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December 31, 2025

Cambridge Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Cambridge

00 Post to Chestertown Spy Point of View From and Fuller Spy Highlights

From and Fuller: The Trump 2026 Election Strategy and FIFA Peace Prize

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Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news.

This week, From and Fuller discuss President Trump’s first political speech of the 2026 election and his strategy for a highly competitive midterm Congressional race. Al and Craig also compare notes on the president being awarded the FIFA Peace Prize at the Kennedy Center a few days ago.

This podcast is approximately 16 minutes long.

Background

While the Spy’s public affairs mission has always been hyper-local, it has never limited us from covering national, or even international issues, that impact the communities we serve. With that in mind, we were delighted that Al From and Craig Fuller, both highly respected Washington insiders, have agreed to a new Spy video project called “The Analysis of From and Fuller” over the next year.

The Spy and our region are very lucky to have such an accomplished duo volunteer for this experiment. While one is a devoted Democrat and the other a lifetime Republican, both had long careers that sought out the middle ground of the American political spectrum.

Al From, the genius behind the Democratic Leadership Council’s moderate agenda which would eventually lead to the election of Bill Clinton, has never compromised from this middle-of-the-road philosophy. This did not go unnoticed in a party that was moving quickly to the left in the 1980s. Including progressive Howard Dean saying that From’s DLC was the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

From’s boss, Bill Clinton, had a different perspective. He said it would be hard to think of a single American citizen who, as a private citizen, has had a more positive impact on the progress of American life in the last 25 years than Al From.”

Al now lives in Annapolis and spends his semi-retirement as a board member of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (his alma mater) and authoring New Democrats and the Return to Power. He also is an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins’ Krieger School and recently agreed to serve on the Annapolis Spy’s Board of Visitors. He is the author of “New Democrats and the Return to Power.”

For Craig Fuller, his moderation in the Republican party was a rare phenomenon. With deep roots in California’s GOP culture of centralism, Fuller, starting with a long history with Ronald Reagan, leading to his appointment as Reagan’s cabinet secretary at the White House, and later as George Bush’s chief-of-staff and presidential campaign manager was known for his instincts to find the middle ground. Even more noted was his reputation of being a nice guy in Washington, a rare characteristic for a successful tenure in the White House.

Craig has called Easton his permanent home for the last eight years, where he now chairs the board of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and is a former board member of the Academy Art Museum and Benedictine.  He also serves on the Spy’s Board of Visitors and writes an e-newsletter available by clicking on DECADE SEVEN.

With their rich experience and long history of friendship, now joined by their love of the Chesapeake Bay, they have agreed through the magic of Zoom, to talk inside politics and policy with the Spy every Thursday.

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

Flying Dogs By Angela Rieck

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I headed south for the winter this week. The cold weather let me know that it was time. When I travel to Florida, I fly with two sweet little dogs. Small dogs are allowed to fly in the cabin, under the seat, but American Airlines has a very strict policy of a 20-pound weight maximum (including the crate). The dogs must remain in their carriers through the duration of the flight. Since our flight was delayed by several hours it was a lot to ask of these poor little guys.

Watching them and marveling at how well they behaved (okay one had to be medicated, but the other was flawless), I wondered how their cousins, the wolves, would have handled this.

Recent research has discovered that almost two-thirds of modern dog breeds have some wolf ancestry from breeding within last few thousand years. Wolves and dogs genetically split around 20,000 years ago. But 61% of all dogs contain enough wolf DNA to reveal that they have bred with wolves since the split. The obvious ones with greater wolf DNA are shepherds, sled dogs, hunting dogs, huskies, and malamutes. However, the chihuahua also contains some recent wolf DNA. Researchers found that 264 modern dog breeds have wolf ancestry from an average of 2,600 years ago. 

There are also some ancient breeds that broke from the family tree of dogs very early that do not have wolf DNA, some should be familiar to you. Probably the best known is the Basenji which has the most ancient lineage and is at the very base of the dog family tree. It is more related to “primitive” dogs like the Dingo and African Wild Dogs. Genetically distinct from other dogs, Basenjis diverged early from the wolf ancestor. The Basenji was a pack hunter and watchdog of native tribes in Africa. It’s thought that Egyptian Pharaohs owned Basenjis. 

The Pharaoh Hound is another ancient breed, and has been hardly altered in the last 5,000 years. With features similar to the dogs seen across Egyptian and Greek art, the Pharaoh Hound is a medium-sized breed with a long, lean body and a short coat that is colored tan or chestnut. Pharaoh Hounds were bred to hunt rabbits in North Africa.

The Xoloitzcuintli (pronounced shoh-loyts-kweent-lee), also known as the “Mexican hairless dog,” dates back to the time of the Aztecs (3500 years). The Xolo has made a bit of a comeback since the 1950s. 

Another ancient breed is the Saluki. The Saluki can be traced to early Egypt, where it was used to run down foxes, hares, and gazelles in the desert. Salukis are beautiful, graceful, and fast. They are known for endurance and strength, which allowed them to hunt in deep sand or rocky terrains. 

Greyhound-like dogs are depicted in hieroglyphs from Egyptian, Greek, and Roman times. The ancient greyhound breed became popular with the English. Known for their ability to run after and catch game at a very quick pace, Greyhounds sadly became racing dogs in America in the 1900s. Despite their racing credentials, greyhounds are calm and well behaved.

Many of the ancient breeds are known for being aloof, loyal, and sometimes difficult to train. But my little poodle and Maltese mixes clearly have no wolf DNA, nor do they have the characteristics of an ancient breed. My little guys are likely a modern breed, bred only to be cute, to snuggle, and demand lots of attention. Which is what they are getting now after their tiresome flight.

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.

Maryland Caucus with Foxwell and Mitchell: An Annapolis Future with a Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk

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Every Wednesday, but this week on Friday,  Maryland political analysts Len Foxwell and Clayton Mitchell discuss the politics and personalities of the state and region.

This week, Len and Clayton discuss the probable selection of Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk to become the state’s new Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates. 

This video is approximately eight minutes in length.

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

The Self-Destruction of Trump by J.E. Dean

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Donald Trump is his own worst enemy, far worse than the lunatics, communists, RINOs, and Democrats he believes are out to get him. The damage done to Trump’s legacy, history will tell us, was not the work of his enemies, but the product of the President himself.

The President was called a narcissist by those who knew him well before he ran for President and even before his fateful encounter with E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room. He did not just want to be in the press; he needed to be there. That need drove him to engage in things that often made him look ridiculous, crooked, or just plain stupid.

Consider him disguising his voice to give tips to reporters, usually in the hopes of prompting stories favorable to him. Many reporters were not fooled. Remember that scene in Home Alone 2, where Macaulay Culkin encounters Trump in the lobby of the Plaza hotel? The director did not want Trump in the movie. Trump required the cameo as a condition of filming in the hotel, which he owned at the time.

Some would describe these types of acts as buffoonery and harmless. But once Trump rose from several encounters with financial disaster in the real estate business and changed careers to entertainment, his weaknesses grew. Because his television show, The Apprentice, had a large audience (one that did not include this writer), he came to see himself as both famous and “great.”  And with that “greatness,” he came to see himself as a wise leader.

Trump was not a wise leader the first time he won the Presidency in a brutally nasty campaign that leveraged racism and misogyny to defeat the much-better qualified Hillary Clinton. He did not expect to win. He declined to create a traditional transition team and thus did not hit the ground running. He hit it with a large splat, making dozens of personnel and policy mistakes in four years best summed up as chaotic. Sometimes it seemed he was firing a Secretary of Defense or Chief of Staff on Twitter weekly.

Trump ended his four years in the White House with acts that would best be described as self-destructive were it not for Trump not being destroyed. Convinced that it was impossible for him to lose the election, he sought to retain power through lawsuits, lying, and violence. His effort failed, but even as he retreated to Mar-a-Lago to lick his wounds, he was unable to handle the truth.

Trump’s four years in the wilderness spawned an anger that drives him today. It also landed him in a world of stress that accelerated his aging while eroding his judgment, minimal to begin with. As a result, and thanks to a group of power-hungry right wingers who privately do not like or respect Trump, he found a team of oligarchs willing to fund him and use him as a vehicle to maximize the return on their investments. 

Trump’s new circle of political friends and advisors are different than those of his first administration. For the second time around, he found advisors who knew what keys to play on the piano to mesmerize conspiracy-believing white nationalists or who simply needed someone to sweep away the laws and regulations keeping them from enhancing their stacks of gold. 

Trump seems to have had two principal criteria for selecting his cabinet and senior officials—celebrity and loyalty. He was more interested in how appointees look, how often they are in the press, than in their experience, integrity, or intelligence. Committed a felony? No problem. Wanna be ambassador to France? You got it.

That brings us to Trump 10 and a half months into his second term. He is an old man with “cankles” who frequently and publicly falls asleep at meetings and who, allegedly, has lost control of his bowels and “stinks.”  But, more bizarrely, perhaps recognizing that he is unlikely to live forever, is anxious to create a legacy but knows that his words and actions will not be enough to save the perception that he was twice a miserably failing, dangerous President—a dark chapter in American history.

It is impossible to scroll through the news without reading about the ballroom, Trump finally getting a “Peace Prize,” this one conjured up by FIFA as a thank you for free advertising for the World Cup, and peace agreements that frequently include provisions that may stop conflicts but always seem to include terms to create business opportunities for Trump and his friends. 

Trump is working hard to erase January 6 from the history books, but the video of police being attacked with flag poles repurposed as spears and pepper spray will not be erased by pardoning the thugs he gathered in Washington to do his dirty work. Nor will prosecuting James Comey or attempting to destroy the legacy of his predecessor, “Sleepy” Joe Biden do the trick.

If the Epstein scandal, allegations of war crimes, increasing evidence of grift, and what appears to be outright criminality by Trump, his family, and his business associates, don’t destroy Trump’s legacy, don’t forget that the Trump show still has almost three and half more years to go.

We have not seen the worst of Trump or Trumpism yet. Our only hope is Democrats will win the House (or House and Senate) next year, or for a combination of Democrats and Republicans to finally stand up and tell Trump the show is over.

J.E. Dean writes on politics, government, goldendoodles, and other subjects. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean is an advocate for democracy, sanity, and the rule of law.

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

Let’s Hear it for the Dogs! By Maria Grant

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A few years ago, when I was out of town, my husband suffered a pseudo aneurysm which caused him to pass out on the floor. Our goldendoodle woke him up by licking him on the face. My husband called me, and I advised him to dial 911 immediately. After an ambulance ride to a local hospital, and then another ambulance ride to Georgetown hospital, and a required surgery, the situation was resolved. My husband credits our dog for saving his life. That dog seldom left his bedside during the two weeks of his recovery.

Last week, I read an article about a woman who was dying in her hospital bed. She asked if her dog could be allowed to stay on the bed with her. She wanted him to be sure to know that she was dying, and she wasn’t just disappearing and abandoning him. She said if he stayed there with her, he would understand.

On the local news, two nights ago, a house was fully engulfed in flames. A firefighter and a rescue dog entered the house. The dog found a baby at the back of the house whom the firefighter carried to safety. Unfortunately, the baby’s mother had already died before the rescue team arrived. 

Then the next day on the news there was a story about an older man who decided to go for a hike in the woods by himself. It got dark. He got super tired and fell asleep. A rescue team led by a rescue dog found him. An ambulance was called, and the man is now recovering from dehydration.

Search and rescue dogs save millions of lives each year. It is estimated that one military rescue dog can save as many as 150 lives during its career in a combat zone. In addition to search and rescue dogs, thousands of therapy dogs assist people with disabilities such as vision, hearing, PTSD, and more. And then there are therapy dogs that provide emotional support in hospitals, schools, nursing homes, and mental health facilities. 

Sometimes I wonder whether people really appreciate how smart dogs are. Research suggests that the average dog has an IQ of about 100, Dogs possess unique forms of intelligence that often surpass human abilities, such as an acute sense of smell. 

Average dogs can learn about 165 words and signals. They can understand simple arithmetic such as knowing when a treat is missing. Dogs are highly adept at reading human body language (much more so than humans) and can display a range of emotions, such as joy, fear, anger, jealousy, and empathy. They have great problem-solving skills and can solve puzzles, toy challenges, figure out how to open cabinets, and find alternative routes.

Dog breeds that rank high in intelligence include border collies, poodles, German shepherds, and golden retrievers.

I’ve always been intrigued by dogs that Presidents bring to the White House. LBJ had beagles. Jimmy Carter had a border collie. George Bush had an English springer spaniel. Bill Clinton had Buddy the Labrador retriever. George Bush has Barney and Miss Beazley, two Scottish terriers. Barack Obama had Bo and Sunny, two Portuguese water dogs, Joe Biden had Major and Champ, two German Shepherds. (Donald Trump is the only president in more than 100 years who has not had a dog while living in the White House.) 

President Harry S. Truman is credited with saying, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.” Dare I say, truer words were never spoken, especially in today’s toxic environment. 

During this holiday season, let’s give a shout out for all the love, guidance, and support dogs bring to our lives.

Maria Grant, formerly principal-in-charge of the federal human capital practice of an international consulting firm, now focuses on writing, reading, bicycling, music, and nature. 

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

Steppingstones By Jamie Kirkpatrick

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I was upstairs folding laundry when I heard a knock at the front door. It doesn’t take much to make me forget about folding laundry so I headed downstairs to see who was here. It was my friend Tom, owner of our local bookstore. He had a young man with him. Tom introduced us: “Jamie! This is Jacob. He’s just back from the Peace Corps. You two should talk!” and with a cheery wave of his hand, Tom was gone.

I invited Jacob in and made us tea. He was indeed just a few days back from two years of teaching school in a South African village and, like all of us who have returned home after serving in the Peace Corps, Jacob was wondering about what comes next. I understood. I remembered returning to America and asking myself “So, now what? Where do I go from here?”  

Reentry isn’t easy. In my case, I had been away for four years: two in a small village in the remote western mountains of Tunisia, followed by two more on the Peace Corps Staff in the capital city of Tunis. When I finally returned home, America seemed to have gotten along just fine without me; it hadn’t changed all that much. But I had changed. A lot.

The French have a word for the feeling of being untethered, even lost, in unfamiliar surroundings: dépaysé. All of a sudden, I felt like a stranger in a strange land. For a returning Peace Corps Volunteer, that dilemma is compounded because now you’re back home, but home doesn’t feel like it once did. Moreover, you’re confronted with the challenge of finding your way in a world that is vastly different from the one you’ve left behind. And then there are the existential questions and expectations, some self-imposed, some societal. What comes next?

I delayed answering those questions by going to graduate school. But when that was over, all those questions were still out there, demanding answers. I tried banking, but it didn’t take. So, on the assumption that I had enjoyed international work, I moved my young family to Washington and began looking for a job there… 

I have always admired people who have a plan and stick to it. They know exactly who they are and what they want and they never deviate from their plan; they just make it happen. One of my college roommates was like that: he always knew he wanted to be a doctor, but not just any doctor. He wanted to be a surgeon; not just any surgeon, but a hand surgeon; and not just a hand surgeon, but a doctor practicing in a teaching hospital, training other doctors in the art of hand surgery. And that’s exactly what he did with his life. Now, he is retired from a successful career, and there are many fine hand surgeons today who have my former roommate to thank for their own careers.

But I’m not like that. I had to discover my path, and so I began to cross the river of my life on steppingstones— a seemingly random path of people and professional opportunities that slowly but surely led me to a time and place I did not foresee and could never have scripted. It has been, to say the least, a miraculous journey, guided by unseen hands. For example, When I first arrived in Washington more than forty-five years ago, I was dépaysé in the extreme, I set about looking for work, and one day, after several dead-ends, I went to yet another job interview in which It became quickly apparent to me (and probably to the person interviewing me!) that I would be a fish out of water in that particular organization. I left the building feeling more confused than ever and—literally!— bumped into a man I hadn’t seen in several years. He had known me from my Peace Corps days, and when he asked me what I was doing, I told him my story. He listened then casually mentioned that he had just heard about a new organization that was putting together a series of educational programs including a film for public television and a major traveling art exhibition with the goal of enhancing American understanding of, and appreciation for, Islamic cultures at a time in our history when both were sadly lacking. He gave me the name of a person to contact and off he went, quickly swallowed up in the busy sidewalk crowd. I never saw him again.

The next day, I followed up on that lead and, as they say, the rest is history. That first stone led me to the next and the next, on and on and on, until all my steppingstones eventually brought me to this time and this place. Granted, some of those stones were slippery and, yes, I stumbled once or twice, but now, looking back in wonder, I have no doubt whatsoever that those steppingstones and those unseen hands brought me safely to this pleasant shore where I am blessed beyond measure.

I tried my best to articulate all this to young Jacob. I think he understood. Before we parted, I proposed he speak with a friend of mine whom I thought might be a steppingstone for him. We shook hands and I went back upstairs to finish folding the laundry. 

The next day, Jacob texted me to say he had made contact with my friend and had scheduled a meeting with her. I read his message and smiled: he was on his way. 

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.

Netflix Makes a Blockbuster Move for Warner Bros by Hugh Panero

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Last week, Netflix announced a blockbuster deal to purchase Warner Bros., including the film studio, the HBO MAX streaming service, and HBO, for $72 billion, to solidify its already dominant position in premium streaming with an impressive 300 million subscribers worldwide.

Since its inception, Netflix has built its enormous business organically rather than through acquisitions. This deal is their first foray into a big-time, public acquisition battle. It is why their aggressive offer was such a surprise. The Netflix deal is far from done.

The Netflix offer beat out bids from Comcast Universal and David Ellison, the ultimate nepo baby son of Oracle billionaire founder Larry Ellison (3rd richest man in the world). David Ellison’s media company, Skydance, recently acquired National Amusement and Paramount for $8 billion, and needs Warner Bros. content assets to compete with the big boys – Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and Disney. Otherwise, it is a weaker player with a lot of debt, and traditional assets like CBS Network, sports entertainment, UFC, a damaged Paramount Skydance studio, a bunch of dying cable TV channels (i.e., Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central), and other properties few want.

Netflix’s surprise bid has truly screwed up Ellison’s grand vision to become the newest media grand pooh-bah. The Ellisons have been kissing Trump’s ass for months to gain favor. His buttocks smooches include settling Trump’s 60 Minutes defamation lawsuit for $16 million, the firing of Stephen Colbert, and the controversial hiring of Bari Weiss to lead a more MAGA-friendly CBS News, and other assorted payoffs to disgustingly gain favor. Trump never lets a good grift opportunity pass him by, so get ready for more donations to Trump’s favorite projects.

I assume the Ellisons have reached out to Trump, urging him to get his Department of Justice (DOJ) to kill the Netflix deal. US Attorney General Pam Bondi is likely waiting for the President’s call and marching orders. Trump has several cards to play. He can direct Bondi to kill the deal, claim it is anti-competitive, and go to court to stop it and try to redirect it to Ellison. No doubt that an agreement with Ellison/Skydance has an easier regulatory path. However, Ellison may have overplayed his hand with his heavy-handed pressure campaign to get Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav to sell the company to him.

Media outlets have reported that Ellison has boasted that he is Trump’s preferred buyer and that he should even receive a discount because that relationship ensures the deal will close. Zazlav, his Board, and his media mogul mentor, John Malone (Warner Bros. Discovery Chair Emeritus), are not people who like being bullied and are focused on getting the best price.

Trump could also direct Bondi to extract bigger concessions from Netflix to secure the deal. For example, a more sticky commitment for WB and other Netflix movies to have a theatrical release. What about a Netflix commitment to freeze monthly streaming rates for a period of time? Trump can then claim that he is doing concrete things to keep media “affordable” for consumers while kidnapping a favorite Democrat theme. This is my idea and not something being discussed in the media.

If the DOJ cannot cut a deal with Netflix, it will tell Netflix that it intends to sue to stop the deal. Netflix will then have to choose between fighting it out in court or walking away from the deal. The Netflix deal reportedly also has a $5.8 billion breakup fee to keep Warner Bros. and Netflix from getting cold feet. This battle will get dirty with various players unleashing their lobbyists, lawyers, and PR firms on regulators, shareholders and the public.

Another factor is time. It could take up to a year to litigate this matter. I have lived this experience. Warner Bros. will be frozen for a year, limiting dealmaking and risking the loss of senior executives unless they are incentivized to stick around through the process. Netflix (or anyone else) must get a deal done before 2028, when Democrats might take over, and they will definitely kill the deal.

There are many legitimate reasons to challenge the Netflix deal on antitrust grounds. The deal is for the #1 US premium streaming service (Netflix) to acquire the #3 streaming service (HBO MAX) and its vast library of movie and TV content. It will also result in the elimination a major competitor. There are also far fewer people in the US and abroad, in favor of the deal as opposed to it, which includes: movie theater owners, the Hollywood creative community, unions, and anti-big tech politicians and regulators worldwide.

According to Forbes, Netflix will argue that its real digital video competitor for consumers’ streaming attention is YouTube, which, according to Nielsen, accounts for about 13% of all streaming compared to 8% for Netflix and 1.3% for HBO MAX, although YouTube does not stream premium movie content.

Any Warner Bros. sale will likely trigger manic media acquisition activity as the boards of directors for the other media titans absorb the ramifications of the shrinking media landscape. They may decide they also need to get bigger to compete, and the purchase window is closing. For example, is Disney/ABC now in play? A clear target for Apple and others.

On a practical basis, how will the Warner Bros. sale affect you based on who the buyer is?

Winner Netflix. Warner Bros. content will be absorbed into the Netflix platform. This includes the HBO MAX streaming service, which will eventually be shut down. Warner Bros. currently makes content for other services. For example, Warner Bros. TV is involved in popular Apple TV shows Ted Lasso and Shrinking. I assume these kinds of deals will end after their current contracts expire if Netflix prevails. Netflix will not acquire Warner Bros. cable properties (CNN, TNT, and HGTV). Before a Netflix deal closes, these properties will be spun off into a separate company, Discovery Global. I would not be surprised if they are sold off.

Winner Ellison/Skydance: Warner content will be absorbed into their Paramount+ streaming service. The name will likely change, since Warner Bros. and HBO are stronger brands than Paramount+, and the newly bulked-up streaming service name might need to reflect that. The cable properties will be absorbed and added to its existing portfolio of underperforming cable assets caused by cord-cutting. CNN would likely report to Bari Weiss, who runs CBS News operations, and undergo a painful purge and MAGAfication to appease Trump further. So long, Jake, Anderson, etc.

Winner Comcast Universal: You will see a similar dynamic. Warner Bros. content would be integrated into the Universal Peacock streaming brand, recently bolstered by a 5-year, $1 billion deal between NBC Universal and Taylor Sheridan, the red-hot creator of Yellowstone and Tulsa King, whom they recently poached from Paramount. Comcast also plans to spin off its struggling cable properties, especially liberal MSNow (formerly MSNBC), which Trump hates; the goal is to isolate and protect its valuable Trump-regulated core assets like NBC and its TV stations from potential Trump retaliation.

In all these scenarios, expect big layoffs and monthly streaming rates to rise a year after a deal closes.

UPDATE: This morning, David Ellison’s company launched an all-cash hostile tender offer for $30 per share for all of Warner Bros., above Netflix’s $27.75 share bid — Stay tuned!

Hugh Panero, a tech and media entrepreneur, was the founder and former CEO of XM Satellite Radio. He has worked with leading tech venture capital firms and was an adjunct media professor at George Washington University. He writes about Tech, Media, and other stuff for the Spy.

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

The Righting Life By Laura J. Oliver

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Confession time. As a creative writing instructor, I’m super selective about the examples I use to demonstrate craft. If I’m going to share an excerpt from another writer’s work, it can’t just be technically correct; it must make the group laugh out loud, or choke up, or sit in stunned silence while they regain their composure because the resonant ending has left them unable to speak. 

Okay, I’m describing me, but I hope I’m eliciting a similar reaction in my students. 

Which is why I was surprised a couple of weeks ago when, at the end of a story numerous workshops have found moving, one participant raised his hand and said, “I hate this story. It’s overwritten, ridiculous, and manipulative. I don’t know if this writer is a beginner or what, but it shows.”

Everyone else suddenly looked expressionless, like 30 small businesses had just closed. 

I have learned that in any group, there is likely to be a contrarian. Someone who begs to differ, who needs to disagree, just to disagree. It’s human nature. 

And I’m smiling at the one of you muttering, “No, it’s not.”

But I thought I would sound defensive if I mentioned that the writer of the sample piece had published 19 novels, 150 short stories, a multitude of them in The New Yorker, and had also won the Pen Faulkner award for Excellence in Literature. 

Twice. 

So, I asked more about the objector’s objections, and I could agree to a point. I’ve never read anything I wouldn’t have edited a little differently and said so, respectfully acquiescing to some of his criticisms. But the guy wouldn’t let it go, and I started to think, Okaaay, you are becoming a little hard to love, mister. Still, I wanted to listen more than to explain, and I recognize that “Because I said so” is an immature response in any context. 

But is it? 

I’m sharing this because everything I have learned about writing is true of life. 

Take vulnerability. In most workshops, you give everyone a copy of the story you have birthed with great effort, then listen in enforced silence as the group discusses it. The theory is you need to really absorb the criticism—not be distracted by defending the work.

It’s super fun, like being gagged and tied up while strangers abscond with your baby. 

But in a good workshop, your baby is nurtured by intelligent people who recognize her charms and offer insightful suggestions that improve her chances of survival. The instructor protects you from well-meaning participants who tend to point at you while they speak. In a great workshop, you learn that you can cut the whole first page and enter the story on fire. This kind of feedback makes you grateful you live in a democracy—groups are smart. 

But groups, like life, can also be full of overworked, tired people and one or two cranks, and the instructor may not keep people from addressing you directly, people to whom, by the rules of engagement, you are not allowed to respond. 

And in truly bad workshops, no one bothers to point out what is working in your story because they assume you already know all the good stuff, so they just get right down to pointing out all the places your story fails, like this is a moral obligation.  

Some of us have friends like this. Some of us may be friends like this. Writing and life. I keep telling you. Same-same. 

I have not tried this, but I have a theory: if you did nothing but read a story and praise what works, the writer would gradually improve through praise alone. And your kids might, and your spouse might—might get braver, take more chances, and, in feeling safe, be funnier, more insightful, and inspired. Impulsively hug you tight. Spontaneously reach for your hand in a parking lot.

My friend Margaret attended a writing retreat like this. The teacher’s instructions were simple: “Each day we’ll write stories from the heart, read them aloud, and tell each other what we love about them. No criticism and no suggestions allowed.” Margaret was a bit disappointed. With those limitations, she figured she’d just paid for a week’s change of scene, but that her writing would not improve. 

But she said later, “I was wrong about that. I learned I can write from the heart, hear good things about that effort, and be forever changed.” By nothing more than the reinforcement of the good! “I began to find my voice,” she continued. “They called me ‘a weaver,’ and they called me that again and again.” 

For some reason, I was deeply moved by this. Something about the word “weaver,” I think. About being seen over and over, which implies being witnessed by someone who stayed. 

I once had a dream in which I inexplicably and repeatedly heard the word “Rabbi”. I’m not Jewish, but I’ve learned to embrace what seems to come from nowhere. So, I explored the meaning, which in Hebrew is “teacher.” And I felt called somehow. Loved somehow. And moved by this as well. 

Years later, someone called me a healer, and it had the same effect. A stunned, “Really?” Followed by a sense of having been called by name.

Read me your story and I will tell you everything I love about it. Will you be changed?

My guess is yes. 

Writing and life. Same/same.

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

From & Fuller: Unpacking Trump’s Attacks on Alleged Venezuelan Drug Boats

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Every Thursday, The Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment. 

This week, From and Fuller discuss the Trump administration’s military strikes on vessels near Venezuela that Trump and senior officials claim are smuggling narcotics.

Kat Engst is guest-hosting this week while Dave Wheelan is on assignment.

This video podcast is approximately twenty-one minutes in length.

Background

While the Spy’s public affairs mission has always been hyper-local, it has never limited us from covering national, or even international issues, that impact the communities we serve. With that in mind, we were delighted that Al From and Craig Fuller, both highly respected Washington insiders, have agreed to a new Spy video project called “The Analysis of From and Fuller” over the next year.

The Spy and our region are very lucky to have such an accomplished duo volunteer for this experiment. While one is a devoted Democrat and the other a lifetime Republican, both had long careers that sought out the middle ground of the American political spectrum.

Al From, the genius behind the Democratic Leadership Council’s moderate agenda which would eventually lead to the election of Bill Clinton, has never compromised from this middle-of-the-road philosophy. This did not go unnoticed in a party that was moving quickly to the left in the 1980s. Including progressive Howard Dean saying that From’s DLC was the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

From’s boss, Bill Clinton, had a different perspective. He said it would be hard to think of a single American citizen who, as a private citizen, has had a more positive impact on the progress of American life in the last 25 years than Al From.”

Al now lives in Annapolis and spends his semi-retirement as a board member of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (his alma mater) and authoring New Democrats and the Return to Power. He also is an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins’ Krieger School and recently agreed to serve on the Annapolis Spy’s Board of Visitors. He is the author of “New Democrats and the Return to Power.”

For Craig Fuller, his moderation in the Republican party was a rare phenomenon. With deep roots in California’s GOP culture of centralism, Fuller, starting with a long history with Ronald Reagan, leading to his appointment as Reagan’s cabinet secretary at the White House, and later as George Bush’s chief-of-staff and presidential campaign manager was known for his instincts to find the middle ground. Even more noted was his reputation of being a nice guy in Washington, a rare characteristic for a successful tenure in the White House.

Craig has called Easton his permanent home for the last eight years, where he now chairs the board of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and is a former board member of the Academy Art Museum and Benedictine. He also serves on the Spy’s Board of Visitors and writes an e-newsletter available by clicking on DECADE SEVEN.

With their rich experience and long history of friendship, now joined by their love of the Chesapeake Bay, they have agreed through the magic of Zoom, to talk inside politics and policy with the Spy every Thursday.

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

America Divided By Angela Rieck

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I watched the Ken Burns series, The American Revolution. It is his usual outstanding and comprehensive documentary film. The American Revolution is 12 hours long (six 2-hour segments) and provides us with an intimate view of Revolutionary times. 

It is not an understatement to state that this was one of the most important revolutions in history. America’s Democracy has been successful for almost 250 years and spawned revolutions throughout the world. The Declaration of Independence often served as the framework.

Most of us think of the Revolution as a time when Americans united to create the great experiment, Democracy, home rule by the people. We were taught that Americans rose up en-masse to create a government that allowed for independence, equal representation, and religious freedom for all. But the documentary makes clear that the American Revolution was actually a civil war. Americans who wanted to remain under British rule (called Tories) fought against those who wanted self-government (Patriots). Other Americans excluded from the democracy fought against the Patriots.

This was freedom for white men only, with a preference for educated property owners. The American Revolution excluded enslaved people, native Americans, and women, thereby encouraging indigenous and enslaved people to fight with the British. There were columns of soldiers with enslaved people, native Americans, and Tories that battled the Patriots.

In the Dunmore Act in 1775, enslaved men were offered freedom if they fought for the crown. Understandably, most of the enslaved population who fought in the Revolutionary War battled on the British side.

Most Native Americans, seeing how Patriots were usurping their land, sided with the British, who guaranteed their lands outside of the current colonies.

Women were never even considered, despite Abigail Adams’ pleas. They courageously followed their husbands in the war. Women tended to the wounded, buried the dead, cooked the meals, cared for the children, and in some instances, actually participated in the fighting.

It took centuries to include those who were excluded in our Democracy. The repercussions to indigenous people, women, and enslaved people are felt today.

But the point remains the same, we talk about how fractious and dangerous America is now (in fact, one Trump supporter has a sign that reads “All Hail King Trump”). It is important to remember that America has often been divided and fractious. It is the nature of a Democracy that gives representation to all, regardless of property or education. But, when speaking up and taking a stand, the country has usually pointed to independence, freedom, separation of church and state, and government by the majority.

It keeps me hopeful.

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.