Volume 2 Issue 16
February 24, 2003
Swamped
George ain't too popular, the Dems have their cattle call, and what they're eating in the Pine Barrens nowadays
Ugh...what a fun weekend! In DC we got like 4 inches of rain on top of the 2 feet of snow on Saturday, and then 60mph winds on Sunday, which was fun for all involved. It was particularly fun on me, especially when 6 inches of water ended up in the basement. So...no big rant today, too tired from a weekend of flood damage, and another week or two of cleanup to come. Chock full of articles today though, but again, not too many from over the weekend, same reason...onto the insanity!
Weekend from Hell: Part 1, the rains and floods -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50579-2003Feb22.html
And part 2...the winds -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55516-2003Feb23.html
And the fog, which closed the NJ Turnpike for only the 4th time in history -
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1046070887182160.xml
Bush on Domestic Policy - We Must Invade Iraq: Looks like 43 has as much a domestic policy as 41 -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/24/national/24LETT.html
Public Enemy #1 - George W. Bush? Overseas, people view George W. Bush as the biggest threat to peace in the world -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55326-2003Feb23.html
Why the legal system is too important to leave to the lawyers: Many state's attorneys are now advocating keeping people in jail, and even executing them, even though they are innocent, because they have been convicted...even if it was wrongly. Yet another reason why lawyers have too much power in America, and another reason to get rid of the death penalty -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/24/national/24DNA.html
One man sentenced to death who did get out after being exonerated is trying to show now why the death penalty is never foolproof -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55556-2003Feb23.html
Look Who's Running for President - The Cattle Call: The DNC meeting this weekend brought the first big event for the Democratic "Eight is Enough" crowd. Howard Dean was widely viewed as making the biggest impression on the crowd, while Joe Lieberman was viewed as the worst (keep in mind that this includes Sharpton, Kucninich, and Mosley-Braun, and that Kerry did not address the gathering, as he is still recovering from surgery). It was quite evident that the party is deeply split over the war in Iraq though.
Some great lines:
Howard Dean: "I'm here to represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party."
Random Protester: "Shame!" Yelled continuously while Gephardt discussed his support of the war
Carol Mosley-Braun: "Duct tape is no substitute for diplomacy."
Dennis Kucinich: "We're told we have money to blow up cities in Iraq, but no money to build cities in America."
Here's a quick summary of the speeches -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/22/politics/22DEMS.html
The opinions of the gathering were clear...Dean was by far the most well received, and Liberman reeealy bombed. -
http://www.ctnow.com/news/nationworld/hc-dems0223.artfeb23.story
A good Washington Post article discusses the different audiences the candidates had to address in the DNC, and the Democratic governors -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55543-2003Feb23.html
Look Who's Running for President: Bob Graham is going to have a lot of fund-raising to do if he decides to get into the race -
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-agraham24feb24,0,1382297.story
Look Who's Running for President 2: Dennis Kucinich is also the only pro-life Democrat running...or at least he was. Hmm...something strange about a guy who's running on principles switching his principles when it's time to run - http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/1045996 698309477.xml?cleve
Bad John Edwards Photo of the Day:
"Look, I know this is no fun for you people, but it's better then being laid off, right?! Oh wait, that's coming up next."
A Note: The "Look who's Running for President" scorecard now appears on the Swamp's web page at www.fromtheswamp.com, where it can be more easily updated. I will continue to note changes in it in the daily musings via e-mail and web posting. You will also have noticed that the Edwards photo no longer appears in non-HTML emails...you can view the photos on the web page though! Remember, if you're only reading the Swamp in your e-mail, you're not getting the whole Swamp! http://www.fromtheswamp.com
Look Who's Voting for President: David Goldstein discusses the front-loaded schedule and crowded field -
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascitystar/5247570.htm
Michigan is considering moving up its caucuses to January, and is willing to challenge DNC rules that would then make them lose half of their delegates. Perhaps all this jockeying to be first will again push us towards some sort of national primary like the Delaware plan (what ever happened to that?!) for 2008. While DC has flirted with moving up their primary, Michigan is a state that's kinda too big for the DNC to ignore, especially since it has a popular Democratic governor -
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/052/wash/POLITICAL_NOTEBOOK_ Michigan_De:.shtml
And...in Missouri, the state legislature may cancel their primary, which was supposed to be among the first on Feb. 3, 2004. If they did that, the parties would have to return to doing caucuses. A few other states are having this problem as well -
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/A82FE 6DB6A5B6D6C86256CD5001DEC44?OpenDocument&Headline=House+committee+cuts+money+for+presidential+primary
Civil War? Speaking of those governors, the National Governor's Association meeting didn't go too well in DC this weekend, in fact the organization may dissolve -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55442-2003Feb23.html
Criminal: The 17 year old who received the wrong organs in a massive medical screw-up and cover up died over the weekend, under mysterious circumstances at the hospital. Duke Hospital, which tried to cover up their mistake for almost 2 weeks (all but eliminating any chance she had to survive), also refused to allow the family to seek a second opinion on the girl's brain damage. And no one will be punished. No wonder the cost of medical mistakes is so high and medical malpractice insurance is so expensive -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55488-2003Feb23.html
Decreased Expectations: The Post ran a fantastic story in it's Sunday Magazine that should be required reading for every educator in the United States. One of the big problems of urban education is that many have just given up, and don't even try to help the students that need assistance. I remember reading one study that found inner-city students were doing coloring in the 10th grade...not because of money, but because the teacher felt they weren't capable of anything greater. This story about how a 4th grader who couldn't read almost got caught up in it is just an example. Perhaps if we expected our children, our nation, peace in our world to succeed, it would actually happen -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32224-2003Feb19.html
Space Shuttle Columbia: The Washington Post had a great story on Sunday about the troubled history of Columbia -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49326-2003Feb22.html
And here come the Chinese! -
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/054/focus/The_next_space_r ace+.shtml
Rhode Island Nightclub Fire: Apparently pyrotechnics had been set off in the club before. Who's telling the truth, the band, or the owners?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55659-2003Feb23.html
Panic the Whole World Over: In the Congo, 4 teachers were stoned to death for supposedly casting an evil spell that caused the local Ebola outbreak. Man, I hope Tom Ridge wasn't paying attention to that -
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/02/21/health.congo.ebol a.reut/index.html
Strange associations: If this professor they arrested last week is such a terrorist, what was he doing meeting with Karl Rove at the White House?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44894-2003Feb21.html
And meeting Bush too?
http://www.msnbc.com/news/876188.asp
Getting Gouged at the Pump: Compare your gas prices state by state!
http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/gasprices/index.html
Even more screwed up than Texas? Boy, things are bad in NJ nowadays...first the budget crisis -
http://www.politicsnj.com/rebovich022303.htm
And the Governor being inept -
http://www.c-n.com/gsbr/story/0,21421,694435,00.html
How young is too young to be recruited? On the heels of the LeBron James saga, here's a report on the cut-throat world of college recruiting of young athletes, and the competition they have to go through, and the rankings done for them...I mean they're only 10. Seriously. This has got to stop. -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55515-2003Feb23.html
Children of the Revolution: The New York Times had a great profile Saturday of a native-born American who came with his parents to the Soviet Union as a child, and has lived most of his life as a Soviet and Russian citizen, with a unique perspective on the 20th Century's failed experiment -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/22/international/europe/22BEL L.html
Looking to get away? It's Mardi Gras time in New Orleans!
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/24/national/24BEAD.html
NOOOOOOOOOO! Guess what's up for TV this summer...that's right, more reality TV shows! And even one featuring Roseanne Barr! -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/24/business/24REAL.html
The Swamp is the place for all your Iditarod action! They've had to change the re-start place of the race again because it's, and get this...to warm in Alaska, and there's not enough snow. Yikes. Just 4 days until the big race...stay with the Swamp for all of your Iditarod action! -
http://www.iditarod.com/pr-trail-1.html
Octopui getting too smart: An octopus in Germany has learned how to open jars...can doors be next, then WORLD DOMINATION!? Sorry. -
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=573&ncid= 757&e=1&u=/nm/20030224/od_nm/octopus_dc
Yum: Looking for something to eat? Why not some roadkill, which some folks in New Jersey view as a delicacy -
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/newjersey/022403DEER ENTFINAL.html
Have a great day!
