Pulling out ... quick!
Facing more death in Iraq during an election year, the Bush administration is abandoning their big plans for Iraq and pulling out early: ["Attacks Force Retreat From Wide-Ranging Plans for Iraq"]. This is both good and bad news. First, it is good news because the fewest American casualties, the better. The bad news? We'll be leaving the country in chaos and in the hands of the same types of dictators we have supposedly tried to "rescue" their people from. Then, American business will open up trade relations with that dictator until we no longer need him and some other crackpot American president will force us to go back into the country years later in an effort to remove that dictator and attempt to control the country's oil again.

More NAFTA analysis
IPS has an analysis of NAFTA at 10 years, quoting the amazing Lori Wallach: ["North American Deal Dismal After a Decade"].

Gephardt predicts the future?
Dick Gephardt has really been on a tear lately. On Friday, his campaign sent out a fake letter to Santa from GWB, thanking him for the Dean campaign. Then, the campaign posts this: ["The Ghost of Christmas Future: A Preview of what will happen if the Democrats nominate Howard Dean..."]. Absolutely hilarious.

More polls
A poll from Alabama by Polling Report this week shows a five-way Democratic primary race: Howard Dean and Joe Lieberman with 11 percent, Wesley Clark, Gephardt, and the Rev. Al Sharpton within striking distance at 9 percent, and Carole Moseley Braun with 7 percent. Over 30 percent are undecided and President Bush clobbers all the Democrats by 30-plus percent.