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Thanks to the participants of the car caravan through the streets of Columbus on Saturday, 11-6-2021, sponsored by National Nurses United and partnered with SPAN Ohio. The purpose was to echo the ad in the Dispatch on Friday and Saturday, to ask our Congressional House Representative, Joyce Beatty, to sign on as a co-sponsor of Medicare for All, HR 1976. We were surprised early this year that her name was not on the cosponsor list, because she was an original cosponsor in 2019, and is a member of the Medicare for All caucus in the House.

Medicare for All is now main stream, desired by a majority of people, both Democrats and Republicans. The reason is too many people have been devastated by medical bills, from hospitals and meds, out of network nonsense, and pre-authorization refusals on the part of health insurers. With administrative medical costs now at 36% of medical revenue, people are realizing we have a health care payment system that is just plain "wacko." People who are poor experience a disparity of life expectancy of 25 years; maternal death rates and infant mortality that are 3 times the rate of more affluent people.

One day after Ohio Republicans introduced the nation’s most restrictive abortion bill, progressive Senate candidate, Morgan Harper, spoke at a press conference on Friday in the shadow of Ohio’s Statehouse. “We are hanging by a thread here,” she urged, as the dozen or so onlookers stood bundled on a cold November morning. “We can’t let them win, the stakes are too high.”

Editor's Note: This article is in no way intended to trivialize the death of Chase Meola. We send our condolences to his friends and family and understand his murder and other campus crimes are critical issues that must be addressed. We appreciate the feedback from readers pointing out the misspelling of his name and that has been fixed.

If you ask OSU parents or students, or OSU itself on certain days of the week, you will be told that The Ohio State University, especially the off-campus University District, is having a crisis in crime and violence. Articles in the Columbus Dispatch and The Lantern student newspaper support that impression without quite saying so or presenting evidence.  

Saturday, November 06, 12:00 PM
Ohio Statehouse
Gathering in front of the Ohio Statehouse by the William McKinnley statue. We gather to support the urgency of the UN climate negotiations by 200 countries in Glasgow,UK. We urge the Ohio General Assembly to adopt clean energy standards and get to net zero carbon emissions by 2030. Bring banners and signs (no sign poles permitted). We will march around the Statehouse and hand out information about COP 26 and paths to a sustainable future. Social distancing necessary or wear a mask.
https://actionnetwork.org/events/columbus-global-day-of-action-for-climate-justice-6th-nov?fbclid=IwAR2rPCqknLFVtHtWreS9oF5teG8V74dz4I2tdm6aCd-IFxgghGHzBzaR3mY

Register for this event
To be held Saturday, November 6, 12-12:45pm
Meet here: parking lot on North 4th Street, between Long and Spring Streets, (set your GPS for 144 North 4th Street, and look for the Medicare for All signs at the entrance)

The following is from the author of Boomtown Columbus, Ohio’s Sunbelt City and How Developers Got Their Way

Joe Motil’s article in the Free Press published November 1st makes some excellent points. He is absolutely correct on how Columbus City Council is a closed shop; a case for breaking and entering, though it is very hard to do. What concerns me most here is Joe’s reference to City Council’s incestuous relationship with the developers. How to resolve this subordination isn’t clear, except that discouragingly, the solution is unlikely to be local.

We don’t see very much in the mainstream media about the situation in Palestine since the ceasefire of the 11-day war last May. In that short war, at least 230 Palestinians were killed, including 65 children and 39 women, with 1,710 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Twelve people were killed in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl.

That the ceasefire is holding is good news. However, the conditions on the ground that led to that conflict continue, like the expulsions of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, and there are reports of increased violence. According to the October update of United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Violence continues during the ceasefire, with an additional 100 Palestinians killed in the West Bank and Gaza, and thousands injured. One Israeli was killed since the cease fire. Settler violence has increased, including injury and property damage.

U.S. presidential election campaigns have been known to focus on the slogan “It’s the economy, stupid.”

Efforts to explain the behavior of the U.S. government ought to put a little more focus on a different slogan, found in the headline above.

Wednesday, November 3, 7pm, this on-line event requires advance registration

Too often, district attorneys say they’re thinking of victims’ family members when they announce that they’re seeking the death penalty in murder cases. But are they, really?

Aba Gayle, Mattie Scott, and Robert “Renny” Cushing, three victims’ family members, discuss why they oppose the death penalty, despite the pain and anger that they felt when their loved ones were killed. All three have devoted their lives to abolishing capital punishment, channeling their pain and anguish into ending the cycle of violence. As Mattie says, “It’s time to stop the killing and start the healing.”

Ohioans across the political spectrum should appreciate Attorney General Dave Yost for fighting the corruption that has been exposed by the historic HB 6 scandal, but he should go even further. Occasionally in Ohio politics, it’s okay to give credit where credit is due –– Yost’s office has filed a landmark civil racketeering lawsuit against all of the indicted parties (and a few others who are in hot water) which prohibits them from lobbying or holding public office for eight years. “Everyone involved in this sordid matter needs to pay a price,” Yost has said. “The goal is to leave no doubt –– among politicians, the powerful and the rich –– that engaging in public corruption will ruin you."