My favorite part of the pictures of Babs estate controversy is the last sentence of paragraph 26 of the complaint:

As if www.californiacoastline.org could have been put together by the use of a 35mm camera and a few hundred dollars.

As if!

More coverage on the fallout created by Congressman Tancredo's use of one of my images to protest the growing use of the Matriculas Consular.

Congressman's Tactic Upsets Mexican Envoy

Mexican Ambassador Juan Jose Bremer rarely loses his cool, but Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), an ardent crusader against loosening of U.S.-Mexico immigration laws, had gone too far, in his view.

On Thursday, Tancredo displayed a three-foot-long poster depicting Mexican President Vicente Fox on a blown up version of what looked like a matricula consular -- an ID card that Mexico issues to Mexicans living abroad. Tancredo was seeking support for a resolution blocking the Treasury Department from allowing foreigners to use the matricula consular or similar documents to open bank accounts here. In a statement, he called the document "fraud prone" and said banks that do business with illegal immigrants place "profits ahead of citizenship and patriotism."

In a letter fired off to the legislator the next day, Bremer charged that the "publicity maneuver" poking fun at Fox constituted "an excess, which, deep down, confirms your campaign's lack of seriousness regarding this document as well as the inconsistency of your arguments."

Miguel Monterrubio, press secretary for the Mexican Embassy, explained that the matricula consular was created as a security measure to avoid the counterfeiting of Mexican identification cards and had "nothing to do with migrant status" regularization issues.

Heh!

Just a silly graphic I made by request...

Well, one of my images finally hit the big time. My fake "Matriculas Consular" depicting Vicente Fox, President of Mexico, was used as a prop by Congressman Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. at a hearing addressing the growing acceptance of these cards as ID in the United States.

Apparently the Congressman also used the image at a hearing in January, but I never heard about that one.

Woo Hoo!

UPDATE: I found two articles (In Spanish) at the Mexico City Newspaper "Reforma". Links:

• Yesterday:'Vincente' Residente
  
• Today: Enoja a Mexico legislador de EU

MORE UPDATES: I've found some more coverage of the controversy sparked by my fake Matriculas Consular.

• Denver ABC Affiliate (AP Wire Story)
• Rocky Mountain News

  "The governor feels that Representative Tancredo did not show the proper respect for President Fox and that the congressman's improper use of President Fox's picture was in extremely poor taste."
  The prop displayed by Tancredo Thursday during a news conference in Washington, D.C., was a large poster of a mock consular ID card showing Fox's photo, listing his occupation as "el presidente" and the word "unknown" next to parents' citizenship.
  ...
  Tancredo said there was nothing anti-Hispanic about the prop.
  The dispute involves the growing use of the cards, which are issued by Mexican consulates to their citizens, whether they are legally or illegally in this country. Many banks and other businesses now recognize the cards for identification purposes.

• The Washington Post (!)

  Showing ID on Capitol Hill
  Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo) has a novel way to promote his effort to crack down on foreign-issued ID cards: A poster made up to look like an ID card with a photo of Mexican President Vicente Fox. Occupation was listed as "El Presidente." The card said "unknown" on the line asking for parents' citizenship.
  Tancredo, who has made stricter immigration enforcement a mission, used the poster at a news conference, where he announced the introduction of a bill to restrict the use of the Mexican government's consular matricula identification cards, the Associated Press reported. Used by Mexican citizens here for more than a century, the consular ID cards are used to open bank accounts, obtain driver's licenses, and enroll children in school. Anti-immigration groups say Mexico is using the card to circumvent U.S. law.
  "We wanted to educate other members of Congress that a federal agency was accepting a foreign identification," Tancredo's press secretary, Lara Kennedy, said.

• And last, but not least, The New York Fucking Times

  MEXICAN PRESIDENT ON POSTER Representative Tom Tancredo, Republican of Colorado, used an image of President Vincente Fox of Mexico as he called for a crackdown on foreign-issued identification cards. Mr. Tancredo used the image on a poster mockup of a card on Thursday at a news conference where he announced the introduction of a bill to restrict the use of the Mexican government's consular identification cards. "I call it anti-Hispanic," said Representative Ruben Hinojosa, Democrat of Texas. (AP)

Note: The NYT misspelled President Fox's first name, as I put it on the card.

(Translation of Mexico City Reforma articles about my image available here.

ONE LAST UPDATE:

• Being discussed in this bulletin board.
• Great quote in the SF Chronicle:

  "There is nothing anti-Hispanic about having the picture of the Mexican president superimposed on a Mexican ID," Tancredo said in an interview after the news conference. "It's got nothing to do with race; it's got nothing to do with ethnicity whatsoever."
  He asked what other kind of picture he should have used. "Somebody who looks like a Swede?" Tancredo asked.

From the department of super freaky stories comes this from the BBC, "Miracle Baby Grew in Liver".

When an egg is fertilised, it normally travels down the fallopian tube to the womb, where it implants and grows.

But sometimes, the embryo implants in the fallopian tube, a standard ectopic pregnancy.

In some cases - around one in 100,000 pregnancies - it falls out of the fallopian tube and can implant anywhere in the abdomen.

In extremely rare cases, such as this one, the embryo attaches itself to the liver, a very rich source of blood.

The baby is protected because it is within the placenta - but it does not have the usual protection of the womb - and is at more risk in the abdominal cavity.

So weird it's hard to believe that this story is true.

Surprisingly I've had little to write about lately.

That hasn't changed yet, so ...

Thinking of a career change?

Pay for each S.F. supervisor to triple
Despite a historic deficit, panel orders salary increase to $112,320
"If they were regular city employees making overtime, they'd earn more than that."

It pays to be a school custodian. Just ask Martin Fogarty.
Fogarty pulled down $177,195 last year

Jacko is Backo and Wacko
Reclusive pop star Michael Jackson, wearing a red-and-blue Spider-Man mask, popped into a congressman's field office seeking an answer to a critical issue.
"How come Solvang doesn't have any fast-food restaurants?"

Jackson later was seen at a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut drive-through window in nearby Buellton.

Apparently hoping to give officials in Racine, Wisconsin a run for the title of "Most Stupid Local Government Action", officials in Issaquah, Washington are threatening a man with fines if he doesn't obtain a permit to have kids use his ballfield.

What a shameless shakedown. Officials see even childrens' games as potential sources of revenue, quashing kids games until the proper tribute is laid at their feet.

"It was our understanding that the use was for (Kelly's) friends and family, and from our observances, it appears that some organizations are using it," said David Favour, a city planning manager.

Oh no, organized children were using the ballfield! Call out the National Guard!

Remember when this used to be a free country? Remember when U.S. citizens used to have the right to congregate peacefully on their own land without needing a permit?

Nope, neither do I.

Baby monitor signal leaks into air control frequency.

"United 782 you're cleared to land on 23 Right and it's your turn to change a diaper."

Line in the sand?

Given AOL's performance over the past few years I got a chuckle out of its use of a modified "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" as spam-CD artwork.

(And yes, I did instinctively break it before I noticed the artwork.)

UPDATE: Oops, I got the title of the painting wrong, as Tim Sandefur so gently tells me. The real title "Nighthawks", by Edward Hopper. Boulevard of Broken Dreams came later.

In light of the Times scandal its time to bring back one of my older designs.

A nice bit of orginal investigation by "Doug From Upland" over at Free Republic looks into reports that W's visit to the USS Abraham Lincoln delayed it's return to port.

The short version: It didn't.

Offered here as part of the Ithaca is The City of Evil theme, I give you G. Quentin Mull's parting piece in the Cornell Review.

Ithaca is Gorges, In Rear-View MirrorA tribute to the most God-
forsaken little hell-hole in America

The only obvious difference between Ithaca and a bucket of scum is that a bucket of scum does not siphon off millions of dollars in taxpayers' money every year. Finding this entire area completely devoid of virtue, your writer feels the need to highlight the reasons for his glee at soon gettin' outta Dodge:

Ithaca, hidden in its secluded (and deluded) little corner of New York, is a world of idealism run amuck.

[Thanks to "Hank Hill" for the heads up.]

Well, it looks llike CT will follow NY into banning smoking in all bars and restaurants. Sweetening the shithead factor, they honest-to-God chose April Fool's day next year as the starting point for the smoking ban to take effect in bars. (October 1 this year for restaurants.)

"This bill sets a standard of continuity, of balance, of fairness across the state," said House Speaker Moira Lyons, D-Stamford, following the vote. Lyons said a statewide ban on smoking in restaurants and bars is more fair than another proposal that would have allowed cities and towns to set up their own bans.

I am beginning to understand why the general opinion is that Speaker Moira Lyons is reportedly one of the dumbest people in Connecticut government. "More fair" to make sure that local control is taken away by the state government. "More fair" that all establishments are forced to do things the way you want them done Ms. Lyons. I think not.

Gov. John G. Rowland said he is not happy with the legislation, but said he would sign it into law.

I swear this is what RINO Rowland says about every piece of shit legislation that crosses his desk from our Democrat dominated state house. Instead of standing up for what he truly believes in (which today wouldn't fill a thimble), Gov. Rowland says he will hold his nose and do the wrong thing.

What a schmuck.

He has the veto for a reason, yet he refuses to use it.

Gov. Rowland, show us Nutmeggers that there's more to you than slick hair, shiny teeth and the ability to remember the name of every person you've ever met. Make those bastards in the legislature override your veto.

At least once in a while.

[Note: I am not now, nor have I ever been, a smoker. I hold no financial interest in any tobacco companies.]

Here's one of the increasingly frequent posts where I simply list a site so that I can find it again when I want.

I heard about FuckThatJob.com on NPR the other night. Here's one of it's potent postings.

The site is dedicated to showcasing ludicrous job openings posted on the web that offer dramatically under market wages/salaries for jobs, primarily by employers looking for suckers.

Well, that's it, the race is over, The Daily Show's Senior Political Analyst Stephen Colbert, at 11:09 PM called the 2004 Presidential election, with zero precincts reporting, for George W. Bush.

I have a sinking suspicion that we will see articles just like this at every tour stop the Blixie Chicks make. Ignoring the fact that the tickets for most tour stops were sold out before Natalie Maines stuck her foot in her fat mouth, celebrity hacks like the Vichy Chicks simply aren't worthy of much protest effort. They aren't decision makers, they yield little actual power, and by and large they are as stupid as they appear.

Another thing that reporters at Miami, Knoxville, and Cleveland newspapers are conveniently ignoring is for the Dixie Chicks, protesters showing up might actually be good for them, drawing more publicity to their antics.

I found yet another sign that we are living out the plot line of Atlas Shrugged via Tim Sandefur.

Illinois Governor Rod "Gun Grabbing" Blagojevich is considering nationalizing the nine private casinos in his state.

I wonder if Blagojevich can even spell "limited government"?

How exactly is sentencing a "peace activist" to 40 hours of working at an issue-oriented activism group count as either "community service" or "punishment"?

For god's sake her husband ran the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, for a few days anyway, before getting fired for being too outspoken.

If I got popped for trespassing while protesting, do you think I could get sentenced to 40 hours of community service doing chores around my house?

Student Seeks to Be Sole Valedictorian

"She has also filed a notice saying she plans to sue the school district in state court claiming the dispute has humiliated her. She said she would be asking for $200,000 in compensatory damages and $2.5 million in punitive damages."

"Hornstine is classified as a disabled student and has taken a class load that doesn't include physical education and involves her spending part of her school day studying at home.
The two other Moorestown High School seniors with nearly perfect grades could not match her grade-point average, officials said, because classes like gym receive less weight in calculating the GPA."

"she plans to become a lawyer"

I really like the metaphorical choice made in choosing to have President Bush land on board the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in an S-3B Viking.

Like President Bush, the S-3B is tough, understated, versatile, and very competent. The S-3B is the aircraft equivalent to "walking softly and carrying a big stick". While not as flashy as some of the other aircraft that populate a carrier's flight deck it handles its many missions with silent strength. It can carry a wide range of munitions including anti-ship missles, torpedos, ground attack missles and bombs. Additionally, it supports its shipmate aircraft by providing air to air refueling using buddy refueling packs.

When I first heard that Bush was going to be landing on the Lincoln my first thought was that he would be flying as a passenger abord a regular C-2A COD flight, or perhaps in place of a crew member on an E-2.

I suspect, however, that the S-3B was chosen because it offered jet-reliability & speed as well as seating for more than just the President and a single pilot. On board for the flight was pilot Commander John "Skip" Lussier, President Bush, naval aviator Lt. Ryan Phillips, and an unnamed US Secret Service agent.

More tidbits on the CIC's carrier landing.

• National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice and White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer were also ferried out to the Lincoln on board S-3B's.
• Andy Card also arrived by S-3B. The plane carrying Mr. Card is shown here, flying in formation with Navy One.
• There's a nice feature about Commander Lussier, a Graduate of Marquette University, in today's Journal Sentinel.
• For his night abord the Lincoln, President Bush slept in Capt. Kendall Card's "in port" cabin, while Andy Card got the "in sea" cabin.
• The only other available choice for a multi-passenger, carrier landing capable jet is the EA-6B Prowler, a plane inextricably linked to the death of twenty people in Cavalese, Italy when the support wire for their cable car was cut by a Marine EA-6B.

Weird observation, courtesy my cable box's clock.

In President Bush's speech tonight he first brought up September 11th at 9:11:01 PM (EDT) and then switched topics to Afghanistan at 9:12 PM (EDT).

Coincidence? Probably.

[Seconds supplied by my Timex-Motorola FlexTime internet messenger pager watch, which is pretty much dead on all the time.]