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Sunday, February 22nd, 2004
9:27 am - New Blog - Im so sorry
Yet again I am screwing with the two people who have actually followed this blog around....

my new blog:

http://dave.ofmassdestruction.com

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9:26 am - Two quick notes
Two quick notes.

1. Aaron has a link to an outstanding article that appeared in the New Yorker. Now, I have found that Aaron and I read some of the same material from time to time but I have to agree with him that this is a must read for anyone thinking about a light truck or SUV... or hell, required reading for everyone.

The crux of the article is that SUVs offer an illusion of safety and their main failing is that they have a hard time avoiding accidents to begin with. My favorite part of the article is the author test-driving a Porsche Boxster and a Chevrolet Trailblazer. The slalom was the telling factor in the test-drive but the statistics on which vehicle gets in more accidents backed it up. Very interesting.


2. Dissent Magazine is celebrating their 50th anniversary. This is a socialist magazine... a socialist magazine that was started in 1954. A socialist magazine that survived the 50's, survived the Nixon years, the Reagan years, and somehow is surviving W's McCarthy-era-like witch hunt. Amazing.

Isn't it odd that so many commercial publications could probably learn a great deal about running their businesses from a socialist magazine? Cool.

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Saturday, February 21st, 2004
1:34 pm - Meetings
When the United States was first forming towns were loosely modeled after European cities. Every town had certain elements including town halls and local pubs. In these establishments people could meet often and talk about the news of the day. As the suburbs came these establishments faded. Only in small rural towns did people still get together often and discuss issues on a regular basis. These days it is rare that people will get together and discuss issues - except, of course, with their friends who are generally of the same opinion and usually in the same socioeconomic class.

The Internet did not help this much either. Although people found chat rooms and were exposed to other opinions and people, generally the promise did not hold as the medium degraded. Now we are actually using the internet to organize meetings. Of course this still puts you in a room with people who generally think the same but isn't it odd that it even exists? Perhaps there is some yearning for a regular place to see people and talk about the news of the day.

Of course my take on it is to design our cities and towns better so that we aren't all in cars alone for long periods of time until we get to a place near nothing else to stay until we get into the car again. Public transportation and more pubs. The transportation thing will have to come I think. Its all going to collapse the way we are going now. The pub thing I am unsure of how to jump start. :)

Editor's Note: All sentences that sound like factual statements may, in fact, be assumption on the author's part. Its much easier in blogs to state what one believes instead of actually finding out.

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Friday, February 20th, 2004
10:16 pm - RSS reading
As I have mentioned before, I am an avid user of RSS feeds. Its how I keep up with friend's blogs, its how I keep up with politics, and its how I keep up with geek news. I have jumped from reader to reader but I think I have finally landed on RSS Reader for Firefox(bird). I only wish it would refresh automagically.

Speaking of Firefox, I have pretty much been sticking to it for browsing - it is so freaking fast and very nice. I am also finding Thunderbird to be turning into an excellent mail reader.

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Thursday, February 19th, 2004
11:07 am - Spring again
I have been sleeping a good bit, visiting with friends, and generally plugging back into the real world since I got back. Sure I am slow at this sort of thing but I think its important to take the time you need to reconnect.

Since I got back it has been cold and snowy. Today... beautiful - like gorgeous - amazing. This is the kind of day that makes me want to run out an buy a good convertible. Alas, I will probably just walk the dog.

One side note... yesterday as I was sitting at a stoplight listening to satellite radio in my small Japanese car when an old man in an El Camino drove by holding a transistor radio up to his ear. Both methods work just fine.

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Tuesday, February 10th, 2004
7:30 pm - Home!
I am on my way home people - woot!

Last night there was a rally in Nashville for the General. He gave a really good speech which simply made me sad because I realize its over and I think the country just missed an opportunity to have the President we were all promised as kids.

I have a photo gallery up of all my friends from the campaign. I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I thought I would have because I was so busy, but the ones I did get I was pretty happy with. I will miss all my coworkers, they were some of the smartest, and most talented people I have ever known. We made a great team and had loads of fun.

I think I will sleep for days once I am home. After that it is time to eat right and exercise again. The schedule I have been leading has been rather unhealthy and it shows... I am way out of shape.

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Saturday, February 7th, 2004
11:13 am - Attack!
Big snowflakes were falling on our heads early this morning as we went to the John Kerry rally at Belmont college. We stood outside holding signs and reminding people that John Kerry owns 18 houses(!!!). We actually converted a few people. It was fun, and peaceful until CNN turned on their camera to talk about Janet Jackson's breast (seriously!). Once the camera was on some large woman from the Kerry campaign slammed me into a wall - hard. Everyone (including Kerry supporters) stood rather stunned... um, its not that big a deal, they're talking about Janet's breast.

Nonetheless, it was fun if not really cold. I even have photos.

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Friday, February 6th, 2004
7:19 pm - White capped volunteers
When I drove out to Little Rock I went through a freak snowstorm in Nashville. Now I am in Nashville and have driven through a snowstorm to get here. Um... I thought the Volunteer state was one of those southern states that generally avoided this kind of thing.

It was a tiring drive but our hotel is pretty good - with wireless (!!) Sleep tonight, work tomorrow.

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Thursday, February 5th, 2004
11:12 am - Last train to...
So I'm going to Tennessee. In fact, many of us here at HQ are going. We have to win TN and we are going to do whatever it takes to win it. For me, this is the last bit of work I will be doing here, win or lose. I had planned to leave after the TN/VA primaries, and I will already be East.

I'm still not sure what I'm going to be doing there but most of the tech team is going so it could be great fun. This team is one of the best I have ever been involved with. They are both funny and talented as well as highly intelligent. I will miss these guys and a road trip will be one of the best ways to go.

We don't know what the Internet connection will be like as we still don't know where we are going but I will try to update here.

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Wednesday, February 4th, 2004
4:57 pm - well said
A website called the Moderate Independent (whatever that means) has a wrap up article from last night's elections. I agree with the points on Clark and it is great for someone else to say what I think. If I say it I feel it would seem like I was whining. Sure I agree with this because of what they say and my obvious bias, but I do feel a great sense of truth in this assessment:


Again proving that every vote counts, Clark's win in Oklahoma, however narrow, keeps him in the race. It was lightly inferred that if he lost Oklahoma he might withdraw from competition. A few hundred votes, and his campaign lives on. Volunteers who made the extra effort to help get out the vote must feel they had a direct hand in saving the political life of their candidate last night.

Clark also showed real strength out West, finishing a strong second in each of the three western states.

The real story here has to be that Clark is still around to continue at all after the media did everything possible to ensure that he would be out after last night. Winning one and taking second in three contests while fighting against an all out media campaign to bury him and his candidacy is a massive victory and a thumb (or perhaps another large finger) in the eye of the right-wing machine that hoped to have taken him out by this point.

Notice how even yesterday the only exit poll that had things out of order was the one related to the Oklahoma race. Clark was listed in third place, Edwards first, Kerry second. This was released early on and reported by all. It would have been one thing if Edwards and Clark were put at the top in the wrong order, but putting Clark third shows this was just another push poll meant to discourage Clark supporters.

It didn't work.

For a campaign that had started to doubt itself and the viability of its candidacy - doubt its power to prosper in the face of the Republican Mean Machine - that changed last night. Every vote Clark received last night was earned. Not a single one was given to him by good media coverage. Not a single one came from someone who was lightly moved to vote for him, as any such voter would likely have been swayed by all the negativity and flat out silence about Clark in the non-M/I media. No, every vote that General Clark got last night was that of someone so moved by the man and his message that they felt strongly enough to boldly shrug off all of the nonsensical voices around them.

And, in the final count, there were a lot of those votes. Enough to win him a state and give him second place in three.

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12:04 pm - grease it up - its a squeaker
Last night was both positive and negative. Negative because by this time we would have hoped to get more press coverage and be more of a front-runner. Positive because we won Oklahoma. Last night I was convinced it was all over - this morning I have been informed by the politicos that it is not.

Here's the deal. If we can win Tennessee we will show that we are indeed stronger than Edwards (we have beat him in most states so far) and are a real candidate for the long-haul. It is going to come down to 2 people at some point and we are the only candidate left who isn't a professional politician. Historically we don't vote for politicians for the White House.

Although there are pockets of delusion here, most of us know that this is it. This strategy works or we are out, and even if it does work we have an uphill battle.

If nothing else, I am learning a great deal about politics.

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Tuesday, February 3rd, 2004
5:41 pm - AP stories
OK, I don't pretend to know how the AP really works but here is how it seems to have in one case. An AP reporter named Anick called the Clark HQ and arranged to talk to all the members on the tech team. We all talked for about an hour or so with him individually - lots of questions, very thorough it seemed to me.

About a week later a photographer came and took our pictures. The photo turned up a day later on the Yahoo AP photo feed.

The next day the San Francisco Gate published an article from Anick. Somewhat short considering the interviews, but not a terrible article.

Today, however, an article came out in Information Week that seems rather useless to me. Again, this was Anick's article based on our conversations.

So did Anick write multiple articles that he pushed to the feed? Did he write one big one that was then split up by those who printed it? Only a couple of publications actually used the photo (fine with me). I think its a very interesting way to get news out. Perhaps you newsies can tell me more about it.

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11:01 am - the electronic version
We get email too. This is a respose to a reminder that the gentleman was on our mailing list and could unsubscribe at any time.


I envision this as a stright line from beeing president to the end of the second term for the precidency and all other issues on the side of this line to be dealt with and hendleled away from that line.

You have the text. It describes my decitions. It is no one else´s bsuiness then mine how this is handled. Those decitions are mine. And I say; you can bring up any subject that falls within the defenition to be in line with your re-election, and not to be that falls outside this. And this you can delegate for all others to comply within the subject of election 2004.

It is much the fact that I regulate US 2004 politics by saying the president leads and the others follow. And this of course influences others.

That is to say; you stipulate what is to be within that line and not.

This is to be, I hereby transfer all my rights to US election 2004 [Please] to George W. Bush himself. This is my last word on the subject.


1999 Dear mr. *** ********* *********

2000 There are a number of business units under the General Dynamics
2001 corporation umbrella. Business unit products range from wheeld and
2002 track combat wehicles, to large naval surface ships, to a broad range
2003 of electronic, communication and information technology products.

2004 Please advice of your interest in this information and in General
2005 Dynamical corporation. At this time, only one General Dynamics
2006 business unit is represented in Sweden.

2007 ** ********
2008 Corporate director international affairs

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Monday, February 2nd, 2004
2:46 pm - Correspondence
This is the type of thing that is common to receive at a Presidential Campaign.


Click on image to zoom

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Sunday, February 1st, 2004
3:26 pm - Apocalypse
Get a day pass if you don't have a subscription to salon... then read this article. This is really frightening - and completely serious. These guys have the President's (and more importantly, the Vice President's) attention.

Very, very bad.

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1:58 pm - and to that end....
Friday's Doonesbury

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1:24 pm - Crunch time
Its crunch time for us. Its also down to good old-fashioned politics too. No more inter-this, blogging-that, email-here, email-there... we are on the phones calling voters. Sure its annoying for many people who dont want to be called, but for a surprising many they have decent questions about Clark and what he stands for.

Its kind of refreshing actually. Between the 'Im voting for Bush you liberal a**hole' calls, you actually get to someone and talk issues. There are some good people out there.

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Thursday, January 29th, 2004
10:05 am - GetOverYourselves.org
I was going through my morning blog roll and when I came to Lessig's blog I saw this post which includes a letter from a Dean supporter writing to MoveOn.org complaining that the DNC is scuttling the Dean campaign to make sure the power stays with the right people.

Please get over yourselves. People aren't voting for Dean because he has a freaky smile, he blows up on camera, and his policies really aren't that great. Its that simple. Also, to assume that Dean has a monopoly on grass roots is even more absurd. Most people I work with on the Clark campaign have never worked in politics, they have given up their lives to be here, and are very passionate about our guy. Every candidate has them, this is how it works.

If anyone has scuttled Dean's campaign it has been Dean.

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Wednesday, January 28th, 2004
11:07 am - Last night
Last night was something I was looking forward to as much for the experience of being at the headquarters of a national campaign as the hope that Clark did well. I will admit that I was disappointed in the results but then I am no political operative. The political people here seem to think we are in good shape though. They say things like we are the only candidate with enough money to hit the next set of states properly, and that the current frontrunners are in big trouble as they blew all their cash on the 1st two states. The mood here really hasn't changed which must be a sign that what they are saying has truth to it. It is still a very positive, energetic place to work.


If there is one thing I have heard over and over from the political veterans here its that this race is the most open race any of them can remember. That includes the congressional and local races they have worked. Wow.

Today we had our pictures taken by an AP photographer. There is a reporter who interviewed most of us on the tech team about what we are doing. I fear my rally-bearded face will be in the AP. As for the rally beard (we started growing them a week ago a la NHL players in the playoffs) I have certainly eclipsed my coworkers on speed of growth but the amazingly grey patch on the chin really bothers me. If there is a photo that shows up out there, just remember I am not actually paying attention to the person talking, I am thinking about the grey in my beard.

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Monday, January 26th, 2004
11:13 pm - We Won!
Every four years Dixville Notch casts the first votes of the Presidential Election. Tonight Wesley Clark won the Democrat primary in Dixville Notch with 8 of 14 votes.

Thats one polling place. We're well on the way now!

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