One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all (PERIOD)

No way it's nine out of ten. Who did they ask? Obviously not a large enough sample. Surely those among us who don't believe in God or don't agree with the verbage are more than ten percent.

I thought this was already decided. Take out the "under God," it was a late addition, and it's just plain exclusionary.

Yep, I'm also one of those people who thinks that flag burning is no big deal and should not be illegal. It's a symbol. We live in America. It's freedom of expression or performance art.

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Three little bunnies lying in the bed
And the little one said,
"Roll over!"
So they all rolled over when they heard him shout
And the bunny on the outside, gave a gentle but firm shove trying to realign them all...

And when this didn't work, I got up and started writing. At 3:00 AM. I'm having some sort of manic episode. Ideas were streaming into my head this morning and as I realized it would be futile to try and remember them all, I had to get up and put them somewhere. Besides the fact that I wouldn't be getting any sleep until they were all out. Spent about 15 minutes on my laptop and crawled back into bed. Ahhhhh, much better.

Three little bunnies lying in the bed
And the little one said,
"Roll over!"
So they all rolled over when they heard him shout
And the bunny on the outside heard teeth grinding that meant someone had to use the bathroom...

After getting them both on the pot and getting everyone settled in again, I jumped up once more to jot a few more notes down, and then up and down a few more times to adjust the room temperature. OK. Ready for bed.

Nope.

Next, the littlest bunny screamed in my ear, having a nightmare. And by this time, more crunchy teeth grinding. Middle bunny had to use the bathroom again. Back in bed. Room temp is good. Everybody in tolerable positions. Ideas are still running together, but their volume is diminishing and they are less coherent, softening to a hum in the background. More crunching noise. OH MY GOD! She can't have to go to the bathroom again! Nudge her with foot and loudly call her name. Oops. It's just the cat having an early morning snack.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz

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Every once in a while I have one of these sleepless episodes. Thankfully, unlike a true manic episode, I don't get the horrible crash afterward. Just need a nap. Some creative idea is trying to burst out of my head. Usually it involves architectural drawings, or, occasionally, ideas for photo compositions. Nothing really ever comes from it, but you can't risk passing on a possibly pure stroke of genius.

There is actually a physical buzzing sensation, mostly in my hands, like too much caffeine. (I'm only a novice coffee drinker, so this is mostly supposition. One Starbucks doubleshot Espresso & Cream in the morning does it for me. My dear friend Jose, RIP, once talked me into having a thimbleful of Cuban coffee. I immediately broke out in a sweat and had to put my head on his desk for about 20 minutes.)

Tingling in the hands... Maybe it's not a stroke of genius. Maybe it's just a stroke.

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I've often wondered, why is it when I think of my friend Alex, my mind's eye sees Queen Victoria? A more incongruous pair I could not imagine. Last night it came to me. The Bombay Gin bottle. Cheers.