Village Green/Town²

We are living in a time when speaking out matters. And yet it feels as though our voices are small in the face of fierce and seemingly inexorably opposition. What good is one voice in the maelstrom? Sally Yates, acting Attorney General at the Justice Department, used her voice this week to oppose the Immigration/Refugee ban imposed by the President. It was her job to assess the legality of the measure and she did not shrink from making a difficult decision. As we all know, she was fired. I have so much respect for Ms. Yates for knowing the right thing to do and then doing it, in the face of almost certain termination. In this moment she had to be willing to stand alone. But she was standing up for the Constitution, and for the ideals which make our country both free and just. Closer to home, Councilman Calvin Ball introduced legislation to make Howard County a sanctuary county. While the legislation was put forward by Ball and Councilwoman Jen Terrasa, it is Dr. Ball who has been...

Did you work in your school newspaper? I didn't. My high school years were my poetry years. I worked on the literary magazine. If I am really lucky none of those deeply felt poems are still floating around. School newspapers have gone digital. It saves paper. I bumped into the current issue of the Oakland Mills Scroll on Twitter last night. I'd like to recommend this editorial , entitled "It's All In Your Head". The author is Deanna Neudecker. It's a thoughtful and astute look at mental health issues. Over the time period that this student and her classmates have been in school, the emphasis has been on testing and more testing, signing up for multiple AP classes. Many of our students are burdened beyond the coping point. We tell them that this is for the best. They must be college and career ready. They must be good little widgets and then they will win the prize. But people are not widgets. People have physical and emotional needs. We have shifted the ...

Attendance was estimated at around 1100 people. My daughter and I were two of them. We arrived at twenty after four and almost all available seats were taken. We knew we were going to have to leave early, so we were happy to stand at the back. We had a lot of company. The event was a PATH action in support of CB-9. The room was packed, standing room only, with others sitting in the floor down front and the lobby almost entirely filled as well. But it's not the numbers that really matter. It's the hands. Early on, one of the speakers had us join hands. He said, if we are not connected, if we are not engaged with one another, in relation with one another, then we will feel alone, powerless, lost. It isn't enough to protest and resist. We must be connected. It is in that connection, those relationships, that there is power. "We, the people," I thought. Now, holding hands is an intimate act and holding hands with complete strangers can feel awkward and risky...

GOLDEN EAGLE CHAMPAGNE BRUNCH JANUARY 29 @ 12:00 PM  -  3:00 PM The Howard County Republican Party cordially invites you to our annual Golden Eagle Champagne Brunch with Invited Guest, County Executive Allan Kittleman. Sunday, January 29 2016, 12:00 pm until 3:00 pm What on earth will they talk about? (Maybe those pesky "whereas clauses".) Gold Sponsorship- $400 – for two Golden Eagle guests Silver Sponsorship – $300 – for two Silver Eagle guests Bronze Sponsorship – $125 – one ticket or $225 per couple I respectfully suggest that they dispense with their usual plan for the profits and donate it all to the ACLU.   Now, there's another event today that won't  cost you a cent. And you won't be squirming to make cocktail conversation while Rome burns, either. PATH Action - Make Howard a Sanctuary County January 29, 2017 @ 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm  Wilde Lake Interfaith Religious Center Both events can be found on  Totally HoCo , a cal...

We've had a bit of a tempest in a teapot this week here in Howard County with the creation of a Facebook page called Howard County Hate Watch. While I absolutely agree that our county has seen an upswing in truly reprehensible hate speech, I find the behavior on this page to be concerning. It's essentially presenting screenshots of other people's posts and condemning them. Something just doesn't feel right about it. As someone responded, this looks more like Howard County Witch Hunt. The people that I know who support CB-9 and the concept of sanctuary legislation don't operate like this. What I mean by that is: that they don't hide their identities they don't refuse to answer questions they don't delete comments of people who disagree with them  So who is behind this? Prominent Republicans have been on a hunt to pin this on a Democrat. Democrats think it may be a Republican hoax. I have heard several names bandied about but I don't thin...

In a conversation with a four year old student, the teacher asked, "Were you in school last year?" He paused, thought a bit, and responded, "When was last year?" When was last year? Was that before Christmas? Before summer vacation? Before my birthday? When you are four years old your concept of time is very different than that of an adult. Right now our local world and our national one are undergoing so much upheaval that I feel a bit like that preschool child. When was last year? Was that before it was okay to call human beings "cancer" in a public meeting? Before school superintendents sued their Boards of Education? Before students had to contend with racist threats on social media? Before the County Executive rushed to make a statement condeming attacks on those who agreed with him on CB-9, but was silent when the same happened to those who opposed his views? When was last year? Were we any better then? I wonder. Add your comments on the ...

Yesterday I saw a familiar face. A pensive photograph that belongs to a local blogger whose work I deeply admire. Her name is Lisa Marini Schlossnagle and her blog is Lisa B, Mrs. S. She posted for the first time in forever. (Or so it seems to me.) You can find her post here, dated January 24th: What Am I Doing Here?  Lisa's voice has been missed. Take the opportunity to noodle around in her blog while you are there and you will see why. Today my Facebook memories reminded me of another one of her pieces: What is Columbia All About?  Posted on this dste in 2013, it's every bit as good today as it was then. I can't begrudge Lisa's absence from the blogging world because she lives real life more fully and deeply than most of us. And that takes time, and attention. And focus. I'll leave you with some of her words that feel a propos for the times we are in: Columbia is about diversity  - of people, incomes, spaces, religions, and thought. It's probably ...