Are you going to vote for the continued destruction of U.S. History?

It has been a while since I posted a “political rant” on my blog. Being somewhat of a historian, I feel compelled to vent my disfavor today over how the Trump Regime is erasing and re-writing U.S. History.

Before you cast your vote in the November 3, 2026 United States mid-term election, please consider if you really want to vote for the continuation of the things the Trump Regime is doing. That includes Trump’s attack on our history and how it is presented in our national parks, monuments, historic sites, and museums.


The Difference between a Presidential Administration and a Regime

A U.S. Presidential Administration promises to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States of America.

A regime promises to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States of American, but it instigates its own policies and picks and chooses which laws it will acknowledge or enforce. A regime makes up the rules as it goes along and runs roughshod over its perceived enemies.

Ongoing damage to the Truth

We Americans really have no idea how much damage has been done to our country by the Trump Regime. Time will tell what has been destroyed and what cannot be recovered.

One of the things that the Trump Regime’s Department of the Interior under Secretary Burgum is doing is the erasing and re-writing of history. Sort of like what happened in Germany in the 1930s to mid-1940s. Sort of like what happened in Russia in the early 20th century.

Trump only deals in “alternative facts,” which is another term for “lies.” He does not want Americans to remember, honor, or learn about their nation’s history, so exhibits and signage in numerous national parks and the Smithsonian Museums have been removed.

He even went so far in his hatred of the truth to erect signs outside the Smithsonian warning visitors that everything they might see inside those museums might not be true.

How does an individual become so afraid of the truth and education?

I don’t have the answer. I just know that a person like that can do massive damage to a country when put in a place of power. Combine that with the fact that the person in power surrounds himself with people like Stephen Miller. They feed off each other’s hatred at a level of evil the United States has never witnessed before.


All heroes don’t wear capes

We owe a debt of gratitude to former National Park Service Ranger Melissa Dalley. Since April 2026, Dalley has been traveling around the United States in an effort to document the signs that have been removed. She believes the list I share in today’s post is not a complete list of what has been lost.

Armed with the National Park Service spreadsheet released on June 17, 2026, and an internal database which was made public last March, Dalley is trying to identify all the signage and exhibits that have been removed.

Dalley left the National Park Service over the removal of historical facts. She is now on a mission to record what has been torn away by the Trump Regime.

Photo of the US flag unfurled against a blue sky with white puffy clouds
Photo by chris robert on Unsplash

Removed AND Discarded

Between September 2025 and August 7, 2026, informational signs and exhibits were removed from the following national parks, national monuments, historic sites were removed and DISCARDED:

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Delaware (“Guide to the Gap” brochure was removed and discarded because it described how the arrival of settlers from Europe introduced diseases that “devastated the native population, who had no immunities.”)

Gateway National Recreation Area in New York and New Jersey (Display that referred to slavery, the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, and conflicts between the U.S. Government and Native Americans was removed and discarded.)

First State National Historical Park in Delaware (Caesar Rodney exhibit removed and discarded because he owned slaves. He also helped secure Delaware’s vote for American independence in 1776.)

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Memorial, Washington, DC (The sign that told about the discrimination in some of President Roosevelt’s policies was removed and discarded.)

Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument, Washington, DC (An “informational wayside” was removed and discarded at this house and museum of the women’s suffrage and equal rights movements.)

Buck Island Reef National Monument, U.S. Virgin Islands (A Junior Ranger book was removed and discarded, apparently because President John F. Kennedy once called it “the finest marine garden in the Caribbean Sea.”)

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia (This park preserved the mountain pass used by Native Americans and Daniel Boone as he led pioneers west. I could not find exactly what was removed and discarded.)

Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park, South Carolina (An interpretive display about how sea level rise, coastal erosion, flooding, and storm surge in relation to climate change might eventually submerge this Civil War fortress was removed and discarded. The display was based on research conducted by the National Park Service and Western Carolina University.)

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, Louisiana (I was unable to find out exactly what was removed and discarded from this six-site area of protected swamps, the Chalmette Battlefield of 1815, and centers of Cajun and Creole heritage.)

Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, Mississippi (A Junior Ranger book that allegedly contained disparaging statements about some white people was removed and discarded. (The site is where Medgar Evers, a black civil rights activist, was assassinated in 1963. His assassination helped generate support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.)

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming (A sign giving the history of Gustavus Cheyney Doane, an early Yellowstone explorer who participated in a massacre of Native Americans was removed and discarded because it was deemed as making “disparaging” remarks about Doane.)

Sunset Crater National Monument, Arizona (A sign describing basalt bubbles at this 1,000-foot-high cinder cone volcano was removed and discarded because a visitor was shown holding a Pride flag.)


36 Signs/Exhibits Removed but possibly not destroyed at the following sites:

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee

Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina and Virginia

Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts

Colonial National Historical Park, Virginia

Acadia National Park, Maine

Independence National Historical Park, Pennsylvania

George Washington Memorial Parkway, Virginia

The National Mall and Memorial Parks, Washington, DC

Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site, Washington, DC

Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

Cane River Creole National Monument, Louisiana

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, Florida

Christiansted National Historic Site, U.S. Virgin Islands

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, North Carolina

Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, North Carolina

Gulf Islands National Seashore, Florida and Mississippi

Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky

Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, Florida

Virgin Islands National Park, U.S. Virgin Islands

Muir Woods National Monument, California

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan

Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, South Carolina

Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, Georgia

Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee

Two Other Exhibits, status unknown:

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska (Signage/exhibit removed; not known whether it was saved or discarded)

Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC (Signage/exhibit removed; not known whether it was saved or discarded)


The Yosemite Land Swap

I have never had the opportunity to visit Yosemite National Park, and at this stage of my life I know I never will; however, I treasure that national park. I’ve seen pictures of it all my life. I’m in awe of the grandeur of God’s creation there. Yosemite has been protected since 1864. Its waterfalls, giant sequoias, and mountain peaks have been provided rest, reflection, and recreation for thousands of people from around the world.

And I thought it was protected forever. That’s what our national parks were meant to be. They were set aside and maintained by the American taxpayers for the good of all. The common good. It’s a pillar of our nation. We took it for granted.

National parks and national monuments were set aside as a covenant between the government and the people. We couldn’t imagine anyone with a personal vendetta against Mother Nature would ever be elected U.S. President.

So why does Donald Trump have the right to give Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a land developer, part of Yosemite National Park in trade for an unknown piece of land in California?

The answer to that question is, “He does not have the right!” But his advisers, Cabinet members, and members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate don’t have the courage to stop him.

They let him tear down the East Wing of the White House and most of them never said a word. No wonder he thinks he can destroy our national parks.

The Yosemite Land Swap has reportedly not been finalized, but can we trust Trump’s Department of the Interior to tell us the truth about anything they’re doing?


Ask your U.S. Representatives & Congressional Candidates

Every seat in the U.S. House of Representatives is up for grabs in the November election. Ask the individuals campaigning to represent YOU in the U.S. House if they are in favor of the removal and re-writing or disappearance of American history in our national parks, monuments, and historic sites.

A few of the above listed instances got a little attention by the news media. Were you paying attention? Do you care that current and future generations are being set up to learn a white-washed version of American history — a history in which no white people ever did anything wrong and all people of color were always treated fairly and with respect?

That version of history is a fairy tale being forced on us by the Trump Regime and apparently supported by Trump’s supporters in Congress.

Don’t send them back to Washington to continue to support the Trump Regime.

And one-third of the U.S. Senate seats are up for grabs in November. If you live in a state in which you have a chance to elect or re-elect a Senator who is in favor of continuing down this road of the destruction of history or a candidate who will stand up against the re-writing of our history, please be careful and deliberate in who you vote for.


Vote as if your life depends on it

Vote as if your life depends on it, for life as we’ve known it does depend on it. Do you really want a U.S. House of Representatives and a U.S. Senate that continue to bow and bend to the whims of Donald Trump?

Is that what you want for your children and grandchildren?

Janet

Never take your right to vote for granted! NEVER!

An Opportunity for Me to Speak

Last Tuesday, I was one of the presenters for the “history day” meeting of the 2026 Class of Leadership Cabarrus. (Cabarrus is the name of our county.)

Leadership Cabarrus is described as follows on the Cabarrus County Chamber of Commerce website (https://cabarrusncchamber.org/leadership-cabarrus/):

“Through a series of monthly class days from September through May, participants are introduced to and examine how leadership in the historical, geographical, educational, economic, governmental, and cultural segments work together to perpetuate and advance the Cabarrus County region and its citizens.

“The program is also designed to nurture and develop the leadership skills of current and potential leaders, offering a stimulating atmosphere that fosters diverse viewpoints and yields innovative solutions to the critical questions facing our community. The program’s focus is creating awareness and connecting leaders to the issues; it is not an academic leadership training program, but an excellent professional development opportunity to communicate with the Cabarrus County community. Furthermore, the program is non-partisan and does not recommend or advocate for partisan positions on public matters.”

Since the 1980s, Leadership Cabarrus has hosted more than 700 participants from 200 companies.

This was the third time I’ve been invited to be a presenter for Leadership Cabarrus. I spoke to the 2024 Leadership Cabarrus Class about the history of Harrisburg. I was invited back last year but had to cancel at the last minute due to illness.

After cancelling at the last minute in 2025, I was pleasantly surprised to be invited back this year.

The venue is not always the same. I spoke at the county office building in Concord in 2024. This year, I was scheduled to speak at Southern Grace Distilleries at Whiskey Prison in Mt. Pleasant, North Carolina.

Say what?

Yes, I was scheduled to speak in the chapel of the former prison, which is now a distillery. I thought this would make an interesting blog post, so I arrived a few minutes early and took some pictures.

Guard Tower, I assume was only in operation while it was a prison.

Southern Grace Distilleries, Mt. Pleasant, NC
A sign I assume is left from the property’s former use as a prison.

Things soon went off the rails because the motorcoach (is that still the proper term for a bus?) transporting the 36-member Leadership Cabarrus Class had massive electronic issues and a replacement bus had to be requested from Winston-Salem – some 60 miles away.

Since the class members were stranded at the Eastern Cabarrus Museum, it was decided that I should leave the prison and drive back into Mt. Pleasant and meet the class members at 73 & Main Restaurant. When I arrived at 73 & Main, I could see the class members in the distance as they walked from the museum to the restaurant.

73 & Main Restaurant, Mt. Pleasant, NC

I must say that the people in charge of Leadership Cabarrus showed phenomenal leadership as they juggled the schedule on the fly and dealt with the disruption of the rest of the day’s schedule – which was planned down to the minute for the next six hours. The whole experience turned out to be an unexpected lesson in going with the flow.

The group was congenial. I only noticed one member who was visibly bored out of her mind as I spoke as fast as I could about the history of Harrisburg. Perhaps she was there under duress.

The presentation gave me an opportunity to briefly hold up my two local history books: Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1 and Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 2 – in case any participants were so enamored by my speech that they wanted to learn more. (By the way, they are available at Second Look Books in Harrisburg and on Amazon in paperback and ebook: https://www.amazon.com/Harrisburg-Did-You-Know-Cabarrus-ebook/dp/B0BNK84LK1/ and https://www.amazon.com/Harrisburg-Did-You-Know-Cabarrus-ebook/dp/B0BXBQ1F79.)

Unbeknownst to me, one of the class members was the daughter of a school classmate of mine whom I’ve known for 65 years. Meeting Stephanie’s daughter was a great surprise! Coming full circle, I expect to see Stephanie at our high school class reunion this weekend.

I must have done an okay job because after I spoke, I was asked to present again in 2027. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get another chance to speak in a former prison. I finished speaking as the replacement motorcoach arrived, so everything worked out great for me. I have no idea how the rest of the day’s schedule went for the group. Fortunately, I got to go home.

I’m glad we still have freedom of speech in the United States, although Trump continues to attack the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Case in point: banning news agencies who report the truth about his evil deeds get banned from the White House. It’s not his house. It’s not his constitution. The White House and the U.S. Constitution belong to the people. Only a dictator attempts to control or silence a free press.

A meme with the words of the First Amendment with the American flag in the background
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

Janet

The First Amendment guarantees our right to religion, speech, the press, assembly, and our right to complain to and about the government. Don’t take one word of that Amendment for granted!

I love maps, but…

I love maps, but just let me say that the Trump Administration has once again acted loose and fast with the facts.

We all remember when Trump took a Sharpie pen and altered a NOAA hurricane prediction map to show Hurricane Dorian taking aim at Alabama.

The latest in White House-issued maps was apparently intended to substantiate Trump’s threat to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America and to remind us that, in Trump’s mind, the Gulf of Mexico is the Gulf of America. Trump believes he has the authority to do whatever strange thought crosses his mind. He believes if he says it, it is true. He believes if he does it, it is legal.

That latest White House-issued map is a Lego map. Perhaps it was AI-generated. If so, it stands as a prime example of why AI cannot be trusted. Regardless of who or what created the map, it was the White House that proudly issued the map on the internet for all the world to see.

I preface the following paragraph by reminding you that I have lived in North Carolina my entire life. I have visited Washington, DC several times. I visited the Great Dismal Swamp two years ago.

You see, in addition to proudly displaying “Lake America” and the “Gulf of America,” this week’s Trump map places Washington, DC smack in the middle of the Great Dismal Swamp in northeastern North Carolina.

Map of USA posted by the Trump White House on social media on August 25, 2026

It is ironic that Trump campaigned promising to “drain the swamp,” but now he has apparently moved our nation’s capital 200 miles south to real one.

Janet

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.

P.S.   I didn’t even mention the social media post that the U.S. Department of Education had to take down this week when it was brought to their attention that it equated the Trump Administration with Nazi Germany.

Perhaps someone in the Department of Education needs to study World War II. Or… could it be that someone inside the Administration was trying to tell us something?

Cracks in the armor?

Janet