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#WaveOfAction to #SaveTheInternet

Protests In 20 Cities Thursday

FCC protests W. Post (Brian Fung for the The Washington Post)
Resist! Internet, Internet Freedom
By Staff, www.WaveOfAction.org
May 14th, 2014
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FCC Wheeler MemeIt’s on!! The #WaveOfAction to #SaveTheInternet will sweep through 20 cities tomorrow, May 15th.

There will be a large rally at the FCC in DC beginning at 9am. There will also be solidarity actions at FCC offices in at least 19 other cities that will start noon local time.

Here is a spreadsheet with a list of the FCC addresses, further information and actions that YOU can take ~https://WaveOfAction.org/fcc-waveofaction.xlsx

This is a critical moment for the future of the Internet. Please show your support! Come to one of these actions and spread the word.

Now is the time… to STAND UP FOR INTERNET FREEDOM!!

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WAKE UP PEOPLE....THESE ELECTIONS IN 2014 And 2016 WILL DETERMINE WHETHER WE ARE A DEMOCRACY OR A TOTALITARIAN NATION


.#WaveOfAction www.youtube.com


Check out our 2nd channel http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=LukeWeAreChange Support WeAreChange by Subscribing HERE http://www.youtube.com



April 4th - Remember King's legacy by renewing our commitment to his revolutionary vision with action!


Let’s Renew Our Commitment to Dr. King’s Legacy and Revolutionary Vision with Action! Message from the "We Deserve Better" Workers Assembly and Baltimore Peoples Power Assembly


Today, April 4, marks the 46th anniversary of the assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  He was brutally gunned down on this day in Memphis where he was standing up for the rights of African American sanitation workers who were fighting desperately for their rights alongside their brothers and sisters in AFSCME. 

King was also on the verge of leading the Poor Peoples Campaign, calling for the end to poverty and uniting all workers in what could have been called one of the first “Occupations”.

Dr. King often said that truth crushed to earth will rise again. The brutal truth is that the powers that be are waging a war against virtually everything that Dr. King fought and died for. Poverty, unemployment and desperation are more widespread today than they were when King was alive. The pauperization of the population is one the biggest crisis today and low wages along with joblessness are two of the biggest causes.

The gap between black and white income along with the rich and poor has grown substantially and is larger than when King first launched his campaign.

Today right here in Baltimore and Maryland,  Johns Hopkins Hospital, a renowned international institution still does not pay its workers a livable wage;  city housing workers are faced with losing jobs through a brutal scheme to privatize the housing authority;  youth still confront the school to prison pipeline and face police terror, racism and profiling;  abandoned, decayed and boarded up housing still dominates our communities;  SuperShuttle workers at BWI airport labor under slave like conditions and BWI food service workers are still not being paid what they deserve.  These are just a few of the injustices!

Today more than ever it is critical to renew the struggle that King fought for – it is time to “get back into the streets” and to build the kind of unity necessary to win.

The “We Deserve Better” Workers Assembly and the Peoples Power Assembly in Baltimore and Maryland want to dedicate this month and this year to doing just that – we urge you to join us in the following activities, campaigns, protests, marches and activities:

Saturday, April 5, “Not One More Deportation!”  National day to support immigrant rights and to demand not one more deportation, Washington D.C.  Baltimore- We will be gathering at 2011 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 9 A.M. sharp to car pool.  Please call 410-218-4835 to reserve a seat or email apcbaltimore@pipleline.com

Wednesday, April 16, SuperShuttle workers March for Justice – If there is not substantial progress toward an agreement with Veolia – workers and their supporters will March at the BWI airport.  Support SuperShuttle workers right to end near slave like work conditions and their right to join UFCW Local 1994.  Call 410-218-4835 for details on how to support.

Thursday, April 24, Don’t Privatize Postal Workers Jobs – There is a plan to contract out postal services to Staples, to low wage, no union jobs and would result in the closings of more post offices at great cost to the community.  Gather at the York Rd. Staples from 2:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M.

Tuesday, April 29, NATIONAL MARCH & RALLY at the National Restaurant Association PR Conference in Washington D.C.  Demand a livable wage for all!  The NRA is one of the largest corporate mouth pieces attacking workers’ rights and raising the minimum wage.  We can’t let them come to Washington D.C. without letting them know what we think.  5 P.M. to 7 P.M. at 1300 Pennsylvania Ave at the Ronald Reagan Building and Int’l Trade Center.  For more info. Call 410-218-4835

Thursday, May 1 MAY DAY MARCH!  The largest united May Day March ever in Baltimore!  Rally 4 P.M. McKeldin Square, Pratt & Light Streets downtown Baltimore.  www.RiseUpBaltimore.org

When King proposed the Poor People’s Campaign in 1967, he said that a revolution of values was needed, one that would transform a profit-centered economy into a people-centered one.

Let’s not forget his legacy and renew our commitment to his revolutionary vision with action!


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Exposing the truth

We entered the public debate on the relationship of progressive activists to political parties this week with our article, “Independence or Partisanship.” In the 1850’s, many people who recognized the corruption and immorality of the major parties left them to form new abolitionist parties, in 1864 these evolved into the Republican Party. During Abraham Lincoln’s campaign they called themselves “The Wide Awake Club.” The issue then was slavery. Today the issue is the rule of money and we face two major parties that are corrupted by wealthy interests.

It’s not easy to wake up. It means facing some hard truths. But awareness is a first step towards change. This week, a United Nations committee released a report that was critical of the US’ human rights record. They mentioned a number of areas of concern including torture, treatment of prisoners, failure to prosecute and spying. It is timely that the Senate also finally released their report on the CIA’s use of torture which reveals a pattern of lying to defend an ineffective program. Have they no shame? Apparently Dick Cheney doesn’t because he continued to defend the torture program when he spoke at American University. Some students didn’t buy it and walked out in protest chanting “war criminal.”

The US has a long history of abusing human rights. Another hard truth we must face is our past and ongoing treatment of Indigenous Peoples, the American Holocaust. This new documentary is the first one to show how Hitler actually studied US’ ‘Indian policy,’ American ethnic cleansing, as a model. The abuse of Indigenous People continues in many ways. There is a lot of healing on all sides that needs to occur. In his most recent letter, Leonard Peltier encourages us to do our “best to do what is right and right what is wrong and protect what we have and regain what we have lost.”

This week, the United Nations also released the IPCC report on climate change which outlines the real threats to food security and prospects of resource wars. Peltier reminds us that prophesies of destruction are warnings for us to take action and change course. This is a goal of the Global Climate Convergence that kicks off ten days of action from Earth Day to May Day.

Action to Protect the Environment

Of course, many are already taking action to stop the extreme energy extraction economy that is fueling climate change. Each week, there is so much happening that we can only highlight some of it.

Many communities are saying “no” to dirty fuels through blockades and disruptions. Two were arrested in Illinois for blocking a road needed by Peabody Coal. The town welcomed Peabody when they arrived and brought needed jobs, but has since learned the high price they are paying. And the Sioux in South Dakota recently learned of a shady deal cut between TransCanada and their tribal council. They set up a prayer camp to block the pipeline and are organizing more actions. We’ll keep you informed of ways you can provide support to stop what they call the “heart (electric plant) of the black snake (the pipeline).”

In Canada, Mi’kmaq women and allies shut down an oil and gas meeting. Communities in Richmond, CA and Albany, NY, protested oil trains. And Chicago mobilized for an emergency protest at BP’s headquarters following a tar sands bitumen spill in Lake Michigan.

South Portland in Maine was successful in getting a moratorium on tar sands coming through their area. And you may remember the town of Balcombe in the UK that was successful in stopping fracking though a creative long-term blockade last summer. Now they are uniting to build solar. If this Environmental Minister has her way, no communities in Germany will have to worry about fracking.

Community-controlled power is taking a hold in the US. This article analyzes what works. This week, Texas produced a third of its electrical power from wind energy.

Building the New Economy


A large part of resistance is building alternative systems to replace the dysfunctional ones in place right now. Jerome Roos of ROAR Magazine outlines the possibilities of a new finance system that was described at the Moneylab Conference in Amsterdam last week. He challenges his readers to think about money differently and to recognize that our current monetary system is based on debt. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Strike Debt released their new and expanded version of the Debt Resister’s Operations Manual which explains the debt-based economy in depth, the damage that it does to all of us and how we organize to change it. And this video explains that, contrary to what we are told, most welfare in the US actually goes to the rich.

The Freelancer’s Union calls the growing new economy the “Quiet Revolution” and they invite you to map what your community is doing – cooperatives, collectives, local food networks. One new form of urban agriculture that is taking off is the vertical farm.

Meeting our basic needs is essential in the current environment in which profit is more important than people. The rule of money was strengthened this week through the Supreme Court decision on McCutcheon v the FEC. This makes the work to get money out of politics more important than ever.
 

Upcoming actions


There is so much going on this spring. Get involved and share this information with others.

  1. The World Wide Wave of Action begins today, the 46th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King. In this interview, David DeGraw describes the wide range of actions being planned.
  2. Also today, there will be vigils across the nation in support of a Robin Hood Tax.
  3. A new campaign was launched to make it more difficult for the NSA to spy on us. Join Reset the Net to learn what you can do to protect yourself.
  4. And another new campaign was launched to take on the World Bank’s new program that will result in greater concentration of agriculture in the hands of multinational corporations and the destruction of family farms. Watch their video to learn more and sign up to take action at Our Land, Our Business.
  5. The Transform Now Plowshares resisters are in jail. Click here to learn how to send them a letter of support.
  6. The campaign to save our postal service is becoming more urgent. The newest tactic to privatize the Post Office is to begin postal services in Staple stores. The four postal unions are uniting to stop it and there is a national day of action planned for April 24.
  7. Check out the ongoing creative campaign to stop the Guggenheim from exploiting workers.
  8. And check out the calendar at the Global Climate Convergence website. It is filling up with actions!
For inspiration, we leave you with a beautiful video and a quote. This week, a bomb went off in Kabul, Afghanistan that killed a 10 year old girl. In response, the Afghan Peace Volunteers planted trees and magic happened. Watch the video here.

And in his article in which he quotes Thomas Paine, “We are Radicals at Heart: A New History Gets America Wrong,” Harvey J. Kaye reminds us “that history is not over, that prevailing inequalities and oppressions are not inevitable, and that we need to remember who we are and recognize that ‘We have it in our power to begin the world over again.’”

Remember that you are Popular Resistance! Help the spring of resistance to grow by forwarding this email to your friends and family.





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I told Maryland environmental groups that the Trans Pacific Trade Pact TPP will end all US justice and environmental law so if they are not educating the public about TPP----they are not working to stop this export terminal.  Maryland is run by corporate pols----all democrats are neo-liberals who will vote for this.  Johns Hopkins in Baltimore is the biggest promoter as it has connections with the fracking industry out west.

Please know your candidates.  If your keep voting for neo-liberals you will be reduced to having to beg for what a democrat would support without word.



The Maryland Public Service Commission is about to decide whether to allow a giant fracked-gas export facility on the Chesapeake, called Cove Point. Can you send them a message to stop this climate disaster?

Friends,

We’re nearing a key deadline in the campaign to stop a massive fracked gas export facility at Cove Point.

April 2nd is when comments are due to the Maryland Public Service Commission on whether or not Dominion Resources’ plan to ship fracked gas through Maryland is in OUR public interest.

A massive gas liquefaction facility on the Chesapeake Bay would increase toxic air pollution in Calvert County, worsen the climate crisis AND raise gas prices for Maryland consumers. Cove Point could trigger a massive new wave of fracking and global warming pollution all across our region – something we just can’t afford.

The Maryland Public Service Commission is supposed to allow the project only if it’s in the public interest. Can you tell them to reject Dominion’s Cove Point permit?

Click here to tell them to stop Cove Point: act.350.org/sign/cove-point-comments/

We’ve already made a lot of noise: In late February, more than 700 people marched around the commission’s Baltimore office, urging them to reject Dominion’s permit. Southern Marylanders turned out in full force at the PSC hearing on March 1st in Lusby, to call out the severe health and safety risks of Dominion’s plan.

And, to date, a coalition of “No Cove Point” organizations has collected more than 18,000 written against the project. We’re poised to blow past 20,000 comments -- but we need your help to do it.

We can never beat Dominion’s budget for running high-priced ads, but there’s no doubt we beat them in grassroots passion and power. The Public Service Commission is supposed to serve the public, not the fossil fuel industry. Let’s make sure they do their job.

Forward,

Linda





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THE NET NEUTRALITY DEBATE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES FOR THE FUTURE OF AMERICA. ALL OBAMA HAS TO DO IS DESIGNATE THE INTERNET A UTILITY TO KEEP IT NEUTRAL TO ALL. NO-----THIS WILL NOT STIFLE INNOVATION!

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has us worried.

We’re concerned that the FCC might bow to pressure from phone and cable companies rather than take steps to protect Net Neutrality.

We refuse to stand by and let companies like AT&T and Verizon destroy the Internet. This is why we need your help.

Rep. Cummings is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and can help us ensure that the Internet remains an open platform for communities of color to speak freely without being silenced.

Please Call Your Member of Congress. Urge Rep. Cummings to Tell Chairman Wheeler to Protect Net Neutrality.

Thanks to runaway media consolidation, very few people of color own TV and radio stations — leaving the Internet as one of the only places where we can share our stories. For organizers and activists, the Internet is a digital town square, a place where our communities can mobilize to fight for social justice.

But without Net Neutrality, all of that will change. Internet service providers will be free to charge tolls for better access. Corporations that can pay up will have an unfair edge — placing millions of small businesses, including those owned by people of color, at a competitive disadvantage.

We know that this is an issue that Rep. Cummings understands. Now we need your help to enlist your member of Congress in the fight to protect our rights to connect and communicate.

Please pick up the phone and give Rep. Cummings a call today. We have a script you can use and the call will take just a few minutes.

Thanks for all that you do--

Joseph Torres
Free Press Action Fund
freepress.net

P.S. The Free Press Action Fund fights every day to save Net Neutrality. Please contribute $15 (or more!) today. Thank you!



___________________________________________________________
Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore, 325 East 25th Street, Baltimore, MD 21218

 

Rep. John Sarbanes

600 Baltimore Ave.

Suite 303

Baltimore, MD 21204

 

March 19, 2014

 

Dear Representative Sarbanes:

 

Members of the Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore are voters and supporters of Progressive Democrats of America. We call upon you to cosponsor and publicly support the “Better Off Budget,” a thoughtful alternative budget that would sharply decrease the deficit while investing in our future to make the American People better off. We also call upon you to speak out against and to vote against the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act (H.R. 3830), any “Fast Track” legislation, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) itself.

 

The “Better Off Budget” would create good jobs, improve wages, and defend Social Security. It would also help the long-term unemployed, guarantee equality under the law for everyone, restore food stamps (SNAP), and reform the tax system to make it fair for all.

 

We need a budget that will invest in all Americans and make everyone better off. Vote for the Congressional Progress Caucus (CPC) Budget Alternative when it comes up on the House floor. Also, direct your staff to contact Michael Darner michael.darner@mail.house.gov with the CPC for more information, and to cosponsor the “Better Off Budget.”

 

The TPP is a bad deal for America. Members of Congress and trade officials report that it would send American jobs overseas, and ban efforts to save jobs like the “Buy America” campaign. It would empower foreign companies to sue Americans in international tribunals for $billions in “future lost profits,” and contravene local, state and federal laws protecting consumer safety, workers, and the environment.

 

“Fast Track” would take away your authority by railroading the deal through the Congress. Good deals don't need “Fast Track,” only bad deals do. Therefore, you must speak out and vote against the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act H.R. 3830, any "Fast Track" trade authority, and against the TPP itself whenever it comes up for debate or vote.

 

Finally, we are seeking an end to the use of killer drone strikes, which we believe to be illegal and unconstitutional.  We ask you to speak out against this assassination program, which ignores any veneer of due process.  Consider as well a request for the full, unclassified release of information surrounding the administration’s drone policy. 

 

We look forward to your response. And when you are ready, we would like to meet with you, preferably in Baltimore. But if necessary, we will travel to your D.C. office.  We thank you for your consideration regarding these critically important issues, and look forward to ongoing discussion and engagement with you in the coming months.

 

Peace,

 

Max Obuszewski, on behalf of Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore/Fund Our Communities




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ALL OBAMA AND HIS FCC HAS TO DO IS DECLARE THE INTERNET A UTILITY TO BE REGULATED AS A UTILITY.  THIS WILL NOT HURT INNOVATION----IT WILL PROTECT THE INTERNET FOR USE BY ALL PEOPLE AND NOT MAKE IT EXCLUSIVE AND UNAFFORDABLE FOR MOST.


Three judges in D.C. just killed Net Neutrality.

But we have a chance to save the Internet as we know it.


The Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet Order prevented Internet service providers from turning the Open Internet into a pro-rich, pro-corporate nightmare, but it was founded on shaky political ground that made it vulnerable to the courts.

Now that it's been struck down, companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon are free to block or slow down any website, application or service they don't like — but the FCC still has the power to change everything.

By reading the law correctly and reclaiming the authority it sacrificed in the Bush years, the FCC Wheeler can still protect broadband users and preserve net neutrality online. But it needs to stand up to the companies who want to make the Web a for-profit machine first, and he needs to do it fast!

PETITION TO FCC CHAIRMAN TOM WHEELER: We can still save the Internet we love, but the FCC has to act. Reclaim the FCC's legal authority to restrain these companies and promote an Open Internet.

Click here to sign -- it just takes a second.

Thanks,
-- The folks at Watchdog.net

P.S. If the other links aren't working for you, please go here to sign: http://act.watchdog.net/petitions/4204?n=60518737.b4dsiR



____________________________________________
THANKS TO THIS GROUP WORKING AGAINST SMART METERS. Smart Meters are only to ration energy and water as public water and sewage is planned to be privatized Exelon and the global VEOLA Environment will push rates higher than most can afford
and subsidies will end. So, stop this monitoring system.



URGENT NEWS!!! Senate Bill 880 is STILL ALIVE—CALL TO ACTION
Please call or email the Maryland Senate Finance Committee and show your support before Monday afternoon 3/17/14. It is essential these committee members hear from you.

As soon as possible, please send a quick email to the senators/members of the Senate Finance Committee asking them to vote favorably on SB880 (the smart meter opt out bill) and send it to the floor for a full senate vote.

SENATE FINACE COMMITTEE CONTACT INFORMATION
Senator Delores Kelley is the sponsor so we omitted her info.

thomas.mcclain.middleton@senate.state.md.us (Chairman)
telephone: (301) 858-3616

john.astle@senate.state.md.us (Vice Chairman)
telephone: (301) 858-3578

david.brinkley@senate.state.md.us
telephone: (301) 858-3704

brian.feldman@senate.state.md.us
telephone: (301) 858-3169

barry.glassman@senate.state.md.us
telephone: (301) 858-3603

allan.kittleman@senate.state.md.us
telephone: (301) 858-3671

katherine.klausmeier@senate.state.md.us
telephone: (301) 858-3620

james.mathias@senate.state.md.us
telephone: (301) 858-3645

catherine.pugh@senate.state.md.us
telephone: (301) 858-3656

victor.ramirez@senate.state.md.us
telephone: (301) 858-3745

For pointers on a longer letter—see our sample letter.
http://marylandsmartmeterawareness.org/opt-out-news/model-smart-meter-letter-maryland-representatives/

Thank you in advance for answering this important call to action.

Jonathan Libber

President of Maryland Smart Meter Awareness

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PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT HIGHSTAR INVESTMENT HAS BOUGHT VEOLA ENVIRONMENTAL WITH THE GOAL OF TAKING OVER ALL US PUBLIC WATER, SEWAGE, AND WASTE REMOVAL.  NOW, IMAGINE RECYCLING HANDED TO THEM AND THINK ABOUT THE PRICE OF THAT RECYCLED CAN.  Public pays more for the aluminum and then a private corporation taking our recycling business gets more for the recycled items.



Stop the banks. Send a can.

"[Goldman Sachs] is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money." – Matt Taibbi1

Dear Cindy,
Stop the banks. Send a can. Click here for instructions.

Goldman Sachs and other the Wall Street banks that were responsible for blowing up our economy have now found a new way to fleece us and put our entire economy at risk.

Under the not-so-watchful eye of the Federal Reserve Bank, these banks have gotten involved in the production and distribution of physical commodities.

The banks’ involvement in these commercial commodities enterprises has created new risks these already reckless “too big to fail” banks can’t manage.

And that doesn’t even include the danger of these banks manipulating the price of commodities.

Last year, for example, the New York Times exposed a Goldman Sachs scheme that has driven up the price of aluminum –- costing American consumers billions. Yes, billions.2

The Federal Reserve is finally soliciting public comments period about whether they should close the loophole that allows the banks to produce and distribute commodities.

Tell the Federal Reserve to get banks out of the physical commodities business.

We need to get their attention, so do more than just submit a comment electronically.

Send the Fed an aluminum can in the mail to represent the absurdity of banks producing and distributing commodities.

Click here to download a comment template you can print out, attach to a can and mail to the Federal Reserve Bank.

Or click here if you want us to electronically deliver your comment.

The Goldman Sachs scheme uncovered by the New York Times is pretty outrageous. According the article:3

    Before Goldman bought Metro International [a company whose warehouses store a quarter of the aluminum on the market] three years ago, warehouse customers used to wait an average of six weeks for their purchases to be located, retrieved by forklift and delivered to factories. But now that Goldman owns the company, the wait has grown more than tenfold — to more than 16 months, according to industry records.

    […]

    Metro International holds nearly 1.5 million tons of aluminum in its Detroit facilities, but industry rules require that all that metal cannot simply sit in a warehouse forever. At least 3,000 tons of that metal must be moved out each day. But nearly all of the metal that Metro moves is not delivered to customers, according to the interviews. Instead, it is shuttled from one warehouse to another.

    Because Metro International charges rent each day for the stored metal, the long queues caused by shifting aluminum among its facilities means larger profits for Goldman. And because storage cost is a major component of the “premium” added to the price of all aluminum sold on the spot market, the delays mean higher prices for nearly everyone, even though most of the metal never passes through one of Goldman’s warehouses.

    Aluminum industry analysts say that the lengthy delays at Metro International since Goldman took over are a major reason the premium on all aluminum sold in the spot market has doubled since 2010. The result is an additional cost of about $2 for the 35 pounds of aluminum used to manufacture 1,000 beverage cans, investment analysts say, and about $12 for the 200 pounds of aluminum in the average American-made car.

It's not just aluminum. Thanks to lax regulation and oversight Goldman Sachs is now involved in the distribution of uranium yellowcake (the same substance used as a pretext to invade Iraq). And other banks are involved in the production and distribution of electric power and the refinement and distribution of oil, among a whole host of other things.4, 5

Imagine the economic catastrophe we might face if one of the nation’s largest banks involved in oil production were on the hook for the next Deepwater Horizon type of disaster.

Even if a bank had the resources to pay the damages, the lack of confidence in the bank by investors and depositors might be enough to cause it to implode and wreak havoc on our economy.

As the failure of one large bank could drag down other banks and cascade into a major economic calamity.

With respect to Goldman Sachs and the aluminum warehouses, the dangers are less systemic but still deeply troubling.

Because Goldman invests in and trades commodities derivatives (financial instruments that are bets on the future price of commodities), the bank’s involvement in the storage of aluminum gives it the ability manipulate the aluminum market to the benefit of its overall financial position.

As Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi puts it, “It's something akin to letting casino owners who take book on NFL games during the week also coach all the teams on Sundays.” 6

We need to make sure the Federal Reserve puts a stop to this.

At this stage, the Federal Reserve needs to know the public is engaged and paying attention. We think receiving aluminum cans in the mail will break through the insularity of the Fed and make sure the regulators take notice.

Tell the Federal Reserve to get banks out of the physical commodities business.

Click here to download a label you can print out, attach to a can and mail to the Federal Reserve Bank.

Or click here if you want us to electronically deliver your comment.

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“Last year, a GMO bill died late in the session in Albany. GMO bills are back in both the Empire State Senate and the Assembly. Bipartisan sponsorship by Democrat Linda Rosenthal in the Assembly and Republican Ken LaValle in the Senate on a bill that requires all GMO food sold in the state to be labeled will get hearings in both chambers, probably in late March.

Furthermore, Maryland’s House Bill 1191, which is cross-filed as Senate Bill 0776, has been scheduled for a hearing before the Health and Government Operations Committee on March 11 at 1 p.m. The House/Senate measures require specified raw foods and packaged foods that are entirely or partially produced with GMO ingredients to be labeled.”



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WORLD WIDE MARCH AGAINST GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION WORLD MAIN EVENT PAGE

Saturday, March 1 at 10:45amWORLD WIDE MARCH 2,176 people are going

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Multifaith Contingent in Draw The Line On Cove Point Rally

Public · By Interfaith Power & Light (MD.DC.NoVA)


[When]
Thursday
[Time]
11:00am until 1:30pm
Mostly Cloudy 52°F / 48°F
[Description]

We know that, across the mid-Atlantic, Cove Point would mean more fracking harming our communities, more dangerous compressor stations polluting our air, and more planet-heating pollution poisoning our weather.

On February 20th, we’ll be joining Chesapeake Climate Action Network for a lunch time rally at the War Memorial Plaza, and then march around the Public Service Commission headquarters, calling on them to deny Dominion’s “dirty air” permit. We’ll reach Governor O’Malley as well. His Baltimore offices are in the same building as the Public Service Commission.

By coming together in Baltimore, we’ll show key decision-makers that people across our region want clean energy and a stable climate.

RSVP at http://tinyurl.com/mlzatjl

11 am - Join with us before the rally for interfaith fellowship over
brunch at the Big Apple Tree Cafe at 300 E Baltimore St. We'll leave around noon to walk together to the rally.

Bring congregational banners, wear congregational T-shirts, don your clerical collar or religious head covering to join our whole-souled group!

After the rally begins, look for the "dove"
(http://gwipl.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/dove.jpg) to find us in the crowd.

RSVP, or with questions: programassociate@gwipl.org
War Memorial Plaza
100 Holiday St., Baltimore, Maryland 21202



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3600 west mulberry street Thursday February 21, 2014 7pm

How to put your complaints in writing!

Rhonda WimbishI'll be the guest speaker Thursday evening @ 7pm for the Committee of Concerned Citizens (CCC) at the Mary Rodwell Recreation Ctr. The topic is... Taking Your Complaints from Talking to Writing and Who to Complain to. I hope I see you there.


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Mon., Feb. 10:

Taking a Stand to Stop the Security State

clearingthefogradio.orgOn February 11, thousands of websites will display messages to expose and oppose the national security state in "The Day We Fight Back Against the NSA." The day was chosen to remember Aaron Swartz ...

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Next Sunday Sharing is Caring! Meet the Candidates Series! One Week To go! Find out who wants your vote!! M.O.M.S meets the second Sunday of every month! ring in the new next Sunday.


This Sunday January 12, 2013   3:30 pm   Alpha and Omega Church 1950 West North Avenue M.O.M.S Meeting! Meet the Candidates Series. Come See who wants your vote voice your opinion.
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Join us on Wednesday, January 8th at 5:00PM in front of Baltimore City Hall - and show love to the Victims, Families, and Friends of police brutality and misconduct - as they speak out about their personal experiences - and the direction towards which we must go to solve the underlying structural issues.

Then at 6:30PM, the Family of Tyrone West will finally be sitting in a meeting with Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake - 174 days after Tyrone West was beaten to death by 10 Baltimore City police officers.

Justice for Tyrone West - Anthony Anderson - Maurice Donald Johnson, George Booker Wells III, Christopher Brown, Kincaid, and all other victims of Police Brutality, from here to all worldwide.

Ona Move

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On Tuesday, December 10th please join the Campaign for Fair Development to protest the construction of the nations' largest trash-burning incinerator which is set to be built less than a mile from several schools in South Baltimore.

For over a year, United Workers' youth human rights committee “Free Your Voice” has been educating themselves about the incinerator and sharing what they have learned with their neighbors. Two months ago, they started to take action. They launched an online petition, calling on Governor O’Malley to stop the incinerator. They also produced videos to tell their own story, check out the latest video and share.

On Tuesday, December 10 starting at 3 p.m. we’ll be marching from Ben Franklin High School located at 1201 Cambria St. Baltimore MD 21225 to the site of the proposed incinerator less than a mile way.

If built the Energy Answers incinerator would be the largest of its kind in the nation, producing more pollutants per hour of energy produced than the largest coal plants in Maryland. Energy Answers was required to begin construction in August 2013. While the Maryland Department of Environment investigates why they failed to do so, we are calling on Governor O’Malley to intervene and protect our children’s health and the health of our community.

Get Involved! Stand with student activists and community members as we march – to demand an end to FAILED development in Baltimore’s neighborhoods.

Sincerely,

Unite Here Local 7

UNITE HERE Local 7, 1800 N. Charles Street, Suite 906, Baltimore, Maryland 21201


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The calendar is filling up with actions for December 3: the Global Day of Action Against Toxic Trade Agreements. Find one near you or plan your own. View this email in your browser We are on the cusp of ending the era of toxic trade agreements. Now is the time to keep the pressure on!

The World Trade Organization begins its next meeting on December 3 and more than 90 organizations and social movements in Indonesia have called for a global day of action that day.

Flush the TPP joined the call to action and many of you have already stepped up to plan events in your communities. You can find them on the action map here.

If there isn't an action near you, plan one and let us know. Contact Cassidy at StopFastTrack@FlushtheTPP.org. She can help you with ideas. It can be as simple as contacting some friends and holding signs up in a public place.

As the TPP negotiations come to an end, we've learned that the US, led by Assistant Trade Rep Stan McCoy, has upped its bullying tactics. 

This is wrong! This doesn't represent our values. We've started a petition calling for a respectful, democratic and transparent negotiating process. Sign and share the petition here.

We will deliver the petition by hand to the Office of the US Trade Representative on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at noon. If you are close to Washington, DC, please join us.

You can also write to Stan McCoy here: smccoy@ustr.eop.gov and include the USTR office at correspondence@ustr.eop.gov. And you can call McCoy here: 202-395-4510.

It only takes a few minutes and thousands of emails and calls will make a difference. Please contact Stan McCoy and tell him to stop being a bully and don't trade away our lives for corporate profits. Urge your friends to do the same.
Thanks for all you do -- and can’t wait to continue our work together against the TPP!


Please share this email with others.


Yours for fair trade,
The Flush the TPP Team

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THIS IS THE HARBOR POINT DEVELOPMENT ON THE TOXIC WASTE DUMP THAT NO ONE WANTS......PLEASE SHOUT LOUDLY AND STRONGLY AND GO TO THIS MEETING!  REMEMBER, THIS IS THE ONE THAT GIVES EXELON THE $100 MILLION TAX BREAK.

'A community meeting to discuss the environmental safeguards at the site is scheduled at 7 p.m. November 14 at the Morgan Stanley Building, 1300 Thames St'.


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Please go to this meeting and let these civil rights leaders know what you need them to do to rebuild justice in Baltimore


LBS is partnering with Sojourner-Douglass College for their First Saturdays Sessions.

Come learn how to transform Baltimore from a community based perspective. They happen the first Saturday of every month from 1PM-3PM at 500 N. Caroline St.

The sessions are completely FREE with FREE food and great people! Come through! — at Sojourner-Douglass College.

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As part of Pvt. Manning's application to Convening Authority Major General Buchanan for leniency, we are collecting letters from professors, law experts, human rights advocates, politicians, artists, veterans, and concerned citizens.  Please help us collect well-written letters to include.  The letters should be one-page long and submitted by November 1.  You can find the full list of guidelines on our website:
http://www.bradleymanning.org/featured/write-a-letter-supporting-pvt-mannings-request-for-clemency.

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GO TO THE MARYLAND PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION WEBSITE AND WRITE A COMPLAINT ABOUT THIS INCREASE.  SHOUT AT YOUR POL. 

More important---vote your incumbent out of office!

Md. regulators hear arguments in BGE rate case

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Teach-in on TPP next week in Baltimore: https://www.facebook.com/events/520603111351074/JoinTeach-in on the Trans-Pacific Partnership - Secret Corporate Power GrabThursday, October 17 at 7:00pmSpace 2640 in Baltimore, Maryland19 people are going
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We are shouting for people to come to these meetings and write/complain as O'Malley and Maryland's neo-liberals privatize all of Maryland's public transportation.  PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION WAS THE CROWNING DEMOCRATIZING PUBLIC POLICY OF 1900s.....why are people silent as they work to dismantle and hand public transportation to Wall Street?


Central Maryland Transportation Alliance

Come to one of the six (6) public workshops to learn about the Maryland Transit Administration Bus Network Improvement Project and provide your feedback. http://mta.maryland.gov/bnip Bus Network Improvement Project | Maryland Transit Administration mta.maryland.govWhat Is the Bus Network Improvement Project (BNIP)?BNIP (Bus Network Improvement Project) is a focused, 8-month project to develop a plan for updating and improving MTA's bus service. BNIP is a key component of a larger effort called the Transit Modernization Program (TMP) which is working to modern...



BNIP Workshops Come to one of the six (6) public workshops to learn about the study and provide your unique feedback. Download PDF of workshop schedule. You can find more information on BNIP workshop agenda and format here!

Date Time Location

Tuesday, October 15 12:00 pm- 2:00 pm State Center
201 W. Preston Street,
Room L1
Baltimore, MD 21201


Wednesday, October 16 5:00 pm-7:00 pm Rosedale Branch
Baltimore County Public Library
6105 Kenwood Avenue
Rosedale, MD  21237


Saturday, October 19 12:00 pm- 2:00 pm North Point Branch
Baltimore County Public Library
1716 Merritt Blvd.
Baltimore, MD  21222


Monday, October 21 5:00 pm- 7:00 pm Towson Branch
Baltimore County Public Library 
320 York Road
Baltimore, MD 21204


Wednesday, October 23 5:00 pm- 7:00 pm Edmondson Avenue Branch
Enoch Pratt Free Library
 4330 Edmondson Avenue
Baltimore, MD  21229


Thursday, October 24 5:00 pm- 7:00 pm Brooklyn Park Branch
Anne Arundel County Public Library
1 East 11th Avenue
Brooklyn, MD  21225


Maryland is one of the wealthiest states in the country and as such can support a strong public transportation system.  We have allowed Maryland to become corporate run by corporate politicians who are privatizing all of our public transportation making what should be public into tolled and feed access while private companies are raking in profit! 

Don't forget Maryland is ranked at the bottom nationally for fraud and corruption----OOOPS--THERE GOES OUR PUBLIC MONEY!



Maryland Seeks Private Operator for Purple Line

Tuesday, August 06, 2013 - 08:15 AM WAMU By Martin DiCaro : WAMU

Bethesda, Md. –

Maryland will pursue a private firm to design, construct, finance, operate, and maintain the $2.2 billion Purple Line light rail system planned for D.C.’s northern suburbs, says Governor Martin O’Malley.

The decision to seek a public-private partnership to build the 16-mile, east-west light rail line was paired with the announcement that the state will pump an additional $400 million into the project, bringing Maryland’s total contribution to nearly $700 million, including $280 million for design and right-of-way acquisition.

On Tuesday, Maryland Secretary of Transportation James Smith is scheduled to meet federal transportation officials to discuss the state’s bid for $900 million in matching funds under the New Starts program.

If project planners secure full federal funding, roughly $500 million would be left to a private sector operator and/or local governments to provide to complete the Purple Line, which has 21 planned stations between Bethesda and New Carrollton.



Graphic: MD DOT (larger image here)

“We are going to tell them how ideal the Purple Line is for the full funding, guaranteed payments because of a number of things,” said Sec. Smith, referring to his meeting with Federal Transit Administration and U.S. DOT officials. “Maryland made the tough decision to raise revenues to support this. We have the matching money in hand and we are ready to go, and we are using the public private partnership process, which is something the federal government is encouraging people to do.”

Public-private partnerships, commonly referred to as P3s, are new in Maryland. In Virginia, P3s have been used to build highways, because private companies are attracted by the toll revenue. Transit systems, however, are not profitable and are subsidized by the government. So to attract a private contractor to run the Purple Line, which officials hope is ready to open in 2020, Maryland would “pay the contractor annual payments throughout the 30- to 40-year contract period,” according to a P3 “fact sheet” provided to reporters at Monday’s news conference outside the Bethesda Metro station.

“Deductions are made from payments if the contractor does not meet pre-determined performance targets, such as on-time performance, vehicle cleanliness, and customer service,” the fact sheet said.

So instead of footing the bill now to pay for and then operate the Purple Line, Maryland wants to pay a private firm to do so.

Going with a private contractor is designed to speed up the Purple Line’s construction, potentially saving money while keeping fares stable. In Denver, the Eagle P3 transit project shaved $300 million off the bottom line, according to Joshua Schank, a transportation policy expert who runs the D.C.-based Eno Center for Transportation.

“The fact that [the Purple Line] is potentially using a public private partnership is not necessarily relevant to the bottom line for travelers or for taxpayers,” Schank said. “The way that P3 is executed is what matters. So if it is done well and if the public sector negotiates effectively and the private sector comes at it with innovative ideas, then the public could benefit from innovation, from potentially stable fares, and from potentially having a better transportation system.”

But while Denver’s Eagle P3 reduced the total cost of the project, Schank said similar savings may be difficult to find in Maryland’s light rail project. “The Purple Line has suffered through a lot of political challenges," he said, "and trying to change the alignment or come up with innovations on this project is going to be a lot harder than in Denver because of those political constraints."

The project already faces sensitive land use issues in Silver Spring -- where the proposed alignment may result in the dislocation of some homes and businesses -- and near the Capital Crescent Trail, an 11-mile, shared use trail that some residents say would be ruined by the Purple Line’s construction. A handful of protesters waving signs that read “Save the Trail” booed Governor O’Malley at the news conference. For his part, the governor refused to answer any questions about the project, leaving the press conference soon after he spoke.

In a possible positive sign for the Purple Line, the Denver Eagle P3 project received $1 billion in federal New Starts money, Schank said. However, the Eagle P3 was the beneficiary of a federal funding program that no longer exists.

“Federal money is very scarce right now. It is going to be difficult for them to get everything they are bargaining for,” Schank said. “There is a lot of competition for [New Starts] money. The sequester is affecting that money.”



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PLEASE WRITE ALL MARYLAND ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS ABOUT THIS....THEY ARE LETTING IT SLIDE!




The top priority for fracking is getting the baseline research data for the Marcellus Aquifer.  If we do not get this Maryland citizens will have no recourse in suing fracking companies for contaminating the aquifer.  In court, these fracking companies simply need to say....well, how do we know these chemicals were not always there---and the cases are dismissed.
If you have this baseline data that shows the chemicals present before fracking contamination, we prove the culpability,

The Maryland Assembly has refused to do this baseline because they are protecting the fracking companies against public law suits.  They are working against the public interest.  We need to do two things:

We need to get the few million dollars it costs to do this research from a larger environmental group.....it does not cost much and can be financed by groups that care.
We need to out the politicians in Maryland Assembly for working against the public interest.  The Maryland Assembly is not progressive on environment.  They pass laws that can easily be circumvented or broadly worded to avoid holding violators accountable.  It does no good to pass environmental law if it is not enforceable!

Please let me know if your group will fight to get this Marcellus baseline data!

Citizens Oversight




Environmental meeting on Harbor Point set for October 7 Questions persist about the health risks of disturbing the contaminated ground at Harbor Point. EPA and MDE are finishing their review.

Mark Reutter September 27, 2013 at 6:10 pm Story Link 0

A couple with baby and dog stroll past the Harbor Point site on Caroline Street. Behind them is a facility that monitors groundwater and prevents buried contaminants from leaking into the harbor.

Photo by: Mark Reutter

How safe will citizens be when workers start piercing a five-foot-deep cap above 2 million tons of contaminated waste – and trucking some of the spoils through city streets?

Amid lingering questions about the work planned on the Exelon Tower, Councilman James B. Kraft is holding a public hearing next month to look more closely at contamination issues at the Harbor Point project.

Kraft said that dissatisfaction expressed by several Fells Point residents with the information provided at a recent open house led to his decision to call for a meeting on October 7, from 7-9 p.m., at the Morgan Stanley Building, 1300 Thames St.

The meeting will include presentations by the Beatty Group, developer of the $1 billion project on the west side of Fells Point, and Honeywell International, owner of the former Allied Chemical factory whose estimated 2 million tons of wastes are buried at the site.

Those wastes include unknown amounts of hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen whose impact on a California town was depicted in the film “Erin Brockovich.”

Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), parties to a 1989 consent decree to contain the chromium wastes, will be on hand to answer questions.

Useful Information or “a Sham”?

“I want everybody’s questions answered,” Kraft said after the September 11 open house. The 1st district councilman, who represents Fells Point and voted to approve the Exelon project, added that he doesn’t expect everybody to be satisfied by the answers.

The surface portion of the cap consists of crushed gravel and clay, which doubles as parking for some Morgan Stanley employees. (Photo by Mark Reutter)

Stelios Spiliadis, owner of the Inn of the Black Olive that borders the site on Caroline Street, called the meeting “a sham” because, he said, it will be controlled by the Beatty Group and other “self-interested” parties.

“At the previous meeting they offered us cookies and lies but no chairs. The only difference with this meeting is that we’ll get to sit down in chairs,” he said today.

Spiliadis and about a dozen other Fells Point residents are demanding an independent assessment of the health risks at Harbor Point.

They point out that hexavalent chromium deposited at a similar waste dump in Jersey City, N.J., is being removed by Honeywell after high levels of the chemical were found in nearby residences and businesses.

Piercing the Cap

News that Beatty plans to pierce the geomembrane cap containing the chromium with more than 1,000 steel and concrete pilings to build the Exelon Tower has stirred concern that the construction could release contaminants into the air.

The consent decree between Honeywell and the EPA-MDE calls for the close monitoring of the site to prevent any chemical releases into the air or groundwater.

The agencies are currently reviewing the “Detailed Development Plan” submitted by Mueser Rutledge, Beatty’s geotechnical engineers, to insure that construction will not increase “risks to health or the environment from the conditions at the site,” which is a legal requirement of the consent decree.

This diagram shows, in yellow and red, where more than 1,000 pilings are expected to be hammered through the cap for the foundation of the Exelon Tower and a central plaza. (“Detailed Development Plan,” Beatty Development Group)

Among the steps to be taken by the developer are a drainage net above the cap to collect and convey rainwater to the harbor and waterproof seals (also known as “boots”) fitted securely around the pilings.

The plan notes that up to 800-square-foot holes will be dug through the cap to secure the footings of the 23-story office tower and that the spoils from the excavations will be “direct loaded into sealed containers” and trucked offsite for disposal at unnamed locations.

A steady stream of trucks would enter and leave the site – and rumble through East Baltimore’s narrow streets – during several phases of construction.

In addition, the developer intends to install seven air monitoring stations on site, as well as three offsite stations at the Maryland Science Center, Baltimore Aquarium and Broadway Recreation Pier, to sample air quality during construction.

Elevated amounts of chromium detected at the stations will result in a planned response, including the temporary shutdown of construction, the developer promises.

Review Process Almost Complete

EPA and MDE are in the process of reviewing the plans, which were submitted on August 1. The agencies expect to complete their review about a week before the October 7 meeting.

Bob Greaves, remedial project manager for the EPA Region 3, told The Brew that he does not believe the Harbor Point project presents any unique disposal problems or health risks despite its size and complexity. He said a joint EPA-MDE committee of experts is poring over the plans, and the Army Corps of Engineers was called in for assistance.

Diagram of the Allied Chemical plant on the western side of Fells Point. It was the biggest chromium processing factory in the world during its 1920s-50s heyday. It was shut down in 1985. (Maryland Department of the Environment)

One area to be closely reviewed by the group is how the weight of the Exelon Tower might affect the settlement of the subsurface soil and waste.

General subsistence does not typically result in excessive strains on a containment cap, and it may even improve its stability.

But differential settlement can produce excessive strains that result in breaks and tears in the cap.

Because the Harbor Point cap will be obscured by the pilings and the basement of the Exelon Tower, excessive caution must be exercised to make sure that the cap does not deteriorate over time, thereby letting the wastes seep up into the building or leak into the atmosphere.

Intensified Development

The Harbor Point footprint intensified greatly after Exelon’s decision last year to locate its 656,000-square-foot regional headquarters at the site. Prior to that decision, the developer had asked for permission to build 1.8 million square feet of office, retail, hotel and apartment space.

In June, the city approved a bill calling for 3 million square feet of development, plus an additional 1,238,675 square feet for parking.

Earlier this month, the City Council approved a $107 million financing agreement, which Beatty said was essential to get the project underway. The bond money, to be paid out of future property tax revenues, means that the city effectively pays for Harbor Point’s roadways, sidewalks, parks and harborfront promenade.



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We are ready. On Tuesday September 24, 2013

Join Justify BMore at Lexington market For a pop-Up forum. We will be on the Bull Horn The Schatt will be provided by Ours truly Mr. Duane G. Davis. Come sit on the toilet and give us the Schatt!! lol!! Tuesday @12 noon Bring your poster signs whatever to support our cause!!! Notice how he is looking away from a crime in progress.


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The symposium-Equitable and Sustainable Development: a Path Forward
- on March 9, 2013 in Baltimore, MD is continuing this movement of change. It will bring together practicing experts from different aspects of community development from across the US to describe alternative models of community rebuilding implemented in their communities. It will acknowledge the wrongs of current rebuilding practices and use this knowledge to assure that alternative models right these wrongs. And it will acknowledge that only by bridging the gap between our various sectors can we accomplish an outcome which incorporates all these diverse sectors-health, housing, economics, safety, education, recreation, transportation. Join us on March 9th.

at Sojourner-Douglass


_________________________________________________________
AF James MacArthur Arraignment
__
  • Monday, March 11, 2013
  • 9:30am
COURTHOUSE WEST, LEXINGTON & ST. PAUL, BALT
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You had better believe that most people will be subjected to substandard food sources....it will of course be those that cannot afford to buy from specialty food stores/farms.





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I AM TELLING PEOPLE THAT THE PLAN THESE CORPORATE POLS IN MARYLAND HAVE IS A COMPLETELY PRIVATIZED TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM THAT GOES WHERE IT IS MOST PROFITABLE AND NOT CONSIDERING SUBSIDIZATION OF ANY TRAVEL NOT WORK ORIENTED.......YOU WILL BE GROUNDED AS THEY SAY IF YOU DO NOT COME OUT AND SHOUT LOUDLY AND STRONGLY AND

RUN AND VOTE FOR LABOR AND JUSTICE CANDIDATES!!


The Maryland Transportation Plan (MTP) is a 20-year vision for transportation in Maryland. The MTP outlines the State's transportation goals, policies and priorities and helps guide statewide investment decisions across all modes of transportation. The MTP is one component of the annual State Report on Transportation, which also includes the Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP) and the Annual Attainment Report on Transportation System Performance (AR). The CTP is Maryland's six-year capital budget for transportation projects, and the AR tracks MDOT's progress each year towards attaining the goals and objectives of the MTP based on outcome-oriented performance measures.

 
 
 
  
2035 Maryland Transportation Plan Update





In accordance with State and Federal laws, MDOT updates the MTP every five years to address current and future transportation conditions and challenges. Activities are underway to begin updating the 2009 MTP
 
A new plan will be released in January 2014 and MDOT plans to engage Maryland's residents, businesses, governmental agencies, and interested organizations so that the long-range vision, goals and objectives developed through the MTP update process reflect and respond to the needs of all of Maryland's transportation stakeholders. This process will include:

  • Public involvement to ensure the planning process is inclusive and responsive to a host of diverse interests.
  • Consultation and coordination with State, local, and regional planning efforts and stakeholders.
  • Analysis of issues that will shape existing and future conditions and performance of Maryland's transportation system.
  • Development of MTP implementation strategies that address capital investment, operations, management, environmental mitigation, and multimodal connections.
       Schedule
 Fall 2012 /
Winter 2013:    Initiate Public Outreach Activities
Assess Current Conditions, Trends and Issues
Develop Goals, Objectives, and Performance
Measures


 
Winter 2013:
Assess Needs and Financial Resources
 
Spring 2013:
Develop Alternative Investment Scenarios
 
Summer 2013:
Develop Implementation Strategies
 
Fall 2013:
Prepare Draft 2035 MTP
 
January 2014:
Release 2035 MTP
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