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September 21, 2025

Centreville Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Centreville

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Thoughts On Military Intervention in Addressing Local Crime Issues by David Reel

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One policy of President Trump that has captured the current attention of the public, elected officials, and the national media is his previous use of and future plans to use the military to address crime in select large American cities.

In June, Trump federalized 4,000 California National Guard troops and mobilized 700 U.S. Marines in response to violent protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles.

In August, Trump mobilized the Washington DC National Guard (which as President he controls) and also took over the Washington DC police department to address crime in the District of Columbia.

There are ongoing and unresolved disagreements on the severity of the problem in select large cities, the need for and appropriateness of using the military for domestic law enforcement purposes, and the authority of the Trump administration to federalize state National Guard troops without informing or securing consent from governors.

Currently, the most outspoken elected officials who oppose to Trump’s actions are Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, and Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

Opposition from large city mayors is not universal. Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser initially opposed Trump’s decision to use the military in our nation’s capital. She has since touted the positive impact it has had on reducing crime, especially on the numbers of murders and car jackings, but still expresses unresolved concerns about presidential authority over DC affairs.

One irrefutable fact on this matter is that Trump’s actions, while generating opposition are not unprecedented.

In 1957, President Eisenhower dismissed opposition of the governor of Arkansas and issued an executive order federalizing the Arkansas National Guard. Eisenhower also sent 1,000 U.S. Army soldiers to Arkansas to maintain law and order as the formerly white students-only Little Rock Central High School was integrated.

In 1962, President Kennedy dismissed the opposition of the governor of Mississippi and issued an executive order federalizing the Mississippi National Guard to join federal troops and U.S Marshals to help address violence resulting from admitting a Black student at the formerly all-white University of Mississippi.

In 1965, President Johnson refused a demand from the governor of Alabama to mobilize federal troops to defend a civil rights protest march. Instead, Johnson federalized the Alabama National Guard for that mission.
In 1967, President Johnson ordered The U.S. Army’s 82nd Division and 101st Airborne Division to Detroit to address what were until then the bloodiest urban riots in the country.

In their official announcement about these orders, White House officials said Johnson’s actions occurred after he concluded “a condition of domestic violence and disorder” existed.

In a televised address, Johnson acknowledged that normally law enforcement is the responsibility of local officials and the governors of the respective states. He also acknowledged the federal government should not intervene, except in the most extraordinary circumstances. Johnson explained his view on most extraordinary circumstances — “The fact of the matter, however, is that law and order have broken down in Detroit. The Federal Government in the circumstances here presented had no alternative but to respond. We will not tolerate lawlessness. We will not endure violence. It will not be tolerated. This Nation will do whatever it is necessary to do to suppress and to punish those who engage in it.”

In 1968, President Johnson ordered regular Army and federalized National Guard troops into Washington DC to address rioting and looting the nation’s capital following the murder of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. His order included airlifting a brigade of the U.S. Army’s 82d Airborne Division (2,500 soldiers) from North Carolina to standby at Andrews Air Force Base

Despite a contentious war of words between President Trump, Governor Moore, and Mayor Scott, there may be significant changes in how crime is addressed in Baltimore.

Moore and Scott have launched a “renewed collaboration” between the Baltimore City Police Department and the Maryland State Police.

Moore has also suggested he is willing to accept help from the federal government to address crime in Baltimore, but only with federal law enforcement personnel such as FBI agents and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

These are shrewd and timely moves on Moore’s part.

The results of AP NORC survey conducted late last month reported that two-thirds of the public responding to their survey thinks crime in the United States is a major problem and even more, 81%, think it’s a major concern in cities.

Moore has acknowledged without being as dismissive as he was previously that crime in Baltimore is a problem that needs to be addressed.

Ultimately, any success on reducing crime in Baltimore could help Moore’s re-election campaign to advance a narrative he is serious about crime in Baltimore, and he is willing to work with a Republican administration in Washington on addressing it.

David Reel is a consultant who provides counsel and services on public affairs and public relations. He is also a consultant who provides counsel and services on not-for-profit organizational governance, leadership, and management matters. He lives in Easton.

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

Mahjong By Angela Rieck

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I finally succumbed to learning Mahjong. A number of people had asked me to join in Mahjong games and I was recalcitrant. I remember the senior women in my husband’s country club playing Mahjong and I vowed I would never be that person.

I am that person.

My neighbor invited everyone in the neighborhood to join a game where we would all learn and share our lives as part of the game. I relented, because it was just for fun and not a competitive game. 

I was nervous that it would be hard to learn. It wasn’t. But I am still learning all of the rules.

I have become almost addicted to the game.

I am not alone. While there are no statistics about how many players there are, it is obvious that the number of players in the game is growing. And it is growing among the young. Approximately 50% of those who play are over 60, but 2024 statistics from an online Mahjong application reported that the 18–24 age group had the second highest percentage of players followed by 25–34. These numbers are only for online play and do not reflect the broader mahjong community. In major US cities there are Mahjong cafes and pop-up events. Mahjong is trending on Tik Tok and Instagram.

Mahjong was invented in the 1880s by field workers in China. Apparently sparrows were a pest that made a lot of noise in the trees. The game was invented to be a positive energy to that negative. Therefore, the sparrow features prominently in the game, Mahjong is sparrow in Chinese. There’s a bamboo tile representing the number 1 and the noise of the tiles is supposed to simulate the chatter of the sparrows.  

More than 40 variations are played around the world, although the core tiles and the way the tiles are stacked remain the same. Each of the players will draw 13 tiles. In American Mahjong there are a total of 166 tiles. It includes three suits–-Bamboo (Bams), Characters (Craks) and Dots, as well as Winds, Dragons, Jokers, and Flowers. While tiles may vary from set to set, almost all pay tribute to Chinese culture. 

In the American version we use a card issued by the National Mah Jongg League. The card is a condensed list of over 50 possible winning “hands.” The player begins with 13 tiles and picks up and discards tiles in turn to create a “hand” that exactly matches a winning “hand” specified on the card. A winning “hand” will typically include a combination of tiles—Suits, Dragons, Winds, Flowers and, if you are lucky, Jokers. Jokers serve as wild “cards.” There are many rules governing picking up tiles and using jokers. My group is still learning all of them.

Each year, the National Mahjongg League releases a new version with different combinations to keep the game fresh and to keep us on our toes. The proceeds from the card go to charity.

Mahjong is not just fun to play, it fosters community and provides a way for people to connect away from phones and computer screens. The game’s strategic nature helps boost mental skills, and it is associated with improved memory and slowed cognitive decline. That is an added bonus for seniors and young adults alike. 

So if you pass by a community center and hear clicking and clacking, don’t be alarmed, it is just a group of people playing Mahjong.

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 com

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

The Stem Project By Nancy Taylor Robson

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Bird nest in tomato plant

Tiger swallowtails flutter over the phlox. Spangled fritillaries, Monarchs, Viceroys, scores of adorable little bumblebees, honeybees, dragonflies, wasps, cardinals, warblers, and more flit around my weedy vegetable/herb/pollinator gardens. A hummingbird, clearly curious, thrums at my shoulder like a distant outboard while I clip basil. It’s wonderfully satisfying; a sign that even though it’s far from ‘perfect,’ I’m doing something right.

This time of year, many people start to think about end-of-season garden chores, the beginning of fall ‘cleanup’ prior to ‘putting the garden to bed.’ This year, consider letting the garden put itself to bed.

Like ‘Leave the Leaves’ in fall, Save the Stems is an initiative designed to preserve habitat for all these critically important and threatened creatures. Plus, it cuts fall garden chores.

“I talk to clients about this all the time,” says Paul Drummond, landscape architect and owner of Wallin Organic Farm in Warwick, MD. “It could be an aesthetic choice, but that choice has a ripple effect through your own ecosystem in your own backyard.”

Clear-cutting everything is like packing up and carting off the tent just when all those who need it most are looking for food and lodging.

Lespedezia pods

“When I was still doing mostly annuals, one winter I looked out there and thought: It’s so barren!” says Nancy Lawson, author of The Humane Gardener and Wildscape (Princeton Architectural Press). “There’s not much for the animals, and not much for me to look at. But I had planted switchgrass, and there were all these sparrows in it. I realized that’s what I need to do. Watching birds and squirrels eat in a natural fashion instead of going to a feeder – it’s more rewarding,” she says. (It’s also cheaper).

We still think of ‘showtime’ in our gardens, the blooming moment when everything is ready for its spread in House Beautiful. But real gardens, like people, have seasons. A time to dig in and grow roots, times when they shine, and times when they are being quietly, often invisibly but abundantly productive. Autumn and winter stems, seed heads – especially of native species – canes, and brush piles comprise the quiet but essential habitat that enables bees, caterpillars, (many of which morph into butterflies and moths), birds, both migratory and resident, and more to survive and return year after year.

“Some bees hibernate in hollow tubes,” Drummond notes, “So, if we keep a manicured garden with no food or places to nest, [it’s a desert].”

According to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, the primary habitat features used by pollinators and other insects include stems and branches of trees, shrubs, and wildflowers; leaf litter; undisturbed and bare ground; brush piles, and rock piles. Thirty percent of native bees need narrow tunnels or other tiny spaces in dead wood, hollow stems, or brush piles.

“The  Xerces Society has a really great guide with plant species and the insects,” says Kathy Thornton, Natural Lands Project Field Technician at Washington College’s Center for Environment and Society. “And it provides a little context.”

So, instead of an autumn clear-cut, consider relaxing with a mug of tea (or something) and watching.

“I recommend leaving things standing as long as you can,” Thornton says. “Ideally through the winter. And resist that urge to cut things down until late March, early April. In spring, if you cut back 8-24 inches, it can still leave stems for any overwintering insects.”

Goldfinch on Echinacea

It may take some getting used to for people who think that fall ‘cleanup’ is required housekeeping. HOA’s are often no help, though some are learning.

“Adkins Arboretum is offering a presentation to encourage HOA communities to leverage their purses for what they would use for annuals and instead promote perennial natives, which are better for the environment and will cost less in the long term,” says Thornton.

It’s partly about seeing through new eyes.

“The idea of meadows worries some people,” Drummond says. “They think leaving it up leaves it unruly, but if it’s done in a thoughtful design, it’s part of the tapestry of your garden.”

And it creates four season interest.

“Broom sedge and little bluestem have gorgeous color into fall and even in winter,” notes Thornton. “And seed heads like Echinacea and Rudbeckia can be really pretty. It really breaks up the landscape, and it feels a lot more cozy than if you had everything cut back to the ground.”

Lawson has seen firsthand the multi-pronged benefits.

“One winter, a bad one snow-wise, we had feeders up, but the goldfinches weren’t going to the feeders,” she remembers. “They were going to the wild bergamot, and they were doing all kinds of gymnastics to get to the seeds, which was so much fun to watch. It’s gotta be more stimulating for them too, being able to forage.”

If you’re on board with the ecological benefits of what amounts to full-circle gardening but still don’t like the look of dead stems or half-eaten seed heads along the front walk, there are options.

“You can remove the seed heads if you want, but you can leave them by the plant on the ground so insects and birds can still find them,” says Drummond. “You could incorporate them into a ‘dead hedge,’ a dedicated spot in your yard where you’re putting leaf debris, seed heads, seed pods. You can make it into a wattle fence, or a squared compost fence, and that’s the place where insects and birds can forage, nest, and live away from your cool garden. You’re ticking all the boxes: you’re aesthetically pleasing yourself; and you’re giving an essential food source that would be cut off from wildlife if we don’t leave it for them to find.”

Fortunately, people have begun to understand and gravitate to this new aesthetic. Drummond, who practiced in New York City, says he’s encouraged by the upsurge of interest in fall and winter gardens here.

“I’m working more and more locally with clients, which has been nice, and ninety percent is fall planting design – people seeking ideas,” he says. “It’s been great.”

*Thornton is speaking at Maryland Native Plant Society’s annual conference at Washington College this coming weekend Sept 6-7. In person registration. Virtual attendance registration.

RESOURCES:

Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fueling Fall Pollinators

Longtime journalist, essayist, and garden writer Nancy Taylor Robson is also the author of four books: Woman in The Wheelhouse; award-winning Course of the Waterman; A Love Like No Other: Abigail and John Adams, a Modern Love Story; and OK Now What? A Caregiver’s Guide to What Matters, which she wrote with Sue Collins, RN.

Longtime journalist and essayist Nancy Taylor Robson is also the author of four books: Woman in The Wheelhouse; award-winning Course of the Waterman; A Love Like No Other: Abigail and John Adams, a Modern Love Story; and OK Now What? A Caregiver’s Guide to What Matters, which she wrote with Sue Collins, RN.

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

Trump Fatigue is Real and It Shows By J.E. Dean

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Donald Trump has more than seven months under his belt in his second term as president. For six of those months, the President’s supporters regularly threw around the term “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Anyone with a criticism or uncharitable comment about the President was dismissed as a victim of TDS. 

August ended without anyone accusing me of TDS. What gives? I worry—and write-about–Trump more than ever. My theory is that while Trump critics have not changed, the President and his policies—mostly things that he talked about during his campaign that are now the heart of the Trump legacy—are no longer surprises. We once wondered what Trump would do next. Now we know—or think we do. 

The second-term Trump, a decade later than when the flamboyant TV personality rode the golden escalator down to the lobby of Trump Tower in 2015 to announce he was running for president, is much different than the first-term edition. The 2015 Trump engaged in a publicity stunt and believed running for president would boost his brand, even if he lost. Some say he never even expected to win, and I agree. That Trump had a few campaign themes—mostly based on hate—but otherwise had no vision for an administration. He hadn’t even figured out how to use the powers of the Presidency to make billions for himself and his family.

Since 2015, Trump has ceased to be the publicity hound who demanded a cameo in Home Alone 2 as a condition of allowing a scene to be filmed in the Plaza Hotel lobby. That was the pre- “I am your retribution Trump” who had not sent a mob to the Capitol to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s election to the presidency. That Trump had not been found guilty on 34 felony counts for business fraud or defamation and was called a rapist by a judge in the E. Jean Carroll case. And so on.

Fast forward to 2025. Trump implausibly won the presidency despite his impeachments, convictions, indictments, and a track record of creating chaos and cuddling up to Vladimir Putin. The public bought into Trump’s message of hate. Democrats, America haters that they are, were out to wreck America, Trump said. Their weapons were DEI, environmental regulations, medical research, foreign aid, and immigration policies. One Trumper told me in 2022, after assuring me that he was not a racist, that Joe Biden would not be happy until everyone who worked for the federal government was Black.

Many of us tired of Trump before voting against him in 2024. There were 75,017,613 of us. There was no Trump landslide in the election. No Trump mandate to remake the federal government. And certainly nothing to justify suspending basic civil rights and launching an assault on democracy.

Criticism of Trump 2.0 largely took the form of condemning the Heritage Foundation owner’s manual, labeled Project 2025, created in the belief that if Trump won the presidency, he needed a set of ideas (other than just retribution, racism, and self-enrichment) to guide his second term.  Trump of course, denied that was the case. He even claimed, plausibly, that he hadn’t read Project 2025, but then selected Russell Vought, a principal author of Project 2025, to head the Office of Management and Budget. Vought is the man behind 350,000 federal workers being fired or forced out of their jobs. 

Trumpers today imply that “Trump-hating” is based on his sleezy personality, his lying, his cheating at golf, his greed, and his penchant for name-calling. “What about his policies?” they ask. I answer that Trump’s second-term policies are worse than the President’s smell. Whatever caused the stench that former Representative Adam Kinzinger detected when he met Trump cannot be worse than the odor coming from tariffs that are already driving up prices and immigration policies that will create a labor shortage that will surely boost inflation. Or from the miasma of Alligator Alcatraz and the denial of due process to ICE-arrested deportees.

Trump Fatigue is about weariness of both Trump and his handiwork—the mess he is creating that will take generations to clean up. 

One of the signs of Trump Fatigue in August included reports last week that the increasingly exhausted-looking Trump had died. They pointed to the absence of public scheduled events for several days, a nasty bruise on Trump’s hand, and those swollen ankles. Some also pointed to the deterioration in Trump’s golf game. He let himself get videoed cheating several times—in one case, whiffing (swinging and missing the ball altogether). Winners of dozens of golf championships, such as Trump, usually are not whiffers.

I have also read recently—in news sources that Karoline Leavitt would condemn as fake news—that Trump shows signs of senility and insanity by posting dozens of rants at 2 a.m.on his social media site. Yes, the President of the United States studied Seth Meyers’ ratings and is outraged that his contract was renewed. 

I could write about the gold in the Oval Office, the UFC cage match scheduled to be held on the White House lawn on July 4, 2026, and plans for another massive military parade, this one featuring the Navy, to be held on Trump’s 80th birthday. But it’s not necessary. 

All these things, and more, are outrageous, but are now expected. If Trump were to announce tomorrow that he was “eliminating” the Department of State and painting the White House green (his favorite color), I would shrug my shoulders. I have Trump Fatigue. And people are not talking about TDS anymore because commenting on Trump, the motley cast of misfits he has assembled as an administration, and his destructive policies are starting to raise questions for more of us, including hard-core Trumpers.

Trump Derangement Syndrome, I think, is dead, but maybe that’s just my TDS. I deny that but fess up to suffering from Trump Fatigue. And if you remain a Trump supporter, watch out, it’s contagious.

J.E. Dean writes on politics, government but, too frequently, on President Trump. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean also writes for Dean’s Issues & Insights on Substack. He suffers from Trump Fatigue, but hopes the 2026 mid-term elections will provide some relief. 

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

Summer’s End By Jamie Kirkpatrick

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How is this possible? Where did it go? It seems only minutes ago that I was ruing the departure of spring and extolling the virtues of summer. Then it go hot—really hot!—and I began to dream about the next season in line, but it seemed too far away to really occupy much space in my overly crowded mind. But now, suddenly, it’s here; the end of summer. It’s darker earlier, traffic is snarled because schools are back in session, the leaves are falling, and just like that, we’ve turned another seasonal page on the calendars of our lives. Believe me: I know: my 77th birthday is coming later this week But I digress…

I have nothing against summer, but I have to say I’m not sorry to see this one go. Heat and humidity do not pair well in my book. Thank God for Willis Carrier who invented air-conditioning back in 1902. He came from Upstate New York and was a devout Presbyterian who no doubt didn’t want to spend a single day in Hell—it’s much too hot and humid down there. He passed away peacefully in 1950. Thirty-five years later, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. One wonders what took them so long.

Anyway, summer, although not yet officially over, is on its way out. Where does it go? Like our ospreys, I guess summer migrates south because as the tilt of the earth moves the northern hemisphere farther away from the sun, the southern hemisphere reaps the benefit. That’s just the way our planet’s cookie crumbles.

Which brings me to the scary subject of climate change. The nightly news is grim enough these days with everything emanating from Washington, but the stories and scenes of enormous dust clouds, raging floods, fierce forest fires, horrific hurricanes, and extreme drought make me think I’m back in the book of Exodus watching Moses threaten Pharaoh with enough plagues to make him let Moses’ people go. Oh sure, there are those who would deny what is happening and say that this is just another blip in Earth’s history, but a “blip” is probably a few billion years and I’m not so sure we’re likely to survive this one.

I sound grouchy, don’t I? I try not to be, but it’s hard these days. You know things are getting worse and worse when there’s more “news” coverage of Taylor and Travis than there is about climate change or creeping fascism. Now that I think of it, IMHO, fascism isn’t creeping anymore; it’s running amok!

Summer’s end may be only a change of seasons, but if there’s one thing we know, for sure, it’s that the only constant is change. Perhaps to take our minds off all this sturm und drang, some friends of mine started an email discussion about who were the five best Presidents in American history. There was unanimous agreement on Washington, Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt, a bit less on several others: Grant, Truman, Jefferson, and Johnson (Lyndon not Andrew). I proposed Mr. Obama, and when he didn’t get anyone else’s vote, I pouted a bit, then decided to stir the pot by changing the game to the five worst Presidents in our history. Andrew Jackson, Franklin Pearce, Chester A. Arthur, and one of the Harrisons (I’m not sure which one) made the list, along with one other…

So long, summer.

I’ll be right back.

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

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

When Cultures Converge, Sometimes Magic Occurs by Maria Grant

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I have loved Paul Simon’s lyrics and music almost all my life. I loved Simon & Garfunkel. And I loved Simon when he went on his own. I’ve had the good fortune to see him perform live many times. The time that was pure magic was when I saw him perform songs from his album Graceland which he performed with several South African musicians. 

When talking about Graceland, Paul Simon once told Harper’s magazine this: “It’s my favorite record. My favorite song that I ever wrote. This is it. This is the best I ever did. This is all perfect.” And he’s right. Seeing it performed live was a rare treat indeed. The rhythm. The talent of the South African musicians coupled with Simon’s clever lyrics was both mesmerizing and amazing. And it’s even more amazing when you consider that Simon released this album during the controversial and turbulent apartheid crisis in South Africa. 

The brilliance of that whole Graceland album is an example of what happens when cultures converge in a positive fashion and truly bring out the best in one another. Graceland won Grammys for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. 

I’ve often thought that some of the most beautiful, most talented, and smartest people in the world are a result of multi-racial marriages. Black and White. Indian and Asian. Asian and White. Hispanic and Black. The list goes on. Think Halle Berry, Keanu Reeves, Alicia Keyes, Mariah Carey, Barack Obama, Zadie Smith, Tiger Woods, James McBride.

Then consider Asian fusion food which offers exciting and innovative flavor combinations by blending various Asian and global traditions, ingredients, and cooking techniques. It’s appealing because it creates new tasting profiles from spicy to sweet and savory. 

Between undergraduate and graduate schools, I had roommates who were Black, White, Jewish, Gay, male, and female. It was the best experience ever. I learned to appreciate different cultures, foods, traditions, and more. 

When I lived in La Paz, Bolivia for two years, I learned about the discrimination of various Indian groups and saw its aftermath. I also learned to appreciate Pisco sour cocktails and learned how to cook sultanas and chicharrón. In short, the experience broadened my horizons. 

One of the many aspects I dislike about the current administration is its overtly racist mindset. Clearly Project 2025 implies that Whites are superior human beings, and the purity of the race must be protected. It’s not dissimilar to the Nazi eugenics focus. Immigration—even legal immigration—has become a dirty word to the MAGA base. 

J.D. Vance wants Whites to have more children so that mixed races don’t take over America. 

Haitians are eating our dogs and cats. 

Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives which began to level the playing field are being dismantled.

Trump pardons White supremacists who organized an insurrection and attacked the Capitol on January 6. He calls them Patriots. 

The U.S. National Park Service has begun scrubbing information from its exhibits about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. 

Trump accuses the Smithsonian of focusing too much on how bad slavery was and not enough on the “brightness” of America. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has spent a considerable amount of time scrubbing Defense Department websites of articles and images about Jackie Robinson and the Navajo Code Talkers; renaming Navy ships; leading a Christian prayer service in the Pentagon’s auditorium; organizing an effort to restore to West Point Military Academy a painting of Confederate General Robert E. Lee that shows him wearing his gray Confederate uniform and accompanied by a slave guiding his horse; restoring Confederate names of military bases; and reinstalling a racist Confederate memorial, at considerable expense, that had been removed from Arlington National Cemetery. 

Unlike this current administration, I do not feel that a “White Bread World” is a superior world. Rather, I celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion and mourn initiatives that do just the opposite. 

Maya Angelou once wrote: “In diversity there is beauty and there is strength. We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.” 

Here, here! 

Maria Grant was principal-in-charge of the federal human capital practice of an international consulting firm. While on the Eastern Shore, she focuses on writing, reading, music, and nature. 

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

Killing Fields by Al Sikes

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Pardon my going back a few years—I will come forward. Forward to the killing field at a church in Minneapolis—the Annunciation Catholic Church.

Going back a few years I recall being unpleasantly startled when an AdBot (automated software agent that displays advertisements) in what seemed to be fractions of a second, paired me with an Advertisement for something I had been researching. I can’t recall what I was sizing up so let me substitute my suspicion. Maybe a stove, as my wife and I were buying kitchen appliances for our new home.

Almost immediately I began getting Ads for stoves and other kitchen appliances. Everywhere I went on the Internet, the Ads followed me around.

This experience took me back to my venture capital days and the first years of the Internet. I was pitched for an investment in a company that had developed AdBot technology. I remember cringing as I thought about the intrusion. What was ingenious was also a breach of  privacy.

In recent days I have advocated the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) using large language models (LLMs) to discover potential shooters before they take action. Several have suggested that would be a breach of privacy. Exactly, but that train left the station along time ago.

So rather than just selling things I would suggest that federal and/or state governments train LLMs to provide second by second monitoring of people who use violent words and imagery on the Internet. And if the evidence, synthesized, suggests they are a threat to instigate lethality on schools or churches or street corners or much else, that law enforcement quickly place them in protective custody.  And then counselors can work with them on their mental health.

In the aftermath of most shootings we learn within a few hours that the shooter had posted rants that signal his intentions hours or maybe just minutes before he sprays bullets at unsuspecting persons. Or, uses his car as a weapon. We need to turn the technology adapted for advertisements into applications to save lives.

Will this end the epidemic we now face? Almost certainly not. Will this tool in the hands of law enforcement lessen the killing; almost certainly.

Along with this technology-led initiative we will also learn about the current stance of the National Rifle Association (NRA). The organization that takes the lead should offer the NRA a chance to collaborate and in President Trump-like fashion give them a week to sign on. Indeed, this is a chance for President Trump to take the lead helped along by his friend Elon Musk a leader in deploying AI.

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

Transparency And Accountability for Not-For-Profit Organizations by David Reel

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Responding to recent media inquiry on the amount of state funding to not-for-profit organizations, a spokesperson for Governor Moore said it is “a miniscule amount of the budget every year.”

Since then, another spokesperson for the Governor expressed more interest in pursuing answers to that inquiry and said he is working on gathering that information. 

He also cautioned that gathering the information is a labor-intensive process and antiquated technology systems are contributing to the delay.

Whatever answers are eventually made available, questions on transparency and accountability should not and very likely will not go away.

State Comptroller Brooke Lierman recently suggested looking at a new process that would help not-for-profit organizations to succeed, but also ensure that there is accountability that state funds are being spent appropriately. She also recently voted no on a proposal before the State Board of Public Works on a nine-year $300 million state information technology contract. Lierman expressed concern that the agreement risks undermining both competition and transparency in state government contracting.

In any event the matter of transparency and accountability issues are not new. 

In 2021, the bi-partisan Office of Legislative Audits in the Department of Legislative Services conducted a comprehensive performance audit to assess the state’s policies for advertising, awarding, and monitoring state-funded grants. 

The auditors concluded there was no central control agency authorized to issue statewide grant-related regulations, policies, and procedures, engage in grant oversight, and monitor state agency’s grant-related activities to ensure accountability with grant terms and conditions. 

The auditors recommended all state agencies use a centralized grant management system (GMS) to administer and track grant awards and related expenditures. They also recommended uniform financial controls. reporting requirements on conflict-of-interest prohibitions, documentation on grant expenditures and deliverables, and performance progress reports. 

In  2020, the Maryland Efficient Grant Application​ Council (MEGA Council) was established and charged with studying and making recommendations to the Governor’s Grants Office and the Department of Budget and Management regarding the management of grants across Maryland. 

Key focuses of the MEGA Council included developing recommendations on uniform grant application forms and financial controls, establishing standardized reporting requirements, recommending timelines for the adoption and implementation of these processes, streamline the grant application process, improve grant administration efficiency, and providing guidance to ensure compliance with state and federal requirements.

While all these proposed recommendations and others to be determined may merit serious consideration, there is one critical missing element – a commitment to timely action on next steps. 

That was affirmed last January by State Senator Clarence Lam, former Senate Chair of the General Assembly’s Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee. Senator Lam said addressing grant transparency and accountability issues have “fallen through the cracks.” He also said they should be addressed “sooner rather than later. 

The original deadline for the MEGA Council recommendations to be presented to the Governor and the General Assembly was July 1, 2024. Now the deadline is July 1, 2027. There is no guarantee that deadline will not be pushed back again. 

That means with no further delays, the earliest the General Assembly will be able to take action on any recommendations from the MEGA Council, as well as earlier recommendations from the Office of Legislative Audits in the Department of Legislative Services, will be in the 2028 legislative session that will convene in January 2028.

Earlier this year, difficult decisions were made on state spending levels and allocations in the state budget. They will almost certainly be the new normal for the foreseeable future.

Now is the time for the Governor, State Comptroller, and the General assembly to embrace the observations of John Kotter In his book A Sense of Urgency. Kotter wrote:

 “The single most crucial factor in achieving permanent and meaningful change is a continuous sense of urgency. A true sense of urgency occurs with an acknowledgement that action on critical issues is needed now, not eventually, or not when it fits easily into a schedule. Now means making real progress every single day. Urgent behavior is not driven by a belief that all is well or that everything is a mess but, instead, that the world contains great opportunities and great hazards.”

The Governor, State Comptroller, and General Assembly also can and should do this:

Take whatever steps necessary to expedite the current ongoing research on how much state money has historically been sent to not-for-profit organizations.  

Take whatever steps necessary to require every not-for-profit organization that receives state funds to demonstrate how their operations reflect Peter F. Drucker’s observation that “Not-for-profit organizations need management even more than business. Good intentions are no substitute for organization and leadership, for accountability, performance, and results.”

David Reel is a public affairs consultant, public relations consultant, and a not-for-profit organizational governance, leadership and management consultant who lives in Easton.

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Where Has All The Silence Gone? By Al Sikes

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Where has all the silence gone? Have we noticed its absence? Has its absence been filled with anything? That is anything we will miss? Perhaps a moment that will lead to thought? Maybe originality.

I suspect we have all noticed. Or has silence become unnoticed?

Some seek out the quietness of the deep woods. Or the quiet expressions of the gentle brook. Most don’t. Most are tempted by the noise—tempted to join in. The music is turned up, so too our voices. Cacophony! How can we listen? How can we create—either thought or deed?

Now we carry around a listening device at war with listening. We get stuff. Distraction. Listening—well we pretend.

And if not amplification, then the ever-present motors are barely muffled. Or, people talking loud enough to be heard. Is the thoughtful ever yelled?

Does this end up any place we want to go? Or, do we know? Silence is an incubator. What is noise?

Somehow we should reflect on silence. Honor thought. The Quakers did it and led our country out of slavery. Can our mind escape it as well? Are we missing the answer?

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.

Tick Tock—A New Allergy is Coming by Angela Rieck

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There is a new pest to watch out for. Lone star ticks are taking advantage of our rising temperatures and moving northward. They are reproducing rapidly and have been found as far north as Maine. An entomologist and disease specialist at Cornell University believes that due to their adaptability and the rising temperatures, there are no limits to the spread of these ticks. Growing numbers of deer and rabbits, which host these and other ticks, are also putting us at risk. Yes, those cute little bunnies could be carrying these ticks and depositing them on our lawns. Unfortunately, these ticks are native to the US and there is not much to stop them.

Experts are warning that lone star ticks could infect millions of people with a disease called alpha-gal syndrome. Cases of alpha-gal syndrome have risen dramatically as these ticks have spread. Alpha-gal syndrome has grown from just a few dozen cases in 2009 to as many as 450,000 today. The exact number of alpha-gal cases is unclear due to poor data collection and undercounting. Experts expect this allergy to grow as lone star ticks proliferate. They predict that alpha-gal could end up affecting millions of people.

If you have a dog and use three-month tick protection, be aware that the protection only lasts for two months for lone star ticks.

Like all ticks, lone star ticks are gross. But these are especially heinous because they can trigger alpha-gal syndrome, a bizarre allergy to red meat and dairy.  

I was at a dinner with a friend who was infected with alpha-gal syndrome from a lone star tick. She discovered this little guy last year and had no idea the trauma that he would bring. Within several hours of eating red meat, dairy or a by-product, she breaks out in a blotchy skin-like-hives that are excruciatingly painful. Alpha-gal syndrome also increases the risk of heart attacks. Eventually many sufferers experience anaphylactic shock while consuming red meat, dairy, or a by-product.

It is not as simple as avoiding red meat and dairy, she explained that by-products are everywhere. For example, she can no longer take capsules as the capsule itself is made from a by-product.

Alpha-gal is a confounding condition because it doesn’t cause an immediate allergic reaction. Symptoms often appear hours after consumption. The syndrome is not caused by a pathogen introduced by the tick, but the tick’s bite creates an allergy to a sugar molecule found in red meat and dairy. Researchers think the condition could lessen over time, but it gets worse if there are additional tick bites.

Since it is relatively new and confusing syndrome, medical professionals may be unaware of the condition and may be unable to diagnose it properly. In the case of my friend, she was diagnosed by an allergist directly out of medical school, who recognized the symptoms and tested for alpha-gal syndrome. 

My friend asked me to spread the warning. If you are experiencing these symptoms, be aware and report this to your medical professional. This syndrome is growing rapidly, yet still relatively rare in our area, and medical professionals may prescribe doxycycline believing it to be Lyme disease.

Lone star ticks are aggressive bugs that actually follow human and animal targets if they detect them. In other words, they will hunt you down. There is also the prospect of brushing up against vegetation containing a massed ball of juvenile lone star ticks, known as a “tick bomb”, that can deliver thousands of tick bites. They are too tiny to be seen.

It is not known why the bite of lone star ticks suddenly started causing these allergic reactions. Cases have been found in Europe and Australia, although in low numbers. It is predicted that other tick species including deer ticks might also spread alpha-gal syndrome.

There is no cure for this condition at this time. The current treatment is antihistamines. Sufferers must refrain from red meat and dairy, take antihistamines daily and carry EpiPens in case they go into anaphylactic shock. 

Let’s face it, ticks are not our friends (or friends of our animals). They spread Lyme disease, alpha-gal syndrome and other rare but dangerous diseases. So be careful out there!

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.