Providing a Voice for the Silent Majority & Disenfranchised Voter in the DC Metro Area
Author: The MoCo Conservative
The MoCo Conservative blog and podcast provide a voice for the not-so-silent majority and disenfranchised voters in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Our goal is to aggregate published Conservative content written by residents of the Beltway and beyond. Our blog and podcasts cover a variety of topics and responses from concerned citizens, both anonymous and named, who are directly impacted by the reckless policies put forth by those in positions of authority.
The MoCo Conservative is happy to announce that The Weekly Mourner, another conservative blogger living in Montgomery County, has joined our administrative team.
Guest speaker Mark is behind The Heterodox Soldier (www.heterodoxsoldier.com), an anonymous blog started in June of 2020. The Heterodox Soldier has been an Officer in the U.S. Army for over two decades and is leaving the military.
The Montgomery County Republican Party published the following piece from The MoCo Conservative. Read the full text below:
“There is a clear lack of diversity of thought in the D.C. Metro Area. The advent of technology has made the cancel culture mob even more vengeful as Democrat operatives order their minions and tech soldiers to dig through social media accounts of suspected free thinkers and conservatives.
The sole intent of these operatives is to destroy livelihoods and eviscerate reputations in supposedly “tolerant” D.C.-area communities led by the Democrat majority.
So, how can everyday citizens fight back? Named after and located in its namesake (Montgomery County, MD) I created The MoCo Conservative blog to solve a problem that many conservatives and independents are facing: their voices and influence have been diminished by the “woke mob” and they remain silent for fear of retaliation. The goal of my blog is to provide a “safe” space for those same targeted individuals to express their thoughts, concerns, and opinions anonymously (or named, should they choose that path). I only have two requirements (for now): the contributors must live in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, D.C. and it must be original content. All but one of the blog’s commentaries have come from anonymous and named contributors and whistleblowers; I’ll let you figure out which one came from me.
I must be doing something right (pun intended): established in August 2020, my blog and new podcast have reached almost 100,000 people in the Beltway through social media, including over 30,000 individual blog views. My blog is a social and technological experiment in exercising the First Amendment of the Constitution as a private citizen, with no allegiances or affiliations except to this country. I am an independent, conservative, free thinker who sees that the Republic as I know it is being attacked by those put in positions of authority by the ignorant and intolerant liberal majority.
Debate is not illegal. Listening to opposing viewpoints is not illegal. Yet, the mainstream propaganda networks effortlessly manipulate public perception to make it so that people who question the narrative can be justifyingly and publicly shamed, ridiculed, and targeted for thinking differently. I refuse to bow down to the technocracy and cancel culture, the same way that I refuse to tolerate intolerance. I encourage you to do the same.”
Mekkah X Mohammed is a Muslim Republican Conservative who ran for Baltimore City Council District 10 in 2020.
I have analyzed the subject matter of which this letter pertains for many months now. As stated by Malcolm X in his letter from Mecca: “[T]he color-blindness of the Muslim world’s religious society and the color-blindness of the Muslim world’s human society,” not only influenced the change in Malcolm X’s mindset towards white people while in Mecca, but also influenced my mindset towards the Republican Party after seeing the color-blindness in the GOP and the color-blindness in conservatism.
I attended the Million MAGA March on November 14, 2020 in our nation’s capital, in a rally protesting the injustice of a rigged election and the denial of the people’s right to vote for whom they choose. Like Malcolm X was blessed by Allah to see the true meaning of Islam in Mecca, I was blessed by Allah to see the true meaning of patriotism in Washington, D.C.
As Malcolm X understood America’s racial dilemma in the 1960’s, I understand America’s political dilemma in 2021.
While in Washington, D.C., where the fifteenth amendment was passed, I felt a sense of pride, not only as an American (being born in America) but as a patriot- as Fredrick Douglas later in his life viewed himself as a citizen. I witnessed the presence of fellow patriots from all nationalities, backgrounds, and walks of life; we were there to fight for the integrity of this election and future elections, as well as for President Trump.
The Million MAGA March happened today.
Nothing was burned, looted, and no one was shot or killed.
Many Americans need to understand true patriotism today, as many Americans needed to understand true Islam in the 1960’s and need to understand true Islam in the present day. Patriotism and Islam both create brotherhood, unity, and loyalty to one’s country and the belief in God/ Allah.
As we stood together as patriots, there wasn’t any focus on economic, religious, educational, racial, or social status, but the focus was on our rights as citizens:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”
Now we know Malcolm X said “By Any Means Necessary,” which brings me to my next point. The United States witnessed many riots stemming from violence, from the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to Rodney King, and most notably George Floyd.
Dr. King: “A riot is the language of the unheard.”
As Dr. King said in the video above, riots are the result of the people’s voices not being heard. Now, in 2021, rioting is no longer a form of the people’s voices not being heard due to racism alone, but is used as an excuse by Marxists to steal and plunder. With the green light given by some politicians on the left, Marxists have become the most dangerous people in America today. They too are not restrained by anything, having no moral concept, religion, civic responsibility…nothing!
“And because I had been a hustler, I knew better than all whites knew, and better than nearly all of the black ‘leaders’ knew, that actually the most dangerous black man in America was the ghetto hustler. Why do I say this? The hustler, out there in the ghetto jungles, has less respect for the white power structure than any other Negro in North America. The ghetto hustler is internally restrained by nothing. He has no religion, no concept of morality, no civic responsibility, no fear–nothing. To survive, he is out there constantly preying upon others, probing for any human weakness like a ferret. The ghetto hustler is forever frustrated, restless, and anxious for some ‘action’. Whatever he undertakes, he commits himself to it fully, absolutely.”
And just like the ghetto hustler back in the 1960’s, Marxists prey upon others and are ready for action at any cost to life or property. They have made up their minds not to respect anything or anybody, especially if anyone disagrees with them!
Sixty years later history has repeated itself; gone are the days of Jim Crow. Yet, social injustices on our first amendment rights and right to peacefully protest without being ostracized – like the civil rights protestors of the 1960’s – are in full swing. Now, cancel culture is slowly stripping away our first, second, and fifteenth amendment rights, turning our country into a socialist society.
“Council Appoints Members to the Commission on Redistricting to Establish Boundaries of Council Districts“
The County Council has just announced the Redistricting Commission. The members were selected from applicants who submitted letters of interest to serve on the Commission. The Council President informed us that of all the applications received, some 32 were selected for interviews, and from those, 11 Commissioners have been selected.
Now a little background…
Please recall that before the election there was a bipartisan, citizen-driven ballot initiative successfully added to the ballot in Montgomery County by collecting well over 15,000 verified signatures. That initiative was seeking to eliminate the “At-Large” Council members and replace them with specific districts in the hope that the far reaches of the county – places like Germantown, Clarksburg, Darnestown, and Poolesville – might be able to gain direct representation on the County Council. However, the Council had other ideas, and rather then let the will of the people prevail, they added their own ballot initiative at the eleventh hour; in their usual manner they were able to confuse the electorate into voting for seven districts and four at-large members.
The scheme that was voted in will be part of the requirement to redistrict the county in accordance with the data that was derived from the 2020 Federal Census. This is a requirement for all levels of government. In Montgomery County:
The Commission shall include at least one but no more than four members of each political party which polled at least 15 percent of the total vote cast for all candidates for the Council in the last preceding regular election. As a result of the 2018 General Election, there are two parties recognized by the State of Maryland: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
Montgomery County Council Press Release (November 12, 2o2o)
However, the Commission’s announcement with the appointed individuals tells us that the following political representations have been selected:
Democrats – 4
Republicans – 2
Libertarian – 1
Independent –2
Unaffiliated — 2
The selections based on affiliations do not seem to be in concert with the County’s own requirements as stated in their 2018 Memo. I am sure that the people selected are all qualified to do the job; I am just not sure that they meet the qualifications for selection to the job. Further, what seems dramatically undemocratic with the process is that not one of the selectees for the Commission resides in the outlying area designated as “Upcounty”: Germantown, Clarksburg, Poolesville, Boyds, or Darnestown. It is hard to believe that of all the applications received by the Council, that there was not a single person from Upcounty that could be selected for the Commission. In the words of a now infamous politician: “Come on, man!”
Read paragraph below for more insight.
Just to reinforce the point, above is a map of Montgomery County. The RED line connects the dots between the locations where each of the Commission members is reported to reside. The Blue line connects the dots between the locations where the Council Members are reported to reside.
I think there is a decided lack of representation, as there historically has been, for those parts of the county that are the most remote. I submit that the Council President is derelict in his duties to the residents of Upcounty Montgomery – Germantown, Darnestown, Boyds, Dickerson, Poolesville, Clarksburg – and needs to rethink the makeup of the Redistricting Commission.
Chaplain Christopher Anderson is a Republican Conservative who ran for Baltimore City Council District 7 in 2020. Learn more about his platform in our candidate spotlight here.
For months now, our government has been pushing for vaccines to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the public have questioned vaccines and are not convinced that they are necessary. There are concerns with mistrust of mandatory government vaccines and with good reason.
During the height of the pandemic, when cases were at their worst, several remedies were suggested for possible treatment of COVID-19.
One was hydroxychloroquine, promoted by former President Trump, and the other was Remdesivir, promoted by Dr. Fauci – both of whom worked on finding a solution to combatting COVID-19. Former President Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19, took hydroxychloroquine, and recovered in four days. Dr. Fauci stated if Remdesivir was taken at the first sign of infections it would shorten not only the infection but the length of time a patient would be hospitalized. Also, monoclonal antibody therapy is an effective and reliable treatment for Covid-19 infections, and would definitely be a life-saving game changer and reduce infection rates.
So the question becomes, where are these medications for the general public, and why are they not being used as treatments for COVID-19 versus the general public getting vaccinated?
In a sense, the vaccine could cause as many deaths as the virus because not much knowledge about possible and future side effects are known. Another concern of those who oppose vaccines are that effective vaccines take upwards of three to eight years, not only to be tested, but to be approved by the FDA. Dr. Fauci has said that another, more improved vaccine will be presented to the public in the next three to five years, so then what is being injected in the immune systems of millions of Americans now?
Dr. Fauci has stated that the vaccines available to Americans right now – from Pfizer and Moderna- will not even prevent you from getting COVID-19; you would still have to practice social distancing and wear a mask. Dr. Fauci claimed that taking these vaccines will help the public to reach 80% herd immunity – this means at some point, many of us will catch the virus anyway.
Also, let us also remember the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, giving hundreds of African-Americans syphilis from 1932-1972; hence the mistrust of the government from the Afro-American community to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine is seen as a way of violating their civil liberties or giving access to basic needs being met to only those who have taken the vaccine, and denying both civil liberties and basic needs to those who decline to receive it.
In conclusion, even with the hope of better vaccines in the coming months, we still have to continue to social distance and wear masks to prevent the spread of the virus. We should consider the use of hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir, and monoclonal antibody therapies to save millions of lives now, even if we have to wait for better vaccines to be available in the future.
Marc King is a frequent contributor to The MoCo Conservative and lives in Germantown, Maryland.
The events that have been occurring in our country since the inauguration of President Donald Trump just over four years ago have been truly startling. The events and history surrounding the activities of our Intelligence Community, The Swamp, the Special Council, and the media are well known to all of us. I do not intend to recount them again. Instead, I would like to look further back in history – since not knowing history will cause us to repeat it – and perhaps the replication is happening right before our eyes, right now!
Statue of the famous roman emperor Julius Caesar.
The day was January 10th in the year 49 BC when an event occurred that forever changed the very nature of the Roman Empire. Julius Caesar entered Rome with his Legion, an act that was considered treason by the Roman Senate:
“Julius Caesar’s crossing the Rubicon river on January 10, 49 BC precipitated the Roman Civil War, which ultimately led to Caesar’s becoming dictator and the rise of the imperial era of Rome.”
Today, the phrase “crossing the Rubicon” is a metaphor that means to pass a point of no return. History goes on to tell us the Rubicon was the boundary between Gaul and Italy, the border that no Roman general could cross with an army, without being prosecuted by the Senate; Caesar crossed this because he knew he was going to be prosecuted by the Senate when he returned.
“Crossing the Rubicon” by Luca Fezzi.
And just for the record… Julius Caesar commanded four Legions. Each Legion consisted of 4,000-6,000 soldiers. So, on the average of 5,000 soldiers in a Legion, Caesar only had one Legion in Italy at the time, so we can assume that some 4,000-6,000 soldiers might have crossed the Rubicon with their Caesar!
“Julius Caesar and his two political allies, the richest man in Rome and the Greatest General, bribed Caesar’s way to consul, then they got him to be governor of a province in Iberia, then conquered Gaul. All of this, to get ‘Imperium’ which meant he can’t be prosecuted for his crimes. He then marched on Rome and did lots of reforms and stuff as Dictator, he destroyed what little bit of a republic Rome still had.”
Now we fast forward to January 20, 2021 in Washington, D.C. It’s Inauguration Day and what do we see: over 25,000 soldiers have entered our Capital city at the direction of the about-to-be inaugurated President Elect and Commander in Chief and his minions – almost exactly what Caesar’s soldiers did in 49 BC.
As history shows us Caesar transforms the Republic of Rome to a dictatorship by committing “lots of illegal stuff.” Well, we know for sure that he did not have to steal an election – that is left up to 21st Century politicians and their party to do. So, with our very own Caesar occupying the Capital City of America, how can we be sure he is fulfilling the historical role of “DICTATOR”?
It is past week two of the occupation and Joe Biden has issued 49 Executive Orders, ranging in scope from singlehandedly destroying women’s sports and ensuring men can use the women’s locker room if they so choose, to killing the Keystone XL Pipeline, and to halting the building of the Border Wall, putting some 60,000+ Americans out of work at a time the country is struggling with a pandemic.
Folks will not be worrying who is missing at their breakfast table, Joey, because they will not have a breakfast table at all.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our First American Caesar!
While work of the first American Caesar continues unabated, what is our Senate doing? Why, they are busy impeaching someone who is not there! They have failed to notice that the Republic is crumbling before their eyes, and short of having “Nero” to play a lively tune for them, they essentially are doing NOTHING! And neither is the House of Representatives, which brings us to the point of my article.
We have our Caesar, so why do we need a Congress at all? There no longer seems to be the need to pass legislation and laws. That is now being done by Executive Order. If you want the federal government’s 650,000 gasoline powered vehicles ditched and new electric vehicles procured to replace them – well just write an Executive Order and make it so. Want to use the US military as a social engineering lab? Make it so with the stroke of the pen. Re-enter the Paris Climate Accords or the Iran Nuclear Deal! Who needs Congress and the Constitution? I HAVE A PEN!
So why are we spending billions on a Congress? Our First American Caesar can just dismiss them, thank them for their service, hand out a few Gold Star Certificates, and then send them packing. What can be better than Term Limits? Wait for it…NO TERMS AT ALL!
It’s 2021 and we have “Crossed the Rubicon” – The Republic Is Lost!
At Davos, Switzerland the President of China delivered a speech by video that I am sure escaped the attention of most Americans. One of the most notable and chilling lines of the speech makes it clear that China is issuing the Biden Administration a warning:
“To build small circles or start a new Cold War, to reject, threaten or intimidate others, to willfully impose decoupling, supply disruption or sanctions, and to create isolation or estrangement will only push the world into division and even confrontation. We cannot tackle common challenges in a divided world, and confrontation will lead us to a dead end.”
Do not return to the pre-Trump policies of unbalanced trade deficits and unchallenged Chinese hegemony of the South China Sea;
Do not return our domestic manufacturing to China, including our near sole dependence on medical needs and supplies; and
Do not lift the sanctions that have been placed in response to the enslavement of an entire ethnic race inside the borders of China…
… then the Army, Navy, and Air Force that China has built and expanded over the past 20+ years will be called to action and the “Cold War” will turn to a “Hot War.”
Ladies and Gentlemen:
CHINA IS NOT OUR FRIEND
China is an existential threat to the entire world and President Trump knew it. Now China threatens the Biden Administration, with a hand in the proverbial “Velvet Glove” in a way that compels the Administration to return to 2016 and the most-favored China policies of old. This is exactly why we cannot have a President that has been compromised by his dealings with China. It was only one year ago that we discovered that as a nation we were almost solely dependent on China for our medical supplies and needs. We found this out only after China unleashed a world-wide virus that we are still dealing with today. Our masks, PPE, and vital pharmaceutical supplies were dependent on a supply chain owned and controlled by China – and you will recall that China threatened to cut off our supply to vital medical supplies if they felt threatened by the U.S. response to the COVID virus.
JULY 14, 2020: Biden delivered remarks on his campaign’s ‘Build Back Better’ clean energy economic plan. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
That is the world China wants to return to, and it appears the Biden Administration is going to play along. His “Build Back Better” slogan would be more accurate if it read “Build China Back Better” – because if we don’t – well, we just might have a war on our hands.
China has systematically looted U.S. technology and used it to build a military equal in fighting capability to the U.S. For those not familiar with some of the technologies and equipment, let me give you visual demonstration of what we face.
The Air Force
The Chinese have made bold and startling advances in aircraft technology; witness the Chinese J20 Stealth aircraft (left), and the U.S.’s latest air superiority weapon, the F35 Stealth aircraft (right).
Chinese J20
U.S. F35
Eerily similar…are they not?
The Navy
The Chinese Navy has brazenly stolen and copied U.S. ship-building plans:
Chinese Frigate
U.S. Frigate
Almost clones…
The Army
You do not have to be an Armor Crewman to understand what is happening here:
Chinese MBT 3000
U.S. M1A3
Crew training will make the difference, but can you see the steal?
No, Mr. Biden – now is not the time to go easy on China. We had them right were we wanted them, and you will now let them off the hook. Your policies will allow China to pull ahead of the U.S. in just a few short years. I do not believe that is the position that most Americans will accept.
The question that must now be asked is: Are you going to wilt under the threat that the President of China just administered to you, or will you stand up to this international bully?
Your actions in the coming weeks and months will determine if we will all be eating with chopsticks soon.
For the reader – if you want some additional insight into the problem that we face I recommend reading P.W. Singers’ futuristic novel, Ghost Fleet:
“The United States, China, and Russia eye each other across a twenty-first century version of the Cold War, which suddenly heats up at sea, on land, in the air, in outer space, and in cyberspace. The fighting involves everything from stealthy robotic–drone strikes to old warships from the navy’s ‘ghost fleet.‘ “
Marc King is a frequent contributor to The MoCo Conservative and lives in Germantown, Maryland.
One of the ongoing talking points from the far left is the constant discussion on the redistribution of wealth in America. Normally the discussion goes something like: “Tax the rich and give it to the poor so we are all equal.”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio: “Our mission is to REDISTRIBUTE WEALTH.”
That is perhaps the way it was, but not how it is going to be. You see, we were struck by the Chinese Plague about one year ago, forcing us to shut down the economy while our scientists and leaders tried to figure out what was happening. To comply with the edicts and orders of our Governors and Health Officials, we dutifully and compliantly shut the doors to almost all of the small businesses across the country – the very same small businesses that we all understand are literally the backbone of our economy.
We cannot shut down the Walmart’s or the Home Depot’s or Best Buy’s; but for Mom-and-Pop stores, restaurants, boutiques we tell them to “Shut Up and Comply.” And so, they did. Throughout the summer of 2020, they tried to make a comeback, at least to a sustainable level, and we saw those efforts succeed in the declining unemployment numbers.
But you know the mantra of the Socialist Democrat – “Never let a crisis go to waste” – and as we have continued to deal with the pandemic, I believe that a plan formed in the heads of the Socialist Democrat leadership to ensure that they were able to use this crisis to their political benefit. They concluded that if they kept the economy closed and small businesses continued to fail, it would of course be blamed on the arch enemy Donald Trump.
But their motives are even more sinister: redistributing the wealth by the government to those they favor.
As small businesses began to fail early in the pandemic, the Socialist Democrats were all in on the PPP and trying to buoy up small business – and then something happened. Some nine months ago the Speaker of the House put forward a bill that she knew would be so onerous the Republican-led Senate would never be able to pass it. Many will recall that months ago the President had already agreed to a bigger spending package for COVID-19 relief than the Republicans wanted, but not quite as large as the package offered by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A good compromise on behalf of the American people could have been reached, but it was rejected time and again by Pelosi. Why was that? Is it possible that the Biden staff came up with a scheme that we are just now seeing starting to play out right before our eyes?
Joe Biden (Photo credit: Biden campaign)
It was announced recently by Sleepy Joe himself that as we get the virus under control, and the country and the economy start to return to “normal” under the guidance of his Small Business Administrator at the Small Business Administration (the same government agency that administered the first round of PPP relief), it will undertake an aggressive small business loan program to help with the recovery of small business. So, how does that result in a massive transfer of wealth?
This same announcement closes that loop and answers the question. You see, while there will be another round of massive government spending on small business – this announcement makes it clear that the first in line for these “loans” will be people of color. White Americans will go to the back of the line and if the money runs out before we get to you… ‘Just mail in your taxes and your government thanks you!” White entrepreneurs obeyed and lost, only to be replaced by Black and Brown entrepreneurs at the direction of Black Lives Matter and “Squad” Member AOC… and so it begins!
Biden for President is already organizing small business owners and entrepreneurs nationwide and in key battleground states. The events are targeted to key sectors of the small business community, including Latino, African American, AAPI, Native American, women, rural, LGBTQ+, disabled and other diverse business owners and leaders. The organizing opportunities will mobilize the small business community in support of the Biden-Harris campaign, and provide an opportunity for small business leaders to connect, learn about Joe Biden’s plan for small business, and get involved with the campaign.
Our blog published a wide array of opinions, commentaries, and responses in our sixth month of operation. Our podcast featured dynamic and diverse guest speakers from a variety of backgrounds.
Below are the ten most viewed posts for the month of January:
We wanted to take a moment to thank all of our anonymous and named contributors, as well as our podcast guests, for continuing to take a stand against the wave of authoritarianism that is currently gripping the D.C. Metro Area.
This letter is to let you know how very disappointed I am in how you are representing me and the other citizens of our Congressional District 8. Specifically, I want to tell you how very unfair I find your one-on-one interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Mr. Tapper asked you, “[w]hy go through the impeachment process?” Your blaming [of President] Donald Trump for the violence of a mob who stormed the Capitol on January 6 was not only appalling, it has also now been proven to be factually incorrect. But I suspect you already know that.
It has been reported that the FBI and the Capitol Police had information of premeditated plans of violence at the Capitol Building at least a day before January 6. How then could President Trump have caused the violence which had already been set in motion before his speech had even been given? There are more important matters Congress should be working on than to impeach Donald Trump. You are simply demonstrating hate.
I was one of the 99% of Trump supporters in D.C. on January 6 who were there to peacefully support the President in a law-abiding way. We were peaceful protestors who exercised our 1st Amendment rights of freedom of assembly and speech. None of us were violent nor were we incited to be violent. [President] Donald Trump did not incite me or my friends. We were practicing our Constitutional rights and were there to celebrate President Trump’s accomplishments.
The inflammatory rhetoric of the Left caused the January 6 mob to storm the Capitol. It is well past time for Democrats and the mainstream media to take responsibility for dividing Americans and attempting to humiliate, silence, get fired from jobs – and perhaps most menacingly of all, talk about “reeducation camps” – for those who support Donald Trump, like me and others who have conservative views. It’s time for careful reflection and change on all sides. You are failing to do this with your impeachment process.
Please make sure you and all the other members of Congress separate the violent offenders from the peaceful American people at a rally. Conservatives should be treated exactly the same as those who attended the BLM rallies throughout 2020.
We demand that the double standards and censorship stop. We demand that the threats to our personal safety and job security stop.
How can our country heal, if you make such poor decisions for the citizens you represent?
Many of you may be familiar with the “League of Women Voters,” who described themselves and their activities in a recent e-mail to Maryland voters:
“Election bills have always been of keen interest to the League. We were established in 1920 to help newly enfranchised women use their ballots effectively, and we have a long tradition of supporting laws that remove barriers to voting.”
Sounds good, right? Who could possibly be against these kinds of activities, especially when it seems to extend additional enfranchisement to women? But let’s take a deeper dive into their agenda and see if their activities represent a nonpartisan approach to politics. Here is how the League of Woman Votersof Maryland describes themselves on their website:
“The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.”
Given their long history in political activism this looks and sounds like a reasonable position to take when it comes to politics, public policy, and the mechanics of free and fair elections. However, their recent e-mail tells quite a different story. Here is their list of activities; lets take a look at them one at a time and discuss.
Let us start at the top: “Voting by mail.” It should be clear to all conservatives and Republicans that this is the voting activity that presents the greatest opportunity for fraud in the history of free and fair elections. We just witnessed a presidential election in which mail-in ballots played a decisive role in the election of a Socialist Democrat and the defeat of a sitting President that garnered more votes than any other in history. The single best example that can be offered is the mail-in balloting that occurred in Pennsylvania.
This was posted on our Department of State dashboard but had since been deleted. pic.twitter.com/bDmvCK0kDB
The State clearly informed us that they mailed out 1.9 million ballots, and the State clearly informed us that they received back 2.4 million ballots… and they were all tallied. Now I am no math genius, but shouldn’t that be a “red flag” to all nonpartisans that “there is something rotten in Denmark,” or at least in Pennsylvania?
I am not going to get into the weeds on all the issues with mail-in voting, but some things are clear:
Voter boxes are not secure;
Chain of custody of ballots cannot be maintained;
Cut-off for receipt of ballots is an issue;
Backdating of late ballots is easily done; and
Illegal ballots can be inserted into the chain at any time (1.9M out – 2.4M in!)
So, let’s move on to: “Increasing access to voting for students and other under-served groups.” What we have here is code language for allowing 16 year-olds to vote. The people in this age group are easily manipulated and will vote based on the direction that they are given – I do not think I need to tell you what that direction is. Their public school indoctrination is easily and willfully transferred to the voting booth!
Next, we see that they are supporting “[F]acilitating voting for felons who are no longer incarceratedand citizens behind bars who are eligible to vote because they are awaiting trial or were convicted ona misdemeanor charge.” Not sure where they are going here. The Maryland State Board of Elections website tells us: “Effective, March 10, 2016, if you have been convicted of a felony and have completedserving a court-ordered sentence of imprisonment, you are eligible to register to vote.” The question is: why should a felon who has committed a crime, gone through a trial, and convicted of violating the law be allowed to participate in the voting process until their time is served and they are released from incarceration? A situation rife for ballot harvesting. We already know the answer to that question. More votes for ME but not for THEE.
I think it’s clear by this time that the League of Women Voters is highly partisan, and I would be highly suspect of any support they give to any policy issue.
On a closing note, I would recount my own personal experience as a Republican nominee for Legislative District 15* with the League of Women Voters when in the 2018 election cycle they circulated a “pamphlet” in which they published information about all the candidates on the ballot for the general election. Not surprisingly, they had a very through presentation of all the Socialist Democrats on the ballot, biographies, and policy positions as provided by the nominees themselves. I too responded to their request for this information, providing them a through and complete biography and my political position on policies of concern to the voters of Legislative District 15 and the State of Maryland. However, unlike my Socialist Democrat opponents, I was given a cursory announcement with none of the information that I provided. The pattern continued for all the Republican nominees on the ballot that year.
Nonpartisan, I do not think so. But if you have any lingering doubts, go to the League’s main website or the Maryland League’s website and decide for yourself.
*January 27, 2021 CORRECTION ADDED FROM AUTHOR
Humble Apologies to the Maryland League of Women Voters
On January 25, 2021 I published a blog in the MoCo Conservative titled: “League of Women Voters: The “Little Old Ladies In Tennis Shoes” Who Want to Steal Elections.”
In that blog I offered a recollection of my own experience in 2018 when I was one of three nominees for the Republican Party in my legislative district. In the piece I referred to a “journal” which was provided to the voters of Maryland before the General Election. I incorrectly was referring to the League of Women Voters’ “Voting Guide.” An unintentional error resulting from a dwindling recollection of the events of the time.
I went on to comment on the contents of the Voter Guide, incorrectly recalling that the Guide failed to offer equal space for Republican and Democrats to make their case. I was incorrect and would like to correct the record on that point. Had I checked my archived copy of the Guide, I would have found that in fact what I submitted to the League at their request was indeed what was published.
I wanted to correct the record on that point. My humble apologies to the League on that count. I feel it is important in civil discourse to admit a mistake when one is made. The remainder of my thoughts and observations expressed in the blog stand as presented!
David Kinderdine is a retired pastor and lives in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Those who have studied Hitler’s rise to power and the extermination of six million Jews should see the parallels to the events currently taking place in America today.
One of Hitler’s strategies was his plan to create nationalistic pride and a superior race. To support this goal, he needed to create a villain; he found his villain in the Jewish race. Between November 9th and 10th, 1938 the Nazis carried out a mission against the Jews while authorities looked on without intervention. This night became known as Kristallnacht, or “Night of Broken Glass”; on this night, Jewish homes, hospitals, and schools were ransacked as paramilitary and civilians alike attacked and demolished 267 synagogues and over 7,000 Jewish businesses. As a result 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and incarcerated in concentration camps. The pretext for these attacks was the assassination of German diplomat Ernst vom Rath by a 17 year-old German-born Polish Jew living in Paris.
Step 2: Censorship
A second strategy used by Hitler was censorship. Censorship within the Nazi party included control of mass communication, which encompassed paper, literature, radio, and film. The Reich ministry of propaganda produced their own literature solely devoted to Nazi ideals; this literature was also very anti-Semitic.
Anti-Semitic propaganda poster from the Third Reich
Hitler knew if he isolated people and created his own narrative, he could control his opposition. He used a strategy called Gaslighting. Those who spoke out against Hitler and his policies faced intimidation and threats from the Gestapo or imprisonment and in some cases execution. All political parties had been banned. Economic opposition was eliminated as trade unions had been banned. Sadly, many Germans genuinely believed that the Nazi’s were improving Germany.
Step 3: Control The Youth
Flag of Hitler Youth
A third strategy was to control the minds of Germany’s youth, and he did this through the Hitler Youth movement. Hitler’s goal was to control the activities and teachings in classrooms and make them loyal to him. Those within the youth movement were given positions of responsibility and rewarded for their loyalty, and curriculum was biased and supportive of the Nazi narrative.
Step 4: Eliminate Opposition
A fourth strategy was to eliminate the opposition. On June 30, 1934 Hitler authorized a purge of Nazi leaders he feared were too powerful. This night became known the “Night of the Long Knives.” Hitler ordered his elite SS guard to murder hundreds that night who opposed him.
Who Was Dietrich Bonhoeffer?
In Germany a pastor/theologian named Dietrich Bonhoeffer wanted the Church to speak out against the war and the atrocities that were taking place in Germany. Yet many church leaders were frightened of the consequences. In 1940, Dietrich was forbidden by the Reich to speak out; he was further required to report regularly to the secret police. Dietrich was deeply distressed that the whole world was falling apart in an orgy of suffering and pain while the Church was strangely impotent, even unconcerned to take a stand.
On September 19, 1941 a decree was issued that required all German Jews to wear a yellow star attached to their clothing. In October 1941, the first gas chambers were installed at Auschwitz. Dietrich felt the Church’s impotence was because of their lack of moral courage. Dietrich – even though he was forbidden to speak – continued to do so in opposition to German atrocities. Norway fell to Germany early in the war, but unlike the pastors in Germany, Norwegian pastors spoke out in opposition. This brought about many arrests, though Norway’s pastors continued strong in their resistance.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Dietrich was later detained and imprisoned for his resistance. In prison, Dietrich declared if the government demanded that Christians sign away their submission to Christ in order to serve the state, then Christians had a responsibility to resist that Government absolutely. Under a biblical view, such a government was a false one in that it was not operating within the sphere God intended. Dietrich was eventually hanged for treason on April 9, 1945 in a concentration camp just two weeks before U.S. soldiers liberated the camp.
Today, we are witnessing a loss of our freedom of speech. We are being fed propaganda by the socialist left. We are witnessing patriots and conservatives targeted and punished for their beliefs. Our media is censoring the opposition. We have experienced unimaginable corruption at the highest levels of our government. Our agencies are not to be trusted. Our children are taught an amended version of history. Our judicial system has had a total breakdown. We are witnessing the armed forces of the United States mobilized to squash the opposition via deadly force. The core values of our Judeo-Christian faith are under attack. Worshippers are fined and threatened jail time for violating stay-at-home orders. Our elected leaders do not represent us or listen to us. Elections are being stolen.
Bonhoeffer showed that it is possible to grow in faith through any circumstance, and to take a stand in any situation or dilemma. He was willing to pay the price for his beliefs. I ask American pastors: Are you willing to do the same, or have you been rendered impotent by fear and intimidation? It’s time for the Church to stand up and speak out for what’s right or we will lose the rights given to us by the patriots who lived and died for the freedoms we enjoy today.
The show in Washington, D.C. is over for Biden and Pelosi – they showed us all how they can flex their political muscle and have some 25,000+ National Guard soldiers deployed to the nation’s Capital to remind us all that they are now in charge of Washington! It did not bother them in the slightest that they disrupted the private lives of these Guardsmen and women that were sent to D.C. from all 50 states. Pelosi demanded their presence because the threat from you and me was considered extreme – not because they are afraid of us; it was because they stole a presidential election, and they all know it. They are afraid that we are not over it yet – and they would be correct. However, we are not ANTIFA or BLM, and because of that, there were no riots nor even a single inauguration-related arrest in D.C. on January 20th.
But Biden and Pelosi needed a show of force to remind us that we need to stay in our place and just obey! So, the National Guard was brought to D.C., in the middle of a Pandemic which they have told us all was mismanaged by Trump.
But they will get it right…WRONG! What they have done is create a “Super Spreader” event. The troops did not receive proper housing upon their arrival and were told to billet inside the Capital Building.
The picture below tells the story: literally thousands of soldiers sleeping and eating on top of each other with no social distancing being enforced. Sleeping in the halls and on the floors with limited toilet facilities, all so Nancy and Joey could look good.
National Guardsmen sleep on the ground of a parking garage near the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, January 21, 2021 | POLITICO
This is followed by the really bad news. As reported in Politico:
“Already, hundreds of Guard members who poured into Washington…have tested positive for Covid-19 or are quarantining in nearby hotels, three Guard sources said. Guard leadership has declined to release an official number of positive cases, but troops and lawmakers alike worry that the deployment is becoming a super spreader event.”
This was not a deployment to war; this was a presidential inauguration, so why was everyone so careless with the disposition of these men and women who do this job out of love of country?
Over 100 National Guard members deployed to DC have tested positive for #COVID19, an official said.
Some officials believe cramped working and sleeping quarters contributed to the spread. More than 25,000 troops were in the city for Pres. Biden's inauguration. pic.twitter.com/3p5A1WhZui
Where was the leadership in all of this? The Chief of the National Guard Bureau did not waste any time getting on television to tell us about the 12 soldiers they found that might have tweeted that they did not like Biden, but he did not have time to inspect the living conditions that his troops were subjected to?
The Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff – AWOL!
The Secretary of the Army – MIA!
The Governors of the States – “NOT PRESENT SIR!”
It was reported that Governor Hogan of Maryland made a special trip to D.C. to see his troops. Perhaps if he had ever served, he would know the difference between wartime accommodations and sleeping on the floor of your Nation’s Capital. And the unit chain of command from State Attorney Generals to the lowest Second Lieutenant – DISMAL FAILURES!
At last report there are now over 100 soldiers who have tested positive for the virus:
“Guard members say virus countermeasures were unevenly implemented. On arrival in Washington, D.C., several units were only given temperature checks and asked about any possible Covid-19 exposure, two Guard members told POLITICO. One Washington, D.C., Guard member said he and others were forced to get their own Covid-19 test. Others who were exposed to the virus said they had been told to disregard their quarantine or cut it short and report for duty due to the urgent need for additional troops in the days leading up to the Inauguration.”
So please Joey, stop lecturing the rest of us about how you are going to “smash” this virus or why we should wear masks or keep the children from school or allow businesses all over the country to fail. This is an EPIC FAIL, and if any of these Patriots die from their exposure, you can be sure that their death is on your hands and the hands of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. It could be speculated that you might just be charged with MURDER – right, Nancy?
I’m sure you the reader is as frustrated as I am over the events we see in our nation. Something you need to understand is the changes we see in our Federal Government are first, bipartisan (meaning both political parties are equally responsible), and second, intentional.
What we are seeing is a coordinated takeover of the decision-making processes by the Federal Government.
The founders of our Constitution believed the structures of a limited government would provide the greatest protection of our liberty. There were to be checks and balances at the federal level. And everything not specifically granted to Congress for legislative control was to be left to the states.
Today we are witnessing a bipartisan effort to enlarge the Federal Government.
Some would call this the deep state. This conspiracy on ideas set forth by our founding fathers has its roots in big business, big tech, and politicians absorbed in the lust for power and control while financially profiting at the expense of the citizens who elected them. This collusion among the aforementioned has overrun the checks and balances outlined in our Constitution. Sadly, once politicians gain power, they are reluctant to relinquish it. Just like a feather pillow is broken and feathers are released into the wind, it is almost impossible to recollect the feathers.
Today we see non-elected bureaucrats in federal agencies writing and enforcing laws. This was not the will nor intent of the founding fathers. Agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Education, among others, are regularly writing laws that affect our daily lives.
Sadly, the persons responsible for writing these laws are not elected by we the people. They are career bureaucrats who thrive on power and control. The decisions they make far exceed the powers spoken of in the Constitution. These powers were intended to remain within the individual states.
This is why both of our political parties look and act the same. Sadly, during election time we are given false promises by politicians who have no intention of keeping their word to the American people. Senators like Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell are a prime example of the hypocrisy in government. Graham begged and pleaded for money to help reelect him but then betrayed the Americans who supported him.
Senator Graham confronted by angry supporters for his lack of support for election integrity and President Trump.
So, what is the answer?
First, we need to advocate TERM LIMITS for all Congressmen, Senators, and Judges. This would eliminate career politicians and judges and allow for an attitude of service rather than provide lifelong careers for self-serving politicians.
Second, we need to greatly limit the overreach of the federal government and return power to WE THE PEOPLE in the form of states’ rights.
Third, we must have a balanced budget to prevent our career politicians and bureaucrats from bankrupting our nation and embezzling the legitimate authority of the states.
What we are witnessing today will eventually destroy the blessings of liberty and enslave our children and grandchildren to the debts and bad decisions of the past. Our founding fathers anticipated such a time as this and included Article 5 in the Constitution. Perhaps it would be good for you to secure a copy of the Constitution and read it.
Every 10 years the Constitution of the United States requires that we count all the residents of the country and assign and apportion our state representatives to the United States Congress. In 2020 we had a Federal Census, and now it is time to consider how we will construct our Congressional Districts, based on the Census.
The Maryland State Constitution makes it clear how this process will be carried out for both the Federal and State seats: Maryland’s congressional lines are drawn by the state legislature, as a regular statute, subject to gubernatorial veto.
Now for the state lines the process is a bit different:
For state legislative lines, Maryland’s Governor submits a proposed plan at the start of the legislative session (traditionally, the Governor has convened a five-person advisory commission to assist with the process). If the state legislature does not successfully pass a joint resolution (without the possibility of a gubernatorial veto) to redraw state legislative lines within 45 days, the Governor’s plan becomes law.
So, we can see that the lines can be drawn by the state legislature or the Governor. If the Governor’s proposal is not acted upon by the legislature 45 days after he submits, it becomes law; in the case of Maryland’s conservatives and Republicans, a legislative success may very well be celebrated by way of a “NEW” Republican seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Governor Hogan’s press conference on redistricting from January 12, 2021.
But alas and alack, for sure that will not be the case. The Socialist Democrats in the Maryland State Legislature hold a “super majority” in both Chambers, and they are the ones who will ultimately determine where the lines will be drawn. It is at this point that we introduce the wordgerrymander! You might have heard that Maryland is one of the most gerrymandered states in the union.
ger·ry·man·der /ˈjerēˌmandər/verb gerund or present participle:
gerrymandering… manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class. Achieve (a result) by manipulating the boundaries of an electoral constituency.
“A total freedom to gerrymander the results they want”
Now that there is a clear understanding of the issue, lets see what Governor Hogan is planning to do when the matter comes up for action. Just today the Governor sent an email to his constituents:
So, the Governor plans to appoint a nonpartisan citizens commission that will “finally remove the politics and politicians from the redistricting process.”
And to do this he needs you, the taxpayer, to just pay some more. However, it is not clear where the donations will be going. If the State is out of money, then they cannot support the expense of a Nonpartisan Commission to undertake this task. If, on the other hand the money is available, why the request for donations?
Could it be that the Governor is putting the money in a fund that he plans to use for his Presidential run in 2024? It’s not really clear where the money is going and for what it will be used.
Furthermore, it seems the Governor has failed to mention that he did exactly the same thing after his reelection to a second term in 2018 – when he appointed a nonpartisan commission to redraw the horribly gerrymandered lines of the State, raising hope that it would work out for Republican this time. And the Commission did an excellent job of meeting the requirements of the State Constitution:
“SEC. 4. Each legislative district shall consist of adjoining territory, be compact in form, and of substantially equal population. Due regard shall be given to natural boundaries and the boundaries of political subdivisions…”
It looked like the 6th Congressional District, which had been gerrymandered in such a way that a long-standing Republican member of the Maryland Delegation in Congress (Rosco Bartlett) lost his seat in 2010, might again have the ability to elect a Republican to the House of Representatives. However, when the Commissioner tasked with the job was asked in a public forum if his recommendations could be approved by the Governor and turned into law he replied: “No. The state legislature is the final word.”
So, it never came to pass that Governor Hogan achieved what he is telling us all once again he can do – if we just send him money to do it.
That brings us to 2021 and the pending redistricting effort that will soon be undertaken by the Legislature and the Governor.
We have seen what the State Constitution requires, we know that the Socialist Democrats have a super majority in the State Legislature, and we are aware the current gerrymandered lines strongly favor their political position at both the Federal and State levels. We can certainly expect some change from all of this, but I submit it will not be the change we would like to see.
I believe that there will be a concerted effort on the part of the Legislature to gerrymander the last remaining Republican for the State of Maryland in the U.S. House of Representatives, Representative Andy Harris of the 1st Congressional District. The Socialist Democrats have tried this before and this will be their next best opportunity to try it again.
Conservatives and Republicans have a tough row to hoe in the State of Maryland. What we do not need is political theater from our Governor on redistricting: people need to know and understand the odds of passing a plan that would make life more representative for them – giving them a voice in their government. But the odds are stacked heavily against us and the Governor knows it. It is often said that if you want to know what is going on in politics just follow the money. And with that the question must be asked:
In the 2010 cycle, the legislature passed a congressional plan (SB 1) on Oct. 20, 2011, which was signed by the Governor the same day. A referendum campaign placed the plan on the ballot; that referendum was defeated, and the maps were approved, in the Nov. 2012 elections. For state legislative districts, on Jan. 11, 2012, the Governor released state Senate (SJR 1) and state House (HJR 1) plans; without legislative action in the next 45 days, the Governor’s proposal became law on Feb. 24, 2012.
Boundaries of Maryland’s congressional election districts are defined by legislation enacted by the General Assembly. These boundaries have changed over time, and they continue to change. Redistricting enacted by the General Assembly in 2011 changed the congressional election districts prior to the General Election of November 6, 2012, and has applied to general elections thereafter. After each federal census, Congress determines the number of representatives for each state based on population (U.S. Constitution, Art. 1, sec. 2). Following the 2010 federal census, Maryland retained eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Guest speaker Thomas Black lives in Leesburg, Virginia and is a frequent contributor to The MoCo Conservative blog. Topics discussed on today’s podcast include:
Loudoun County Public Schools’ new revision for preferred pronouns and Thomas’ response in the Loudoun Times-Mirror;
Parental involvement and the government’s perceived role in raising children; and
What does public education’s future look like in Loudoun County and the DC Metro Area?
So now some liberals are beginning to talk of “cleansing” Trump followers. “Cleansing” like the Nazis “cleansed” the Jews. That kind of “cleansing?”
Political Director for @ABC News based in Washington DC appears to have deleted his tweet about the 75 million Americans who voted for Trump that talked about the challenge of "cleansing the movement." pic.twitter.com/HS1Rwrn94S
That kind of “cleansing” resulted in the murder of millions. Again, that kind of “cleansing?”
Lyin’ China Joe Biden
Is this what Biden promised when he recently spoke of healing the nation and bringing us all together? Is that before or after the “cleansing?” Just checking so I’ll know where I am in line.
Should all us “Trumpers” be required to wear yellow stars with bold “T” in the middle to identify us? Will you come and strip all of our possessions like the Nazis did? Will you separate us from our families? Will you try to herd us onto cattle rail cars in the middle of the night? Will you then ship us off to be gassed because of our beliefs?
Can someone explain also why this person acting like a Nazi, Rick Klein, still has a public voice on ABC News or anywhere else for that matter? Or do the liberal elite plan to just give him a pass, accept his alibi, and just tell him to lay low for a few months?
Where is the outrage from the Left had a Republican had made a similar statement? Oh that’s right: liberals always get a pass from their associates and the media. Republicans would get hung out to dry, chased from the public square, forced into hiding and assailed from any friends we had.
This is how actual civil wars get started. Perhaps that’s their plan…
I participated in the protest and march in support of President Trump, election integrity (you know, where every ballot is verified by signature), and the Constitution (without it we are Venezuela; and no, that is not a good thing) on January 6, 2021. I spoke to countless patriots who traveled from all over the country and world, each with their own unique stories; a select few are published below. For example, I met an individual who had just arrived to show his support after a 15-hour flight from Israel. Why does this matter, you ask? Why are people flying from all over the world to support the one country standing in the way of the Communist Party of China (CCP)? I just gave you the answer.
This movement is worldwide; for those smug, insolent, ignorant, and intolerant liberals who are reading this post, you best be prepared for a lifetime of misery from “the other side of the political spectrum.” You have awakened a behemoth of rage in patriots (not all of whom are Republicans, by the way) who just want to be left alone and live their lives without the threat of communism looming over them. They are being smeared for falsely inciting and instigating violence while only truly “guilty” of exercising their Constitutional and God-given right to peacefully protest, which they did today and will continue to do.
Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative
I am one of those patriots being wrongfully accused, and I will not rest and will never stop sharing THE truth until every single corrupt elected official and crony (that’s you, media and the establishment) is arrested for treason and sedition. You foolishly thought that your blueprint for resisting President Trump was just going to die when Lyin’ China Joe “won.” Patriots are quick studies when it comes to the fine art of resisting, and they are just getting started.
I was expecting paid-off thugs to incite violence to smear this ever-burgeoning conservative movement, so I stood in the cold, as still as possible, to film a 25-minute, uninterrupted video of what the protest and rally were really about: peaceful conservative patriots from all over the country (and world) who support President Trump and the Constitution. This video below was recorded on Constitution Avenue as supporters left the Ellipse and headed to the Capitol Building after President Trump’s speech.
Uninterrupted, 25-minute video of peaceful protestors marching to the Capitol
Eli from Israel flew a 15-hour flight right before arriving in Washington, D.C. to show his support (Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative)
Quick panorama video at the base of the Washington Monument
Patriots from St. Mary’s County, Maryland (Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative)
Patriots from St. Mary’s County, Maryland
Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative
Image speaks for itself (Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative)
Patriot from Utah
Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative
Soundbite from President Trump’s remarks.
Patriots from Virginia (Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative)
Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative
Patriot at the Washington Monument (Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative)
Troy Smith lives in Ellicott City, Maryland.He operates Project Freedom on YouTube.
Debate is the most important tool in forming a set of ideas. Different points of view coming together in the name of a good cause will breed better ideas and therefore a better world. In these times, it is more important than ever to embrace debate.
This election was like none we have ever seen before. Millions of people went to bed into the wee hours of the morning of November 4, 2020 with President Trump having sizable leads in most of the “Swing States.” It seemed like it was 2016 all over again, but better. Not only was President Trump doing well with those within his base, but he was setting records with all different kinds of voting blocks. People who the media had espoused as the mortal enemy of Donald Trump actually VOTED for Donald Trump, more so than any Republican candidate in modern history (2nd place being Trump in 2016).
Troy Smith, “The War That Government Started…”
When President Trump spoke on Election Night, November 3, he had leads of
just under 700,000 votes in Pennsylvania;
120,000 votes in Georgia;
295,000 votes in Michigan;
116,000 votes in Wisconsin; and
77,000 votes in North Carolina.
Biden led in Nevada by 29,000 votes and in Arizona by 155,000 votes.
For reference, Trump only carried Pennsylvania by less than 50,000 votes in 2016. These were unprecedented numbers. It all looked great…but then the counting stopped. In Georgia, claims of problems with Dominion voting machines, and a “burst water pipe” were used to explain a stopping of the count. In North Carolina and Pennsylvania, the states continued to receive ballots for up to nine days after the election. The Supreme Court allowed Pennsylvania and North Carolina to do it.
The Establishment, left or right, has shown itself incapable of defending our freedoms at the most basic level.
They have allowed COVID-19 restrictions to decimate small businesses in this country, while Main Street has their doors locked shut and Amazon goes on hiring sprees. They have allowed countless infringements upon our right to bear arms which “shall not be infringed,” as I remember correctly. They have legalized warrantless spying through the passing of the Patriot Act. They have destroyed individual freedom, liberty, and commerce with their regulations and taxes, and yet, the worse is yet to come.
COVID-19 has given the government the ultimate pass to spend as they please, and they’ve done just that. The federal government has spent over $7 trillion in the last year, and what do the people have to show for it? Even those who treasure the hand of the state must wonder why we do not receive more for exchanging so much.
This is the true nature of Government. It consumes more than conceivable, whilst providing next to nothing for its citizens.
We won’t be limited to failing to see the fruits of our sacrifice, but instead receiving the fruits in a poisoned state. Government spending of this magnitude guarantees only one thing: rampant inflation. I must ask, is the devaluation of the dollar, to a valueless state, not the same as a mass murder? A valueless dollar would guarantee us the sight of our brothers and sisters starving in the street, with not a single man left with a cent to help. History shows us the atrocities committed by a desperate people encumbered by inflation. Is the creation of this state not a threat to the very existence of life itself?
I believe that this is a war that government is waging on individual liberty. Though gunfire is not heard in our backyards, our rights have long been destroyed. Our vote has already been desecrated. Soon, most of all the small businesses in this country will be gone. Amazon will still be open. Google will still run. The Federal Government is still open for business, and our taxes are still due.
The unrelenting fury of government intervention has reached a tipping point, where in most parts of the country, the government is the sole destroyer of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. We the People are given the right, not by our Government, but by our creator to defend our nation against enemies foreign, and domestic.
Had another country done to our small businesses what we allowed our own government to do, there would certainly be a declaration of war. However, war is not something to be taken lightly. It isn’t some video game fun. It is evil, brutal, and terrifying in ways that most of the general public couldn’t even comprehend. At what point does it become necessary?
How far must we be stripped down before we decide to fight? And at what point will we be more capable of defeating an enemy so dead-set on destroying our way of life? These are questions that you are not allowed to ask, and they may be shocking to some, but they aren’t illegal. They shouldn’t be banned. These things need to be debated. Governments just like ours have committed unimaginable atrocities throughout history when left unchecked, and in my opinion, it’s just as bad to submit to their terror as to conduct it ourselves.
Our Constitution is not a rule book for government, but a Declaration of our human independence from government. An establishment of the God-given rights of man. They are non-negotiable. The people in this country will know when the time is right by vigorously debating the circumstances in which they find themselves, and I believe that position grows worse every day. My only question is this: when will the people of this country exercise their Constitutional control, and God-given duty to restrain the evil hand of government?
On Tuesday, January 5, 2021 you issued a Statement to the residents of Montgomery County extolling them not to participate in the planned demonstration in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021 in opposition to the stealing of a Presidential election… a theft that you wantonly and enthusiastically support.
It appears that the only thing you correctly stated in this statement was the first line: “The right to protest is a fundamental right of every American.”
It is reassuring to know that even a left-wing Socialist Democrat such as yourself is still able to understand this fundamental principle of democracy.
In addressing those who will gather in support of the President you have stated: “Protest organizers and the groups they represent have shown an alarming affinity for violence. Sadly, they have not been shy about suggesting the need for violence.”
It is clear that your Socialist Democrat ideology has you sadly confused with the groups ANTIFA and BLM on the matter of mob violence, intimidation, property destruction, burning, and looting. Do not try to tell me what I saw with my own eyes this past summer. I do not need you to try and convince me or anyone else that these Anarchists and Marxists that you so openly support were peaceful protesters. I could see with my own eyes how they turned Minneapolis into a mini-Mogadishu, New York City into a wasteland, and the center of D.C. into a virtual war zone. I am sure that the fire set in St. John’s Church was not started by someone who was a supporter of the 1st Amendment but rather someone who would see us under the boot heel of a Marxist government. After all, it was one of your heroes (Karl Marx) who so famously stated in part that “Religion is the Opium of the People”… so burning down a historical church is all in a day’s work.
You need to know that not every resident of Montgomery County believes what you believe and supports what you support. There is no basis for you to assume that those who support the President will act in a manner that will endanger anyone – even a counter protestor. Recent events hold that if there is violence it will come from your friends and supporters on the Left.
That is the message you should send to your constituents -Loud and Clear – “ELRICH: WE STOLE AN ENTIRE ELECTION AND NOW WE NEED TO DEFEND THE STEAL” from those who honestly believe in the sanctity of the honest vote, the Constitution of the United States, and the processes that the Constitution affords a free people in deciding who their leaders will be.
Your Statement is ill advised and sorely misguided. And 2022 is only a scant 24 months from now!
Marc King | Germantown, Maryland | January 5, 2021
I have no disagreement with the narrative, but I am left wondering what can be done short of an outright civil war with Americans killing each other over a stolen election and a descent into Socialism, and eventually Communism.
The problem as I see it lies in two places:
1. The current Republican Party and its leadership; and
2. The continued funding of a corrupt system that gives us the results that we are now wrestling with post-election.
On the matter of political party and actions that might be taken going forward.
Our President, Donald J. Trump, has started a movement in the United States that has not been seen since the days of the American Revolution. The times are different, the social fabric of the country is significantly changed from our 1776 beginnings, and the issues differ.
However, people are motivated by the same words that are inscribed in the Declaration of Independence: “…unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Perhaps it is time to divest from the political party that seems to not have the will to fight on behalf of the people who have supported them since its creation as the modern Republican Party. The creation of a new party (perhaps the “MAGA Party”) is what is needed. I am not proposing a third party that ultimately dilutes its votes and is never able to win an election.
I am proposing dissolving of the Republican Party – the Party of White Gloves and Party Manners – to be replaced by a political party that will have the will and the stamina to stand up to the Democrat Party, look them in the eye and say: No More cheating, No More corruption, No More intimidation, No More attacking religion, No More “wokeness” and No More ignoring the Constitution and the history of America.
If anyone can do this it is President Trump, and over 70 million people will support him. It will not be easy. Not only will we need to change the party at the Federal level, converting selected politicians to the new party, but at the State level as well. State legislatures will have to agree that the Republican Party is defunct and that the “MAGA Party” is the way forward for our country.
In the words of Thomas Paine,
“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
Thomas Paine, The Crisis No. I (written 19 December 1776, published 23 December 1776)
Paine goes on to tell usthat American colonists do not lack force but “a proper application of that force,” and so it is today; the American people need to understand that they are a force and how to now properly apply that force. I do not believe that such will happen by the guidance of a Mitch McConnell or a Ben Sasse or a Mitt Romney. This will have to come from a new political party with gumption, understanding, and application of the force generated by the people of this country.
There is a saying often used in the military – “Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way” – it is time for the Republican Party to get out of the way.
So, if the analysis tells us that the American people are a force and that force needs to be properly applied, how do we go about making an application of force that brings corrupt government to heal? I believe that this can be done the way all things in government are done: through an agreement with the American people that they will exercise their will through the government’s purse strings.
Simply stated, those who genuinely believe the words of the Declaration of Independence and the guiding structure of the Constitution must agree not to pay taxes to the government until corrupt government is rooted out and the corrupt politicians along with it.
I understand that this is a truly radical notion. I also understand that this cannot be the response of only a few patriots; this needs to be the actions of over 70 million Americans in unison and without fear of retribution by the government, the very same government that the people control. We can only imagine the impact on the government if on April 15th it was announced that 70 million Americans will not be filing their taxes, in protest of the corrupt management and waste of the taxpayer’s money. Street protests with American flags and Trump flags are a great expression of support, but they could never have the impact felt in Washington, D.C. if 70 million American in unison said, “Stop the Steal, Stop the foreign entanglements, Stop the stealing, and Stop ignoring the will of the people.”
Can this happen? I believe that it can.
Will it be easy? No, it will not, but it must start with the launching of a new political party with leadership and membership that will do what is required to right this ship.
Should this happen? Absolutely!
Will it happen? Only time will tell us.
Until it happens we must continue the Resistance. We have been given the template for Resistance; use it wherever it can be applied. The future of the Republic depends on it.
Guest speaker Marc King of Germantown, Maryland is a frequent contributor to The MoCo Conservative blog. Marc ran for election in 2018 to the Maryland House of Delegates to represent District 15. He is a career officer of U.S. Army and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. Among his many awards and decorations, Marc holds a combat infantryman’s badge and has credit for two combat tours during his career.
Topics discussed on today’s podcast include:
Organizing a 1776-era militia is not feasible; what options do we have?
Will the GOP need to completely dissolve in order to herald in a new political party, ready to embrace all freedom-loving patriots?
What does the future hold for the Constitutional Republic of the United States of America?
Have you recently wondered why the Democratic left is targeting and persecuting small businesses? It saddens me greatly that our own County Executive, Marc Elrich (who is an admitted Marxist), chooses to punish and harass small businesses. His harassment of the Clarksburg Tavern shows his contempt for the small businesses of Montgomery County. His executive order closing all restaurants is a total abuse of power.
At the beginning of the pandemic all mom-and-pop stores were forced to close while box stores such as Walmart, Target, Costco and Home Depot were allowed to remain open. It doesn’t make sense, nor does it seem scientific, that I should be less likely to contact the China Virus in big corporate box stores and more likely to be infected in Joe’s mom-and-pop clothing store or restaurants such as the Clarksburg Tavern.
During the Christmas season, millions of people traveled in airplanes, seated next to each other after enduring long lines to take off their shoes and stuff their jackets into bins that dozens of others have used. Yet, the airlines remain open.
Tucker Carlson shows photos of California Governor Gavin Newsom flouting pandemic guidelines
The hypocrisy of politicians is unbelievable. The exemptions and excuses they make for themselves as they break their own rules truly show the double standard that exists in America today. These politicians are drunk on power, the same power that encouraged patriots to leave England and develop a new world where they could experience FREEDOM.
So, to answer the original proposed question of why is the left targeting and persecuting small businesses, I suggest the answer to the question requires you to understand and acknowledge that small business owners have a self sufficient and determined attitude.
The same spirit that this country was built on lives inside these independent thinkers and hard workers who have an entrepreneurial spirit, unlike community organizers or politicians. They do not like government controls and unreasonable regulations. They do not need government but rather tolerate it.
The reality is small business is a threat to big government. Corporate box stores and big businesses bribe politicians for favors. Small businesses are not able to provide the big dollars that politicians expect from large corporations. Consequently, small businesses are a thorn in big government’s side. The pandemic (“Dem-panic”) is an excuse to reduce the number of small businesses. Government wants us dependent on them. Small businesses don’t fit into their business plan.
First, I would like to thank Mr. Tom Kurzeja for his response. I found, after reading his response, that I am in violent agreement with his expression of frustration regarding the stolen election and the response that we have had from our elected officials. I also agree with his assessment of the actions taken by our Governors in response to the unprecedented pandemic which has assaulted all of us.
But I do take exception to his musings on the following: “Mr. King stated that his oath never expires. Every true veteran believes that. But he dodges. We took an oath ‘to defend the Constitution of the United States against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic.’ “ I do not believe that I have dodged anything. I understand the oath that we all swore all those many years ago and still believe today.
The issue is not the oath; the issue is that it is the clear and unequivocal fact that calling BLM or Antifa a terrorist organization does not make it so in the eyes of the law.
To take any overt action against any member of these organizations would at this time be an act of vigilantism.
vig·i·lan·te /ˌvijəˈlan(t)ē/
a member of a self-appointed group of citizens who undertake law enforcement in their community without legal authority, typically because the legal agencies are thought to be inadequate.
There is no wiggle room here; the words are clear without further interpretation – “without legal authority.” My oath binds me to act within the bounds of legal authority, and to the best of my knowledge, the federal government has not yet taken action to declare either organization a domestic terrorist organization. There is a bill in the United States Senate to do so in the case of Antifa, but it is proposed, and no action has been taken to pass it.
We still reside in a Constitutional Republic, one which has bound all of the states together in one union, and that has not changed; therefore the requirements of my oath have not changed.
As I said in my article, I will defend my property and the very state of the nation if called to do so by legitimate government. If there is a further recognition and designation of a specific domestic threat, I will stand in defeat of that as well. I will offer my firepower to the legal entity that will ensure that at the end of the day I am not treated as a common criminal for the crime of vigilantism.
Photo credit: Said Yusuf Warsame/EPA
In closing, I would like to add that it is clear the situation in our largest urban areas is chaotic and criminal, and that the Democrats bear the responsibility for this. However, I am not yet convinced that we have reached a level equivalent to the lawless clan driven violence of Mogadishu…
“When you land at Mogadishu’s international airport, the first form you fill out asks for name, address, and caliber of weapon. Believe it or not, this disaster of a city, the capital of Somalia, still gets a few commercial flights. Some have not fared so well. The wreckage of a Russian cargo plane shot down in 2007 still lies crumpled at the end of the runway. Beyond the airport is one of the world’s most stunning monuments to conflict: block after block, mile after mile, of scorched, gutted-out buildings. Mogadishu’s Italianate architecture, once a gem along the Indian Ocean, has been reduced to a pile of machine-gun-chewed bricks. Somalia has been ripped apart by violence since the central government imploded in 1991. Eighteen years and 14 failed attempts at a government later, the killing goes on and on and on — suicide bombs, white phosphorus bombs, beheadings, medieval-style stoning’s, teenage troops high on the local drug called khat blasting away at each other and anything in between.”
The point is we have not descended yet into a Mogadishu-like scenario — even our worst run cities have not reached this level of absolute lawlessness, but lest we not think it cannot happen here!
The MoCo Conservative has received information from Ashley Mouktafi, co-owner of Clarksburg Tavern LLC, who believes she is the target of retaliatory measures from the Montgomery County Health and Human Services Department for filing a lawsuit to keep her business afloat and offer jobs to help end systemic discrimination the County is subjugating minority residents to experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Examples of the alleged intimidation tactics reported by the owners within the last week include:
The appearance of a Montgomery County government-owned vehicle and a MCPD cruiser in the dining establishment’s back parking lot for about 35 minutes. The occupants of both cars never came out of their vehicles while parking on private property. Mouktafi believes that this incident was an intimidation tactic to arouse fear and anxiety in her, Clarksburg Tavern staff, and patrons of the dining establishment.
The Licensure and Regulatory Division of the Montgomery County Health and Human Services Department sending an inspection report citing a non-existent violation claiming that owners and immediate family are not able to “sit and eat or drink” on premises (no such law or code exists). Mouktafi claims that the County “wants to fast track our warnings to get to the fines.” As of this article, the Licensure and Regulatory Division of the County Department of Health and Human Services has redacted the report and warning, after failing to acknowledge there is an ongoing lawsuit regarding this very matter in the County’s circuit court system.
A mentally unstable, non-compliant individual (not a customer) aggressively walked into the dining establishment, threw a mask at one of the owners, and called the owner a “murderer.”
The staff took a telephone order for ten entrees and two appetizers that was a no-show. When the call-back number was dialed and connected to the initial caller, the customer had no intention of purchasing the food and subsequently told the owner, “I hope you die of COVID.”
Ashley Mouktafi
Mouktafi – a single mother of two young, school-age children who co-owns Clarksburg Tavern with her mother, Janice Allen – had this to say about the situation:
As a self-identifying female small business owner and single mother, I have had to work through the institutional patriarchy that is inherent within the business community and hospitality industry. I love and appreciate the diversity of my customers, community, and staff. What I don’t love is being strong-armed by a tyrannical male like County Executive Marc Elrich and being forced to lay off almost all of my employees, who rely on a paycheck to help break through the systemic, socio-economic institutional racism affecting communities in Montgomery County and the country.
Threatening me only exacerbates the problem. These intimidation tactics have caused undue stress to my staff and me, and I plan on taking additional legal action against those entities that are taking retaliatory measures against me.
Community and county-wide problems require community and county-wide solutions from residents, not just bureaucrats who don’t understand what it’s like living from paycheck to paycheck and who have never owned a small business as a single mother. I take my business and the health of my patrons and staff very seriously; it’s time that the local government does the same.
I don’t think any sane, reasonable person wants to start shooting other Americans over the election. However, we’ve not seen a lot of sane, reasonable behavior from the America-hating left.
What’s happened in this year’s election is unconscionable on many levels. Equally unconscionable is the tolerance that ordinary citizens have shown for the result, because it was their preferred outcome.
Election integrity facilitates the peaceful transition of power, a foundational principle for the preservation of peaceful western societies.
Graphic by Ben Garrison
We saw the unrest caused by the left during 2016’s legitimate election; what should the left now expect from conservatives with this illegitimate election? The horrific conduction of the election was topped off with a giveaway of many, many billions of American dollars to “foreign aid.” It’s almost as if Joe Biden’s Ukraine money laundering gambit was a test run, and now that the bad actors have worked out the kinks, they’re franchising it around the planet. Egypt, Sudan, and even the Ukraine are now well-funded money washers for a select few politicians whose corruption knows no bounds.
We have a flaming constitutional crisis of a magnitude not seen since the beginning of the Civil War. Add to that mess the notion that President Donald Trump still has a narrow pathway to re-election through an objection to the Electoral College results filed by a Republican Senator, and this country is a powder keg with a lit fuse.
As a military veteran, I understand Mr. King’s desire to not, in his words, “turn Gaithersburg into Mogadishu.” What he fails to recognize is that Democrat-run cities around the country are already more dangerous for Americans than any war zone on the planet.
More Americans die in Chicago, Los Angeles, and a half dozen other Democrat hellholes than in active foreign combat zones every day. Mogadishu is here, created and maintained by lawless urban Democrats. Democrats are not content to maintain their hellish fiefdoms and leave conservatives to live in peace separately. Their ambition is to export the dystopias they’ve created to suburban and exurban America, and bring troublesome conservatives who value their freedoms to heel.
Don’t believe me? Look no further than the actions of Gavin Newsom, Andrew Cuomo, Gretchen Whitmer, Kate Brown, Tom Wolf, and Phil Murphy. They’re killing their entire states. Sprinkle in some Lori Lightfoot, Bill DeBlasio, and Ted Wheeler, and you’ve got a formidable organization, at state and local levels across the country, coordinating efforts to restrict our God-given freedoms, while providing free rein to any group with which they find common cause; without exception, domestic terrorists calling themselves “progressive groups” such as BLM and Antifa, whose stated goals are to dismantle our society. And they’ve been hard at work.
I don’t need to show you the “mostly peaceful” riots, as described by a CNN reporter (video above) while a city block burned behind him. It is not we, conservatives, who are creating Mogadishu in this country. Mogadishu has existed here for years, in places like Camden, New Jersey, the south side of Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angeles. The treachery of Democrat political machines has known no bounds this year.
With the Democrats’ ambition to multiply and expand their misery outside its current boundaries, we conservatives must be vigilant. We must resist this intrusion into our communities.
Mr. King stated that his oath never expires. Every true veteran believes that. But he dodges. We took an oath “to defend the Constitution of the United States against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic.”
The domestic enemies of the Constitution now include homegrown terrorist organizations – BLM, Antifa, et al – as well as other individuals in elected office ignoring the Constitution to act and rule at their whim. We must resist them, and we must demand from them and their benefactors a return to a lawful, ordered society. Otherwise, they will create the Mogadishu that neither Mr. King nor I wish to create or live in. If we allow that, we’ll have no choice but to defend our communities here with the same ferocity and resolve we showed when we defended communities overseas.
My first response, like many first responses to the idea of the President invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807, is that we need to “grab this ‘bull’ by its political horns and bring it to heel.”
However, on further reflection, I find that I must fully consider the consequences of taking such a bold step over election fraud. The piece calls for mobilizing the militia; a call to arms for all men between the ages of 17-45 who own a gun to report for duty in the militia. A very noble and perhaps even a romantic gesture, to be sure, and one that had true meaning and value in 1807 when the standing army of the day was some 5,000 soldiers and there was a heavy reliance on the citizen soldier.
John Parker was an American colonial farmer, smith, soldier, and colonial militia officer who commanded the Lexington, Patriot, colonial militia at the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.
The militia that is spoken about does not exist today. The militia of the 1800’s was most often a company of men, an infantry company, in each town; the Captain, usually from the wealthiest family in town, was appointed and commissioned by the Governor of his state (see example below)…
… and his mission was to ensure good order and discipline among his men the men of his village: attend to appointed drills on the village green and prepare for assignment to the state’s Regiment commanded by a Colonel or perhaps a General also appointed and commissioned by the state Governor.
That was the context of the times then, but what of now?
There are no village greens on which to assemble. The state’s military organization, the National Guard, is a complex military organization of diverse military skills and occupational specialties. They are not just infantry anymore.
Washington, Man of Action (Frederick Trevor Hill)
Who would lead this group of militias for which that paper calls? It is true that there are a lot of rifles out there, and I would hasten to say there are a significant number of armed Americans who own rifles and who would need to be controlled, ordered, and disciplined. It is important to note that the lawful right to “command” came in the form of the Governor’s commission… or even a Federal commission, and such granting of authority has not been given to anyone as far as this letter reflects.
Make no mistake, I stand ready to defend my property. I exercise my rights under the Second Amendment, but I do not believe that the “Well Regulated Militia” referred to in the Second Amendment is what this letter envisions, at least not initially.
I stand ready to engage any foreign power that would attempt to invade our country and I feel that I have the moral obligation to do that. I swore an oath as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army and I believe that oath as good today and the day I raised my right hand.
Mogadishu, Somalia (photo credit: IB Times)
However, I do not believe that my oath obligates me to turn Gaithersburg or Rockville or Germantown into another Mogadishu; nor do I believe that without the proper authorization from the Congress of the United States do I have the legal authority to shoot another American.
It is not 1776. There is no King, and while we are all very pissed off about an election that is about to be stolen, I for one do not want to see Americans shooting each other in the streets of their hometown. It is not a video game; there is no hitting a button and you are a new soldier once again. In this game, when you are shot, you are DEAD!
Marc Elrich, County Executive of Montgomery County, Maryland was served with a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and preliminary injunction by Clarksburg Tavern, LLC on December 20, 2020.
Mother/daughter co-owners Janice Allen (R) and Ashley Mouktafi (L)
Responding to Marc Elrich’s draconian overreach in his capacity as County Executive, the two owners of Clarksburg Tavern, a dining establishment run by mother/daughter duo Janice Allen and Ashley Mouktafi, believe that they stand on solid, legal ground and precedent set forth in Anne Arundel County, Maryland:
“Public health is at the core of the hospitality industry. We are not asking to return to full capacity; we are asking to have a chance to keep our staff employed and to keep our business afloat so we can make it through this Pandemic. The health of the public, including our community, guests, and staff has been our priority since day one; we have not had one positive case contract-traced back to our establishment since limits on indoor dining establishments took effect.
Clarksburg Tavern has food service licenses that require public health training on food borne illnesses, pathogens, viruses, and communicable diseases. In addition to this training on alcohol serving, the public trusts our judgment to keep them safe and prevent alcohol-related accidents and tragedies from occurring. We should be trusted to monitor these new regulations imposed by County Executive Marc Elrich as well.”
The TRO comes in response to Elrich’s latest directive to ban indoor dining in all dining establishments in Montgomery County, putting most restaurant staff (including chefs, servers, busboys, hosts/hostesses, owners, and others) out of work and unemployed right before what should be the one of the most joyful times of the year.
Mother/daughter co-owners Janice Allen (R) and Ashley Mouktafi (L)
Clarksburg Tavern interior shot
Clarksburg Tavern staff and crew
Exterior shot of Clarksburg Tavern
Clarksburg Tavern’s lawsuit also comes on the heels of the Restaurant Association of Maryland filing similar TRO’s and preliminary injunctions in Baltimore City and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
Will Clarksburg Tavern’s legal complaint be upheld by a Montgomery County Circuit Judge? Owners Allen and Mouktafi and their legal counsel, State Delegate Dan Cox, say yes:
“We have to find common ground that makes sense and is supported by facts. Restaurant owners and their staff are committed to public health. We are the trusted professionals because we serve food and alcohol; that takes training, preparation, and oversight.”
A similar order in Anne Arundel County, Maryland helped set a precedent for other counties in the State when a judge issued a temporary order to block Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, Jr.’s measure to prohibit indoor dining.
Guest speaker Thomas Black lives in Leesburg, Virginia and is a frequent contributor to The MoCo Conservative blog. Topics discussed on today’s podcast include:
Addressing a dearth of consistent, conservative principles amongst elected officials;
Why the approach of strawman arguments during an election fails to address underlying issues on the local and national level; and
What the future elections may look like, with predictions.
Very little in our world is unique or original. This is true with current events. I recently read an article that accurately described the state of our political environment. I found this article quite relevant. The author who wrote this article seems to perfectly capture the current events of today. The individual who wrote this article appeared to be in deep distress over the state in which he found himself. The following is his quote.
“Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and to fight. THE LAW IS NOT ENFORCED (paralyzed and useless) AND THERE IS NO JUSTICE IN THE COURTS, FOR THE WICKED FAR OUTNUMBER THE RIGHTEOUS AND JUSTICE IS PERVERTED WITH BRIBES AND TRICKERY.”
No, this was not written by Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, or Dinesh D’Souza. It was in fact written by a man with a strange, unique name. His name was Habakkuk; the article was not written in the year 2020, but rather in the year 584 BC.
Habakkuk is in fact the eighth of a collection of writings by twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Old Testament Bible. He was revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The words written by Habakkuk could easily have been written in December 2020.
It seems corruption, injustice, and wickedness are not a new concept. Today, we also find ourselves in the midst of a world that is morally BANKRUPT and void of honesty, integrity, and morality.
Habakkuk argued with God and pleaded for justice, but God chose to send judgement instead of relief. Throughout this terrible dark time in history, Habakkuk chose to be faithful to God and trust in His sovereignty. Today, we should not allow ourselves to become discouraged but rather trust in a sovereign God and be assured He is in control. Throughout history God has asked us to trust him. Throughout history God has proven Himself faithful. God is still working in ways we do not understand. Even in the bleakest of situations, God is still at work. When things seem bad, He is working. When we don’t understand, He is working. When His way doesn’t make sense to us, He is still working. Take heart, God is still in control.
Do not be discouraged. Trust Him for who he is, righteous, faithful, honest, and just. History is on our side.
It seems inarguable to state that poverty creates desperation. Through casual observation, one can come to understand this statement as a self-evident truth. For instance, in the most innocent of circumstances, a single mother working two full-time jobs at, or near, the minimum wage standard for both occupations is unlikely to pursue these professions out of passion, or because she believes this will ultimately prove to be lucrative. Contrarily, she is honorably striving to provide for her family and make ends meet to the best of her ability.
Photo credit: New York Times
In more dire situations, those who live in impoverished circumstances are more likely to turn to criminal activity in an attempt to address financial short comings. Algis Sileika and Jurgita Bekeryte (2012) discuss this correlation in the Journal of Security and Sustainability Issues. The authors note a correlation between high poverty rates and a growth in criminal activity, while also observing the negative side effects poverty produces on an individual’s physical and mental health.
So, what does poverty look like for individuals and families long term? Well, in the first scenario, it not only looks like an exhausted mother trying to provide for and raise her children, but the effects of poverty-based desperation are paid forward to the child. Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs notes that children who do not receive consistent responses from their parents are more likely to be, “aggressive, defiant, and hyperactive as adults” (Huber, 2014). Furthermore, Huber (2014) notes that children who do not create strong bonds with their “mothers or fathers,” through having basic emotional and physical needs met regularly, will likely enter kindergarten with deficient language and behavioral skills. While an impoverished mother and/or father are desperately trying to meet the basic necessities for survival, their child is already developing a pattern that is likely to conclude with poverty in their own adulthood.
Poverty begets desperation which begets continued poverty.
While I do not intend to over simplify the problem or the solution, a few observations regarding modern responses are relevant to this discussion. First, our well-intentioned policy makers who would self-identify as left or left-leaning often seek to ensure a more equal outcome between those who are currently in poverty with those who are currently experiencing greater affluence.
Public housing plans, social welfare policies, and minimum wage mandates are often points of discussion in this debate.
While I can choose to trust that the intention of these policy makers is to provide families and individuals with the necessary breathing room to more appropriately care for their children and better themselves, I fear the conclusion to these principles results in well-intentioned harm. These programs are often, I believe, unsustainable. Moreover, it can lead to a type of practical slavery experienced by sharecroppers in the Jim Crow South.
An individual is only free when they are permitted a variety of options, each presenting the possibility of a different outcome. As previously stated, poverty creates desperation and desperate people may be practically forced to take advantage of a system which may enslave them to a life of dependency. For those who might argue against this point, consider how the cancellation of schools due to COVID-19 created food insecurity for millions of families who became dependent on the government.
Sadly, however, many policies to address this situation from well-intentioned policy makers who would self-identify as right or right-leaning, often offer responses that do not recognize or satisfy the urgency of the situation. Tax cuts, while necessary and helpful, take years to move a family from one socio-economic environment to another. Additionally, school choice – which will be addressed momentarily – is a non-immediate benefit experienced by the next generation. When considering the plight of the economically depressed, policies need to be both sustainable and as immediate as possible.
Education
Algis Sileika and Jurgita Bekeryte (2012) identify, among other variables, a lack of education and sustainable employment opportunities as two great factors that contribute to poverty. To address the shortfalls of education, I believe school choice needs to be the cornerstone of public policy regarding academic advancement. This conclusion is both practical and principled.
Photo credit: I-70 Scout & Eastern Colorado News
Why should the government be permitted to dictate where free men and women educate their children?
Why is it that the government – which is an organization constituted by nothing more than fellow citizens – can mandate where my children go to school and my only response to benefit from this publicly funded option is to say, “yes, master”?
How does this design benefit our most vulnerable and impoverished citizens? Public schools are primarily funded through property taxes, and impoverished communities generate less revenue which leads to underfunded and less effective schools.
The prevailing laws of the day encourage a cycle where poverty propagates poor education, and public policy forces impoverished students to learn in ineffective institutions. The conclusion of this system results in a student that is less prepared to compete for well-paying jobs where upward professional mobility is also a possibility. And yet again, poverty begets poverty, which begets greater desperation, which begets further poverty.
However, school choice cannot be the only answer. Rather, if the point of education is to prepare for a career, why not foster a greater bond between professionalism and education? I believe a greater partnership between tradesmen (e.g., welders, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, contractors, etc.) and public education institutions would benefit individuals, communities, schools, and businesses. This is not to be confused with a current system where career and technical education are options in the existing curriculum.
I believe a partnership between companies that specialize in a particular trade will practically enhance the principles, curriculum, and opportunities of technical education.
Tradecraft education could permit a company to assist in the development of a curriculum, ranging from one to four years for completion, where they are able to teach the “tricks of the trade” and possibly help students prepare for initial certification(s); this would make the student immediately marketable upon graduation, and just as quickly lift them – and potentially their family – out of poverty in a sustainable fashion. Internships for upperclassmen could also be offered, much like a professional version of dual-enrollment courses, allowing graduates to have work experience and academic success on their initial résumé.
Students work on a car at Worcester Technical High School (photo credit: US Department of Education/Flickr)
Finally, schools should be able to choose which companies they want to participate in this program from a pre-approved list of interested businesses. As I said earlier, this program must be a consensual partnership between a school and a company participating by their own volition. Of note, within the framework of school choice, schools would be even more likely to participate in this program, as this would enhance the product/service they’re bringing to market by appealing to a wider array of consumers.
Commerce
This idea, of course, cannot be forced upon companies. However, I believe there are a number of benefits companies could derive from the structure of this program, which would be both naturally and legislatively achieved.
First, I believe companies could be incentivized to participate through tax legislation.
For example, the state could provide tax credits of a set amount to participating companies; or they could treat every hour of an employee’s time spent on this program as a charitable contribution from the company, by multiplying the hours spent by the average revenue generated by an employee, and reducing the corporation’s taxable revenue by the total of that amount.
Additionally, to further incentivize business, you could apply a tax credit for every former student a company employs out of this program. However, the tax credit for this action would need to be relatively minor, or you create a market for hiring poor employees – which would, in all likelihood, result in termination of employment for an individual, a potential return to poverty, and a greater budget deficit for the state government. Rather, this particular credit would need to be an added bonus, which responds to corporate hiring patterns that would have likely happened with or without the credit, based on the merit of the former student and prospective employee.
To this end, there are natural benefits a corporation has to participating in this program, one of which is the ability to establish a pipeline of prospective employees. By participating in this program, companies would be able to become very familiar with the character, skills, and qualifications of a potential employee. Instead of making hiring determinations based solely on a résumé and short interview(s), the company could now establish a channel of prospective employees who they personally know have the necessary qualifications, skills, and work ethic to grow the business and represent the company well.
Conclusion
Governing at any level is not a simple task. It often requires officials to engage in complex challenges while making difficult choices from a myriad of options, none of which promise success and all of which carry risk.
Rather than viewing the primary role of government as a means to progress society, I believe the primary role of government is to protect individual liberty.
Secondary to that principle, government does have a responsibility to promote the general welfare through careful investments, striving for equal opportunity within its jurisdiction, and removing obstacles to success not resulting from personal choice. I believe the framework of this plan champions both liberty and sustainable socio-economic advancement by recognizing that an individual’s freedom is both inalienable and necessary if an individual is to seize control of their own destiny, and that taxes are both essential for society and an obstacle to wealth generation.
Sileika, A., & Bekeryte, J. (2012). Theoretical Issues of Relationship Between Unemployment, Poverty and Crime in Sustainable Development. Journal of Security and Sustainability Issues, 59-70.
In the year 2020 AD we are faced with the most challenging health issue of our time – the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. As a nation we have been locked down, let loose, masked up, unmasked, and locked down again and masked up again. We have been subjected to the whims and biases of questionable health officials who have ordered us to set aside our Constitutional freedoms for the greater good – with no Constitutional authority to order us into submission – yet submit we do.
Now, with the specter of a Biden/Harris administration getting closer, we are faced with the reality that defunding our police and releasing murderers, rapists & child molesters from our prisons is becoming a reality. We just have to look at what the new Los Angeles (L.A.) County District Attorney George Gascón stated a few days ago:
George Gascón sworn in as new L.A. County District Attorney (KTLA 5)
Based on what L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón is directing his office to do for the handling of murderers, you can expect that it will be coming soon to a jurisdiction near you.
L.A. District Attorney George Gascon (photo credit: AP)
No more prosecuting the street level drug dealer – “he does it because he is poor.” No more prosecuting the street prostitute – “after all, a girl has got to make a living.”
No cash bail, no death penalty, and no charging juveniles as adults. A lawless society in L.A. County.
Prosecutor on Gabriel Fernandez case says new D.A.’s policies jeopardize public (ABC7)
Then we have Cancel Culture. Statues commemorating significant historical events on state land and in public parks have already suffered the wrath of Cancel Culture; even memorials that stand on Federal land upon hallowed battlefields places that were deemed to be “off limits” to this wave of history’s destruction have been attacked.
Dead confederate soldiers, with the Dunker Church in the background, after the Battle of Antietam, September 19, 1862 (photo credit: Alexander Gardner)
On September 17, 1862, 4,000 Americans died at Antietam; the battle is remembered as the single bloodiest day in U.S. history from both sides. Just this past week we were informed that the statue of Robert E. Lee is to be removed from the battlefield at Antietam.
History is being erased.
But it does not stop here… today the press reported that there is a school in San Francisco that is changing its name from Abraham Lincoln High School because: “he (Lincoln) didn’t show ‘black lives mattered to him.’ “
A San Francisco district is planning to rename a school named after Abraham Lincoln because of his treatment of Native Americans (photo credit: Google)
So, we have seen street and school names changed, so now we must ask just how long it is going to take this movement to convince our socialist democrat Congress to change the name of our Capital city: Washington, D.C. After all, we all know Washington’s history regarding slave ownership, so why should his name adorn the most enduring seat of government ever envisioned by man? Why should his monument stand when others have been removed?
Washington Monument (photo credit: IStock/Sean Pavone)
You see, this is a never-ending erosion from within; the decline that will lead to the fall. Much like the Fall of the Roman Empire, it was the decay within that allowed it to become susceptible to the “Barbarians of Europe.” Our “barbarians” come much more neatly packaged in 2020. They are, in fact, the Chinese Communist Party, and our internal decay will be what they rely on to bring the “American Experiment” to its fall.
The MoCo Conservative is the special guest on Dr. Stephanie’s show and discusses the art of Gaslighting and how the media uses it; many examples are discussed throughout the call. Recorded live on WCBM 680 AM (26:00 mark).
Now that the election is over (in the opinion of the mainstream media), it seems that some in the journalism profession have decided that they might just report some real news for a change of pace. And the news that they have brought us is truly startling.
It is the kind of thing that Hollywood writes movie plots about…
The Spy, The Politician, The Honey Trap
… I mean does it get any better than this?
Eric Swalwell and Fang Fang/ “Christine Fang” (Image credit: Facebook)
Yes, it does, because the trap was sprung on none other than Eric Swalwell (D-CA), one of the most anti-Trump members of Congress who told us daily about Russia! Russia! Russia! Collusion! Manipulation! And yes, he even cried treason!
Well, it turns out (as always) that whatever the Socialist Democrats are accusing you of … is exactly what they are doing, and so it is with the Congressman from California.
Seems that Swalwell was targeted by the Communist Chinese, who sent Fang Fang (who adopted the western name “Christine Fang”), an extremely attractive woman by all accounts, to infiltrate the Congressman’s inner circle.
Fang Fang/ “Christine Fang”
This was executed so successfully that “Christine Fang” was able to convince the Congressman to accept a Chinese intern in his Washington, D.C. office. Now, we could get into the matter of whether or not Swalwell slept with this woman.
The woman attended numerous campaign social events to further his political career. She bundled millions of dollars in campaign contributions… and like Adam said to Eve – “You look awfully good to me, baby!” – one can only speculate on what the “pillow talk” might have been about.
What matters here is what happened when the FBI notified the Congressman that he was hanging out with a known Chinese spy sent here disguised as a college student to penetrate the inner circle of US politicians. What happened was STARTLING!
The FBI tipped off the Congressman who (we imagine immediately pulled up his pants) told Fang Fang the FBI was on to her and so she returned to China. End of story, right? Wrong! In the wake of this calamity (*side note – this could not have happened to a more “deserving” Member of Congress) there are several national security questions that must be asked in order for the public to feel that our national security apparatus is working:
Why didn’t the FBI arrest Fang Fang and question her regarding her activities in the United States?
Why didn’t the FBI question Eric Swalwell regarding the source of the contributions that were bundled by his paramour during his campaign to try and ascertain if any of that money came from China?
Why was Fang Fang allowed to operate her Honey Trap for four years without interference from US Intelligence/Counterintelligence agencies?
Why did the FBI just let Fang Fang leave the US?
Why was the American public not made aware of this sooner since it appears the FBI knew about this in 2014?
How did Swalwell pass the vetting process to gain a Top Secret National Security Clearance so he could become a member of the House Intelligence Committee? No ordinary citizen would have passed muster on such an obvious and blatant connection to a foreign adversary.
Finally, what connections does the Congressman still have with China and his Chinese “financer”? A simple denial of no further contact in this case is not enough; we need a deep dive into his affairs, his money, and his loyalty to the United States of America.
It should also be noted there was a time in this country when we could depend on our National Security Agencies to keep us shielded from such threats… but it no longer appears that way. We have been infiltrated, we are vulnerable, and there does not appear to be any relief on the horizon.
It is becoming increasingly clear that we are about to enter a new era in our country if the current reported outcome of our recent election is allowed to stand. I refer specifically to the threat that is being garnered in the realm of national security and defense.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Lintao Zhang, pool)
The projected Biden Administration reflects the past. A past that we all felt was dangerous in its approach to world threats such as Iran and ISIS, and that is why we elected a political outsider in 2016. However, four years was enough time to “drain the swamp” or drive out all the elements that were left behind to ensure that the echoes of the past remained to haunt us in the future: the slaughter of innocents like Richard Pearl, the Orlando Night Club massacre, terrorists in California attacking a Christmas party, and pallets of cash being delivered in the dead of night to the world’s biggest proponent of terrorism.
While all of that was going on and our government did little to stop it, they were also being manipulated by what is now clearly our biggest adversary and competitor in the world: China.
As recently as a few nights ago, Tucker Carlson of FOX News introduced us to a vetted video of a Chinese economics professor at one of China’s most prestigious universities telling his audience that China has America by the scrotum (my words, not his – he was speaking in Chinese). What he did say was that China has significant influence and friends on Wall Street as well as a tight circle of politicians in Washington who are favorable to Chinese efforts around the world.
It was clear from his presentation that China does not like Trump – “He is the only guy standing in our way – he cannot be bought, we tried.”
China has built its military on stolen intellectual property from the United States. They have prospered for many years on a very unbalanced trade agreement, and now China’s Navy has surpassed the size of the United States Navy. China has demonstrated a hypersonic missile that was developed for the sole purpose of “killing” an aircraft carrier. All of this tells us that China, and not Russia, is the existential threat to America and to the world. We know that Joe Biden and his immediate family have been bought by China.
We have eyewitness testimony (Tony Bobulinski interview above) that tells us this is true; now we have the Chinese themselves telling us about their relationship with Hunter Biden, and I am overly concerned that there is no one listening.
Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, former commander of U.S. Central Command (Image credit: Myles Cullen/Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)
So… who does Biden select as our potential next Secretary of Defense, but a retired 4-star General, General Lloyd J. Austin. Let us not talk about the “revolving door” between the Defense Department and the industrial complex in the case of General Austin, although there is plenty there to discuss. Instead let’s focus on what General Austin is reported to be good at – Middle East Policy.
Former Vice President Biden (L), former Secretary of Defense Gates (Center), and former President Obama (R) (Image credit: AP)
“I think he’s been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”
Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Joe Biden.
Demonstrating once again what the former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told us about Joe Biden- that he has been on the wrong side of every foreign policy decision for this country over the last 40 years – it appears he has done it again. The Middle East is the quietest it has been in the last 50 years for several reasons, most of which are directly attributable to the efforts of President Donald Trump and his policies. So, if that is the case, why is Biden proposing General Austin as the Secretary of Defense, if we are now sure that China is the main threat? Easy: he is African American, and it punches the diversity ticket.
China, the Pacific, and our allies in that region are the ones that we will need to deal with in the next administration, so shouldn’t we be looking for a Secretary of Defense with the background, experience, and knowledge of that part of the world? This is not simply about diversity and skin color; it is about national security, and it appears that Joe Biden has once again made the wrong choice.
I am sure that General Austin is a great leader and might even be the right man for the job if the circumstances were different – but they are not. Joe Biden continues to show us he is not the right man for the job of President and China continues to show us that we will all be working for them soon.
Gaslighting is defined in psychological terms as a specific type of manipulation where the manipulator is trying to get someone else (or a group of people) to question their own reality, memory, or perceptions.
Image credit: Loew’s Incorporated
The term “gaslighting” actually comes from a 1938 play, “Gas Light” (which was turned into a more widely known movie in 1944, “Gaslight”), where a husband manipulates his wife to make her think she’s actually losing her sense of reality so he can commit her to a mental institution and steal her inheritance.
Robin Stern, Ph.D., author of The Gaslight Effect (Image credit: Robin Stern)
Robin Stern, Ph.D., Co-founder and Associate Director for the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, Associate Research Scientist at the Child Study Center at Yale, and author of The Gaslight Effectsays it may start with seemingly small offences. The problem is when you begin questioning your own judgement or reality, thanks to the deliberate intent of someone else.
As it snowballs you can end up in a cycle of not being able to negotiate your daily life in a way where you are clear minded. It can affect your focus, and cause one to make poor decisions.
Gaslighting happens in personal relationships. One such case for gaslighting happened in my family. I have a brother who at age 51 moved in with his parents after his home was foreclosed for nonpayment of the mortgage. Additionally, he was evicted from his home by the sheriff. To complicate matters he was involved in a nasty divorce. To help put this story into perspective this brother had been arrested multiple times for petty theft. He had multiple judgements against him for indebtedness and had his drivers license suspended for failure to pay child support. Since the time he was 18 he had been fired or terminated from more than twenty jobs. At the time he moved in with his parents he was unemployed.
Under normal circumstances a parent is usually willing to assist a child who is down on their luck or facing hard times. A wise mature parent usually establishes parameters and timelines in a situation such as this. As days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years my brother became comfortable in his living arrangement with his parents. As time progressed and years went by, he found ways to exploit his situation. My brother found ways to exploit my parents’ assets and bank accounts. He took full advantage of our parents’ failing cognitive skills and declining health.
Dr. Stern explains there usually tends to be a power dynamic when gaslighting happens. The manipulator holds enough power that the target of gaslighting is terrified to change the relationship or step out of the gaslighting dynamic because of the threat of losing that relationship.
If it is happening by someone you love and care about, you’re going to want to believe the other person and the gas lighter may use that against you, explains Darlene Lancer JD MFT, a marriage and family therapist in private practice and author of Codependency for Dummies.
Darlene Lancer, JD MFT and author of Codependency for Dummies (Image credit: Darlene Lancer)
Lancer explains that many people, as targets of gaslighting, change their perception in order to avoid having conflict. Many times, the gas lighter does not even realize the impact of their gaslighting. In the case of my mother and the false stories told about me by my brother in the presence of her friends, my mother would hang her head and remain silent.
In this case my brother was a desperate man. You have heard the phrase desperate people do desperate things. He was desperate. His gaslighting included telling false stories about me to his mother and to anyone who would listen. These false and persistent stories escalated and intensified for almost 10 years. This was the period during which he lived with my parents. During this time, he never sought employment. After my father died, his false stories escalated to the extent he had created a false narrative about me. The narrative was so exaggerated that I would compare it to the Big Lie, a technique used to create false narratives often used by governments to deceive its people.
Sadly, when I would call or visit my mother, she would confront me with crazy, false accusations that were baseless and untrue. These stories were the result of many years of gaslighting by my brother.
Ultimately, gaslighting was used by my brother to persuade my mother to rewrite her will and trust. My brother was successful in cheating me out of half of my inheritance totaling one million dollars. I contested this change but the judge was not familiar with the technique of gaslighting nor was it allowed as proof for creating undue influence.
Sadly, gaslighting happens in the shadows and is difficult to prove. Today, we see gaslighting in full display. From the moment President Trump descended down the escalator and announced his intention to run for president, he became the target of gaslighting. Russian collusion, inappropriate phone calls, false quid pro quo accusations, racism accusations, and tax evasion accusations were used to create a massive false narrative. This false narrative was likely created by the deep state, who feared his presidency threatened to expose the massive corruption within our country.
Now we see the largest most colossal gaslight ever. We the American people are told repeatedly by the main stream media, the deep state politicians, and deep state leaders, there was no election tampering. No fraud, no significant evidence. This is the BIG LIE 4.0.
Desperate people do desperate things. Desperate politicians and leaders do desperate things. Gaslighting is a huge tool in their plan to create and control the narrative.
Guest speaker Seth Remsnyder lives in Clarksburg, Maryland and is a husband, father, and artist. He is also the voice behind The Weekly Mourner blog. Topics discussed on today’s podcast include:
Updates and discussion on current hearings regarding voter and election fraud throughout the country and the key difference between an audit and a recount;
How Georgia is a great example of how prevalent the fracture is within the Republican Party; and
Are attorneys Lin Wood and Sidney Powell’s actions putting pro-Trump conservatives between a rock and a hard place?
In today’s political climate it is difficult to find the truth. I personally have stopped watching the news because it can not be trusted. I am distrusting of all of our institutions because of their blatant disregard for the rule of law. I do not trust politicians because of their history of regularly telling lies, spinning the truth, and manipulating facts to promote their narrative. Sadly, some pastors live outside the boundaries of truth and honesty.
We are regularly bombarded with untrue stories of Russian collusion, false and/or inaccurate polls, inflated virus statistics, and fake impeachment charges. Currently we are in the midst of the largest conspiracy of voter fraud known to Americans.
The idea of finding any truth or meaning to life has escaped modern man. This statement reflects the inability to conceive of something outside of one’s self. Even though we live in a day in which we all have definite beliefs about things, the climate seems to be the act of belief rather than any real object of belief.
Belief will not create fact. Truth is independent of belief. No matter how hard I may try, believing something will not make it true.
People today are believing whatever they wish to believe, but this will lead to their ultimate destruction.
One of the darkest periods in the history of Israel occurred in the time of the kings. During this time, there was a contest between the Lord God and Baal, a highly regarded cult deity. An altar of wood was built, with pieces of an oxen laid upon it as a sacrifice. The god who answered by fire and consumed the sacrifice would be acknowledged as the true god in Israel. Baal went first. If anyone could start a fire from the sky, it was Baal—the great nature god who controlled the weather (e.g., rain, thunderstorms, lightning).
Elijah and the Priests of Baal by Lucas Cranach the Younger, ca. 1545. With characteristic flamboyance, Cranach illustrates the futility of long repetitious prayers in the famous story from 1 Kings 18.
The priests of Baal paraded around the altar all morning and until late afternoon, beseeching Baal to respond. These false priests jumped all over the altar, cut themselves with swords, danced into a frenzy, raved, and pleaded all day. Yet nothing happened. No one can say they were not sincere or did not believe. After they were finished and the altar was rebuilt, the Lord God answered with fire from heaven and consumed the altar and sacrifice. The false prophets of Baal were then slain.
Today we see Democratic politicians, Hollywood celebrities, news broadcasters, media corporations, and the liberal left coming unhinged defending their beliefs even though they are untrue.
Perhaps we who embrace the truth, should remain patient and allow God to consume their alter of corruption and restore truth to its rightful place of dignity and honor. Repeatedly, when Jesus was on earth, he used the phrase “I tell you the truth.” He also called himself the truth. He knew Mankind has difficulty telling and believing the truth. He was giving us a source of ultimate, unbiased absolute truth.
Guest speaker Seth Remsnyder lives in Clarksburg, Maryland and is a husband, father, and artist. He is also the voice behind The Weekly Mourner blog. Topics discussed on today’s podcast include:
How The Democrat Party Works;
What Is Election Interference And Its Roots In The USA; and
How Emotional Manipulation By The Mainstream Media Continues To Sway Public Opinion.
The MoCo Conservative discusses how the mainstream media successfully manipulates the masses into believing that Joe Biden legally (and prematurely) won the Presidential election (29:00 mark).
Our blog published a wide array of opinions, commentaries, and responses in our third month of operation. We also started our new podcast (find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Buzzsprout).
Below are the ten most viewed posts for the month of October:
We wanted to take a moment to thank all of our anonymous and named contributors for continuing to take a stand against the wave of authoritarianism that is currently gripping the D.C. Metro Area.
The MoCo Conservative was live at a local Trump Caravan and Freedom Patriot Rally organized by conservative patriots of Poolesville, Maryland.
Watch the Trump Freedom Patriot Caravan procession. (Video credit: The MoCo Conservative)Organizers (from Left) Ray D., Anonymous Patriot, Kody M., and Jeffrey M. (Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative)Flags atop a vehicle. (Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative)Family of patriots posing for a photograph. (Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative)Stand set up for donations to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. (Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative)Poolesville Patriot holding a flag. (Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative)Organizers Kody M. (R) and Ray D. (L). (Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative)Signage atop a vehicle. (Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative)Flags set up atop a truck. (Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative)Eagle Trump flag (our personal favorite). (Photo credit: The MoCo Conservative)
Colleen Meyer lives in Howard County, Maryland and is a political activist and organizer for the Reopen Howard County Schools initiative. Topics discussed on today’s podcast include:
“Toxic positivity” when it comes to the radical Left’s pressure to keep schools closed;
The effect of the “pandemic” on the mental, emotional, and physical health of children; and
How conservatives can connect and communicate with each other without fear of retaliation.
Guest speaker Sumeet is a politically active resident of Montgomery County, MD and local attorney. He is also a delegate to the MCCPTA for his children’s elementary school. Topics discussed on today’s podcast include:
“Policy vs. personality” when it comes to President Trump and other politicians;
Government’s role in community development and economic revitalization; and
A brief overview of the MoCo Board of Education’s overreach of authority over the last two years.
A David vs. Goliath battle is being waged in Montgomery County over the structure of the County Council. On one side is a non-partisan citizens’ ballot committee that collected over 16,000 signatures during the COVID-19 lock down to get Question D on the ballot. It would change the structure to nine individual districts. On the other side, is the powerful County Council, which at the last minute on the last day of summer session, suspended its public comment rules to put a competing Question C on the ballot to confuse voters.
If both measures win, both fail; it doesn’t matter how many votes each gets. Then it’s back to the status quo, which is the real goal of the County Council.
Currently, seven of the nine County Council members live around the down-county crescent near Silver Spring and Takoma Park, home to the most liberal, progressive, densely populated, and wealthiest part of the County. This is not a fluke, it has been going on for the past three decades. How does that happen?
Montgomery is a “one-party rule” county.
Four of the nine Council positions are elected At-Large. “At-Large” is false advertising. Instead of representing all county residents, the At-Large representatives have demonstrated repeatedly their priorities are those of their neighbors living in Silver Spring and Takoma Park.
The structure is broken. It allows the Council to have a majority of members from the same southeastern corner of the county. Studies have shown that At-Large seats discriminate against women and minority candidates.
Not one elected official in Montgomery County, county or state, is registered Republican or any other party other than Democrat. Sadly, it has also turned into a pay-for-play county. The County gives grants to a long list of non-profit organizations, that in turn exhort its members to vote for the people who will continue to give them taxpayer money.
MCEA is the union representing teachers in Montgomery County, MD. They also issue the Apple Ballot.
The unions are in on the game and they have a big influence on the county’s unionized employees (i.e. teachers, police, fire, transportation, and other workers). The teachers’ union even publishes an “Apple Ballot,” exclusively advocating for Democrats, handed out at the polls. Last year, the County Executive negotiated some of the largest raises in the area for union employees, only to find this year there is not enough money to pay them, thanks to the COVID-19 induced shut-downs.
What to do? Raise property taxes, of course!
When families are struggling to make ends meet.
When schools are closed or partially opened and parents and students are both working from home.
When businesses are falling like dominoes.
The beauty of property taxes, from the cynical left’s point of view, is that if they aren’t paid, homes will be seized by the government.
Pay up or we’ll take your home away and sell it to someone else.
Property owners bear the burden of paying taxes for services used by everyone, so it’s not fair to raise taxes just on them. But, for the progressive leftists on the County Council, it’s the path of least resistance.
Interestingly, one Republican saw this coming. Robin Ficker, who Democrat detractors (and even some high-minded Republicans) label a political gadfly, got enough signatures to place another measure on the ballot—Question B—to limit the amount of any property tax increase to the rate of inflation. What to do? Put a competing measure on the ballot—Question A—authored by the County Council. Even if both of these measures win, canceling each other out, the status quo is better than either of them.
The County Charter currently allows property taxes to be raised above the rate of inflation only by unanimous vote of the county Council. Easy enough, since 95 percent of all Council votes this term have been unanimous.
Democrats have pulled out all stops to fight Questions B and D, including enlisting former County officials Ike Leggitt, David Blair, and Connie Morella.
Marilyn Balcombe (image credit: Montgomery Community Media)
Marilyn Balcombe, a Democrat who lost her bid for At-Large Council member in the last election, is running competing ballot committees to defeat B & D. She’s already on record saying she plans to run for At-Large again, so she has a vested interest in making sure voters don’t approve nine individual districts. Adam Pagnucco, former Council staffer and blogger for Seventh State, has repeatedly and erroneously tried to scare his readers by painting both citizen ballot initiatives as Republican efforts.
Increased taxes won’t really hurt the lifestyle of the wealthy.
“I don’t mind paying higher taxes, I’m sure they’ll be put to good use.”
A well-dressed woman leaving a high-end restaurant recently exclaimed this to me.
Compare that to the worried look in a naturalized citizen’s eyes, standing at the door of his modest townhouse, who says he is telling his friends to look at issues, not just party, when voting this year. “It’s not fair to make property owners bear the burden of services used by everyone,” he said.
The people hurt the most by the well-intentioned liberal elite are the people they claim to want to help the most.
Please vote FOR Questions B and D and AGAINST Questions A and C.
Bob Ohneiser, Esq., lives in Loudoun County, Virginia.
Over my eight years representing the Broadrun District on the Loudoun County School Board there were many issues to learn about and participate in resolving. As a practicing lawyer with three children in LCPS [Loudoun County Public Schools] I felt the pressure to deeply understand issues before voting.
What I unfortunately learned over that time and have seen even more dramatically since then is how little school board members pay attention to details and logic.
It seems more like a positive head shaking contest whenever the Superintendent speaks instead of performing a check and balance function as required under state law.
Here are some examples which readers can consider:
Statute 22.1-79 specifically mandates school boards operate under an utmost efficient manner, yet the current school board hasn’t even asked what is not being spent currently as most of the schools have been closed for seven months.
With the power of criminal enforcement LCPS can mandate parents to bring their children into the school system for universal, “almost free” education, yet they don’t think twice about the conflict caused by expelling a student or charging $100.00/student per sport students choose to participate in.
Parents are considered crucial in supporting school budget approvals, yet the system stubbornly refuses to allow parents to have meaningful input into staff performance considerations.
Knowing all property owners in the County pay to support the school system the school board still acts as if they are the union representatives for the staff, as services which could be easily provided at no extra cost to home schoolers are denied.
Almost all school board members “talk” about how terrible it would be if bullying was occurring, yet they refuse to ask the Superintendent for a report showing evidence of such bullying, including what was done to mitigate it.
Then there is the real estate development quagmire. School Board members know of the turmoil school boundary changes cause yet they refuse to demand all schools within the catchment area for attending the new school be reviewed for expansion prior to the hearings.
Does the real estate development community own everyone in this county?
Special guest speaker Eleanor Jones joined us for our podcast today and we discussed the following topics:
How Howard County, MD politics mirror that of Montgomery County, MD;
The #WalkAway movement and its impact on the state and national level; and
Her experience raising a special needs child during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eleanor Jones is State Lead Moderator for the Maryland chapter of the #WalkAway movement. She is a parent of a special needs child and lives in Howard County, Maryland.
The MoCo Conservative discusses the importance of moderate Democrats educating themselves on the ballot questions coming up in the November election (2:54:27 mark).
From a conservative teacher in the Montgomery County, Maryland Public School (MCPS)System.
Conservatism, Education, and Montgomery County Public Schools is a combination that is not welcome. I have seen it firsthand. My hope is through a series of articles, I can share my experiences as a conservative teacher within the MCPS system. I look forward to shedding some light on what is happening within our public school system.
“This is a safe space, right?”
This is what was said by one of my fellow teachers during an interview our school recently conducted.
She proceeded to explain why she felt one particular candidate was not a strong candidate.
No, it was not that this candidate was inexperienced. Her resume showed years of experience in the education field.
No, it was not that this candidate spoke of any educational theory or practice that conflicted with our school’s mission.
No, it was not that this candidate lacked the confidence her role would need in order to interact with our school community.
It was that she was white.
I have sat on several interview panels throughout my teaching career. The typical structure of the interview involves the panel identifying strengths and weaknesses of each candidate immediately after the interview.
“This is a safe space, right?”
Of course, our principal replied that we were in a safe space, allowing the teacher to explain to the panel that her whiteness was a weakness. That, despite the fact that this candidate’s way of life was almost identical to the teacher, she was still weak. You see, the candidate is married to a black man and is the mother of biracial children. The candidate even took the time to explain that she felt her family diversity was a strength of hers. The teacher who brought up this “weakness” also happens to be a white woman who was previously married to a black man and has biracial children.
And, if what she was stating is indeed a weakness, should this teacher even be teaching our children?
If I was shocked by her statement, I cannot remember. What I do remember is becoming irritated by how the rest of the debrief unfolded. My principal, along with others in the panel, praised the teacher for her courage.
At the end of it all, the majority of the panel chose a different candidate. The job was offered to a candidate who maybe did not have as much experience, and may have not had the strongest interview. The job instead was offered to a candidate who was unburdened by the same “weakness” as the other candidate.
From The Editor: Below is a video produced by Act 4 Greater America. Our combined goal is to bring awareness to the dangers of Leftism (under the guise of the current Democrat Party) and how policies endorsed and enacted by county governments, especially in Montgomery County, are socialist in nature and detrimental to the success of our country and our citizenry.
Christianity, Constitution, and Capitalism.
Paraphrased excerpts below (unless quoted):
The combination of the three C’s mentioned above makes the greatness of America, and we must defend these values. China is trying to destroy these core values.
Like the human body, a nation can also succumb to a virus. In this case, the virus of ideology is even more dangerous and can cause even greater destruction. The virus of ideology is leftism/marxism/socialism/communism (however you want to call it, it is the same thing), and it has left a trail of destruction.
“America is next if we do not defend our core values.”
Institutions have been infiltrated by this ideology and young people are being indoctrinated by those same people in positions of authority. Handouts and government dependency are going to ruin the economic might of the country. Abortion-on-demand is forcing our faith in God out of our culture; Christians are being persecuted for their faith. Removing prayer from public school and replacing it with questionable material (LGBT++) in its place is also part of that effort to eradicate religion.
The Democrats use word control to control people’s thoughts by using labels and throwing them onto anyone who disagrees with you. It’s exactly what the Communist party used in China.
It wasn’t until 2016 that enough people fed up with these laws against freedom and the P.C. Culture woke up and said, “We’ve got to fight back.” President Donald Trump has kept his promises; he has lowered taxes, reduced government regulation, appointed judges who adhered to the Constitution, and surrounded himself by people of prayer.
When the Democrats couldn’t derail President Trump with their hoaxes and fake news, they adhered to the same playbook of using class and racial strife, and created a lot of chaos. You don’t have to go far outside of the U.S.A. to see what these tactics have caused. American cities, such as Chicago, Minneapolis, and Portland, have turned into ruins because of the failed policies of the Democrats in power.
You must vote for Donald Trump in this election; it is that serious.
The MoCo Conservative talks Question D and what you need to know to make an informed decision come election time. Featuring John A. of Clarksburg as a guest caller.
Topic of the Day
Nine Districts for MoCo:
What you need to know.
What you don’t know.
What you must do to get represented equitably and fairly.
Montgomery County is a one-party county. The County Executive, County Council, and Senators and Delegates to the General Assembly are all registered Democrats. Not one single Republican or any other party member among them!
Consequently, there is no diversity of thought, the economy and educational system are in trouble, and many people feel disenfranchised.
Part of the reason for this lopsided picture is the fact that Council and Delegate districts are so gerrymandered in Maryland in general, particularly in Montgomery County.
There are a couple of ways this can be remedied:
First, by changing the structure of the County Council to nine individual districts (Vote YES to Question D and NO to Question C).
Second, by ensuring that district lines are drawn fairly, no matter what the Council structure ends up being. District lines are updated once every 10 years, based on the latest census figures, and will begin in 2021.
October 26th is the deadline for applying to be on the Redistricting Commission, which will start work in February. Below is the county press release which describes the role of the Redistricting Commission and the application procedures.
Don’t just complain about how things are run in the county. Do something about it. Apply and help ensure that everyone is represented fairly!
From A Former Law Enforcement Officer in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Now-deleted Tweet from Montgomery County, MD Council Member Tom Hucker
Tom,
I hope you really did not tweet that there should be “justice” for the family of Berhe? If you did, shame on you.
The call went out as a burglary in progress and the subject was armed with a knife. How the heck is a social worker supposed to handle that? Even if the call was merely a mentally ill person brandishing a knife, no mobile crisis team, psychologist, or psychiatrist would dare go near the scene until it was rendered safe and secure.
Even on those mental health calls where there is a potential for violence and the Mobile Crisis Team is responding, they will have the officers there as back ups. They cannot confront violent and armed people in a non-controlled environment.
Officers must live with their split second decisions. They have to decide in mere fractions of a second how to react to a deadly threat. That difference means the ability to go home in one piece to your family or suffer life changing injuries or death. Likewise, failure of the officer to take action with an armed, emotionally disturbed individual creates a danger to the community members as well.
I personally know this officer, as well as others who have had to use deadly force to protect themselves and the community. Several never recovered from the trauma of taking a human life and had to leave the department. Universally, those officers are forever changed. I have never met a police officer yet that thought, “Tonight I am going to kill someone.” In fact, the opposite is true.
I have seen my share, me included, of those who did some dangerous and stupid things to avoid shooting someone despite the deadly threat. But, when that trigger is pulled and it is a justifiable shooting, the community should be there to support the officer, not to second guess them. That includes the elected officials that have an obligation to know the facts and circumstances and educate themselves on the realities of police use of force.
Having the council members not recognize that the actions of the officer are also predicated on the actions of the assailant and shift blame to the system, the officer, training, or lack of a 24/7, fully staffed crisis team does a disservice to every officer out there. It is unrealistic and just plain foolish to believe that mental health professionals will be the panacea to fix the problem.
The problem with dealing with the mentally ill goes far beyond community crisis team response. Our mental health system has been insurance driven for 40 years. We went from almost 4,000 beds at Springfield State Hospital to less than 300. Hospitalization is a joke. They stabilize them and kick them out because that is all insurance carriers will pay for. I could speak for hours regarding the mental health systems in place or lacking. I will leave that to a later discussion.
The fact is out of the nearly 1 million law enforcement officers serving today and the millions of contacts and arrests made, the numbers of people shot by officers every year has remained constant for decades or decreased despite huge increases in population. The Montgomery County Police Department provides some of the best training in Crisis Intervention. I was one of the first to go through the training. Now, all MCPD officers must complete the 40 hour course in crisis intervention.
In this case, honestly tell me that if a knife wielding individual attacked you and you were a police officer that you would not protect yourself. Tell me you would take one for the team and hope your family could do without you. If you say you would not have fired, I challenge you to do some shoot don’t shoot scenarios. Many people change their opinion after experiencing that training. And, that is still make believe where they know they are not going to get hurt.
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The MoCo Conservative 
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