Celebrating National Seniors Day: Aging with Dignity and the Fight for Healthcare

By Patty Snee, Healthcare Justice Organizer, Progressive Maryland

(A valentine to all the incredible older adults in our communities across Maryland—you inspire us every day!)

Yesterday, we celebrated National Seniors Day! I’m just catching up because I was busy working on our state and national fight to protect our healthcare in the face of deadly and devastating healthcare cuts in the new federal budget. I hope you had a chance to celebrate. In addition to National Seniors Day, our country, in the past few weeks, has celebrated the 60th Anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid and the 90th Anniversary of Social Security! Monumental milestones! These enduring programs have been providing health and retirement security to millions of older folks for multiple generations. Seniors have contributed to our society all of their lives, and they deserve to age with dignity, respect, and access to the resources they need to thrive.

One of Maryland's intractable problems -- the shortage of affordable housing and the (therefore) increasing rental hikes across the state -- got tackled by Gov. Moore in his keynote speech at the Maryland Association of Counties meeting last week. It'll be a heavy lift for the state government and private sources to provide more "social housing" but that is emphatically what is needed, and our regular readers should not let him or others off the hook. The private sector is not going to pull this load by itself -- it is not actually in its interest.

Maryland (with the help of its judiciary, which Trump has come to hate) is fending off some of the worst of Trump's assault on human freedoms -- but it's a constant battle, also being fought by some other states.

It's all News You Can Use.

As we rouse ourselves this week we find that we are not alone in suffering under escalating power bills -- and that there seems to be a pattern in the ways mega-corporate power companies keep their ratepayers struggling. Their fellow big tech corporations' data centers, however, get kid-gloves treatment by utilities and by the job-hungry states where they might land.

Meanwhile, Maryland's well-intentioned tax break attempting to get every school kid in appropriate clothes and with needed supplies may have a downside. But just a temporary one, like the tax break. More serious would be the permanent loss of the Beltsville Agricultural Research center as a result of another brainless reorganization-for-its-own-sake move by the Trump gang, all chosen to be as brainless (and compliant to the Big Boss) as his own self. Those with a brain are rallying to keep it here.

Meanwhile, another episode of brainlessness, Trump has taken over law enforcement in DC, his latest attempt to distract attention from the Epstein Mystery. Even with Congress on vacation, it's News You Can Use.

Dear Friend, 

We have a short memo today we we'll get right to the point – Trump’s latest actions in Washington, D.C., are a chilling escalation of his authoritarian agenda. Deploying the National Guard and federal law enforcement under the guise of addressing ‘crime’ is a direct attack on immigrants, unhoused individuals, and those exercising their right to protest. This is a full-on assault on DC residents, businesses, communities, and a violation of its fundamental rights as a city to govern and run itself. Read our full statement on this dangerous overreach and what we’re calling on Congress to do. Let’s stand together to protect our communities and our democracy.

In some better news – yesterday, we were proud to be part of the Renters United Maryland Housing Justice Summit, a powerful and transformative gathering where renters and advocates from across Maryland came together to set the housing agenda for 2026. The energy in the room was inspiring, and the vision we built together will help drive real change for communities across the state.

Read on for more updates and ways to get involved.

In solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

Progressive Maryland Executive Director, Larry Stafford, Jr., Issued the Following Statement on Trump Deploying The National Guard in DC:

"President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and federal law enforcement to Washington, D.C., under the guise of addressing ‘crime’ is a calculated attack on immigrants, unhoused individuals, and those exercising their right to protest. This militarization of our streets is not about public safety—it is about fear, control, and silencing dissent. 

In our view, this abuse of power is a test run for implementing authoritarian rule in other cities across the country. If unchecked, this reckless overreach will set a dangerous precedent for using federal forces to dismantle local governance and escalate the violence against our communities. 

We call on Congress to immediately intervene and block this terrorist decision. Lawmakers must act to ensure that federal resources are not weaponized against vulnerable residents.

Progressive Maryland urges all allies and advocates to amplify Know Your Rights campaigns, support local organizing efforts, and demand accountability from those in power. We must resist this assault on our democracy and fight for our dignity and safety."

A federal judge brought a major win for Maryland and other states fighting to protect their communities from climate-fueled disasters.

U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns temporarily blocked the Trump administration from reallocating more than $4 billion in FEMA disaster mitigation funding, halting an illegal attempt to dismantle the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. This funding is vital for flood prevention, infrastructure upgrades, and community resilience projects across the country,  including right here in Maryland.

People in the DC suburbs  -- northern Prince George's, specifically -- are breathing a sigh of relief because a pretty unnecessary but locally disruptive sorta-rail pilot project has had its federal funds pulled. It would have meant a VERY expensive 15-minute ride from DC to Baltimore at a construction price ticket of $20 billion; in the sweet buy and buy a one-hour trip DC-NYC for a sum (and a ticket price) one can only imagine. Gov. Moore was a "magnetic levitation" fan, having seen such a wonder in everyday use in Japan, where they know how to do this stuff. Perhaps some improvements to the existing Amtrak right-of-way to NYC and Boston would allow Amtrak's trains to go as fast as they are actually able to. That would be a start.

Also in Maryland: superhot weather, superthunderstorms and flooding (and don't swim in that water); the state's plan to hire laid-off federal workers is crosswise with a state hiring freeze and buyout offers; the race to build solar renewable power while extremely dirty backup generator plants have to be turned on in the hottest of high-demand weather. 

Maryland, like many states, avoiding losing population because of immigration, but the fastest-growing states are in a battle to redistrict House seats to improve their chances in 2026. It is more exciting than baseball (some consider that a low bar).

And speaking of Congress, they have gone home exasperated, having been blocked from mass-appointing Trump Chumps to the federal bench. GOP warriors aim to change the Senate rules to make those appointments debate-free; that sword cuts two ways, election to election, so stay tuned. 

It's News You Can Use, as always.