September 1 - Remember

Today, September 1, is the anniversary of the start of World War 2, in which at least 50 million people lost their lives.

It was caused by one man’s ego. He was elected by the people of his country on a platform that they should put all their faith in him to be their leader, that he would make their country great again, and that there were some people among them who needed to be expelled from their country.

That couldn’t happen here, could it?

President Madison Spends Night in MoCo 201 Years Ago Tonight

     

Tonight, August 26, two hundred and one years ago (1814), U.S. President James Madison spent the night in MoCo. However, it wasn't a happy visit for him or for the United States.

Madison was in MoCo because the British had captured and burned Washington D.C. He escaped first to Virginia and then to Brookeville in Montgomery County, Maryland. The house in which he stayed still stands (photo above, on right).

Although it was a humiliating day for Madison and our country, the British left the next day after what is believed to have been a tornado stopped the fires they had set in Washington, and about six months later the War of 1812 ended in what most historians consider a stalemate.

But Brookeville and Montgomery County can claim to have been sort-of the capital of the U.S. for one night.

"Gabriel Over the White House" Relevant Today

 

If you haven't seen the movie "Gabriel Over the White House" you might want to look for it on late-night tv. I think it has some eerie relevance to the current presidential campaign. 

The basic point of the movie is that it would be a good thing to have a president who was so sure of himself that he takes over all power to do what he considers to be beneficial things for the country, no matter what anyone else says. Unfortunately, the movie makes you feel that the president who does this is a great hero, the greatest president of all time.

It's a scary film to me, especially when I found out that FDR enjoyed the film and watched it several times. What's more scary is listening to Donald Trump and realizing that this movie could be about a Trump presidency, or a Cruz one.

Current Maryland Constitution

On this date (Aug. 17) the Maryland convention that wrote the current state constitution completed its work. Maryland is now governed by a constitution that is 148 years old.

Maryland's constitution is much longer than most others. It was written just 3 years after the earlier Maryland constitution, the one which was most noted for having abolished slavery in our state, the only one to do that voluntarily during the Civil War. The current constitution was adopted by a vote of about 27,000 to about 23,000, not exactly an overwhelming vote.

Some notable things in the current Maryland constitution are a lack of the right to bear arms, giving juries the right to judge law as well as facts which means they can vote against what the judge tells them the law is. 

Our current constitution has been amended almost 100 times. It contains a provision requiring that every 20 years the people vote on whether to call a constitutional convention. The last time this was on the ballot, in 2010, the people voted not to do so by a vote of 48% to 40%.

First Maryland Constitutional Convention

On this day (Aug 14) in 1776, six weeks after the U.S. Declaration of Independence, a Constitutional Convention in Maryland convened. Three months later they produced the first Maryland Constitution. Its first section said: "That all government of right originates from the people, is founded in compact only, and instituted solely for the good of the whole."

Candidates for Md Congressional District 8 at District 18 Democratic Breakfast Club

The District 18 Democratic Breakfast Club, which meets the second Monday each month in Tastee Diner in Silver Spring, has many very good speakers.

The speaker this morning was Delegate Kumar Barve (photo above) who is a candidate to fill the Congressional seat now held by Chris Van Hollen, the Maryland 8th district. He was a very good speaker and answered lots of questions from the audience.

Next month the District 18 Dem Club will have candidate Kathleen Matthews and the following month it will have as its speaker State Senator Jamie Raskin, also a candidate for the 8th district Congressional seat.