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June 22, 2025

Talbot Spy

Nonpartisan Education-based News for Talbot County Community

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Point of View Opinion

The Imprisonment of Judge Carmichael and the Suspension of Habeas Corpus by Paul Callahan

May 31, 2025 by Spy Daybook

163 years ago o,n May 27, 1862, the Talbot County courthouse was surrounded by Union troops to support federal Provost Marshals in the arrest of Judge Richard Bennett Carmichael.   Four Provost Marshals barged into the Judge’s courtroom and bloodily bludgeoned him with the butt of a pistol in front of his jury and civilian spectators.  Prosecuting attorney J.C.W. Powell rushed to the judge’s aid, and the crier of the court ran to the window to call for the Sheriff, but both were physically subdued.  All three were sent to Fort McHenry for imprisonment.   

The next day, the federal War Department issued a press release stating that the Judge had been imprisoned for treason.  The press release was published in every major Northern newspaper and in Europe as soon as the news crossed the Atlantic.  Judge Carmichael and attorney Powell were imprisoned for over 9 months under the harshest conditions without trial or charges ever placed against them.  

These men were imprisoned and denied their basic constitutional rights to have legal counsel challenge the validity of their imprisonment, to be presented with charges, to have the government’s charges reviewed by a civilian court, to confront their accusers or to provide a defense in a civilian court of law.  All these constitutional rights were denied because the President had suspended the sacred right of habeas corpus, an act that the Constitution had granted solely to Congress and not the Executive. 

The Judge’s imprisonment for treason, as professed by the federal government, became established history for over 160 years touted by follow-on historians who simply relied upon the statements issued by the government.  This was indicative of how history recorded the imprisonment of so many other Maryland political leaders, newspaper editors and other citizens imprisoned under the suspension of habeas which denied their right to present a defense or to even publicly proclaim their side of the story.  The free press was grossly impacted by the suspension of habeas with numerous newspapers who presented dissenting views shut down or had their editors imprisoned and where the threat of such retaliation caused many others to remain compliant and not question the Executive.  

With today’s technology to digitally search thousands of official records along with historical newspapers across the globe, the actual history of Judge Carmichael’s arrest can now be told – and it had nothing to do with secession or traitorous activity. 

Judge Carmichael got the attention of Secretary William Seward in June of 1861 by sending a petition along with 48 others, to the Maryland Legislature detailing how Union soldiers had entered Queene Anne’s County and had placed themselves as a military police superior to civilian authority and were conducting unlawful searches, arrests and imprisonments and had unilaterally suspended habeas corpus to those they detained.  This document recorded in the Maryland Archives is hugely important in understanding President Lincoln’s early suspension of habeas enacted just weeks prior.  The President’s first suspension was touted as a military necessity to protect a narrow supply corridor between Philadelphia and Washington.  With Carmichael’s communication to the Legislature, we find it was also suspended in places in Maryland far removed from this supply route and for totally different reasons as well.  

Secretary Seward in learning of the Judge’s communication, issued a directive to General John Adams Dix to have the Judge imprisoned in Fort Lafayette for “treason”  and to have the arrest conducted in the Judge’s courtroom to maximize the public impact.  General Dix, however, did not act upon this directive at this time but continued to monitor the Judge.   As a circuit court Judge, Carmichael was also a Judge in Queen Anne’s County and shortly before the state elections in November 1861 the clerk of Queen Anne’s Court, Madison Brown, was arrested and temporarily imprisoned by Union troops.  Brown was running on the “Peace Party” ticket as a candidate for the Maryland Appellate Court during the upcoming state election and was just one of many Maryland political candidates that had been harassed and even imprisoned by the occupying Union troops prior to the election. Judge Carmichael had the offending military officers charged by the grand jury for the unlawful imprisonment of Brown and others, but the Union military simply relocated the charged officers outside of the Judge’s jurisdiction to prevent their trial.

Similar incidents also happened in Talbot County where dissenters were imprisoned by the occupying military command.  In Talbot County however, something very different occurred. Prosecuting attorney J.C.W. Powell learned that a Maryland politician, State Senator Henry Holiday Goldsborough, had embroiled himself in directing the Union troops on the arrest of Talbot civilians.   Goldsborough was the leader of the Maryland Senate and a strong Lincoln ally.  Attorney Powell was successful in having Talbot’s Grand Jury issue indictments against Goldsborough, along with the associated Union officers responsible for the arrests.   

The military officers were removed from Talbot’s legal jurisdiction, but Senator Goldsborough lived in Talbot County and could not avoid prosecution.  Shortly before Goldsborough’s trial General Dix issued a written communication to him stating that he was sending the military officers subpoenaed for his trial but was also sending four Provost Marshals “well armed.”  In this communication, Gen. Dix left it to Goldsborough to authorize the Provost Marshals to arrest Judge Carmichael.  In Dix’s after-action report to Secretary Seward, he noted that the Judge had been arrested in his courtroom for the maximum public impact per the stated desire of Seward.  The imprisonment of Judge Carmichael and prosecuting attorney Powell had nothing to do with treason but was simply to protect a political ally of the President and to display the power of the federal government.  The false report of “treason” was simply cover to make such a drastic measure publicly acceptable.

Some of those who read this will attempt to immediately defend President Lincoln’s actions.  Human nature has not changed in 163 years and there are many who will blindly trust and defend their chosen political leader regardless of evidence.  These events are our history which cannot be changed but which provide us with important insights and lessons that we should apply to the issues of our day.

For more on this important history to include the uncovering of the details regarding the imprisonment of the Maryland Legislature and other important Maryland leaders, please refer to my book “When Democracy Fell, The Subjugation of Maryland During the U.S. Civil War,” available on Amazon or locally at Vintage Books in Easton and Unicorn Books in Trappe.  

Paul Callahan is a native of Talbot County Maryland, a graduate of the Catholic University of America and a former Marine Corps officer. When Democracy Fell is due for release on October 3, at all major retailers to include Amazon. Image of prisoners courtesy of “The Local History Channel.”

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

Filed Under: Opinion

Character Rot: Sounding the Alarm by Johnny O’Brien

May 15, 2025 by Opinion

Most of us are aware of the damage Donald Trump is doing to government service, freedom of expression, our universities, and democracy. And the moral decay our “national role model” is inflicting upon America with his daily lying, greed, spite, and vindictiveness.

But most of us are less aware of the grave threat Trump and his spineless minions represent to our precious children, just by broadcasting his malignant narcissism every day. It is not too early to sound the alarm.

For starters, just picture our vulnerable teens bombarded by their commander-in-chief, who rules as a greedy, lawless king—where kindness, honesty, humility, and cooperation are for “suckers and losers.” Our kids, with their online tools and savvy, know this. They see and hear it every day. The most powerful leader in the world (their “leader”) is trashing the most sacred values that have defined America since its founding.

And to what effect on our coming-of-age children? At a minimum, confusion about what behavior or character counts. More frequently, they embrace the loss of moral guardrails and behave (as in Golding’s Lord of the Flies) any way they want.

This is not a theory. I first saw it recently at a boarding school for needy children I once led. It has over 2,000 students and prides itself on building character. Just four months into Trump’s leadership model, more students are flouting rules and debasing their school’s Sacred Values.

When challenged, responses include:

  • “Why should I be kind to a weak classmate?”

  • “Why do I need to tell the truth?”

  • “Why should I share credit with a teammate?”

The school’s Sacred Values—like Integrity and Mutual Trust—are being routinely tested.

Note: These behaviors seem to be more manifest in boys, who are more likely to challenge norms and authority (and who already have excessive learning difficulties these days). And, BTW, where were these teens during Trump’s first term? In late elementary and early middle school, where early character formation is founded.

What fate, then, for our children and their character? What is the future for the sacred values of our critical institutions?

Awareness of a real and present danger is always the first step to combating a serious threat. “This too will pass” is not a sufficient response to 8–12 years of socially induced character decay.

Such a grave challenge will fall first to our parents… and then to our teachers and coaches, who influence behavior the most. And then to our community, church, and political leaders—who, when organized, can effectively resist the moral decay.

But also to each of us who care about America’s character and the moral fiber of our children—those of us who still value kindness, honesty, and the greater common good, and do not want our young folks to become the “Greedy Me Generation.”

Johnny O’Brien is a former president of the Milton Hershey School and its first alumnus to lead the institution. Orphaned at a young age, he was raised at the school and graduated in 1961 before earning a degree from Princeton University and pursuing graduate studies at Johns Hopkins. O’Brien later founded Renaissance Leadership, a firm that coached executives at major corporations. In 2003, he returned to Hershey as its president. He is also the author of Semisweet: An Orphan’s Journey Through the School the Hersheys Built, and currently lives in Easton.

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

Filed Under: Opinion

A Conservative Look at the Trump Tariff Policy by David Montgomery

May 14, 2025 by David Montgomery

Editor’s Note. The Spy is pleased to welcome David Montgomery back as a contributor. When the Talbot Spy launched in 2009, David was one of our first political columnists—widely read, often provocative, and a thoughtful voice for socially conservative views. Well before his move to Talbot County, David was a respected figure in Washington, D.C. as he built his reputation as a lead economist at the Congressional Budget Office and later as a private consultant. His work on federal spending models and his successful advocacy for California’s cap-and-trade policy have impacted national environmental and fiscal policy. In his return to the Spy, David will focus on the economic challenges of our times.

I am now more puzzled than ever by the goals of President Trump’s tariff policies. He is now reducing tariffs on China in exchange for China’s offer to reduce tariffs and open its markets to US businesses.  He has announced ongoing negotiations with some 80 other countries to reduce tariffs on both sides.  China is looking like just another trading partner that has tariffs higher than ours.

There are three textbook objectives that might be pursued through tariff policy. They are strategic, retaliatory, and protectionist.  

Strategic tariffs are directed at specific countries and or industries which are deemed to be critical to national security. Thus, the United States should be reducing its reliance on China for certain rare minerals.  Likewise, any components for warfighting equipment that are now sourced from China should be switched to domestic suppliers.  This objective has always been a legitimate purpose for tariffs, but they should be selective and high—or just a ban on imports.  I thought China was the target of strategic tariffs, and I never questioned that such tariffs were in general needed. When it comes to implementing that policy, the specifics of how rapidly we could disengage our supply chains from Chinese sources needed to be considered before setting tariffs arbitrarily high.

Now it appears that we are treating China just like Europe and other countries on which we set retaliatory tariffs‚ that is, tariffs designed to match the tariffs imposed on us by our trading partners. The goal in imposing such tariffs is not necessarily to shrink trade, rather it is to put US industries on an equal footing with industries protected by tariffs of our trading partners. That is a fine objective and beneficial to both countries. The very high tariffs that Trump imposed initially seemed to have brought many countries to the negotiating table. 

If we can achieve a mutual reduction in tariffs and trade barriers with allies, articularly Europe, Japan and Korea, it will benefit both countries.  There will be more demand for goods from US industries that have been priced out of protected markets, and our trading partners will get goods for their consumers at lower cost than they could produce domestically.  That outcome could also help with our broader goal of improving manufacturing wages and output.

So now I am puzzled.   What is our objective for managing trade with China?  The current dramatic reductions suggest that the President is not pursuing a strategy of reducing trade with China for strategic reasons, he was just threatening them to get them to line up like Europe and other countries to reduce their barriers to trade. That, or this is a purely political move to deal with the stock market carnage that the high tariffs produced.  

I really hope that Walmart has not won again on this one. We do need to disengage from trade with China on goods like strategic minerals and electronics. We might not need 145% tariffs on all Chinese goods but we certainly need even more on some. 

That also lets me touch briefly on the third reason for tariffs, which I characterized as protectionist. These are tariffs designed to protect specific industries and encourage their growth here in the US. Protectionism goes further than reducing barriers to exports, though that helps.

I can enthusiastically support economic policies that are designed to recreate the traditional American family. That is, whose objective is to make it possible again for one man to provide for his wife and multiple children on one income, so that the nuclear family headed by a wife living at home, can once again become the norm. 

The plan articulated by JD Vance is that the manufacturing sector, and with it jobs that do not require expensive college education, must expand to provide that kind of income to families. I doubt that current scattershot tariff policy, or even a combination of policies likely to be implemented in this administration, would be sufficient to achieve this goal. I have a lot more hope that it could all be put together in eight years of a JD Vance administration.

The start toward this goal is protective tariffs, either for the manufacturing sector as a whole or for particular industries, not just large enough to overcome the advantage that countries like China have due to cheap or, in China’s case, forced labor. Tariffs on China probably should be 150% or more to achieve this goal–Robert Lighthizer recommends 200 to 300%–in order to increase both wages and output in US manufacturing.  Unfortunately, the same economic reasoning applies to South Korea and Japan. On top of that, protection would have to be applies to many more carefully chosen sectors to greatly improve the economic status for couples that are struggling to find a way to buy a home, have children and raise them well. Anyway, this beguiling part of the Trump economic plan has not been visible in any of his specific moves on tariffs.

So I am puzzled about what the 40 or 60 or 80 current negotiations on tariffs are intended to accomplish. In the case of China, the only serious antagonist with whom trade, we seem to be abandoning the strategic objective in favor of convincing China to eliminate tariffs and other barriers to exports from the US (a tiny fraction of imports from China) while doing nothing to reduce the flow of goods to the US from China. 

In any event, I doubt that any agreement to open China’s markets is enforceable. China has had thousands of years to figure out how to cheat on any agreement. The opacity of China’s economy means it could find ways to block US investment and exports, even after agreeing to everything that President Trump might demand.  It’s not even “trust but verify” with China. It’s more like “never trust because it’s impossible to verify”.  If we do perceive that US companies remain unable to sell in China, the tit-for-tat response would be to return to the 175% tariffs of a week ago. That at least should gain some strategic benefits, and might be implemented through incremental increases that give supply chains time to adjust.

We may or may not gain any tariff reductions out of current negotiations with China.  Just going into these negotiations to mutually reduce tariffs makes me doubt whether the current round is intended to reduce our strategic vulnerability on China. By reducing tariffs across the board we have given on the effort to shift specific supply chains with national security significance out of China is now being treated as just another trading partner with whom we are working things out. 

I’m also not seeing any efforts toward the goal that appealed to me, which is renewing good jobs that will support the old-fashioned family with all its social and moral benefits.  

Getting back to my introduction, it is not clear what objective President Trump is pursuing in the current trade negotiations.  

David Montgomery was formerly Senior Vice President of NERA Economic Consulting. He also served as assistant director of the US Congressional Budget Office and deputy assistant secretary for policy in the US Department of Energy. He taught economics at the California Institute of Technology and Stanford University and was a senior fellow at Resources for the Future. He currently serves as councilmember for Ward 3 on the Town of Easton Council. 

 

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

Filed Under: Opinion

The Need to Call Out Gunsallus Falsehoods by Megan Cook

May 2, 2025 by Opinion

As someone who has worked hard to serve this community with honesty and transparency, I’ve always believed that facts should guide our public conversations, especially during an election. That’s why I feel compelled to address several misleading and outright false claims circulating in recent campaign materials. When falsehoods are left unchallenged, it risks becoming accepted as fact. Our community deserves better. These tactics are part of an effort not to inform or unite us but to stir fear and falsely influence voters. That’s not who we are in the Town of Easton, and it’s not how we should conduct ourselves.

One candidate, Frank Gunsallus, has claimed he is the only council member in 30 years to have gone “line by line” through the town budget. That statement isn’t just misleading, it’s false and is a disservice to the many council members, past and present, who have worked diligently every year to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. Every budget season involves careful review, discussion, and difficult decisions. Suggesting otherwise dismisses the thoughtful and responsible work of others who have taken that duty seriously, including myself when I served on the Council from 2009-2023.

The Inclusionary Zoning bill is still a work in progress, and no final version has been drafted. Since 2022, there have been numerous meetings and workshops with both the Town Council and Planning Commission. A dedicated task force, made up of volunteers who spent countless hours reviewing Easton’s housing needs, was appointed to offer thoughtful recommendations. That group is still finalizing its report. To claim the bill mandates high-density housing in every neighborhood is simply false and undermines the work of dozens of people trying in good faith to address a real challenge. The goal is simple: to make it possible for teachers, nurses, police officers, and others who serve our Town to actually live here. If an officer has sworn to protect and serve our town, they ought to be able to call it home.

The same flier accuses the mayor and staff of quietly ushering in development with little or no public input. That’s not only untrue, but it’s also an insult to the hardworking staff, the Planning Commission, and community members involved in every step of our public planning process. Nothing is being “snuck in.” Transparency and community input are cornerstones of how we operate. Claims to the contrary are simply false.

It’s also been claimed that I “recruited” three pro-mayor, pro-development candidates to run for Town Council. That’s false. Two of the implied candidates are already serving on the Council. One of them is running against Mr. Gunsallus not because of ideology, but out of concern over how meetings are managed, the lack of respect shown and civility, and communication breakdowns among council members. Mischaracterizing the motives of individuals who Mr. Gunsallus opposes is unfair and misleading. Voters should look for leadership that is respectful, collaborative, and able to work with others, especially when navigating difficult issues. That’s the kind of leadership Easton deserves.

It’s also been suggested that because I wasn’t born in Easton, I somehow care less or am less committed to this community. That’s not only wrong, it’s also deeply disrespectful. My husband and I moved to Easton 22 years ago for his job as a pediatrician and to be closer to his family. My work as mayor, as a former council member, and my involvement in projects like Project Idlewild, CarePacks, coaching sports, and serving on local boards and clubs, has always been about giving back to the place my husband and I chose to raise our family. And I’m far from alone. Many of the people who make meaningful contributions to Easton each day weren’t born here. What matters is not where someone started, but the heart and effort they bring to serving this town.

Easton is a town worth fighting for, not with fear or falsehoods, but with integrity, respect, and a commitment to the truth. Elections should be about ideas, accountability, and the future we want to build together, not personal attacks or misleading claims. I will continue to stand up for the facts, for our hardworking staff and volunteers, and for a community where we listen to each other even when we disagree. I encourage every voter to look past the lies, ask thoughtful questions, and choose leaders who value collaboration, honesty, and real public service.

Megan JM Cook is the mayor of Easton, Maryland

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

Filed Under: Opinion

I Support Don Abbatiello for Easton Council President by David Montgomery

April 28, 2025 by Opinion

On May 6th voters in the Town of Easton will choose a new Town Council President. This is an election of exceptional importance, with two candidates who could not be more different from each other. For this reason, I have had to overcome my preference for neutrality in town elections.

I am endorsing Don Abbatiello for Town Council President.  I have had two years to observe how the candidates for this office conduct themselves on the Town Council. Additionally, I was fortunate to serve alongside Don, as interim President for several months in 2023.  Those experiences convince me that Don must be our new Council President.

Don’s calm demeanor, maturity, and integrity would make him stand out in any election. They have been particularly visible in the work of our Town Council. I have sometimes disagreed with fellow Council members, including Don. On those occasions, Don has always tried to find a middle ground on which we could compromise or an amicable way forward. Even when we disagree, he is always willing to engage with facts and rational arguments and to listen to my point of view. 

It may be selfish, but I look forward to having town meetings conducted by Don in an orderly, professional, and courteous manner. That is not what we have had for the past two years. We need a leader who builds good relations and communicates well with the Mayor and all members of the Town Council. 

Don’s dedication to our community is demonstrated by his 27 years of service as a high school teacher, 16 as an Easton firefighter (Fireman of the Year in 2025) and 6 years as Town Council member. I don’t know how he manages to fit all that into a day. Don does not strive for the limelight or try to be the center of attention on every occasion. He just works quietly and effectively to serve all of us.

Some are applying Party labels to candidates in this election, even though all elections in the town of Easton are nonpartisan. Don has not accepted financial support from either Party. He voluntarily disclosed campaign contributions, expenditures and names of contributors for this election, while his opponent has been hiding behind a promise to file a report at the start of next year. 

Don’s character, experience, qualifications and positions on policies affecting the town transcend party labels. He will not be indebted to any party or special interests when this election is over.

We are facing the prospect of devastating change if developers are given their way to build, build, build in Easton. My most important criterion for ranking candidates is their position on whether and how to slow that senseless growth. Don has spoken and voted consistently to restrain growth as long as I have known him. He has been more consistent on limiting proposed developments than anyone else on the Council, including me. 

Don and I have both questioned the proposed inclusionary zoning ordinance because it would be burdensome and have negligible effects. Neither of us wants taxpayers to bear the burden of subsidizing housing for some. I believe that under Don’s leadership, we will be able to find different, more constructive ways to deal with the cost of housing.

Preserving our town’s character, fiscal restraint, and strong support for public safety are my hallmarks of conservatism at the local level. I hope my conservative friends recognize that Don and I agree on all of these. In addition to his stance on growth, Don has worked hard to restrain spending while at the same time fully supporting our police and firefighters.

Don’s positions on all questions have been thoughtful and consistent. He thinks for himself and responds spontaneously, rather than reading prepared statements from notes. He has a clear set of principles that he applies across the board. Don does not vary his positions to suit the audiences that he is addressing or to garner votes. 

To sum it up, Don is the leader that Easton needs.

I am not endorsing Don lightly or even because we agree on everything. We have voted differently on issues that I think are important. But I have learned how destructive it is to make one issue a litmus test for support. When I compare Don to his opponent, I see an overwhelming difference in character, experience, and behavior, as well as clear and sound positions on critical issues for Easton. That makes Don Abbatiello my choice for Council President.

David Montgomery is the Easton Town Councilmember for Ward 3

 

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

Filed Under: Opinion

Maryland’s Budget Crossroads Demands Unity, Not Division by Patrick Firth

April 3, 2025 by Opinion

If there’s one thing Republicans and Democrats can agree on, it’s that Maryland is facing a budget crisis. But how we got here – and why it’s becoming so much worse so quickly – shouldn’t be up for debate.

Maryland’s economy has been relatively stagnant for years. According to the Maryland Comptroller’s office, our state’s economy grew just 1.6% between late 2016 and early 2023. Meanwhile, our neighbors in Virginia and Pennsylvania grew by 11.2% and 6.6%, respectively. The U.S. economy grew 13.9% during that same period.

This lack of growth was a ticking time bomb. In fact, economists have predicted since 2017 that this issue – a $3 billion structural deficit – was set to detonate this year.

While you may not like specific solutions in this budget – and it is by no means perfect – it is misleading to blame Governor Wes Moore for a budget shortfall that was predicted eight years before he was elected to office. It’s further misleading to point to a 2022 budget surplus because, like every other state, Maryland received a crucial financial lifeline from the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was convenient for the former governor, but not a long-term solution to Maryland’s ongoing budget issues.

Maryland also must face a stark reality: we will be hit disproportionately hard by the federal government’s workforce reduction priorities and bureaucratic consolidation. Whether you support this effort or not, our friends and neighbors on both sides of the Bay are going to be hit hard by these federal cuts. This does not even account for a stubborn inflation rate, ongoing and incoming tariffs, and a continuing rise to prices.

I’ve tried to read the latest budget proposal with a clear, unbiased perspective. It has things that both do and do not work for us on the Shore. It is not perfect, but it is a budget that can get us through very difficult times both now and ahead. It’s a sensible plan that balances $2 billion in cuts with $1 billion in new revenue. There are areas where all Marylanders may pay more in fees and such, but a significant majority of Marylanders will not see an increase to their individual tax rates. I think, given the difficult times ahead, this is an acceptable solution.

Real financial pain is on the horizon. Partially because of nearly a decade of economic stagnation in Maryland, partially because lawmakers have no choice but to accept an unpopular, but responsible, budget, and partially because of economically questionable decisions being made at the federal level. But I do have faith that we have the right individuals in charge in the State House and within the General Assembly – and that includes Del. Sample-Hughes’ thoughtful vote against the budget proposal in a symbolic gesture to support her constituents for a bill that would inevitably pass the House of Delegates.

The last thing I would contribute is that it is disingenuous to attack and sling mud at the lawmakers from the sidelines as they make tough decisions entering uncharted waters. There has never been a more important time to work together, across the political aisle, in search of and support for common-sense, bipartisan solutions that work for all Marylanders. And we citizens have a duty to remind our elected officials that they are sent to Annapolis to work together, to form partnerships, and to advance their constituents’ interests. Rather than “just say no,” perhaps our Eastern Shore delegation can begin conversations with their fellow lawmakers that begin with, “yes, and I need this for my constituents.” Maybe then they can be stronger advocates for our community. We all share the important value of securing a stronger, more sustainable future for our state and for the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Patrick Firth is the outgoing chair of Talbot Democrats.

 

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

Filed Under: Opinion

The Political is Personal: Reflections on DEI by Margaret Andersen

February 1, 2025 by Opinion

As the women’s movement was unfolding in the late 1960s, all across the country women gathered in small, informal groups called consciousness raising (CR) groups—conversations that helped us identify the societal origins of problems we were facing in our individual lives. Domestic violence, rape, job discrimination, illegal abortion, the lack of birth control—you name it: These were experienced as personal problems, but their origins were in society and required political, not just personal solutions. For so many of us in my generation, “the personal is political” was a rallying call–a call for change not just in our personal lives, but in society and our social institutions.

This was a time (and it wasn’t that long ago) when there were no women in what we studied in school. Colleges were places where women could only wear dresses. Blue jeans, which became the symbol of a generation, were forbidden on campus—until women revolted. Blue jeans were a symbol of the working class and wearing them, as suggested by SNCC (the activist group, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee), was a symbol of solidarity with the working class. Women demanded their rights—on campus, at home, at work: everywhere! 

We embarked on a course of compensatory education, trying to learn through any means necessary all that had been left out of what we were taught. There were few studies about women; even medical science routinely excluded women from research samples. When I was in graduate school (where I had no women professors), what we learned about women came from newsprint pamphlets, our CR groups, and whatever we could put our hands on that taught us about women’s history, lives, artistic contributions, and everyday experiences. This was the birth of Women’s Studies—or what is now often called gender studies.

My compensatory education had to offset all I had not learned about women, about people of color, about LGBTQ experiences—in other words, my education excluded more than half the world’s population. Ironically, the term “compensatory education” at the time usually referred to what was perceived as inadequate education for people of color in racially segregated schools, but we all need an education that teaches us about the full range of human experience.

As time proceeded, our efforts to “integrate” education by including the work, experiences, and contributions of women, people of color, immigrants, and LGBTQ people became institutionalized in women’s studies programs, ethnic and racial studies programs, LGBTQ studies, and—yes–diversity initiatives: the now demonized DEI!

Now the assault on so-called DEI feels like a punch in the gut to me. I have devoted fifty plus years of my education and the education I have passed on to others in the interest of an inclusive, not exclusive, curriculum. Scholarship in these diverse areas of study has flourished and people have learned that having more inclusive educational and workplace settings actually improves performance for ALL groups. What is it that is so threatening about DEI that powerful interests are now trying to wipe it out of every institution?

I’ll hazard a guess that most opponents of so-called DEI cannot tell you what it is. Of course, many of us have sat through boring workshops intended to raise our awareness of “DEI.” A lot of us have raised our understanding of what changes—both personal and political—are necessary to achieve a more fair and equitable society—in all its dimensions. To me, DEI is just about that—respecting and understanding the enormous diversity of people living and working all around us; desiring more equitable (just plain fair) opportunities for people to achieve their dreams; and being inclusive, not exclusive, in how we think and who we think about—and value.

I take the current assault on DEI as a personal affront—an affront on all I have worked for over fifty plus years as a professor, author, and college administrator. The time is frightening and, like many of my friends, colleagues, and family members, most days I just want to crawl in a hole. I feel powerless to change the retrograde actions that are happening all around us, every day. But the changes I have witnessed in my own lifetime are vast and should not be taken for granted. We must speak out even when it feels like there are big risks in doing so. 

Even putting these thoughts in print feels scary given the retribution that is now all too common. But I ask you to remember: I am your neighbor, might have been your teacher, am not a criminal. I am an American and love my country, as I hear you do too. But before you post some nasty comment to this letter, I ask you also to think about whether you want your child, your friend, your neighbor to grow up in a country where we learn little, if anything, about people’s experiences other than our own and where powerful interests ask you to ignore the hard work of so many who fought to bring you a more inclusive, just, and open society.  

I also ask you to deeply care about anyone, maybe in your family or friendship network, who loves a lesbian or gay daughter or sibling, even when the coming out process asked them to change everything they thought they knew. Love those who cherish and embrace a trans member of the family even when their old beliefs were upended by this reality. Love those who have fully welcomed an interracial couple and their children into an otherwise all white family. Care about anyone from an immigrant background who came to this nation to seek a better life for themselves and their children.  Know their experiences; don’t believe the myths.

To all of you, my heart is with you even as I rage! 

Dr Margaret L. Andersen is the Elizabeth and Edward Rosenberg Professor Emerita, Founder and Executive Director of the President’s Diversity Initiative, University of Delaware, who lives in Oxford.

 

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

Filed Under: Opinion, Spy Journal

New report reveals value of resource conservation for Shore businesses by John Horner

January 30, 2025 by Opinion

I consider it a privilege to live and work in a place so many Marylanders associate with vacations, retirement, recreation, and quiet retreats. But as good as our parks, rivers, beaches, and charming towns are for those very activities—the Eastern Shore is equally a place of everyday living and hard honest work, schools and small businesses, boat builders and watermen. At Easton Utilities, we are invested in it all – whether we’re powering the air conditioning in a vacation home so that a young family can escape a summer heat wave, keeping the lights on in a farmer’s winter workshop, helping a local restaurant cook with natural gas, or providing high speed internet to a long-awaited new healthcare facility.

It’s easy to see how a utility company economically benefits the residents and visitors of the Shore. But all of our services would be irrelevant if not for the benefits provided by our water, woodlands, clean air, wildlife, fertile soil, beaches, and abundant seafood. These natural resources offer more than an admirable landscape and deep cultural identity, they drive our economy. Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC), in collaboration with the Delmarva Restoration and Conservation Network (DRCN), recently released a report titled, “Economic Impact of Natural Resources Conservation on the Delmarva Peninsula.” This comprehensive study highlights the undeniable benefits of the Eastern Shore’s natural resources.

Since I first began at Easton Utilities, we have made sustainability a priority. Our Easton Sustainability Campus is constantly developing new innovative ways to pursue our sustainability mission of conserving natural resources in a way that is economically viable. Located at our Enhanced Nutrient Removal (ENR) Wastewater Treatment Facility, this campus also houses our cost-effective 2 MW solar array which was significantly grant-funded by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). In fact, our ENR Wastewater Treatment Facility’s exceptional performance regarding nitrogen and phosphorous discharge concentrations has resulted in additional grant funding year over year from MDE. These funds are reinvested in the wastewater facility for ongoing operations and maintenance undertakings in order to continue optimal performance.

In addition, from our annual tree planting initiative to our pollinator habitat, we remain committed to enhancing the quality of life in our beloved coastal communities by making environmental stewardship a priority and seeking out cost-effective projects which can help us to address the needs of both our place and our people.

Now more than ever, ESLC’s economic report reveals just how critical conservation efforts are if we want to preserve our beautiful peninsula home and unique way of life. Land conservation anchors environmental stewardship; it’s a cornerstone for preserving the Eastern Shore’s cultural heritage and its economy. By safeguarding Delmarva’s natural resources, we ensure that future generations can experience the beauty, traditions, and productive, meaningful work that define this unique region.

In my role as the President and CEO of Easton Utilities, I am ever mindful of what drives the Eastern Shore quality of life for both our employees and our customers. This new report shares in numbers what we all feel daily: the natural resources of the Shore keep us afloat. I am confident that Easton Utilities, through our partnership with the Town of Easton and Mayor Megan Cook, will continue to do everything in our power to conserve our precious region while providing for our community, and now with an even greater understanding of the essential value of our natural resources.

John Horner is the president and CEO of Easton Utilities

The report can be read here.

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

Filed Under: Opinion

Presidential pasts and an impending future by Steve Parks

January 17, 2025 by Steve Parks

Former president and now president-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated again – this time to a non-consecutive second term. (The first since Grover Cleveland, elected in 1885 and 1893.) Although I was disappointed, to say the least, about his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in November, it is clear that Trump was elected fair and square by millions of Americans I disagree with regarding his fitness for office.
Despite my severe doubts based on his first-term presidency – two impeachments resulting in party-line acquittals and four felony charges: two blocked by judicial stall tactics, another by a prosecutor’s personal indiscretion, plus one conviction with no penalties allowed – I had no choice but to respect the results and give the winner the benefit of aforementioned doubts. I say “no choice” because without evidence of anything but a straight-up electoral Trump victory meant to me – as it should to any American who believes in democracy – that he is our once and now-again president. Others I respect on the losing side upheld that rightful interpretation of constitutional law. Harris conceded the next morning. And she fulfilled her constitutional duty as vice president and president of the Senate to confirm the electoral count on Jan. 6. Remember that date, anyone? Hakeem Jeffries, minority leader of the House of Representatives, gaveled his announcement of the final count to the applause of mostly the winning side. Nothing wrong with that. But compare this entirely peaceful transfer of power to that of the MAGA mob, egged on by Trump, on the same date four years ago.
Still, Trump is about to be our next president. And he was among a rich and rare assemblage of colleagues on another historic day just last week. Trump and three other former presidents, plus President Joe Biden, sat together as a far more exclusive club than the “Saturday Night Live” five-timer host club. But it was the centenarian of the hour, 39th President Jimmy Carter, whose funeral stood as a still-living memorial to the great man in the flag-draped casket – a fallible human of unassailable character, decency, integrity and the belief I have now and always did that Jimmy Carter never lied to us. All the eulogies were authentically moving and real. No embellishment necessary. One of my favorites was the bipartisan tribute read by Gerald Ford’s son Steven because these former presidential election rivals and best friends for the rest of their lives, agreed to write each other’s eulogies. Carter outlasted Ford by 18 years.
I can apply none of those accolades to the man about to take his second oath of office I doubt he will keep for a minute. I say that because I’m certain he will never take the step that could redeem himself and his idolaters: Tell the truth about the 2020 election. Are we to just pretend that he’s not the one who tried to “steal” an election? – campaigning before and after the votes were counted that it was “rigged.” It’s an impossible feat considering all the states, counties, and municipalities, not to mention the thousands of precincts you’d have to line up to pull off a stolen national election. And never mind there is zero evidence of such a widespread possibility in 2020. If Donald could bring himself to announce, or at least imply, at his inauguration in front of the president who once defeated him that, yes, Biden won that election, just as he – Trump – won this one, he could obliterate the fact-free obsession that has divided America for more than five years. Confession is good for the soul and would be for the country he now leads. Again. But Trump will never do that.
Too bad for all of us on either side of his contagious lie. You won in 2024, Mr. Trump. Mr. President. And no one seriously challenges that. Why would you contribute to keeping the country divided against itself as you did when you lacked the simple courtesy of attending Biden’s inauguration? Sore loser, for sure. Why would you now be a sore winner as well? Just to get even? Surely, you can’t expect to run again. Make the best of this term for yourself, your legacy, and for all the rest of us.
Jimmy could be watching you, Donald. But you don’t seem to care. You think Carter was a loser. But so were you in 2020. Be a man and admit it. Put an end to all the personal strife you brought upon yourself as a result. And all of us fellow Americans, too. Then get on with being the best president you can be for a more united USA.
Make America Grateful Again – grateful to be who we are when we’re all working together.
Steve Parks is a retired journalist now living in Easton.

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

Filed Under: Opinion

Gov. Wes Moore: Now’s the time to fix our fiscal crisis

January 16, 2025 by The Spy Desk

On Wednesday, I will release my proposal to balance the state budget. For the third year in a row, we will not raise the sales tax or the property tax. Through reforms in the tax code, nearly twothirds of Marylanders will get a tax cut, and we will lower the corporate tax rate and focus on making Maryland more competitive and business-friendly. Additionally, our plan cuts spending by $2 billion. These bold actions are needed to prompt the kind of economic growth this moment requires and demands.

These arenʼt easy decisions. Our budget responds to two storms that are swirling around our state. The first storm is a fiscal crisis nearly a decade in the making. Under the former administration, state spending increased by 70% in the seven years before I took office, while our economic growth flatlined. We were spending, but we werenʼt growing. Emergency COVID money from the federal government papered over a structural deficit that had been predicted by experts since 2017. Now, we face the worst fiscal crisis in at least 20 years — worse than that of the Great Recession. The second storm is a stark new policy direction from the Trump-Vance Administration that threatens to disrupt Marylandʼs economy, which is already deeply reliant on the federal government.

In partnership with the General Assembly, it is our responsibility to help Marylanders weather these two storms and emerge stronger. We are guided by a single, clear principle: Build an economy that grows the middle class and gives everyone a pathway to work, wages and wealth. We will achieve that goal by creating jobs; prioritizing regulatory, procurement and permitting reform; and making it easier for businesses to choose Maryland, grow in Maryland and stay in Maryland.

I will propose new state investments in our ports and manufacturing, as well as leading industries to make Maryland the capital of innovation in quantum, cyber and artificial intelligence. With extraordinary assets on the leading edge of American ingenuity — like U.S. Cyber Command, federal labs and world-class universities — there is no reason why Maryland shouldnʼt already lead these areas. But while we are asset-rich, we have been strategy-poor. Our budget applies the right strategy to ensure Maryland wins the decade.

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

Filed Under: Opinion, Op-Ed

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