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Why I Worry About War and a Lot More By J.E. Dean

January 16, 2026 by J.E. Dean Leave a Comment

I saw the elephant in the room after I watched the video of the President dropping two F-bombs and flipping a bird at a UAW worker in a Michigan Ford assembly plant. Despite the worker having heckled Trump, the President’s behavior offended me. Is the First Amendment still in effect?

The President’s behavior no longer shocks most people. Just months into the President’s second term, we are used to reporters being called pigs and dozens of perceived political enemies being called lunatics, retarded, and worse. And then there are the lies—thousands of them—things like calling Renee Good a radical leftist.

And it appears that the more Trump normalizes rude, crude, and offensive behavior and hate speech, the more he resorts to it. What’s going on?

Hanging over the President’s head these days are the Epstein files and, more importantly, the President’s health. He is a man in decline facing the possibility of indisputable evidence being released that he was an active participant in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes—why else is the President doing all he can to avoid releasing the files?

Most of us would do all we can to avoid facing the stress the President is currently under, but, then we would also not have run for the Presidency at age 78 or been Epstein’s best friend for several years. The President has made his own bed. Now he must sleep in it, (Or should I say stay up all night and post hateful messages on his Truth Social account?)

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that “Trump Presses Prosecutors to Target Foes.” Unfortunately, some at the Department of Justice are bowing to the pressure. Thus, grand jury subpoenas are being issued to the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Fortunately, you have other prosecutors who are saying “enough is enough” and are quitting. These prosecutors are nauseated by Trump pardoning the January 6 insurrectionists and drug smugglers such as the former president of Honduras. They want no part in blocking the investigation and prosecution of police violence carried out by ICE, such as is the case with the agents involved in the shooting of Renee Good.

Many Americans now believe that Trump is a dictator, but others don’t seem to be able to see the oversized, smelly elephant in the room—the blond (or is it pink today?) overweight man who already has launched military actions in Venezuela, Iran, and Syria and is preparing more serious military action in Iran, a takeover of Greenland, and regime change in Cuba. He is doing all this while at the same time effectively abandoning America’s support for Ukraine.

I worry about war because one or more of Trump’s “actions” could be the trigger for a military strike against the United States. In the age of inexpensive drones destroying military jets costing millions of dollars, how long will it be before some country, or someone believing that “the U.S. must be stopped,” launches an attack on America? And, more importantly, how will Trump respond?

A friend recently speculated that Trump is minimally involved in most of the foreign and domestic policy of the United States. People like OMB director Russell Vought are implementing the Project 2025 playbook. Stephen Miller is directing border security. And Kevin Hassett, who could be Chairman of the Federal Reserve in a few months, is advising Trump on what to do to lower prices.

I picture Trump, irritated by interruptions in his monitoring UFC matches, NFL football, and FIFA soccer, by aides seeking his sign-off on the next “Trump initiative.” Trump lives in his own world and likely spends more time on envisioning monuments to himself, such as the reimagining the White House, the “Arc de Trump” outside Arlington National Cemetery, and similar projects.

In some ways, the Presidency is currently vacant. Of course it is not. There is an elephant in the room, our room, and, thus far, nobody seems to know how to end the madness. That is why I am worried about war, democracy, human rights, and the future.

I would be remiss if I did not include a word of optimism about the 2026 mid-term elections. I read the polls and the news. The sun is setting on Donald Trump. Unless he “fixes” the 2026 mid-term elections, the House of Representatives and, with luck, a Senate, will check his abuses of power next year. That is why everyone must vote and object peacefully to things the President does that hurt our democracy and violate the Constitution.

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.

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Redefining Beauty By Angela Rieck

January 15, 2026 by Angela Rieck Leave a Comment

I was flipping through channels last month and stopped at the NCAA Women’s Volleyball championship. I was surprised that a women’s volleyball game was televised on national television.

Women’s sports have a way to go, but they have made progress. The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) has become a popular spectator sport.

All of the women playing were physically beautiful. Some wore make-up and earrings and had their hair tied back, others let their natural beauty shine through. After each point they formed a circle and held hands to support each other. Their performance, athleticism, comradery, and appearance made them all stunning.

It allowed me to think about how the view of women’s beauty has changed over the centuries. Athletics for women was often discouraged in my time.

In the Victorian era, the ideal woman was characterized by a very small, corseted waist, rounded shoulders, and a generally subservient and dainty appearance. Any form of strenuous activity was discouraged, believing it could harm a woman’s reproduction or general health.

In the 1950s the hourglass figure was the ideal, with a philosophy that women do women’s work and stay away from sports.

The aversion to female athleticism came from norms that associated strength, aggression, and competition with masculinity. Women who excelled in sports were often questioned about their femininity.

But changes in the viewpoint of feminine beauty started with the women’s movement (which resulted in Title IX). The consensus about women’s beauty has increasingly become athletic-friendly. Beauty now embraces strength. Traditional views that women should not engage in physical effort have dissipated.

There has also been an increase in collaborations between major beauty brands and female athletes and sports leagues (like the WNBA). These partnerships redefine beauty to include strength and athleticism.

Media coverage of women’s sports, especially around major events like the Olympics, have brought female athletes into the public eye, allowing their athletic prowess to be viewed and appreciated. It promotes a more inclusive view of beauty that celebrates the diverse forms and capabilities of women.

We still have a way to go, models tend to be very slim and appear unhealthy.

But I like the direction in which we are headed.

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.

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Blue Dogs by Al Sikes

January 14, 2026 by Al Sikes Leave a Comment

Who knew? There is still a Blue Dog Caucus in the Democratic Party, even as New Yorkers elect a socialist as Mayor of America’s largest city. The Caucus is said “to be an official caucus in the House of Representatives comprised of “fiscally-responsible Democrats who are leading the way to find common sense solutions.”

And I found out that pearl, “small”, in the New York Times. The Caucuses continuing existence showed up in an article about a Member of Congress from a rural district in Washington State. Her name: Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.

At the beginning of the interview, Perez quoted from the gospel of Luke: “He who is faithful in a small thing is faithful in a great thing also.” Underscoring small she proposed an amendment to a bill because we are plagued with “headlight brightness.” The amendment urges “the Secretary of Transportation to study the impacts of headlight brightness on the vision and safety of drivers, pedestrians, and other road users, as well as in regard to different terrain, such as hills and curves.”

Her signature cause is informed by her disgust with a never-ending stream of products that cannot be repaired. She co-owned an auto repair and machine shop with her husband. And I quote from Perez: “We don’t want to be perpetual renters of disposable crap”. She refers to much of what we own as items simply rented.

Thankfully, the article didn’t go into what she thinks about the President. We are forced to overindulge his performative behavior. In one very simple way Representative Perez is his antithesis. He is wedded to big things. The “Big Beautiful Bill”, for example, was biblical in its length. Even the best-informed got entangled in the details.

And if we want to simplify, much must be done locally. Yes, City Councils. Sparks will fly, but at the end of the day you will have had a chance to weigh in. And, much will have to be done by all of us as buyers.

My wife and I became beekeepers shortly after the century’s turn. We joined a beekeeping club. The Members bought, sold, repaired, and combined to buy less expensively. The leader of the club would drive ten plus hours to buy nuclei of bee hives called “nucs,” and everybody who bought one or more would show up with their pickup trucks the next morning, get their supply, and then hive them.

My wife and I were newbies, and a seasoned beekeeper offered his services free of charge to help us. He adamantly refused to take money.

President Trump should use his tariffs on disposable goods while letting what Representative Perez would call “goods we own” and can repair be tariff-free. Indeed maybe her Party should go beyond powerful identity groups and make small business a part of their platform. I think it would be popular and help revive businesses that fix the repairable while taking some pressure off landfills.

My guess is her party will run against Trumpism and not on a platform aimed at simplification. Or, as she might envision it, “ownership” so that those who want to cut the thread or maybe chain link binding us to Big Tech can do so. It would be refreshing at the next inaugural to see something other than Big Tech moguls in the prize seats.

More recently I have started paying attention to the Town Council where I live. The Council listens; my Member of Congress is too busy being herded around to pay any attention. Trump has a leash on him.

Now decentralization doesn’t assure happiness. I used to live in New York City and would be furious with the new Mayor’s radical moves embracing socialism. But I would know that next time around I could try to do something about it.

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.

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In Trump World, White Lives Matter More By Maria Grant

January 13, 2026 by Maria Grant Leave a Comment

Many people have died during the first year of Trump’s second term. A majority of them have been people of color. Here’s a brief summary.

Thiry-two people died in ICE detention centers in 2025. At least seven of them died in the first 100 days of the administration.

Three people died in accidents while running from ICE raids.

Various reports suggest that cuts to international aid caused up to 14 million deaths globally.

Last year, more than 100,000 Americans were killed by gun violence.

Reports indicate that there have been at least 115 deaths in more than 35 boat strikes off Venezuelan waters between September 2025 and January 2026. So far, the administration has provided little evidence that the targeted vessels were carrying drugs, or that all victims were involved in drug trafficking.

Venezuelan officials report that approximately 100 Venezuelans were killed during the U.S. operation to capture Maduro. During Trump’s press conference after Maduro’s capture, no mention was made of those deaths. The only mention of death was when Trump stated that no Americans were killed, and only two Americans were injured.

Just last week, Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Minneapolis. Two people were injured, one seriously, by federal officers in Portland, Oregon, the day after the Minneapolis shooting.

Trump has been deeply disturbed by White South Africans being killed but has not expressed that same outrage about the Black people who have been murdered in South Africa and other nations.

Since the beginning of his second term, Trump has painted over Black Lives Matter murals and scrubbed stories about Navajo Code Talkers from museums in yet another effort to erase non-White history. He has removed Black historical figures from national websites; signed an executive order attacking the National Museum of African American History; rolled back DEI initiatives; and reinstalled Confederate memorials that had been removed.

Trump has called Somali immigrants “garbage,” and said, “We don’t want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from.” He has continued to seal the country to refugees around the world, reserving only a limited number of slots for White South Africans. (He has also stated that he wishes more White people from Denmark would immigrate to the U.S. rather than the current “garbage” who are here. That wish is unlikely to be realized given Trump’s obsession with taking over Greenland.)

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Trump stated that the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 led to white people being treated “very badly.” In response, NAACP President Derrick Johnson stated that there is no evidence that White people have been discriminated against as a result of the civil rights movement.

Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has a history of political extremism. He was the architect of family separations at the border. His leaked emails shared white nationalist talking points. And his former work in government has consistently targeted people of color, immigrants, and LGBTQ Americans.

When conservative activist Charlie Kirk was murdered in that horrific incident, Miller, Vance, and Trump pronounced that anyone who repeated Kirk’s very own words which many would interpret as racist or sexist should be called out. Their employers should fire them immediately. Some employers took those demands seriously and several employees lost their jobs.

Contrast the casualness of minority deaths with the outcry over White deaths with the kind of recruitment that is going on right now for more ICE agents. When the “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed, it included almost $75 billion extra for ICE agents, making ICE the largest law enforcement agency in the country, outstripping even the FBI.

To meet its hiring targets, ICE has removed age restrictions and cut the training time in half. It is also using some far-right websites in its recruiting efforts. Scholars have connected some of the recruiting to Proud Boy rhetoric as well.

Keep in mind that the majority of ICE arrestees do not have criminal records. Only roughly eight percent of them have been convicted of a crime. Many critics say that the current ICE recruitment strategy uses violent video game metaphors, encourages extremism and racist indoctrination, and suggests that ICE will make America different than what it currently is. In essence it presents the new America as a violent but White place.

Martin Luther King once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

The casual collateral damage rhetoric that surfaces from this Administration when people of color are killed or treated with cruelty and no due process will result in severe consequences. This mindset impacts international relations, domestic stability, and societal well-being.

Actions to curtail the current momentum have never been more important. Ensuring that voters are informed about current threats to our democracy and mobilizing as many as possible to vote this November will make a difference. Act now.

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.

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The Third Law By Jamie Kirkpatrick

January 13, 2026 by Jamie Kirkpatrick Leave a Comment

Last week, Sir Issac Newton would have celebrated his 383rd birthday. Remember Sir Isaac? He was the gentleman who, while “in a contemplative mood,” watched an apple drop from a tree and wondered why it fell straight down. That innocent observation led him to consider the existence of a universal attractive force—what we now call “gravity.” But Sir Isaac didn’t stop contemplating there. He went on to formulate his three Laws of Motion that have become the fundamental principles of classical mechanics. His first Law (Inertia) posits that an object stays at rest or in motion unless some force acts on it. His second Law (F=ma) states that force equals mass times acceleration. But it’s Newton’s third Law (Action-Reaction) that leaves me musing today: “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

“I wonder,” I asked myself upon waking this morning, “what would Sir Isaac say are the equal and opposite reactions to the egregious acts we’re witnessing almost every day: the invasion of Venezuela and the middle-of-the-night extraction of its president and his wife? Or the murder of an innocent Minnesota mother—an American citizen!— by an ICE agent? Or threatening to wrest Greenland from a European ally, or even about building a gaudy $400 million ballroom while many of us struggle to make ends meet? What would he say? What do you say?

I’ve come to the conclusion that the Trump administration does not believe Newton’s third Law—or any other law, for that matter— has any applicability to its actions. They do what they do with presumed impunity. I keep waiting for either one of the so-called co-equal branches of our government—the Legislative or the Judicial—to react and rein in the Executive, but it seems that the President and his minions have moved beyond what was enshrined in the Constitution into an unimaginable realm of lawlessness and immorality, of coverup and spin.

When a bird flies, its wings push air downwards as an action force and the air pushes the bird upward as reaction force. Or when a ball hits the ground, it applies a force on the ground and the ground responds with a reaction force causing the ball to bounce back. Even to a non-physicist such as yours truly, this makes a certain amount of sense. What doesn’t make sense, however, is how Newton’s third Law does not appear to apply to any of the people in the Trump White House or to their enablers in Congress and on the Supreme Court. There is never a reaction.

No doubt, some of you will disagree with me on this. I will assume that disagreement is founded on the political applicability of Newton’s Third Law, not on its foundation in Physics. But could we at least agree that actions do have consequences—either equal and opposite as science dictates, or the moral and ethical ones that exist in the metaphysical universe? Personally, I believe that those laws—the laws of karma—are as immutable as Newton’s and will ultimately hold the current culprits accountable.

And then there’s this: I had lunch with a friend the other day and asked him what he thought of all that was going on in Newton’s physical world. He said, “It’s just wag the dog—anything to shift the focus off Epstein.”

Maybe Sir Isaac needs to contemplate a fourth Law: the Law of Accountability.

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 in February, 2026. (It’s available for pre-order now on Amazon.) His website is musingjamie.net.

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Thoughts on unexpected Acts of Kindness by David Reel

January 12, 2026 by David Reel Leave a Comment

Last week, after worship at The Presbyterian Church of Easton, each attendee was given a gift by Pastor Eric Markman.

It is a simple gift, a hand-crafted cardboard star with one word painted on it, each one different.

The word on my star is appreciation.

We were asked to contemplate using that word as a North Star (also known as a guiding principle), to help us focus our perspective on and approach to life in a new year.

My initial reaction to appreciation as my North Star was negative. I told myself, I very rarely received or delivered appreciation, even when I was the recipient of unexpected acts of kindness.

I told myself privately in the world we live in, it is naïve to even think much about receiving or delivering appreciation on unexpected acts of kindness.

In such a world, we should expect nothing more than a continuation of deepening divisions based on strongly held and differing opinions on political party allegiances, the motives and the performance of elected and appointed government officials at all levels of government, positions on issues of the day, endless wars, rumors of wars, senseless acts of violence, and the causes and effects of economic uncertainty.

Despite that negativity, one of my North Stars is – “Sometimes it pays to sit and think.”

Accordingly, I decided to take some time to sit and think about the past and the future of unexpected acts of kindness in my life.

Much to my surprise, I came to realize that I had, in fact, experienced more unexpected acts of kindness than I expected.

Some were large, many were small. Regardless of size, every one of them was worthy of appreciation and none of them should have been ignored or forgotten.

Some of the most memorable that emerged from my “sit and think” session include:

• Neighbors clearing our driveway after it was plowed shut from a snowstorm.
• Neighbors delivering a portable air-conditioner during an intense heat wave after ours stopped working.
• Neighbors joining us to rake and bag leaves in our large back yard.
• A neighbor inviting us to a neighborhood block party as a way to get to know each other better, and in some cases, meet new neighbors for the first time.
• A friend inviting us to her home for Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner with her family members and guests after learning that, as empty nesters, we would be home alone on both holidays.
• A friend fixing a windshield wiper after getting a huge estimate at a repair shop to do it.
• A friend lending us a car for two days while our truck was in a repair shop.
• A friend installing two new outside lights on our front porch.
• A good Samaritan in Texas witnessing a dog pregnant with nine unborn puppies being pushed from a car and abandoned, then took her to an animal shelter after which she was brought to Maryland for adoption by us.
• A local veterinarian providing support and compassion beyond measure when it was time to have both of our senior dogs euthanized.
• Volunteers at a monthly free “MY Tech Clinic” at the Talbot County Free Library, who patiently help non techies like me address technical issues with their electronic devices.
• The former owner of a historic and unique office desk who gave it to us and said his father would be thrilled it found just the right home.
• A couple from Washington DC visiting our area, finding my wife’s lost wallet in St. Michael’s, hand delivering it to our home, and refusing any reward.
• Readers of my weekly point of view columns telling me how much they enjoy them.
• Readers of my columns telling me they do not always agree with my point of view, but they always disagree without being disagreeable.

All these experiences had one thing in common beyond being unexpected gifts of kindness.

No provider of our unexpected gifts of kindness has ever cared about where my wife and I live, where we came from, what we do or did for a living, who we voted for, or what positions we have on local, state, and national issues of the day. Every unexpected act of kindness we have received has been spontaneous, freely given, and done without any expectation of any reward. They came from the heart.

Dr. Maya Angelou, often referred to as “America’s Poet,” has written, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

Now, I do know better about how often I have been on the receiving end of many unexpected acts of kindness.

As a result, I will do better… starting now.

In the spirit of “To whom much has been given, much is expected,” I will go forward searching for and responding to opportunities to provide unexpected acts of kindness with a hope the recipients may be inspired to do the same.

David Reel is a public affairs and public relations consultant who lives in Easton with his wife, one rescued dog, three rescued cats, and nine ducks.

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The Perils of Blowing Up Cultural Protection by Al Sikes

January 9, 2026 by Al Sikes Leave a Comment

It would be difficult to pinpoint the moment when a banned substance—marijuana—became “recreational”. Right along there with swimming and jogging. Kudos to the marketing wizards. If you were a media editor, as the newly seductive title began to appear, you should say, “I’m sorry”.

When I grew up, marijuana was around but culturally frowned on. But of course, forbidden stuff, if it provides momentary pleasure or temporary relief, always has a following, even if it is underground. And this is regardless of warnings about adverse consequences. Warnings for some add to the allure.

Exploiting weakness, whether above or below ground, is often good business. So mind-altering drugs, the lure of easy money, pornography, and more can be expected. “Come on in,” the midway barker cries.

Societal weakness is human. Governments presumably exist to protect, but they, too, cannot avoid temptation. As taxpayers pushed back on higher taxes, many governments got into the predator businesses. So now we have not just gambling from the TV couch, but it’s aggressive marketing. Marketing aimed at our weaknesses. Temptation wrapped in seductive visuals, music and animation. And, if there is little or no cultural pushback the seductive quickly overwhelms.

The predator forces, now playing on a field where morals have given way to values, win. And there are few seductive activities that don’t pay the State. So “weed” becomes either recreational or medical marijuana. Dress it up.

In a perfect world, choice makes sense. RFK Jr. must think we are in that perfect world as he takes on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Without an evidentiary-based rationale, he states that certain vaccines used to protect children might cause threatening conditions later in life. And when the pushback comes, he says let parents decide. Let them decide whether their children, for example, should be vaccinated against Hepatitis B. Parents, not the CDC, are apparently in a better position to weigh risks and potential protection. Really?

We have a CDC because scale and patient capital is needed to do comprehensive benefit and threat assessments. And we need an agency with a thoroughly international perspective to comprehensively decide whether we should protect against risks. Back home, where few want to be jabbed, we are left to wonder and inquire of our favorite chatbot.

So let me close with this thought from Olivier Roy: “in a deculturated world, millions of young people bereft of anything resembling a tradition have been left susceptible to ideas that will leave them miserable and defeated.” What about the not-so-young?

There is certainly nothing wrong with criticizing culture. Americans are rather good at it. But when it comes to what we used to call morals, we should at least pause and ask questions. What we should ask, is the case for legalizing the “recreational” use of marijuana? What is the evidence pro and con on the lasting consequences? Recent reports are not encouraging.

And, should gambling on whether the next pitch is going to be a ball or strike, from our living room chair, be a legitimate source of government revenue?

Relatedly, who should pay for reversing the downward personal trajectory of drug users and obsessive gamblers? Much of the damage cannot be measured in dollars. Rehabilitation is a growth industry.

Or, turning back to pathology, should the top political appointee presiding over health policy urge parental judgment to supplant the CDC? Or, using Roy’s awkward word, deculturate, should the President and RFK Jr be leading the charge?

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.

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Riding the Wind By Angela Rieck

January 8, 2026 by Angela Rieck Leave a Comment

When I selected a place to live, I chose a location that was bicycle friendly. Key West is known for cycling and St. Michaels has a nature trail and back roads to cycle on. Both offer a flat terrain. Key West has bike lanes and the strength of numbers as many people ride bicycles. I rarely use a car in Key West. I get around town and run my errands riding my bicycle.

I like cycling because it gives me time to think. The breezes flow through my hair and I feel an intimate connection with the environment.

When the wind is at my back, it feels like I am bicycling well and fast. It is only when I face the wind that cycling becomes a burden.

This seems to be a metaphor for life, when the wind was at my back, I didn’t notice it, I thought that I was doing great. In fact, the wind at my back represented all of the luck and support that was behind me, my friends, my relatives, my husband, people who helped me in my career. Sure, I pedaled hard, but I was aided by all of these invisible forces. And when the wind turned and was blowing against me, that is when I realized how strong the winds had been at my back. I don’t always notice how strong they were until I lost them and faced a strong wind.

When the wind is facing me, that is when life gets tough. When my career hit a crossroad, when circumstances did not favor me, when I lost my husband and other important support systems, the wind shifted. I had to pedal hard, and I only crept forward.

In hindsight, I now realize that I knew the wind was behind me, I just thought that I was doing the most of the pedaling.

The Irish blessing says it all:

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm
And the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

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Enough Already with Conspicuous Consumption By Maria Grant

January 6, 2026 by Maria Grant Leave a Comment

When I do my year in review, examples of over-the-top spending at almost obscene levels come to mind.

A case in point. Jeff Bezos. Bezos owns a $165 million mansion in Beverly Hills; a $23 million home in DC; a $500 million superyacht featuring its own support yacht and helicopter pad; a $75 million private jet. His three-day wedding extravaganza reportedly cost $55 million and involved 90 private jets and 30 water taxis for the 250 VIP guests. The couple spent the holiday in Aspen before jetting off to St, Barts for some high-end shopping and mingling with the glitterati, including Leonardo DiCaprio and his girlfriend. I could go on.

Trump spent 15 days at Mar-a-Lago in December. He played golf at least 12 times, hosted a variety of gala dinners with excessive displays of fancy food, glitz, entertainment, etc. Last week, he had his motorcade veer from its usual route to the golf course to stop at a stone and tile shop so that he could select marble and onyx for his ridiculously large White House ballroom. During these little jaunts, helicopters fly overhead and increased security surround him.

Already Trump has spent half a billion dollars in tax funds for vanity projects such as a military parade, a statuary garden, an upgrade to Air Force One, Oval Office décor and furniture, plus all the gold and glitz he added throughout the white House. (I’ve read several articles that predict that the next President will spend a substantial sum of money getting rid of all these so-called “enhancements.”)

Trump’s plans for his spectacular birthday party in July 2026 to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence are estimated to cost taxpayers $100 million.

Speaking of wasting tax-payer dollars, the National Guard deployments to L.A., DC, Portland, Chicago, and Memphis that nobody wanted are estimated to cost more than $473 million—a number that could pay for approximately 2,585 federal government employee jobs.

Meanwhile Trump has cut domestic spending by approximately $163 billion, including cuts to agencies charged with monitoring weather, scientific research, public health programs, and so much more. SNAP benefits and health care premiums have been negatively impacted and the costs to average Americans are predicted to continue to go much higher.

According to data from the Congressional Budget Office, wealth inequality has been rising steeply in the U.S. over the last 30 years. The top one percent of earners now owns nearly 30 percent of the total wealth in this country, with the bottom 50 percent owning only four percent of that wealth.

What happens when income inequality gets out of control? Social cohesion erodes, economic growth is hindered, and political polarization increases.

Specifically, the economic impacts include slower growth, reduced mobility, and increased debt. From a societal perspective, heightened inequality breaks down community bonds and trust between different economic groups. Health for many citizens worsens, and people’s self-worth and fulfillment are diminished.

So why is it so difficult for Americans to take steps to correct these disparities—steps such as increasing the minimum wage, taxing the rich more heavily, or providing basic income for all?

Sociologists claim that biases get in our way. Americans are often accused of zero-sum thinking—that is the belief that lifting someone else’s boat will cause their boat to sink lower. We also tend to blame personality traits rather than outside influences when people suffer from poverty. Labeling people who have not been given many privileges as lazy and unmotivated is an example of that behavior.

There is also something called the halo effect. We credit successful people with positive qualities that may not be relevant to their success.

So, what to do about all this income inequality? Sociologists suggest that we become more aware of our biases and understand how such thinking works against all of us. They suggest we slow down our biased thinking, imagine a better future together, and promote policy changes that drive down income inequality which would result in a happier and more cohesive society.

Plutarch famously stated, “An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailments of all republics.”

Let’s hope our country gets serious about addressing the inequality issue in 2026.

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.

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The Sunset Side By Jamie Kirkpatrick

January 6, 2026 by Jamie Kirkpatrick Leave a Comment

When one reaches a certain age, it becomes difficult, if not downright impossible, to not contemplate one’s own mortality. One minute, you’re walking along under blue skies, and the next, you’re face-to-face with a human being’s starkest reality: you will die. That’s harsh enough, but what makes it mean-to-the-bone is that there is no universal age for this phenomenon to occur. One of my writing pole stars, Norman McLean, wrote about his “Biblical allotment of years—three score and ten.” Actuaries—the professionals who make their living by calculating risks for insurance companies—have now set the bar for American men at 75.8 years, but the truth is mortality sets its own rules, has its own timetable. I’m now 77 years old, well on the sunset side of my life’s continental divide, and, maybe because I’m out in Montana, the landscape that Norman McLean loved so dearly, I’m beginning to discern my own horizon. That’s not a maudlin statement. It’s just a fact and I’m OK with it.

Before I go any farther, let me confess that in a few days, I’m scheduled to receive a new left knee. I still have all my original parts, but they’re beginning to wear out so I guess it’s time to start replacing them, or at least this particular one. Knee replacement surgery is common enough these days, but it’s still a milestone for me, so I imagine some of this mortality musing weighs more heavily on my mind than I give it credit.

But back to Montana. The West is old. Our own mark on this country is but a second gone on history’s atomic clock. Native peoples have been here much longer, but even they are relative newcomers to the mountains, rivers, lakes, and valleys that are the real time-keepers out here. Yes, they change, too, but they also endure in a way we do not. They are the sentinels and out here, they are more visible than what we see back east. In fact, it is impossible not to notice these landforms or to take them for granted. Awestruck, we pass through them, but they remain, commanding and impassive.

As far as I know, we are the only living species with the capacity to contemplate the span of our lives. On the sunrise side of our years, we don’t give a passing thought to our time together. But over here on the sunset side, I’m learning to appreciate the lost art of savoring moments: the laughter of children, the power of family, the evening light that paints these snow-covered peaks in etherial hues of pink and gold.

The irony in all this is, of course, that we only become aware of the passing of time when there is precious little left of it. I do not fear the other side of the last mountain; I just wonder what it looks like. Norman McLean didn’t write his first novel, “A River Runs Through It,” until he was 70 years old. That book defied literary norms because it blended separate genres of memoir, fiction, and narrative non-fiction. In the last decades of his life, he came to understand that writing, like life, is more about discipline than genius. He took great comfort in all that Montana had to offer him—its mountains, its rivers, its rising trout. Here is what he came to understand:

“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops—under the rocks are the words and some of the words are theirs.”

I think I’m beginning to understand.

I’ll be right back.

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

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