Volume 2 Issue 130

September 4, 2003

Battling it out...

North Korean election results, the Dems get ready to rumble, and more children get left behind

Good News from Iraq: With the Bush administration spending 7 months planning the Iraqi war, and just 20 days on a post-war plan, it's no surprise the whole country's gone to hell. But in a bit of good news, the 101st Airborne, one of the most decorated combat units, has adapted well to it's role as nation-builders, doing a much better job than the "civilian authority" the US imposed. This shouldn't be a surprise, as many strategists have said that military units are actually well suited for this type of thing, provided they know they'll be doing it. Of course, there are no active Civil Affairs units in this Army, showing how we continue to prepare for a war against the Soviet Union instead of the wars we're fighting -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/04/international/worldspecial /04NORT.html?hp=&pagewanted=all&position

That Other Country: Hot off the presses from Pyongyang...Kim Jong Il has been unanimously re-elected as President of North Korea! Well, actually the President is still his dead father, but anyway -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/04/international/asia/04KORE. html

Judicial Battles: President Bush's controversial Appeals Court nominee Miguel Estrada has withdrawn his name from consideration. Many viewed this nomination battle to be a preview of any future Supreme Court nomination -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24547-2003Sep4.html

Media Battles: A Federal Court in Philadelphia has stopped the new FCC ownership rules from taking effect, in a stunning victory for anti-monopolists -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/04/business/media/04FCC.html? hp=&pagewanted=all&position

Redistricting Battles: In Texas, the redistricting fight may be over, as one Democrat may have given in. It was only a matter of time before the GOP majority offered one Democrat what they wanted to defect, in fact one state senator even once made it known he could be bought for just the passage of a liquor bill. No word yet on what this guy sold out for -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/04/national/04TEXA.html?hp=&a mp;pagewanted=all&position

Leaving Children Behind: The Education Trust, a non-profit who helped write the No Child Left Behind law, has become the latest to criticize the Bush administration for its implementation of it -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/04/education/04CHIL.html

Look Who's Running for President: The first official DNC debate for the Democratic Ballclub is tonight in New Mexico. Expect John Kerry to go nasty on front-runner Howard Dean -
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/09/04/kerry_ changes_stance_takes_on_dean/

Look Who's Running for President 2: Is the last big mystery of the who's in/who's out stage of the campaign about to end? Gen. Wesley Clark last night publicly stated for the first time that he was a Democrat, potentially leading the way towards a run for President -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/04/politics/campaigns/04CLAR. html

Bad John Edwards Photo of the Day:

I have this much chance of winning the nomination...

Betting on the weather: Big surprise here, as NJ ends up with one of the highest grossing lottery, with each NJ resident spending over $200 a year on gambling. And this doesn't even count the casinos! Of course, no one knows where the money ends up -
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/new_jer sey/6687224.htm

Have a great day! And remember, if you only read the Swamp in your e-mail, you're only getting half the Swamp! Check out links and other neat info at http://www.fromtheswamp.com !