On this day, 24 August, in 1759, William Wilberforce was born; the British abolitionist who put his shoulder to the wheel to derail and destroy the English sponsorship of chattel slavery. He is one of the patron saints of this site.

On this day in 1814, the British burned the Offal Office and White House to the ground. Nearly a quarter century after the ghastly Constitution cast its eye of Mordor over the fruited plain while settlers fled and raced west to escape its grasp. Little did we know the portent the British offered for the sheer loathing the White House would inspire planet-wide in the intervening years.

I can't think of a more auspicious day to unveil the debut of my new book. The second volume of essays covers the following years of 2012-2015 accompanying the first volume.