News and Views
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Looking for Someone to Admire? Try Esther Wells.
Read more: Looking for Someone to Admire? Try Esther Wells.Of Montgomery County’s approximate 675,000 voters, less than 1% (far less than 1%) are Libertarians. That means pretty much everyone reading this column isn’t familiar with a pro-choice stream of consciousness, so I’ll share with you mine as I take an escalator down to a Metro station. “Why am I paying $7.50 to get to…
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Mandatory Reserve Studies: Another Blow for Affordable Housing
Read more: Mandatory Reserve Studies: Another Blow for Affordable HousingIn 2021 there was a terrible collapse of a condominium building in Surfside, Florida. The subsequent investigation revealed that as far back as 2018 an engineer had warned of cracking in the pool deck which could result in a catastrophic structural failure. The condo association did not take any corrective action until April 2021, when…
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Let’s (not) talk about mental health
Read more: Let’s (not) talk about mental healthA question: Would you like your child doing therapy with school teachers or administrators in schools (public or private, I care not)? Perhaps I’m projecting, but I’m assuming the answer is, “no.” Why does it seem like there are quite a few parents, mothers and fathers, asking for schools to focus more on mental health?…
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Is Not Allowing Opt-Out Even an MCPS Policy?
Read more: Is Not Allowing Opt-Out Even an MCPS Policy?In September of 2022, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) published its Gender Identity Guidelines. This document was written to: As a school district, we are committed in recognizing and respecting matters of gender identity; making all reasonable accommodations in response to student requests regarding gender identity; and protecting student privacy and confidentiality as we strive…
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Stewart’s Cognitive Dissonance Regarding Constructive Evictions
Read more: Stewart’s Cognitive Dissonance Regarding Constructive EvictionsCouncil Member Kate Stewart recently stated that “any rent increase over 10 percent is known as a constructive eviction. Constructive eviction is a landlord’s effort to remove a tenant through means other than a formal eviction.” This comes from someone who just voted to raise property taxes by 10 percent. That move, presumably, has nothing…
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Selective “Ranking” Promotion by County Politicians – Why Not Show the Whole Truth of How MoCo and MD “Stack Up”?
Read more: Selective “Ranking” Promotion by County Politicians – Why Not Show the Whole Truth of How MoCo and MD “Stack Up”?“Selective Outrage” was a term made popular by the recent Chris Rock comedy special on Netflix, wherein he details “the Oscar’s slap” and aftermath for himself and Will Smith. His broader point from the comedy special is on-point too, as he showcases time and again the “selective outrage” (hypocrisy and faux-sanctimonious behavior) of select people,…
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Silence is Agreement
Read more: Silence is AgreementAs Kristin Mink’s statements cause waves of outrage both locally and nationally, there is a group of people that have remained strangely quiet – the Montgomery County Council. Outside of the County Council President, Evan Glass, responding to a question from a local reporter, there have been no formal press releases or statements. Not a…
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Wild Wild County
Read more: Wild Wild CountyWhile watching the coverage of “progressive” agitator Kristin Mink’s latest racist blunder on twitter, I saw an encounter between an ally of Kristin’s, and a few members of the county that I thought would be worth a minute to cover because the language used is breathtaking, and the tactic she deployed needs to be understood…
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The Federal Reserve Bank, Inflation, and Local Rent Control
Read more: The Federal Reserve Bank, Inflation, and Local Rent ControlMoCo reformers (Democrat, Independent, and Republican alike) often bemoan the conflation of national politics with local electoral races. Last year the Republicans fielded their best candidate in a generation for county executive, Reardon Sullivan, and he came up short by quite a margin. Hard line Democrats in this county, and even more so the progressives,…