People
Ohio Democrats need a bold new leader, a gut fighter with a heart of gold to win back the governorship in 2018.
His name is Joe. Joe Schiavoni.
The two-term state senator from Boardman, who was born in Youngstown, is 39 and has never run statewide before. But he conducts himself with the wisdom and maturity of a much older person as his experience as a workers' compensation attorney will attest.
His approach is to go out and talk to people as he crisscrosses the state. He wants to find out what Ohioans of all walks of life are thinking about, what their challenges and needs are and what he can do to help them as a state senator and as a future governor.
Well under 6-feet tall with a shaved head, broad-shouldered and muscular, Joe looks like the former Golden Gloves boxing champ that he is.
But he is the consummate gentlemen in his dealings with people.
He understands the key issues of the day. Asked about sexual harassment, he said he will teach his young sons to treat all women respect as they treat their mother.
Because Gov. John Kasich is playing politics, Tom Noe is rotting in jail. Noe, one of 50,000 inmates in Ohio prisons, holds a unique distinction. He is a political prisoner, kept behind bars to please both political parties. Other prisoners of lesser means and influence remain behind bars, too, also victims of the governor's political motives.
We read about political prisoners all the time in third world, totalitarian and less civilized countries than the United States. Such individuals are put behind bars for a long time on phony or exaggerated charges in a foreign land because they posed a political threat or at least failed to please other countries' political elite.
When we read about political prisoners abroad, we in the United States say "not here." Yet we have political prisoners in Ohio. Tom Noe has been incarcerated for 11 years and is currently locked up in the Marion, Ohio, Correctional Institution after several years in the Hocking Correctional Institute in Nelsonville, Ohio.
Noe, 63 years old, is a senior citizen and at the rate things are going, he will be pushing 70 before he is released.
In between dancing and singing along with protest songs and psychedelic music, Free Press readers helped honor four community activists at the November 13 Free Press Protest Fest and Awards ceremony. The event was held at Woodlands Tavern and featured Golden Ratio, Brian “Clash” Griffin, Victoria Parks, Connie Harris, Dan Dougan (as emcee and musician), the Chicken Hawk Bird Getters, and comedy by Travis Irvine. The awardees were:
2017 Free Press Musician Award - Brian “Clash” Griffin
In between dancing and singing along with protest songs and psychedelic music, Free Press readers helped honor four community activists at the November 13 Free Press Protest Fest and Awards ceremony. The event was held at Woodlands Tavern and featured Golden Ratio, Brian “Clash” Griffin, Victoria Parks, Connie Harris, Dan Dougan (as emcee and musician), the Chicken Hawk Bird Getters, and comedy by Travis Irvine. The awardees were:
2017 Free Press Musician Award - Brian “Clash” Griffin
Hero
Nathan Runkle is a hero to farm animals and a hero to the Free Press. His new book Mercy for Animals chronicles the rise of the animal rights organization he founded in central Ohio at age 15 that has grown into an international nonprofit headquartered in Los Angeles. Mercy for Animals’ mission is to end factory farming and, in turn, stop animal abuse and promote compassionate food choices. The group has been incredibly effective in exposing and stopping many brutally violent and unsanitary factory farm practices. It is successful primarily because of Nathan’s tenacity, his passion, investigations, films, organizing ability and professional promotion. Nathan came in town for a book signing last month and the Free Press stopped by for an autograph. The Free Press stands proud of our native son and his tremendous accomplishments. We also recommend the book for good reading.
Salute
Free Press Hero
The Free Press honors the anonymous man who bravely trained his cell phone camera on Timothy Davis during his horrendous beating at the hands of the Columbus Police. We thank you for having the courage to be the eyes and ears for the rest of us to witness the inexcusable and incomprehensible acts of our police department and how these racist officers, sworn to “serve and protect” us and uphold the U.S. Constitution, cavalierly and gleefully take out their immature macho aggressions on our citizens.
After a long and courageous battle with cancer, Mary Beittel went passed away the morning of Saturday, August 19th. She was loved by many and will be missed. Mary and her husband served for over three decades as the leadership partnership which created and managed The Open Shelter in Columbus. Mary and Kent were were stalwart champions for the homeless, those caught in poverty and those marginalized. Mary worked best in the background and had strong organizational skills in keeping the books and handling finances. She balanced Kent's passion and outspokenness with quiet effectiveness and calming steady management. They were great partners and loved each other protectively. She loved working with people who were in desperate and chaotic situations, giving them hope and an opportunity to recover her life. She had a great sense honor and was stubborn in her mission to stand up for those who live on the edge. The Free Press offers condolences to her family and honors her as a Free Press hero.
Free Press Heroes
This month the Free Press honors the dedicated people holding weekly demonstrations at Republican Senator Rob Portman’s office in an attempt to keep him from voting to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. In particular, five brave and dedicated occupiers even camped out at his office overnight on July 6. In addition, the Free Press recognizes the group of ADAPT individuals who joined local activists continuing the vigil on July 7 who were brutally attacked and arrested by the Columbus Police. The Columbus Police made national news by throwing a woman out of her wheelchair. The police also confiscated a disabled woman’s scooter and refusing to release it (for no apparent reason) for a week. Thank you to Junto Unsilenced, Socialist Alternative, DSA, Ultraviolent, Planned Parenthood and other groups organizing the Portman actions for all of us. Shame again, on the defiantly deplorable Columbus Police.
The Free Press Salutes
I delayed writing this article until today, June 24th. The deadline lies just two days away. You see, the ground keeps shifting.
Donald Trump was elected President last year in part because he appeared to support states’ rights – let ‘em decide for themselves. Some reformers may have interpreted his Republican brand of libertarianism as something more than just a slick salesman. Some may even have voted for him because they thought he would legalize. The noise coming out of the White House differs widely from that heard on the campaign trail. And it changes daily.
As one of his earliest cabinet picks, Trump nominated his former campaign minion, then Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, to become U.S. Attorney General. Dark clouds began to loom.
Free Press Hero – State Representative Bernadine Kennedy Kent
Rep. Kent is a Freep Hero for introducing House Bill 137. Currently, 49 states require law enforcement officers to be mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect. Ohio stands alone as the only state without this requirement. Teachers, medical personnel, attorneys and other professionals are already required under Ohio law to report cases of child abuse and neglect. Kent has firsthand knowledge, as a former school administrator and tutor, witnessing credible evidence that young children were being molested and raped. The police detective assigned to the case never wrote up an incident report or contacted Children’s Services. Kent and House Bill 137 will correct this large oversight.