Volume 1 Issue 52

January 31, 2003

Happy New Year

Groundhogs, Exorcising Jimmy Traficant, and London beats out DC...for snow ineptness

Yes, it's the Chinese New Year! This coming year is the Year of the Sheep or the Year of the Goat or the Year of the Ram, depending on which translation you use...

And of course, also, on Sunday, February 2, it's Groundhog Day! Check out Phil's official website from Punxsutawney, PA -
http://www.groundhog.org/. It's kinda scary, be prepared, for all the strange info they have on there, including biographical sketches of the entire "inner circle." What I find most funny is that there are two sections on Gobbler's Knob, one for "families" and one for "college students." But if no booze is allowed, what's the difference? I'm assuming most of these college students are from all of those tiny colleges that are scattered in the middle of nowhere in PA, I guess there's not much else to do...Anyway, I'm betting that he's better than the weathermen around here, and he'll probably see his shadow, I don't really think there's going to be an early Spring, although now that the temperatures are above freezing, it actually does feel warm, once they get back to normal (mid 40's for DC this time of year), it'll feel like summer! Until it is summer. And 110 in the shade. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to that. Give me winter anytime!

Well, folks, the big moment is here. On Monday, the website goes live, for better or worse! I hope everyone enjoys it! You will also now be able to directly subscribe from the website. Unfortunately, there will probably not be a Swamp on Monday, since I will be in meetings most of the day Sunday and Monday for the real-world job. But, I'm going to put something together for you over the weekend to welcome you all. So, Monday, check it out! http://www.fromtheswamp.com

Greg's Pick of the Day: Good 'ol Jimmy: Oregon Representative Earl Blumenauer (D), has recently moved into expelled Rep. James Traficant's old office. So, what is a man to do when moving into the office of one of the most disgraced, and most flamboyant former Members of Congress? Why, exorcise the place of course! -
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/01/30/offbeat.traficant. cleansing.ap/index.html

Giving up liberty to save it? In another embarrassing incident for the United States, a Pakistani Brookings scholar was detained by the INS for failing to register, after they told him he didn't need to register. Once again...how much liberty are we giving up to "save" it?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63596-2003Jan29.html

Kuwaiti Doubts: While Kuwait supports the US, many there have questions about our current policy as well. One young Kuwaiti interviewed asked a question I think is a pretty good one myself...why can't we just take Hussein out? -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/31/international/middleeast/3 1KUWA.html

The Man behind the curtain: The Times has a profile today on the mysterious nature of Dick Cheney -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/31/politics/31CHEN.html
Speaking of Cheney, the Republican meeting he was at yesterday was apparently selling racist bumper stickers and the sort. Once again, the true nature of today's Republican Party comes out -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3956-2003Jan30.html

Doctors on Strike? New Jersey doctors continue to prepare to go on strike next week. Unlike the recent job action in West Virginia, which only involved a few dozen surgeons, this strike is expected to include over half of the MD's in the state, over the enormous costs of malpractice insurance. There is no easy answer to this situation, although the way that malpractice insurance is sold would be one place to start, as well as a statue of limitations on lawsuits. The key thing is, how to make the insurance rates affordable for the good doctors, while trying to insure the bad doctors don't practice. Maybe tort reform and then strict regulation of doctors by the state is the best answer...stay tuned on this one, if it happens it will be a big story next week. -
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1043998327120650.xml

Because Hydrogen Cars wasn't out there enough: The Bush Administration seems to have found its new energy policy...pollute like hell today, pour money into technologies that will work 50 years from now. The latest? We're starting up the fusion program again! -
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1043998293120650.xml

Look Who's Running for President: So what is up with Dick Gephardt in New Hampshire? Incompetent, or with a few tricks up his sleeve? -
http://www.politicsnh.com/archives/pindell/2003/january/1_31 _03.htm

Look Who's Running for President 2: John Kerry may take his wife's money, and forgo federal campaign funds (see yesterday's swamp for a discussion on federal financing of campaigns) -
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/031/nation/Wife_s_fortune_ poses_question_for_Kerry+.shtml

Look Who's Running for President 3: Florida Senator Bob Graham undergoes heart surgery today at Bethesda Naval Hospital -
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/01/31/State/Sen_Graham_opts_for_ a.shtml

Look Who's Running for President 4: Wesley Clark gets profiled in a Jewish magazine. Turns out he has a bit of Jewish blood in him, which is the reason for the article -
http://www.forward.com/issues/2003/03.01.31/news6.html
And David Ignatius in the Post discusses Clark's opposition to Bush's Iraq war, as well as his potential as a national security leader for the Democrats -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4006-2003Jan30.html

Look Who's Running For President - A Scorecard Update (1/31):
RUNNING
Gov. Howard "Jed Barlett" Dean (Vermont) - http://www.deanforamerica.com/
Senator John Kerry (Massachusetts) - http://www.johnkerry.com
Senator John Edwards (North Carolina) - http://www.johnedwards2004.com/
Congressman Richard Gephardt (Missouri) Is the man ever going to get a website?
Al Sharpton (NY) - http://www.sharptonexplore2004.com/
Senator Joe Liberman (Conn.) - http://www.joe2004.com

CONSIDERING
Former Senator Gary Hart (Colorado) - http://www.garyhartnews.com
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) - http://www.draftkucinich.com/
Former Senator Carol Moseley Braun (Illinois)
Senator Bob Graham (Florida)

LONG SHOTS
General Wesley Clark (Arkansas)
Senator Joseph Biden (Delaware)
Senator Chris Dodd (Conn.)
50 "favorite sons" under the Donna Brazille plan
And half the Democratic Party over the age of 35.

OUT
Former VP and President-Elect Al Gore
Governor Gray Davis (California)
Former Senator Bill Bradley (New Jersey)
Senator Tom Daschle (South Dakota)
Senator Hilary Clinton (New York)

Card Movement Today: Website for Kucinich (unofficial). So what the heck is up with Gephardt? No website yet? Strange...

Just bring Jerry Springer back as mayor: My has Cincinnati fallen. After the Bengals went 2-14 this year (and haven't made the playoffs since 1990), a County Commissioner has filed suit against the Bengals, saying that they have violated their lease by failing to field a "competitive" team. Well, you try fielding a competitive team with Kitna at Quarterback -
http://bengals.enquirer.com/2003/01/31/wwwportune.html
To show how hated the Bengals are in their own hometown, the Cincinnati Post today had a huge feature story on Arena League Football, the indoor football-like game that starts its season this weekend, for the first time on national TV, on NBC. (Note: This isn't the XFL, Arena football is an established sport that's been around for a while, and brought folks like Kurt Warner to the NFL). BUT - Cincinnati doesn't have an Arena League team...they have a minor-league Arena league team. This means that more people are following a team that plays in the minor league of a b-league, instead of the NFL franchise. This would be like Oriole fans rooting for their Class A franchise instead of the Orioles. -
http://www.cincypost.com/2003/01/31/arena01-31-2003.html

Come on everyone, let's goosestep! A history of the infamous march, now being featured in North Korea -
http://slate.msn.com/id/2077384/

Old and Crazy Dominion: Why do people live in Virginia? Anyway, the biggest division in the Virginia State Senate nowadays is not Democrat vs. Republican, or even Northern Va., vs. Rural Va., but rather...Men vs. Women -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63795-2003Jan29.html

By Teddy...Ted Turner has not only quit as Vice Chairman of AOL/Time Warner, but he's also moving out of Atlanta to Florida. The local paper "mourns" and shares some great Turnisims and reviews some of the antics of the "Mouth of the South." Some of which are quite scary, such as his stint as Manager of the Atlanta Braves, and the time he had a dog anchor the nightly news. -
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/living/0103/31ted.html
Speaking of AOL, in the 4th Quarter of 2002, they lost customers for the first time ever. No wonder they had to write off a few billion dollars -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3669-2003Jan30.html

You've been warned: Britain, in a revision of it's sex laws, has decided to ban sex in public. Well, mostly. -
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-559670,00.html

If you think DC is bad in the snow: And Britain is also having some difficulties with the winter weather, mainly in England, which doesn't usually get too much snow. They seemed to have pulled a real DC, with hundreds stuck on highways, most airports closed, etc. Oh, and they only got 2 inches of snow -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2711977.stm
http://www.thisislondon.com/news/articles/3180245?source=Eve ning%20Standard
http://www.thisislondon.com/news/articles/3172550?source=Eve ning%20Standard
They ask why they can't deal with it. At least they ask -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2712395.stm
And they have problems with salt trucks too!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2713685.stm

Speaking of the winter: It's getting tougher for the Coast Guard icebreakers up and down the coast, this one on the Delaware River -
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/5070530.htm

Gregory S. Gadren