Editorial

We all know that Congress is corrupted by big money and no longer represents the interests of ordinary Americans. We know that the two major parties put their partisan political interests above the interests of the country. We know that it doesn’t have to be this way and that the American people deserve better. However, as Congress is incapable of reforming itself we also know that we must organize an independent democracy movement to reclaim our government for the people.

Congress claims that it is divided because the country is divided—that’s not true. Over 75% of Americans want an immediate increase in the minimum wage, support comprehensive immigration reform, favor shoring up Social Security without any benefit cuts, and want to close tax loopholes that allow large corporations to use overseas tax shelters to avoid paying billions of dollars in taxes each year. Yet Congress refuses to act.

A planet run by King CONG—Coal, Oil, Nukes & Gas—cannot be sustained.

But to get beyond it, our Solartopian vision must embrace more than just a technological transformation.  It also demands social, political and spiritual transcendence.

From Fukushima to global warming, from fracking to the Gulf disaster(s), it’s clear the fossil/nuclear industry is hard-wired to kill us all. Its only motivating force is profit; our biological survival has no part in the equation.

Despite decades-old rumors that John Kasich may be self-medicating, the Governor vowed that there will be no medical marijuana legislation passed in Ohio this election year!

 In fact, this summer, his Public Safety Department deployed undercover officers into the Community Festival. These plainclothes officers spent their time writing tickets near the Ohio Rights Group booth that was collecting signatures to put medical marijuana on the ballot.

 Kasich came into politics as one of Richard Nixon’s freshly-scrubbed “Nixon Youth.” It would be more understandable for Kasich’s undercover cops at Comfest to secure the best dope for their boss. But instead, they were there to show that John Kasich is tough on pot.

F-ck bein' on some chill s--t. We reserve the right to go zero to 100 real quick. And last week, it could never be untoward to say that the whole Ohio Student Association squad was on some real s—t.
  I arrived in Xenia at around noon, having failed to wake up in time to join the march from the Beavercreek Wal-Mart. The marchers would not arrive for another two and a half hours, which gave me time time to explore Xenia, this quintessentially American town, which provided the setting for this quintessentially American tragedy.
  In Xenia, the Town Square is a strip mall. The Ten Commandments are proudly displayed on the courthouse lawn. The coffee shop across the street sells fair-trade coffee alongside Twinkies. The signs that line the street posted by the economic promotion consortium called Downtown Xenia Now extol Xenia as “a family adventure and an action movie all rolled into one.” The tobacco shop further down the road proclaims on its door that it is “American Owned and Operated.” And of course, in true small-town American fashion, everyone you met was nothing but friendly and hospitable.

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld federal Judge Peter Economus’ historic ruling protecting African American voting rights in Ohio. In a September 4, 2014 opinion, Economus held that the actions of Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted violated both the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by erecting illegal barriers to keep minorities and the poor from voting in the Buckeye State.

Husted’s attack on voting right proceeded under the guise of fighting “voter fraud.”
 

Economus noted, “The state’s argument about reducing fraud did not withstand logical scrutiny.”

As the New York Times stated, “There has been no in-person voter fraud documented in the country.”

Republican Secretary of State Husted is up for re-election this year, and in order to increase his chances he came up with a variety of measures that directly suppress minority and poor voters. His opponent, State Senator Nina Turner (D-25), is a black female and an outspoken voting rights activist.

There is now a tendency among the activist portion of the black community that white people no longer deserve an explanation, that we have oh-so-politely explained to them the reality of white supremacy, taking pains not to appear too angry, and it still doesn't seem to be taking, and that it is no time for concern for white feelings when our people are literally dying in the streets at the hands of our own government. I, however, am more charitable, because I do not believe that Ferguson is a culmination of anything, but rather a beginning, and I believe that white America, like all people, deserve an explanation for what may be about to happen to them.

 The connection between Ferguson and Gaza that has appeared in recent demonstrations is one made more than just of convenience, or rhetorical flourish, and it is one that should give the Fox News crowd and other assorted defenders of American Liberty quite a few moments of pause. Because as Israel is a font of occupation, so is Palestine a font of resistance, and it is that idea of resistance that is beginning to catch on in the land of the free speech zones.

When it comes to “Young Professionals”, Columbus is a mecca of sorts. The Columbus Young Professional Club is the largest YP club in the US with more than 21,000 members. There’s also the Create Columbus Commission, a board of apparently elite young professionals appointed by Mayor Coleman and funded by city taxpayers

Anyone between the ages of 21 to 45 is welcome to join a YP group, but for the most part YP’s have a college degree and a skill that apparently deems them professional.

According to the Mayor’s office, the Create Columbus Commission “strives to make Columbus the nation’s number one place for YPs to live, work, play (and) serves as the community’s foremost thought leader on young professional interests, experiences, and priorities.”

Mayor Coleman’s infatuation with YPs has always been out in open, and while these groups volunteer for non-profits and work to formulate ideas to make the city more livable, the Mayor’s love-affair with YPs has some scratching their heads. Why are young professionals so important to Central Ohio that you pay them for being YP?

Heroin is a serious concern. A member of the “opioid” class of drugs, “heroin” is actually the trade name assigned by Bayer in 1898 to diamorphine, which is synthesized from the morphine that is extracted from seed pods of the Asian poppy plant.

In its purest form, heroin has the same analgesic and pain relieving properties as its opioid cousins - Oxycontin, Fentanyl, Diluadid and codeine - all available by prescription.

Illegal in all states under the most restrictive Schedule I, the heroin causing problems in Ohio is far from pure. Authoritative estimates compute that the actual drug comprises less than one third of a heroin dose. Adulterants include lactose, starch and sucrose, along with caffeine and quinine. Some have their own deadly side effects.

The worst side effect of opioids is overdose. Pending signs include muscle flaccidity, cold clammy skin, small pupils and low blood pressure. Decreased respiratory rate and the suspension of normal breathing can be followed by unconsciousness, coma or death.