Local
The 50501 Movement denounces the Trump administration’s escalating attacks on communities in Southern California and is mobilizing to protest nationwide in solidarity.
On June 6, ICE undertook warrantless, military-style raids in Los Angeles, detaining at least 44 people as part of Trump’s unconstitutional mass deportation plan. In response, protests erupted across the city. At a protest outside the Roybal Federal Building, SEIU-USWW President David Huerta was attacked and injured by federal agents while observing and documenting ICE activity. He was then unlawfully arrested.
On the last day of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Dayton, delegates unanimously adopted Resolution 497 which, among other belligerent assertions, emphasized “that only peace through strength can lead to lasting peace.” That is a fatally flawed and dangerous delusion. Peace through strength translates into the fallacy that “if you want peace, then prepare for war.” Preparation for war, which succinctly summarizes the overarching theme of the entire five-day Assembly, leads to war, not peace. NATO is not alone in that operational mobilization and development of war resources.
Plans are well underway to create a military-industrial-nuclear nexus in Ohio. With a massive AI weapons manufacturing plant (Anduril’s Arsenal One) south of Columbus, a modernized nuclear fuel facility (Centrus Energy’s low-enriched uranium plant) on the heavily contaminated grounds of the former Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, and use of Wright-Patterson airbase in Dayton (as well as Rickenbacker by Columbus) as a deployment hub for the newly developed weapons, this trinity of military sites is designed to convert Ohio into the heart of new nuclear military industrial complex.
On June 14, millions of people in more than 1,500 cities across all 50 states and commonwealths will take to the streets. No Kings is expected to be the largest single-day mobilization since President Trump returned to office—a mass, nationwide protest rejecting authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarization of our democracy.
Saturday, June 7, 2-4pm, Upper Arlington Public Library [Friends Theater], 2800 Tremont Rd.
DEI stands for “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.” In our nation today, there are significant changes taking place within identified DEI programs on all different levels: companies, organizations, universities, schools, government, and more. Whether DEI programs are worthwhile or not is a topic worth learning more about and discussing by using “The Braver Angels Way.”
Some believe that these programs are essential to achieving fairness in our society. Some believe these programs have created more division and even furthered discrimination.
Join us for a discussion on this timely topic. There will be three panelists who will help us understand differing perspectives. A non-partisan panelist will provide a helpful overview of the purpose of and what is involved in DEI. Two other panelists will discuss the pros and cons of DEI programs from their knowledgeable and differing perspectives:
• Cindy Burack, Political Theorist and Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at The Ohio University
Haga clic aquí para la traducción al español
First Things First
We want to take a moment to say we know this has been a really hard week. So many Ohioans have been grappling with bad news that dramatically affects their lives. For example, in the last few days alone:
Trump is building a giant database of our personal information with the help of tech giant Palantir.
Trump intends to use the company’s mass data-collection technology to compile master lists of Americans’ personal data, including everything from bank account records to disability status to medical claims, without their consent. Trump could then use these vast datasets to abuse the law, persecute his adversaries, and advance his political agenda.
The Trump administration has already awarded Palantir, founded by Trump mega-donor Peter Thiel, more than $895 million in government contracts.
Former Palantir employees have warned, “Combining all that data, even with the noblest of intentions, significantly increases the risk of misuse.”
Let’s put a stop to this mass data collection before it’s too late. Tell Congress to oppose Trump’s surveillance scheme and Thiel’s data collection cash grab.
US Solar Industry Continues Growing
The latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, or EIA, reveals that the mix of renewable energy sources produced over the first three months of 2025, provided nearly a third of the total U.S. electric generation.
Utility-scale solar expanded by 43.9 percent in the first quarter of this year. Small-scale rooftop solar increased by 11 percent compared to the same period in 2024.
The combination of utility-scale and small-scale solar increased by over one third and was 6.8 percent of the total U.S. electric generation for this first quarter, up from 5.3 percent a year earlier.
This means that energy generated from solar surpassed the output of the nation's hydroelectric plants, which was 5.7 percent. This is a first in our nation's history.
Biofuels Demand More Land than Solar Generation
US Solar Industry Continues Growing
The latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, or EIA, reveals that the mix of renewable energy sources produced over the first three months of 2025, provided nearly a third of the total U.S. electric generation.
Utility-scale solar expanded by 43.9 percent in the first quarter of this year. Small-scale rooftop solar increased by 11 percent compared to the same period in 2024.
The combination of utility-scale and small-scale solar increased by over one third and was 6.8 percent of the total U.S. electric generation for this first quarter, up from 5.3 percent a year earlier.
This means that energy generated from solar surpassed the output of the nation's hydroelectric plants, which was 5.7 percent. This is a first in our nation's history.
Biofuels Demand More Land than Solar Generation
The Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus (“CGMC”) is proud to present their Pride Month concert “35-n-Thrivin’” on June 28th and June 29th at the Davidson Theater in the Vern Riffe Center. The show consists of songs by well-known LGBTQIA+ artists and is a celebration of CGMC’s 35th anniversary season.
Brayton Bollenbacher, CGMC’s Artistic Director, said the Chorus’ 35th anniversary brought to mind renowned LGBTQIA+ artists, including Tracy Chapman, Melissa Etheridge, Elton John, Chappell Roan and Ricky Martin, and the notable music they were working on before the age of 35. “As we are celebrating our 35th season, I was curious to see what Queer musicians were doing when they were 35 years old,” Bollenbacher said. “This concert is really celebrating music by the amazing artists that they created prior to being 35 years old.”
I’ve been thinking a lot about how the Trump administration has been using television, social media, and AI-generated digital graphics to advance its policies. This particular thought experiment started when my friend and I were watching the evening news. There was Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem prancing triumphantly in front of detainees in the CECOT concentration camp in El Salvador where Venezuelan immigrants had been deported. Noem was dressed to kill for the occasion with a designer outfit and a $50,000 Rolex watch. The dynamics of the event were telling. She scolded the detainees like they were 10-year olds caught smoking and, curiously, she did not target gang activity but rather illegal immigration as the cause of their plight.