Bill of Rights Day!

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.

Green Desert - Chapter 4.2.1 - Sétıpímo

“Sir, she’s not answering her radio.”

I held the phone away from my mouth and sighed. What was that girl thinking? “Hopefully she’s interrogating a handcuffed Zhudırı and has just forgotten to check back in.”

“Yes, probably.” I sensed my own doubt in his voice. “I’ll let you know as soon as she reports, sir.”

“Thank you.” I hung up the phone on my desk and leaned back in my chair. The grid ceiling stared down at me, fluorescent lights flickering.

I knew the boys up in Sémı‘ıréíso didn’t want me out in the filed no more, but Nulıpéshı needed help. She was a smart girl. She wouldn’t reported in by now. Standard protocol.

The glass front door opened, letting in muted street noise and Tamé Vékídıpaírı, the towtruck driver. He removed his green cap and ran a hand through his thin hair. He spotted me from across the empty office.

I sat up in my chair.

Tamé started walking towards me. “I got the car, Mr. Marıdırı. Parked it around back.”

I nodded. “Good.” I paused. “The Kılímı place, right?”

He stopped across my desk from me. “Yep, and aren’t those two a strange pair. I ain’t never known––”

“Son? Shut up.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Was Deputy Nulıpéshı there when you left?”

The Brothers are gone

In the past half-hour, the south Olympics have disappeared in a pile of clouds. A storm's coming! Or at least a light drizzle. Or maybe just overcastness.

Green Desert - Chapter 4.1.5 - Bhanar

I hugged Séara around her waist, the two guns clanking against each other. She smelled like roses.

“Heeyah!”

The horse sprang forward and I tightened my hold, leaning into Séara. She never once let me pull her back. We galloped. I closed my eyes, concentrating on the rhythm, matching Séara as we bounced smoothly. I loosened my legs and the horse accelerated. Wind whistled past us. Séara’s dark, shoulder-length ponytail flapped against my face. I sank closer to her, turned my head so my cheek and my nose pressed against her neck, just above her collar. Soft and warm skin. Nothing but well-toned muscle under her uniform, under my arms. I could stay that way forever, hold her forever, our hearts and lungs and bodies as one, forever.

She slowed the horse.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, not pulling away.

“Junction.”

I looked over her shoulder. Two trails branched off, like so many other forks in this desert maze. “How do we––”

“Footprints.” And she kicked the horse back into a gallop.

I closed my eyes. As long as I stayed with Séara, I would never be lost again. Sure, she knew how to ride a horse better than me, how to shoot a gun better than me, and could probably beat me up without breaking a sweat, but . . . that’s just sexy.

Palestinian Authority declares war on Israel

Well, okay, not exactly. But enacting legislation to pay the families of suicide bombers is pretty darn close.

Will the US or EU stop funding the PA like they block monies to other groups which pay suicide bombers' families?

Will Israel now target Abbas and his cabinet members as the heads of a terrorist organization (which they are)?

Will this war ever end?

St Lucia

Happy Lucia Day!!

Don't burn yourself with that crown of candles, okay?

Green Desert - Chapter 4.1.4 - Fírí

I drank until I was ready to puke again, foregoing the cloth and crawling to the creek to suck it dry. Eventually, I groaned and straightened, sat on my heels. “What about Zhíno?”

Pí‘oro looked at my boyfriend lying peacefully in the shade, on a patch of wildflowers. He was an innocent baby––not at all like I associated with his naked body.

“He’s all right, I think. He didn’t sweat much. Still in a coma, though.”

“But he’ll wake up, right? Like I woke up this morning?” Oh, gods. Was it really just that morning?

Pí‘oro released a long, rattling sigh. “You weren’t like this last night, miss. You were awake. You walked to your bed.”

Oh. Really? But why didn’t I remember it? It must be like those people who have a horrific experience and then black out the whole thing and everything around it from their memories. It was the only explanation. I tried not to think about it, but the picture popped into my head of a fat, naked Pí‘oro dangling over me on his hands and knees. I shuddered.

“Are you cold?” Pí‘oro lurched towards me, knelt down with his arms out. I leaned away, scrambled backwards. He frowned softly. “What’s wrong.”

“Just––” I waved my hand between us, pointing. “Just stay over there.” I felt very naked, all of a sudden. I hugged my bare legs to my chest. Tshirt wasn’t enough. “Where are my sweatpants?”

The old man shrugged, smiled. “I left them behind with Zhíno’s clothes. Them or you, it was.”

No imitations allowed!

It's a good thing I don't like to go shopping. Because when I do, I have a hard time sticking to a budget. When I see something I like, it's impossible for me to get a inferior (and cheaper) version of the same type. Like the mask I bought in Venice. It caught my eye when I first saw it, then I hemmed and hawed, then I left the store and walked all over the city looking at other mask shops, then I went back and bought it (for four times what I had thought I'd spend when the day began).

Green Desert - Chapter 4.1.3 - Bhanar

Séara threw the tshirt at my face. I raised my hands and caught it, almost falling backwards off the horse.

“Put it on.”

“Why?” It was hot out there.

She looked down at me––even though I had three feet on her. “You’re going to get a sunburn if you stay out here much longer. At least the shirt will protect your shoulders.” She shook her head, smiling wryly. “Where are you from, anyway?”
“Zhuphío.”

“Ah.” She glanced upwards. “Sun’s not so big out there, huh?”

I shook my head. “No. Warm, not hot.”

“More ultraviolet rays here. Put on the tshirt.”

I did. It reeked of sweat and beer and blood. Zhíno’s. Where had she found Zhíno’s shirt?

Séara patted the horse on its neck, turned it easily around. “Scoot back a bit.”

“Why?” I wasn’t going to be able to hold the horse’s neck if I did that.

She huffed and glared at me, suddenly looking very much like a police officer. “Stop questioning me. Just do it.”

I scooted back, gripping the horse with my rubbed-raw legs. “Did you find Zhíno’s jeans, too?”

She handed both guns to me. “Yes, but I left them. I didn’t realize you’d be stupid enough to take a horse. Lean back.”

I leaned.

She leapt, her heel missing my teeth by inches, and landed astride the horse right in front of me. “Hold on.”

Happy 30ish Birthday!

Happy birthday, ReniMamurd!

How old are you, anyway? This quiz said that I was 31. . .

Green Desert - Chapter 4.1.2 - Fírí

Coolness dribbled over my lips, down my chin, onto my chest. I opened my mouth and sucked in the wonderful water. My mouth tasted like mud. I drank more.

The water stopped. I opened my eyes. Pí‘oro knelt beside me, a wet cloth in his hands and concern in his eyes. “How are you feeling?”

Trees. Leafy green trees glowing against the pure blue sky, fluttered in a breeze I couldn’t feel. I sat in shade, in a narrow ravine filled with bushes and trees and a little creek. Water. Burbling water. Birds chirping. Leaves rustling. Zhíno lay beside me, still asleep, still naked. He didn’t look sunburnt. My legs and arms were still pale, too. Hunh.

“Fírí?”

I looked up at the old man, the big strong man who’d carried me and Zhíno over a kilometer of desert. “Yes?”

He released a short breath, his body relaxing. “How do you feel?”

“Tired. Thirsty.” And now that I thought about it, the elephant started to come back, stomping around in my brain, louder and louder. “And a headache.”

“Dehydration. Hold on.” He scrambled back to the stream, pushed the cloth underwater, then pulled it up, holding the corners so it didn’t spill, just dripped like a sieve. He hurried back to me, held the leaky cloth over my mouth.

I opened up and let it flow in. Not quick enough. I reached up with both hands and squeezed the balloon of water, pushing it down into my mouth.

Ain't Iran grand?

Awhile back, the Iranian president said he wanted to wipe Israel off the map. Today, he presented a plan to accomplish this goal: Move Israel to Germany or Austria. Maybe the Jews can have Thuringia?

At least he's not saying "kill them all" anymore...

Green Desert - Chapter 4.1.1 - Bhanar

The desert contained a veritable maze of trails. We wandered this way and that, sometimes turning the direction I wanted but usually choosing the path the horse liked. The scrub brush and boulders stretched to the horizon in all directions. I could no longer see the house. Didn’t even know which direction it was.

For a while, I’d gotten the horse to step it up a notch to a faster, smoother gait––not a gallop––but eventually he slowed back down and I urged him to skip the bouncy stage and just walk. So we walked. Back and forth, this way and that, around in circles no doubt. I wiped sweat from my forehead and sighed. Getting lost was starting to be a habit of mine.

The horse said something and I looked forward. The policewoman! Séara. She strode purposefully down the trail at us, black uniform still buttoned up and sleeves still cuffed at the wrist. She carried a gun in each hand.

I tugged gently on the horse’s main and he stopped. “Hello.”

“You’re going the wrong way.”

I shrugged. “I believe you.”

She stopped in front of us. “You can’t ride a horse.”

“Why not?” Was it against the law here?

She tilted her head and squinted at me, her face scrunching up in a way that made me smile. “Because . . . you never learned?” She waved one of the guns. “Never mind.” She walked forward, shifted both guns awkwardly to one hand, and pulled a dirty tshirt from behind her.