The Memo will be posted here after the email has been sent

As we enter the third week of what may be a VERY long federal shutdown, a batch of Marylanders -- federal employees or federal contractors -- are out of work this week and many are not expecting paychecks (except for those in uniform). The legal scuffle over National Guard deployments continues in other allegedly "high-crime" states and cities, with no consideration of the facts on the ground. As noted below, National Guard personnel and others currently in uniform need to keep their thoughts to themselves, but veterans, individually and in their organizations, are pretty exercised about this misuse of authority (see the story in our national section). Out there in the fifty states, for every bad move there seems to be a good move as people wise up to the TrumpWorld script, so there's hope there. Congress is stuck in stupid mode, with Dems holding out (justifiably) for a restoration of some or all of the ACA premium subsidies, while the Senate GOP leadership keeps on doing the same thing over and over in hopes it will have a different outcome (we all know what THAT is called) and the House speaker keeps his folks on vacation so the Senate will not be tempted to pass a CR that includes relief on the ACA subsidies (which the House would then have to re-vote on). No House, no hope. Ask the Speaker if he cares.

Last week, the Maryland Second Look Act  - a powerful new law championed by the Maryland Second Look Coalition with support from our partner organizations and Progressive Maryland members — officially took effect. This landmark legislation opens the door for incarcerated adults who entered the system as children or young adults to petition for parole if they can show they’ve been rehabilitated.

Trump is apparently trying to do a demo on his suggestion to military leaders that the US military practice their lethal skills on US cities run by Democrats. The generals, knowing an illegal order when they see one, kept stone faces throughout Trump's wandering and (as usual) self-pitying bleat. But National Guard members are the victims, so far, and judges are doing a great job of keeping the hapless Guardspersons out of trouble by keeping them out of the cities despite Trump's illegal orders.

Meanwhile, the shutdown goes on this week, with the House deliberately kept out of action by Speaker johnson to put pressure on the Senate (and avoid an embarrassing vote on Epstein files release, which he would lose if he swears in the most recently elected Democratic House member). Democrats are holding out for changes to the proposed short-term CR to restore Obamacare subsidies, a hugely popular idea among even Republicans in the polls. If the Senate makes changes to the bill the House will have to agree with the changes, so the Speaker (and the Senate Leader) want to keep the lower chamber's members sidelined. Meanwhile the need to actually pass a budget bill -- which the CR was intended to buy time for) creeps ever closer. We'll see if Hallowe'en winds up having a role in this Trifecta horror show.

It's News You Can Use, even with the national brakes jammed to the floorboards.

The federal government’s dysfunction and reckless brinkmanship have brought us to a shutdown with devastating consequences for working families in Maryland and across the country.

The Memo will be posted here after the email version has been sent.

Maryland, like many other Blue states, is feeling increasingly embattled as Trump continues his EO-fueled assault on peoples' everyday liberties and rights to free speech. Most of the Mad King's Executive Orders, being of dubious legality, are in court somewhere and may even get turned down by the conservative-ridden Supreme Court if they suddenly find their mislaid copies of the US Constitution. Maryland is currently escaping occupation along the lines of D.C., but facing a worst-case scenario from any shutdown because more attrition of federal workers appears nearly guaranteed even without such a disruption.  But in the meantime, many Blue cities ARE putting up with uniformed military presence, where "is THIS what you signed up for?" should be the welcome on everyone's lips. The troops look forbidding in their riot gear but they are us, and we shouldn't let the fear Trump is hoping for allow us to forget that. Note that Oregon is pushing back. 

Trump will be talking shutdown (or not) with Congressional bigwigs today and (more ominously) with a captive audience of high-ranking military tomorrow, as Megan E details in our Global/National/Feds section below. It's all News You Can Use

On Saturday, September 6, I joined 10,000 people in Washington, D.C., to march, rally, and demand an end to the illegal occupation of federal troops in our nation’s capital. We hugged, prayed, carried signs, and stood together against this outrageous abuse of power.

This wasn’t just a protest—it was a call to action. When federal troops are deployed to intimidate and silence communities, it’s not just D.C. that’s under attack. It’s Baltimore. It’s every city. It’s democracy itself.