On March 6th, we joined 300+ of our friends and neighbors in a protest outside of the Tidewater Inn in Easton, where Rep. Andy Harris was having a fundraising event. Last night, March 13th, another protest greeted Rep. Harris on Route 50 in Cambridge, at the entrance to the Hyatt. Protesters gathered to show Mr. Harris that we aren’t happy with him, to encourage a Town Hall and to shine a big, bright light on the many, many terrible things coming out of DOGE and the Trump administration.

At the Cambridge event, Mr. Harris was asked about the protests, two in a week, and he reached into the old bag of tricks and said that he didn’t believe that those gathered were constituents, that he believed many were bused in and paid $40 for participating. That’s a golden oldie! When asked for the source of that information, he simply said that he learned it “from someone in DC who knows”.

For the record, hundreds of us from Talbot, Dorchester, Caroline, Kent, and Queen Annes gathered days earlier to prepare.  I spotted no buses and no paid actors. It’s a tired old ruse to say that protesters are bused in. Also, during the Q&A, Harris said that his primary job is to further President Trump’s agenda, not to represent his constituents or to protect the Constitution, but to do the bidding of the POTUS. Funny, I thought that Harris AND the POTUS work for We The People. Another questioner asked Harris about his recent statements declaring Russia a US enemy and how that jives with mixed signals coming from the White House. Harris became a little combative and asked the questioner if she believed what she’d heard the president say when he said that Russia didn’t attack/invade Ukraine… he asked, “Do you believe everything the President says? Do you believe him just because he said it?”.

Oh boy, I wish Andy had asked me that question! TOWN HALL NOW!

Rick Hughes
Easton

It’s hard to believe five years have passed since the beginning of the pandemic and the loss of John Ford, my husband and then President of the Easton Town Council in 2020—and how much has changed since then.

This past February, on the anniversary of his death, I found myself smiling as I remembered watching “John Ford TV,” as our family jokingly called the Easton Town Council meeting nights, broadcast on the local cable channel. I recalled, with fondness, his kindness and attentiveness as he actively listened to the voices of our citizens.

 Looking back at the February 2020 articles in the Star Democrat and the Talbot Spy about John gave me hope. Pete Lesher worked with John at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and later served alongside him on the Easton Town Council; he said, “He coached me and provided a compassionate model of supervising people.” Lesher shared that Ford’s leadership was rooted in three principles: “He thought everyone deserved respect, deserved to be heard, and deserved to be given straight answers.”

Rich Scofield, who also worked with John at the museum, said, “He was extremely important to the Town of Easton. His integrity, his honesty, his ability to listen and to make a measured decision—those are rare qualities.”

Ron Engle, who served with John on the Town Council, said Ford had a unique ability to foster cooperation and compromise. As the Talbot Spy wrote, Ford inspired friendship and respect. He was a thoughtful listener. His decisions were deliberative and sensible. As a public official navigating diverse opinions and complex issues, he had a rare talent for building consensus. In his quiet, reserved way, he was remarkably effective.

In these tumultuous times, when everything seems to be shifting, these are qualities we can hold onto and practice every day: show respect, listen well, pause, and respond rather than react.

I have hope that soon we will see more of this spirit in our Town and in our nation.

Peggy Ford
Easton 

Recently, as I was sorting through papers I have kept over the years, I came across a letter to the editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer that I had written on March 30, 1982; of course, I was much younger then. I had attended a peaceful protest march to Stop the Nuclear Arms Race.  There were two images I particularly carried with me from that experience.  I still do.

(Quoting from that letter) “The first is the image of the middle of the road.  With police and courteous drivers granting us the right of way, we walked literally down the middle of the roads leading from our meeting places to Independence Hall, over 15,000 people joined in a cause neither radical nor reactionary, but reasonable, logical, right and absolutely necessary.”

“The second is the image of the lighted candle.  In the cold night with a chill wind blowing, one has to be alert and active to keep one’s candle burning.  Mine went out several times, but when mine went out the candle of the person next to me seemed to stay lit.  Someone’s candle always re-lit mine, and I had chances to re-light others’ too.”  

 We are all older now, and the issues are surely different, however some seem equally dangerous.  The United States of America must not desert Ukraine and our allies in the free world.  In my opinion, that would be unprincipled, even immoral and extremely ill-advised for the sake of our own nation.  Again, quoting from the letter, “I hope and pray our political, intellectual, scientific, social and religious leaders will put their enormous energies into finding a way that will not embrace the extreme . . . but will find a way for peace with justice.”  I believe that is what the great majority of citizens in our country want, and it is our duty to say so.  

As someone who sometimes finds it hard to keep one candle lit, I think I must try harder.  If this letter has re-lit anyone else’s candle, I am glad.  

Patricia Bradley
Easton

David Reel’s recent articles about President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) miss some important constitutional problems. None of us know exactly how the Supreme Court will rule on DOGE, but it clearly undermines the balance of power between the branches of government. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the authority to create and fund government agencies — not the president. Letting the president restructure or close agencies without Congress’s approval takes away power from Congress and weakens the system of checks and balances that protects our democracy.

What makes this even more troubling is that Trump doesn’t need to bypass Congress. He has a majority in both the House and the Senate. If Trump wants to restructure the government, he could go through Congress and follow the constitutional process. But instead, DOGE allows him to act unilaterally, cutting Congress out of decisions that should involve all three branches of government. That’s a dangerous step toward giving too much power to the executive branch.

Making the government more efficient is important — but it must be done in a way that respects the Constitution and preserves the balance of power.

Sarah Gavian
Cambridge

Please bear with this letter as it may be fragmented since there are so many things to address.

There was a time when Rep. Andy Harris would brag about being Co-Chair of the Ukrainian Caucus in Congress.

There was a time, too, many times in fact, when Harris would wax poetic about his mother, describing her as an “Ukrainian immigrant who fled Soviet tyranny.”

There was a time when Harris supported providing lethal weapons to Ukraine, continuing financial aid to Ukraine, and granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to all Ukrainian citizens in the US.

That time has passed.

Today Harris supports removing TPS from everyone—to please Donald Trump.
Today Harris questions providing any further aid to Ukraine—to please Donald Trump.
Today Harris supports rewarding the Russian invasion by giving Putin Ukrainian land—to please Donald Trump.
Today Harris betrays his mother by acquiescing to the very Russian tyranny she fled—all to please Donald Trump.

Harris is a moral coward, and the people of Maryland’s First District deserve better.

Now is the time for Harris to try pleasing the people of his district rather than pleasing Donald Trump.

Slava Ukraini!

James N. Sicks
Cambridge

Elon Musk and Congress are waving a chainsaw towards the American safety net which has kept most of us healthy and provided some security in old age for 90 years.  Talbot County is especially vulnerable as a rural area with older residents. 

1.     Social Security is an insurance program that all workers pay into until they lose their jobs, become disabled, retire, or die. Thirty percent of Talbot County residents rely on social security benefits for income; for about 40% of them, it is their sole income. Trump claims he won’t cut benefits, but Musk seeks to lay off half the Social Security Administration workers and close the field offices.  

2.     Medicare and Medicaid, created in 1965, are slated by Congress’s budget resolution of February 25 for a cut of $880 billion, perhaps all in Medicaid, to enable tax cuts for the wealthy. 16.8% of Talbot’s citizens are on Medicaid, which pays for nursing homes and healthcare for those under 65 with limited income.  The loss of Medicaid money would heavily affect our Memorial Hospital and clinics.  Some nursing homes could close.  

3.     To help young families with children, another safety net was created by combining Medicaid with CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program). 34% of children in Talbot County are on this program, and cuts in Medicaid will affect it. 

4.     The Affordable Care Act (also called Obama Care) was signed into law in 2010, offering a more affordable health insurance to Americans, particularly those with existing conditions such as diabetes.  Republicans have sought for years to end this program. 

We must speak up to save our safety net.  

Lena Gill
Easton

The White House continues to stress that the Executive Order attacking DEI programs was intended to combat illegal discrimination. Additionally, it was titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.”

A federal judge also granted a nationwide injunction, finding that the DEI executive order is unclear and violates the 1st and 5th Amendments to the Constitution. Click here for more.

This is all in constant motion and there is no reason for Talbot County to jump to conclusions and get out over its skis on an issue that has yet to be resolved. There is no clear evidence that Talbot County could lose federal funding, as asserted by some. Unless you believe that the Talbot County DEI Statement violates standing discrimination laws, there is no reason to remove it: unless it is simply a political move to comply with the political agenda of the President and further the ongoing American cultural war.

There is nothing wrong and everything right with believing in diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace and in everyday life. “Liberty and justice for all”, remember? Take a pause. Do the right thing – reject the proposal to remove the statement.

Mr. Stepp, help us avoid a mess that pits Talbot County citizens against each other over a political non-issue that doesn’t need fixing – rescind your proposed resolution. Enough with division, we all live here TOGETHER with diversity, equity and inclusion!

Rick and Peg Hughes
Easton