Did you, yes, you, pay more income tax on your 2018 returns than on your 2017 returns? If so, you are probably are not in the top 1% of income, or you had ordinarily taken the standard deduction even before the passage of the Trump tax plan in December of 2017. More likely you are […]

Why would anyone expect the president of the United States, any president of the United States, to cooperate with any investigation into his or her wrongdoing? It would make no sense. It would be going against one’s self-interests. Didn’t Richard Nixon demonstrate this by not destroying the Watergate tapes? Shouldn’t he have? Clearly, the current […]

As the impeachment inquiry process approaches of the fourth president of the United States, it is an appropriate time to take a look at the articles of impeachment filed against the previous three. Also, to see how they may relate to the likely articles of impeachment to be filed against Donald Trump. Specifically, the articles […]

For those of us who dedicated our careers to public service, Marie Yovanovitch, the former Ambassador to Ukraine, stands proud as the epitome of what every public servant should aspire to be. It became more apparent during her testimony before the House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Foreign Affairs and […]

During the 2016 presidential election campaign, Donald J. Trump promised America that if elected, there would be so much winning, and everyone would get tired of all of the winning. Let me readily admit I am, indeed, so very tired of all of this winning and hope it comes to a merciful end with the […]

As we approach the vote in the House of Representatives to file articles of impeachment against the current sitting president, there are a few things you need to consider, and here they are. First, as much as the impeachment of Donald J. Trump may be about abuse of power when he sought the assistance of […]

Despite the findings of the Mueller Report, in which several specific examples of obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump, such as instructing the White House Counsel to fire the special counsel, nothing happened to him. Despite his continued violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clause by profiting from foreign entities currying favor through frequenting his […]

When you think of all of the issues facing this country that need to be addressed, what are just a few that immediately come to mind? Gun control in the wake of the rampage of mass shootings? Taking big money out of politics so that every citizen’s voice is as loud with our elected representatives […]

Editor’s Note: The following are viewpoints from “Concerned Citizens of Prince George’s County.” These opinions do not reflect the views of the Sentinel staff.  Why does it feel as though we, long-standing parents, homeowners, supporters and members of the Prince George’s County community, have not been given the opportunity to be a part of CEO […]

Our climate is changing. We have seen an increase in the frequency and severity of violent storms, multi-year-long droughts in the heartland and the American West, recurring severe heat waves, wildfires and sea level rise. In Maryland—where 70% of the population lives in coastal areas—we are already seeing the impact on our communities. Damaging and […]

I have been writing my weekly column for more than five years now and have written on various topics from gun safety to campaign finance reform to voting rights to the impact of gerrymandering to the state legislature refusing to fix the unfairness of the federal tax plan on Maryland taxpayers. Most often, sadly, I […]

Now that the formal White House press briefings have almost been eliminated, the south lawn of the White House before President Donald Trump takes off via helicopter for Joint Base Andrews has become the primary location to field questions from the White House press corps. Reporters ask questions while the helicopter blades are spinning as […]

The summers of 1964 and 1965, what wonderful summers they were. They were summers of my youth and were highlighted by the New York World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows in the borough of Queens in the city of New York. What a fantastic glimpse into the future the World’s Fair provided to a young and […]

Many years ago, circa the 1980s, I worked for a man by the name of Edward Kwas. He was, at that time, the Regional Commissioner of the New York Region for the United States Customs Service. I found him to be a rather interesting individual. Others may have described him differently, but I’ll stick with […]

On Nov. 7 of 2020, we will know with certainty which country is America. Is it the one founded on ideals and inclusion, or is it the one based on hatred and exclusion? Is it the one whose founders proclaimed “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that their […]

After writing this weekly column for almost five years, it is not surprising that issues previously covered raise their ugly heads again and again. Sadly, gun violence in America and the onslaught of mass shootings is one issue that has continued time and again. After I concluded my career with the federal government after close […]

It is indisputable that an individual who sprays the crowd with bullets is the person who is directly responsible for the casualties resulting from the epidemic of mass shootings that has plagued this country for more than 20 years. He may be directly responsible, but there are always contributing factors, and one major contributing factor […]

It was in 1963 when Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a historic speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It was during this speech that he spoke so eloquently about having a “Dream” and, in doing so, inspired countless Americans to have that same dream. It has been, since that day, remembered as […]

The choice is quite simple. The option is former Vice President of the United States Joe Biden. Yes, I like the United States Sen. Kamala Harris. Boy, would I like to see her take apart United States of America President Donald Trump during the presidential debates in 2020. She proudly demonstrated her prosecutorial skills as […]

Legislation or investigation, but not both. Those were the sentiments expressed by the self-proclaimed “great negotiator” United States of America President Donald J. Trump to the Democratic Congressional leadership during both his State of the Union address and his more recent meeting on infrastructure. If Congress wants to continue to investigate Trump, they should not […]

After the events of the last few weeks as well as the last more than two years anyone who claims the Trump administration does not have a foreign policy is dead wrong. The Donald Trump administration has, indeed, a very well-defined foreign policy that relies heavily on our unparalleled military might. Quite simply, it goes […]

Updated on June 10.  SEABROOK – A Hollywood scriptwriter would have scoffed at the narrative of a team once questioned for falling apart in big moments defeating the new age Dream Team of the Western Conference in the Golden State Warriors. The David and Goliath storyline has been done before and is like a catchy […]

Fraud is a crime. Just ask Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman. If fraud is, indeed, a crime, and it is, then how could someone who has continually perpetrated massive fraud throughout his adult life find his way into the oval office as president of the United States? Our president claims to be a multi-billionaire yet […]

Let’s play “Jeopardy,” preferably “Final Jeopardy,” and in a somewhat different format than usual. In this version of “Jeopardy,” I will provide you with a few representative answers, and I do mean representative, to some very detailed questions that were provided to an individual that we have all come to know and…well, let’s leave it […]

I can hear it now as he, Richard Milhous Nixon, 37th president of the United States of America, is turning over in his grave: “I want a do-over! If he were alive today, I bet this is what he would say about our current presidential situation: “I cannot believe that I was forced out of […]

Remember the 2018 midterm elections? Not all that long ago. Remember how Democrats initially reacted to the incoming election results as, if not a total disaster, certainly far below expectations. They did not see it as the predicted “blue wave.” Then, not too much later, when more election results started pouring in, the picture became […]

May 22, 2019, a day at the White House that will live, if not in infamy, at least in the archives of the extremely memorable moments of covering this White House. As you are undoubtedly aware, the daily White House press briefings are a thing of the past. As a result, I do not go […]

Kendrick Castillo is my hero. Castillo was the 18-year-old high school student who charged a gunman to save the lives of his fellow students as the shooter opened fire in their high school literature class. Castillo lost his life to save the lives of others. He should not have lost his life attending high school […]

Headlines have been dominated over the last several weeks with the release of letters. All of them regarding the Special Counsel investigation into Russian meddling in our elections and to what degree The President of the United States Donald Trump and his surrogates interacted with the Russians. When the long-awaited submission of the Special Counsel’s […]

By Sara Rosenbaum J.D. With Robert Pear’s death, the health policy community lost one of its most admired voices – a reporter of unparalleled skill in covering the stories and developments that are nearly impossible to write about in a clear and accessible way and yet these urgent issues concern all Americans. From the time […]

“Where’s my Roy Cohn?” were the words spoken by President of the United States of America Donald J. Trump on the heels of his public display of disappointment, make that outrage, that Attorney General Jefferson Sessions recused himself from overseeing the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Who is Cohn you wonder? […]

The time has come! The time is now! Enough about Democrats debating over whether impeachment of Donald J. Trump will result in a political backlash in 2020! Enough about Republicans continuing to enable this unfit president for fear of being “primaried.” Enough about Congress failing to meet its Constitutional responsibility to remove a president from […]

When will enough be enough for the American electorate regarding their president? I am not talking about waiting for the results of the Mueller Russia investigation and President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia. I am not talking about the many associated indictments against some of Trump’s closest confidants. What I am talking about is the […]

“No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen […]

“Drain the swamp” was how the campaign promise went as I recall. So, how does an incoming president go about draining the Washington, D.C. swamp? Apparently, in Trumpworld, it is by placing bankers, not economists, in charge of the economy AND by filling his cabinet with billionaires, lobbyists and corporate executives. You know, the common […]

Editor’s Note: The following are viewpoints from two students who attend the The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Conference. These opinions do not reflect the views of the Sentinel staff.  By Max Ripans To me, AIPAC served as a break. It was a break from the partisan arguments between the Democrats and Republicans. It was […]

You remember Leon Lett, don’t you? Lett was a member of the Dallas Cowboys, and in Super Bowl XXVII against the Buffalo Bills, Lett recovered a fumble on the Dallas 35-yard line. As he approached the 10-yard line on his way in for a touchdown, he decided to celebrate…a bit prematurely as it turned out, […]

Welcome to Maryland, one of the highest taxed states in the country. Only Connecticut receives less tax revenue from corporate taxes than does Maryland. From whom then, does Maryland rely upon receiving the bulk of its tax revenue? From you, that is who. And what has the Maryland legislature chosen to do over the last […]

In our current political environment of zero-sum politics, for every winner there is a corresponding loser; for every dollar spent on any particular government program or project, there is a dollar not spent on another government program or project. The Constitution placed not only the responsibility to appropriate money to be spent on government programs, […]

If Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and President Donald J. Trump have proven one thing above all else, it is that experience does, indeed, matter. Pelosi has demonstrated the value of experience in politics and how well she can get things done in our nation’s capital, especially when dealing with […]

“One’s a born liar, the other’s convicted” were the immortal words famously spoken by the late New York Yankee Manager Billy Martin on July 24, 1978. He was, of course, referring to the veracity of Yankee star Reggie Jackson and Yankee owner George Steinbrenner. However, jumping a mere 40 or so years later, the question […]

In today’s fast-paced political news environment dominated by social media and 24-hour news coverage, the soundbite often rules. The “wall” might very well be the foremost example of a political campaign promise in the form of a sound bite that has taken on a life of its own without the benefit of any real substance […]

Donald Trump used the National Emergencies Act of 1976 to declare a national emergency in search of funding to build his southern border wall.  This action was a blatant attempt to circumvent the Constitutional authority of Congress to appropriate funding; funding which Congress has vehemently denied him. The National Emergencies Act was intended to grant […]

SEABROOK – It is amazing how life works out sometimes. Future Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Adrian Peterson went from being forced out of New Orleans and Arizona during the 2017-2018 season and was not courted until one team gave him a second chance at being AD “All day.” The Washington Redskins believed […]

Receiving comments from the current President of the United States is by no means an uncommon occurrence. Deciphering those comments to gain a fuller understanding and obtaining the true meaning of those comments is where the challenge “lies” if you’ll pardon the expression. Jan. 2 is an excellent example of a day during which the […]

There are some things in life and politics of which you can be sure. One thing of which you can be sure of is that any individual who routinely reneges on fulfilling contract obligations with companies that have performed the contracted work is not likely to authorize payment to anyone for silence if there is […]