Remarkable! A candidate for the Talbot County Council actually introduced herself with a concrete statement about impending development plans.

Campaigns are mostly filled with clever (or not so clever) lines that call to mind script writers for Valentine Day cards. Without, I repeat without, statistical research I would guess that “integrity” is the word most often directly or indirectly used to sum up the candidate’s profile. Close seconds might be “represent” (we after-all live in a democracy) and turning to a phrase, “work hard”. Okay the script writers are not so clever.

So, when I read Lynn Mielke’s letter to the Spy editor I was, well, surprised. Ms. Mielke laid out her thoughts about residential and commercial development along the Oxford corridor in plain-spoken English, here is an example: 

“Each of the aforementioned developers, like Hansel and Gretel, spread some bread crumbs, like promising walking trails for the public, peddling Agri-tourism, or donating community parks to the Town of Easton, in order to sell their monstrous development projects to our local governments. The cost of the infrastructure for these developments, which Talbot County taxpayers will have to pay for to support these projects: roads (will a two lane Oxford Road really handle the real vehicular traffic which will ensue? And the inevitable traffic congestion?), schools (Easton schools are at capacity – where will children living at Poplar Hill be able to attend school?), and health care (which is also at capacity), are not addressed. It is already established that “Impact Fees” do not cover such costs.” 

I don’t live along the Oxford corridor nor, looking back, along the Trappe one, but I am very familiar with bread crumbs (especially when toasted). I could, of course, repeat Ms. Mielke’s detailed point-of-view, but better that you read directly from her letter.

Mentioning the Trappe corridor and specifically the environmental debacle at The Preserve at Wye Mills, let me elaborate from an earlier column:

“If I were a Councilman I would want, as part of my orientation, to know why the Preserve became a case study of poor decisions followed by woeful oversight. I would ask the full time professionals what we must do to make sure environmental standards are set, compliance monitored and timely actions taken. I would look at staffing past, present and future. Do the Departments of Public Works and Environmental Health have the resources to do the job?”

I am not anti-development, but I have seen nature too often subordinated and glitter often substituted for analysis. I hope the County Council that takes its oath in January of next year is glitter-proof.

I do not know Lynn Mielke, but her straight-forward and illustrative characterization of the Oxford Corridor have certainly won my admiration and vote on November 8th.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

 

“Dead End”. The sign is sometimes intriguing. To my wife’s frustration I will drive down a dead-end road to see, well naturally, “why didn’t the road continue”? While I am not a big fan of backing out, newer technology has reduced my frustration. And, not infrequently, a dead-end road will lead to a good view.

But, in politics? Maryland has been led by a Republican governor for the last, almost eight years. Governor Larry Hogan in his first inaugural address, “reminded citizens of Maryland’s history as a state of middle temperament and pledged to advance the best ideas, regardless of which side of the political aisle they come from.” He delivered as a leader while reducing Marylanders taxes by billions of dollars. 

In the recent primary elections to choose his successor, Democrat operatives recognized the potential of Hogan’s popularity leading to a Republican successor. Organizationally, Democrats spent millions of dollars promoting Dan Cox to be the Republican nominee. Cox, a Donald J. Trump endorsed candidate with a bended knee stature, is an election denier which is to say he disputes President Biden’s election.

Trump, of course, had to be momentarily pleased. I say momentarily because Trump is not a builder. He beat Governor Hogan’s preferred candidate and now he moves on. His interest in Maryland is derivative. Does this or that tactic help me?

Recall in the aftermath of losing Georgia in the presidential election Trump said Republicans should stay home in the runoff elections for the US Senate because they couldn’t trust elections. Many did and two Democrats were elected. Disagree with Trump and you become part of his RINO hunt.

The Democrats who promoted Cox are no better. Manipulating the vote under false pretenses breeds cynicism and we are already choking on it. 

But, let me take a few seconds of your time with the Republican nominee Dan Cox and the third branch of our government. Cox has said that the 2020 elections were corrupted. He has called former Vice-President Mike Pence “a traitor”. In essence, Cox is doing everything he can to undermine our constitutional republic by slandering our Courts. Keep in mind that after the 2020 Presidential election the Trump allies at his behest filed and lost at least 63 lawsuits (Wikipedia).

Cox portrays himself a conservative. But conservatives do not take a sledgehammer to the foundation of our Republic. Cox says we cannot rely on elections and the courts. I cannot imagine a less conservative position.

I began with dead-ends. History and polling suggest Republicans will do well in November’s midterm elections. Often midterm elections turn against the Party in power, as it must bear the burden of voter’s frustrations. This year Republicans have an additional advantage; President Joe Biden is not popular. 

But in Maryland, Cox’s chances have been neutered by his fealty to Trump.  And, the likelihood of a dead-end road was promoted by campaign operatives who introduced Cox to appeal to the Republican’s grievance caucus while horrifying Independents who are essential to Republican victories in Maryland. Republicans minus Independents in Maryland is a dead-end without a good view.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

Son, he said, “nothing good happens after 11:00 PM.” Pithy and exacting and justifying, as that was my curfew.

He had a range of similar expressions aimed at keeping me in my teen hood from impregnating or drinking or using drugs. Fortunately for Dad the culture of our town mainly supported his insistence. Sure, drinking and promiscuity were around, but the teen culture didn’t demand it.

Guns, well I had a shotgun and my Dad took me hunting several times. Dad had served in the Army during WWII as had most of his peers. Guns to them were not playthings nor status symbols. They were the tools of war. Indeed, my Dad did not pursue status symbols. He took one step at a time. Status to him was earned and certainly not a self-promoted achievement.He was a good father, one of the best. And he married well—Mom was special.

But then, as I reflect, what does best mean? How is it defined? Does the definition endure?

I am a father of daughters. There were challenges, but I can’t imagine being the father of teenage sons in a culture that glorifies many of the things my Dad warned me against. And today there are way more sons than real fathers.

One of my natural inclinations is to follow news and newsmakers. One of the realities is how poor policy prescriptions work when the culture fights them. Where circumstances conspire against education, schools do not work well. If having a gun is cool, then legal prohibitions (weak as they are) are of limited efficacy. And in a highly sexualized culture, hormones do not wait but seek release. It is just the way it is.

Cultural formation is one of those damnable subjects. Where does it start? How is it changed? I sometimes simply say, “listen to the music”; especially the lyrics. Or watch the videos. Or play the games that are popular with kids. Or take in the social media vibe to become better acquainted with the peer pressure of the day.

And when considering cultural pressure, consider the law. In a country that guarantees free speech and easy access to guns there is little of any consequence that can be done to mute or circumvent the prevailing culture. Our culture is too often victimized by people who simply don’t care.

Which brings me to food and obesity. We live at a time when food is pleasure. We eat what is pleasing and beyond taste, advertising shapes our view. A hamburger patty is okay—layer it with cheese and bacon and call it a whopper and it becomes irresistible. And caloric.

People who write about food and economics note that back in the day calories were more expensive and an overwhelming majority worked in jobs requiring physical labor. Now calories are cheaper and most work behind a screen of some sort. And obesity and its consequences are a huge personal and public health risk.

So let me wrap up. There are not strong countervailing forces that push back—that save us from predatory influences. And the likelihood of laws sufficiently compensating for cultural imperatives is remote.

Thank you Dad and Mom because you set the standards. If standards are not clearly set and consistently followed in family settings, then our children are afloat on a toxic sea. We need schools and churches and youth organizations to have their back, but parenting is ground zero.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

 

It is not clear to me what a resident of Talbot County should expect. But it is clear to me what we should not anticipate.

Talbot County, to quote its website has “the most shoreline of any county in the United States.” Six hundred miles, it is said. The shoreline, our boundary with water-borne grandeur, is the reason most of us are here dating all the way back to the beginning.

We see the Bay through our own interests. Watermen hope the Bay and its tributaries are a plentiful estuary for fishing. International tradesmen recognize it as transportation corridor. But most of us think of it as a recreational mecca. Generations have lived plentiful lives alongside this bounty. 

Most of us, no all of us, are aware of the pressure we are putting on our waterways. The pressure shows up in the price of crabs as it skyrockets because of limited supply. Nature’s filters, the oysters, are mostly not around to do the job nature provided because of pollution. We plan a swim and picnic and get warned off due to poor water quality.

And then headlines capture our attention. The Preserve at Wye Mills (Preserve) is illustrative. Turning theory into practice is often perilous and especially so when citizen government deals with complicated issues, dueling experts and a lot of capital. 

At the Preserve the developer wanted to get a permit to build 67 homes on 480 acres. The waste from the homes was to be treated, stored in a holding pond and then sprayed on the fields when there had been an absence of rain. It didn’t work.

The time-line of failure is especially disappointing and instructive. The first homes were built beginning in 2003 and the initial noncompliance began three years later. Essentially the treatment facility and I quote from public documents: “has been unable to comply with ….[the] discharge permit issued by the Maryland department of the Environment (MDE) since 2006 or 2007.” In short, nitrogen and phosphorus levels that were discharged into Mill Creek flowing into the Wye River were not in compliance for years. 

Recently Talbot County had to take over the Preserve’s Shared Sanitary Facility from its owners. The takeover agreement signed by the owners and county officials noted 15 years of non-compliance!

“Tip of the iceberg” has been a useful metaphor and the slow-motion unraveling of environmental stewardship at the Preserve is instructive. What about the rest of the iceberg?

We are now face-to-face with a gigantic project, Lakeside at Trappe. It has been controversial. Litigation to stop it is underway.

The initial discharges from the first 120 homes will not have to comply with exacting standards. Perhaps there is an arguable case for some standard’s delay, but looking at the history of the Preserve at Wye one might say, “Why?”

Environmental rules without compliance oversight are superficial. To recall a famous line from President Ronald Reagan, “trust but verify”.  The public might well ask is this another development that the County at considerable cost will have to take over down the road?

In two weeks, we will begin voting to select persons to serve on the Talbot County Council beginning in January 2023. The general election will be this November. The members of the Council have an expansive authority over our County. When it comes to environmental leadership they must begin to lead.

If I were a Councilman I would want, as part of my orientation, to know why the Preserve became a case study of poor decisions followed by woeful oversight. I would ask the fulltime professionals what we must do to make sure environmental standards are set, compliance monitored and timely actions taken.

I would look at staffing past, present and future. Do the Departments of Public Works and Environmental Health have the resources to do the job? 

Finally, I would look at the relationship between the County and Rauch Engineering. Rauch represents both developers and local agencies that have environmental responsibilities. This fact makes it doubly important that Town Councils have adequate staff to assure independence and avoid conflicts of interest that compromise decision making. I repeat, when citizen government deals with complicated issues, dueling experts and a lot of capital it must have the resources to find the public interest. 

In short, we have an iconic natural asset and must make sure that our representative government is up to the task of protecting it. We should not anticipate less.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

 

Modern weaponry and political rhetoric have a lot in common.

Several years ago, I was shooting sporting clays with a much younger man, an Afghan war veteran. He had been trained on automatic or semi-automatic military weapons. My training (mostly by experience) was shooting one shotgun shell at a time. My aim had to be more exact; he could spray the zone of the target.

Now don’t get me wrong. First, this is not a column about ballistics. Yet, most of us are familiar with stories about rapid fire technology and adrenalin—unfortunately that is where many of us are in politics. 

The Supreme Court decision in Roe v Wade had nationalized abortion policy and its reversal triggered expected reactions. Indeed, the leak of a draft some weeks before resulted in demonstrations at the homes of Justices of the United States Supreme Court and apparently, a botched attempt to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh. 

Much of the news after the decision could have been written after a hard fought and won legislative battle. It had a certain “sharks and skins” dynamic. It was about outcomes; constitutional arguments be damned. Justices that voted to overturn Roe were vilified. Justice Clarence Thomas came in for especially harsh treatment. 

Interestingly, Justice Sonia Sotomayor who voted in the minority had recently spoke of her relationship with Justice Thomas. She noted that the two share a “common understanding about people and kindness.” She continued: “That’s why I can be friends with him and still continue our daily battle over our differences of opinions in cases, You really can’t begin to understand an adversary unless you step away from looking at their views as motivated in bad faith.” 

Perhaps it is easier for someone with a law background to be more detached. I get that. But, for all those who want to shape abortion policies, state capitals are the new venues. Unless there is a dramatic shift in national politics it is unlikely that abortion policy will be nationalized any time soon.

Few public policy issues are more consequential than abortion policy. Yet the least adaptable institution of government took the policy over fifty years ago. In the intervening years a number of state legislatures yelled at the Supreme Court in the form of restrictive legislation. Much of this legislation was more about politics than dealing with life and death issues.

But now challenging the Supreme Court on abortion policy is past. State legislatures are the authority and must inform themselves on the scientific and societal complexities deeply embedded in the right to choose life or death. This is not a light responsibility; it is one that forces human beings to be at their best.

There are fifty states and there will be fifty answers. Many of the answers will be disconcerting to those with insistence principles. Yet we should never forget America’s history and heterogeneity. While many things unite us, we know that our many layered demography assures sharp differences on some issues. We should never forget that we are at our best when we find it possible to disagree agreeably. 

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

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Five years out of law school I went to work for the newly elected Missouri Attorney General. He was distinctive. He had two graduate degrees from Yale; one in law and the other in divinity. He baptized and married our youngest daughter, Marcia. His name: John C. Danforth or Jack to friends or St. Jack to his critics.

My appreciation for that beginning has been underscored by today’s political mess and I am talking about more than former President Donald Trump’s actions preceding and following the January 6th attack on Democracy. 

Words and phrases about the politics of kingdoms and tribes were first written on tablets; later printing technology and democracy widened the field. Now, writing a book about humble beginnings and self-catapulting success accompanies all national ambitions. 

My life, as told by the political aspirant, introduces the ambitious to careful editing and ultimately to a pattern of robotic answers when questioned. Spinmeisters abound. Never in a democracy has candor been in such short supply. Let’s see, “should I support a candidate who won’t really tell me what he is thinking?”

____________

Senator John McCain had been raised by an Admiral, told what to do by the Naval hierarchy at Annapolis and later by his captors in North Vietnam and still later by his political handlers. In part Senator McCain who was the Republican nominee for President in 2008 remained interesting because he didn’t take instruction. John McCain unplugged was a moral man because he meant what he said and was prepared to be judged by both his words and actions. He refused to hide.

And while I am on “unplugged” it is easy to imagine hundreds of intensely argued moments in the political life of Donald J. Trump. I am sure he must bristle at instruction, convinced he knows best. Yet, his originality in politics served him well, until it didn’t. 

One of my later in life political lessons occurred in the aftermath of Trump calling McCain a loser. I was certain his characterization was a fatal error. What I failed to understand was the lure of Trump Unplugged. 

Politicians and their enablers have lowered the standards; they are mostly scripted, although Hollywood doesn’t come calling. Years ago, I was on the set of the TV comedy Cheers. During a break in the filming Ted Danson quipped: “you people in Washington are just like us, we are all actors.” Well maybe, but the Washington version of acting is a façade to cover evasion and avoidance. Actors are a stories characters while most politicians are the real-life characters in what is often a bad script. 

Morality in politics? We were given a vivid standard by a Republican Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, Rusty Bowers. He made a notation in his diary after Trump and Rudy Giuliani teamed up to declare there was fraud in the Arizona election that Trump lost and insisted that he should refuse to certify the results. Rusty Bowers wrote:

In a Democracy Bowers’ words and actions writ large are all the protection we have. We get the morality we deserve. Perhaps there was a time when standards of morality were set at the top. They certainly were when I worked for Attorney General Danforth. More often today they are set at the bottom—the foundation. Politicians are free to say what they want; we should pay attention to what they do. If we can’t get it right, corruption will be our legacy.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

 

Autocrats frequently serve up lies—after all lying can be a useful tactic. Once in the seat of power they can get away with it because they control the levers of government—most importantly the media, national police and military. And importantly they use those levers to either entice or threaten a large segment of the population. Fealty is what they want.

America doesn’t work that way and among other foreign enemies we do not like an assortment of autocrats starting with Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un of North Korea, Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela and certainly the Ayatollahs of Iran.

But the January 6th Committee’s initial report demonstrates a democratic soft spot. Primarily, that Presidential power fused with a hardcore base is a very effective weapon. The base allows itself to be used as a high value political chip in multi-candidate primaries.

The reality of politics today is at best disheartening. Peggy Noonan, writing in the Wall Street Journal, used city politics to describe the base on the Left: “Progressive politicians have been around long enough running cities that some distinguishing characteristics can be noted. One is they don’t listen to anybody. To stop them you have to fire them. They’re not like normal politicians who have some give, who tack this way and that. Progressive politicians have no doubt, no self-correcting mechanism.” My take: they tend to be all theory and no practice.

On the Right climate change is just unwelcome noise and gun deaths are secondary to an 18th Century constitutional provision about forming a militia to fight foreign enemies. And both sides pay little attention to balancing budgets.

But let me come back to the January 6th Committee report. I will agree with Republicans that the Committee should be more bi-partisan. But since the Minority Leader in the House is subservient to Trump, not the Constitution, it is hard to anticipate a truly investigative approach with Kevin McCarthy’s designees. And certainly, the runup to the January 6th assault on the Capitol demands investigation. This, to me, is not a partisan imperative, it is a truth imperative.

As I have noted before, I have friends across the political spectrum. On the Left there is a view that the Republican Party should be way off in a ditch given that many continue to support Trump. Voters in the Center of the political spectrum move back and forth between Parties based on outcomes, not ideology. Roaring inflation, well let’s vote for the other Party. As long as we have a two-Party system that is the way it will work. Plus, there are characteristics of President Biden’s leadership that a majority of the public does not like—note the polls.

The initial January 6 Committee report was chilling. I didn’t learn a lot, but the work of its investigative staff and interview excerpts of Trump’s family and Attorney General opened a wider lens. What I found particularly problematic was Trump’s assumptions. I found myself more than once wondering what world he had been occupying for four years and what he had learned.

America’s strength is in its Constitution. The Constitution is clear: concentrated power that could lead to autocracy must be avoided. Yet Trump took on the Founder’s distribution of powers with a rag-tag army of several hundred and supporters who got caught up in mob psychology. I guess, since on the 6th  he was the Commander-in-Chief, he assumed this outfit could defeat the Capitol police since he did not plan to activate either the National Guard or the active military. Then what?

And he must have assumed notwithstanding his Vice-President Mike Pence’s pledge to do his Constitutional duty that he could bully him into cancelling the election results. 

I could go on, but these two Grand Canyon leaps of faith reveal a President emotionally and operationally unhinged. Biden is criticized for showing cognitive decline; Trump showed cognitive collapse.

The next two years will continue to be hyper-partisan. Hopefully 2024 will produce a President who is a real leader and has majority support. But the one thing I am sure of, the 2024 election will move beyond Biden and Trump. 

Finally, a shout out to the courageous Republican Representative Liz Cheney. She put her personal safety and career on the line. I close with her words about Republican colleagues in the Congress whose subservience is to Trump and not the Constitution: “Tonight, I say this to our Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible: there will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.”

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

 

Many great political thinkers through the centuries in various cultures have recognized that if man is to really understand his personal relationship to others he must have an allegiance beyond ego. We are all born with ego; some of us control it and others don’t, depending on our priorities, values, and commitments. I do not believe that this nation or any other can sever its roots from what I call “things of the spirit” and remain strong.

          – Mark O. Hatfield, Former Republican Governor and U.S. Senator, Oregon.

Mark Hatfield’s prominence was two generations ago, but several days ago I reflected back as I read this exchange:

Kristen Soltis Anderson:

“Americans are less likely to have a lot of close friends these days. And their friend groups are likely to be made up of mostly those who agree with them on politics.”

David French: “This is one of the most fundamental and important challenges of our time. There are a lot of cultural wounds that deep friendship can heal.”

Anderson is a pollster and commentator and French, an Iraq war veteran, Senior editor of The Dispatch.

In 2022 we are a legalistic society. Polls are conducted to gauge our attitudes and intentions about people whose principal job is to make laws. So here we are once again debating about which gun laws are needed to reduce mass shootings. While I understand the necessity of what we are doing, I am pessimistic. We should be more alarmed by the culture and less expectant about the efficacy of laws and associated bureaucracies.

In my youth I now realize that I was brainwashed. “Under God” was a part of my almost daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. And there was a Boy Scout pledge. Plus, on most Sundays I started the day going to Sunday School until, if I recall, sometime in my teens. This was a national, not regional, pattern. The core message: strive to lead a virtuous life.

Virtues today are often defined by grievance—you do not respect me, we need to use the law to make sure you do. In a more spiritual culture grievances would be many fewer. The spiritual dimension would caution the ego. When the ego is unmoored watch out.

Today, society’s pulse is often measured by polls. Do you favor the President? Which political party are you most likely to support? Which candidate? Which position on this or that policy? And, on and on.

I wonder how the public would respond to a poll on spiritual attitudes. Would taking our spiritual pulse remind us of its importance? Could we sweep in houses of worship in such a way that persons of the cloth might sense a deeper calling?

So here are some questions. Do you encounter a force in your life that you would define as spiritual? If so, what effect, if any, does it have in your relationships? Actions?

Perhaps trying to identify cause and effect the pollster might probe further. Do you do anything to nurture your spiritual side? What has the most influence? Do you make use of what is called social media to connect spiritually? Is a house of worship important in your spiritual life?

Now this line of questioning is going to make the naysayers very uncomfortable. Those who only believe in the material, what you can feel and touch or prove scientifically, well they are not going to like the suggestion that there is an important dimension they can’t see under a microscope.

Most of us grew up when standing and singing The Star-Spangled Banner was not questioned. Most of us grew up when those responding to a spiritual calling and wearing a clerical collar were not suspect. Indeed, the breaking of vows has assaulted the spiritual. Preachers becoming politicians in the pulpit or sexual predators in their lives have done immeasurable harm to the spiritual. When those who should be examples turn out to be the opposite, faith is assaulted. Ego unmoored.

It is also crucial that we understand the many faces of spiritual influence. In the United States we are more likely to be in touch with the insistence in Judaism and Christianity, but “love thy neighbor” is universal. Take a look at Hinduism or Islam or Buddhism or others.

And we should also understand that “hate” and its animation is not a local but is a global problem. This is an excerpt from the Toronto Star on hate in Canada: “A growing list of convicted or accused killers have been steeped in an online ecosystem of hate that is transcending national borders, eluding law enforcement and inciting a brand of terrorism experts say is spreading and mutating.”

Regardless of the existence or not of the spiritual, we should not kid ourselves into thinking that there is some mix of laws that will rescue our society from violent death. We will try to find the mix; and should. But if we really want to make long-lasting progress, we should work on the foundation of humanity—a true counter-revolution.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

 

 

The best theater captures our imagination, taking us to a different place. I can imagine 1608 on the Chesapeake Bay, our stage, because Captain John Smith wrote about it: “Heaven and earth never agreed better to frame a place for man’s habitations.” So, let’s take a quick look at how we are doing on our stage. The Chesapeake Bay is water, so let’s start there.

ShoreRivers measures water quality and issues reports. The report, as of May 26, 2022, is encouraging. Outside the Choptank River there was only one failing grade and that was Worton Creek on the Sassafras River. Essentially the report says it is safe to swim at 31 locations and only unsafe at eight. Seven of the eight are on the Choptank including Trappe Landing and Sail Winds Park, a stone’s throw from Lakeside, the controversial Trappe land development.

Anybody who has been following the public hearings and procedural steps on Lakeside’s intended development of 2,500 homes, which includes a commercial center, is familiar with waste from La Trappe Creek polluting the Choptank. Swimmers, “stay out”. But what about fishing? I have talked to more than one Waterman who has cursed the decline in water quality and its attack on keystone species.

What is particularly cynical is the development of land in water adjacent habitat without proper environmental safeguards. This is not a development on the plains of Western Kansas. The message: “come and live on the Chesapeake Bay but don’t worry about what we do to it.”

Now, stepping back, let me be clear about my own perspective. Additional housing is a good thing for people who live and work in Talbot and surrounding Counties. Goodness knows housing prices are high, reflecting supply limitations.

But a housing development that assaults the character of our County and is misaligned with the highest standards of treated waste we ask the Bay to absorb is a bridge too far. And we should keep in mind that approximately $15 billion has been spent in cleaning up the Bay. Shouldn’t land development projects have to proceed without reversing what our tax dollars and contributions have accomplished?

I write hoping, more than expecting. A glimmer of hope follows a lawsuit filed several days ago by citizens of Talbot County. The lawsuit raises a simple question. Does the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) have the authority to ignore the Talbot County Planning and Zoning Commission? In a sense, can it allow discharge permits for homes at Lakeside to an inferior treatment plant in Trappe?  The law, most simply interpreted, gives the Talbot County Planning and Zoning Commission the right to set the qualifications in its comprehensive plan for such permits.

The Commission on November 3, 2021 said the discharge permit should not be granted. Then on a 3 to 2 vote the Talbot County Council turned on its Commissioners, failing to affirm its decision as did the MDE. What is going on?

Now, to state the glaringly obvious, I am not the first person to write on this subject. Nor do I walk in the shoes of the Plaintiffs, many of whom live in Trappe or close by. But what I do know as a voter in Talbot County, there is not a chance I would vote for anybody who makes the health of the Bay and its tributaries secondary to land development. Harmony between land use and the Bay is essential.

I believe there is a way forward regardless of what the Courts do. But I am not optimistic. The Talbot County Council is led by President Chuck Callahan. He should have worked harder to find solutions that brought all the interested parties to a resolution that could be submitted for approval by the Planning Commission and the County Council. Resolution of difficult issues often take weeks or months and many meetings. Leadership can be a burden, but President Callahan you asked for the job.

Lakeside news will continue to happen; lawsuits are the offspring of disharmony which is the source of most news. It would be nice to get some hopeful reports—ones recognizing the importance of the essential element, water.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

Thoughts of childhood took me back. I walked to school; about five blocks. It was called Bailey Elementary School. Mom and Dad said goodbye as I started out without fearing it would be the last time. My greatest fear: I wouldn’t measure up as we played soccer during recess.

Marty and I, as parents, had similar experiences as did our daughters, I think. While it is impossible to measure an absence of fear on a quantitative scale; well, it was blissful.

So, what has changed? Just about everything. Society is coarser. Measuring up, in a world of “social media” is, for some, terrorizing. And it just takes a few turning an interior terror into an exterior one to change everything.

Guns? I remember my Dad deputizing me, after a gift of a Red Ryder B-B gun. His charge; keep the squirrels out of our pecan tree. Talk about an existential challenge.

So here we are a century turn later enjoying medical miracles but fearing life. So, we ask after each mass shooting what are we (after all we live in a democracy) going to do. We then go through a nauseous week or so depending on the severity of the slaughter and fall back into our rhetorical stand offs. Pathetic.

I was at the birth of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). I worked in New York City and could see smoke rising from the World Trade Center towers. The attack occurred on September 11, 2001. The TSA was established by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 19, 2001. 

I suspect Bush and his Congressional collaborators don’t list TSA among their proudest moments. They should; after all our government absorbed the horror, vowed to never let it happen again and almost a generation later it hasn’t. Along the way plane hijackings went from 67 incidents in the 1970s to 9 incidents in the 2010s and none involved United States airlines. 

I can sense the bile gathering in our collective throats. None of us want to stand in line at airports or be electronically disrobed as we clear the security area. Or, spend billions of tax dollars just to make sure we don’t die flying to see our family hundreds or thousands of miles away. But then 9/11 demanded action and we intuitively knew that we could not effect a cultural change that would erase the threat.

We have once again been reminded of children who will not see tomorrow and parents who unknowingly said their final goodbye. And, if we have taken a few minutes to reflect we have been reminded of freedom of speech converted into stories that seize on anger, guns and revenge. It used to be we just watched these storylines unfold; now video games allow us to get in the middle of the action. And among us are troubled minds.

Okay, I am running out of words—columns have limits. And, our patience has limits. The shooting at the Uvalde school takes third place behind Virginia Tech and then Sandy Hook in lives lost and exists in a long line of school horrors (367 in the 2000s). We should be at an inflection point. And we know that the only constructive actions in our divided nation is for the two political parties to find acceptable common ground.

On one level, prediction is easy. We won’t ban guns. Maybe the age of acquisition will be extended. We should, but are unlikely to, restrict the sale of high-capacity magazines. And on and on. 

What about “tactical carrier” vests—I cannot imagine a successful law that does not severely restrict their ownership. The vests are what we think of as bullet proof and have pockets for other guns and ammunition. The Constitution does not protect them. When Salvador Ramos, the shooter, at age 18, bought such a vest, a screaming siren should have sounded.

Finally, nothing happens without leadership and President Biden is in the leadership chair. And, I should add citizen leadership will be important; not political, citizen. 

The immediate reactions from elected officials were not encouraging. They never are. They have their talking points; there was no need to rehearse them. But, ever the optimist, I know there are patriots in both parties. President Biden, you know who they are, call them up and lead us to a better tomorrow. Don’t seek perfection, seek something you can sign. We won’t return to the blissful moments I recalled, but we can make schools and public places safer.

Afterword: News now suggests that serious discussions have been started in the US Senate to craft legislation to reduce the threat of gun violence in schools. A seed crystal? We can hope.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books.