"Speak softly, and carry a big stick." —Theodore Roosevelt
On Monday, I was up before dawn, staring bleary-eyed at my laptop screen, waiting for the Supreme Court to release its orders for petition of certiorari. At 6:30 a.m. (9:30 a.m., Washington, D.C., time) the order was released; in the case of United States of America vs. John Dennis Apel, "Petition Denied." The Supreme Court was, for the second and last time in two years, refusing to hear arguments regarding my right to peacefully express my opinion in public.
Thus ended a five-year odyssey that began in 2010 with my trespassing conviction for standing quietly on the easement of Highway 101, Pacific Coast Highway, outside the main gate at Vandenberg Air Force Base with a sign that read "No Weapons in Space."