Hello from the WesPAC Annual Meeting...
Submitted by icantbelieveimv... on November 15, 2005 - 6:12pm.
From the Diaries -- Brent
Hi everybody. There's really no internet access over at the meeting. This was the first break where I could run over to the hotel.
It's been really cool so far. General Clark must have talked for an hour at lunch. Wes covered just about everything--from Iraq to Global Warming. He was on a roll! I don't think he got a chance to eat a thing.
Then Senator Levin talked for about 45 minutes. He talked about Iraq and the pre-war intelligence. That was really neat. He'd just run over from work. While he was talking, Wes was standing right next to where I was sitting. That was neat too.
Next, we had the first break-out seminar. This was a panel discussion of how we won seats in red states. The Vice President for Policy of The Third Way was there, as were Ken Salazar and Chet Edwards. I really like Edwards! (Don't take that sentence out of context--that's Chet Edwards.)
After that, we moved from past success to how we were going to achieve more success in 2006. We heard from the Democratic Governor's Association about the 2006 Governor races, then from the DSCC about Senate races and finally about House races from Rahm Emanuel. There was lots of humor from all of these folks in both breakouts. Lots of optimism. And lots of hard work ahead.
The important question--Wes is wearing a navy blue suit with white shirt and red and blue striped tie.
Sorry this is so short. I need to get back over there now.
Levin was on a roll. What CNN did not report this morning, was that after the Democratic amendment was voted down, Frist took a pen and crossed out the names of the Democratic senators; crossed out two sentences from the amendment; put his name on top and resubmitted the bill. Levin showed a photocopy of Frist poor penmanship.
I asked Levin about Phase II of the Senate trial and whether we could expect results from the closed door session on pre-war intelligence. He was uncertain that a thorough that the analysis of what Senators and administration officials said compared to the available information would be completed. The Republicans want to limit the exploration to show whether there was any data to support claims being made and ignore any evidence that challenged the validity of the relied upon evidence to support those claims.
Levin was very impressive and I was proud to have had the opportunity to hear him.
(November 16, 2005 -- 03:02 PM EST // link)
So it looks like the November 14th deadline Bill Frist set for a plan to pursue "phase two" of the senate Iraq intel investigation has come and gone. There's been progress apparently. But no resolution. No plan on looking into what happened in Doug Feith's office. And apparently no agreement from the majority as to whether the committee will actually be able to interview any of the key people in the administration. Roberts, Frist and Co. are still stonewalling for the White House.
-- Josh Marshall
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/007034.php
George Bush has had his day and he's bollixed it up.
So Rockefeller needs to re-stoke his anger and they all need to come out swinging again. Keep the pressure up.
Right, pia, but I thought their 'agreement' wasn't worth spit, and I don't know about Rocky's 'anger'.
us know what's happening - we've been wondering and look forward to hearing more when you have the opportunity.
Looking forward to hearing more.
George Bush has had his day and he's bollixed it up.
I know if you could have you would have been sitting somewhere live blogging for us all and that you ran back to the hotel to give us this little snip means the world to us!!
El, I wrote to Levin last night, thanking him. I'm trying to be good about letting those who are standing up know that we notice and we appreciate it and how desperately we need them to speak out for us all!
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
and chose "position on an issue" as a subject.
http://levin.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
I hope he made some money to keep WesPAC kicking. I could not efford to go.
Long Island For Clark
I don't know exactly how many people. It's quite crowded. There are no empty seats. All that's left is dinner, although the reception is still going on for a little while. I ran back over here again. I think Catherine said there would be 40 at dinner. She said about 100 people overall and since there weren't any empty seats, I guess that was about the right number.
Tricia got her book signed. She was thrilled. Eric Massa is here. RuthB is handing out NCCM brochures and NCCM buttons. CherylP is "sparkling"--she changed from a business suit to something fancy for dinner. KnightRider is running around with camera in hand. There are many people with cameras. I think we'll see lots of pictures posted. Stan got some good ones too.
We all got to meet Larry and Brent. JOhn is here. I'll be sitting next to him at dinner. Oh, and of course, Westcott is here. Melange is here. I'm going to miss people--sorry. Gordon, drsusan, Pilgrim, Kelly Flinn, oh, I'll have to try harder later.
Wes is as usual FANTASTIC. I just loved the lunch when he spoke for soooo long and he was soooo close. No, I still haven't gotten a two-handshake.
I should get back over. I'll try to do better later.
www.clarkbuttons.com (did I mention they're free?)
Please say "hi" to CherylP for me - I met her when Wes was in Minneapolis (at the Thunderbird). Being from next door (Wisconsin), I'm hoping I will have a chance to work with her more in the future. This is a marvelous report. It is SO VERY ENCOURAGING!!
Leadership means lifting people up. --Wes Clark
And I'm looking forward to a more in depth report. Thanks for giving us a rundown on the man's haberdashery.....LOL! Enjoy the remainder of your day. 
I so wish I was there with all of you. Your recap was wonderful! My Senator Levin is truly a patriot and so glad you got to see and hear him. Doesn't he remind you of Thomas jefferson??? If his hair was a wee bit longer, and with the glasses always setting on the tip of his nose, and a ruffled shirt...TJ he would be!!!
Have Fun...and hello to all!
Sounds like a wonderful time! Tell everyone "Arky says hi!" lol!
"...the measure of success is not 'Can you win?' It's 'Can you get your ideas adopted?' " ~ Wes Clark
Thank you for taking the time to tell us how it was going. Your perspective is very much appreciated.
I really appreciate your reports today, ICB. Almost as good as the real-time blogging from Little Rock. Sounds like a very successful meeting.
Thanks much for the report...Glad to hear it's going well...and I'm jealous of those who are there. :P
"The mark of leadership is not to standup when everybody is standing, but rather to actually stand up when no one else is standing" - Pulitzer Prize winning author Samantha Power, introducing Gen Clark
....you're not blogging on the floor up the back of the room.
Well, I know you would be if there was any way it could be done.
You're a blogging legend, maria. 
Thanks for taking the time to put us in the picture and look forward to further reports.
Oh, and give one of these to westcott for me 
(only kidding, he knows I love him!)
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
Just giving a call out to you all, I'm here with yer'darlin, Phoebe,.. we're at an Iye'rish pub, The Dubliner, with 5 minutes of internet +/-.
Okay, sweetie, I'll let him blog here a bit:)
Westcott:
Bet they don't have Guiness at the WesPAC dinner :) Just thinkin about you guys and having a blast perhaps me and Knight will end up arrested - If all goes well.
Can you hear the Irish music? Good stuff, real good stuff. Wtf they have an internet terminal thingie for I have no idea. What kinda drunken Irishman blogs. Anyways, Today rocked, wishin ye were here lads and lassies :)
"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.)
what a duo 
have a Guinness for me.
(actually I'd prefer a Corona, but hey, I'm an Aussie. A drink's a drink as long as you're shouting!)
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
Great talks and fun today,.... I'll post pics sometime tomorrow w/pics. Dems are going to rock in 2006, ...andd 2008! Sorry, no live-blogging was possible, but not kind of suff that should be posted anyway.
"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.)
Great talks and fun today,.... I'll post pics sometime tomorrow w/pics. Dems are going to rock in 2006, ...andd 2008! Sorry, no live-blogging was possible, but not kind of suff that should be posted anyway.
"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.)
Thanks for the update.
Looking forward to hearing more and seeing the photos
George Bush has had his day and he's bollixed it up.
Thank you for this! You are having fun, I can tell, and.... uh,,, er,,, maybe someone needs to watch Knight and Wescott? They sound like they are having waaaay too much fun.
I can't wait for more reports and photos! Sorry I missed the "party" here :(
Group Hug from all of us here to all of you there!
Now I am convinced that is how Wes stays so fit (besides the swimming)-- You're right. He NEVER gets to eat anything because people are always asking him questions and he's always answering and obliging! What a great diet....
As for the two hand hold....you still have time. Get your hands off the keys for a moment and let it happen.
Did I ever mention that I had the two hander once? For hours on end....I think.
Thanks so much for the update, can't wait for the next one!! Mad Blogger ICB on the streets of DC!!
If I live that long I'll say more after I get back home, either Wednesday night or Thursday.
I can't tell you how "dense" this day was. There was no way to take notes. Had I tried to take notes, I would have missed too much. By dense, I mean that the information and opinions came at a blistering pace -- all day.
Formally it was the WesPAC Annual Meeting. What it really was was "Extol the Virtues of Wes Clark Day." Sen. Levin led the way, followed by Sen. Ken Salazar's ringing endorsement ("the last chapter of his political life hasn't been written yet," or something very close), and at the dinner Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Marion Berry. Pelosi said that Clark was the only person in the world with the credibility, experience, and knowledge able to fix the mess in the Middle East.
I'll have pics posted at Community.Webshots sometime Thursday at the latest. Right now, I'm exhausted.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
BE THE CHANGE you wish to see in the world.
If not us, WHO? If not now, WHEN?
Thank you and everyone else who has written from the event. Wes is at home in the Democratic Party now, and I think the Democratic Party has woken to what a treasure he is to have with them. Pelosi made a very powerful statement about Wes. That is no surprise to us, but it still gives me a start to hear it confirmed by one of the handful of people who receives all of the Congressional briefings, and who can speak for the whole Party. I know Reid respects and listens to Clark also. Salazar is right.
Yes, Tom, absolutely.
The media may ignore our hero, and people on the street still ask too often, "Who's Wes Clark?" when they see my buttons.
But the Democratic Party A-list knows, respects, admires, and listens to Gen. Clark. That point was really driven home to me yesterday.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
BE THE CHANGE you wish to see in the world.
If not us, WHO? If not now, WHEN?
then isn't it their job to be sure the rest of America sees what a fantastic candidate/future president he would be? As much as I'd love to keep Wes Clark our own special little secret, he deserves so much more than that! He's not going to get it unless the Democratic Party "launches" him. What I'd really like to know is what the hell are they waiting for? E-gads.....How much more does he have to prove to them???
End of rant.
Every Democratic leader and elected official will be courted by a lot of insiders in 2007 asking for their endorsements. Right now since Wes isn't running for anything I'm not sure what to overtly expect from them. Clark has given the Democratic National Radio reply to Bush twice since Dean took over the DNC, that puts him on their heavy hitters rotation. Congressional Democrats featured Clark at one or two National press conferences. They have invited him up to the Capital to do briefings, and that gets noted by political insiders. Not bad really for someone who is not an office holder. More is probably going on behind the scenes, both for Clark and other Democrats who either are or want to be Party leaders. That's why it was important to see WesPAC's annual meeting taken so seriously. Clark is definately on their radar.
What will help get them to push Wes more is us. Every time Clark triggers a GetActive campaign, and generates letters to Congress, they get a real ear to the ground sense of how much support Wes has outside of Washington. We have to do all in our power to make each of those campaigns a success, like the one to get Ed Schultz onto Armed Forces Radio was.
And yes, when you lump all that together he does appear to be on their radar. The problem is, there's only so many of "us" to go around. We can all be equally as active as we were during the Ed Schultz campaign but it won't amount to a hill of beans if he can't gain more name recognition with everyday Americans. Wes can't wait to know where they stand if he runs again. He needs to know before he makes that decision.
Conservatively, I'll bet 80% of people I speak with will not know who I am talking about if I bring up his name. And if they do recognize it, it's usually in terms of "Oh yeah, he's one of those retired Generals who's been on TV News." And this is after he ran a National campaign for the Democratic nomination!
I'm willing to do whatever I can to further his cause but if the Democratic Party doesn't cut him from the herd reasonably soon, we're going to be behind the 8 Ball once again. Wes doesn't have the name recognition advantage that elected politicians earn, either within their state and/or on a national level. And with the MSM's penchant to virtually ignore him, he's fighting an uphill battle.
The main thing we have got to avoid is a crowded field in 2008. It only illustrates that our party doesn't know who it is or what it stands for. 2004 was a circus, fercripessake! And if the media has their way it will be all Hillary, all the time until she is either Swift-Boated or commits something akin to the Dean Scream. Meanwhile, no one else stands a chance to get their message out when there are far too many candidates for any normal American to reasonably pay attention to.
I could go on and on.....suffice it to say, there are many "potentials" in the Democratic party right now. I'm sure they all feel they have achieved an inside track with the powers that be. I can unequivocally state that I'm here for Wes, if and when he decides to run, again. I just don't trust the Democratic party to put their support behind the best candidate. They seriously let us down in 2000 and 2004 and look at what we have to show for it.
No real argument to make with any of them. Clark is playing an outsiders hand and that is rarely the position of the favorite. But everything he is doing is good for the Party, and good for the nation, and we can only hope that more and more people continue to see that. We, his grassroots supporters, are one of the few obvious advantages Clark has over most if not all of the elected officials, leaving his own talents out of the equation for the moment. We are increasingly organized and in place now, long before Primary season opens. Most National Dems won't overtly position themselves behind any potential 08 candidate at least until after the 06 election. All of us working to help Democrats succeed in 06 is both a good strategy and the right thing to do, and one of my goals is to make sure that Clark gets every ounce of credit that he deserves for the effort he and all of us here will be making.
you could have said more. The "line-up" of candidates in 08 will simply be another circus.
Ok... So what do we do? I worry like Syb that the DNC has already annointed someone, if not JE or Hillary. Hair on fire here!
Sending Light to Wes to carry with him wherever he goes, so that people walk away seeing the light. But I agree that clearly the Democratic Party needs to cut him from the herd and allow the everyday Americans a chance to hear him. Why they don't see that he's the torch bearer for this party is beyond me. They can WIN in 08 with Wes if they would all stand behind him and take their egotistical selves out of this. They are a bunch of chumps!
opportunities than he's gotten...Shrill has prematurely forced the issue of Dem nominee. It's necessary to curb some of this Hillary-hysteria! NOW
fergawdssake Edwards is the one doing it...which begs the Q, has the DNC already annointed somw?
1. Show up * 2. Pay attention * 3. Speak your truth, and * 4. Don\'t be attached to outcome -- Angeles Arrien
Do you ever receive emails generated by Nancy Pelosi? Well I sure do and if she was so damned impressed with Wes Clark then why couldn't she send one out to her address list, describing what a wonderful event she attended yesterday and extoll Wes's virtues? That would be a natural, imho because she was there and her contributions obviously had a lasting impact on attendees from what I've read here.
But Nooooo! If you weren't there (or a rabid Clarkie) you'd never even know this event took place. And there are so many alternate Democratic groups that could have covered this event and gotten the word out to their lists. Nada.....it's maddening, I tell you!
Makes me want to holler.....
1. Show up * 2. Pay attention * 3. Speak your truth, and * 4. Don\'t be attached to outcome -- Angeles Arrien
1. Show up * 2. Pay attention * 3. Speak your truth, and * 4. Don\'t be attached to outcome -- Angeles Arrien
don't get me started on that son of a mill worker.....
I don't approve of political jokes.....I've seen too many of them get elected.
Thanks Stan! Great info...really good to know he's getting the respect he deserves.
Anxiously awaiting more detailed reports and pictures from all. ;)
"The mark of leadership is not to standup when everybody is standing, but rather to actually stand up when no one else is standing" - Pulitzer Prize winning author Samantha Power, introducing Gen Clark
Thanks for that reinforcement, Stan. Some days I need it more than others!
Leadership means lifting people up. --Wes Clark
He actually ATE! Wow!
Dinner was really neat. Nancy Pelosi talked first and then Wes talked. Then we ate for a while and then Wes got up and lead a discussion with us all for what must have been about 45 minutes. How cool is that? He went around all the tables and asked if anyone had anything they wanted to comment on.
Congressman Marion Berry from Arkansas was there. He gave an extremely moving account of his impression of how wrongly this country is heading. And he said people believe Wes when he talks because he talks from his heart.
Wes left, but many others stayed and we went to the bar at the hotel. Around the table was Catherine, Diana, Erick, Eric, Westcott, Knightrider, RuthB, Howard Park, and a few others. There was another group sitting on the couches, including Stan and Congressman Berry.
BTW, I was really impressed with Nancy Pelosi. She's very dynamic in person. I've never thought that from having seen her on TV, but she really had us riled up.
www.clarkbuttons.com (did I mention they're free?)
We have spies everywhere!
We know what you were doing Rich!!
On November 16, 2005 at 1:20am you were sitting around the table with Catherine, Diana, Erick, Eric, Knightrider, RuthB, Howard Park, and a few others and there was another group sitting on the couches, including Stan and Congressman Berry. [Spy 001 - Code name ICB - sometimes colorfully refered to as the blogdiva]
I am furiousl Here I am working my, er, behind off and you guys are partying in D.C. Well, I am not sure it is purple with rage or yellow with envy, but it is a colorful feeling. Lol!
And it gets worse!
On November 15, 2005 at 9:28pm Rich was still partying, this time in an Irish pub. Secret recordings have the following rant by Rich: "Can you hear the Irish music? Good stuff, real good stuff. [Expletive deleted] they have an internet terminal thingie for I have no idea. What kinda drunken Irishman blogs. Anyways, Today rocked, wishin ye were here lads and lassies 
." [Spy 002 - Code name KR, sometimes colorfully referred to as Knightrider]
There was some rumor that our spy KR and Rich might get arrested, but seems not to have happened.
Boy, am I burned. Will someone please pass me a [Expletive deleted] frosted mug of beer!
And, yes, I ate all the olives. So what?
Noel
for being our link to the events there. It's really encouraging to read all of this. The next best thing to being there!
I used to live on North Connecticut, beyond the Zoo. It was a real nice area. Had a great theater and pub just down the street. I got married once at Tregaron Estate near our apartment.
Why do all you guys have the fun and go to D.C. for these events. Well, I am in what Bush hails as a model of freedom -- Taiwan. And it is indeed. Paper ballots, count by hand, all parties watch each vote counted. 12 million votes counted in one night.
I need another tall one while I dream of lazy fall days in D.C.
And, yes, I ate those little celery sticks. So What?
Noel
P.S. Susan. We had a recount even with no significant difference from the first count.
I worked at the polls as an 18-yr-old, proud of my brand new right to vote in 1972. Even in the midst of Vietnam and after the horrors of the '60's, those seem like such innocent times. We didn't trust the government, but we trusted each other and felt that we had the power to turn things around. Now, people are so much more cynical, and with good reason.
they started counting at 8pm. They finished counting over 12 million votes by 3am or so the next moring. They did it by three people looking at a ballot (with a TV on it), agreeing on the vote, and then shouting to a girl who chalked it up on a blackboard! What do we need electronic voting machines for???
ICB, Knight and all who attended--I had hoped to go, but had to cancel--so was thrilled to see what an a-list event this was!! I pray the Dem establishment doesn't lose sight of the light that is our General.
Looking forward to more and pix.
The General gets it right. Competence--What a concept!
I can't attend these thingys, and it's good to hear something about them - the inside scoop from those in the know is always a treat. Thank you thank you thank you for your gracious work from all points where the cool folks meet! I hope it was chock full of doners and do-gooders!
for blogging from locations here and there to let us touch this event.
Last year WesPAC's annual meeting was not even a glimmer, now it is a shining light. The General never rests from building his foundations -- America's foundations -- and between the spectacular events are the hard ground work that make them possible. Wes Clark sprang onto the political stage with no groundwork laid and made a superb effort. Now Clarkies are one of the most potent political forces in the blogosphere and in the networld and Wes has the ear of the people who have their fingers on the power structures of our nation. Next time it will be a whole new story.
Noel
All the comments to this point have been great in describing the day. It was enlightening and inspiring beyond words, and once again, so good to put faces with names and email addresses! Maria mentioned the dinner and the disucssion that Wes led, taking him around the room for comments. One of the messages I took away from the dinner comments was ORGANIZE. Marion Berry said this was a priority for the Democrats. We must organize on the lowest local level and build up. We must seek out, identify our voters, know where they are and what their issues are, and have a system in place to notify them when important announcements need to be made, and to be able to contact them when election times comes around. This has been one of our downfalls, and the Republicans have beat us at this effort. The other message is to work within the Democratic Party. We can be discouraged with past efforts and messages not getting out, but it means working harder to improve things. If you haven't joined your local committee do so. If you don't have one, see what it takes to get one up and running. Another point that General Clark made is our technology has not kept pace with where we need to be in order for our efforts to organize to pay off. No specific answers to accomplish this were given, but it is something that needs to be addressed.
The respect and admiration for Wes Clark by all the special guests (Chet Edwards, Ken Salazar, Nancy Pelosi -who was much more impressive in person than on TV--Carl Levin and Marion Berry) was very apparent. We certainly got the sense that this is a man they could and would support heartily if he makes THAT decision, but that in the interim, they know he's the go-to-guy for foreign policy, military advice and national security. What an amazing day! Thanks to Catherine and the WesPAC staff who helped make this a superb event, and to General Clark for giving so much of himself today, as he always does. Can't wait to see the pictures that will be posted.
Bloomberg approach is interesting, I think, as well as expensive, but might Dems afford it somewheres?
'They stored the answers in a vast computerized database to develop sophisticated psychological portraits of city voters - identifying eight never-before-identified voting blocs based on people's shared everyday interests and concerns, not on their broader racial, cultural or ideological differences, aides said in interviews in the last few days.
The extensive polling gave Mr. Bloomberg's campaign a deep understanding of the city's voters, and allowed it to tailor mailings, electronic messages and prerecorded telephone calls to voters' specific interests as never before, aides said.
"We sat down in February and said we wanted to do this campaign differently, we wanted to unify the city by looking at people who had common beliefs," said Kevin Sheekey, Mr. Bloomberg's campaign manager. "We were not going to classify them by party or race; it was thought-based."'
in the past that this is how the R's database works.
One of the major R backers used to be owner of one of the biggest software designers in the world.
Wes is on message with the DNC message. I've heard him saying this to us for ages, and this is what Howard Dean is trying to stress now: ORGANIZE! From the ground up! It doesn't happen from the top down. All you get that way are self-serving party bosses and a system of rewarding those who have "paid their dues" regardless of whether they are the best person for the job or not. Each of us is responsible for our neighborhood! (precinct)
I hosted a Democratic Organizing Kickoff event last night and the shocking truth is that with TEN more votes per precinct in states like OHIO we would have won last time. (This is taking the results at face value, of course, but regardless of whether or not the election was stolen, we have to deal with where we ARE.) We need to be the vote finders--finding those Democrats in our neighborhood that don't always vote, so we can make sure they turn out when we need them; registering NEW voters and finding those persuadable independents. All of this stuff was done in the last election, BUT--most of the work was done by a patchwork of PACs without any coordination, not by the party.
WE need to take responsibility for our own territory, and if each of us does our job, the results will follow. WE are all small cogs in a much bigger wheel.So if our local party isn't up to speed, WE need to change it. If you don't know where your local ward club meets, FIND OUT. If there isn't one, START one. If the one that exists is dysfunctional, jump in with both feet and do something about it. This probably isn't universal, but in my state, you don't need anybody's blessing to become a precinct committee official, you just take out a petition, get a FEW (I'm not kidding, it takes about FIVE here) signatures to put yourself on the ballot, and then go knocking door to door (or get your precinct's voter registration list if you want to be more targeted in your approach) and ask people to vote for you. Since this is a race that most people are barely aware of, lining up enough votes for yourself is not a big deal. Then you go to work building an organization of volunteers in your neighborhood and identifying those votes mentioned above. You can be downright SOCIAL about it and invite people to your home or a local coffee shop--it's about winning friends and influencing people. THIS is how we take our country back.
Go here if you want to look at the materials we were provided for our events last night--this will give you more information to help you get started.
http://www.democrats.org/a/2005/10/november_15_hos.php
Got some photos online; Now, the first pic is mostly for ya'll to note Clarks' tie. 
Unfortunately, about half the pics were relatively "clearer" than the others and were posted. On a 2" moniter, the others looked ok, but not full sized. I must've been shaking, since I used no flash in most of the pics that went bad, and it's not a good idea with digital cameras, unless you can adjust for speed. So the candid pics of Catherine and Eric Mullen, well you both lucked out,.....this time.
But was finally able to snap pics of the elusive WesPAC CCN Overlords, Larry and Brent. I'll blog or post something later :) Overall, a Star-studded evening with DC Congressional notables, and of course, the 4-Star General.
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"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.)
Click here.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
BE THE CHANGE you wish to see in the world.
If not us, WHO? If not now, WHEN?
Wes stated that if we can have federal support for faith based inititiatives, why not have unions take on a leading role in helping keep American workers at work by coordinating training programs and recruitment. He suggested we need to re-educate both the public and the unions that they have a far greater role in keeping us competitive and deserve to have an expanded role. He suggested that unions are seen only for the strikes that result from labor difficulties. As there are two or three people in line for many jobs, and going without pay and benefits is prohibitive, strikes may not be as effective a tool as they once were.
Very interesting ideas. Not sure if this isn't a sort of third rail policy issue. Careful framing could make this issue a big winner.
I asked Wes why in light of the many blogosphere polls that place him as a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination, many pundits seemed to consider Hillary Clinton a "sure-thing"? Did he believe that the DNC was leaning toward a specific candidate?
After thinking on this, he really had no idea why, and suggested that he hoped the DNC would not play that role.
A wish I could write you a little eye-witness account of what by all accounts was an intense meeting, but alas, I had to miss this event (or lose my job.) So, this "new" comment is an addition to the "thank you's" to those who have posted their thoughts. Thanks Clarkies!
We will all be together sooner than you think. RuthB will settle for nothing less.
You have not converted a man because you have silenced him.--J. V. Marley
Hey Hey, Meow, I remember yummy Çhet Edwards from my 4 years at Ft. Hood.So nice to have at least one democrat in the area while Shrub was Gov!Glad the repukes haven't figure out a way to gerrymander Chet out of power. GREAT REPORT! WE LOVE WES!
Chet was truly wonderful. He's a bright spot in a dark land!!!
www.clarkbuttons.com (did I mention they're free?)
OH THANKS, Maria!
I hope Senator Levin is receiving lots of thanks for what seems to me to be A LOT OF WORK!
Missing y'all!
HAVE FUN!