My Song Of The Day

Mad World

and we want these people to be our friends?

The LAT focuses on and the NYT mentions, while the WP ignores, the strange handoff ceremony that involved Iraqi commandos displaying their bravery by eating almost-live animals. Iraqi forces took bites out of frogs, and one cut open a rabbit and proceeded to sink his teeth into its still beating heart. This is apparently common in Iraq, where Saddam Hussein's special forces frequently performed these sorts of displays with all kinds of animals.
--today's papers

it's called INCOMPETENCE

The NYT fronts word from sources who say the team in the Justice Department that was put in charge of investigating accusations that civilian employees abused detainees has decided not to prosecute most of the 20 cases that have been referred to them. The group was established in June 2004 in the aftermath of Abu Ghraib. Since then, it has been overwhelmed with problems, from missing information in referral forms to a difficulty in finding witnesses and nonexistent forensic evidence, so they have been unable to bring a single indictment.
--from today's papers

saddam would be proud of you georgie

More than 90 per cent of Iraqis believe the country is worse off now than before the war in 2003, according to new research obtained by Al Jazeera.

--story

the lied

and thousands died

today's independent

and read what the AFP has to say about it

why i'm against the death penalty

In Florida: After it took "34 minutes and a second injection" to kill a death row inmate on Wednesday, Gov. Bush ordered a medical inquiry into the incident, which eventually found that the first needle had passed through the prisoner's veins and deposited the poison in his arm tissue, causing a visible amount of pain and requiring the second dose. When this information was released, Bush halted the executions and appointed a commission to review injection procedures in the state. But Florida doesn't seem to be have much luck with capital punishment: It apparently switched to lethal injection in 2000 "after flames shot from an inmate's head during his execution by electric chair."

did you know that you can't raise a family on $165,000 a year?

"If you become a federal judge in the Southern District of New York (Manhattan), you can't raise a family on what the salary is," Scalia said during a speech to the Northern Virginia Technology Council.

Federal judges earned salaries of $165,200 in 2006. Scalia said lawyers can easily earn significantly more by staying in the private sector.
--story

FUCK YOU SCALIA

i have a feeling that the democratic house members

aren't going to be doing the job they could be doing. if pelosi doesn't wise up and appoint KNOWLEGEABLE members to head committees, then she stands to be ridiculed for her wasting our time. from today's papers:

The WP carries a wire story that reports the incoming Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, Rep. Silvestre Reyes, pretty much failed a pop quiz he got from a Congressional Quarterly reporter. Worst part is, the questions weren't even that difficult. When asked whether al-Qaeda is Sunni or Shiite, Reyes answered, "Predominantly – probably Shiite." When he was asked to describe Hezbollah, he didn't even give an answer and merely said, "Hezbolllah. Uh, Hezbollah … why do you ask me these questions at 5 o'clock?" Reyes' office issued a statement yesterday: "As a member of the intelligence committee since before 9/11, I'm acutely aware of al-Qaeda's desire to harm Americans." Well, guess that covers it then.

i can just see it now

how bush reacts to the reality around him when it doesn't make him look like he's powerful.

"I just didn't feel there today, the president in his words or his demeanor, that he is going to do anything right away to change things drastically," Senate Majority Leader-elect Harry Reid, D-Nev., said following the Oval Office meeting. "He is tepid in what he talks about doing. Someone has to get the message to this man that there have to be significant changes."
...
Bush, Durbin said, "reacted very strongly. He got very animated in his response" and emphasized that he is "the commander in chief."
--story

truman indeed. mr bush, you are no truman.

my letter got printed today

in the local newspaper

http://www.globegazette.com/articles/2006/12/07/opinion/doc45779995c10fa437259363.txt

Quote of the Day

"I talk to those who've lost their lives, and they have that sense of duty and mission."
--Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama

attribution

the story of a wunderkid

a blind boy who can kick my butt at most everything. see for yourself.

farpoint tidbit

A few years ago, he ( Andrew Karam of MJW Corp. in Buffalo, an author of National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement guidelines on contaminated bodies) was approached by producers of the CSI television series to comment on a polonium-poisoning scenario. He told them it was too far-fetched.

--story

does this make any sense to you?

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2006 — U.S. officials say they have found smoking-gun evidence of Iranian support for terrorists in Iraq: brand-new weapons fresh from Iranian factories. According to a senior defense official, coalition forces have recently seized Iranian-made weapons and munitions that bear manufacturing dates in 2006.
--source

then there's this:

Iran reached out to Iraq and the American public in separate gestures Wednesday, giving the Baghdad government a $1 billion line of credit while Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a personal letter to "noble Americans" calling for a military withdrawal from Iraq.
--source

so what would you say to iran's policy towards iraq would be?

rumsfeld should be held accountable

Outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld authorised the mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, the prison's former U.S. commander said in an interview on Saturday.
--story

what a great site

http://www.templetonrye.com/

more truth seeping out for light

ONE year before the invasion of Iraq, Australia's then ambassador to the United Nations, John Dauth, confidentially told AWB's former chairman, Trevor Flugge, that the Howard Government would participate in military action with the US to overthrow Saddam Hussein, new AWB documents reveal.

--story

so a whole year before the invasion of iraq, bush was reaching for help. now i get it. the bush whitehouse had planned to invade iraq LONG before we were told.

what's wrong with America

The LAT reveals on Page 1 that even though KB Home Chief Executive Bruce Karatz was forced to leave the company as a result of a stock-option controversy, he still stands to get as much as $175 million in severance pay
attribution

Letter Of The Day

According to Steffen Schmidt, professor of political science at Iowa State University, the president and Republicans will prevail on Dick Cheney to resign as vice president and install Condoleezza Rice. This will position her for the 2008 nomination.

According to WHO's Jan Mikelson, Iowa has gone blue. Hillary Clinton has been governing as a moderate. She will concede Iowa to Vilsack. She won't have to campaign far enough left to win the Iowa caucuses. Then, she goes on as a moderate to take the '08 nomination in the broader contest.

Sweet, huh? First woman prez, guaranteed.

- Bryan Healy, Newton.
attribution

Sad Story of the Day

Devoted sister loses 2 brothers to war
the story will bring tears to your eyes.

the bush mein kempf

At the White House the Iranian President is even named Hitler.

--INFORMATION CLEARING HOUSE

just goes to show you, these people are really off their rockers.

FARPOINT.FACTOID

At the White House the Iranian President is even named Hitler.

--INFORMATION CLEARING HOUSE

just goes to show you, these people are really off their rockers.

Letter Of The Day

it's been a while, yes i know, i've been away. so, i'm back now.

Once again, the Iowa Family Policy Center, in its continual choral rant against gay marriage, asserts that New Jersey Supreme Court justices have exceeded their power. ("New Jersey Supreme Court usurped power of elected lawmakers," Nov. 4 letter).

Tsk. Tsk. What we don't teach in school these days.

A reminder: The three branches of government each have their own power. The legislative branch makes laws, the administration enforces laws and the courts interpret the law, including the state's constitution. When a legislative act is at odds with one or more aspects of the Constitution, the constitutional provision prevails.

The New Jersey Supreme Court, in interpreting its own state constitution, concluded that such a provision for equal rights for all citizens trumps a "gays can't get married in N.J." law. That is what those "unelected, unaccountable, black-robed tyrants" are entitled to do.

The writer said this use of the courts is not what the founding fathers had in mind, and it borders on striking "We the People" from the Constitution. Not so. "We the People" still have power - to amend the state constitution.

- Kathy Collins Reilly, Des Moines.
attribution

Oh Happy Day!

we WON and the elections sliced up my prediction that there wouldn't be a democratic victory, that somehow karl rove had his hand some some election machines, but as it happens, he didn't. so congratulations to the democrats who won.

congratulations DEMOCRATS!

your victory in reclaiming congress is one step closer to making America America again.

from the good news department

WASHINGTON - Democrats wrested control of the Senate from Republicans Wednesday with an upset victory in Virginia, giving the party complete domination of Capitol Hill for the first time since 1994.

--full story

watch out for the crossover

USA Today leads with the federal government increasing its efforts to prevent prisoners in the United States from becoming terrorists while they are behind bars. Prison officials are being urged to conduct more stringent background checks on employees and volunteers who may have direct contact with prisoners. In addition, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are asking prison officials to train their staff to be on the lookout for those who might be turning to extremist activity.

--story

today prisoners, tomorrow terrorists... what a concept. the breeding ground for discontent.

well, the day is barely underway

and already we have cases of voter suppression

Over the past several days, voters throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia have filed complaints of incidents aimed at suppressing voter turn out in heavily Democratic and African American neighborhoods. Today, the Secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections Jean Jensen concluded that the incidents appear widespread and deliberate.

--story

for some good news

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- While half of New Jersey voters agree with the state Supreme Court that homosexual couples should receive the same rights as heterosexuals, just one in four think gay unions should be called marriages, according to a new poll.

--story

republican voter suppression

Reports of GOP voter supression efforts are coming in from all around the country, in local, state, and federal races. Here are a few samples:

--more

more dirty tricks by the national republican machine

is ohio gonna be the florida of 2006?

CLEVELAND -- A problem has been discovered with the optical scanner in connection with one race at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Friday afternoon.

During a test using an optical scanner, officials discovered that the machine was providing incorrect election results for the race for the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

BOE officials said this is just one race out of hundreds in which a problem has been found.

--story

family values republicans my ass

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Rev. Ted Haggard agreed to resign Saturday from his New Life Church after its independent investigative board recommended removal, saying he was guilty “of sexually immoral conduct.”

--story

this story is just another sad tale in a long line of republican pedophilia. this one just happens to be between two consenting adults, tho, still homosexual, and involves methamphetamine. what else could the church do?

as if this wasn't planned

two days before our election.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three years after he gave himself up to American soldiers without firing a shot, Saddam Hussein may be condemned to hang on Sunday if an Iraqi court finds him guilty of crimes against humanity.

--story

add another name to the list of republican pedofiles

A male prostitute alleges that he had a three-year relationship with prominent right-wing evangelical leader Ted Haggard, who has said that homosexuality is a "sin" and "devastating for the children of our nation and for the future of Western civilization." ... He claims to have recorded voicemails and a letter from Haggard, and that he had also witnessed Haggard use methamphetamine.

--more

freedom on the march

only not in our country

An Issaquah school bus driver fired for allegedly "flipping off" President Bush during a visit to Seattle in June is appealing her termination.

According to Issaquah School District officials, the incident happened when a district school bus stopped for the president's motorcade while returning from a field trip in Seattle. As the president waved to the school children from his limousine, the bus driver made an obscene gesture, said Sara Niegowski, a spokeswoman for the district.

--story

bush can flip off anybody, but nobody can flip him off.

Letter Of The Day

there are three really good letters, but i chose this one to be the winner.

Habeas corpus, dating back to 1215, was a major victory against the English monarchy and is considered by many to be the first major step in making England a democracy.

But President Bush, to fight terrorism, is chipping away at the very freedoms that make our country great.

"All men are born with certain inalienable rights" said our founding fathers. President Bush thinks they forgot to add "except when George Bush says otherwise."

Doug Williams, Clive.

attribution

ok, all is well now

must get used to these burps without pullin a hand muscle

does this post make it?

*hey blogger, we're up here"


nope, getting refused altoghter (using ecto)

on edit: ok. it took. but not getting posted to the public page. index isn't posting because of this crap --> 001 java.net.ConnectException: Connection refusedblog/61/45/11/fieldsofpoopy/archives/2006_10_01_fieldsofpoopy_archive.html

it's saving them as draft, even though i get the same error after 'save as draft' is pressed.

on LAST EDIT: all is well in blogger land. i need to learn how to accept the fact of life that computers burb once in a while.

WHERE ARE MY POSTS FROM TODAY???

I'M GETTING FED UP WITH BLOGGER CHEWING UP MY POSTS

WHAT THE FUCK DOES THIS MEAN?
001 java.net.ConnectException: Connection refusedblog/61/45/11/fieldsofpoopy/archives/2006_10_01_fieldsofpoopy_archive.html

AND NOW IT'S DUPLICATING THIS POST.
BLOGGER, YOUI'RE SCREWY AGAIN TODAY KIDS. ENOUGH ALREADY.

WHERE ARE MY POSTS FROM TODAY???

I'M GETTING FED UP WITH BLOGGER CHEWING UP MY POSTS

my first flickr post using ecto

where's my image at?

on edit: oh THERE you are

got it!

in no time flat too. i feel so incapable of holding my own when it comes to html. i used to be good at it, but then they started to do magic with it and that was too much for my blood.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

i'm having trouble getting a good login on blgger

from flickr. i want to be able to send picts to my blog on blogger, but it keeps saying that it couldn't log in. so i'm testing ecto.

cheney should be tried for war crimes

Cheney confirms that detainees were subjected to water-boarding

--story

Waterboarding Historically Controversial
In 1947, the U.S. Called It a War Crime; in 1968, It Reportedly Caused an Investigation

it's my hope that with this scumbag running his mouth may yet give the ICC ammunition to use in a war crimes trial.

HALLELUJAH

Supreme Court of New Jersey's holding: "Denying committed same-sex couples the financial and social benefits and privileges given to their married heterosexual counterparts bears no substantial relationship to a legitimate governmental purpose. The Court holds that under the equal protection guarantee of Article I, Paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, committed samesex couples must be afforded on equal terms the same rights and benefits by opposite-sex couples under the civil marriage statutes. The name to be given to the statutory scheme that provides full rights and benefits to samesex couples, whether marriage or some other term, is a matter left to the democratic process."

--decision

i know why they had to use the 'plan' they used

it was because they had to keep the ones who are fighting worrying about us here. they were fighting for our freedom, not iraqi freedom. now they're told that they're fighting for iraqi democracy, quite a different goal.

Letter of the WeeQ(tm)

In the Register's Sept. 28 editorial, "Torturing American Values," you allude to the belief that our principles of justice set us apart from others who do not take our principles seriously.

Any competent student of history can point to numerous instances when we didn't take these principles very seriously either.

Our numerous broken treaties with the many and various Native American peoples can attest to this fact. We also had to fight the Civil War in order to free the slaves, long after most other advanced countries of the world outlawed the practice.

- Richard Crosser, Iowa Falls.

Letter of the Day

i always luv reading letters from the reichstad brownshirt brigade types, and occasionally will single one out for massive adulation by all my fans (not you silly),and this is one of those times.

from bob maretin in ankeny - hm, i know another person who lives in ankeny that would have the same ideology about a lot of things political that are present with how i think today's writer/winner appears.

Since the election season started, your editorial page has continuously gone downhill in quality. Everyone knows that your ideology slants sharply to the left. You support the Democratic Party with rare exceptions. We have learned to live with your bias, but the quality of your editorial page is dismal and unacceptable.

--attribution

kudos?

anyone who uses 'kudos' like moi, i'll have their head. a letter writer writes:

Hooray for David Yepsen - he hit the nail on the head. In his Oct. 10 column, he correctly defines the current political ads and suggests eight alternatives that make a lot of sense ("Culver, Nussle Need to Develop New Game Plans"). I bet there are tens of thousands of central Iowa voters who agree.

Pay attention, Jim Nussle, Chet Culver, Jeff Lamberti and Leonard Boswell. There is a lesson there for all of you to learn and learn quick. Kudos to Yepsen and the Register.

his name is james e. wise, from des moines.

-=-attribution