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In this moment of peaceful transition toward a recommitted democracy, we must make sure the Biden administration keeps its promise of bringing families together. Edith Espinal and Miriam Vargas are two mothers that deserve for this promise to ring true. They have both been denied the opportunity to be reunited with their families until now.
I and many other people with diabetes want to know why the phase 1B rollout changed from including all people with type 1 diabetes (outlined here on January 14th, 2021) to including only those deemed by the state as "severe" (now specified here in Governor DeWine’s January 19th press release). This week I called the Ohio Department of Health coronavirus phone line to find answers; no one could illuminate any reason why I, as an immunocompromised person with type 1 diabetes, could not receive the vaccine during the phase 1B rollout.
Study group on Angela Davis’ “Are Prisons Obsolete?
Sunday, January 24, 1pm
Angela Davis’ “Are Prisons Obsolete?” is a great introduction to prison abolition and will help us gain a deeper understanding of the Prison-Industrial Complex. As we navigate the pressing issue of police brutality, it is also important that we question the role of prisons in our society.
Join us on Zoom to discuss Davis’ work and to learn how to discuss prison abolition with your community. This study group will take place in two parts — chapters 1-3 on January 24 and chapters 4-6 on February 7.
RSVP at tinyurl.com/CbusSocialistAlt and we will send you the Zoom link.
Click this link to view a copy of the printed version of “Are Prisons Obsolete?”
Representative Mike Skindell will soon be re-introducing the Ohio Health Care Act, a bill that would provide progressive financing of health care and extend the benefits to all Ohioans, regardless of employment status, financial status, marital status or any other kind of status. The bill provides for comprehensive benefits including dental, vision and mental health care.
Rep. Skindell will be sending out co-sponsor letters, inviting other members of the Ohio House to sign on to the bill. This is important as it shows support for the bill. We need you to urge your state representative to sign on as a co-sponsor.
Sample language:
Please endorse the Ohio Health Care Act, to be introduced by Representative Mike Skindell, by signing on as a co-sponsor.
On the longest night of the year, when Saturn and Jupiter connected in the galaxy, on the South Side of Columbus, a couple of dozen people gathered together at the Kossuth Street Garden to their Winter Solstice Event.
Kossuth Street Garden director Michael Doody posted on his Facebook page that the Winter Solstice is “The Return of the Sun” in the Inuit Tribe. The Garden was lit with Luminaries to bring light to the Garden. The approximate two dozen attendees each held a candle to commemorate those who we lost this year. The purpose of this year’s Winter Solstice Event was to honor the Frontliners of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and to fight to keep the Kossuth Street Garden alive.
The Kossuth Street Garden, in the Southern Orchards Neighborhood in South Columbus is the target of re-development by developers. The South Side Area Commission and the Southern Orchards Civic Association both approved the Zoning Variances for development on the site. In January, the Garden will head to the City of Columbus Division of Planning and Development.
By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, January 22, 2021
https://worldbeyondwar.org/popes-words-in-open-letter-to-joe-biden/
Dear President Joe Biden,
Congratulations and best wishes!
On January 22, 2021 the world will declare nuclear weapons to be illegal under international law.
That is the date when the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons comes into force. This amazing feat is the culmination of years of work by antiwar and human rights activists worldwide.
The United Front Against the Far-Right and Capitalist System! march and rally on Inauguration Day started at City Hall then marched across High Street to the Ohio Statehouse. The Ohio Highway State Patrol and the National Guard had the building surrounded with man (and woman) power along with Humvees and patrol vehicles. As speeches were made the "security detail" stared but did not flinch. Signs read “Black Lives Matter” and “We don’t want Biden, we want revenge!” The demonstrators encouraged people to continue the fight against the far right and fascism.
Late on Inauguration Day, President Biden signed an Executive Order repealing the Trump administration’s mass deportation policy and directing federal departments to carry out the mission. The Department of Homeland Security announced it will suspend deportations for 100 days, starting January 22. This gives the government time to establish a new immigration policy, and for Congress to pass immigration laws that create pathways to citizenship for immigrants who are already home.
Lynn Tramonte, Director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance responds:
From every immigration jail, let freedom ring!
This 100-day pause is a sigh of relief for so many people in Ohio and beyond. After four brutal years of cruel and truly incomprehensible deportations, the U.S. Government seems ready to inject some common sense into the enforcement of civil immigration laws.
Faith, Community Leaders Submit Applications for Stays of Deportation in Support of Edith Espinal and Miriam Vargas
On Thursday, January 21st at 11 a.m., faith and community leaders will stand in solidarity with immigrant mothers, Edith Espinal and Miriam Vargas, who are submitting updated applications for stays of deportation to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Columbus.
Following a press conference, one ally will enter the ICE office to submit the applications on behalf of Espinal and Vargas.
WHAT: Press conference and submission of applications
WHEN: Thursday, January 21st at 11 a.m.
WHERE: ICE Field Office 50 W. Broad St. Columbus, OH 43215
WHO: Edith Espinal, in sanctuary at Columbus Mennonite Church since October 2017 Miriam Vargas, in sanctuary at First English Lutheran Church since July 2018