Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Sept. 11-17
New stuff in Congress on health care repeal to be watchful about; leadership training opportunities; statewide and chapter activism and calendar of events, and the most recent blogs nicely packaged for binge-reading.
Read moreUnion Density In Maryland Traces Slow Progressive Decline
 Much of the press’s discourse contains annual descriptions of labor’s decline, some sympathetic and some not. Whatever its causes, the story is true: union influence over the economy and American quality of life has been shrinking for decades. Maryland is not immune. In this re-post from Seventh State, Adam Pagnucco, a labor scholar, itemizes the damage.
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Read moreProgressive Maryland Weekly Memo for September 4-10
Nothing going on in the fall? Think again. Congress is back and feuding with the president, but that does not mean the rest of us are safe. We’ll have to watch out for the collateral damage and keep pushing to make health care for all an idea and a reality that the GOP will have to deal with – or else.
And the Maryland General Assembly is only 120 days from the opening gavel. Watch out for legislative briefings in the meantime, including those sponsored or supported by Progressive Maryland and our allies.
Read moreStates’ rights – it’s not just about the Klan
Community control of our quality of life is a driving force in our activism. But community control, historically and even today, has its down side. The competing agendas of federal, state and local governments and officials create bad outcomes, because when laws get jostled by circumstance, the result often winds up favoring the wealthy and powerful even more.
Read morePort Towns Concrete Batch Plant Zoning Hearing Continued to Sept. 6
A critical Prince George's County Zoning Examiner's Hearing may seal the fate of a controversial Concrete Batch Plant project being sought in Bladensburg, near the Anacostia waterfront and potentially threatening health and safety in the Port Towns. The Aug. 22 hearing was continued after lengthy debate until Wednesday, Sept. 6, when opponents of the plant hope to have, again, a large crowd to let the Examiner -- and County Council -- know that community control of local development is important to many of the county's residents.
Read moreFrom Maryland Matters, tangled history of the Purple Line
ln this repost from the essential political blog Maryland Matters, a deep-dive account of the twisty history of the Purple Line leading up to the tent-revival groundbreaking on Monday. Gov. Hogan gets props (and needs them) for reshaping the path for this crucial piece of mass transit for Prince George's and Montgomery counties, which will serve largely working-class users and was blocked for so long by MoCo country-clubbers, their platoons of lawyers and even a judge or two who shared their class perspective. Maryland Matters founder and chief blogger Josh Kurtz, a seasoned Maryland political observer, provides this great overview.
Read moreWeekly Memo for Aug. 28-Sept. 4
The turn of Labor Day brings renewed activism. Making Maryland better – more in tune with ordinary people and their/our real needs, less controlled by big moneyed interests – is a big piece of making the nation and the world better.
Let’s keep going.
Read moreTrump's betrayal of his fans on peace and trade must be hammered home by Dems
Donald Trump is getting away with many flip-flops on his promises to the working-class constituents who pushed him over the top, studies show. But progressive and Democratic leadership have to make that case forcefully in order to reclaim the mantle of the peace and prosperity forces; it won't happen automatically, Hal Ginsberg asserts.
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Read moreCompromise on carbon pollution better than RGGI exit
Maryland is staying in a strengthened multistate pact to reduce greenhouse gases in electric power generation. It's a compromise, but much better than sulkily pulling out. The pact has been (mostly) holding together for many years and “The [RGGI] program has a track record of cutting emissions fairly painlessly across a densely populated section of the country,” observes Inside Climate News.
Read moreVoter registration -- starting now -- is more important than ever
"For Progressive Maryland and its parent Peoples' Action, our low and middle income neighbors are our primary constituents. We need to make an effort to bring these groups into the political process and to help them advocate for themselves," Howard County activist Dave Bazell reminds us.
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