https://chestertownspy.org Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Chestertown Tue, 06 May 2025 18:57:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/07/springtimes-blessings-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/07/springtimes-blessings-by-j-e-dean/#comments Wed, 07 May 2025 12:30:01 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=184049 Sometimes I forget the sun will rise tomorrow even if the news is bad. Yes, we live in challenging, uncertain times that find Americans deeply divided and worried. And when I say worried, that means everyone these days, even the President’s supporters. But I also find that reading and writing about what I call “troubling […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/07/springtimes-blessings-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 1 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/30/the-man-wearing-the-blue-suit-at-pope-francis-funeral-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/30/the-man-wearing-the-blue-suit-at-pope-francis-funeral-by-j-e-dean/#comments Wed, 30 Apr 2025 12:30:54 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/30/the-man-wearing-the-blue-suit-at-pope-francis-funeral-by-j-e-dean/ I scratched my head when I heard Donald Trump was attending the funeral of His Holiness, Pope Francis. Donald Trump is not a Catholic and doesn’t regularly go to church. He cozies up to Evangelical Christians and sells Bibles. Most of us credit greed as his motivations. In essence, he is the antithesis of everything […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/30/the-man-wearing-the-blue-suit-at-pope-francis-funeral-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 5 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/23/the-answer-my-friend-is-blowing-in-the-wind-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/23/the-answer-my-friend-is-blowing-in-the-wind-by-j-e-dean/#respond Wed, 23 Apr 2025 12:36:52 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=183790 Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) disappointed me this week by telling constituents he supported Trump but wasn’t so sure on the tariffs.  I should not have been surprised, even a little.  McConnell, if nothing else is a party loyalist, someone I call a “congenital Republican.”  The term is not a compliment. While McConnell and close to […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/23/the-answer-my-friend-is-blowing-in-the-wind-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/16/trump-is-making-us-question-again-well-at-least-some-of-us-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/16/trump-is-making-us-question-again-well-at-least-some-of-us-by-j-e-dean/#comments Wed, 16 Apr 2025 12:30:43 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=183631 Less than three months into what will be a long four years, President Trump has changed America. Things that were abnormal, and in some cases unimaginable, are now a new normal. Things like accidentally sending an unjustly accused man to a harsh Venezuelan prison, telling America there is nothing to be done about returning the […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/16/trump-is-making-us-question-again-well-at-least-some-of-us-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 18 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/02/burn-a-tesla-dont-even-think-about-it-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/02/burn-a-tesla-dont-even-think-about-it-by-j-e-dean/#comments Wed, 02 Apr 2025 13:09:46 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/02/burn-a-tesla-dont-even-think-about-it-by-j-e-dean/ Until recently, I had assumed that there were Tesla dealerships on the Eastern Shore even though I had never seen one. There aren’t any. Tesla Cybertrucks are still rare on the Eastern Shore. Still, you are more likely to see a Tesla sedan than a Buick or Cadillac. Were people driving to Bethesda to buy […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/02/burn-a-tesla-dont-even-think-about-it-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 5 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/03/26/trump-2-0-a-house-of-cards-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/03/26/trump-2-0-a-house-of-cards-by-j-e-dean/#comments Wed, 26 Mar 2025 12:34:58 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/03/26/trump-2-0-a-house-of-cards-by-j-e-dean/ Can someone help me contact Taylor Sheridan? You know, the creator of Yellowstone, 1923, 1883 and other hit miniseries involving the Dutton Family. I want to pitch an idea to him. My series would be “Trump 2.0: A House of Cards,” not the most original title, but it fits. My brainstorm arrived after I had […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/03/26/trump-2-0-a-house-of-cards-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 4 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/03/19/worried-about-flooding-donald-trump-doesnt-have-your-back-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/03/19/worried-about-flooding-donald-trump-doesnt-have-your-back-by-j-e-dean/#comments Wed, 19 Mar 2025 12:17:49 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/03/19/worried-about-flooding-donald-trump-doesnt-have-your-back-by-j-e-dean/ April 26 is Oxford Day in Talbot County, a celebration of one of the most historic and scenic small towns in the United States. I will be there, but how many more Oxford Days will there be? Oxford is subject to flooding every year, and it is getting worse. If the Trump administration has its […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/03/19/worried-about-flooding-donald-trump-doesnt-have-your-back-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 1 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/03/12/strange-days-in-washington-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/03/12/strange-days-in-washington-by-j-e-dean/#comments Wed, 12 Mar 2025 12:30:28 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=182936 What is going on with Donald Trump? More importantly, why don’t more people see what I see? And most importantly, how long will the Trump tsunami continue before the America we knew is gone forever? I choke when Donald Trump pronounces that America has entered a “Golden Age.”  The term is ridiculous in the context […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/03/12/strange-days-in-washington-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 1 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/03/05/is-andy-harris-representing-maryland-or-donald-trump-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/03/05/is-andy-harris-representing-maryland-or-donald-trump-by-j-e-dean/#comments Wed, 05 Mar 2025 13:00:41 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/03/05/is-andy-harris-representing-maryland-or-donald-trump-by-j-e-dean/ First District voters who have supported Andy Harris as a “man of principle” better think again. Last week Harris had two decisions to make. First, would he support a budget resolution that increases the federal debt? Second, how would he react to President Trump and Vice President Vance bullying Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in the Oval […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/03/05/is-andy-harris-representing-maryland-or-donald-trump-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 19 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/02/26/why-mr-president-why-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/02/26/why-mr-president-why-by-j-e-dean/#comments Wed, 26 Feb 2025 13:30:22 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=182662 While many Trump supporters party on as the Trump/Musk team continues its assault on the federal government, its employees, and the beneficiaries of its programs, some of the rest of us have one question for the President:  Why?  We know the official answer: It is to end government waste, fraud, and abuse while reducing the […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/02/26/why-mr-president-why-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 10 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/02/19/how-to-destroy-american-higher-education-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/02/19/how-to-destroy-american-higher-education-by-j-e-dean/#respond Wed, 19 Feb 2025 13:38:13 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=182567 Change is in the air in Washington—and on the campuses of America’s colleges and universities. As President Trump implements his campaign to reduce the cost of government, eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, American higher education will change. Given that American higher education has been the envy of the world for more than a […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/02/19/how-to-destroy-american-higher-education-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/02/12/trump-2-0-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly-and-the-insane-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/02/12/trump-2-0-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly-and-the-insane-by-j-e-dean/#comments Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:06:02 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/02/12/trump-2-0-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly-and-the-insane-by-j-e-dean/ Scroll back to 1967 when The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly was released. The film was an instant classic. I watched it again recently and enjoyed it thoroughly. That experience led me to do something I’ve done dozens of times since 1967: I used the film’s title as the starting point to analyze something […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/02/12/trump-2-0-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly-and-the-insane-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 5 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/02/05/trumps-dangerous-tariff-game-is-making-the-world-a-more-dangerous-place-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/02/05/trumps-dangerous-tariff-game-is-making-the-world-a-more-dangerous-place-by-j-e-dean/#comments Wed, 05 Feb 2025 13:30:22 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=182272 The world held its breath the morning of February 3, 2025. Trump’s tariffs on Canadian, Mexican, and Chinese goods were scheduled to go into effect. Stock markets around the globe panicked. Initial losses were in the billions. Only when Mexico’s President Claudia Scheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced they were deploying more troops […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/02/05/trumps-dangerous-tariff-game-is-making-the-world-a-more-dangerous-place-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 7 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/01/29/in-praise-of-inspector-generals-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/01/29/in-praise-of-inspector-generals-by-j-e-dean/#comments Wed, 29 Jan 2025 13:30:35 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=182132 Last Friday, we learned that President Trump had fired the Inspectors General (IGs) at 17 federal agencies. The firings were not conducted in accord with the Inspector General Act. Congress was not given the required 30-day advance notice or an explanation for the firings. Congressional Democrats—and some Republicans—are now asking why Trump took this unexpected […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/01/29/in-praise-of-inspector-generals-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 1 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/01/22/president-biden-should-have-walked-out-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/01/22/president-biden-should-have-walked-out-by-j-e-dean/#comments Wed, 22 Jan 2025 13:30:05 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=181991 January 20, 2025 will go down in the history books, but not for the reasons Donald Trump thinks. His inauguration was a “shock and awe” affair, but the shock was at how much Trump’s narcissism has grown and how long his anger over his own mistakes has lasted. That anger has sent Trump on a […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/01/22/president-biden-should-have-walked-out-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 12 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/01/15/stop-calling-america-stupid-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/01/15/stop-calling-america-stupid-by-j-e-dean/#comments Wed, 15 Jan 2025 13:30:57 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=181866 I’m thinking about starting a new political movement–one with the goal of starting to bridge the political gap that often appears to be the forerunner of the next civil war. I call the movement “Stop Calling America Stupid” or SCAS. I am putting SCAS on grey baseball hats that I will sell online and hand […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/01/15/stop-calling-america-stupid-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 7 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/01/08/trump-asks-congress-to-abdicate-its-constitutional-responsibility-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/01/08/trump-asks-congress-to-abdicate-its-constitutional-responsibility-by-j-e-dean/#respond Wed, 08 Jan 2025 13:30:23 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=181734 After watching several reruns of video of the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol, I decided not to write about it this week.  President Biden’s editorial in Monday’s Washington Post said enough about that sad day and the importance of remembering it.  In part, the president wrote: “We must remember the wisdom of the […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/01/08/trump-asks-congress-to-abdicate-its-constitutional-responsibility-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/01/01/remembering-jimmy-carter-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/01/01/remembering-jimmy-carter-by-j-e-dean/#comments Wed, 01 Jan 2025 13:28:32 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/01/01/remembering-jimmy-carter-by-j-e-dean/ I will leave it to others to recount the many challenges of Jimmy Carter’s presidency. I recall some of them myself, most notably buying a car with an 18 percent auto loan. I also recall Carter’s “national malaise” speech, delivered by the president wearing a sweater in front of a lit White House fireplace. Carter […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/01/01/remembering-jimmy-carter-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 5 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/12/25/wishing-you-non-snarky-holidays-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/12/25/wishing-you-non-snarky-holidays-by-j-e-dean/#respond Wed, 25 Dec 2024 14:08:14 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/12/25/wishing-you-non-snarky-holidays-by-j-e-dean/ Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Joyous Kwanza. I hope I did not leave anyone out. I wish you safe and happy holidays, hopefully with friends and family who have not spent most of the last two days at the airport or stuck in snow waiting for a road to be cleared. […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/12/25/wishing-you-non-snarky-holidays-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/12/18/should-the-press-worry-about-trumps-threats-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/12/18/should-the-press-worry-about-trumps-threats-by-j-e-dean/#respond Wed, 18 Dec 2024 13:25:12 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=181472 Donald Trump enjoyed what may be his second biggest win of the year last Friday when ABC settled Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the network and its best-known anchor. The suit related to George Stephanopoulos saying Trump was found “liable for rape.”  ABC, through its foundation, agreed to contribute $15 million to the future Trump Presidential […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/12/18/should-the-press-worry-about-trumps-threats-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 0