George Vs. America on this 4th of July

708737407 2A7C159Cdd O (hat tip to Auguste at Pandagon for the pic)

THE BILL OF RIGHTS

Amendments 1-10 of the Constitution

(with particular sections directly under attack by the Bush administration in bold)

The Conventions of a number of the States having, at the time of adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added, and as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government will best insure the beneficent ends of its institution;

Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States; all or any of which articles, when ratified by three-fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the said Constitution, namely:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

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This one is for the geeks

Simply a screenshot of my current desktop.

Picture 1 I’m using Shapeshifter for the theme, the wallpaper is from a collection of wallpapers at the Apple site called “Color of My Eyes,” and my dock is anchored to the bottom using Tweak Freak. I have GeekTool running and displaying the next 7 days of events from iCal, as wall as my to to list from iCal (scripts for those supplied by Chris Whitney with many thanks!)

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Posted in Mac

Dreams

Dreamt last night of zombies and the end of the world.

No, really, I did. A long, convoluted dream, which is beyond linear reconstruction but I remember a barn, sort of an uber-barn based on the one behind my grandparents house. Large, containing a past that is always dusty, mysterious and just out of reach. We were trapped there by the zombies–no, that’s not quite right, there were like zombies but not quite, like mind sucking aliens bent on absorbing your mind, but not quite–anyway, the villains trapped us there, in this large barn with its relics of times past. I had the cat with me throughout the dream. People were dying, others were betraying me, it was a violent, exciting, dangerous, very filmic dream that was all action and suspense and intrigue.

Did you know that they are building a spaceport in New Mexico? Right outside of a town called Truth or Consequences. When I read that, I grinned and felt so proud of humanity, despite all our stupidities and cruelties, we are beginning to make our plans to venture from our world into the larger universe. Sure, we are decades, possibly centuries away from the kind of space travel we read about in science fiction, but to be here, now as we first start to crawl into space is very exciting to me. I want to be part of that.

 

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Richard Shindell

As testament to the power of internet radio, I recently bought Courier, by Richard Shindell. Radio Paradise played a song called “Transit” which caught my attention more than most songs do. Something about the voice: round and full, but with an edge to it, Shindell has a voice that feels like the truth should feel. There was also something about the song structure, unlike most songs this was no A-B-A-B-C-A-B pop song. “Transit” tells a story, one that you don’t necessarily understand the first or even second time around, but one a powerful story nonetheless. So I recently bought Courier, a live album that has some incredible songs, all of them stories that ride the fine edge between joy and sorrow. From the opening song “Courier,” that explores the singular role of a man charged with delivering messages and never asking questions, to the chilling story about an interrogation that plays upon it’s title “Fishing,” to the dangerously pretty song about infidelity, “A Summer Wind, A Cotton Dress,” Shindell tells stories that you may recognize, but have never experienced in quite the same way. I am trying very hard not to go out and buy the rest of his catalog in one fell swoop.

You see RI-fucking-AA, internet radio is good, internet radio exposes people to artists, internet radio sells albums.

Sorry, mini-rant is over.

Anyway, here are some lyrics to serve up just the barest hint of how good Shindell is:

“The Courier” I am a courier Crawling in the dirt Toward the front line As the crow flies A note stashed in my shirt From the Prince of Wales Far above the field With his marshalls And their chain-mail Their banners taut and high I did not ask him what the note said He did not offer to explain It’s not my job to ask the questions I’m just the courier A flare shot leaves a scar Burning in the dark On my forearms Toward the front line Then another fifty yards Crouching in the trench Clutching bayonettes A hundred men All knee-to-chest A hundred marionettes I am the string pulled by the sure hand Animating what was still I am invisible and faithful I am a courier The Captain breaks the seal And quickly reads the note On your feet boys Make you peace boys Pass those letters down To this courier Guardian of the word Hand him all you’ve seen Hand him all you’ve heard Hand him all your pearls And he’ll go back to where he came from He will deliver each by hand He takes this as a point of honor To be a courier

And

Fishing (from the album Blue Divide) Please have a seat. I’m sorry I’m late I know how long you’ve had to wait I did not forget your documents No time to waste, why not begin? Here’s how it works, I’ve got these faces You give them names and I won’t deport you Make sure you face my tape recorder Make no mistake, this fountain pen Could put you on a plane by ten And by the way, your next of kin I know which house she’s hiding in So now that you know whose skin you’re saving In this photograph, who’s this one waving? I think you know, so speak up, amigo It says here that by trade you were a fisherman Well I’ll bet you Indians can really reel them in And if you get the chance You should try to get up to Lake Michigan Well maybe, but then again…. Where were we then? Is he your friend? Well I recommend that you look again Where does he stay? What is his name? There is no shame. He’d do the same So what do you say? I don’t have all day It’s up to you. Which will it be Good citizen or poor campesino? My dad used to rent us this place in Ontario He showed us how to cast the line and tie the flies He used to say that God rewards us for letting the small ones go Well maybe, but I don’t know Anyway, it’s easy to bite. You just take the bait You can’t fight the hook Hurts less if you don’t try to dive Senor, as you know I was a fisherman And how full the nets came in We hauled them up by hand But when we fled, I left them just out past the coral reefs They’re waiting there for me Running deep

Here’s the cool thing – if you go to his website, he has a number of song that you can listen to in their entirety. Just go to RichardShindell.com and click on the “lyrics” link. I highly, highly recommend you check them out for yourself.

His catalog:

“south of delia” (Richard Shindell)

“Vuelta” (Richard Shindell)

“Sparrows Point” (Richard Shindell)

“Blue Divide” (Richard Shindell)

“Courier” (Richard Shindell)

“Reunion Hill” (Richard Shindell)

“Somewhere Near Paterson” (Richard Shindell)

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