October 7, 2023
New: Dec. 1 the Legislative Advocacy Committee resumes its meetings. Anyone interested in promoting issues common to our community and country is welcome. Contact: bubbiebarb1123@gmail.com
The next “Winning Wednesday” is Oct. 11, 1-3 pm in the Norbeck Room, Clubhouse 2. Join us as we write postcards, letters, emails and texts to undecided voters in neighboring Virginia, which holds its state legislative races Nov. 7. A defeat for Gov. Youngkin will stop this “Trump-lite”, anti-choice, pro-book bans political hack. As Rep. Raskin says, “democracy on the ballot… “We are in the fight of our lifetime to defend democratic values, democratic beliefs and institutions”.
Our next Democratic Club meeting is on Wednesday (not our regular day), Oct. 18 at 7pm in the Crystal Ballroom, Clubhouse 1. It will focus on defending our LGBTQ+ neighbors and democratic rights for all citizens. Chairing the meeting will be At-Large Councilmember and County Council President Evan Glass, who is the first openly gay member of that body.
As you know, with the ascendancy of Trump and MAGA, hate has proliferated. The gay community has faced increased hate activity, including having some school systems and libraries ban inclusive books. Our meeting is a joint venture with several Leisure World clubs, including Leisure World Progressives, Leisure World LGBTQ+, and the Unitarian Universalists of Leisure World. The panel will also include State Rep. Cullison’s Chief-of-Staff and a rep from the Pride Center. Because of the topic and the multiple clubs involved, we expect significant attendance. Masks are welcome. Zoom link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85460761546?pwd=L3ZTUXo0OXZrS1VXa0dka3NvY0VhQT09
On November 9th we meet at 7pm in the Crystal Ballroom, CH 1 the club’s focus will turn to a power broker in Annapolis, State Senate President Bill Ferguson. Virtually no legislation passes the State Assembly without approval by Sen. Ferguson. Our own District 19 State Senator Ben Kramer, who also has considerable seniority and legislative authority, will moderate. The evening will not be scripted. Masks are welcome and we will put it on zoom.
December will be unique. The Progressive Club and the Democratic Club will jointly screen the highly acclaimed HBO documentary “The Janes”. One of the group’s founders, Heather Booth, will lead a discussion afterwards. The screening is on Thursday, December 14, 7:00pm in the Auditorium in Clubhouse II. Masks are welcome.
Other news …
Egregious pay disparity: “Thursday was Latina Equal Pay Day, a day in which we recognize the inherent economic unfairness that still persists in our country and the urgent need for change. Latina workers make just 52 cents on the dollar compared to non-Hispanic White men and must work more than 10 months into this year to make the same amount as their White, non-Hispanic male counterparts were paid last year.
“Unions are the pathway to rectifying this long-standing disparity. We know that Latina workers in a union make 40% more per week than nonunion Latina workers.” (AFL-CIO)
Buy banned books: Help defeat fascism (aka MAGA). Go to: https://fable.co/blog/banned-books-week-fable
Big Pharma bends to pressure: “The manufacturers of the ten high-priced drugs selected for the first round of Medicare drug price negotiations all formally agreed to negotiate by the October deadline although several said they were doing so ‘under duress.` A circuit court judge on Friday denied the Chamber of Commerce’s bid for a preliminary injunction against the Inflation Reduction Act’s Drug Price Negotiation Program—the first legal test to stop the Biden administration’s implementation of the Medicare cost-cutting initiative.
“The ten prescription drugs are Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Farxiga, Entresto, Enbrel, Imbruvica, Stelara, and Fiasp. Out of pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries taking these drugs was $3.4 billion in 2022. The negotiated prices will take effect on January 1, 2026.” (ARA)
A bad summer for Republicans gets worse (con’t.)
“Primordial ooze”: “The congressional Republican fratricide era began with the rise of Newt Gingrich (more on him shortly). But its intellectual roots stretch back to the early 1960s, when the upstart conservative movement first crawled out of the primordial ooze and set out to seize control of the party.” (Columnist Jonathan Chait)
Command decision: Gen. Mark Milley (referring to Trump): “We don’t take an oath to a king, or queen, or a tyrant or a dictator. And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator…We take an oath to the Constitution…and we’re willing to die to protect it.”
Media gets it wrong: “I can’t speak to what lurks in the hearts of political reporters and editors, but one has to wonder why there isn’t more coverage about Trump musing about sentencing the nation’s highest ranking general to death than, say, the age of the current president…”
“Oddly, Trump’s dangerous rant was not treated as the major news it absolutely should have been. ‘Only CNN and MSNBC covered Trump’s inflammatory Truth Social post about the general,’ Media Matters noted Tuesday, ‘while broadcast news outlets and Fox News completely ignored it.’” (columnist Molly Jong-Fast)
Some of the best political ads: Go to www.lincolnproject.us