July 22, 2026 (Vol. 20 No. 27) - Jim Croce's melancholy Photographs and Memories (above) was first released as the B-side of his April 1972 mega-hit You Don't Mess Around With Jim. It became the title song of his first greatest hits album released in September 1974, one year following the singer's tragic death in a plane crash. The popularity of this song reflected the public's longing over what-could-have-been and a recognition of how bright his star had ever-so-briefly shone.

Croce's ballad recently came to mind as I was trying to discard clutter that had accumulated in a laundry room drawer. Everyone has that kind of drawer, a place where you put the stuff that either is potentially useful in an undefined manner or has some sentimental value. The latter was the case when I came across a forgotten pair of glasses that belonged to my late wife, Jan. That brought back a flood of memories of my marriage to her and how we raised our daughter, Susan. Those were the days of dance recitals, marching band rehearsals, the Girl Scouts, Tupperware parties, braces, the church choir and a pilgrimage to Rome. Even as I write this, other images of those times come flooding to mind. However, there is also a bittersweet tinge to those memories, one that comes from the knowledge of Jan's untimely death in 2007.

Next, I poured through a file box filled with cancelled checks and bank books dating back to my days in high school. Yes, I had a savings account at the Easton, Maryland, branch of Loyola Federal Savings and Loan, which no longer exists. My account, fed by earnings from summer jobs, actually reached more than $500 - more than $3,300 in today's dollars. I have no idea where that money went, probably whittled down by the day-to-day needs of a teenage college student.

Speaking of college, I also found my bank book from Suburban Bank and Trust, a Hyattsville, Maryland, institution that also no longer exists. I took note of a an entry on November 23, 1972, a $54 check to pay off a parking ticket. I remember it, issued on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C. where I was working part time in the film lab of WMAL-TV, which also no longer exists under those call letters. Since I was driving a beat-up VW bug at the time, you would have thought the police would take mercy on a poor fool. But that was my mistake: There is no pity to be found in Washington, D.C.

There were also cancelled checks and a bank book from the Hancock Bank and Trust Company which, you guessed it, was acquired by another banking company and no longer exists under that name. That was where I deposited my meager earnings from my first real post-college job, as an announcer and advertising salesperson for a daytime country music radio station, WKCM-AM. It still exists, but operates on a different frequency under different ownership and in a different location. Oddly enough, Hancock Bank was the place where this young bachelor purchased his first dishes - a promotion the bank ran encouraging deposits. Fifty years later, a few of those dishes remain.

It is well known how music can transport us to a certain time and place and help us revisit old emotions. In the case of Croce's Photographs and Memories, the song does a sort of double-duty. It not only describes how random artifacts can evoke in us the past, but it also carries a specific memory for me. As a reporter on the University of Maryland's student newspaper The Diamondback, I had been scheduled to interview Croce when he came to campus for a summer 1973 concert. That concert was postponed to a later date. I would have to wait for my interview. Because of the plane crash, it never happened.

As we get older, I suppose it is only natural for people to become more nostalgic. I can't be certain of that - this is the first time I've been old. But I can say that it is a healthy thing to revisit our past, just so long as we don't wallow in it. I may not know when my own clock will run out. But when it does, I hope I am looking ahead, not backwards. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.

July 16, 2026 (Vol. 20 No. 26) - America is currently losing a war that it started. Inflation is strangling the American economy. Places like Texas and Florida are dealing with natural disasters. There is growing concern about the use of AI and the data centers that drive it. So what matter of urgency made the President of the United States go on national television tonight? Delusional Don continues to complain about the 2020 election in which the American people by a wide margin booted his sorry ass from office. In making this assertion, he has essentially said that the American people should not have believed what they witnessed in with their own eyes in real time.

This would be laughable if it didn't raise legitimate concerns regarding the conduct of this year's midterm elections. His Incontinence is doing everything he can to suppress the vote and tip the scales toward the Republican Party. It started with a series mid-decade redistricting in red states designed to eliminate democratic - and mostly black - congressional districts. That has backfired, as a number of blue states, most notably California, have countered with their own redistricting. He just fired the remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission. And isn't it odd that at the very moment Trump has said our nation is at danger from foreign interference that he has dismantled this and other agencies designed to safeguard us from that threat?

President Leisenhower is also waging war against mail-in balloting, which has been one of the most popular and successful get-out-the-vote measures. For some inexplicable reason, he believes that the election is over when the clock strikes midnight on the day of the vote. Let's call this particular form of dementia Cinderella Syndrome. Of course, the election isn't decided until all the votes are counted - no matter how long it takes. Trump has screwed around with the postal service, making it harder to get mail-in ballots postmarked before the deadline. Again, none of these particular matters addressed external interference. He appears more focused on internal facts and suppressing voter turnout. In short, the Count of Mar-a-Lardo knows that the Republicans are going to lose the House and possibly the Senate this November. Democracy be damned. He's not willing to let that happen.

So, in a desperate attempt to distract America from his failed war, high prices and the Epstein files, our Fearless Leader went on national television tonight with phony evidence proclaiming foreign influence in the 2020 election. Frankly, you can't believe anything coming out of the Trump Administration. His heavy-handedness and threats to the agencies under his control has resulted in the realization that they had better say what Trump says, facts be damned. Just this week, Trump's nominee for Attorney General was unwilling to acknowledge that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Just down the hall, the nominee for Director of National Intelligence did the same. First, there is no legitimate proof that foreign governments were successful in defeating Trump's reelection bid. He just can't get over the fact that a record 81.3 million Americans voted him out of office. Of course, this claim of foreign skullduggery is rich with irony, considering that it has been well documented that the Russians helped Trump get elected in 2016. This whole business is just another example of Trump's strategy of projection, deflection and misdirection. If Diaper Don poops in his pants, he says someone else did it and it was Joe Biden's fault.

For the record, more than 60 judges - Republican and Democrat, including some appointed by Trump - ruled in 2020 that the elections were free and fair. Sure, there's evidence that nations such as Russia, China and North Korea engaged in misinformation campaigns. However, there no proof that any of their efforts affected the outcome of the election. The Electoral Integrity Project at Harvard University conducted an expert survey of the 2020 US Presidential Elections. The research gathered the views of almost 800 scholars of elections, parties and American state politics located in all 50 states plus DC. It said, "After the polls closed, these experts shared their experiences and observations of the elections and parties in their own state. The study found that experts overwhelmingly rejected claims of alledged fraud. Nevertheless, a series of flaws still undermine the quality of American elections, such as gerrymandering, campaign finance, and misinformation." And should a candidate wish to contest a vote count, 95 percent of all ballots cast in this country are backed up by paper auditable ballots.

All one needs to do is to remember 2020 and Donald Trump's failure to lead the nation during the COVID-19 epidemic. His inaction led to more than a half-million deaths. The American people then as now grew weary of the daily historonics from a man so clueless and feeble that he claimed at the height of the epidemic that we could save ourselves from the coronavirus by injecting ourselves with bleach. This is also the same clown who last week claimed that the United States Navy had been attacked by missiles from the Islamic Republic of Japan. Then, as now, Donald Trump is a few fries short of a Happy Meal. As I have already stated in this space, there are ample reasons for removing Trump from office. It's not practical or safe to wait for Donnie Demento to pull a Lindsey Graham and croak.

The "proof" Trump offered tonight was little more than unvetted and discredited raw intelligence designed to feed into Metamucili's degenerate conspiracy theories. These documents have been selectively redacted, showing only information that support Trump's conspiracy theories. He offered absolutely no proof that there were 250,000 non-citizens who illegally voted in the 2020 election. And when Trump pushes for the passage of the SAVE America Act, designed to ensure that only citizens can vote in local elections, one should remember that a prohibition against non-citizen voting currently exists and that law will do nothing to address the foreign threats Trump tonight said he fears.

You know Donald Trump. If his mouth is moving, he is probably lying. This is the same guy who told you he obliterated Iran's nuclear capacity a year ago. And then he said we destroyed that country's nuclear capabilities in the first few hours of the February 28 attack and that the war would all be over by mid-March. Then mid-April. Then mid-May. Of yes, he also told us that Mexico would pay for the border wall. He can't help himself. Talk about Trump Derangement Syndrome. That fool is one sick puppy.

Enough is enough. Donald Trump, when it comes to your loss in the 2020 election, the time has come for you to build yourself a bridge and get over it. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.

July 11, 2026 (Vol. 20 No. 25) - It is a sad fact of life that politicians often - some might say always - don't mean what they say. They use coded language that suggests they feel one way when, in fact, quite the opposite is true. For Kansans voting August 4 on the state constitutional amendment to directly elect state Supreme Court justices, this is one such case.

The people behind this amendment say that by abandoning the current merit-based selection of justices in favor a popular vote, they will be removing the influence of of the Kansas Bar Association, which they note represents only three tenths of one percent of the state's electorate. They say letting the people directly elect Supreme Court justices is more democratic. They also note that Kansas is the only state to select Supreme Court justices this way. As reasonable as that sounds, it is not true.

First, the current merit-based system of selecting justices was put in place in 1958 as a result of the abuse of the direct election process. It was created in response to the infamous 1956 "Triple Play" political scandal. During that incident, Governor Fred Hall lost his bid for reelection, the incumbent Chief Justice resigned, Hall resigned as governor, and his lieutenant governor immediately appointed Hall to the state Supreme Court. Although strictly legal, the sequence of political maneuvers outraged the public, prompting Kansans to replace direct judicial elections with a merit-based assisted appointment system.

Second, these Justices are selected through a merit-based assisted appointment process. The Supreme Court Nominating Commission vets applicants and submits three nominees to the governor, who appoints one. Four of the commission’s members are appointed by the governor representing each of the state’s congressional districts. These appointees are not attorneys. Four other members are attorneys elected by attorneys within their congressional district. The commission chair is an attorney elected by attorneys in a statewide vote.

Third, the people already have a vote. A “yes” vote would make it possible for wealthy donors and special interests to influence judicial rulings. Under the current system, the public continues to hold judges accountable through a statewide retention vote during the next general election. 

Finally, 20 other states have some form of a nominating commission in their selection process. Thirteen states use nonpartisan elections and eight use partisan elections.

As Kansans demonstrated in their resounding rejection of an ill-considered anti-abortion amendment in 2022, they have yet another opportunity to show the nation that they will not be hornswaggled by slick talking politicians who say one thing but mean another. For those who want a nonpartisan, impartial judiciary making important decisions that affect every Kansan's life, the choice is clear: Just say "NO." That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.

July 4, 2026 (Vol. 20 No. 24) - As our nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence, we should be mindful of the values our Founders held when they launched into uncharted waters. For the first time in world history, they proudly proclaimed that "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they endowed by their Creator certain and unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is easy for us to take their bold declaration for granted. But it was a courageous proclamation that the American people had the right to set their own course without being beholden to whims and whimsies of a King.

As we pause to reflect upon two and one-half centuries of life under the banner of the United States of America, it is a good time to reaffirm those values upon which we have stood and to articulate them within a 21st century context. This is not to suggest that I or anyone else can improve upon the works of the incredible people who risked their lives by defying a king in 1776. However, using the language of today, I'd like to proclaim what I see are my six unalienable American values:

Equality - It isn't necessarily true that all men are created equal: People come into this world into different physical, mental, geographic, psychographic and financial situations. However, our Founders said that people living under the flag of the United States, without regard to their citizenship status, are accorded equal opportunity and equal protection under the law. It is through these opportunities, unhindered by legal or social hurdles, that we Americans have a chance to define who we are.




Tolerance - We must respect the opinions (free speech), religion and lifestyle of others. This does not suggest that anything goes. But as long as our words and actions do not impede upon the rights of others, we have the right to left alone. Freedom of religion also means freedom from religion. Our religious and moral values may guide our thoughts and actions, but they should not be forced upon others. This means there is a separation of church and state. Our laws should reflect our moral values while, at the same time, acknowledging and protecting the values of others. We should also show tolerance and empathy toward those wishing to join our American family, especially those who come to our shores fleeing repression. And as the Supreme Court just reaffirmed, those who were born in the United States enjoy the full rights of citizenship. It makes no sense to demonize a segment of our community that has historically so enriched us.




Transparency - Every thing elected and public officials do in our name should be visible for public oversight. That includes law enforcement officers and agents, who should not be allowed to hide behind masks. Nor should government officials be allowed to make public decisions in closed-door meetings. Openness builds trust, a critical commodity in a civil society. This also implies that when it comes to truth, there is no such thing as "alternative facts." There may be many opinions, but there is only one truth.


Respect - As residents of the United States, respect for others should be our default position. Only when the rights of others are abused should we withhold that respect. While we may disagree with the political, social or religious values of others, we should respect their right to hold them. We should also hold true to the requirements of our Constitution, as well as federal, state and local laws. If we don't like them, there are mechanisms for amending them. This also means that, as a nation, we hold to those same standards in our relations with other nations.




Humility - Americans live in special circumstances that are absent in many parts of the world. We must remember that our physical and spiritual strengths are products of the blood, sweat and tears of our ancestors over the past 250 years. We may be exceptional. We can strive to become what Ronald Reagan referred to as a "Shining City on the Hill" - a condition to which the rest of the world admires and aspires. But we reject the jingoistic concept of "American exceptionalism." Those who act unselfishly to improve the conditions of others are among what George H. W. Bush called "a thousand points of light." To borrow a line from Lincoln, "with malice toward none and charity to all" we temper our actions toward those less fortunate inside and outside of our borders with the knowledge that "there but for the grace of God go I."




Responsibility - We, as a society and as individuals, are accountable for our actions and inactions. We accept that residency and citizenship in the United States are not just rights, but privileges we must maintain through our actions. Our elected and appointed leaders bear a just burden to act within the public interest. We, as individuals, are charged to engage in the life of our communities. We are required to stay informed and active in public affairs. By doing so, we will hold our elected and appointed leaders to standards consistent with our values. However, it is important that we, ourselves, are held to those same values by others - and by ourselves.

The signers of the Declaration of Independence, who by their actions were committing treason against the English Crown, wrote that they took this action "with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence" and concluded by mutually pledging "our Lives, our Fortunes and our Sacred Honor." It is in that spirit that I, on this 250th anniversary of American independence, pledge my continued adherence to the values I have articulated. That's it for now. Happy birthday, America, and, of course as always, Fear the Turtle.