If the Constitutional Convention had a group chat

Or, how it happened that neither women nor the environment are protected in the U.S. Constitution (really)

Jul 23, 2026

Hello from a glorious summer day here in Maryland. It’s in the low 70s (low 20s C), breezy, clear blue sky. All very noticeable after days of 100° heat + humidity, plus smoke from Canadian wildfires kept us hunkered indoors by the window A/C. One benefit of finally getting back outside was learning the astonishing fact some water lily flowers are openly, even flagrantly, transgender . . .1

Today’s post is mostly visual. Bit of a departure for me, but . . . not really? Enjoy!

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“The United States Constitution is ‘pre-ecological.’ That is, it contains no reference, either explicit or implicit, to environmental concerns. As a result, federal environmental law in the United States is entirely statutory.” ~ Kyle Burns J.D. Candidate, 2017, University of Virginia School of Law2

“I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.” ~ Abigail Adams, letter to John Adams, March 31, 1776

This may have happened one night in June 1787 . . .

GDog Who changed our names? I tried to change mine back but it won’t let me. Publius I did. It’s more fun. GDog But I don’t know who anyone is now. Is that you, Alexander? Publius Who else would it be? Don’t be boring, General. 🥱 The Duke I for one think it’s childish. We have many serious matters to consider. For instance, as far as I can tell, the Ladies aren’t mentioned once in the current draft. Publius Hello, Abigail. 🙄 Does John approve of you using his account to distract us?

Madison Let her be, Hamilton. She makes a good point. The Duke John is in London, as usual. It’s the middle of the night there. Long Tom Why doesn’t Madison have a nickname? Publius I couldn’t think of one. Long Tom Call him Scribe. He writes constantly. I sneezed yesterday and he wrote “Jefferson sneezed.” Madison Did not. Long Tom Did so.

Scribe It’s important to have a record of the Convention for posterity. Hey! How did you change my name, Hamilton? Poor Richard A man can’t take a nap around here without this thread blowing up. How do you expect me to keep up? Publius We don’t, Ben, old man. Go back to sleep. 😴 The Duke Women’s rights can’t solely be granted on a case by case basis by their husbands. It isn’t fair. Under current law, we have no voice. GDog Good point, Abigail. Now, we need to balance the three branches. I’m worried the Executive has too much power. We just fought a war over this. No kings, gents. Scribe And lady. GDog Fair enough.

The Duke And what about Nature? The signature of Our Lord surely deserves protections under the law. Publius You’re getting lost in the weeds. Broad strokes. We’re birthing a Republic here. Poor Richard If you can keep it. Long Tom We spent hours yesterday arguing over Adams’ proposed Declaration of Rights. The Duke On that note, why not enshrine the Rights of both the Ladies and Nature in such a Declaration? And call it the Bill of Rights, it’s cleaner. Publius 😂 Bunnies and Ladies, ha. Which Right shall we remove to make room for your pet projects, Abigail? Protection against search and seizure? Or the right to a jury trial? GDog Hamilton, go easy. Be respectful.

Long Tom Yeah. You should talk less & smile more. Publius I see what you did there. 😡 The Duke And while we’re at it, why hot abolish that most iniquitous scheme, Slavery? . . . The Duke Anyone there? . . . [an hour later] Publius Who up? Long Tom Yeah. 🕯️ Scribe That shit was crazy. Publius I tried to drop her from the group but it didn’t work.

GDog The new draft is most excellent. I did see one use of the pronoun, “she,” which I struck. Scribe Great, thanks for catching that. Publius 👍

Here’s an animated version. Enjoy. . .

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From a Longwood Gardens tour guide, the Victoria Lilies (aka water-platters). Details and more photos in my note from yesterday.

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Lor

Jul 24

So much fun to read, Julie! Especially love Abigail Adams, she was pretty cool for 1776—“…we are determined to foment a Rebellion”. Let’s modernize it in honor of John Lewis: Foment good trouble!

3 replies by Julie Gabrielli and others

Susan J Tweit

OMG! I am still laughing. Ruefully, but laughing. This is great, Julie. You could write a graphic book on the dialog behind our founding documents. It would inspire kids to learn from history, I think. Blessings to you from more than halfway across the continent.

4 replies by Julie Gabrielli and others

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