September 1, 2026 (Vol.20 No. 32) - I have been very fortunate to have been able to call communities steeped in history as my home. I grew up in Talbot County, Maryland, in the heart of the Delmarva Peninsula. Some of its communities predate the Declaration of Independence by more than a century. The white, wood-frame building with the uneven roof pictured above is the Third Haven Friends Meeting House in Easton Maryland. It is the oldest house of worship in the United States that has been in continuous use since its construction in 1684. It is so old, in fact, that there were no nails used in its construction. It was, and for the most part still is, held together by wooden pegs.

Next to it is a red brick building where the Meeting gathers during the winter months. It is known as the "new church" because it was built in 1880. My grandmother's funeral service was conducted there. The Meeting House is a source of great pride for its worshipers, as well as the people of the town, county and state. It connects the present with an exciting past, reminding us how we came to be the people we are today. And, of yes, it attracts tourist dollars that help drive the local economy. These are just some of the reasons why it is worth preserving.

Just a few miles down the road, the road stops and the ferry begins! That's the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry, America's oldest continuous privately operated ferry. It began operations in 1682 - that's right, one year before the Quaker Meeting House was completed. It shortens an otherwise a 30-minute drive from Oxford to St.Michaels. Frankly, more cars take the ferry for the experience of doing it than to save on gas. It's an opportunity to cross the historic Tred Avon River and see Oxford, one of the state's oldest points-of-entry, in much the same manner as our ancestors.

Speaking of St. Michaels, it's a veritable history lesson unto its own. Founded in 1677, St. Michaels is a community that embraces its rich history. One way it does that is through the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, which celebrates three and one-half centuries of the region's sea-faring and maritime agricultural heritage. I was actually there when the museum was dedicated in 1965 as a Boy Scout on flag-raising duty. I have also been honored to make two book talks at the museum. It's an impressive institution that I am proud to have been associated with.

So, you may be asking, "What's your point?" It is not about being proud of my hometown, which I am. The point is this: Our past is worth preserving. As one who went to college just outside of the District of Columbia, it breaks my heart to see the reckless damage that is being done at the behest of an aging pedophile's warped vision of aesthetics. Just yesterday, we saw images of bulldozers mowing down a historic grove of Cherry Blossom trees to make way for a golf course. His love of bright, shiny gold objects has transformed the Oval Office into something akin of a French brothel. And don't get me started on that $400+ billion ballroom, the greatest rape of history in the name of building something nobody - and I mean nobody - wants. Worse, was the U.S. Supreme Court's cowardly ruling yesterday to suggest that the American people do not have legal standing to stop what even Chief Justice Roberts says is a "likely unlawful" construction project.

This administration has not limited its lilly-white warped view of history to the Nation's Capital. From Independence Hall, to our national parks and America's schools, Diaper Don has placed his tiny thumb on the scales in favor of a sanitized and, in some cases, just plain false view of our history. If it hasn't already, this "ethnic cleansing" of American history may soon reach your own town. This is being done in an effort to "restore truth and sanity" to American history - neither quality readily apparent in this administration's push.

At a time we find ourselves having to defend our rights on so many fronts, we need to also resist efforts to erase and modify our history in favor of an incompetent and incontinent oligarch's vanilla view of the world. Donald Trump will not live forever. But the damage he is doing will outlast him for many generations. Our history is worth preserving. However, the time for doing so is running out. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.

August 24, 2026 (Vol.20 No. 31) - Fifty years from now when the United States celebrates its tricentennial, it is very likely that John Roberts will be remembered as the worst Chief Justice in the history of the United States Supreme Court. In fact, it is more a certainty that Roberts will be reviled in 2076 than it is that there will still be a United States. In the 21 years since President George W. Bush nominated him, Roberts has changed our fundamental understanding of what constitutes fundamental American rights - and not in a good way.

During his tenure, The Roberts Court has issued decisions that have changed the meaning of voting rights, reproductive freedom, affirmative action, campaign finance, labor rights, gun regulation, religious freedom, and presidential accountability. Supporters of these decisions, mostly MAGA Republicans, have argued that the Court has simply returned constitutional interpretation to the text, history, and traditions of the Constitution. However, that is - if I may use a legal term here – bullshit. The Roberts Court has systematically taken away protections that generations of Americans had come to regard as basic rights.

It happened again today, when The Roberts Court ruled that President Donald Trump could begin carrying out parts of an executive order intended to restrict mail voting, The Six Trump Sycophants on the court did so despite the fact that the Constitution clearly says that the administration of elections is the sole domain of the states. Yes, the Court left open the door for additional legal challenges that may slow down the Trump Administration's efforts to suppress voter rights. But it has lent legitimacy to Donald Trump's attempt to bastardize what has been until now the world's fairest and best-run elections. Trump's problem, simply stated, is that the more people who vote in elections, the less likely that his side will prevail. Most Americans hate Donald Trump. And that's the verdict they will deliver at the polls in November - unless, of course, Trump is allowed to rig elections in his favor.

This is not The Roberts Court's first assault on free and fair elections. In Shelby County v. Holder in 2013, the Court struck down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It had been one of the most important civil-rights laws in American history, designed to prevent states and local governments with histories of racial discrimination from changing voting rules without federal approval. Despite the success of the law, Roberts & Company gutted key provisions of the act, rendering it toothless. Three years before that, the Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission gave corporations and wealthy interests disproportionate influence over American elections.

Easily the worst decision made by The Roberts Court, in fact the worst for any Court since Plessy v. Ferguson in the 1890s, has to do with the limits – or lack thereof – to presidential powers. In Trump v. United States in 2024, the Court recognized substantial presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for official presidential acts. In doing so, the Court weakened one of the central principles of American government: no person, including the president, is above the law. Armed with this highly questionable ruling, Trump has spent the entirety of his second term of office engaged in retribution against his critics, blue states that didn't vote for him and even some of the America's best friends, such as Canada. He has imposed reckless and unconstitutional tariffs without required congressional approval and – and here's the big one – usurped the power of Congress by engaging in an illegal and undeclared war with Iran.

That concern goes directly to the Constitution's system of checks and balances. The American experiment was built on the idea that government power must be limited because concentrated power can threaten liberty. If presidents receive broad protection from criminal accountability for official conduct, future presidents may have greater freedom to push constitutional boundaries.

Chief Justice Roberts has frequently described the Court as an institution above partisan politics. Yet, the record suggests otherwise. There is also the question of serious ethical lapses on the Court, such as Justice Clarence Thomas's highly dubious recreational vehicle trips paid for by individuals with issues before the Court, as well as Ginny Thomas's lucrative and conflictive lobbying activities.

If we are to maintain an American democracy that will last into a third century, steps must be taken today to rein in the freedom-grabbing, ethically challenged and increasingly corrupt U.S. Supreme Court. That starts with electing Democrats this fall in numbers that even John Roberts cannot ignore. Otherwise, Roberts & Company will continue to court with disaster by stripping away freedoms we enjoy and celebrate. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.