Larry Hogan is being portrayed as a sunny "centrist" running against a "dangerous, risky" radical in Ben Jealous. The picture is wrong: Hogan's business-aligned administration has made working families his collateral damage. And Jealous is neither risky or dangerous.

If local progressives and leftists want to ensure stability and democracy, they should look beyond outdated military alliances. Two Montgomery County leftists reviewed the history of NATO and how it is viewed by international left parties in Europe, what they find shows NATO is anything but a stabilizing or democratic force.

Ben Jealous will win the governor’s race in November, despite Larry Hogan’s big money and inexplicable popularity. But, as sharp editorial observers have noted, he will not do that without “boots on the ground.” That means us – and you, who are part of us.

Why would progressives working at the local level care whether or not Donald Trump is trashing our relationship with our allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization? Because, a Shore activist says, progressive organizing at the local level is hampered when the US is in the grip of the insecurity and disruption that Trump uses as cover for his misgovernment. NATO is a stabilizing force.

As the Maryland General Election cycle gets under way, progressive activists around the state will be focusing on one thing: everyone eligible to vote needs to know about the election, about the stakes and about why it is important that their own voices and the voices of their neighbors to be heard in the way it counts most – numbers of votes.

Here's how we do it. And you can too. Read on...

The Supreme Court’s recent anti-union Janus decision is sparking activism among the unionized public employees it affects, emphatically including teachers. As Jeff Bryant explains, they are already pushing back hard, in Maryland and elsewhere, against right-wing money that aims ultimately to eliminate unions.

Getting our ducks in a row for a new governor in 2019 -- Larry Hogan's free ride on the continued Obama economy masks his warmed-over Ehrlich version of state government, filling the pockets of corporate and business interests while keeping a foot on the necks of working families. Help us build the real Hogan record... more below. Plus the week's activist calendar.

We should be skeptical of the motivation and messengers behind calls for civility. One of my organizing mentors said the “be nice rule” was really the “be nice to those in power rule.”

Progressive Maryland state coordinator Beth Landry notes “an important point to make is how close the result of some of these races were shows how important it is for every person to get involved… for instance, literally one canvasser's shift changed results for Montgomery and Baltimore County Exec races.”

MARYLAND’S BAIL REFORM IS FAILING IN PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY. WHY?

The study finds "while the use of cash-bail has decreased, judges have largely replaced it with 'no bail' holds rather than releasing people on their own recognizance..." and concludes “Keeping people out of jail and in the community where they can work, learn, and be with loved ones is good for public safety, these individuals and their community as well as the overall health of Prince George’s County.