not to be outshone in the aid stakes by Tony Blair's recent drive for the continent - said he had asked the government "to start the necessary procedures without waiting".
Mr Chirac, who last month wrote to 145 world leaders seeking their support for the scheme, said in a speech to the annual meeting of France's ambassadors in Paris that Germany, Algeria, Brazil, Chile and Spain would help promote the idea at a United Nations summit in September.
""
(more at link)
I suggest we help out by auctioning off chances on Ebay to hit Bolton with a pie in the face at United Nations summit. We could possibly feed the world.
I've been googling for hours trying to figure out how the private ambulance coming from Atlanta (leaving Tues. night to arrive Wed. morning) will be able to get my aunt and cousin. All roads into the Parrish where they are in Covington are closed and they won't let anybody in due to down trees and all that comes with them. I don't have the sense that flooding is the issue there. They have no power there and no phone service, even cell phones don't seem to work there. I've been calling all the emergency type numbers there like fire, police, rescue, national guard and nothing works. I sent an e-mail to my cousin in Atlanta to call the Red Cross there to try and get one of their Ham radio operators to see if they can go that route to get a message to someone to contact my cousin in Covington and let her no they are trying to come and get them. New Orleans sounds like it's even worse. Hwy 10 is damaged and they won't let people come back in from the west. The flooding sounds pretty grim. Anybody have any ideas on what to do to make contact?
web sites set up to pass message traffic in situations like this. A yahoo chat board or something? It is kinda late at night to get a lot of ideas here -- not a lot of us logged on.
The best one I've found is for the N.O. Times-Picayune, but mostly it's people asking for information with very few replies. Most of what information I've found has come from there. I guess the best I can hope for is they clear some of the roads in that area tomorrow and get power going to at least the emergency services so perhaps calls can reach them. I'd hate for that private ambulance to drive there from Atlanta and be turned away. I did read there is a boil order for water in that town, but no power to boil water and the chlorine trick the suggest would have to be known by those living there, because they have no way to get the information now. I'll keep working it. Hope the weather clears tomorrow and lets the massive numbers of emergency workers get in there to do what they have to do. I read that the rain over the Mississippi Delta over the next few days is going to make the flooding in New Orleans worse.
I'm sure that the Red Cross is your best bet. They may be able to coordinate and locate you cousin.
New Orleans may be worse and not improving. CNN is reporting that there's a two block break in the levy causing more flooding. Tulane University Hospital is cut off and may have to be evacuated by air.
Barry
All the hospitals are running on emergency power. I wonder how long that will last. The TImes-Picayune just posted that their back up system for phones was running out and they listed a couple of numbers for family to be able to contact people who work there and that's it.
The Tulane University hospital is about to loose their emergency power. The water is coming up and is going to drown the generators.
Barry
on -line database of Amateur Radio Emergency Services clubs where one can search by location. There are several listings for Covington, LA, but they may not be on the air even with portable generators. I'm not set up with Ham gear here to check. I can give you a list of callsigns that someone could listen for.
I found that also, but did read that the Red Cross uses volunteer Ham radio folks. Given that truckers use them, I'm hoping they have something figured out to get messages around to the various Red Cross offices. If Covington uses them, all of them must. At one point the CNN reporter said even their sat phones weren't working, but perhaps with the storm passing that will change. Apparently the power outage on this scale has impacted the cell phone towers so cell phones aren't working.
The phone number for the Emergency Management for that parish is (985) 732-5200.
It looks like the don't have a web site.
Barry
Website doesn't help anyway since they don't have power. Every number I've called and I've been calling lots of them with 985 area codes all have the same recording (due to hurricaine your call can't be completed) or a fast busy. The paper website said that calls weren't making it into that Parrish. It's weird that you can't even call police, search and rescue or the fire debt. Can't even call the national guard. I tried that one too.
That sounds like the area code could be blocked. Incoming calls to an area can be blocked to save the available lines for those in the area doing rescue work. If they don't do that the lines can be swamped by calls coming in from all over the country.
Barry
From WAPO: http://tinyurl.com/dfwuw
By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
The growing influence of evangelical Protestants is roiling the military chaplain corps, where their desire to preach their faith more openly is colliding with long-held military traditions of pluralism and diversity.
""
Interesting read continues at the link...
"In too many areas we have spawned 'leadership' that does not lead, that panders to our whims rather than telling us the truth, that follows the crowd rather than challenging us, that weakens us rather than strengthening us." - Sen. Paul Simon
also has been issued due to all that water and downed trees for the eggs to hatch in, which takes 4 days. The disease potential there is really daunting.
posted last night. he'd got out of NO, don't think he said exactly where he was. He couldn't register here as alexm and now going by the name Clark Warner (stirrer!)
You'd be taking them to the Better Business Bureau if you bought a washing machine the way we went into the war in Iraq. Wes Clark, CNN Aug 17 2003
The weather channel's web site, www.weather.com , has a blog going with a few posts coming in re more specific information on areas hit by Katrina and requests for information. You may want to post there.
Here Im thinking Im the only headcase up at this hour :p
Whats going on out there in the world?
You probably are the only headcase up at this hour, the rest of us are normal.
Looks like a levy has given way in NO, so more flooding there. And LJM can't contact relatives north of NO.
Barry
If this keeps up we'll all be headcases before long.
So much hope this morning as thing were being downgraded.
Downgrading the storm is a good thing, however there are new problems that can be just as much of a hazard. They say N.O. may not have power for a month. People who have evacuated are going to be kept away for a very long time I suspect. They were talking to the head national guard general who is sending people from all over, but he made the point to say 75,000 of his people are in Iraq and the thousands he has fighting fires in the west and now all the areas with flooding needing help as well as the rest of the hurricaine damage and police work that goes with it. Already pledges are coming in like Office Depot pledged $1 million to the Red Cross and Anheuser Busch is sending huge quantities of canned water. Sounds like they need to send in those big transport helicopters to evacuate more people.
doesn't mean I'm not a headcase, of course.
time for me to go for a quick walk before it gets dark. maybe peak hour will be over when I get back. I'm not used to this crowd ;-)
You'd be taking them to the Better Business Bureau if you bought a washing machine the way we went into the war in Iraq. Wes Clark, CNN Aug 17 2003
I suffer from barometric pressure related migraines. As Katrina moves north towards the midwest, the pressure is dropping. My f'ing head is ready to explode, can't sleep.
I suffer from barometric pressure changes, that started with migraines, but now that I have fibromyalgia, it takes over my whole body. I can feel a storm coming in the gulf or Carribean for days. I just wait for them to hit somewhere, anywhere. Then the other storms could be coming from California and I can feel them coming for days, too. It's rare to meet someone who is as sensitive to the barometric pressure thing as I am.
to hear that. I know you must hit levels of pain I haven't experienced yet. I hope this storm system hasn't/doesn't set you off.
State of Louisiana Local Emergency Planning Committees
Updated as of December 30, 2004
U-Wes-A!
U-Wes-A!
U-Wes-A!