Welcome to 2018. More than ever this will be a year when solidarity matters. It is going to be top-line critical that we all, as progressives, seek our commonalities and find broad areas where we can work together. And make your voice heard. See below, and in the weeks that follow, for how.
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Welcome to 2018. More than ever this will be a year when solidarity matters. It is going to be top-line critical that we all, as progressives, seek our commonalities and find broad areas where we can work together. We have the people and the issues but our opposition has the money and all that can buy. Let’s be sure that the other side can’t buy our dissension – because that’s always on the table if we let it be on the table.
Progressive Maryland is a big, statewide organization but we have many allies and we need to keep them allies and add to them as we build a real, statewide coalition.
Our first test is sitting right in front of us. The Maryland General Assembly session begins January 10 – that’s one week from tomorrow as we write today, January 2. You’ll see events and actions leading up to the session, and during the session, in this Memo every week. We’ll have advance discussions of the important issues to be debated and decided, and we’ll talk about who among the Delegates and Senators needs to hear our voices. They all have to go before the voters in 2018 and, as we know, money always talks but it talks more loudly if the people are silent.
So make your voice heard, from the halls of Congress to Lawyers’ Mall in Annapolis to your Senators and Delegates’ offices during lobby days to your county courthouses. And don’t forget that blogging on the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace makes your voice heard, too, and encourages others to step up as well.
STATEWIDE ACTION
 Monday, January 15, Fight for $15 Coalition Rally 5:00 PM · Maryland House Building in Annapolis, MD Progressive Maryland and allies in Maryland's Fight for $15 Coalition will be participating in a Rally in Annapolis on January 15th, 2018 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day). rsvp here or the event page
On January 27th, we will launch Progressive Maryland's Monthly Mass Canvasses! Click on this link for our event page! The following Movement Politics Team Google Form was disseminated at our 2017 Annual Membership Meeting call in December. Complete this with your preference to either host or participate in a canvass!
In April, People's Action is hosting the first of two WEEKLONG TRAININGS right here in Silver Spring, Maryland! This training is scheduled from April 15th-21st. Member leaders and People's Action staff from all over the country will be joining us for this agitational-type training. We will have more information and details for the training coming soon!
OUR CHAPTERS AROUND THE STATE:
 Be A Part of the Movement to Connect Prince George's!
Progressive Maryland and Progressive Prince George’s have launched a 75-day campaign to start a resident-led and resident-funded collective of people harnessing their own talents and skills to create a Prince George’s truly shaped by residents. Click here to find out more information and join other Prince Georgians dedicated to making a change! See the Next Steps meeting below. For technical and member support, contact Seanniece Bamiro, [email protected]
 Saturday, January 06, Political Empowerment Day   11:00 AM · Greater Beulah Baptist Church 6056 Central Ave, Capitol Heights, MD 20743
 Wednesday, January 10 PG Co-Op Member Next Steps Session at 06:30 PM · Prince George's County (TBD) rsvp
PMD MontgomeryÂ
Save the Date:
- January 17th Happy Hour in Silver Spring
- January 18th Chapter Meeting
- January 24th Happy Hour in Rockville
We've been blogging!
- Just a Progressive Idea: Don't We Deserve More from Our Public Transit?
- Mass-Produced Chicken and the Environment
Visit our media page to view a video from PMD Montgomery member Helen interviewing Brandy Brooks.Â
Take Action Anne Arundel County
Thursday January 18 -- 2018 Legislative Preview with Progressive Maryland 7 PM, Edgewater Branch, 25 Stepney Lane, Edgewater 21037. Join Take Action AAC in a discussion with Jennifer Dwyer, Policy and Legislative Coordinator, for Progressive Maryland. Jennifer will provide an overview of the bills Progressive Maryland is focused on for the 2018 session. Join the discussion to decide which legislation Take Action AAC will advocate for in the 2018 state legislative session. RSVP here.
Saturday January 20 -- Annapolis Anniversary March 11 AM -- begins with a rally at Lawyer's Mall in front of the State House in Annapolis where newly elected mayor Gavin Buckley will speak and community leaders and organizers will inform people about what the organizations are doing and how one can get involved. At noon, participants will march from Lawyer's Mall through downtown Annapolis to Susan Campbell Park at City Dock. RSVP here.Â
Frederick County Progressives
Sunday, January 14th January 2018 General Membership Meeting 11:30 PM at Frederick C. Burr Artz Library - Community Room in Frederick, MD -- Please join us for our monthly general meeting and 2018 kick off! We will be discussing what we learned from 2017 and how we plan to train community leaders and build on that momentum to achieve greater goals in 2018. rsvp
Lower Shore Progressive Caucus
ALLIED EVENTS
WED JAN 3 Greenbelt Climate Action Network (GCAN) will host a Special Presentation on Environmental Issues in the 2018 General Assembly at its monthly meeting on Wednesday, Jan 3, 2018, 7:00 - 9:00 pm in the Greenbelt Community Center, Room 114, 15 Crescent Road, Greenbelt, MD. Mark Posner, Legislative Chair, Maryland Sierra Club, will discuss the Sierra Club's priority bills in the 2018 session; as always, we will use the last portion of the evening for announcements and updates on local and national issues we are following. For more info, contact Lore Rosenthal, Greenbelt Climate Action Network, [email protected], 301-345-2234.
Thursday, January 4, 2018 Prince George's County Workforce Development Forum with the Job Opportunities Task Force--  8:30AM- 12PM Prince George’s Community College Largo Student Center (8:30AM-9:00AM, Registration and Breakfast ) This workforce convening will highlight some of the existing challenges and opportunities to connect local residents to skills training and job opportunities in the area. Please join us for this stimulating conversation with workforce development leaders, state and local representatives, and workforce advocates. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.  RSVP HERE For questions, please contact Lee Domeika at [email protected]
Thursday January 4 Safety Study Rally  12pm -- Start the new year off with us as for the 28th week in a row that we've rallied outside Governor Hogan's mansion in Annapolis for a safety study (called a Quantitative Risk Assessment, or QRA) on Dominion Energy's fracking refinery, power plant and export terminal being built in Cove Point. It'd be great to see you there. RSVP here. For more information on this export terminal, what we've been doing about it and the need for Governor Hogan to order a safety study, visitwww.wearecovepoint.org.
Thursday January 11, Listening Session for the Growth Development Plan  6-8pm at Annapolis High School cafeteria -- Anne Arundel County is looking for citizen input in creating the Growth Development Plan. Facebook RSVP here.  Upcoming listening sessions at Northeast High School on Jan 29 and Southern High School on February 8.
Friday January 12, Free Movie Wasted! --7pm with the Climate Stewards of Greater Annapolis. WASTED! THE STORY OF FOOD WASTEÂ aims to change the way people buy, cook, recycle, and eat food.
Friday, January 26 -- Progressive Cheverly's Annual legislative forum for District 47A. We will hear from State Senator Victor Ramirez and Delegates Diana Fennell and Jimmy Tarlau about their legislative priorities for the upcoming Maryland General Assembly session and have the chance to ask your questions directly to your representatives. This annual event is one of our most popular forums.
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.
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:
January 01, 2018 Bring the School Board Back to the People of Prince George’s
A 2013 bill in the Maryland General Assembly backed by Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker created an environment where the School CEO was basically only accountable to the County Exec.   So when it came to big decisions, public input wouldn’t really matter much as long as they had unflinching support from the other side of Upper Marlboro. It's time to reverse that process and make the board all-elected again.
December 22, 2017 We Can Take the Lead in Remaking America
The co-directors of our national affiliate, People's Action, have a positive view of the prospects for 2018. Nothing will happen without struggle, of course, but struggle will bring progress despite the GOP oligarchy at the top.
December 19, 2017 Taking a closer look at the Trump voter
One of our jobs as progressives is to figure out how to have these conversations in a way that presents acceptable alternatives but doesn't scare away the Trump voters of the world. I know that some of my views would not be acceptable to my co-worker, but I also know we don't have to agree 100% in order to have a conversation.Â
December 18, 2017 Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Dec. 18-25, 2017
For your attention: Action today and the early week (Dec. 18-20) against the GOP tax scam; our statewide meeting Dec. 21, plus chapter meetings for Progressive Howard (Thursday, Dec. 21) and PMD Montgomery happy hour Wednesday, Dec. 20… details for all below. And, yes, we’re already talking about January (Take Action Anne Arundel County meeting Thursday, Jan. 18).
 Keeping up with the blogs is easier with the index. The blogs published in the PM BlogSpace from June 2015 through December 2016 are all available with descriptions and links here. You can follow blogs for 2017-18 starting from here
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