It's a wind-down and reflective time of year. Not much going on. Except, well, impeachment, trial and removal from office. But we know you were already paying attention...

Dear progressive friends: We’ll have Memos on Dec. 23 and 30 through the holidays but they will of course reflect the level of progressive activity at this time of year. We’ll just pass along anything urgent plus what’s on the calendar.

Um, did somebody mention urgent?

Impeach & Remove Events are ON: The Nobody Is Above the Law network has activated. We're calling on Congress to Impeach & Remove Donald Trump. 

From our national umbrella coalition, People’s Action, comes this imperative: Events are called for TOMORROW, Tuesday, December 17th at 5:30 p.m. local time, but check close-in events in Baltimore, Catonsville, Columbia, Gaithersburg, Olney and Bel Air as well as downtown DC -- NOTE THAT THE DC EVENT IS 9 AM THE MORNING OF THE VOTE, either Wednesday or Thursday. See all of those local rallies here.

Join this historic nationwide mobilization on the eve of Trump's impeachment vote.

IT DOESN’T JUST HAPPEN -- Maryland’s legislative session is right around the corner! Progressive Maryland has a bold vision to bring power to the people-- Medicare for All, ending mass incarceration, campaign finance reform, and much more – in 2020 and beyond! At the end of 2019, will you support our mission? https://www.givelikealocal.org/team/progressivemaryland

In Maryland, movement co-governance means electing progressive candidates to office is only the start -- we need to build a strategy to keep progressive policies up on the board where they can be championed, and support our officials in being those champions. As FDR told the legendary union leader A. Philip Randolph -- "I agree with you. Now you need to make me do it." He was talking about the pressure of people's action, and it is needed today more than ever. Keep your eyes out for our training on movement co-governance in early 2020.

The Push for More Support for Community Schools is at the heart of the Kirwan Commission proposals to improve Maryland’s schools – which is being finalized now. A recent poll shows that about three out of four Marylanders want more money spent on public schools but need more info on that plan, which has rolled out a decade-long reform plan that could cost about $3.8 billion more each year once fully implemented, as Danielle Gaines reported for Maryland Matters. But you can find out lots more from our roundup of the blogs we have published on education reform in the second half of 2019; see below. See also the advocacy work of the “Blueprint for Maryland’s Future” coalition, including Progressive Maryland and teachers’ organizations statewide, and activism (below) in the PMD Montgomery chapter entry.

Progressive Maryland’s Continued Blog Coverage of the Kirwan Commission and Maryland School Improvement Campaign

Some business leaders wise up, back full-bore Kirwan plan December 05

Union, progressive coalition take lead on fair funding for Kirwan schools plan  November 19

Assembly majority ready to move on Kirwan school improvements AND construction November 8

Kirwan funding group meets tomorrow; recommendation expected this week October 14

How the community school approach leverages all local improvement efforts October 09

Underfunding our schools is undermining our future October 02

Democrats urge full funding for Kirwan education proposals as advocacy coalition hosts forums around state September 19

Teacher Pay Dominates Discussion of Proposed Kirwan Education Formula September 11

BATTLE LINES DRAWN FOR STRUGGLE FOR BETTER SCHOOLS IN MD -- $$$ AT ISSUE August 20

PG Civic Academy tomorrow charts course for school and community improvements July 31

Teachers across Maryland flexing their political muscle July 13

Medicare For All is gaining support nationally and in Maryland

The Medicare for All town hall held in Gaithersburg on Oct. 20 by our allies in the Maryland Progressive Healthcare Coalition (MPHC) is now available on a video stream and is already approaching 18,000 views. https://www.facebook.com/OurRevolutionMD/videos/531692600951283/

How are activists moving Medicare for All closer to reality? Read People’s Action health organizer Connie Huynh’s account from our blog of victories against the entrenched profit-over-people health care system.

PROGRESSIVE MARYLAND IS HIRING – Organize with us throughout the state and in digital and strategic organizing tasks – check the opportunities here.  

OUR CHAPTERS AROUND THE STATE

Progressive Prince George’s 

Advocates for criminal justice reform in Prince George’s County are circulating this petition for the removal of Police Chief Henry Stawinski, arguing that “Chief Stawinski fails to hold police officers accountable under Maryland and federal law for acts of criminal misconduct, including for such acts as murder and other forms of violent assault;” and that he “permits Prince George’s County police officers to use excessive force, especially when dealing with black people.” A more complete account of the activists’ arguments is at the petition link.

PMD Montgomery 

PMD Montgomery is fighting for the full promise of school improvement and equity for all students in the MCPS system.

 The Montgomery Chapter supports the efforts of MCEA to win a fully funded contract in 2020. A Parent Committee has been created to be involved in that effort and some other local school issues.  Several PM supporters and leaders attended the December 11 meeting where we heard from Oscar Alvarenga, Parent and Community Organizer for MCEA, and from Strong Schools Maryland about the upcoming legislative session and the campaign to win full funding for the Kirwan Commission recommendations. To learn more about the Parent Committee, its next meeting in January, and related education efforts in MOCO contact Patty Snee at [email protected].

Please contact County Executive Marc Elrich to encourage him to fully fund MCEA’s contract and our schools. [email protected]. This is a critical time to urge him to make the necessary financial investment in MCPS’s workforce that will help close achievement and opportunity gaps and deliver the resources our students and educators deserve.  It’s expected that Elrich will release his budget proposal in March.

See more about the Kirwan Commission recommendations and Montgomery County here: https://capsmd.org/issues/education/solutions/how-kirwan-benefits-montgomery-county

A fact sheet on Kirwan recently produced by Strong Schools Maryland is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LbT_ecb4vXcClJ0VmhsZvq1a7b9Bx1DG/view?ts=5df7c3b9

Stay tuned for updates and actions on advocacy for education funding during the legislative session, which starts in Annapolis on January 8, 2020.

 Frederick County Progressives

Take Action Anne Arundel County

Talbot Rising

Lower Shore Progressive Caucus 

January 2, 2020 Lower Shore Progressive Caucus Meeting 6-8 PM, Wicomico public library

PMD Baltimore

EVENTS FROM OUR PROGRESSIVE ALLIES

Tuesday, DEC 17 Maryland HBCU Town Hall 6:00 – 8:00 PM Prince George’s County Education Association (PGCEA) 8008 Marlboro Pike, Forestville, MD — Get an overview of documented, historic racism and discrimination in Maryland’s institutions of higher education, panel discussions on the 13-year long lawsuit, and perspectives on the value and significance of Maryland’s HBCUs from students, alumni, faculty, advocates, legislators, and the media. RSVP   Facebook livestream.   More info here​

Saturday, DEC 21 Prince Georges County Poor People’s Campaign General Meeting 12 PM at the Greenbelt Library 11 Crescent Rd Greenbelt MD 20770

Saturday JAN 25, 2020, , CCAN Polar Bear Plunge, 10 AM -2 PM  https://us-p2p.netdonor.net/2883/polar-bear-plunge 

 Sun Jan 26, Medicare 4 All Town Hall in Annapolis 2-4 PM at Stanton Community Center, 92 W Washington St, Annapolis, MD 21401 among co-sponsors, Maryland Progressive Healthcare Coalition.

Baltimore progressives, Check in on the wide-ranging Baltimore Activist Alert calendar and tip sheet at http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

Reading the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace: our recent blogs 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 published these blog posts:

December 12, 2019 Is it time to nationalize Facebook, a social media public utility?

Use Facebook? Yup, we do too. It's a natural monopoly and a public utility, privately controlled by a young(ish) know-it-all and claimed idealist who looks more and more like a typical profits-first corporate greedhead.

As progressive radio host Thom Hartmann outlines here, it's probably time to take this public utility into public ownership or control.

December 10, 2019 Trump administration's trifecta of rollbacks could cut 80K Marylanders from food stamps

The Trump Agriculture Department is rolling out a trifecta of badness that could “take food off the table of struggling families” in Maryland and nationwide, as StatesNewsroom’s Robin Bravender reports.

Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Monday, December 9, 2019

This week: links to our recent blogs – on business leaders seeing their self-interest in full funding of the Kirwan school improvement program, how militarism roadblocks health care improvement, and a roundup of our coverage on the funding of the Kirwan school improvement plan, a battle coming up in the General Assembly next month. Plus more battles on criminal justice reform and Medicare for All, news and events from PM’s chapters, and events from our progressive allies.

Progressive Maryland’s continued blog coverage of the Kirwan Commission and Maryland school improvement campaign

Some business leaders wise up, back full-bore Kirwan plan

December 05, 2019

Union, progressive coalition take lead on fair funding for Kirwan schools plan

 November 19, 2019

Assembly majority ready to move on Kirwan school improvements AND construction

November 8, 2019

Kirwan funding group meets tomorrow; recommendation expected this week

October 14, 2019

How the community school approach leverages all local improvement efforts

October 09, 2019

Underfunding our schools is undermining our future

October 02, 2019

Democrats urge full funding for Kirwan education proposals as advocacy coalition hosts forums around state

September 19, 2019

Teacher Pay Dominates Discussion of Proposed Kirwan Education Formula

September 11, 2019

BATTLE LINES DRAWN FOR STRUGGLE FOR BETTER SCHOOLS IN MD -- $$$ AT ISSUE

August 20, 2019

PG Civic Academy tomorrow charts course for school and community improvements

July 31, 2019

Teachers across Maryland flexing their political muscle

July 13, 2019

>REMEMBER – these blog posts are frequently expressions of political opinion from our wide-ranging membership and circle of allies. They are not expressions of opinion by Progressive Maryland. Don’t be surprised if they sometimes vary in their political content. You might even disagree with them – a good reason to contribute a blog of your own. Send it to the moderator, Woody Woodruff, at [email protected].

>>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