Editorial
Poor Mitch. It must be tough being the self-described grim reaper of the U.S. Senate. The ruler who, with a slash of his scythe, can deliver death to gun control, secure elections, criminal justice, Medicare for All and Green New Deal. Under Senate rules, he has sole discretion over of what comes before that body.
As the longest serving Senate Majority Leader in history, Mitch McConnell is one savvy politico. He has a reputation for pissing off both friends and foes, progressives and conservatives. A recent poll found him with an approval rating of just 36 percent in his home state of Kentucky. His prime motivator is said to be “electoral self-preservation … with no clear purpose.” In other words, it’s first about power, then about reelection.
You’d think this powerful politician would cheer the drug war rant and pander to prohibition. After all, a raft of reefer madness machinations kept cannabis off the Republican Party platform in 2016. Surprisingly, the opposite is true.
Being shot by the police is sadly a leading cause of death for black males in this country, according to an August 2019 study by the Los Angeles Times. During a violent encounter with the police, black males are 2½ times more likely to die than white males.
But what about here in Columbus?
Between 2013-2016 the Columbus Police shot and killed 24 people, 20 of them black. At the time, we were number one in the nation of the 15 largest cities in police killing blacks, per capita.
Columbus police use force disproportionately against minorities, said a report initiated by the Columbus Community Safety Advisory Commission as part of an evaluation of the city’s police training and procedures. Matrix Consulting Group issued the 330-page report.
In 2017, whites constituted 61 percent of Columbus’ population, yet were involved in only 26 percent of the police division’s use of force incidents. By contrast, the city’s black population was only 28 percent but the report states that “more than half” of the use of force victims were black.
I attended two of the three Pro Musica concerts held in the Franklin Park Conservatory gardens over August 8-11. Both concerts were lovely and distinct. The weather, the moon, stars and the jewel-like lighting in the glass conservatory building behind the stage created a magical, exquisite experience.
I want to thank the Franklin Park Conservatory, Pro Musica leaders, musicians and sponsors who made this event free and open to the public.
You see, the last time I attended this music series, there was no tall, black cast-iron fence surrounding the gardens of the Conservatory. And if you are like me, the fence/wall came as a fist in the gut.
The first time I saw the fence/wall, I was shocked, angered and saddened at the same time. It circles the conservatory, encompasses the entire west garden, the silver sails fountain and extends all the way back to the Adventure Center parking lot. It appeared at the same time POTUS was trumpeting his border wall to lock out “criminals”.
COLUMBUS, OH –Columbus City Council Candidate Joe Motil and longtime outspoken critic of the city’s tax abatement policies was encouraged to see that other reputable U.S. news organizations are reporting about the counterproductive and unnecessary use of tax abatements to Fortune 500 companies and their subsidiaries that take place nearly on a daily basis here in Columbus, Ohio. An article in today’s Bloomberg Businessweek titled, “When Midwest Startups Sell, Their Hometown Schools Often Lose” talked about the Columbus Education Associations (CEA) decision to protest Columbus City Councils $55 million tax abatement giveaway to CoverMyMeds. CoverMyMeds is owned by pharmaceutical giant the McKesson Corporation which reports profits of $2 billion most years.
Having lost the governorship and other statewide offices in 2018, Ohio Democrats have a chance to reassert themselves in state government in 2020 by capturing two Republican-held seats on the Ohio Supreme Court.
Democrats Michael Donnelly and Melody Stewart were elected justices in 2018, shrinking the GOP majority to five-two. If Democrats knock off GOP justices Sharon Kennedy and Judith French, they would control the state's highest court by four-three.
It would mark the first time Democrats have led any of the three branches of Ohio government since 2010.
Such a stunning reversal of fortune would augur well for 2022 when the statewide administrative offices are on the ballot again and when redistricted and reapportioned state and federal legislative boundaries will improve Democrats' prospects of, among other things, retaking the Ohio House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, 2020 features a Presidential election the likes of which we have never seen before and may never see again, which is likely to affect races lower on the ballot.
Not many people know that the infamous Jeffrey Epstein spent a lot of time in Columbus in the 1990s and owned the second most valuable house in Franklin County, in the plush Stepford suburb known as New Albany. Epstein came to my attention when I was an investigative journalist for Columbus Alive. The State of Ohio Inspector General David Sturtz, one of my sources, was gathering evidence against Les Wexner and Jeff Epstein regarding public corruption, bribery and information related to the murder of Columbus attorney Arthur Shapiro.
Sturtz referred to Epstein as Wexner’s “boyfriend,” but Epstein was more than that. He was an “international man of mystery” with ties to the CIA, the royal family, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and others. But, at the heart of it, he is perhaps our nation’s most well-known pedophile.
Echoing Greek tragedies, the local billionaire with his name on more central Ohio buildings than anyone and known for his generous philanthropy, is now caught up in Epstein’s human trafficking scandal.
I feel that we got the final wake-up call at Fukushima and that we need to phase out and shut down the 104 reactors in America. I will put it very bluntly: We need to kill them before they kill us. – S. David Freeman, ninety-something former TVA head who holds the record for shutting down utility reactors than any other administrator
The Age of Nuclear Energy is winding down. The Age of Nuclear Waste is just beginning. – Gordon Edwards, Co-Founder, President Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility
The New Radioactive Gold Rush – Privatizing Nuclear Waste Management
Since Friends of the Earth Senior Consultant David Freeman made the above statement in a 2011 interview, seven U.S. reactors have been shutdown.
As of this writing, there are 97 nuclear reactors operating in 29 U.S. states. By 2018 approximately 80 thousand metric tons of spent nuclear fuel had accumulated at reactor sites around the US, with 2 thousand metric tons being added each year.
Why neo-Nazis love Trump’s immigration policy
Remember when Trump muttered those despicable words “There’s good people on both sides” after the white supremacists’ rally at Charlottesville in 2017? Recall their slogans: “Blood and Soil!” or, as Hitler preferred, “Blut und Boden.” Blood, of course, referred to the Nazi obsession with racial purity and bloodlines. Soil referred to a belief in settlement areas on borders controlled by the Germanic/Nordic races. The Blood and Soil canard went hand-in-hand with the Nazi concept of Lebensraum, or “living space.” Trump is using a new version of Nazi propaganda to try to instill fear of immigrant hordes taking away jobs and living space from his white male supporters.
Dear Free Press,
President Trump’s steady following among his base of support is worth a reflection. No matter how often he “spins” the truth on matters large or small, and acts like a “bully” to demean those who have another view, his followers persist.
Psychiatrist Scott Peck followed up his famous, The Road Less Traveled, with a rather frightening book entitled, People of the Lie, 1983.
A summary of People of the Lie found in Wikipedia, captures what Peck said:
Queer and trans people of color showcased their artistic, poetic and musical talents by performing at the “Community Pride: Decades of Resistance” kickoff event on June 4th at The Vanderelli Room. The theme of this grassroots festival references the origins of Pride as a revolt against state violence to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that trans women of color like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera had leading roles in. The first event was titled “Speak Up: Columbus Community Pride Spoken Word” to celebrate the radical nature of queer existence.
Dkéama Alexis and Charlie H.A. Stewart are co-directors of this year’s grassroots pride and are leading the Consciousness team of Community Pride. Alexis explained what decades of resistance means in their kickoff speech in the beginning of the show to highlight the need to stand up for the most marginalized members of queer communities.