I’ve always felt there was nothing more unattractive than “I told you so,” but now I know something worse–far worse than that. And his name is Donald Trump, lame duck, sore loser of all time president of the United States.

I’ve written from time to time in this cyberspace about this man’s total unfitness to be our commander in chief. The I-told-you-so part comes from having edited coverage of this jerk–that’s the kindest word I can say about him–for decades on Long Island and New York City. He was a joke. No one with any sense, regardless of political persuasion, took him seriously, except if you were unfortunate enough to do business with him. He could bankrupt you by his notorious modus operandi. He hired independent mom-and-pop contractors, rarely big corporations so that when it came time to honor his contract with them, he would pay 20 to 40 cents on the dollar and dare you to sue him. Mom-and-pops couldn’t afford to take him to court. And he got away with it for decades.

He has no political or moral convictions whatsoever. Nor is he even aware of what an idiot he makes of himself owing to his psychotically overrated estimation of his wherewithal. I almost fell out of my newsroom chair in laughter, listening to Donald pretending to be his own publicist. We couldn’t figure out whether he did this because he was too cheap to hire a professional or that he thought he could do a better job himself. One thing was clear: He never listened to anyone who might tell him he was making a damn fool of himself. This is long before he even ventured into the political arena by claiming with zero evidence that Barack Obama was born in Kenya or Indonesia–who knows?–Mars. Anywhere but in the USA.

My point is that maybe in my participation in coverage of this megalomaniac of minimal qualifications for anything beyond carnival barker, I was, among my colleagues, in a better position to peg this guy as disaster-in-chief. There’s a phrase for guys like Trump in far lesser positions of power than he found himself in. He doesn’t now nor ever has known his ass from a hole in the ground. I hardly exaggerate when I say that everyone I have ever known–possibly excluding the dead, though they would do less damage than Donald–would make a better president than Trump.

OK. So here’s what I REALLY think of Donald, the demented, deranged, delusional, damnable, and dangerous: He will bring you down if you continue to support and make excuses for this unchallenged title holder of Sorest Loser of All Time.

The House of Representatives should convene as soon as possible to listen to the hour-long harangue of Donald Trump committing sedition against the Constitution he was sworn to uphold, badgering Georgian Republicans to manufacture just enough votes to put him over the top. Citing thousands of dead who voted in the Nov. 3 election, he was informed that the number was actually 2–both of whom cast invalid ballots FOR Trump.

Upon listening to this obscene assault on democracy and the rule of law that is supposed to cover us all, presidents not excepted, the House should vote immediately to impeach Trump and send the indictment to the Senate for an up-and-down vote the next day. The 25th Amendment might be a more appropriate measure, except that the toad who calls himself vice president will never be on board.

Donald Trump needs to be gone. Now. All the insults he slings at his imagined enemies apply directly to him.

Fake. Disgraceful. Treasonous. How about just plain stupid?

Add up all the hits–all of them deserved–that he has taken from the New York Times, the Washington Post, news networks excepting (though not so much lately) Fox–none of this even collectively has inflicted as much damage on Trump as he inflicts on himself. He’s a moron, ignoramus, liar, and imposter. Listen to this obscene hour of sedition recorded by Republicans and leaked because even they realize he’s unhinged from reality. Then tell me you continue to support this insanely brainless would-be dictator. He’s our worst constitutional nightmare. And thankfully, hopefully, he will be gone very soon, though not soon enough.

Donald talks, ridiculously, of having won in Georgia by “hundreds of thousands” of votes while at the same time complaining that the number of COVID dead is “wildly” exaggerated. Donald could give a damn, as he has proven by his pandemic negligence, about the very life and death of “ordinary” Americans. All he cares about is staying in the White House long enough to outlast the felony statute of limitations on potential New York state charges against him. But now he’s added Georgia state charges as well. I suppose if he manages to get himself self-appointed president for life, he’ll outlast that statute of limitation as well.

Never mind all that. The president had no New Year’s message for the nation. But I have two words, especially for surviving Trump supporters, and for all of us as well: President Biden.

Meanwhile, there is massive election fraud going on right now. Donald is hitting on his supporters for contributions to support “investigations” into the election he lost to Joe Biden by a wide margin. And Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who stepped up first to say he would object to Congress’s Electoral College certification, has likewise widely solicited donations for a similarly non-existent investigation. Both are nakedly fraudulent enterprises: Trump’s to line his pockets in order to survive the avalanche of legal costs he will incur once he’s evicted from the White House and Howley’s so he can run for president in 2024. Both of these grifters are counting on fools to rush in with their wallets. For heaven’s sake, give to your favorite charity instead in this new and hopefully far better new year than 2020.

Steve Parks is a retired New York journalist now living in Easton.

For perpetual students with a thirst for learning, WC-ALL offers a host of classes, from seminars about the musical “Hamilton” and constitutional law to infectious disease and baking bread.

Since 1992, Washington College’s Academy of Lifelong Learning (WC-ALL), a peer-led, self-supported autonomous department of the College, has been attended by thousands of adults who want to learn for the joy of it.

The Spy interviewed Jan Elvin, former Council Member and Council Chair of the program, to find out how the program was adjusting to the new normal of online instruction.

“We’ve held our own pretty well through having to go through this huge change to Zoom classes. There was some concern that people would not want to do it, but WC-ALL members are by definition are smart and curious and eager to learn, so we’ve had a pretty easy time switching to Zoom,” Elvin says.

Each college semester, a six-week session offers 12-15 courses. Members of the program pay one all-inclusive fee and may take as many courses as they wish.

One of the popular programs at WC-ALL is their “Learn at Lunches” meetings, an on-site gathering of members to meet with lecturers from out of town. Although the on-site program has been suspended, Learn at Lunches will continue virtually with a class on “Civil War Music” taught by broadcast journalist Geoff White scheduled for January 14.

Elvin says that finding instructors has been a fairly easy task since Chestertown is replete with retired professionals. Even though WC-All has a committee tasked with finding volunteers, willing participants are discovered more often by word of mouth.

The Spring class instructors introduction is slated online at 3 pm January 5, and registration is open from December 18 to January 18.

Here, we talk with Elvin about how she and her husband, eminent ACLU attorney Alvin Bronstein discovered Chestertown and how she became an integral part of the WC-ALL program.

This video is approximately seven minutes in length.To find out more about WC-ALL and to register for the Spring semester, go here.

Photographer Tim Fields is a member of the All-inclusive Photography Club.

Perhaps President-elect Joe Biden should be thankful that President Donald Trump is hosting and starring in his final White House episode, an especially egregious one. Even the faithful must wonder about shaking up the defense department because of resentment. But then what should we expect?

Historically Presidents have stood down in relatively gracious ways. When cooperation is the denouement, the spotlight swiftly shifts to the incoming President and various critiques of his moves headline the daily news. Sometimes the critiques are not so admiring.

Today Trump gives Biden cover on two fronts and continues to provide reporters and pundits a narrative bubble in which they don’t have to think. Most importantly for Biden, Trump’s temperament reminds voters why Biden was elected.  Attitudes are defined by the age-old question, “compared to what?”.  As this final episode unfolds I suspect that even some of the Trump voters who didn’t feel an intense loyalty are happy to count down the days till departure.

My experience with politicians is that they prefer to avoid coverage of the process that leads to the grand announcements. Political processes are enduringly messy and often downright ugly as big egos surrounded by their spear carriers jockey for advantage in the new center of power. Trump provides cover.

And the reporters who have earned a lifetime award in Trump trashing have yet new indignities to animate their minds and pens. Trashing the President’s conduct is much easier than drilling down on personnel and policy. Biden’s choices for his cabinet and White House staff signal policy directions that beg to be at the head of the news and analysis.

But, since Trump coverage is often a magnet for readership frequency, let me add a few paragraphs. 

Democracy is hard. Look around the world, ascendancy is often paired with authoritarianism—China is a poster child as they lock down the Uighurs and undermine democracy in Hong Kong.

America has been for several centuries the antidote. We, Americans, have told the story of sharing power by our actions. Sure the thoughts and the words of the founders were crucial but they are abstract. Our actions have given life to the theories and for the most part our dedication to freedom, democracy, federalism, republicanism, and more recently equality, have been compelling messages to people yearning to be free.

In much of the world, head of government succession doesn’t work well. Attempted and actual coups are not unusual. Power struggles dissipate national strength and not infrequently at the end of a gun. 

President Trump’s use of the courts is how we do things. So I certainly do not begrudge his right to challenge election results on the allegation of evidence-based cheating of one kind or another. What is maddening, however, is the insincerity of knowledgeable Republicans who give verbal support to his related storyline—the election was stolen. Fear of political retribution writes only one script—false.

But, every responsible leader (yes, if you are in the Congress you have a public responsibility) must make clear that as Trump litigates he must also instruct his administration officials to open the windows and cooperate with the President-elect and his transition team. I do not know of any constituency that supports a transitional breakdown in government continuity. And that is especially true with the institutions that protect us from various foreign and domestic threats.

Some have reported that in private conversations President Trump has spoken of running for President again in 2024. While the winning script in contemporary politics is uncertain, Trump supporters might want to consider the perishability of personality cults. Trump and his most ardent supporters might well find that free speech, age, overexposure, and parody will deplete his attraction. Indeed, his 2020 loss has already hurt.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al recently published Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

Get fresh local oysters directly from growers. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is hosting four oyster pop-up shops at various locations in Maryland in October and November including Easton..The sales are designed to benefit Maryland oyster farmers, who are facing declining sales this year due to limited restaurant openings and ongoing restaurant closures due to COVID-19.

Oyster farmers depend on restaurants for the bulk of their sales. About 90 percent of the oysters they raise are sold directly to restaurants. As the pandemic continues, CBF is working to help oyster farmers sell their product directly to consumers.

Oyster farmers purchase larvae or spat on shell and raise them into market-sized oysters in the Bay. Oyster aquaculture operations are sustainable and help ensure consumer demand for oysters can be met without depleting the wild oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay.

Oysters in the Bay clarify the water and provide habitat for fish, blue crabs, and other marine life. Oyster populations in Maryland have been on a long-term decline since the late 1800s due to overfishing, pollution, and disease. Oyster aquaculture provides a way to reverse this decline while providing Marylanders with fresh, local oysters.

For instructions on how to handle and shuck oysters visit CBF’s website – www.cbf.org/join-us/more-things-you-can-do/oyster-pop-up-shops

Tuesday, Nov. 24 – Easton, Maryland

• Pickup time and location: 4 to 6:30 p.m., Easton Point 24 Fuel, 930 Port St., Easton
• Oyster farmer – Pirate’s Cove Oyster Co.
• To order: Email piratescoveoysters@gmail.com before Nov. 23 at noon
• Quantities available and price:
  • 12 count – $12
  • 24 count – $20
  • 50 count – $35
  • 100 count – $60

The mundane can, occasionally, focus your attention; and so it was this last Sunday evening.

We, Americans, were once again paying attention to the stages of the transfer of government leadership. We had just experienced a bruising campaign for President under difficult conditions. And by Sunday evening virtually all of the state-by-state election results had been called by the Associated Press.

Joe Biden had welcomed the call and Donald Trump had decided to contest it.

My wife and I were breezing through supper on our way to meet friends for an evening of music at the new Avalon Theater’s outdoor venue (by the way it is excellent). I decided to tune into ABC Sunday Night News to see if there were new developments and that is when the unexpected occurred. The news anchor essentially said we have political news, but first let’s reflect on the passing of Alex Trebek. About five minutes later the political story lines began.

Ordinarily I would have mumbled something about decadence as “Once again celebrity events trump serious news.” But, not this time.

My wife and I do not regularly watch Jeopardy, but when we do we often marvel at its 36 year host, Alex Trebek. Sure, Jeopardy is a game show, but Trebek made it so much more.

Trebek brought us all, somewhere between 13 and 14 million, into a nightly lesson on a wide range of subjects from mathematics to movie stars. Most nights, at least two of the stars of the show were new and they were on the show not as theatrical pretenders, but because they were studied and had quick minds.

Jeopardy will, of course, go on, but time will erode the memory of its 36 year host. What, at least in my mind, will not be eroded was the enduring quality of his elegance, courtesy and understatement. We can hope that as his life is celebrated people all over America, will understand that his legacy is truth—the truth of the answer but, more importantly, the truth of kindness in a life well lived. The lessons of generosity, respect, and authentic humor.

The ABC news director who decided to preempt America’s political tensions and reward a life well lived should receive an Emmy.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al recently published Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

Some 6000 human diseases are caused by genetic errors—a mutation in a person’s genes that is inherited or caused by exposure to radiation or a toxic substance. Most of these are quite rare, but some affect large numbers of people. More than 100,000 people in the U.S. have inherited genes that cause sickle cell disease; 30,000 have genes that cause cystic fibrosis; there is no cure for either. Virtually all cancers involve genetic changes in individual cells, including some 275,000 new U.S. cases of breast cancer and 150,000 new colorectal cancers every year, for which surgery and chemotherapy are now the only treatments. 

Scientists Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

This year’s Nobel Prize for Chemistry attracted attention in the press mainly because it was awarded to two women scientists, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna. Less covered was what the prize recognized—the discovery of a means of finding and editing genetic errors to correct them. Their technique, which goes under the awkward name of CRISPR-Cas9, is in effect a kind of genetic scissors. It can cut the DNA molecules of microorganisms, plants, animals, and people very precisely, remove a defective gene, and insert a corrected version. Some scientists have described the method as akin to “a software tool for hacking genes.” In the 8 years since its discovery, the technique has transformed the biological sciences, with potentially life-changing results.

Already clinical trials underway have shown promising results of not just treatments, but permanent cures for sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, and a rare form of inherited blindness. The treatments, which will initially be expensive, could be as simple as a few days stay in a hospital where some of a patient’s own cells—modified with the CRISPR-Cas9 system—are reintroduced to that patient: one treatment resulting in a permanent fix. Since most inherited genetic diseases have no cure at present, genetic editing promises to be transformative. But genetic editing can also fix point mutations, such as those involved in cancer. The result has been a tidal wave of investment into new biotech companies, funding clinical trials intended to cure many forms of cancer, including childhood leukemia, as well as inherited genetic diseases.

Genetic editing has also become the standard approach to plant breeding, enabling more rapid development of pest-resistance or heat tolerant varieties can could improve yields, reduce need for pesticides, or help agriculture adapt to climate change. Already plant scientists have modified the genes that enable rice to absorb cadmium and arsenic from the soil, thus producing a strand of rice free from these toxic metals. A similar approach to breeding livestock is expected to improve the health of livestock and thus aid meat and dairy production. 

More recent research has led to an additional method of editing genes—a technique known as base editing—that also fixes point mutations or alters specific genes without cutting a patient’s DNA. One potential use of this approach is to disable genes that contribute to ill health. For example, research has shown that by disabling two specific genes, a patient’s risk of coronary artery disease can be reduced by almost 90 percent and the risk of heart attacks by more than 30 percent. For many individuals, such treatments could potentially extend lifetimes substantially.

The precision of CRISPR and related techniques is turning out to have additional uses. Last month scientists published a new test for Covid-19 that uses CRISPR techniques and that can detect the virus in just 5 minutes, without the use of expensive laboratory equipment—potentially easing the testing bottlenecks that hamper attempts to control the pandemic. 

Over the next decade, as these novel therapies move out of clinical trials and into medical practice, they will enable what is called precision medicine. That is in part because the cost of scanning and mapping your genes—to establish your unique genetic identity and to detect unsuspected mutations—is now less than $800 per patient and is expected to cost as little as $100 within a few years. Already, some health insurance companies will pay for the scan. Such gene scans will allow potential genetic diseases to be diagnosed and treated early, in some cases even before symptoms appear. Knowledge of a patient’s unique genetic makeup will also eventually enable doctors to choose medicines for ordinary diseases that work best for that individual. 

The power of genetic editing has raised concerns about potential future misuse—to create “designer” babies with blue eyes or to breed a super race of soldiers for some dictator. But such changes would be much more difficult than correcting a faulty gene and would only be possible if the editing was done on the eggs and sperm cells that come together to create a new life—activity banned by both the international scientific community and governments. And such speculative risks seem small compared to the enormous potential to relieve human suffering—especially to anyone with a crippling inherited disease or newly diagnosed with cancer.   

Al Hammond was trained as a scientist (Stanford, Harvard) but became a distinguished science journalist, reporting for Science (a leading scientific journal) and many other technical and popular magazines and on a daily radio program for CBS. He subsequently founded and served as editor-in-chief for 4 national science-related publications as well as editor-in-chief for the United Nation’s bi-annual environmental report. More recently, he has written, edited, or contributed to many national assessments of scientific research for federal science agencies. Dr. Hammond makes his home in Chestertown on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.