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To understand the imminent likely outcome of redistricting and reapportionment of Congressional and state legislative districts in Ohio, one must look at who is calling the shots among Ohio Republicans, who dominate the process. I call it the Republican Rigging Ring.
There has been a distraction of 10 public hearings around the state hosted by the redistricting commission. They were poorly attended by commission members – Gov. Mike DeWine preferred to attend a Cincinnati Bengals practice – because what the public says is of little consequence to the Republicans in charge, who make up five of the seven members.
It was alleged at one of the hearings by none other than former Ohio Democratic Party chair and former unsuccessful candidate for Oho attorney general, David Pepper, that somewhere off the books, either behind closed the doors or on private Zoom meetings, Republicans leaders were meeting to carve up the state to their satisfaction, public be damned.
The Republicans are making diplomatic public statements promising fairness when fairness is the farthest thing from their minds.
What is on their minds?
Tuesday, August 31, 2021, 7:00 PM
Join Massachusetts Peace Action to learn about whistleblower Daniel Hale. Daniel Hale served in the US Air Force, participating in the drone program from 2009-2013. In July 2021, Hale was sentenced to over 3.5 years in prison, for providing The Intercept with the source materials for “The Drone Papers.” We are joined by Danaka Katovich, campaign coordinator at CODEPINK. We will discuss the case of Daniel Hale, his whistleblowing and prosecution, and more. Register here.
Tuesday, August 31, 2021, 7:00 PM
Join Massachusetts Peace Action to learn about whistleblower Daniel Hale. Daniel Hale served in the US Air Force, participating in the drone program from 2009-2013. In July 2021, Hale was sentenced to over 3.5 years in prison, for providing The Intercept with the source materials for “The Drone Papers.” We are joined by Danaka Katovich, campaign coordinator at CODEPINK. We will discuss the case of Daniel Hale, his whistleblowing and prosecution, and more. Register here.
Did President Obama anger so many conservative white Ohioans that they overwhelmed the ballot box, giving the Ohio Republican Party a decade of dominance at both the state and congressional levels?
Or, as some election experts believe, did the GOP’s ten-year supermajority in Ohio and in other states result from a calculated top-down gerrymandering strategy by Karl Rove and John Boehner?
In 2011, Ohio Republicans schemed in secrecy for three months, with direct input from Boehner, to redraw both state legislative and Congressional maps, says Katy Shanahan, Ohio director of All On the Line, a national grassroots org created to end partisan gerrymandering.
They chose their voters while also squeezing in pro-GOP corporations to maximize campaign contributions. All done in what Ohio Republicans at the time called “the bunker” – a non-descript, soulless downtown Columbus hotel room with privately-controlled access so to easily slam the door in the public’s face.
After $1 trillion wasted on the Afghanistan war and 42 years of American interference in that country, we must learn the lessons. We must change course, rebuild our wounded society, and re-engage with the world on the basis of respect and equality rather than arrogance. Send your letter here.
Saturday, August 18, 1-3pm, N. High St. and W. North Broadway [northwest corner]
Join us on Saturday, August 28, from 1pm to 3pm, at the intersection of North High St. and North Broadway [northwest corner] for a “Justice for All Rally.”
On this anniversary of Martin Luther King’s iconic March on Washington, we welcome the participation of all justice groups at our Rally here in Columbus!
We are highlighting the intersections of all six pillars of justice: Social, Environmental, Political, Economic, Racial, and International. This includes the need to pass S.B. 1, the “For the People Act,” and S.B. 4, the “John Lewis Voting Rights Act.” Time is running out for Congress to pass these and other critical bills, such as the budget and infrastructure bills, that continue to bend the arc of justice.
The Columbus event is part of a statewide “Justice for All” day of action along U.S. Rte. 42 from Cincinnati to Cleveland. It is also a sister event to the “March On for Voting Rights” event in Washington, D.C.
Co-sponsoring groups for this event include the following.
Friday, August 27 9pm Eastern time
Should peace advocates be apologetic for the unfolding disaster in Afghanistan?
Events in Afghanistan have been moving quickly since the U.S. announced it would withdraw by September 11th, 2021. Each new day seems to bring news of another city taken by the Taliban. At the salon on Friday, August 27th, David Swanson of World BEYOND War will provide some background into the U.S. invasion and subsequent occupation of Afghanistan, and will lead a discussion of the following questions: What should have been done for the past 20 years and what should be done now? Are the alternatives really horrible suffering or more war? What other possibilities once existed, and what still exist today?
In many ways, war is ever more and less visible. Of course in U.S. academia, the Pinkerist pretense that we are living through a period of great peace is accomplished by all sorts of statistical manipulation, but first and foremost by declaring civil wars to not be wars, and declaring U.S. wars to be civil wars — a tricky thing to do when the minute the U.S. leaves, Afghans, for example, decline to keep killing each other (damn them!).
But in the United States, war and militarism — or some weird shadow of them — are everywhere: endless thank yous, special parking places and airplane boarding, endless recruitment ads and weapons ads, countless movies and television shows. War is relentlessly normalized. And, oddly, the ubiquity of war celebration has made war so unquestionable that there are few objections when war is not mentioned — even on occasions when it should be.
Thursday, August 26, 7pm, Tuttle Park, 240 W. Oakland Ave.
The morbid symptoms of capitalism stretch over the entirety of the world. The pandemic, war, imperialism, homelessness, unemployment, racism, sexism, and all of the ills of the current order dominate our lives. But there is an end if we make it. Join Central Ohio Revolutionary Socialists to discuss how we can organize for a new world based on solidarity and socialism — the cure is in our hands if we fight for it.
We will outline the principles and organizing methods of our group, so this will be a good first meeting for anyone interested in getting involved in socialist organizing.
We will be meeting outside at the park, weather permitting. A folding chair or towel may be useful for seating.
Hosted by Central Ohio Revolutionary Socialists.
Facebook Event