Montgomery County, MD Green Party Blog

Trial Transcripts Show Lack of Evidence

A month after the trial, a female juror wrote to U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl, complaining that fellow jurors talked of terrorist attacks and their desire to teach the defendants a lesson. “They had an agenda,” Juror 39 told The Washington Post in her first interview. “People are so fearful that if you disagree with the government on one thing it makes you a terrorist.

“I have to plead guilty to being a coward,” Juror 39, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said of her vote to convict. “It doesn’t feel good, but I punked out.”

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All the comments about the Bush administration being a reverse Robin Hood by cutting programs for the poor while cutting taxes for the rich have been more literally true than people realized.

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson, in her annual report to Congress, reports that the IRS has been devoting significant resources to cheating poor Americans of refunds they are due.

As many as 1.6 million filings of those making $13,000 or less have been frozen and labeled fraudulent without the taxpayers being informed. Of those that pursued their refunds, 80% eventually had their returns processed.

The returns are being flagged by a “data-mining” computer program similar to ones used by the NSA to target people for eavesdropping. Unfortunately, the program has proven to be very unreliable. Even among the returns that were designated “conclusively fraudulent”, half were ultimately found to be legitimate.

A report by Worldwatch Institute claims that China and India may set the stage for a cleaner and greener earth. Christopher Flavin, director of the environmental research group suggested that;

China and India are positioned to leapfrog today’s industrial powers and become world leaders in sustainable energy and agriculture within a decade. We were encouraged to find that a growing number of opinion leaders in China and India now recognize that the resource-intensive model for economic growth can’t work in the 21st century.

China’s world leading solar-industry already provides water heating for 35 million buildings, and India’s pioneering use of rainwater harvesting brings clean water to tens of thousands of homes, according to the 244-page report.

Zjeng Bijian, head of China Economic Reform, an academic group, called in the report for “a new path of industrialization based on technology, low consumption of resources, low environmental pollution and the optimal allocation of human resources.”

Flavin challanged the U.S. to improve its efforts;

Americans wondering why the price of oil is so high need only to look in the mirror. A new economic path is at least as crucial for the United States as it is for China or India.”

Report Warns Of Risk to Public
This reads like a Michael Crichton novel…

An independent report being released this morning concludes that current U.S. laws and regulations cannot adequately protect the public against the risks of nanotechnology — the rapidly growing science of making invisibly small particles and molecular devices.

Unless existing laws are modified or a new one is crafted, the report warns, the immense promise of the field — predicted to be a trillion-dollar industry by 2015 — may be short-circuited by either a disaster or an economically damaging crisis of public confidence.

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Significant increases in consumer bankruptcy filings occurred in every region, according to the data released Wednesday by Lundquist Consulting Inc., a financial research firm based in Burlingame, Calif. It tallied 2,043,535 new filings last year, up 31.6 percent from 1,552,967 in 2004 _ meaning that one in every 53 households filed bankruptcy petitions, according to the company.

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Some good news about energy for a change.

Global Photonic Energy Corporation recently announced the development of an organic photovoltaic cell based on carbon rather than silicon, allowing the cells to be produced at a much lower cost. The organic cells are ultra-thin and flexible and can be applied to large, curved or spherical surfaces. Because the layers are so thin, transparent solar cells can be applied to windows creating power-generating glass that retains its basic functionality.

Now the company’s research partners at Princeton University and the University of Southern California have developed an organic cell that can generate electricity from the near infrared range of the solar spectrum allowing them to make electricity even at night. This is a major breakthrough in solar cell technology.

This type of technology is Green in more than one way; not only does it produce power without pollution, but it very literally will give power to the people. Our economic system, especially the power sector, is heavily dependent on large centralized structures. Decisions that affect the way we all live are made by an unelected few. Renewable energy sources such as solar and small scale wind generators allow people to get off the grid and out of the grip of some of these major corporations.

There is great potential here.

According to a poll by Rassmussen, Bernie Sanders has an apparently insurmoutnable lead in the race for Senate in Vermont.

Bernie has been an independent in the House, and the only openly proclaimed socialist in Congress. He is so popular in Vermont, the Democrats don’t even bother to run someone against him.

Bernie Sanders (I) 70%
Richard Tarrant (R) 25%
Other 1%
Not Sure 4%

Bernie Sanders (I) 70%
Greg Parke (R) 24%
Other 3%
Not Sure

Very good numbers for Sanders

Duncan Seeks Applicants for East County Citizens Advisory Board

County Executive Douglas M. Duncan is seeking applicants to fill six vacancies on the East County Citizens Advisory Board. Four incumbents are eligible to apply for reappointment.

The Citizens Advisory Board was formed to ensure active public participation in governmental affairs that directly impact the eastern area of the County. Members serve three-year terms without compensation and usually meet the first Wednesday evening of each month at the Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center.

The 18-member board serves as a liaison between the community, the County Executive, County Council, and County government departments by identifying community concerns and recommending possible solutions. It also advises the Director of the Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center on transportation, economic development, housing, education, human services, environment, recreation, public safety, and other issues of importance to the area. The group reviews and comments on the County’s capital and operating budgets and master plans; assists with strategies to tailor services to regional needs; and conducts workshops and forums, as well as acts on other ad hoc issues.

The advisory board is representative of more than 95,000 residents in eastern Montgomery County. This area includes the neighborhoods of Burtonsville, Fairland, White Oak, Cloverly and Colesville. The service area is bordered on the north by Howard County, on the east by Prince George’s County, on the south by Interstate 495 and on the west along Northwest Branch stream to Ednor Road.

Interested applicants should write by January 27 to County Executive Douglas M. Duncan at the Executive Office Building, 101 Monroe St., Rockville, MD 20850 or by e-mail to Douglas.Duncan@montgomerycountymd.gov. A letter and a brief resume, including work and home phone numbers, work experience and business, civic or community group associations should be enclosed. Incumbents requesting reappointment should indicate current employment information in your letter. Members of County boards, committees and commissions may not serve on more than one such group at a time. Members of this Board are eligible for reimbursement for travel and dependent care for meetings attended.

Duncan’s appointments are subject to confirmation by the County Council. Applications of those selected for appointment are made public as part of the confirmation process.

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Duncan Seeks Applicants for Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board

County Executive Douglas M. Duncan is seeking applicants to fill five vacancies on the Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board. Two of the vacancies must be filled by area business representatives and three vacancies must be filled by area residents. The incumbents are eligible and the two business representatives and two of the three residential representatives have indicated that they intend to apply for re-appointment.

The Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board represents the residential and business communities of Bethesda, Cabin John, Chevy Chase, Friendship Heights, Garrett Park, Glen Echo, North Bethesda, and Potomac. The 15-member board advises the Director of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Services Center, the County Executive and the County Council on community needs and priorities such as transportation, human services, environment, public safety, and other issues of local importance.

Members serve three-year terms without compensation and contribute approximately six hours each month, attending both board and committee meetings. Board meetings are held the third Monday of the month and begin at 7:00 p.m. Committee meetings could be held in the morning or evening depending on the issues to be discussed.

Individuals should apply by January 27 to County Executive Douglas M. Duncan at the Executive Office Building, 101 Monroe Street, Rockville, MD 20850 or by e-mail to Douglas.Duncan@montgomerycountymd.gov. A letter and brief resume, including your interest in being a residential or business representative, should be enclosed. Members of County boards, committees, and commissions may not serve on more than one such group at a time. Mr. Duncan’s appointments are subject to confirmation by the County Council. The resumes of those selected for appointment are made public as part of the confirmation process.

Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), one of the most powerful and feared Republican leaders in Washington, abandoned his quest to regain his House majority leader post yesterday, bowing to pressure from fellow Republicans worried about the growing corruption and campaign finance scandals linked to his office.

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A secret Pentagon study has found that at least 80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to their upper body could have survived if they had extra body armor. That armor has been available since 2003 but until recently the Pentagon has largely declined to supply it to troops despite calls from the field for additional protection, according to military officials.

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