News from ms in la!!!
Submitted by icantbelieveimv... on February 4, 2006 - 3:12pm.
Firsthand Accounts
From the diaries -- Larry
She and about 10 other bloggers (Arianna Huffington, Kevin Drum, Hekebolos, etc) met with Wes for about 2 hours; it just ended. (These are sketchy notes from a cell phone call with lots of noise in the background. I hope I got it all right...) Arianna seemed to be trying to push against Wes's plan for Iraq in favor of Murtha's, but ms said she seemed open to hearing Wes's point of view. There was some talk of trying to get the online blogging community to come get some kind of agreement about Iraq. Wes was begging everyone to get away from name calling. He talked almost exclusively about fp. He's really pumped. Telling funny stories, wearing navy blue blazer, blue shirt, blue/white tie and khaki pants. The whole thing is taking place in a beautiful church. Stephanie Miller is up next to introduce all the candidates at the rally. While the bloggers were talking to Wes, there was a painting of Jesus watching over them; ms was particularly close to Jesus. (Take that right wing extremists who think they own the Lord!!!) Wes wants bloggers to bring apolitical people into the party. And for grassroots to come together on a united national security front. He puts a lot of responsibility on the online community. OK, that's all I got. Hope it's reasonably coherent.
Getting so many of those these days. Do I remember a dry period when we wondered where Wes was at? He was working under the radar but now he has come out full into the sunshine. He is being seen and heard everywhere.
Thanks ICB and ms in la!!
Gert probably opts to stay home with the grandkids ;)
You cannot successfully run the world on comic book slogans and third rate biblical homilies.
,,,there is probably a dais of some kind
You cannot successfully run the world on comic book slogans and third rate biblical homilies.
I have to say I think the "get out now" people have simply not taken a realistic look at our situation in Iraq. And I don't mean to denigrate people like Jack Murtha. I think he had to take an extreme position in order to be heard. There are times when you hope you won't achieve all that you set out to, but if you can be met halfway, then you will have achieved success.
And I sincerely hope that Arianna and friends were honestly listening to what Wes had to say. She can be a bit of a know-it-all at times. Perhaps the reception her blog has received has gone to her head.
Hmm.....I wonder.....has she ever worn a uniform?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for thinking of us, ms......and thanks for being the "instrument" ICB!
Seriously. She owns THE blog, on some level it's about proprietorship! Consider katerinavanderwhoosis. Additionally I got an overdose of Arianna during the Great CA Recall Scam and clearly the woman is enamored of her own voice...seemingly, she hears no other.
How great must our failure be until we turn in panic and disgrace to a Man of Honor? - Quigley
There are some people who think that their opinion is more valid than those who have lived and breathed a situation, if for no other reason then they have a platform to express it.
I'd love to know what experience she bases her position on. Has she ever led troops into battle or sat at a multinational negotiating table? Oh.....I guess that somehow doesn't count.
Culture of Corruption, Culture of Corruption, Culture of Corruption.....
How politically astute is the woman?...oh arianna sweetie, if you (and a few dozen other bit-players) had not felt the need for 'showcasing yourselves' in the great specatacle of all time, the Great California bogus recall election, is it at all possible that Cruz Bustamante might just be our guv today? and that the energy barons might have been forced to fork it over to the state of CA? you silly a**
How great must our failure be until we turn in panic and disgrace to a Man of Honor? - Quigley
Bless Francine Busby's heart...bless those bloggers hearts! Bless 'em, Jesus! (yea, even Arianna)
Go Los_Angeles_California! Go!
ahem, (regains composure)
Thanx Maria and m_s!
How great must our failure be until we turn in panic and disgrace to a Man of Honor? - Quigley
and enthusiasm. Lol!
The events in California are heady though, arn't they? It still has a place in my heart as my voting state.
WELL OF COURSE IT DOES! CALIFORNIA LOVES WES CLARK!
How great must our failure be until we turn in panic and disgrace to a Man of Honor? - Quigley
because she is so far left and if she could bring him over to his ideas, it would be a real triumph. Murtha is a sweetheart (IMO), but Wes knows best on this issue. We need to bring Pelosi over to Wes as well.
ICB, many thanks for this tidbit of loverly news! :D
THANK YOU MS!
Unitary Executive Theory is NOT a theory anymore!
It was tough to hear her and we didn't have a lot of time and it was hard to type while I was holding the phone in one hand. (LOL! Was that a runon sentence or WHAT??)
she was a Republican and she instigated her former husband to run. General Clark is much too smart to be taken in. Although as I always say, she is a highly intelligent woman. But she is now in her Hollywood period.
Promise you that when we are in LR I can fill you in further.
You cannot successfully run the world on comic book slogans and third rate biblical homilies.
here we go again?
How great must our failure be until we turn in panic and disgrace to a Man of Honor? - Quigley
..I assumed it was just a mistake....but I'm beginning to detect a pattern here and there is simply no call for it. And besides, it's just plain mean!
You cannot successfully run the world on comic book slogans and third rate biblical homilies.
upfront and current on his own board.
How great must our failure be until we turn in panic and disgrace to a Man of Honor? - Quigley
Maybe someone doesn't understand if you rate anything lower than 10 it can keep it off 'best of blog.' It appears someone rated it 9, which on the surface seems a good rating.
BTW, I hate this ratings system. It creates bad feelings, makes the threads hard to read and the pages look messy. I've also noticed a select few people here have been blessed with rating powers. Overall, it sucks.
"Some of them put on their cowboy boots and put their feet up on the desk." -Wes Clark
we could handle the trolls! They don't seem to find us here much these days, but the more name recognition Wes gets, well....
it's good to feel there's this flurry of activity with Wes getting out and meeting his supporters.
ms will of course write something fabulous herself, so I can't wait for that, but meantime this is a very tasty appetiser.
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
Welcome to our community. Since you'r lurking, it may be that you're here just because you like General Wes. on tv.
In my trying to keep up with his tv appearances, I was trying to get better tv reception in my study and the old tv there was just about defunct. For space reasons, it needed to be a small set, so I dashed out one day last week and bought another small tv set. It's a sortuv an offbrand and I like it a lot. General Wes should look really good on it.
And with the hurricane and all, it has nice audio for disaster/security times. It has some nice features. But one of the features is something I've not seen before. It's that when I put it on Mute,which I do often when writing online or am on the phone, talking, it prints out in text on the screen every word that's being said on the program.Prints it in the scroll beneath the picture.
Is this common on tv sets now? Does anyone else here have this feature on their tv set, and, if so, do you like it? I'm liking it, but it's so new to me that that might just be because it's new.It could, I can see, get distracting.
(For Long-time members here too:) Let me know? thank you, Clearsky
a setting on most tv sets. I know I have it on mine at home, and they have it in the gym. Not all programs have it, but it was originally designed for the deaf. I don't know if it is mandated on new sets, but it might be.
Closed captioning is an assistive technology designed to provide access to television for persons with hearing disabilities by displaying the audio portion of a television signal as text on the television screen. Beginning in July 1993, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) required all analog television sets with screens 13 inches or larger sold or manufactured in the United States to contain built-in decoder circuitry to display closed captioning. Beginning July 1, 2002, the FCC also required that digital television (DTV) receivers include closed captioning display capability.
In 1996, Congress required video program distributors (cable operators, broadcasters, satellite distributors and other multi-channel video programming distributors) to close caption their television programs. Pursuant to this requirement, the FCC in 1997 set a transition schedule requiring distributors to provide an increasing amount of captioned programming.
"Some of them put on their cowboy boots and put their feet up on the desk." -Wes Clark
Now that I know, I'll check out the docs, as there's probably something to click or set to turn it off as well.
How sweet to take the time to give us little tidbits!! :D Clarkies are awesome!
I've been on the phone with a friend in CA (different one than the newly convinced Wes is BEST one!) who's bro in FL fed her the line about "almost started WWIII!" LOL!! I'm not good at debunking without notes/articles so I finally found the article in the NYReview by Elizabeth Drew that explains it all...
phew. I need to get better at just talking it out and not have to depend on finding the articles!
Is there another place that explains that episode that anyone is aware of?
**************************
Clearsky - I had a tv for a bit that did that on mute! I now got my old Sony fixed (picture clarity can't be beat!!) and it doesn't do it, but that was a trip! I had never seen it before. I can't remember what the tv was that did it... Maybe RCA? hmmmm. that doesn't sound right.
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
The best, the very best account of the whole issue of the World III comment by the British Lt.General Mike Jackson, who was just subordinate to our U.S.full General Wesley Clark in the NATO chain of command, is: "Waging Modern War", book by General Wesley Clark, 2001 Part IV, "Endgame", Chapter 15, "Pristina Airfield", especially pages, 392-395.
On page 395, General Wes succinctly lays out the differences in their views. "Jackson was an operational commander. He was focused on the task at hand..." "I saw the problem in strategic terms..."
It's an amazing story and wonderful to read as a story, a true story. (General Wes and General Jackson have continued to work well on things together--- over the years since.)
Clearsky
HI!!
I just heard one of the most Presidential speeches I've heard in a LONG time-- in a Church no less! Booming off the Gothic stone walls, a totally mesmerized congregation of about 400 people....pin drop moments everywhere.
Brilliant. Huge applause moments, many spontaneous bursts in mid-sentence, and standing ovations mid speech. Can't wait to blog the whole thing, but for now know that Wes has got the public speaking thing DOWN. And he's loving it.
As for Arianna-- quite a story. I geve her our blog link as well...so you know... She is a strong proponent of Murtha Method for extrication, yes-- but I called her on it after Wes left the room and asked her if she felt somehow that Murtha's Middle East sources were somehow better, higher, more informing than Wes's might be? Could she simply dis Wes's point of view so readily, given his unique understanding and experience in the region as well as the military....and maybe there was room for her to at least consider that there may be more merit to General Clark's position. I saw her listen and take it in. I saw her wanting to argue the knee jerk Get Em Out Now argument too which is so easy to default to -- and so much easier politically to purport and get support for.
She seemed to really be open to giving thought to these other POV's and her main concern was politically that the Dems could speak with one voice for the '06 election platform. To which Kevin Drum retorted that you will not find one issue all Dems agree on 100%
I had suggested to Wes when he was in the room (under the onlooking gaze of the acrylic Jesus) why not form a panel of the leading Dem voices on National Security to help create the platform -- round off the edges where there are differences and come to some common ground so we might show Rove we have some unity on it and a solid policy agreement. He had a funny answer to that...He threw it back in OUR laps-- the bloggers.
He want US to create that dialogue and to get people on the same page. Not sure we are all up to that kind of influence but Wes seems to place a LOT of value on the blogging community now.
I noticed after our little run in -- Arianna kept nodding at me and making eye contact until we were ready to exit the offices and enter the church for the rally -- she took me aside and asked for a card with my email..... Hmmmm. It was the only card she requested, so we'll see if she wants to further that conversation!
Meanwhile, it'll be interesting to see what she has to say on her blog about today.
All the bloggers were there 15 minutes early, (except Arianna) which was funny because L.A. is noted for the opposite. Bloggers are so courteous!
I have to go now as the next event is coming up and I have stuff to do. Plus I want to save the real meat for a blog!! The Church speech was phenomenal. On FIRE. Stay tuned!
Tenterhooked here! :D i will just be going about my biz now, running mantra in my head...convertariannaconvertariannaconvertariana.
Or what the heck, overthrow her and commandeer her blog m_s.
How great must our failure be until we turn in panic and disgrace to a Man of Honor? - Quigley
We've got to watch out for those brush fires out here!
Alert the firemen--
I taped the Church speech but should've taped our blogger session because it was really in depth and lasted nearly two hours!
t'is indeed the season for burning bu$h!
Go Wes! Go m_s!
How great must our failure be until we turn in panic and disgrace to a Man of Honor? - Quigley
Now that be a mighty Piratey thing to do eh? Overtake another blog on the high seas?
I share her concerns that if we don't formulate the DEM platform on Iraq - the one that is clear and bears the consensus- we risk being too splintered on the main issue that Rove has once again thrust forward as the '06 determinator (not to be confused with the terminator) We have Iraq policy A, B, C , D and all of the above. It muddies the campaigns and gives them more fodder to accuse us of being the party without solutions.
I think she's thinking purely along the lines of what will sell -- Sales. She is right to be concerned, but we need to bring her around to the Wes Way, which is a tougher sell then the Murtha Method.
He recently aired on C-Span about the Alito nomination.
However, he also added that on issues,...Dems essentially could be categorized into distinct 6 camps, whereas the GOP had unified into one. Unfortunately, each Dem camp thought passionately that they were "right", while the others were wrong....
Anyone who's not watching the Superbowl tomorrow night should hear him on C-Span at 6'ish;.. whether it's a rebroadcast or more recent presentation, it's important for Dems to unify with a common message and frame it properly, as the GOP have done....
I believe the GOP is primarily broken down into TWO camps: Dumb & Dumber. You've got to be half way intelligent to form your own opinion. Most of the Republican voters just want to told what to do.
Culture of Corruption, Culture of Corruption, Culture of Corruption.....
...besides it's prolly a transient medical aberration that can be cured with facts,... someday,..
...and that's why we must support science!
is not an uncommon trait - basically fostered by antiquated educational systems. Why think when it's so much easier to have someone (or hire someone) do it for you? A la Doofus.
Why?
He wasn't at the blogger round table, the church was packed.
The six camps is probably true, but it can be a detriment to us when it comes down to the wire in campaigning. Wes is stressing broader themes we can unite on : Country before Party, save the Constitution, We're more vulnerable now not safer, walk away from the partisanship-- the "ugliness" and the name calling that have degenerated politics to the lowest common denominator...etc.
It is really starting to feel like a campaign is blooming here for Wes -- it's in the air when he walks up to speak-- there is an excitement you don't commonly find.
Now I'll save the good stuff for later!
in terms of the "what sells" approach. And yes, Dems do need to formulate a unified platform on Iraq. And how better to assimilate Wes as a Democratic voice then to have him lead the charge on this issue? The party needs to recognize him, officially. This is the ticket, imho.
Culture of Corruption, Culture of Corruption, Culture of Corruption.....
They do need to recognize Clark. Perhaps we need to make it clear that when the party turns its back on Clark they turn their back on us as well. That doesn't mean that we'll walk away any more than Clark would walk away but the party needs to understand the meaning of their actions, or non-action.
Barry
Are you safer today than you were five years ago?
I like it. Any ideas on how we might collectively go about doing this?
Just brainstorming, now: Should we compose a letter to Howard Dean and /or Harry Reid.....complete with signatures of the Clarkie faithful? And who should deliver said letter?
Anybody.....feel free to jump in on this! We need to formulate some ideas It's high time the Dems recognized Wes as a major player!
Culture of Corruption, Culture of Corruption, Culture of Corruption.....
if everyone forwarded ms's, mother spiegels, sybils, Joes, etc. accounts of the SF and LA meetings to everyone in their address book. (At least a couple of them.) I have a file of about 30 people that I forward Clark stuff to almost daily. Haven't received any complaints yet and one wants to go to the next NccM.
Why?
I was thinking of starting on a smaller scale, or at least a lower level. When I talk with "insiders" locally they'll often brush off any reference to Clark. They may just ignore what I say about his ideas or, especially when I press the issue, say that Clark is not part of the party leadership. I point out to them that is they're pushing Clark and his ideas aside then they're pushing me aside as well.
Remember, "all politics is local".
Barry
Are you safer today than you were five years ago?
...to show up -- everywhere you can, wearing a Clark button or dog tag (e-mail me), and mentioning his name at every chance you get.
Be the Clarkie in your local party organization. Join any state or local blogs and/or Yahoo! groups and start posting things about what Clark is doing and saying.
Implement Woody's Allen dictum personally: "90% of success in life is just showing up."
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
BE THE CHANGE you wish to see in the world.
If not us, WHO? If not now, WHEN?
That's the idea. When you walk in a room and hear a couple of party "pros" saying "here comes that Clarkie" you'll know you're on the right track.
Barry
Are you safer today than you were five years ago?
in relation to what the polling show on Iraq has shown--that while Americans want out, they want a pullout according to how things are going on the ground. They're really not at the "cut and run" (as the GOP paints it) mentality yet.
It's really frustrating to see the Democrats all over the map on this one, while Clark could easily get the ear of the public with his common sense approach. The public could be educated on all the ramifications to the region, including the impending adventures in Iran and Syria. The DC Democrats are BLOWING it again--they could pre-empt the GOP by calling them out on what the results could be. How can they be trusted after Iraq? And the General could be given a wider audience if he could speak for them than he's getting by going it alone on FOX.
Visit www.zianet.com/insightanalytical - Home of the World Media Watch M-W-F, also at Buzzflash.com
Way to go, ms! I guess Ms. Huffington had her feathers ruffled a bit by you and Kevin Drum. HA! That's the spirit.....Oh man, I wish I had been there for that. And she asked for your card.....
Niiiice!
Wes does seem to have the public speaking thing down now, doesn't he? Gosh, he's really on a roll. Oh.....I'm lovin' it, I tell ya'!
Culture of Corruption, Culture of Corruption, Culture of Corruption.....
We should wait to see what she writes (if she does) about it and carry a civil challenge to her. I sense she responds to a well thought out opposing view if you have a strong counterpoint backed up.
There is a kind of zeitgeist "need" to adopt Murtha's idea-- to ease the bleeding as soon as possible now that the wound has been exposed. Like I said, it's the facile solution. She puts a lot of stock in the fact that Murtha was getting feedback from the ground-- the troops and officers in Iraq. Wes challenged her on that -- from WHO? Do you know? Which majors? Lieutenant Colonels? Privates? WHO is he talking to? Why should they be the ones to listen to? Valid questions.
The Get Out Now argument is so terribly seductive and simple. It will be a hard one to combat I believe.
But she responds to challenges, so we need to visit the blog when we can and deliver.
Ok ms,.. best you not ms the next series? ... shooo! BTW did Clark mention anything about the IAEA reporting to Irans' nuclear program to the UN Security Council?
(talk more about Iran) but there were so many questions and only so much time. So there were some issues he couldn't get to. Iraq and the Dem positioning on it took a lot of time.
And now I have to go get dressed!!
Oh one more thing-- all the rows around me in the church got ICB Wes Pins and were wearing them!! They were very happy to put them on!
If she responds to a challenge then I suppose she's not completely lost to Wes's viewpoint about the situation in Iraq. At least she acknowledged that there may be valid reasons to believe what Wes is saying has merit in the long run. This is good news, actually.
Now go, have fun!
Culture of Corruption, Culture of Corruption, Culture of Corruption.....
Arianna might just respond better to an articulate and inspired supporter like m_s rather than to a **** Star General and potential (hopefully) candidate.
Remember, m_s can talk her bird out of a tree.
How great must our failure be until we turn in panic and disgrace to a Man of Honor? - Quigley
took one look at ms and felt they spoke the same language. Some women just don't respond as well to a man of authority as they do to a competent woman. And, well.....if she's not going to respond to ms, she's not going to respond to anybody!
Culture of Corruption, Culture of Corruption, Culture of Corruption.....
in the convincing... NOT that I don't already know that m_s works minimum 2 jobs and has her own website to maintain. m_s is a busy woman, don't get me wrong...
...don't get me wrong m_s, y'hear?
How great must our failure be until we turn in panic and disgrace to a Man of Honor? - Quigley
I got my money on ms_in_la.
Sounds to me like our girl scored points.
Can't wait for further installments!
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
'It's a process' - m_s will 'work the issues'
...been mulling this all evening. 
How great must our failure be until we turn in panic and disgrace to a Man of Honor? - Quigley
Keep up the good work! And thanks a million for taking the time to update us.
You cannot successfully run the world on comic book slogans and third rate biblical homilies.
Thank you and bless you for stopping in on your way in and out!! Sounds like you'll be in late late with the final report so I look forward to hearing about it in the mornin'!
Yippee!!!
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
I expect a book from you! "under the onlooking gaze of the acrylic Jesus" haha.
I expect good things from Wes!
Bless you ms for your keen mind and caring enough that you didn't hesitate to counsel Ariana, too. You Californians will keep us on the edge of our seats. LOL!
Unitary Executive Theory is NOT a theory anymore!
Can't wait to read more! Been up to my neck in DU threads all week but I hope to catch up reading here in the morning. I am so glad that you made that contact with Arianna. She has a strong voice and maybe some good will come from this.
Sounds like a fantastic weekend of Wes appearances. Syb - so glad you got to meet the Man and hear him speak. Will we hear more about the channeled memo? Hope so. It must have been a hoot.
I have never seen him quite like that in any video or broadcast. Very animated Wes. Pure delight. I truly hope that somewhere out there there is a video.
How great must our failure be until we turn in panic and disgrace to a Man of Honor? - Quigley
We must have the General as our next President! We must contribute to enable him to do what is necessary to win in in 2008. I actively campaigned for him in 2004 from Norman, Oklahoma, and, although he only won the Oklahoma primary, I am ready to start all over again. Where do we get Wes pins, etc.? I have met Wes several times at fundraisers. The last time I talked with him was in Stillwater, Oklahoma when he appeared to help the Oklahoma Democratic Party. I am seventy-eight years old, and, in my opinion, he is the only person who can lead this country and the world out of the terrible mess that has been forced upon us by the current administration. I am sending in my contribution immediately.
Button Lady and she does some fabulous buttons. She's most likely read your post and respond to you directly.
Glad you're rarin to go, most of us are too.
http://www.cafepress.com/DontBlameMeWKC/. Buttons/pins, bumper stickers, shirts, hats, etc.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
BE THE CHANGE you wish to see in the world.
If not us, WHO? If not now, WHEN?
they're still available.
http://wildeyejames.com/wescard.htm
Why not?
I can make you whatever you want. Check out the existing designs I have here:
But I can customize as well.
to get away from the name calling" Oh...OK.....I'll TRY harder. 
I don't trust Arianna Huffington. Ulterior motives. Good luck, tho, ms.
Can't wait for the report from tonite!!
AlexM visited us last Sunday with the news that the other possible undeclared candidates have people tabling the Dem events. I heard from Alex this week, and the first hurdle is finding the $$$ to pay for the flyers. He has offered a generous contribution, but that still leaves us to raise $2500. He also has the contacted the printer and can get a very good price. The next step is targeting our states, and finding Clarkies to keep their eyes open for opportunities to get out there.
General Clark needs roots both on the ground and in cyber space if we are to increase our numbers. This can have no connection to WesPAC, I understand that. But if we are serious then we must have a plan. We already know the man.
ps I don't think this in any way hinders anything that we do to turn to turn the congress blue. In fact, being out and about may be just the ticket.
You have not converted a man because you have silenced him.--J. V. Marley
But Alex assured me that is ALL they talk about at the Warner's PAC blog. We can take it any where we want...but I think that Grassroots action needs to be started as long as it doesn't interfer with any work we do for 06.
You have not converted a man because you have silenced him.--J. V. Marley
I knew Wes would have a tough time with Arianna. She's been blowing the "get out now" horn for some time. And Kevin Drum was the biggest critic of Wes' Iraq OpEd. Should be very interesting.
Keep 'em coming. LOL