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February 7, 2026

Centreville Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Centreville

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Numbers, Numbers, Everywhere By Angela Rieck

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I love numbers. I love everything about them. I love how they give me information. I love how they categorize things. I love how they provide a window into understanding. 

I love to analyze numbers. I love to use numbers to find trends, to discover relationships, to predict behavior, to explain the world.

Here are some key statistics today. There is a 26.2% decline in U.S. drug overdose deaths. The GDP has an average annualized growth rate of 4.4%. Global population has reached 8.1 billion. U.S. median household income was approximately $82,000. From these numbers we can explain and see the world.

Yet I also know how dangerous numbers can be. Numbers allow us to remove humanity and replace it with hypotheses, things. Numbers can reduce us to points on a chart. A single number can define us. A group of numbers, demographics, can categorize us. 

Numbers are really just a language that we use to classify, categorize, understand, that’s it. Yet we give so much weight to numbers. 

Look at IQ. Since I am classically trained in test development, I understand exactly what IQ is. When we construct tests, we have to compare them to something to see if they are right (called construct validity). So how did we really decide intelligence? Well, over a hundred years ago, a bunch of white men decided what intelligence was and then developed questions to measure their view of intelligence. While IQ tests have been modified and changed since then, when you strip it of everything, IQ is just a number that is based on self-declared intelligent people’s view of intelligence. See how meaningless it really is? Fortunately, now there are multiple types of intelligence.

Numbers can be very dangerous. 

This is a story about one of my heroes, arguably one of the smartest men who ever lived. His name was Sir Francis Galton. He was a genius by any standard. He developed statistical tests to measure relationship (correlation). He discovered the phenomenon of regression toward the mean. He created fingerprint forensics. He devised the first weather map. He was the first to establish a complete record of short-term climatic phenomena on a European scale. He invented questionnaires and a whistle to test hearing ability. But mostly he loved collecting and analyzing numbers. 

Inspired by his cousin Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species, he decided to use his understanding of numbers to aid evolution. He created and coined the term Eugenics. With Eugenics, he was able to reduce humanity to a number, based on his view of intelligence, he believed that he could predict intelligence by race. 

It had disastrous consequences.

In the early 1900s, scientists took this data and ran with it. Eventually moving to body metrics, head size; basically everything that they could measure about people at the time. They used this data to predict who would be successful, who would be a criminal, who should be sterilized, who should be killed. 

Galton’s work was used by the Nazis, it was used to sterilize thousands of people, it was used categorize intelligence based on race, gender, and head size.

So, numbers are fun, they are enlightening, they allow us to prioritize, they help us understand. They give us a view of where we are headed.

But we can never allow ourselves to forget who is hiding behind our numbers.

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

The Supreme Court Shares a Big Part of the Blame by Maria Grant

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It’s hard not to blame the Supreme Court for a huge chunk of the nightmare we’re currently experiencing.

The Supreme Court is supposed to decide whether laws and government actions follow the Constitution. It is also supposed to interpret laws that Congress passes to decide if they are being carried out correctly.

Republicans have sought to prevent the Court from executing these and other functions when Court decisions would undermine executing their agenda. They have done so by establishing strict ideological tests for potential nominees and, whenever possible, blocking the confirmation of Justices that Democratic presidents nominate. The Justices that Republican presidents appointed have resorted to questionable interpretations of the Constitution, thereby producing decisions that align with the Republican agenda, sometimes overturning decades-long precedents.

Currently conservatives hold a strong majority on the Bench. The two Presidents Bush appointed John Roberts, Samuel Alito, and Clarence Thomas. Trump appointed Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. Obama appointed Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Biden appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation play a central role in selecting conservative justices. Both organizations provided Trump with a list of potential nominees to the Supreme Court. All six current conservative Supreme Court Justices have ties to the Federalist Society. In many cases, the failure of the Supreme Court to uphold the Constitution was caused by these two organizations.

In recent years, the Court overturned Roe v. Wade. It also gave the President wide but not absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions in office.

Thanks to Trump’s almost unchecked immunity, he initiated military operations without consulting Congress and deployed National Guard troops to several cities across the country without consulting the governors of the states involved. He tore down the East Wing of the White House and took over the Kennedy Center, adding his name to it, without going through proper channels.

Congress has failed to step up to the plate. Despite private misgivings, congressional Republicans have acquiesced to the President’s authoritarian power grab. (More on Congress’s failures in a future column.)

The Supreme Court ruled that federal prosecutors overreached when they used an obstruction law against January 6 rioters. It has also dismantled some federal administrative laws such as environmental protection regulations. It struck down a ban on federal bump stock devices for guns. And it stated that race-based university admission policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina could no longer be used, upending decades of so-called affirmative action.

The Court also intervened in cases involving the Trump administration’s efforts to control independent agencies which many claimed was a major overreach.

Given the importance and ripple effect of the case regarding the President’s authority to levy tariffs (under the Constitution only the Congress can impose a tax), the Court has been disappointingly slow in issuing a decision.

More than 50 percent of Americans disapprove of the Supreme Court’s job performance. Americans view the courts decisions as political rather than focused on interpretations of the law, with many viewing the Court as having a far-right agenda. Plus, scandals around undisclosed luxury travel and gifts accepted by justices, coupled with controversial rulings, have significantly damaged public trust. (Clarence Thomas took numerous undisclosed trips, funded by Republican billionaire Harlan Crowe, involving private jets, yachts, and expensive resorts. Samuel Alito flew an upside-down flag outside his Virginia home, a symbol of the effort to block certification of the 2020 presidential election results.)

So, how can this situation be rectified? An ideal but unrealistic answer would be for Presidents to select Supreme Court justices based on their competency, experience, and commitment to the Constitution. Because this now seems like a pipe dream, immediate reforms are needed.

There have been serious calls for structural change including term limits. The Center for American Progress advocates for 18-year term limits to prevent justices from holding power for life and to make the appointment process more predictable.

Some propose court expansion to balance the ideological tilt, though this is seen as highly controversial, and some see it as a threat to long-term stability. I agree.

There are also calls for legislative checks that would allow Congress to use its power to limit the Court’s authority on certain issues or to override specific interpretations of federal law.

Last year, the Court released a code of conduct, but there currently are no enforcement mechanisms.

The framers of the Constitution created the Supreme Court as an important part of the system of checks and balances that are essential to our freedom. The Supreme Court is meant to serve the people, not the partisan interests of presidents who nominate individual justices or senators who vote to approve them.

Chief Justice John Roberts once wrote, “I will be vigilant to protect the independence and integrity of the Supreme Court, and I will work to ensure that it upholds the rule of law and safeguards those liberties that make this land one of endless possibilities for all Americans.”

These words have not been followed with actions. Mr. Chief Justice, you, and some of your colleagues, have let the country down. We are far from a country with endless possibilities for all Americans. Your failures are a major disappointment and, much more seriously, have jeopardized our democracy.

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

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

Ten By Jamie Kirkpatrick

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No cake or candles; no cards or gifts; just a memory…

It was the first Saturday of February 2016. I was walking over to the Farmers Market when I heard something high up in the sky. I craned my neck and, sure enough, I saw a large flight of geese heading north. “You know,” I thought to myself, “geese would be much better at detecting the onset of spring than some silly groundhog up in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Geese can see for miles and miles, while grumpy old Phil can only see what’s right outside the front door of his den. I wonder…”  When I got home from the market, I sat down and wrote my very first Musing. I called it “Groundhogs and Geese” and for lack of a better idea, I sent it off to The Spy. The rest, as they say, is history.

That was 520 weeks ago—a decade!—and I haven’t missed a deadline yet. I call this weekly Musing “my happy discipline.” (Writers need a little discipline, so I’m glad mine is happy!) I didn’t start off with much in the way of expectations. Unconsciously, I left the heavier lifting to all my Spy colleagues with much more political experience and acumen than I. Instead, I chose to write about little things: the weather, my friends, our little house, or the view from our front porch. Occasionally, if we were away, I’d send you a postcard, nothing very exotic, just a change of scene I thought you might enjoy. 

Then, about a year ago, I looked in the mirror and saw a man standing on the sidelines. There was a lot going on in the world I didn’t think was right, so I decided to veer in a slightly different direction, hardly brass-knuckle politics, maybe just some personal umbrage about what was emanating from Washington and infecting not only the American hinterland, but also the whole world. I’ll admit I had second thoughts. So did my wife who is always my first reader. She was concerned I would lose readers; I was more worried that I might open Pandora’s Box and unleash even more harpies into the atmosphere. I was happier when I was musing about groundhogs and geese than when I was distraught about murders in Minneapolis or the death of the Atlantic alliance. But those elements which once seemed so far away were inching closer and closer to home and I didn’t want to see them take root right out in front of my house. So, I gave myself permission to use this platform to express my outrage as well as my wonder, my despair as well as my delight. I hope you understand.

Anyway, this is my tenth anniversary as The Spy’s unofficial Muser and I am grateful both to The Spy and to you, dear readers, who have travelled these roads with me over the last decade. But here’s the truth: even if I could write this column for a century, it wouldn’t matter if you didn’t read it and think about what I have to say from time to time. Don’t get me wrong: I’m under no illusion that this weekly exegesis is but a drop in the bucket of contemporary thought. As for my occasional forays into more worldly events, well, let’s just hope these are but a temporary detour away from our more local and better angels.

Should you hear anything that sounds like honking up in the sky anytime soon, look up and think about what’s really important. Everything else will surely pass.

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,” is scheduled for publication later this month, but it’s available for pre-order now on Amazon and other platforms. 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.

A War of Words on Redrawing Congressional Maps in Maryland by David Reel

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The dictionary defines a war of words as a public, often long-lasting and intense, argument between individuals and groups that focuses on disagreements over policies, actions, or beliefs.

That is certainly true with regard to the ongoing dialogue, deliberations, and decisions on current efforts in Annapolis to redraw the boundaries of Maryland’s Congressional districts prior to the midterm primary and general elections later this year.

In early November 2025, Governor Moore created and appointed five members to aGovernor’s Redistricting Advisory Committee (GRAC). His GRAC appointments were Democratic U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks as chair, Democratic President of the Maryland Senate Bill Ferguson, now former Democratic Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates Adriene Jones, former Democratic Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, and Republican Mayor of Cumberland Ray Morriss as members.

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

The Washington Post Editorial Board did not believe that. They published: “This is brass knuckle politics, a flex of raw power, but Moore is trying to pretend he is being principled. Make no mistake, what the governor really wants is to disenfranchise his Republican constituents, especially in the conservative Eastern Shore and Western panhandle. Moore capitulated to escalating pressure from the left because he wants to be president. While Moore enjoys delivering lectures about fighting for democracy, he has not practiced what he preaches.”

Governor Moore’s more recent words on creating GRAC acknowledged his motives on redistricting are more in line with his ambition to maintain his position as a rising star in national Democratic politics. In other words, he is saying he is all in on national Democratic Party efforts responding to Republican states where they are redrawing congressional district boundary maps to help reduce the number of Democrats in Congress.

On January 20, 2026, in a closed door one hour meeting, 3 of 5 GRAC members voted yes to submit a proposed new congressional district boundary “concept map” to Governor Moore and the General Assembly, as a guide to redraw all the state’s congressional district maps. The most significant change is for Congressional District 1 that currently includes all of the Eastern Shore, Cecil County, Harford County, and part of eastern Baltimore County. The conceptual map would include all of the Eastern Shore except Cecil County, part of Anne Arundel County, and as far as Columbia in Howard County.

Voting yes on this conceptual map were Alsobrooks, Joselene Pena – Melnyk, new Speaker of the House since last December, and Brian Frosh. Voting no were Ferguson and Morriss.

Following the vote, Alsobrooks said the vote followed a “transparent redistricting process.” Ferguson and Morriss have bluntly disagreed with that assessment.

Ferguson has said, “The map fails the Governor’s own test. It breaks apart more neighborhoods and communities than our existing map, and it fails the constitutional requirement of one person, one vote. We heard from no Boards of Elections. We heard nothing from the Office of the Attorney General of Maryland, which would have to defend this process and outcome. We heard no testimony to the impact on our election cycle. Ultimately, a flawed process has delivered a flawed product.” Ferguson also said the map was “objectively unconstitutional.” He said the new map will likely result in court challenge. He also suggested the proposed new maps could lead to the Democratic party losing several of the seven of eight U.S. House seats they hold presently. Ferguson noted the lack of public support for new maps at this time. “Our state’s residents have been clear, in front of this commission and through polling.

The overwhelming majority do not want a new congressional map. They want their government focused on fostering growth, affordability, and real protections against this lawless federal Administration. The Senate of Maryland remains focused on this important agenda as we continue to try to tackle a $1.4 billion budget shortfall in Maryland’s state budget.” Ferguson also concluded the outcome of the final GRAC meeting was “pre-ordained” and lacking in public transparency.

Morriss has been equally blunt: “After a while, it became obvious that definition of “fair” that was being put out there was what was fair for the Democratic Party. I think what the public got from this was what the Democratic party wanted for the state of Maryland, and for their national agenda. I don’t think the public really got a real — let’s use the word “fair”— a real, fair analysis of the congressional districts in the state. It was not necessarily, in my mind, what was fair to all of the voters of the state of Maryland. Especially in this case, the Republicans, and the unaffiliated voters.”

The Executive Director of League of Women Voters of Maryland has said “GRAC demonstrated it is more loyal to a single party’s desire to redistrict than to the people of Maryland. The entire process is a mess.” The Executive Director of Common Cause Maryland has said, “the commission suffered from a glaring lack of transparency.”

Despite these concerns, a House committee approved a redistricting bill last week and final approval in the full House is expected this week.

Senate approval of any redistricting bills is not expected anytime in this session.

Even if Senate President Ferguson and a majority of the Senate Democratic Caucus do agree to move forward on this issue, it will not mean a cease fire on a continuing war of words.

Opponents of the current redistricting efforts are prepared to launch a legal challenge. The results could be comparable to 2022 when a judge ruled a new proposed map was an “extreme gerrymander” and the General Assembly had to write and approve a less gerrymandered one.

David Reel is a public affairs consultant and public relations consultant who lives in Easton.

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

Donald Trump Has Mastered Roy Cohn’s Three Rules by J.E. Dean

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The nation is outraged by the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Neither victim deserved to die. And the images of both being shot—Pretti, some believe, 10 times– are difficult to watch. My TV is now off. I will turn it back on when ICE leaves Minneapolis, or the officers that shot Good and Pretti are held accountable for what appears to be severe misconduct.

After turning off the news, I found the 2024 film, The Apprentice, on the streaming service TUBI. This is the film about Donald Trump’s life before he was president. The film, which Trump aggressive sought to block from release, tells the story of how Roy Cohn schooled Trump to be, well, the Trump we know today.

I recommend the film, which is streaming free. It is controversial but represents an attempt to understand Trump. No spoilers here. The most important part of the film is a scene where Roy Cohn, Trump’s lawyer who was notoriously aggressive his entire career, tells Trump his “three rules.”

The rules are first, to always attack as forcefully as possible (stay on the offense). Second, never admit wrongdoing and deny everything, regardless of evidence suggesting wrongdoing. And third, always claim victory, even in defeat.

Trump, it appears, was an outstanding student. Evidence of his living by these rules is everywhere. His propensity to attack may be found today in his daily postings on Truth Social. More dramatic examples include Trump suggesting that Senator Ted Cruz’s father was involved in the assassination  of John F. Kennedy, and the President’s attacks on E. Jean Carroll, the woman who sued Trump for defamation.

Evidence of Trump denying everything is also everywhere, but best found in his claim that he did not try to overturn a loss in the 2020 elections. As you will recall, Trump telephoned Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger to ask him to “find” 11,780 votes. 

Finally, there is the issue of claiming victories. One could point to Trump lying about winning club championships at his various golf clubs without cheating, but a more familiar example is the big one, which the President still repeats, almost on a daily basis—that he won an election that all evidence suggests he lost.

One could argue that Trump’s adherence to the three rules has led him into multiple impeachable offenses, but even if Democrats win the House and Senate in the mid-term elections later this year, Trump is highly unlikely to be impeached and removed from office. And if he is impeached (the equivalent of being indicted), when the Senate fails to garner the 60 votes to remove him from office, he will claim victory. 

Far more serious is what the “three rules” might lead Trump to do in his remaining time in office. Already we are seeing Trump attack the victims of ICE shootings, calling the victims “domestic terrorists” despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. 

We also are seeing Trump claim victory in his quest to annex Greenland, which is not happening. Trump “won” the right for the U.S. to maintain the military base it already has in Greenland (Pituffik Space Base) and the right to build additional bases, which it already has the right to do.

An example of Trump attacking happened earlier this week when the federal government fired the consulting firm Booz Allen from all its federal contracts. The basis? A Booz employee leaked Donald Trump’s and others’ tax returns. Trump seeks to instill fear in all federal contractors not to do anything that displeases him. Booz was fired to set an example. The former Booz employee is already in jail and was clearly a rogue employee. Trump doesn’t care about the penalty fitting the crime.

Most worrisome are Trump’s ongoing and escalating allegations of voter fraud in states that rejected him in 2020 or 2024. He is attacking their leadership and the integrity of their elections. Some say he is setting the stage to attempt to cancel the 2026 mid-term elections.

Do we need to worry that Trump will attempt to cancel elections he thinks he will lose? Yes. And the best way to do that is to get involved now in making sure that Americans get the chance to vote this November and that decent Americans—the people I call Patriots but that Trump calls lunatics—speak out against the outrageous conduct of ICE, Trump’s destructive foreign policy, and evidence of widespread corruption throughout the Trump administration.

It is not too late to save democracy.

J.E. Dean writes on politics, government, goldendoodles, and other subjects. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean is an advocate for democracy, sanity, and the rule of law.

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

Move Over Sports Betting By Angela Rieck

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Betting has become a national pastime. Each sports-related show includes a segment touting best bets. ESPN even offers a show dedicated to sports betting. All televised sporting events feature advertising by FanDuel, Fanatics Sportsbook, Draft Kings, Caesars, or other Sportsbooks. Most NFL teams sponsor a betting site. 

But now there is a new game in town, predictive markets. Individuals bet on binary (yes or no) predictions, that can range from “Will Trump win the Presidency?” to “Will Gobble be the turkey pardoned in the annual Thanksgiving Presidential pardon.” Bets can include words Trump uses in a speech, “Will he use the word stuffing?” to “Will a certain leader wear a suit?” “Will ‘X’ win Best Actor in the Academy awards?”.

Predictive market bets are based on politics, culture, and sports. But, by far most bets are sports bets.

Online sports betting was made possible by two Supreme Court decisions in 2018. The Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) and allowed each state to enforce its own sports betting laws. At the same time, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a New Jersey law allowing sports gambling. To date, almost 40 states and the District of Columbia have legalized some form of sports betting. But companies that are in the predictions market can also include sports gambling, allowing those whose states do not allow gambling to gamble using sites such as Kalshi and Polymarket.

In 2024, it was estimated that $150 billion was gambled on sports. An estimated 50 million people bet $16 billion on last year’s Super Bowl. Fifty-five percent of adults engaged in some form of gambling in 2024. In the predictive markets arena, Polymarket has almost 500,000 online active users and Kalshi has almost 2 million.

At present, only one Sportsbook has reported a profit, but this is believed to be due to the cost of customer acquisition. Online betting is more flexible and easier to access than illegal bookies. The revenue potential is beyond prediction.

To be successful, the predictive and sports betting markets must set the arbitrage precisely. Sites make their money by booking the losses and charging a percentage fee from the winnings. 

While predictive markets are binary bets (yes or no), sports bets fall into several categories. The simplest is win/lose (betting on which team will win). Another well-known bet is the point spread (for example, the Patriots were 4½ point favorites in the NFL playoffs). 

A popular binary bet is called over/under. Gamblers bet if the total number of points will exceed or go under a number set by the Sportsbook (e.g., if 30 points is the over/under for a game, gamblers can bet that the total points from both teams will be over 30—called over or less than 30—called under) 

Some bettors choose is a future bet, for example, betting on which team will win the Super Bowl early in the season.

The most unusual sports bets are prop bets. They are limited only by the imagination. For example, you can bet the color of the Gatorade in the Superbowl, the number of receptions for a particular receiver, the total number of yards gained by a team, etc. Prop bets can be anything associated with the game.

For seasoned and frugal gamblers, parlay bets combine two or more wagers into a single bet. Parlays are popular because there are bigger payouts while risking less money. The number of legs (bets) in a parlay and the odds attached to each of those legs determine the winnings. 

Predictive markets bet on anything that can include politics, sports and culture. For example: “Will the United States confirm that aliens exist?”. An enormous concern is with insider trading. It is virtually impossible to determine if a bet was due to insider trading (for example, one person made a considerable amount of money betting that we would capture the president of Venezuela long before we did it). 

What makes online betting unique is both the breadth of possible bets and online access. You can even bet on a game while it is happening. Online gambling websites are capable of recalculating odds in real time.

But the question that always follows is, what is the risk of this betting?

Short answer: it is a problem. A recent study found a correlation between easy access to sports and predictive market gambling and significant declines in credit scores, increases in bankruptcies, debts, and missed loan payments. As predictive market betting grows, this will only increase.

Many experts are concerned about the rise in gambling addiction, especially among young people. In 2024, an estimated 2.5 million U.S. adults suffered from severe gambling addiction, with an additional 5 to 8 million experiencing mild-to-moderate, or “problem” gambling behaviors. Roughly 10% of men aged 18–30 exhibit signs of problem gambling.

One thing that we do know is that the country is not prepared for a gambling addiction crisis. NIH (National Institutes of Health) has agencies dedicated to alcohol and drug use, but none for problem gambling, and there are no federal regulations for sports betting advertising (e.g., tobacco). 

So, for now, we have to watch and wonder. Is this merely a form of entertainment or a potential looming crisis? 

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.

The 2028 Election Campaign in Motion by Al Sikes

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Party platforms are worthless—obsolete. What at one point framed at least policy guideposts is a relic. We are now surrounded by declarations and performers. Could Abraham Lincoln, with his awkward appearance, thoughtful meditations, and succinct explanations, be elected in today’s political bazaar?

We also face an overarching puzzle. Can a billionaire who spends most of his time with tech and finance peers understand or care about the wishes and perils of the other classes of human beings? Elon Musk, Jamie Dimon, or Larry Fink (Tesla/SpaceX, JP Morgan-Chase, and BlackRock) have little feel for the masses, but have more than enough money to buy performers.

As those with a sufficient bankroll to reach large audiences begin to analyze the 2028 Presidential take-off, what is ahead for us? Writ large, will the campaigns result in the U.S. being led by a steadier hand? Or, will hard-edged volatility continue to prevail, whether on the Right or Left?

Okay, I concede, my views are, in part, shaped by my wants. I want a return to sanity. I want the re-emergence of anticipation—predictability—making sense.

On the Left I would prefer the abandonment of Utopianism. It is okay to want progress, but the Left has been awash in debt-funded progressivism without connecting the dots. What, it must be asked or at least should be asked, do we get from whatever program at whatever price? And, assuming a willingness on the Left to raise taxes, how much of the resulting revenue should be used to pay down the $38 trillion dollar national debt? Make no mistake, right now we are leaving our descendants with a heavy burden. Is that progress?

On the Right, I would ask what is the Right? Trumpism? Trump now owns the Republican Party, but his actions do not cohere with conservatism. And if your love affair with our would-be tyrant obscures your vision, what about the 2028 election when he will not be on the ballot? If you point to JD Vance, then you have certainly lost me, because I think temperament has become a policy issue and will be pivotal in the next election. Let me explain.

All politicians that deal in “I hate this, oh, and also you” politics will not be able to lead. And if your modus operandi is to raise hell, count a majority of the public out.

Trump began presiding in the White House on January 20, 2025. At that time his approval level was 49%. Now it is 36%. Trump can’t lead; he can just order and then we must wait around to see what the Courts say about the orders legality. But give him this, he has made Congress superfluous. Is that what we want? And he is undermining the Supreme Court by dragging it into controversies that should be decided by the elected.

If our country’s continuing experiment in democracy is to endure, then we must have leaders that can rally majority support. In a 50-50 electoral framework, leadership on serious issues requires persuasion and negotiation, not just declaration.

So who can do that on the Left? Not Gavin Newsom, the expiring Governor of California. Maybe Governor Josh Shapiro, a leader in a 50-50 State, Pennsylvania. Or maybe Kentucky’s Governor, Andy Beshear, who gains majorities in a Republican state.

On the Right. Well it depends on the provocation. Trump is not a conservative—he is way too impulsive. Take the abrupt embrace of tariffs. Is it a policy or a stick to be used on enemies in the moment? What used to be our close ally, Canada, must suffer a stick beating because Trump doesn’t like its leader, Mark Carney? Trump’s tariff maze is definitional—he is once again punishing our ally, South Korea. Is there a strategy to be found in the maze?

Maybe there will be a gender shift. Niki Hailey, who has avoided an anti-Trump stance since losing to him, will have an interesting opportunity. I like Utah’s Republican Governor Spencer Cox, who calls for a reassertion of “virtue” in politics and governance, recalling Benjamin Franklin.

But my only conclusion that I will be willing to bet on is that it will not be Trump 2. Trumpism without Trump is a losing strategy and script.

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.

Ice Storms, Dismal Oyster Market and Frost’s Birches

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Holly berries continue their colorful singing despite this week’s ice. Dennis Forney Photos.

Lots to report here on Grace Creek on this 19-degree January morning, the whole world here, creek to sky, encased in ice.  

Stubborn ice it is, too, given the sub-freezing forecast for the next several days.

Waxy green magnolia leaves gleam and pout in ice, drooping with little of their typical southern swagger. Shimmering holly berries dare icicles to even think about diminishing the joy and sauciness of their brazen red joie de vivre.

Poking along the shoreline, with a walking stick for balance and progging, I search for new patterns of light brought on by this extreme weather.

Grace Creek oyster fleet quiet in January with ice.

Across the creek, graceful boats of tongers and dredgers rest motionless and quiet in the thickening and gripping ice.  The market for this year’s wild oyster season, as noted by many veteran watermen, is the worst they’ve ever seen.  

In the windows of their buyers’ offices, they are too often seeing hand-scrawled NO MARKET TODAY signs. Blame the economy, blame over-supply coming from southern waters, or simply a declining overall taste for the succulent bivalves that have long been a mainstay for the Chesapeake’s winter watermen. Whatever, it’s real, and it’s negative.

Buyer PT Hambleton’s admonition that the only two things a waterman has to worry about are January and February is no truer than this year.  And that despite the high quality, color, and taste of oysters being harvested from local waters in this thickness of winter. They’re yellow and fat and full of flavor.

Ironically, the market has improved in recent days due to the weather.  “That’s because there are fewer people harvesting now,” one waterman told me, on his way to shovel snow and ice off his boat. Lower supply.

Joe Spurry’s Friday night oyster buffets at Chesapeake Landing restaurant west of St. Michaels are one of the few bright spots for this  year’s season. That’s because locals know January and February oysters–shucked on the half shell, fried, stewed, frittered, broiled with butter and garlic, Rockefellered or Casinoed–are the best of the year.

“This year’s overall oyster harvest numbers in the Chesapeake will definitely be down,” he said, “not because there aren’t many oysters out there, but because the market is so soft and there’s fewer days when watermen can sell their catch. I’ve never seen it this bad, and I’ve been at this since the mid-1980s.”

Winter’s natural shoreline architecture.

So get out and help the watermen who enrich our Eastern Shore culture.  Eat some of the best oysters of the year and celebrate artists like Robert Frost, who remind us of the beauty of nature even in the depths of winter.

Seeing ice crusting so many branches put me in mind of Frost’s Birches poem.  It’s too good not to include the whole poem here, especially his sentiments about love, which can warm the heart on even the coldest days in the depth of winter.

Dennis Forney has been a publisher, journalist, and columnist on the Delmarva Peninsula since 1972.  He writes from his home on Grace Creek in Bozman.

Birches
By Robert Frost

When I see birches bend to left and right
Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.
But swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay
As ice-storms do. Often you must have seen them
Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning
After a rain. They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust—
Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away
You’d think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.
They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load,
And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed
So low for long, they never right themselves:
You may see their trunks arching in the woods
Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground
Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair
Before them over their heads to dry in the sun.
But I was going to say when Truth broke in
With all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm
I should prefer to have some boy bend them
As he went out and in to fetch the cows—
Some boy too far from town to learn baseball,
Whose only play was what he found himself,
Summer or winter, and could play alone.
One by one he subdued his father’s trees
By riding them down over and over again
Until he took the stiffness out of them,
And not one but hung limp, not one was left
For him to conquer. He learned all there was
To learn about not launching out too soon
And so not carrying the tree away
Clear to the ground. He always kept his poise
To the top branches, climbing carefully
With the same pains you use to fill a cup
Up to the brim, and even above the brim.
Then he flung outward, feet first, with a swish,
Kicking his way down through the air to the ground.
So was I once myself a swinger of birches.
And so I dream of going back to be.
It’s when I’m weary of considerations,
And life is too much like a pathless wood
Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs
Broken across it, and one eye is weeping
From a twig’s having lashed across it open.
I’d like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.
May no fate willfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth’s the right place for love:
I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.
I’d like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.

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

No Sacrifice—No Sacrifice at All By Maria Grant

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When Donald Trump talks about how much the U.S. has given to Europe and Canada and gotten nothing back in return, he gives the impression that he himself has been generous, even magnanimous, and his generosity has not been reciprocated. Trump’s speech at Davos last week was a complete embarrassment. He never acknowledged the many countries in NATO that supported the U.S. during various conflicts. Or the families who had lost children during those conflicts. In short, he did not acknowledge those who had made the ultimate sacrifice.

The British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Trump’s comments, “insulting and appalling.” Starmer said he was “not surprised they’ve caused such hurt for the loved ones of those who were killed or injured.” Britain lost 457 service personnel during the war in Afghanistan. 

It got me thinking about exactly what kind of sacrifices Trump himself has made. Let’s not forget that Trump received five deferments during the Vietnam War, including one for bone spurs. He never joined the Peace Corps or VISTA. None of his children served their country, or worked for a nonprofit, or volunteered to help the needy. No sacrifices there.

And it gets worse. In 1988, Trump established the Donald J. Trump Foundation, a New York-based charitable foundation. The foundation was dissolved in 2018 following a New York Attorney General’s investigation that revealed a shocking pattern of illegality, and misuse of funds for personal and business interests. In 2019, Trump was ordered to pay $2 million to eight different charities as part of a settlement regarding the misuse of funds. Eric and Ivanka, who were officers of the foundation, were required to undergo training regarding the duties of officers of charitable organizations. 

I would argue that instead of sacrifice, Trump has ratcheted up the grift machine to line the coffers of the Trump dynasty. 

Since Trump’s reelection in 2024, the Trump family has pocketed more than $1.8 billion in cash and gifts from leveraging the presidency for personal gain, including more than $1.2 billion in crypto gains alone. No sacrifices there. 

And it gets worse. Trump recently pardoned Binance founder Changping Zhao who previously pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program which allowed money to flow to terrorist cybercriminals and child abusers through the Binance platform. Last year the Trump administration announced that it would deliver hundreds of thousands of advanced AI chips to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). That deal followed a UAE investment in a Trump crypto venture via Binance. (The UAE is expected to deliver those chips to China, thereby circumventing an advanced AI chip embargo.)

At the beginning of his second term, Trump owed nearly $500 million to New York State which had sued him for fraud, and more than $88 million to E. Jean Carroll who had sued him for sexual assault and defamation. (The fraud financial penalty has been revoked, and Trump is appealing the E. Jean Carroll verdict.) 

In summary, thanks to this second term, Trump’s finances have taken a very positive turn. No sacrifices there.

In addition, Trump has capitalized on the whole Mar-a Lago situation. Not that many years ago, initiation fees were about $20,000. After the 2016 election, Trump jacked up the initiation fee to $100,000. Last fall, it was set to rise to $1 million. According to the New York Times, thanks to the presidency, Trumps gains from Mar-a Lago are estimated at $125 million.

Plus, Trump’s namesake, Donald Trump Jr. has co-founded his own private club in DC creatively named The Executive Branch which charges an initiation fee of $500,000. 

Then, of course, there are the profits from the Trump Store and all the tchotchke associated with it. Add to that the $400 million jet that Trump accepted from Qatar and plans to take with him when he leaves office, and the $27 million profit from the Amazon-funded film Melania. 

There has never been a presidency that has sacrificed so little and brazenly profited so much. 

And it gets worse. The Washington Post has reported that many pledged donations that Trump made were not delivered, and his charitable donations had dropped to $0.

Many articles have been written stating that Trump has normalized selfishness. Such selfishness is pretty much the opposite of sacrifice, which is especially galling from a guy who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Perhaps that’s why last week’s speech in Switzerland was so difficult to hear from a man who has been given so much and sacrificed so little. 

Abraham Lincoln once said, “There is no success without sacrifice. If you succeed without sacrifice, it is because someone has suffered before you.”  It behooves all of us to remember the sacrifices of those who came before us. Especially if you’re the one occupying the oval office. 

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

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

How We Got Here By Jamie Kirkpatrick

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Wednesday, four days out…

The American and European models weren’t converging. Really? I’m shocked! The American model drew the snow/ice line just to the north of us, the Europeans placed it slightly to the south. Neither was anywhere near Greenland. Snowfall amounts varied: an inch or two to several feet. Your guess was as good as mine. Nevertheless, the madness had already begun: grocery stores were war zones, gas stations were crammed with guzzlers, and hardware stores sold shovels, rock salt, and candles out in the parking lot. Tempers flared, nerves were frayed. Weather reports came in in every other minute while the phone lines to heaven were jammed with kids and teachers calling about school cancellations. Here we go…

 

Thursday, three days out…

It was a lovely, mild afternoon. I was humming a line from a Paul Simon song: “I get all the news I need on the weather report.” But we all know that despite the best of equipment and intentions, weather prognosticators don’t really have a clue about the when or where or accumulation of snow or ice. I’m sure they were trying their best, but just like the rest of us, they were looking out the window and sniffing the air. Nevertheless, they were giddy with excitement; this is why they became meteorologists in the first place. Six inches…ten inches…fourteen inches: did anybody really know what time it was or how much snow or ice we would get? Place your bets and get out your measuring sticks. At that point, all I really knew for sure was that it was freezing cold in Davos, Switzerland…

 

Friday, two days out…

It has started to snow in Dallas. Memphis was preparing for lots of ice. In the Florida panhandle, iguanas were dropping from the trees, stunned with cold. Maryland’s truth was still twenty-four hours away. “Power outages” was added to the script; “below zero wind chill” became part of the lexicon. Just as when the Maestro picks up the orchestra’s tempo, the beat quickened and the audience leaned in, rapt with a mix of anticipation and dread. Out in the streets, people were walking around, looking up at the sky; What’s on its way now?  Meanwhile, down at Mar-a-Lago, it was sweater weather on the links, but then spring training was only a month away.

 

Late Saturday afternoon…

All the shelves in the grocery store are now bone-bare; the first few flakes are just hours away. Or not, nobody really knows. Maybe it will depend on which side of the street you live. For some families, tomorrow will be Armageddon, for others, all the preparation might be for naught. But down at the local television station, the meteorologists were either crowing or hiding in the bathroom, while the general manager was in the back room counting her ad revenue dollars. Kids were either nervous about all the homework they hadn’t done or were waxing the runners on their sleds. I don’t know about you, but I vividly remember how it felt to wake up on a frosty morning and see the world washed white. Snow day! Much to my parents’ chagrin, I was too excited to roll over and go back to sleep, so I would run downstairs, put on my goofy hat with earflaps, buckle my galoshes, pull on my fingerless mittens, and dash outside to pack my first snowball of the day. For a kid (or a teacher—believe me, I know!), nothing can beat a snow day. Except a second snow day.

 

First light, Sunday morning…

When I woke up, it was the utter silence I heard first. Then from across the street, I heard the scrape, scrape, scrape of a solitary snow shovel. I ran—no, limped—to the window and peered out on a grey polar landscape. There were several inches of fresh snow and more was coming down by the minute,  Across the street, a Sisyphean neighbor was already shoveling his sidewalk. There was nary a snowplow in sight, but then we live on a secondary street, hardly a priority job on this winter morning—the DOT had bigger bigger fish to fry. I relished the silence: for a few heartbeats, this busy world was stilled and hushed under a blanket of pure white snow. All too soon, the digging out would begin, the snow would turn to slush, but for that one dreamy, breathless moment, it really was a winter wonderland.

 

I’ll be right back.

PS: Monday…

All schools cancelled!

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,” is scheduled for publication in February, 2026. (It’s available for pre-order now on Amazon. 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.