Michael Bell
-
MoCo’s SNAP decisions: Part 1—Should the feds pay for our less fortunate?
Read more: MoCo’s SNAP decisions: Part 1—Should the feds pay for our less fortunate?We’ve previously introduced Maria and Juanita: one an irresponsible alcoholic parent, the other a local version of Mother Theresa. I overheard them having a discussion at the Fort Totten Metro stop. “Maria,” said Juanita, “I’m not able to take care of your grandmother any more.” “Why not?” asks Maria. “Well, as you know, I travel…
-
Mahmoud v. Taylor: Part 2—What Happened to the Administrative Burden?
Read more: Mahmoud v. Taylor: Part 2—What Happened to the Administrative Burden?There were two motivations for the coercive LGBT curriculum. One was inclusion, the other administrative burden. MCPS’s claim about administrative burden was reported in several news outlets, and unfortunately I can’t find a source document from MCPS itself. Fortunately, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor mentioned it in her dissent. …requiring schools to provide advance notice…
-
Mahmoud v. Taylor: Part 1—Basking in the SCOTUS Victory
Read more: Mahmoud v. Taylor: Part 1—Basking in the SCOTUS VictoryImmediately after the Supreme Court’s proceedings in Mahmoud v. Taylor on April 22, 2025, it became clear that victory for the opt-out crowd was a matter of time. Who gets the credit for this victory? Brazenly, shamelessly, and undeservedly I’ll claim 0.00005% of the credit because I’ve been following this story since the first rally…
-
How Badly is MCPS Red-lined?
Read more: How Badly is MCPS Red-lined?I’ve mentioned several times that MCPS is redlined based on affluence: affluent families live in areas where the schools are successful, and struggling families live in areas where the schools struggle along with them. In this post I present a visualization of this claim. Step 1: Identify the schools’ rankings Niche.com provides a succinct ranking…
-
Leaf Blowers, The Sequel: a Call for Cooperation, not Coercion
Read more: Leaf Blowers, The Sequel: a Call for Cooperation, not CoercionWe are back to the gas-powered leaf blowers. Recall Bill 18-22, signed into law on October 9, 2023, prohibits the sale of gas-powered leaf blowers by July 1, 2024, and use of such equipment by July 1, 2025. Council Member Gabe Albornoz was the only dissenting vote at the time. Here we are, two weeks…
-
David Stein, do you have one corpuscle of compassion?
Read more: David Stein, do you have one corpuscle of compassion?Within the last week over 1,000 employees were laid off from the State Department. More layoffs are coming at the Department of Education. According to “National Public” Radio (not much of either), as of June 6 this year 59,000 federal jobs disappeared since Trump entered office. There is surely more to come. For some of…
-
The Few Prejudiced MCPS Teachers and Their Herd Immunity
Read more: The Few Prejudiced MCPS Teachers and Their Herd ImmunityWe, the veterans and survivors of COVID, learned quite clearly the meaning of “herd immunity.” Enough people are vaccinated against a disease, so the few who actually contract the disease do not infect everyone else. It’s a strategy that has served us well since the 1930s. After seeing a few MCPS teachers get busted, and…
-
Jawando’s Seven Black Fathers: Conclusion—Who JW is and who he could be
Read more: Jawando’s Seven Black Fathers: Conclusion—Who JW is and who he could beThe date is December 3, 2018. The inauguration ceremony for the new County Council and County Executive is under way. Among the honorees is new council member Will Jawando wearing a West African boubou and kufi. People snickered. I snickered. “This is grandstanding. This is demographic baiting.” How wrong I was; how wrong we all…
-
Stop More Housing N.O.W. / ZTA 25-02!! – It Doesn’t Do What it Promises to Do
Read more: Stop More Housing N.O.W. / ZTA 25-02!! – It Doesn’t Do What it Promises to DoA growing number of County residents and community groups are speaking out against the “More Housing N.O.W.” legislation, specifically Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 25-02 scheduled to be taken up by the County Council in July. Some Council Members are promoting the bill as a step toward increasing affordable housing options for teachers, firefighters, nurses, and…
-
Jawando’s Seven Black Fathers: Part 6—Identity and Race
Read more: Jawando’s Seven Black Fathers: Part 6—Identity and RaceOf the seven installments in this series, this one is the most difficult to write (and hopefully the most difficult to read). Before continuing, I’d like to propose a difference between “identity” and “race.” Many people emphasize one aspect or another of their physical and emotional makeup as an identity. Some people identify as conservative,…