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November 11, 2025

Centreville Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Centreville

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When You’re Down and Troubled Turn the Radio Up for that Sweet Sound by Maria Grant

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My friends, relatives and I are depressed. The world is going to hell in a handbasket. The government shutdown is the longest in history. Flights are cancelled. Inflation is rising. The country is even more polarized. What to do? 

In addition to taking active steps to promote positive change, music can lighten your mood and soothe your troubled soul. It can bring peace, solace, and hope for a better tomorrow. Here is my suggested playlist to make the clouds go away. 

Four Seasons, Vivaldi—a beautiful painting of nature in sound

Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Harlen—where troubles melt like lemon drops away above the chimney tops

Ode to Joy, Beethoven—a celebration of freedom, joy, and hope for the future

Mary’s Place, Springsteen—After 911, Springsteen wanted one happy song on his album. This is it.

I Got Rhythm, Gershwin—daisies in green pastures—who could ask for anything more?

Who Believes in Angels? John/Carlile—even the diamonds look like rocks to the untrained eye 

Piano Trio No. 4 in E Major, Mozart—the crowning glory of Mozart’s work in this genre

Here Comes the Sun, Beatles–the smiles returning to their faces  

Happy Days are Here Again, Ager—campaign song for FDR. Best version song by Judy Garland and Barbara Streisand

Piano Concerto in A Minor, Grieg—captivating, lyrical, and exuberant! 

The Entertainer, Scott Joplin—ragtime at its best

Carmen Overture, Bizet—over-the-top brilliant melodies, harmonies, and orchestration

You’ve Got a Friend, Carol King–I will be there to brighten up even your darkest night

My Funny Valentine, Rodgers and Hart—you make me smile with my heart 

Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding—watching the ships roll in 

Singin in the Rain, Brown, sung by Gene Kelly—the sun’s in my heart and I’m ready for love

Plato once wrote, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” Amen. 

Dear readers, I would love for you to share the music that soothes your souls.

Maria Grant, formerly principal-in-charge of the federal human capital practice of an international consulting firm, now focuses on writing, reading, music, and nature. 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Time to do Congressional Redistricting Right by David Reel

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Governor Wes Moore recently announced he is moving forward with an unprecedented effort to redraw Maryland’s eight congressional district maps before the 2026 election.

Historically, redistricting occurs every ten years following the completion of a national census. With that schedule, the next census-driven redistricting would take place no sooner than 2030.

Republican controlled legislatures in Texas, North Carolina, and Missouri have recently approved new congressional district boundaries to help maintain a Republican majority in the U.S. House after the 2026 midterm elections.

As a result, Democratic Governors J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Gavin Newsom of California, both of whom have Presidential ambitions, are pursuing comparable initiatives in their states to help secure a Democratic majority in the U.S. House after the 2026 midterm elections.

Governor Moore recently launched his own Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission.

About that commission, Moore has said, “My commitment has been clear from day one — we will explore every avenue possible to make sure Maryland has fair and representative maps.”

So far, Moore has appointed Democratic U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks as commission chair, and the following as commission members: Democratic President of the Maryland Senate Bill Ferguson or his designee, Democratic Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates Adrienne Jones House or her designee, former Democratic Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, and the Republican Mayor of Cumberland, Ray Morriss.

I believe Moore has two additional unannounced goals that are driving his redistricting initiative three years into his first term.

One may be to help Moore demonstrate his commitment to leaders of the national Democratic Party that he is doing his part to advance an accelerated congressional redistricting initiative in Maryland. Achieving that goal helps Moore maintain and expand the narrative that he is a rising star in the Democratic Party and is an attractive prospective Democratic candidate for a future national office.

The second unannounced goal may be to redraw the boundaries of Congressional District #1 where Andy Harris is the only Republican in Maryland’s eight-member congressional delegation.

Gerrymandering congressional district boundaries in Maryland to flip congressional seats from red to blue have had measurable success. At one time, Maryland’s congressional delegation was split evenly between four Republican members and four Democratic members. Today the split is seven Democratic members and one Republican member.

Time will tell exactly what, if any, Moore’s unannounced goals may be.

Until then, I have two questions about Moore’s stated commitment to “explore every avenue possible to make sure Maryland has fair and representative maps.”

Does he know about the past efforts and results of former Governor Hogan’s 2021 Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission? If not, why not?

For his commission, Hogan appointed nine members from across Maryland — three Democrats, three Republicans, and three Independents. No commission member was a current or former elected official with one exception. One of the Democratic commission members was elected twice as State’s Attorney in Prince George’s County. Stanford University Law School Professor Nathaniel Persily, an expert on voting rights and election law, served as an advisor for the Commission.

The commission’s final report, issued in November 2021 included the following observations:

“The lines were drawn without regard to the interests of any party or candidate and without taking into account the place of residence of any incumbent officeholder or other potential candidate, nor did we consider how residents of any community may have voted in the past, or with what political party they may be registered. The Citizens Commission believes its maps embody good redistricting principles, including compactness, minimal splits of counties and municipalities, and a highly understandable layout for congressional representation.
Additionally, they offer better adherence to the principle of “one person, one vote” through a closer approach than in past maps to population equality. We are proud that our proposed congressional and senate maps earned a rating of “A” for fairness from the Princeton Gerrymandering Project.”

At the final commission meeting, Professor Persily told commission members their efforts should be held out as a national model for the way things should be done.

It was not done in Maryland. The 2021 Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission report was not brought to the floor in the House of Delegates or the Senate for consideration or action.

History may soon repeat itself.

While a governor can call a special legislative session, legislative leaders will control what happens or does not happen during that session. Moore has not yet secured agreement on how the General Assembly will handle his commission’s report. Senate President Bill Ferguson is strongly opposed to any accelerated redistricting initiative and to a special session. House Speaker Adrienne Jones is strongly supportive of both.

Until governors, state legislative leaders, and the majority of state legislature members agree on redistricting done right, i.e., earning an “A” for fairness, America’s voters will continue to experience gerrymandered Congressional districts.

David Reel is a public affairs and public relations consultant. He is also a consultant for profit organizations on governance, leadership, and management matters. He lives in Easton.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Times Two By Jamie Kirkpatrick

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On the recommendation of a friend, I’ve been reading Timothy Egan’s “A Pilgrimage to Eternity.” It’s not my usual fare, but it’s a thoughtful, intriguing, and deep account of the author’s journey along the Via Francigena, an ancient route of pilgrimage that runs some 2,000 miles from Canterbury in England, through France, Switzerland, and Italy, before eventually arriving in Rome. Like all travelogues, it carries the reader—in this case, me—along with the traveler (Mr. Egan) on a journey that is at once both a physical and spiritual trek through the countryside of modern Europe on ancient roadways of earth, stone, and belief.

There is a lot to mull over on a 2,000 mile hike, as well as a lot of time for mulling. I’m too old now to undertake the physical journey, but still young enough in mind and heart to go along for the ride. Backpacks are heavy, feet get blistered, pants chafe, muscles cramp, and water is scarce. But ideas are light and conversations—even silent ones—are stimulating.

In the small French city of Besançon not far from the Swiss border, Mr. Egan—I guess we’ve been together long enough now that I can call him Tim—muses on two distinctly different concepts of time: what the Greeks referred to as Chronos and Kairos. Chronos is the sequential version of time measured by clocks: seconds, minutes, hours, days. Seasons and years. Kairos, on the other hand, is time measured not by duration, but by opportunity. It’s experiential in that it counts the treasured, memorable moments of our lives. Quantity and quality, if you will, or maybe science and art. Opposites that reflect each other. We exist within Chronos, but are indelibly marked by Kairos.

It’s a mesmerizing mental dialogue that hits close to home. In a couple of weeks, my wife and I will celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary (Chronos) and those ten years have been filled with many memorable moments of joy, and, yes, some sadness, too (Kairos). Both concepts are milestones that mark our separate and collective journeys so we track both measures of time: the specific calendar celebrations, as well as all those memorable moments that have made our lives together worth living.

So, where is this going? Just here: all of us are living through difficult, even dangerous, times. We look back to the last election or ahead to the next ones. We count the president’s days in office, and wonder what will happen three years hence. Last week’s (Chronos) results were perhaps a sign of positive change to come (Kairos). Time will tell—both versions of it.

There’s still a lot for Tim and me to talk about on our way to Rome, but we have plenty of both kinds of time. We log the miles (I suppose distance is a cousin of Chronos) while we observe the glory around us (Kairos). Here at home, my wife likes to walk and she believes in counting her steps; in fact, she’s mathematically inclined in general, a facility that makes her very good at Sudoku. I, on the other hand, am more of a crossword puzzle guy who tends to measure time in words having to do with inspiration, the qualitative, non-linear events that touch our lives: family, friendships, sunsets, love.

But as my wife’s brother David used to say, “It’s all good.” Chronos and Kairos go together. So do we.

I’ll be right back.

Jamie Kirkpatrick is a writer and photographer who lives on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay. His editorials and reviews have appeared in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Washington College Alumni Magazine, and American Cowboy Magazine. His most recent novel, “The Tales of Bismuth; Dispatches from Palestine, 1945-1948” explores the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is available on Amazon and in local bookstores. His newest novel, “The People Game,” hits the market in February, 2026. His website is musingjamie.net.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Attachment Theory By Laura J. Oliver

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It was supposed to last a hundred years. The trust set up to protect Eagle Hill was to keep the woodland along the Magothy River safe from developers, but the last of the family who owned the property has died. Its future is unknown. 

The developers who would subdivide this legacy have very different aspirations from those my midwestern parents brought to Maryland more than half a century ago. All they wanted was an old house along a river in which to raise their three daughters. What they could afford was Barnstead, an abandoned stable overlooking the river, which they began remodeling into our family home the year I turned three. 

Time was told by season at Barnstead. In winter, migrating swans crowded the icy cove with their snowy grace, stark December’s only vain accessory. In summer, thunderstorms billowed across the open water like undulating curtains. Each raindrop, if you watched from the pier, displaced a small crown of water as it met the river, but there was no royalty here. Education had allowed my parents to exceed the usual limitations of their rural childhoods, but my father was still a carpenter’s son, and my mother, a farmer’s daughter.  

Together they built a home where my mother would write books and my father would boat, but the sparkling surface of the Magothy obscured unanticipated depths, and the sandy bottom could disappear without warning beneath small bare feet. My sisters and I would learn that sometimes we are parented by a place as much as by those responsible for us, and that dreams, though a less obvious inheritance than the color of our eyes, are also part of our parents’ legacy; both yours, I suspect, and mine.

On my last trip back to Eagle Hill, a 30-minute drive from the town where I live now, I think it is ironic that my kids, who grew up in a world of private schools and yacht clubs, would approach with caution the people who inhabited Eagle Hill.

Mr. Prince and his numerous preschool children rented an old house near the Barn. We seldom saw the Princes, but every so often, Mr. Prince would arrive on our doorstep for a visit. Smoking a pipe, he’d sit on the early American loveseat Mom had slipcovered, while several small muslin bags, tied through his belt loops, twitched and roiled.  

Mother served iced tea, and I kept a vigilant eye on those bags, knowing each contained one, if not several, snakes. I thought Mr. Prince was unbearably weird, but my father, if he were alive today, would laugh and assure me he was harmless. Dad was naturally generous and slow to pass judgment. I can’t imagine what they talked about, the snake collector and the hospital administrator, but a kind of midwestern hospitality was at work: no one is turned away from the door, even a man wearing snakes. 

A gregarious ladies’ man, my father had a story for every occasion, but I had learned not to always trust his claims. I doubt, for instance, that the pirate Blackbeard once slipped up the Chesapeake as far as the Magothy, but Dad said angry settlers had ambushed the pirate where he had moored in Black Hole Creek. During the most intense part of the battle, Blackbeard and his first mate managed to row ashore with a treasure chest. They walked for 15 minutes, then buried it, returned to the ship, and set sail. So somewhere near Barnstead lay a pirate’s chest of gold, Dad said. But in which direction did they walk? And how fast can two grown men walk carrying a heavy burden between them? As my father began taking longer and longer overnight business trips, I spent an increasing amount of time searching for treasure I thought would save us.

In my father’s absence and my mother’s increasing distraction, I found comfort in practicing self-sufficiency. I rearranged the furniture in my bedroom to resemble a living room. A small table in the center displayed a candy dish for visitors. I liked the idea that I could live on the apples in the orchard, walnuts and mulberries, even the bitter persimmons, and wild plums. I could crab and fish. Barnstead allowed me to believe I could take care of myself. It would never be necessary, of course, but there was a sense of security in the exercise. 

For all the tension around me as my parents’ distance grew, I never feared I’d be abandoned, as children often do. Instead, I worried that we would somehow lose Barnstead. I’d overhear my parents talking about developers and zoning laws, and I feared the woods would be lost to tract housing. I even began to worry that a tidal wave could appear at the mouth of the Magothy to sweep away my world. 

I prepared for a natural disaster because I didn’t know there were other kinds. My anxiety was well-founded. I had simply attached it to the wrong loss. 

As my parents’ dream of a river house full of children neared completion, so did their marriage. After a decade of sheltering my family, an ad was run, and Banstead was sold to the first person who walked in the door. 

My affection for Barnstead remains the intense attachment of a child, though I am a woman now. It was the only home in which I had two parents–a family. As I pass the entrance to our lane this afternoon, the house has been swallowed from view by the trees, but I heard it was torn down decades ago, replaced by a McMansion I do not want to see. 

I am a trespasser here. 

Whatever there was of value, I have taken with me–an appreciation for beauty, for labors of the heart, an unwillingness to pass judgment on their outcome. Now I am the mother who raised three children in the company of a river. Now, I write the books. 

Where do you carry the past? That’s not rhetorical, I’m really asking. What part of you is you because of where you’ve been?

My youngest, who lives in DC, is coming home for the weekend. I remember the night, years ago, when I went upstairs to check on her after the babysitter left. She was sound asleep in the twin Jenny Lind bed that had been mine as a child, the book she’d been reading, fallen to the floor. Kneeling to retrieve it, I lifted the white eyelet dust ruffle and noticed that the slats supporting the mattress were unusually narrow. 

Raising the fabric further, I realized for the first time that the slats were the rough, white battens that vertically sided the Barn when we found it, eventually replaced by cedar shingles, but saved and put to good use. 

Dropping the dust ruffle, I rose and walked out, leaving the legacy of Barnstead beneath new and tender dreams.

Laura J. Oliver is an award-winning developmental book editor and writing coach, who has taught writing at the University of Maryland and St. John’s College. She is the author of The Story Within (Penguin Random House). Co-creator of The Writing Intensive at St. John’s College, she is the recipient of a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award in Fiction, an Anne Arundel County Arts Council Literary Arts Award winner, a two-time Glimmer Train Short Fiction finalist, and her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her website can be found here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

The Duck Is Limping by Al Sikes

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Tuesday’s election results were clear—the Democrats won, the Republicans lost. This was an across the board defeat. There were no shoots of Spring. The President’s most fervent supporters said the problem was that Trump was not on the ballot. I say, excuse me, Trump has chosen to put himself on everything but the granularity of household waste.

The voters, well a majority, share Trumps anger on many issues but are turned off by his angry approach and his often mercurial zigs and zags. Most don’t like meanness. Most don’t like unhinged. Most don’t like extravagant claims with little or no foundation. When the “best ever” becomes a throw-away line, claims of truth lose their plausibility.

Stuck is not a good thing for a leader. But today the nation is enmeshed in a debilitating tangle featuring true believers, an absence of cohesive leadership (the government is shutdown) Courts and a large class of voters called independents.

Independent voters find the lack of civility chilling. Most independent voters don’t have the passion of true believers with the attendant intolerance. They don’t have high expectations, but they do know courtesy and its absence. In short, the mess Democrats served up in the 2024 election cycle defeated them, not the grandiosity and ridicule offered up by the President.

I suspect a majority of voters respect the potential of an extension of the Abraham Accords across the Middle East. But political victories have very short shelf lives. This is particularly true of successes in places most would have trouble finding on a map.

And politicians who live on emotions have to be aware of overnight reckonings. When Trump’s marquee supporter, Elon Musk, was portrayed with a chainsaw in hand, slashing programs that had constituencies, there was trouble in River City (the Potomac).

Trump is now a lame duck, who turned the gun on himself. A majority expressed confidence in him over her (Kamala Harris) last November, but popularity is fragile—especially if in the telling everything revolves around one man. Independents, the deciding factor in all elections except those where hardcore supporters are densely clustered, are suffering indigestion. Americans have not been trained to take orders from an autocrat.

So now America has a White House occupant who has precious little time to effect a turnaround but who, I guess, is building a giant ballroom for various celebrations. A ballroom filled by sycophants will not transmit the right vibe.

Neither George Washington or Abraham Lincoln were modest men but they formed their visions from history, theology, philosophy and literature, not from the vagaries of the marketplace. And they governed for history, not X (formerly Twitter).

An aside. Flying too close to the sun is always perilous. Watch out Zohran Mamdani, reengineering New York City will not be a walk in Central Park.

And what about those red carpets on the just finished Asian swing? Understand, Mr. President, that Xi of China is not your friend. Nor Putin of Russia. Nor Kim Jung Un of North Korea.

Un doesn’t want anything you can plausibly give him so he deflected your barely disguised suggestion for a stop over. Xi will do business because it is in his best interests. And you will prevail in negotiations with Xi, if he perceives you to be strong back home.

Putin will welcome staged bilateral talks that make him look reasonable, but persist in his tyrannical ambitions until he is certain the West will exact unbearable costs.

America is rich. It has enormous military power. It has sound government institutions and these are only the headlines of its strengths. Persons who become President will, as long as our assets hold together, be offered a certain deference. But don’t confuse tactical deference with friendship. If you are using tariffs to penalize friends (Canada, for example), don’t imagine that the red carpet is for you; it is for America. America is made strong by its stable democracy, law-bound courts, free markets, and diverse leaders and ideas. And true friendships.

A final thought. We always need to adaptively build strength and measure our initiatives against our history. Too often, we have allowed hope and borrowing power to weaken us. A $37 trillion dollar debt is shameful. In the neighborhood of 30% of the debt is held by foreign holders.

My last political job was in President George HW Bush’s administration. He built an incomparable resume through good public service. The jobs he did, including as President Ronald Reagan’s Vice President, were done well, and he didn’t ever, as I recall, try to upstage those he worked for or with. When he was President, the “Captain of the Ship of State”, there was a lot of ballast. Today, not so much.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

From and Fuller: The Real Impact of the Big Democrat Election Victories

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Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment.

This week, From and Fuller discuss the stunning Democratic wins in elections held in New York City, New Jersey, Georgia, and California, and their impact on President Donald Trump’s administrative goals.

This video podcast is approximately 20 minutes in length.

To listen to the audio podcast version, please use this link:

Background

While the Spy’s public affairs mission has always been hyper-local, it has never limited us from covering national, or even international issues, that impact the communities we serve. With that in mind, we were delighted that Al From and Craig Fuller, both highly respected Washington insiders, have agreed to a new Spy video project called “The Analysis of From and Fuller” over the next year.

The Spy and our region are very lucky to have such an accomplished duo volunteer for this experiment. While one is a devoted Democrat and the other a lifetime Republican, both had long careers that sought out the middle ground of the American political spectrum.

Al From, the genius behind the Democratic Leadership Council’s moderate agenda which would eventually lead to the election of Bill Clinton, has never compromised from this middle-of-the-road philosophy. This did not go unnoticed in a party that was moving quickly to the left in the 1980s. Including progressive Howard Dean saying that From’s DLC was the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

From’s boss, Bill Clinton, had a different perspective. He said it would be hard to think of a single American citizen who, as a private citizen, has had a more positive impact on the progress of American life in the last 25 years than Al From.”

Al now lives in Annapolis and spends his semi-retirement as a board member of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (his alma mater) and authoring New Democrats and the Return to Power. He also is an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins’ Krieger School and recently agreed to serve on the Annapolis Spy’s Board of Visitors. He is the author of “New Democrats and the Return to Power.”

For Craig Fuller, his moderation in the Republican party was a rare phenomenon. With deep roots in California’s GOP culture of centralism, Fuller, starting with a long history with Ronald Reagan, leading to his appointment as Reagan’s cabinet secretary at the White House, and later as George Bush’s chief-of-staff and presidential campaign manager was known for his instincts to find the middle ground. Even more noted was his reputation of being a nice guy in Washington, a rare characteristic for a successful tenure in the White House.

Craig has called Easton his permanent home for the last eight years, where he now chairs the board of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and is a former board member of the Academy Art Museum and Benedictine.  He also serves on the Spy’s Board of Visitors and writes an e-newsletter available by clicking on DECADE SEVEN.

With their rich experience and long history of friendship, now joined by their love of the Chesapeake Bay, they have agreed through the magic of Zoom, to talk inside politics and policy with the Spy every Thursday.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

College Football Is Back to School By Angela Rieck

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Some of my favorite sounds of autumn are the sounds from football. The ratatat percussion section of the college marching band. Spectators shout, cheer, or groan after each play. The announcer’s scratchy voice over the loudspeaker explains each play and its key participants. At halftime, the marching band prances throughout the field with coordinated instruments that belt out loud, familiar tunes. There is always a low hum from the crowd. 

I am an avid football fan. Not just because I love the game, but because football games were our family time. Every Sunday, I would go to church and volunteer at animal adoption, while my daughter went to the barn to ride, and my husband would relax and prepare our favorite appetizers. Then we would gather together and watch football.

But up until recently, I have been very conflicted over college football.

The monopolistic grip of the NCAA used kept young athletes in an almost slavish status. Large football schools would make large sums of money off football, both in donations and ticket sales. But players, who gave their body and their youth to this sport, used to be given only a scholarship. While colleges pay coaches multi-million-dollar salaries, their players could not afford meals. If students were injured (as many are), they would lose their scholarship and be left with nothing but a broken body. If they failed to graduate during their eligibility period (which is challenging because playing football is a full-time job), they left without a degree.

That all changed. Because college athletes fought back.

There were two drivers to this change. 

The first important change was Name, Image, and Likeness, called NIL. After an athlete discovered that his picture was used to promote a game, he sued the NCAA for compensation under anti-trust laws. The NCAA argued the canard that student athletes should be unpaid amateurs, and the schools should keep all of the revenue. The NCAA lost when the Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that athletes can be compensated. Since then, a number of states (including Maryland) have passed laws that allow athletes to make money on sponsorships and advertising. Many of these players grew up in poverty and will not get to play in the NFL; this will be the only money they may earn from years of effort and sacrifice.

The NCAA also changed their rules about student athlete eligibility and tuition. Recent NCAA rules protect athletic scholarships from being canceled due to injury, loss of ability, or poor performance. Now student athletes will have their tuition paid despite injury or the inability to complete their degree during the eligibility period. Student athletes are now eligible for scholarships while they are in graduate school. 

The other major change that has allowed student athletes to take control of their careers is the Transfer Portal. Before the Transfer Portal was implemented, a college student was stuck with his initial choice. The NCAA prohibited players who transferred from playing for a year. After another lawsuit, they dropped that provision. Now college athletes can change schools via the Transfer Portal if they feel they are not being treated properly. So, players who do not feel they are given adequate playing time, NIL compensation, are not pleased with the academics, or do not get along with the coaching staff can transfer to a different school.

Student athletes can now be compensated and have control over which school they go to. For many students, the income raised in NIL is very important to them and their parents. 

Admittedly, this new system has a potential for fraud. In order to fund NIL, collectives have been formed by boosters that generate funds. These collectives provide compensation funds for athletes. Most states and the NCAA have a rule that students are compensated for additional activities, such as teaching, signing autographs, promoting merchandise, etc. beyond their participation in sports.

Student athletes especially those in football and basketball, often use agents. Agents can be helpful by negotiating deals and finding sources of revenue. However, unscrupulous agents can take a larger percentage of funds than is allowed by the National Football League (NFL).

There is a concern that the collective will be used to recruit students by offering high value recruits a guaranteed amount of money in NIL. This has been declared illegal by the NCAA, but policing it at this point is very difficult. Likewise in the transfer portal, students can be offered NIL funds to select a certain school.  

The NCAA can no longer keep students in servitude. The athletes are now not taken advantage of by a system that uses them for football or basketball and then discards them when their college career is over.

The issues will be sorted out over time. And it’s certainly true that the richer schools will get the better athletes. But the important issue is that now the players have the power and control over their careers. And the NCAA will have to represent both the players and the higher institutions. 

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Maryland Caucus with Foxwell and Mitchell: Moore and Ferguson Not Eye-to-Eye on Redistricting

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Every Wednesday, Maryland political consultant Len Foxwell and advisor to the Republican Ed Hale campaign Clayton Mitchell discuss the politics and personalities of the state and region.

This week, Len and Clay discuss a rare and potentially significant division between Governor Wes Moore and Bill Ferguson, the Senate President, regarding the governor’s plans to push for redistricting of congressional districts that would likely result in the ouster of the only Republican, Andy Harris, who represents the 1st District. They also offer their weekly hot takes.

This video is approximately 16 minutes in length.

 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Light at the End of the Tunnel? By J.E. Dean

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The election results are in from Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Georgia, California, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. Republicans and MAGA lost. Democracy won. 

Last night, dare we say it, was a turning point. The voters spoke. They’ve had enough of President Trump, MAGA, Stephen Miller, ICE raids, blowing up “suspected” Venezuelan drug boats, relentlessly (albeit unsuccessfully) pursuing the Nobel Peace Prize, demolishing the East Wing of the White House, pardoning business partners, as well as fraudster George Santos, and wrecking political retribution on James Comey, Letitia James, John Bolton, and Jack Smith. And don’t forget DOGE, Pam Bondi, Pete Hegseth,  JD Vance, USAID, and the legions of fired federal employees.

I could go on, but you don’t need to watch the video of Trump’s “Gatsby-themed” party at Mar-a-Lago to know that when voters returned Donald Trump to the White House, he won, not the American people.

But let’s not be too quick to declare the Trump era over. It’s not. And, as President Trump himself wrote last night, he was not on the ballot. The House and Senate remain in Republican hands, as does the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump’s presidential term has more than three years remaining.

A lot of damage can be done to democracy in three years. And don’t fool yourself into thinking that Trump will learn something from last night’s Democratic wins. Trump will double down on claims of election fraud and efforts to require voter ID, eliminate mail-in ballots, and other “reforms” intended to deprive the right to vote to many.

Trump will also accelerate efforts to deport undocumented immigrants, slow down legal immigration (except for white South Africans), and use the upcoming 250th anniversary of U.S. independence to celebrate his own Presidency and MAGA.

It is too early to throw out those “No Kings” placards and signs. The No Kings movement and other protests against destructive Trump policies are needed now more than ever.

Last night’s election returns resulted, in part, from the good work those of us who participated in the No Kings protests have done this year. Like it or not, more work remains to be done if Democrats are going to win back the House of Representatives a year from now.

So, let’s not count chickens before they are hatched. But let’s also welcome the light at the end of the tunnel. Voters last night delivered something more than wins in their respective States. They offered hope for the future. Yes, America, Trump’s “Golden Age” won’t last a thousand years, regardless of how many memorials Trump builds for himself in the next three years.

But there’s more. Republican officeholders across America received a message from voters last night. That message was that blindly following Donald Trump and his “movement” can be dangerous to your political career.

Here are a few of the things that were won last night, thanks to Democratic voters.

Trump and MAGA have a new, powerful motivation for ending the destructive government shutdown. Voters are angry and, despite claims to the contrary, know it was Trump and his lemmings on the Hill who closed the government.

Republican legislators now know that blindly following Trump can be political suicide. Expect more Republicans to break ranks with Trump on his political appointees, and especially on legislation not in their constituents’ interests.

The public is increasingly aware of corruption in Washington. Even voters who like the MAGA agenda are asking how the Trump family has made billions since January. As one friend told me last week, “The Trump presidency is a house of cards, and the wind is blowing.”

The public knows the President is obsessed with retribution against his political enemies. Could last night’s vote convince more Republicans to speak out against it? I expect it will.

I could go on, but my point is that America had a good night last night, but there is work to be done. Our fundamental civil rights remain in jeopardy, especially our right to vote.

While we celebrate last night’s Democratic wins, we cannot forget that.

J.E. Dean writes on politics, government, goldendoodles, and other subjects. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean also writes for Dean’s Issues & Insights on Substack.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Who is Really Getting Screwed? By Maria Grant

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Over the last several months, President Trump and his minions have repeatedly claimed that America is getting screwed. Foreign countries have rigged the rules of the game. They cheat, they plunder, they rob. Most of these claims center around trade imbalances. Of course, none of these issues are simple matters of math. Rather they involve complex concepts involving scale, natural resources, location, and so much more. (Personally, I agree with President Reagan when he said that over the long run trade barriers eventually hurt American workers and consumers.)

Here are a few examples of America getting screwed, according to the Trump train.

The European Union was formed to screw America. 

China, Mexico, and Canada are screwing America because of trade deficits. 

Immigrants are screwing America by committing crimes and draining our resources. 

The Media is screwing America with fake news, spreading lies and working against the Administration.

Elite academic institutions are screwing America by embracing “woke” policies and propagating “anti-American values.”   

Employers’ DEI initiatives are screwing America, resulting in unqualified applicants obtaining positions, and more qualified applicants being pushed aside. 

The Federal Reserve Board is screwing America by delaying the lowering of interest rates.

America is being conned on environmental issues, specifically regarding climate change and renewable energy. Trump’s exact words: “The greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.” 

Americans are getting screwed because the federal government gives too much money to support developing countries—way more than America’s fair share. Hence the demolition of USAID and other humanitarian assistance.

Sigmund Freud developed a psychoanalytic theory called projection–the concept of accusing others of what you are guilty of. Let’s take a closer look at exactly who is screwing who. A short list of people and entities that Trump has screwed follows. 

A chauffeur driver sued Trump because he never got paid for mammoth amounts of overtime pay.

A Philadelphia cabinet maker filed bankruptcy because Trump refused to pay the final cabinet bill.

A drapery business in Las Vegas closed because Trump shorted it on its final bill to a tune of $380,000.

A contractor that installed toilet partitions in Trump’s Atlantic City casino received only 30 cents on the dollar. The contract was for $23l,0000. The contractor received $70,000. 

Trump hired 200 undocumented immigrants from Poland to build Trump Tower. No records were kept. No Social Security payments or taxes were paid. No overtime was paid to workers who frequently worked twelve-hour days. 

A piano seller who sold several grand and upright pianos to Trump’s casino was screwed out of $30,000—a huge hit for a small business. 

Thousands of students were defrauded by Trump University, a for-profit real estate seminar that Trump’s team developed which was not accredited. 

Trump’s charity was formed only for personal and political purposes and was eventually forced to shut down. 

Since the beginning of his second term, Trump has taken or proposed at least 350 actions that directly threaten the environment, climate, and human health, including rollbacks of environmental and health laws, and attacking well-established science and scientists—essentially screwing progress for a safer and healthier environment for current and future generations. 

Last year, more than 1.1 million international students contributed $448 million to the U.S. economy. The Trump administration’s draconian cuts to research and stricter regulations around international students are screwing Americans—the former brain gain is becoming a major brain drain as universities and think tanks outside the U.S encourage students and researchers to come to their shores. 

In spite of Trump’s claims that DEI initiatives result in incompetence at all levels, Trump’s current cabinet has been ranked the third worst in history. (Warren G. Harding’s came in first and Ulysses S. Grant’s came in second.) Trump’s cabinet has been criticized for lack of qualifications, appointments based on loyalty over capability, conflicts of interest, and overall, extremely poor vetting. The result: America is screwed by not receiving competent advice based on deep expertise on issues such as health, defense, intelligence, justice, and education. 

Since the shutdown of USAID in July of this year, it has been reported that an estimated 526,610 deaths have been caused by the funding discontinuation, including more than 355,620 children. Trump just gave Argentina USAID’s entire yearly budget— a $20 billion bailout (which may soon become $40 billion) that will primarily benefit various extremely wealthy hedge fund managers. 

Trump’s contentions that he has been screwed, shorted, and abused, along with the rest of America, are beyond absurd. This is a man who has cheated on every one of his three wives, shorted literally hundreds of vendors, shirked from paying his fair-share of taxes, and participated in a host of fraudulent schemes.

As a result of Trump’s policies, the national debt has increased, trade wars are running rampant, environmental policies have been rolled back, healthcare premiums are rising, scientific research is being stymied, and political polarization is increasing.

 One man, his administration, and his cohorts are the screwees. Science, affordable healthcare, the environment, the ill and disadvantaged, developing countries, our allies, and future generations are the victims. 

Maria Grant, formerly the principal-in-charge of the federal human capital practice of an international consulting firm, now focuses on writing, reading, music, and nature.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.