fork, fork, forkety fork fork.

They're all forks today because I have a sinus headache, and that's what it feels like.


the giant political machine FORK

F.B.I. Goes Knocking for Political Troublemakers
By ERIC LICHTBLAU
The F.B.I. has been questioning demonstrators in an effort to forestall violent protests at the Republican convention.

Herbert: Suppress the Vote?
he big story out of Florida over the weekend was the tragic devastation caused by Hurricane Charley. But there's another story from Florida that deserves our attention.
State police officers have gone into the homes of elderly black voters in Orlando and interrogated them as part of an odd "investigation" that has frightened many voters, intimidated elderly volunteers and thrown a chill over efforts to get out the black vote in November.

The giant Patriot FORK

Detention of British Travelers Brings New Policy
By RACHEL L. SWARNS
Published: August 16, 2004
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 - One by one, the British travelers recounted their dizzying experiences upon arriving at American airports: One man was detained and denied the opportunity to call his wife and lawyer. One woman was handcuffed and another was placed in ankle cuffs that she complained were too tight

The Giant Environmental FORK combined with the Giant Economic FORK

Polluted Sites Could Face Shortage of Cleanup Money
By FELICITY BARRINGER
Published: August 16, 2004
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 - With about six weeks left in the federal government's fiscal year, dozens of Superfund sites that are eligible for cleanup money are likely to be granted nothing or a fraction of what their managers say is needed because of a budget shortfall that could exceed $250 million, according to a survey by the Democratic staff of the House Energy and Commerce Committee

Huge rise in brain diseases...
Scientists alarmed as number of cases triples in 20 years
Juliette Jowit, Sunday August 15, 2004
The numbers of sufferers of brain diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and motor neurone disease, have soared across the West in less than 20 years, scientists have discovered.
The alarming rise, which includes figures showing rates of dementia have trebled in men, has been linked to rises in levels of pesticides, industrial effluents, domestic waste, car exhausts and other pollutants, says a report in the journal Public Health.

And even a Giant No Child Left Behind FORK

Headaches grow as class sizes shrink
BY STEVE HARRISON
To prepare for the start of school today, the Broward School District made an unusual purchase: dozens of five-foot partitions, the type usually found in office buildings.
The dividers are earmarked for about a dozen schools where this year, some single classrooms will host two classes and two teachers. Hundreds of returning students will find themselves and their classmates squeezed into half a classroom, with only a flimsy barrier separating them from a different class.

Schools feeling growing pains as enrollment swells in Texas
As many students return to the classroom today, Texas is living up to its reputation for bigness, with nearly 1 million new students added in little more than a decade. To keep up with the population boom, many of the 26 school districts in Harris County are enlarging schools or building new ones.

Second Amendment FORK (Those 5 year olds are damn scary at night...)

5-year-old accidentally shot by stepdad
Stepfather says he fired the shot after mistaking her for a burglar
By MIKE GLENN
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
A Houston man shot and killed his 5-year-old stepdaughter early Sunday after mistaking her for a burglar in their northeast Houston home, police said.

Oh, hell, the US is violating everyone's privacy, the UK might as well get in on the act. Mind you, this is under the guise of "good-doing"...

Government plans to 'track' criminals' children
Press AssociationMonday August 16, 2004 The government is planning to monitor and offer support to the children of offenders to ensure they do not follow their parents into a life of crime.
Under the proposals, the children of criminals will be 'tracked' from birth to their teenage years in a bid to prevent them joining their parents in jail.

Finally, some evidence of sense in the US...

The uneasy Republicans
By Hugh Sykes BBC, United States
The US presidential candidates have been arguing about it. The American media talk constantly about it. And the opinion polls have been asking voters about it.

Bush risks alienating his natural constituencyBut just how much will the war in Iraq affect the November elections? Hugh Sykes found evidence that, with mounting US casualties, the answer could be "quite a lot".

And, from the freedom files, this is just food for thought.

http://bugmenot.com/register.php

Finally, because I just got my copy in the mail, a section of mediabistro's daily list of appalling media news...

WAPO'S ADMISSION NOT ENOUGH?
Greg Mitchell: The Iraq "mea culpa," via Howard Kurtz, contained more excuses than admission of mistakes. And, crucially, no promise of corrective action. Indianapolis Star: The media's duty is to ensure all sides get their due, writes Dennis Ryerson. Al Jazeera: There has been a remarkable lack of investigative reporting and insightful editorial criticism of U.S. actions in Iraq from the illustrious home of Bernstein and Woodward, writes Bill Henderson.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/pressingissues_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000612630
http://www.indystar.com/articles/6/170311-7756-021.html
http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2004%20opinions/August/16%20o/All%20the%20Truth%20By%20Bill%20Henderson.htm