ACLU “observers” aiding illegals, smoking dope

WorldNetDaily:

Volunteers with the Minuteman Project in Arizona say “legal observers” sent by the ACLU to monitor the citizen border patrol have been seen smoking marijuana in violation of the law.

[…]

[…] ACLU monitors sent to the border to watch Minuteman activity and report civil-liberties abuses to authorities have begun flashing lights, sounding horns and warning off illegals and their “coyote” human smugglers from entering territory patrolled by the volunteers.

[…]

A volunteer reported, according to the South East Arizona Republican Club, “The ACLU is getting desperate to get something on the Minutemen and are trying to provoke incidents now.”

“They pushed one of the Minutemen the other night trying to get him to push back. Didn’t work. Then last night they walked up and shined a spotlight right in a Minuteman’s face from six inches or so away. Didn’t work that time either. We immediately report these types of contacts with them to the sheriff to counter any claims they try to make against us. They should be called the UCLU (Un-American Civil Lawsuit Union).

“They give us the middle finger every chance they get to try to get us to react. We are still trying to figure out if that is their age or IQ.”
It’s so nice to know the defenders of liberty and our Constitution are on the job down there in Arizona. Larger pictures of the alleged dope smoking can be found here.
[With thanks to Israel R. for the links.]

What’s in the Retrophisch™ Bag

Recently, Michael Hyatt revealed what was in his business carry-on, and posed the question to others of what is in their’s. So here’s the official inventory from the Phisch Bowl:
The PowerBook 1 GHz 12-inch rides in a Waterfield Designs Sleevecase (with flap). This is tucked in to a sapphire-blue, Tom Bihn Brain Bag. (Anyone want to [trade me](mailto:retrophisch@retrophisch.com?subject=Brain Bag trade) a black Brain Bag?) The Sleevecase replaces the original Brain Cell I got with the pack, as it is for a 15-inch PowerBook no longer in my possession.
In a WD medium Gear Pouch, I have stashed: my AC adapter for my third-generation, 40 GB iPod; three packs of iKlear Travel Singles screen cleaners; a Boostaroo for possible use with the iPod (it might came in handy while flying, so your mate can watch the movie on your PowerBook with you, instead of the in-flight entertainment–if there is any); a small voltage tester; and a wall socket circuit tester.
The rest of my cables–with the exceptions of 25-foot RJ-45 (Cat-5 Ethernet) and RJ-11 lengths–reside in a black Tom Bihn Snake Charmer. These include: the long AC adapter for my PowerBook; a Madsonline MicroAdapter (it’s good to have a spare); a Madsonline Auto/Air Adapter; a six-foot Ethernet crossover cable; a PowerPod; two Dock-connector FireWire cables; and a Fellowes Transient Surge Suppresser (a single-plug surge suppresser, complete with RJ-11 In and Out jacks).
Stashed elsewhere in the Brain Bag’s pockets and compartments, as well as in a Freudian Slip, also by Tom Bihn, are the following: a Kensington PocketMouse; a pair of Aiwa noise-cancelling headphones (the cans are actually more noise-reducing than they are cancelling, but for $50, they’re a great value); a pad of stickie notes; 4 ink pens of various colors; the one-foot FireWire cable I use with the portable FireWire hard drives I pick and choose from; the AC adapter for my mobile phone; the VGA and DVI video adapters for my PowerBook; the battery recharger for my digital camera; a deck of playing cards; and a pocket first-aid kit.
Part of my everyday kit that would also travel with me: Sony Ericsson T616, paired with a SE Akono HBH-602 Bluetooth Headset (silver plate, not the blue shown); the aforementioned 3G, 40 GB iPod; and a Canon PowerShot S500 with a 1 GB Compact Flash card. These tech toys ride in, respectively, a horizontal Krusell case, a Contour Design Showcase, and a Lowepro Rezo 20.
Whew! I think that about does it. What’s in your bag?

About that overvalued Euro…

Bruce Bawer:

…[A] study by a Swedish research organization, Timbro, which compared the gross domestic products of the 15 European Union members (before the 2004 expansion) with those of the 50 American states and the District of Columbia.

[…]

After adjusting the figures for the different purchasing powers of the dollar and euro, the only European country whose economic output per person was greater than the United States average was the tiny tax haven of Luxembourg, which ranked third, just behind Delaware and slightly ahead of Connecticut.

[…]

If the E.U. was treated as a single American state, it would rank fifth from the bottom, topping only Arkansas, Montana, West Virginia and Mississippi. In short, while Scandinavians are constantly told how much better they have it than Americans, Timbro’s statistics suggest otherwise.
[Via Political Diary.]

Lorem Scriptsum

Whenever I need to generate filler text, I’ve been using MacLorem. It’s a handy little app, it’s freeware, and it can generate text in Hawai’ian, which amuses me to no end. It generates text in other “dead” languages, though being a “dead language” is hardly the case with Hawai’ian.
If you’re looking for one less program in your Applications folder, however, you should check out Steve Wheeler’s Lorem Scriptsum, an AppleScript that will generate the Lorem Ipsum dummy text and place it in the Clipboard for your use. I’m going to have to give this a try…
[Via MacInTouch iWork Reader Report.]

WalkAmerica 2005

It’s that time of the year again, when I pimp my readers for donations to a worthy cause. At the end of this month, my wife and I will be participating in the annual March of Dimes WalkAmerica in Dallas. We’ve both registered to raise money for the event, so I’m asking for donations, which you can contribute by going to my WalkAmerica web site.
Our son, now a healthy 20-month-old toddler, was born 9 weeks premature and spent 6 weeks in the Neonatal ICU. During that time, we witnessed the good things done by the March of Dimes first hand. We’d appreciate any support you can give to this great event. Thanks!

Does this look like a monopoly to anyone else?

Adobe to acquire Macromedia.
Whoa.

But there is no media bias 5

LGF exposes the truth behind the headline.

On note-taking

Michael Hyatt has an excellent look at the art of note-taking. Like Merlin, Mr. Hyatt is a Moleskine aficionado. Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t see developing a fetish for a notebook.

Who’s going with me to the midnight show?

Being the incredibly lame Star Wars geek that I am–I was six when Episode IV came out, and have been hooked ever since–I have made it a tradition to see the prequels at the midnight showing on release day. The first episode was a quiet affair, just my spouse and I. For Attack of the Clones, we organized a small gathering of our friends to go with us.
Many things have changed in many of the lives that were with us that night of the last movie, including ours. We have a toddler now, and so my wife will not be making the midnight show of the last Star Wars film ever with me. Jeff has failed to respond to my inquiries. Michael isn’t interested in the series enough to go. FranX doesn’t do midnight shows for any movie. So how about it, Jim? Ricky? Brian?
Dear God, who is the pathetic nerd typing this post?

PATRIOT ACT Pop Quiz

Link to a legitimate news story showcasing a civil acts violation in the United States as a result of the PATRIOT ACT. Good luck.

To date, not one court or congressional committee has found evidence of any abuse of the powers under the Patriot Act.

Not one civil action has been filed against the government under Section 223, which allows citizens to seek damages for any willful violations of the Act.