Welcome to the Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for August 21-29. Lots going on, including the health care fight, leadership development opportunities, letting Larry Hogan know he has to listen to more than big donors – he should speak out on protecting Maryland’s health care and pushing back against the white supremacist elements that Trump appears to condone -- plus community struggles like the concrete plant being foisted on the Port Towns of Prince George’s, and much more at chapters around the state. Dip in…

 

MARYLAND FOR GUARANTEED HEALTHCARE

Here at the Maryland for Guaranteed Healthcare campaign, hate and racism cannot derail us fighting for fundamental human rights. 

For those interested in getting more involved with the Maryland for Guaranteed Healthcare campaign:

  • You can sign up to share your healthcare story or host a Potluck to #ProtectOurCare!
  • We are having healthcare deep canvasses around the state on a continuing basis. We will be talking one on one with others on what is important to them regarding our nation's healthcare system and galvanizing relationships with our neighbors and communities. RSVP on this link and we will follow up with you!
  • Many proposals are being put forward on both sides of the aisle, some with better intentions than others. The Maryland for Guaranteed Healthcare campaign is just that - a campaign for guaranteed healthcare. With the strides the ACA has done to improve the healthcare system, there will still remain 30 million Americans uninsured, with many who have insurance still not having needed medical coverage and care. In the immediate short-term, our advocacy has been concentrated heavily on preventing up to 23 million Americans from having their medical coverage taken away. Millions of people in our nation rely with their lives on services provided by Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. We are demanding our elected officials such as Governor Hogan, Representative Andy Harris, and others to oppose ANY healthcare cuts for Maryland, as well as to take a leading position that everyone deserves healthcare and supporting policy solutions that make that goal a reality. Health care is a human right and moral issue, not a commodity. Our goal should be to provide more and higher quality care to Americans, especially access to mental health services. We at Progressive Maryland believe that should take the form of a single-payer, Medicare-for-all system. Sign our petition if you agree!  

Text "healthcare" to (240) 708 - 8203 or visit our webpage to sign up to volunteer!
Contact Beth Landry, Healthcare Organizer for more information (443) 366 -9402   [email protected]

BUILDING OUR PROGRESSIVE ORGANIZATION:

Do you have a passion for teaching, training, or mentoring?

Progressive Maryland needs you! We are creating our statewide leadership development and training program that will support our grassroots network of member leaders as they organize for social, economic, and environmental justice. We are looking for people from around the state to be part of our team of trainers, curriculum developers, peer mentors, and event planners who will help our members grow as organizers and as developers of other leaders.

This team could be right for you if any of the following are true:

  • You're interested in teaching, training, or public speaking
  • You're excited about helping others become more powerful leaders
  • You're good at advising and inspiring others
  • You have a knack for thinking through details
  • You want to grow as an organizing leader

Want to know more? Email Brandy Brooks, Progressive Maryland's Leadership Development Organizer, at [email protected] to set up a time to talk.


CHAPTERS AROUND THE STATE:

Progressive MoCo

Wednesday, Aug 23 – Progressive Happy Hour at Republic in Takoma Park. 6-8 p.m. See more here and RSVP, or here: https://www.facebook.com/events/315085108953760/?ti=icl

August 30, 2017 PMD Montgomery Chapter Meeting 7-9 p.m., Our quarterly meeting to address progressive issues in Montgomery County. If you're interested in learning more about PMD Montgomery, and want to contribute to our fight for a living wage, come join us! Marvin Memorial United Methodist Church, 33 University Blvd E, Silver Spring, MD 20901
Google map and directions See link for more

 

Progressive Prince George’s

You matter!  Get involved and get your issues addressed.  

On Tuesday, August 22, our whole community — teachers, parents, activists, and students — will be coming together for a Critical Conversation Town Hall Meeting about how we can strengthen public education, 6:30 p.m. at Prince George's Educators' Association, 8008 Marlboro Pike, Forestville, MD 20747

Critical Conversations:

  • How Social Justice = Restorative Justice & Sustainable Community Schools. The fight for truly equal public education was at the heart of the civil rights movement. The privatization of our schools threatens all the progress we’ve made. Come discuss a social justice agenda for today.
  • How to turn back the attack on our public schools. Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has worked for years to destroy public education. Now Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan wants to give public money to private schools. We’ll plan how to fight back.

Click here to RSVP

 Sunday, September 24th – Save the Date for an Immigration Forum with Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh Stamp Student Union, University of Maryland, College Park Campus -- RSVP link coming soon.

 

Join an Issue Group Today!

Our chapter has identified seven key issues of concern in our county: criminal justice, economic matters, education, fair elections, health care, immigration rights & protection and transportation.  Email the issue leads below to join a group.

 Join Our County Council Teams Today!

We are looking for a point person for each County Council District. This team will mobilize when needed to advocate with their councilperson on a progressive issue, or to support new candidates for the office. If you are interested in this, please reach to Diane Teichert, County Council Lead [email protected].

 Prince George’s Communities: LOCAL ISSUE - To RSVP, please click here

Opposition to a Bladensburg Concrete Batching Plant – Special Exception- 4792 -- Please attend the Zoning Hearing Examiner to hear the case and support the Port Towns on Wednesday, August 22, 2017, at 9 a.m. in the County Administration Building, 2nd floor. For more see here.

https://www.facebook.com/Port-Towns-Environmental-Action-1851603078460419/


Prince George’s Deserves Better – Pitch in and Make it Happen!

Frederick County Progressives:

Sunday, Sept 10 – Chapter Meeting and potluck. 1:15 p.m. at C. Burr Artz Public Library - Community Room with a training on LGBQT issues.
rsvp

Take Action Anne Arundel Countymeets the first Monday of each month (check for Labor Day schedule).

Tuesday, Aug. 29 – Statewide Action in Anne Arundel County -- hosting a peaceful demonstration outside the ‘Associated Builders & Contractors Fundraiser for Hogan’ to let the governor know he needs to hear the voices of all Marylanders, not just those with fat checks to hand him. 5-8 p.m. Sidewalk outside of Homestead Gardens, 743 W. Central Avenue Davidsonville, MD 21035. More here , and the above is part of Resistance Recess, a Move On activity.

Progressive Howard County

is ramping up for a Voter Registration drive in working-class communities. http://www.progressiveHoCo.org/volunteer

Talbot Rising

 Had a successful part in a rally last Friday in solidarity with antiracist demonstrators in Charlottesville, Va.

WITH OUR ALLIES

Coming up TODAY: Monday, August 21, at the "Reel & Meal at the New Deal" film series -- Power and Control, Peter Cohn’s 2010 documentary about physical and emotional abuse in families. After the film two Greenbelt actors, Kathy Gordon and Katherine Jones, will perform a skit about domestic violence.     Starts 7 p.m. at the New Deal Café, 113 Centerway in Roosevelt Center, Greenbelt, following an optional buffet for $14 served from 6:30 pm

 Thursday, September 7: Progressive Cheverly Event:  7 p.m. Forum on Returning Citizens and our Community.  Last spring a large number of Cheverly residents objected to the placement of a halfway house in our town.  Yet the fact remains that formerly incarcerated persons live in Cheverly as they do elsewhere in Prince George's County and very few public services are offered to help this vulnerable population.  This forum will present experts and activists who will examine the public policy steps we can take to help reintegrate them into civic life upon their return as well as look at the public policy choices that result in so many of our fellow citizens being locked up in the first place. We will also look at action steps we can take going forward. Hoyer Education Center (cafeteria) 2300 Belleview Ave. (Parking Available) Cheverly -- Light refreshments will be served.

 
Saturday, Sept. 9 -- 5th Annual District 47 – Family and Friends Cookout.  Join us for free food, games, music and more!  RSVP to [email protected] or leave a message at 301-858-3340Noon -- 3:00 p.m. 4300 39th Place Brentwoood

 Tuesday, September 19 -- Zoning Rewrite presentation. 6:30 p.m. This is an open meeting of the Port Towns Community Development Corporation to hear about and discuss the Prince George’s County Zoning Rewrite progress. The MNCCPC staffers Brittney Drakeford and Chad Williams will present how the changes might affect us in the 47th district and in the Port Towns area. RSVP :  [email protected]6:30 p.m. -- light refreshments; 7 p.m. -- presentation followed by Q & A Colmar Manor Town Hall & Community Center, 3701 Lawrence Street, Colmar Manor

Baltimore comrades, Check in on Max Obuszewski’s highly useful calendar and tip sheet at http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

To keep up with progressive events in and around DC consult the invaluable calendar at the Washington Peace Center, http://washingtonpeacecenter.org/alerts

 It all happens for free… right? Not exactly. Organizing for change in our society and our high-maintenance politics requires both people and money. Keep change moving with a quick, secure impulse-buy contribution here.


BLOG POSTS THIS WEEK

Reading the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace: our blogs for the previous week are shown below, but if you want a handy way to keep track – and never miss a blog post – you can sign up to get this Weekly Memo by email. Remember this is your blogspace and your participation is heartily invited. See something going on that you don’t like – or that you do like and hope to see more of? Send us your thoughts; submit to the moderator at [email protected]

We recently posted these blogs:

 August 17, 2017 What are the remedies for the rising costs of running for office?

The skyrocketing costs of runnng for office in Maryland make a good argument for public financing to level the playing field and get big money out of state and local politics. We cross-post here Ana Faguy's excellent account of a new study by Common Cause Maryland coupled with her interview with longtime public financing advocate Sen. Paul Pinsky of Prince George's. The account first appeared on the blog site Maryland Matters.

 

August 16, 2017 Leggett’s Bespoke “Survey” Report on $15 Wage is Fraying Fast

The consultant study that MoCo executive Ike Leggett commissioned on a $15 minimum wage – and that served his purpose with a maxi-alarmist conclusion about huge job losses (according to the employers who were surveyed) – is looking flimsier and flimsier. The $149,000 taxpayer-funded study – derided by the respected Economic Policy Institute as “absurd junk science” – looks headed to the junkyard as Leggett is backing away from the study’s conclusion that over 8 percent of all county jobs and huge amounts of income would be lost if the minimum wage were raised to $15 per hour.

August 15, 2017 Advanced Nations Requiring All New Vehicles Be Electric. How About the US? How About Maryland?

There's much we can do -- as truly advanced nations are doing now -- to clear our dangerous air by aiming for all zero-emission vehicles on the road as soon as possible, environmental activist Susan Nerlinger details here. A lot of this can be accomplished on the ground in Maryland, if we can get the attention of our public officials.

August 14, 2017  Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for August 14-20

 Healthcare is front and center as usual these days, but we are sobered and saddened by the violence and deaths in Charlottesville over this weekend. We are gearing up for deep canvassing on more general issues, priming our communities for thinking about what’s at stake in the 2018 elections -- as well as tomorrow and the next week…

Keeping up with the blogs is easier with the index. The blogs published in the PM BlogSpace since June 2015 are all available with descriptions and links here.

 

 

woody woodruff

About

M.A. and Ph.d. from University of Maryland Merrill College of Journalism, would-be radical, sci-fi fan... retired to a life of keyboard radicalism...