Kathleen Matthews at the District 18 Democratic Breakfast Club

This morning (Sept. 15) the excellent District 18 Democratic Breakfast Club had as its speaker Kathleen Matthews, who is a candidate in Maryland's 8th congressional district.

In my opinion Ms. Matthews made a very good impression. She talked about her background and her progressive Democratic policy positions. She said she knows that this will be a tough campaign and she wants to use her background in television and the Marriott Corporation to be an effective person in Congress.

There are several other experienced candidates running to replace Chris Van Hollen, who is running for U.S. Senator. Kathleen Matthews proved to me today that she will do well in candidate forums with other candidates.

Winners of the Next 9 Presidential Elections are Already Alive

Assuming that no one over the age of 75 will be elected President --- the oldest so far, Reagan, was 69 (just short of 70) when first elected and 77 when he left office --- the winners of the next 9 presidential elections, 2016 through 2048, are already alive. You must be 35 to take office as President.

Possibly coincidentally, in 2048 Barack Obama's two daughters will be 52 and 47.

Charter Review Commission Meeting

The MoCo CRC (Charter Review Commission) will be meeting today, Wed, Sep 9, 2015, at 8am (morning) in the County Council building (100 Maryland Ave) in the 6th floor conference room. The meeting is open to the public. 

The tentative agenda calls for discussing how to amend the MoCo Charter to allow elections to fill any vacancies in the office of County Executive, and review any other Charter issues. 

More info about the CRC is available at http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/crc/ andhttp://bessel.org/charter/

Happy Birthday, Montgomery County

Sorry to be a day late. I was at the convention of the National Association of Parliamentarians that ended today.

September 6 --- or October 1 --- is the birthdate of Montgomery County, Maryland. 

On September 6, 1776, our state's Constitutional Convention voted to create our county, carving it out of Frederick County. That action became effective on October 1, 1776. So we can celebrate either September 6 or October 1, or both, as our County birthday.

Happy MoCo birthday!

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.