WHY WE NEED GENERAL CLARK AS PRESIDENT

“...it was. A mighty thanks to those who supported this venture, a too bad to those who didn't, we needed ya. At any rate, please give it up to a man who entered the race by being drafted, made a positive splash and kept it up though out the run.

Yes, it is truly a sad day in my household. We have become very drwn to the General over these last few months. His buttons and stickers will reside next to Uncle Ross's stuff, as a symbol of what shoulda been. It is a shame and too bad for most of ya. If he doesn't get in somewhere, you'll be hearing nothing from me but "Now, if the General had won....(enter any b!tch here)...." LOL!

Here ya are, for chit and giggles, is the offical bow out I recieved:

I know how shocked and hurt everyone must be about the way things have turned out today - especially the fact that General Clark was not given the opportunity to tell us his plans to end his bid for the White House, first, before we heard it on the news.

My heart goes out to the Clarks and to all who have worked so hard and for so long -- and with such hope for the future. I am proud of the work everyone has done.

And that work is not yet complete.

But first, tonight, let's take this time to appreciate General Clark, his wife and his family for answering the call to service we all made. I feel privileged to have been involved in what, clearly, is a historical time and know many of us are grateful for the honor to have served with the General.

Here's an important point: Many of the issues and policies, so dear to all of us, would never have seen the light of day without General Clark's tireless efforts. Nor have been included in both the Kerry and Edwards "General" policies platform, without the strength of the General's message or the strength of your support.

And these policies -- and many more we need to see, to be able to take back our country -- must be protected and INSISTED upon. I have to believe General Clark would want that, as well.

Therefore, there are still ways WE can effect the outcome against George W. Bush, without compromising our principles. We have a great deal of power and there's still much for us to do -- whether we support the eventual candidate or not -- and whether the good General ends up as part of a future administration or not.

Let's not forget there is an entire media that no longer plays as the fourth estate - the check and balance for the truth. We, here, on the Internet, may be the last thin gray line for that truth and we must discuss the ways we protect and use this power we have gained, for good.

For tonight: Thank you, General Clark and Mrs. Clark and Wes and Astrid (and son) and Gene (and his argyle sweater) and the rest of the Clark family. You gave so much, because we asked you to, and we will never forget it. And, whatever road you take now, I know I can speak for everyone when I say, you have our gratitude, our respect and our support.

And thank you, DraftWesleyClark and DraftClark and Meet Up Hosts and Grassroots coordinators and individual supporters and, dear to my heart, Clark's Army, for all we have done and for all we will still do.

For now, let's give General Clark the opportunity to share his own plans for the future. We own him that. And then we can discuss where we go from there.

Our work is not yet complete.

Sincerely,

Janet Ritz
Clark's Army

Say goodnight, Gracie!”

“I wonder if Clark sent Kerry a nice muffin basket with a card signed, "Your buddy Wesley. PS. Don't forget me in November...pleeease?".”

“Hey Stickman

Why is/was it up to the U.S. to "stop the spread of communism"?
That's an over-simplification anyway.

The Viets fought to throw out foreigners for centuries.
After 1,000 years of Chinese domination the Viets defeated them at the Red River(?) in the 1300's.
Its been a while since I read that stuff.....the kingdoms of Annam and Cochin China(?)....united.....a huge battle involving 300,000......something like that.

In 1945 when the U.S. State Dept betrayed Ho Chi Minh and his nationalists(Viet Minh), Ho said, "...I'd rather eat French $h!t for ten years than eat Chinese $h!t for 1,000 years..."

The Viet Minh worked with the OSS during the war against the Japanese occupation of Vietnam.

Why were the Japanese there?
Rubber
Rice
Spices
Fruit
These are plantation industries, founded on slavery like those in the other colonies such as, but not limited to, Indonesia(they had the Dutch on their backs for 300 years).

The U.S. State Dept said that the Viets were not fit to govern themselves and therefore "allowed" the French to move back in.
U.S. resources were used to transport French combat troops, including 10,000-20,000 former German SS and Wermacht troops(hey, you guys want to go kill some communists?.....a kind of "get out of POW camp free" offer).

At this time U.S. Merchant Marine sailors signed petitions protesting the use of U.S. ships to transport foreign combat troops to a war when there were many thousands of U.S. military personel awaiting repatriation.

This was done to protect the commerce in Vietnam or to
keep the slaves from taking over the plantation.

It is a tough issue.
The commodities produced, such as rubber, would be way more expensive if fair labor standards were practiced.

This very kind of industry and its inherent cruelty and unfairness sows the seeds of communism, not to mention the indignity of foreign domination.
But we want our inexpensive products to support our "way of life" and so the politicians send our boys to fight and spend our money protecting the commerce.

As I mentioned before, the cost of protecting the commerce becomes far more than the value of said commerce.

We are drawn in by rhetoric like "stopping the spread of communism".

I suppose communism seems like a better deal than these victims of colonialism have had.

You say the North invaded the South.
True enough, but the country was divided largely by U.S. actions in 1956.
The Viets fought a war of re-unification and independence.

They succeeded.
They are not dominated by China or Russia, as was feared in the infamous "domino theory".
They took help from those countries, after all, the U.S. wouldn't help them gain independence.

And for some reason Vietnamese people have always admired the U.S. even after what this country did to them.”

“Holy crap! A long, non one liner complete with thought, facts and Japnese rubbers? OK, where's Tom T and what have you done with him?”

“Good job, MarkO. Way to lay it down. Stuff I didn't know about. I can now say that I learned something today. Thanks!”

“That undeclared war dominated the consciousness of every American citizen from 1968 to 1973. It was discussed everywhere and all the time. It also was supposed to serve to keep us from making similar mistakes in the future.
It is a great study, for anyone willing to take it up.
Here's a great book from a "communtiy" viewpoint. "This is America?", The Sixties in Lawrence, Kansas, by Rusty Monhollon. This was going on all over the country.”

“Vietnam: A History
by Stanley Karnow
(about 1000 pages)

This is a rather dry read.

It doesn't get to the American involvement until about 2/3 to 3/4 through the book.

Its ironic that the emperor of Vietnam wrote to Abe Lincoln in 1862 to see if he could influence the French to back off, to no avail.

I suppose Abe had his hands full at the time.”

“MarkO, great posts. I am glad to see some new energy here.”

“Yeah - This MarkO character is great. Similar writing style to Tom T but obviously much brighter.”

“To the Clark hopefuls, I extend my condolences. He, as well as Dean, brought some necessary ingredients to the campaign. If Kerry is smart, he will try to keep Clark engaged in the campaign through November. I have enjoyed, immensely, watching and listening to his interviews. He didn't back down from any questions. The look in his eyes seems genuine.”

“I reread this thread. Can I play? Pleeeeezzzzzze? :(”

“Jump in, Bearmagnet. There's room for all.”

“Clark would make an excellent Secretary of State.”

“Well thank you Dunadan. Now if only I could remember what I wanted to say!”

“Has he already been the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?”

“If Abe Lincoln had been able to do anything for the Viets, Max Clelland might still have two arms and two legs.”

“Yeah, yeah, no more hiding behind that little troll bastard of a cartoon character.







......and his goofy dog”

“HooWee!!! Now let's hear that stupid argument about how we could have won the war again. We were just the last in a long line.

Sorry Stick, nothing personal but really......what for? At what cost? 68,000? 88,000? To make Vietnam safe for Nike? Coca Cola?

Nigal....there's more to MarkO than you think. Now ...... how about you?”

“HooWee!!! Now let's hear that stupid argument about how we could have won the war again. We were just the last in a long line.

Sorry Stick, nothing personal but really......what for? At what cost? 68,000? 88,000? To make Vietnam safe for Nike? Coca Cola?

Nigal....there's more to MarkO than you think. Now ...... how about you?”

“JO really means it.”

“Sorry Q, it's time you gave it up. Go home and lick yer wounds....”

“Dogs are pretty good at lickin' stuff....”

“"The poodle bites,
The poodle chews it"”

“"Holy crap! A long, non one liner complete with thought, facts and Japnese rubbers? OK, where's Tom T and what have you done with him?"
Nigal
08:22:50 AM

Sorry for the back-slidin' man, I thought I was through with reasoned argument and discussion.

I'll try to stick to the funny stuff.”

“""The poodle bites,
The poodle chews it""
Dunadan
10:24:20 AM
02/11/04

Damn!!! Another Zappa fan!”

“Come on Frenchie ! !”

“Not a speck of cereal...”

“Nothin' but the best for my dog.
USDA choice”

“Ahhhh, that dirty love!”

“....let me put you in a coma



....and your Little Bo Peep diploma”

“Maybe Clark will go third party with the Dirty Love Party?”

“He don't need your sweet devotion
He don't want your cheap emotion”

“Whip me up some dragon lotion”

“'With the Oil of Aphrodite, and the dust of the Grand Wazoo, and I'll tell ya another thing, Little Fella, It'll cure your athsma, too...”

“I'll you what JO, you stick to your stupid belief we couldn't win, and I'll stick to my stupid belief we could. I'll take the word of men who were there over yours any day. Nothing personal, really.”

“"Sorry Q, it's time you gave it up. Go home and lick yer wounds...."


Father - WTF you think I'ved been doing since breakfast!?! LOL!

I ain't pushing nothing! I'm a man without a canidate. I have to stit back and see how this thang "fleshes" out. Until then, I will be A.B.B. (anybody but Bush!).

PS - whens yo ass getting up Michigan way?”

“Mebbe in the spring or early summer if I can get enough time off to make it worthwhile. I'd like to see the UP before the blackflies cover it up.”

“Make sure you give us a ring before you come. Gotta get the keg iced down :)”

“When is someone going to drop this thread and start the WHY WE NEED GENERAL WESLEY CLARK FOR VICE PRESIDENT?”

“Jeezus, Nige, don't give 'em any friggin' ideas...”

“That thread would look good with your name attached to it, Nigal.”

“No that would be the WHY WE DON'T NEED GENERAL WESLEY CLARK FOR VICE PRESIDENT.”

“Some know better than that..;)”

“Will he get back in now, with the Kerry story breaking....”

“If this be true, I'll buy you a 6 pack, bison, you devil you!”

“I wonder how dispersed the campaign machinery is, and how hard it would be to put it back together. And another thing to consider is that apparently Clark knew and got out anyway... so he must have felt his campaign wasn't strong enough anyway.”

“Guess there's no chance...AP is reporting that Clark will endorse Kerry.”

“What Kerry story breaking? GET THE DUCT TAPE!”

“The unelectable fool finally realized he was an unelectable fool. What took his supporters so long?”

“I love Republicans!”