Interesting Times
Peter Heck & Jane Jewell • January 19, 2021
The inauguration of a new president and vice president of the United States is always an historic event, and this year it’s even more so. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are scheduled to be sworn in at noon, January 20. But due to covid-19 and security measures following the January 6 attack on the Capitol, many of the usual ceremonies and traditions have been curtailed or canceled. No big inauguration balls. No standing-room-only crowds on the National Mall. Security check-points for all entering the area. As many as 20,000 National Guard troops patrolling Washington, D.C., something that has never before happened.
Along with the many departures from tradition surrounding this inauguration, there are numerous “firsts,” some good, some not so much.
The most outstanding “first” is the election of a woman as vice-president. As well as being the first female vice president, Kamala Harris will be the first person of color in the office. A child of immigrants, her mother was a cancer researcher who grew up in India. Her father, an economist, is Jamaican. The two met as graduate students at UC Berkeley.
Another fascinating first is Harris’s husband, Douglas Emhoff, who will be the first male in the role of a vice-presidential spouse. If the president’s wife is the First Lady, what will Emhoff be called — First Gentleman? Or would that only apply to a president’s husband? How about Second Gentleman? Emhoff, a lawyer, says he is honored and welcomes either title.
The outgoing president, Donald Trump, is the first to be impeached for a second time. Only three presidents have been impeached — Andrew Johnson (1868), Bill Clinton (1998), and Donald Trump (2020 and again in 2021). Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 in order to avoid impeachment.
Being out of office does not necessarily stop the impeachment process. Impeachments and the ensuing trials of officials after they have left office, while rare, have happened before — most recently, in 2010, to a federal judge. The first impeachment trial of someone no longer in office occurred in 1876, when William Belknap, then War Secretary in the Grant administration, resigned mere minutes before a scheduled vote to impeach him for bribery and corruption. Not to be deterred, the Democratic-controlled House proceeded to impeach Belknap. The trial was held in the Republican-controlled Senate where although a majority voted to convict, the tally did not reach the required two-thirds majority, and Belknap was acquitted.
While not a first, Trump’s decision not to attend the inauguration is a significant departure from a tradition that has been an important symbol of the peaceful transfer of power that is so central to a functioning democracy. This failure sends a worrisome signal to America and the world. Never before have American citizens wondered so much about what last-minute surprises may be in store for the inauguration of an American president. One good sign is that outgoing Vice President Michael Pence, following tradition, will attend.
As incoming president, Joseph Biden is exceptionally qualified. Perhaps no other president has entered office with as much experience and demonstrated expertise and knowledge of the workings of the federal government. Biden served as a county councilor in Delaware before being elected as a U.S. senator from Delaware at age 29. For years, he was a member, then chair, of the Judiciary Committee, and then of the Foreign Relations Committee, giving him direct knowledge of all major international and national issues of recent decades. As vice president for eight years under President Obama, he continued to focus on international relations.
One of the best firsts in this inauguration season is surely the arrival of a new First Dog, which will also mark the return of animals to the White House. The Trumps never had a pet. According to the Presidential Pet Museum, the last four years are the only time the White House has been without a presidential pet in over 150 years, ever since Andrew Johnson’s term in the late 1860s.
Major, a German Shepherd, will also be the first rescue dog in the White House. He was inducted into his new role at the first-ever “Indoguration” held on January 17, watched virtually by a large crowd of admirers on Zoom. Major will share the position of First Pet with the Bidens’ other German Shepherd, Champ. Jill Biden has said that they may also adopt a cat. That should keep things lively in the White House.
Yes, we are definitely in the grip of that old curse — “May you live in interesting times.” And also its lesser-known addendum — “May you come to attention of people in power.” All of us, to some degree, are looking forward to boring times, when the most interesting things going on are high school sports, the doings of our favorite sitcom characters, and the weather forecast for Ocean City. May these Interesting Times — with their pandemics, economic woes, impeachments, and civil unrest — soon be in the past.
Peter Heck is a Chestertown-based writer and editor, who spent 10 years at the Kent County News and three more with the Chestertown Spy. He is the author of 10 novels and co-author of four plays, a book reviewer for Asimov’s and Kirkus Reviews, and an incorrigible guitarist.
Jane Jewell is a writer, editor, photographer, and teacher. She has worked in news, publishing, and as the director of a national writer's group. She lives in Chestertown with her husband Peter Heck, a ginger cat named Riley, and a lot of books.
Common Sense for the Eastern Shore
Right now, Congress is working on a fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs in order to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.
The House Agriculture Committee recently voted, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, helping more than 41 million people in the U.S. pay for food. With potential cuts this large, it helps to know who benefits from this program in Maryland, and who would lose this assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities compiled data on SNAP beneficiaries by congressional district, cited below, and produced the Maryland state datasheet , shown below. In Maryland, in 2023-24, 1 in 9 people lived in a household with SNAP benefits. In Maryland’s First Congressional District, in 2023-24: Almost 34,000 households used SNAP benefits. Of those households, 43% had at least one senior (over age 60). 29% of SNAP recipients were people of color. 15% were Black, non-Hispanic, higher than 11.8% nationally. 6% were Hispanic (19.4% nationally). There were 24,700 total veterans (ages 18-64). Of those, 2,200 lived in households that used SNAP benefits (9%). The CBPP SNAP datasheet for Maryland is below. See data from all the states and download factsheets here.
Apparently, some people think that the GOP’s “big beautiful bill” is a foregone conclusion, and that the struggle over the budget and Trump’s agenda is over and done. Not true. On Sunday night, the bill — given the alternate name “Big Bad Bullsh*t Bill” by the Democratic Women’s Caucus — was voted out of the House Budget Committee. The GOP plan is to pass this legislation in the House before Memorial Day. But that’s not the end of it. As Jessica Craven explained in her Chop Wood Carry Water column: “Remember, we have at least six weeks left in this process. The bill has to: Pass the House, Then head to the Senate where it will likely be rewritten almost completely, Then be passed there, Then be brought back to the House for reconciliation, And then, if the House changes that version at all, Go back to the Senate for another vote.” She adds, “Every step of that process is a place for us to kill it.” The bill is over a thousand pages long, and the American people will not get a chance to read it until it has passed the House. But, thanks to 5Calls , we know it includes:
Let's talk about our Eastern Shore Delegation, the representatives who are supposed to fight for our nine Shore counties in Annapolis, and what they actually got up to this session.
For the first time in recent memory, Virginia Democrats have candidates running in all 100 House of Delegates districts — a milestone party leaders and grassroots organizers say reflects rising momentum as President Donald Trump’s second term continues to galvanize opposition.
The 447th legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly adjourned on April 8. This End of Session Report highlights the work Shore Progress has done to fight for working families and bring real results home to the Shore. Over the 90-day session, lawmakers debated 1,901 bills and passed 878 into law. Shore Progress and members supported legislation that delivers for the Eastern Shore, protecting our environment, expanding access to housing and healthcare, strengthening workers’ rights, and more. Shore Progress Supported Legislation By The Numbers: Over 60 pieces of our backed legislation were passed. Another 15 passed in one Chamber but not the other. Legislation details are below, past the budget section. The 2026 Maryland State Budget How We Got Here: Maryland’s budget problems didn’t start overnight. They began under Governor Larry Hogan. Governor Hogan expanded the state budget yearly but blocked the legislature from moving money around or making common-sense changes. Instead of fixing the structural issues, Hogan used federal covid relief funds to hide the cracks and drained our state’s savings from $5.5 billion to $2.3 billion to boost his image before leaving office. How Trump/Musk Made It Worse: Maryland is facing a new fiscal crisis driven by the Trump–Musk administration, whose trade wars, tariff policies, and deep federal cuts have hit us harder than most, costing the state over 30,000 jobs, shuttering offices, and erasing promised investments. A University of Maryland study estimates Trump’s tariffs alone could cost us $2 billion, and those federal cuts have already added $300 million to our budget deficit. Covid aid gave us a short-term boost and even created a fake surplus under Hogan, but that money is gone, while housing, healthcare, and college prices keep rising. The Trump–Musk White House is only making things worse by slashing funding, gutting services, and eliminating research that Marylanders rely on. How The State Budget Fixes These Issues: This year, Maryland faced a $3 billion budget gap, and the General Assembly fixed it with a smart mix of cuts and fair new revenue, while protecting working families, schools, and health care. The 2025 Budget cuts $1.9 billion ($400 million less than last year) without gutting services people rely on. The General Assembly raised $1.2 billion in fair new revenue, mostly from the wealthiest Marylanders. The Budget ended with a $350 million surplus, plus $2.4 billion saved in the Rainy Day Fund (more than 9% of general fund revenue), which came in $7 million above what the Spending Affordability Committee called for. The budget protects funding for our schools, health care, transit, and public workers. The budget delivers real wins: $800 million more annually for transit and infrastructure, plus $500 million for long-term transportation needs. It invests $9.7 billion in public schools and boosts local education aid by $572.5 million, a 7% increase. If current revenue trends hold, no new taxes will be needed next session. Even better, 94% of Marylanders will see a tax cut or no change, while only the wealthiest 5% will finally pay their fair share. The tax system is smarter now. We’re: Taxing IT and data services like Texas and D.C. do; Raising taxes on cannabis and sports betting, not groceries or medicine; and Letting counties adjust income taxes. The budget also restores critical funding: $122 million for teacher planning $15 million for cancer research $11 million for crime victims $7 million for local business zones, and Continued support for public TV, the arts, and BCCC The budget invests in People with disabilities, with $181 million in services Growing private-sector jobs with $139 million in funding, including $27.5 million for quantum tech, $16 million for the Sunny Day Fund, and $10 million for infrastructure loans. Health care is protected for 1.5 million Marylanders, with $15.6 billion for Medicaid and higher provider pay. Public safety is getting a boost too, with $60 million for victim services, $5.5 million for juvenile services, and $5 million for parole and probation staffing. This budget also tackles climate change with $100 million for clean energy and solar projects, and $200 million in potential ratepayer relief. Public workers get a well-deserved raise, with $200 million in salary increases, including a 1% COLA and ~2.5% raises for union workers. The ultra-wealthy will finally chip in to pay for it: People earning over $750,000 will pay more, Millionaires will pay 6.5%, and Capital gains over $350,000 get a 2% surcharge. Deductions are capped for high earners, but working families can still deduct student loans, medical debt, and donations. This budget is bold, fair, and built to last. That’s why Shore Progress proudly supports it. Click on the arrows below for details in each section.
