CD6: Nuns to Protest at Rep. Roscoe Bartlett's Office // National Pundit Calls Sen. Rob Garagiola "The Most Arrogant" Candidate

UPDATE: A number of readers in the comments below, either defend Senator Garagiola or criticize John Delaney. Additionally, a few anonymous readers were baffled by Stu Rothenberg's comments. We print a few select responses below:

READER #1: That Rothenberg piece struck me as an amazing piece of Washington-elite disconnectedness.

Montgomery County Workers Pound Ike Leggett Over $900,000 Tax Cut Plan for Lockheed Martin // #OccupyMoCo Plans Protest

A source within Montgomery County's government reports that MCGEO -- the union representing thousands of county government employees -- is generating a large number of emails to county politicians today: "FYI. The email below was just sent out and the emails are already flooding into the council."

The trigger for MCGEO's advocacy campaign is a proposal from County Executive Ike Leggett to give defense contractor Lockheed Martin nearly one million dollars a year in tax cuts. In an email blast today, the government workers condemn Leggett's proposal and ask members to write to county officials. They also invite readers to attend a protest this Thursday at the County Council that is being organized by a local #Occupy group. Notably, the Council is holding public hearings on the budget this week. Maryland Juice prints MCGEO's email blast and the #Occupy invitation below:

April 11, 2012 Oppose Corporate Welfare to Lockheed Martin! Mr. Leggett is at it again. The County Executive has proposed a corporate welfare package totalling $5 MILLION dollars - giving a $900,000 grant to corporate giant Lockheed Martin, no strings attached! Read more here. Two years ago, the Montgomery County Council tried to pass a bill that would forgive $450,000 in hotel taxes to Lockheed. Because of community outrage, the Council tabled the bill and the proposal failed! This latest attempt at coddling  an ultra-rich corporation without regard to the County's taxpayers who end up paying the freight is downright outrageous! MCGEO is testifying against this ridiculous example of corporate welfare on tomorrow at 1:30pm when the County Council will take up Mr. Leggett’s budget.  It is outrageous to offer this super-rich corporation a gift of almost a million dollars when Montgomery County is cutting all kinds of services and is asking the average taxpayer to pay more. Click here to tell Mr. Leggett and the County Council that you object to this proposal. Unjustifiable Corporate Welfare "The only justification – ever – for corporate welfare is ironclad proof that the alternative is a net loss of wealth – in jobs and tax revenue – for the unwealthy. Not an iota of evidence exits for either in this case." The "Lockheed Tax" Most of Lockheed's revenue comes from contracts with the federal government. In 2008, $36 billion of their sales came from federal contracts and $29 billion from the Pentagon. One expert calculated that each taxpaying household contributes roughly $260 in the “Lockheed tax.” And Mr. Leggett wants US TO SUBSIDIZE THEM MORE? Click here to tell Mr. Leggett and the County Council that you object to this proposal. Send a letter! Tell the county council you object to this corporate give-away! Click here to send a letter to the County Council. Protest this plan! Occupy Montgomery County is organizing a protest outside the Council offices, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville. Join the protest outside, from 6 to 8 p.m.

MEDIA ADVISORY for Thursday April 12, 2012

Occupy Montgomery County To Protest Tax Giveaway To Lockheed Martin

As schools are forced to trim budgets, county considers cutting taxes for war profiteer

ROCKVILLE, MD – Occupy Montgomery County, a group of residents who have joined together to build community and amplify voices of the 99% in America’s 12th richest county, are protesting a proposed tax giveaway to Lockheed Martin in the 2013 county budget.

The Montgomery County Council is holding public hearings this week on County Executive Ike Leggett’s 2013 budget proposal. Among Leggett’s proposals is a recommendation to grant Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin a controversial $900,000 tax grant. The county council has rejected such giveaways for the company in the past. And the newly formed Occupy Montgomery County will be taking action to make sure they do the same this year.

The following is a statement from the group:

 “A company that in 2010 derived fully 84 percent of its profit from taxpayer dollars has absolutely no business siphoning much-needed resources from the people of Montgomery County. At a time when teachers are being laid off and schoolchildren are being stuffed into overcrowded classrooms, Lockheed Martin needs to pay its fair share. They can certainly afford to: the company paid its CEO $21.9 million and spent another $15.9 million on lobbying. The question is this: will our elected county officials invest in war profiteering merchants of death? Or a future for our children? We intend to make sure they make the right choice.”

WHERE: 100 Maryland Ave, Stella B. Werner Council Office Building, Rockville, MD

WHEN: Thursday, April 12 6 pm

FOR MORE INFORMATION: visit www.occupymocomd.org

OMG: Frederick Tea Partier Blaine Young Announces Exploratory Bid for 2014 MD Governor - HAHAHA (Seriously!)

OMG: So the rumors have been true. Blaine Young -- Frederick County's Tea Party loudmouth -- is running for Governor of Maryland in 2014. Blaine Young is the man responsible for making English the "official language" of Frederick County, and who once served as a Democrat -- until his name appeared in a madam's little black book. He is currently serving in his first term as President of the Frederick County Board of Commissioners. The Frederick News-Post publishes an email from Mr. Young, where he describes his fantasy (see excerpts below):

BLAINE YOUNG: I’ve been watching politics in Maryland for a long time and I can honestly say I have never felt as uneasy – and almost physically ill – as I do now watching what is going on in Annapolis.

 The absolute domination of this state by one political party, which seems to know no limits to how far they are willing to exploit their monopoly of power, is taking us all for a ride that I am afraid will end up in a massive and fiery crash and burn....

  It seems to me that there is very little real prospect of Republicans gaining enough seats to overturn the Democrat majority in either the House or the Senate. Their majorities are overwhelming numerically; and, with their further gerrymandering of the legislative map, it will be next to impossible to gain a significant number of seats. Our legislature is going to be Democrat, liberal and clamoring for our money for as far into the future as the eye can see.

  It seems the only way to do anything about the one party monopoly in Annapolis is to do something in the Governor’s Mansion. Bob Ehrlich proved 10 years ago that although it is against long odds a Republican can win the Governor’s Mansion. This strategy, though daunting, at least from a historical prospective, is achievable with the right candidate and the right campaign that focuses on the excesses and arrogance of the one party rule in Annapolis. If voters truly are tired of being dictated to by a political monopoly, it is much easier for them to switch over to the other side of the ballot in the statewide race than to vote against their local delegates or senators, who many of them have met and may know well....

  This is why it is so important that the Republicans get serious about the 2014 Maryland gubernatorial campaign and start thinking about and doing what is necessary to try to win back the Governor’s Mansion. You say it’s only early 2012, and there is still plenty of time to think about an election 2 1/2 years from now? Think again!

  The Democrats are way ahead. Attorney General Doug Gansler has over $4 million in the bank, and there is no question he is going to run for governor. Comptroller Peter Franchot has raised more than $1 million. Howard County Executive Ken Ulman has also raised over a $1 million, and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown has raised more than $800,000. The primary election is two years from this June, and from experience I can tell you, when you are trying to raise money, that two years will go by awfully fast.

  From Republicans we’ve heard some talk but haven’t seen much action. I have heard some say that they will make a decision late this year or early next year. Based on what the Democrats are doing, that will be too late. Republicans had better get serious now, and start working to raise the money which will be necessary to compete with whichever Democrat comes out of what should be a very interesting and contested primary.

  Many probably know that I am considering a run for governor of Maryland as a Republican. I am going to get this going over the next few months with an exploratory committee, and open a campaign account to raise money. My message will be very simple: One Vote Stops It All. One vote from Gov. Blaine R. Young will block any and all future tax and fee increases in the State of Maryland. And I promise I will use that one vote to veto....

  Blaine R. Young

SHAME ON THE GROWN-UPS: Prince George's Public Schools Stamp Out Student Dissent on Budget Cuts

UPDATE: Thanks to the Internet-based publicity surrounding Prince George's school officials' ("PGCPS") attempts to silence student dissent over budget cuts, politicos are now weighing in on the matter. Not surprisingly, one incumbent School Board member is defending the Iron Fist tactics of PGCPS officials. The Real Prince George's County blog prints several responses: 

1. District 7 School Board incumbent Henry Armwood says the crackdown on student protesters is about their safety (uh huh), 
2. District 7 challenger Carletta Fellows stands with the students for trying to highlight "horrendous conditions," 
3. District 4 challenger Micah Watson raises questions about whether PGCPS officials should be allowed to invade student privacy by monitoring their Twitter accounts for political dissent, and 
4. PGCPS Student Board member Faith Jackson says she is supposed to stay silent, but risks getting in trouble in order to stand by the students who elected her.

Numerous blogs and email lists are lighting up in anger over reports that Prince George's County Public School ("PGCPS") officials are using Iron Fist tactics to silence student protestors. Hat tip to AFL-CIO Union City email list and the Real Prince George's County blog for flagging the article below. It comes to us from the website for The Black Star Project. Their website states their mission as follows:

Founded in 1996 by Phillip Jackson, The Black Star Project is committed to improving the quality of life in Black and Latino communities of Chicago and nationwide by eliminating the racial academic achievement gap

The Black Star blog reported the following news about PGCPS officials Iron Fist tactics:

Thursday, March 1st was a National Student Day of Action in which students around the country organized demonstrations protesting education budget cuts, educational inequality, and advocating for quality and affordable education for all. Students at Northwestern High School in Prince George’s County Maryland planned a walkout and rally as part of the National Student Day of Action.

Over 300 students planned to walk out to protest unsanitary conditions in their school, enormous class sizes, cuts to the ESOL program, and denial of promised pay raises for their teachers. The students also were asking for more teacher/parent/student input in the curriculum and demanding an apology for a group of Filipino teachers who were fired and deported after not having their work visas renewed.

The Administration at Northwestern discovered the walkout plan early in the day by trolling Twitter and put the school on lockdown. Police blocked the doors and canine units waited in the school’s parking lot. They held student leaders in the Principal’s office all day, threatened them with expulsion, and at the end of the day suspended four students for 5 days requiring that when they return their parents must accompany them to classes all day. 

The Truth About Triple-A Bond Ratings, Immigration, Women's Rights & More // EVOLVE: Subversive Art in Germany

UPDATE: Here we go again. Republicans are proposing cutting government workers so that we can prop up defense spending.

Maryland Juice in Dusseldorf, Germany

BACKGROUND: In case you couldn't tell, this week activists on both sides of the marriage equality debate started to throwdown for a showdown on the issue. Sorry for the erratic posting schedule this past week -- Maryland Juice has been lobbing bombs from across the Atlantic Ocean. The conservative bloggers at Red Maryland, for what it's worth, are now trying to make a punching bag out of me for calling out hypocrisy from public figures. Gee thanks.

ANYWAY -- now I'm back in the U.S. of A, and I have a lot to report back from my trip to Germany and the Netherlands -- starting with another meditation on subversive art. My second to last entry on subversive art was a dispatch from Seattle's EMP museum, which was designed by iconic architecht Frank Gehry.

This week, I stumbled upon yet another set of Frank Gehry-designed buildings -- but this time in Dusseldorf, Germany. My visit to Dusseldorf was completely by accident -- but as luck would have it, the experience provided me with multiple new insights about Maryland politics and the DC metro economy that I will share below.

Three new Frank Gehry designed buildings are revitalizing Dusseldorf, Germany

After submersing myself in EU news and policy perspectives again, I have two main points:

1. By looking at the policy contrasts with European economies, it continues to appear that U.S. policymakers have been brainwashed by the Chambers of Commerce, and
2. I continue to believe that subversive art can have a huge role in priming the public consciousness in positive ways.