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As I mentioned in a previous review of a Richard Nixon biography, Watergate was the beginning of my fascination with politics and American history. The hearings were high theater, and one of the most interesting political spectacles ever. In The Watergate Girl, Wine-Banks tears down the curtain of the legal drama and shows us, among other things, what it was like to be the only woman on the team of lawyers who were prosecuting the president and his henchman.

Wine-Banks was thirty when she was tapped to join the team of prosecutors charged with finding out the truth of Watergate and ensuring justice for the American people. She had been the only woman on the criminal prosecution team in the United States Department of Justice. Smart and always thoroughly prepared, she was assigned to appellate work, but it wasn’t long before she noticed her male colleagues were trying cases in addition to their appellate work. She was told that it was too dangerous for a woman to do so as many of those being prosecuted were members of organized crime groups. She pushed back and was soon prosecuting cases.

Thursday, April 16, 2020, 6:00 - 7:30 PM.
Join us for our monthly Immigrant Justice Committee meeting! This will be a zoom call, please email us for the link/phone number at centralohioworkercenter@gmail.com. The Immigration Justice Committee is responsible for advancing the immigrant rights mission of the organization by proposing projects, policy statements, and inter-organizational relationships to the board for approval, and for providing ongoing up-to-date information about opportunities for COWC. Brittnee Pankey Qualls will do a presentation on how COVID-19 is affecting the immigrant/refugee population in Central Ohio.

Progressive friends who are used to gathering on the second Saturday for the Free Press salons met together through Zoom on April 11 from 7-9pm for a "Cyber-Salon." About 37 people were able to tune in to hear speakers, announcements and music. The idea was proposed by Free Press Board President Pete Johnson and our video production/technical support guru Trane DePriest hosted and produced the Zoom event, available here at the Free Press YouTube Network.

After the welcoming remarks and a bit of Free Press history, the first speaker was Torin Jacobs, reporting on his new initiative to give grocery gift cards to people in need now that there is COVID-19 and many of our neighbors and friends are out of work. The local Mutual Aid group will distrbute most of the $50 gift cards and the Free Press will be accepting nominations of people who need them - send an email to: colsfreepress@gmail.com to nominate someone, and put "Gift Card" in the subject line.

When it comes to hitting the doors and dealing directly with the people on the other side, when you rap your knuckles on the wood, you need to remember that you are employing a very powerful weapon effectively and responsively. Meeting people directly is persuasive, so know what you are doing.

Doorknocking to build an organization is not simply canvassing.

Canvassing is a valuable, but abbreviated way to distribute a message with the specific result of either moving a vote or producing a donation. The response to the visit is highly structured to achieve maximum impact in these directions.

There is certainly a structure to a home visit on the doors, but at its core, listening is still the primary requirement. The outcome is uncertain and exciting. The visiting team or organizer needs to be able to hear the issues and interests of the person on the other side of the exchange in order to be able to respond effectively about whether the organization and collective action is possible. At the same time, the organizing team needs to communicate effectively what the organization is and, equally important, what it is not, who should belong, and who should not.

Join us for the Free Press Second Saturday Cyber-Salon on Zoom.
Facebook Event

night from 7-9pm on Zoom.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/222255972
Meeting ID: 222 255 972

Presentations by Bob Fitrakis on elections, Esther Flores on her nonprofit 1DivineLive4Health and Torin Jacobs on helping our neighbors in need.

For Donald Trump’s GOP followers, the real issue in the 2020 election is democracy itself.

They want it abolished. 

Their primary allies are the Coronavirus, state legislatures like those in Ohio and Wisconsin, and the US Supreme Court. 

The campaign just hit a new level in Wisconsin. Using the Pandemic, its gerrymandered GOP legislature made voting in the April 7 primary as dangerous as possible. The US Supreme Court, with its usual 5-4 death hammer, has backed them up.

That 5-4 margin selected George W. Bush (Bush v. Gore) in 2000, and cemented the corporate purchase of our elections with Citizens United (2010), Arizona Clean Elections (2011), Shelby County (2013) and McCutcheon (2014). 

No one needs to tell the Freep how bad some Ohio State off-campus landlords can get. Their uncaring and second-class treatment of students and non-students alike has been well-documented for decades.                    

So, it’s no surprise one of the biggest off-campus property managers and owners sent out the following email late last month to hundreds of tenants:

“We understand that some of our tenants have lost hours at work due to working on campus. However, rent is still expected by the 1st of every month and late fees will still apply. Please do not call the office or email us about this since everyone is still expected to pay rent in a timely fashion.

PS. Please refrain from flushing any items other than toilet paper.”

The Freep would like to name the off-campus property management team that sent this to their tenants, but according to its owner they have been receiving death threats.

Most Americans have spent the past couple weeks focused on staying safe and protecting their families. President Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency, on the other hand, has been working with fossil fuel companies to relax the regulations that protect the air we breathe and the planet we share. Last week, EPA announced it would not enforce pollution regulations for fossil fuel plants and other facilities indefinitely, effectively giving polluters a free pass.

I grew up the youngest of six children in a home where LGBTQ people and issues were not discussed, except for the occasional derogatory comment. I knew from a young age that I was gay but I kept it to myself for many years out of fear of rejection.

At 17, I met a boy and we began dating. He told his parents about our relationship and they responded with acceptance and love. So I found the courage to come out to my parents. It was a very different experience. They kicked me out of the house and didn't speak to me for many years.

I finished high school and took a job as an executive assistant at an advertising firm. I loved that job. One day, when my boss and I were talking, she asked me about my weekend. I told her I spent time with my boyfriend. She said, “You’re gay?” I said yes. Then she fired me and said I should be out by the end of the day.

Many people may not realize that it is still legal in 30 states to fire someone for being gay. I can tell you discrimination is alive and well, I’ve lived it not just at home, but at work.

Joe Biden must step aside. NOW!!!

Someone else must be the Democratic Party’s nominee to run against Donald Trump.

As Trump lies to the world, day after day, and puts his ghastly son-in-law in charge of dragging us all into the morass of a lethal pandemic and a catastrophic economic crash, we hear virtually nothing from the presumptive opposition. 

Once again, the corporate Democrats have done all they can to crush a youthful, vibrant grassroots Sandernista movement for real social change while serving up a weak, unexciting moderate sure to lose to a beatable Republican. 

As Trump twists and stumbles and makes a fool of himself and the rest of us, Joe Biden is utterly absent, showing every sign of dementia-driven un-electability a GOP strategist could ever lust for. 

And now, to top it all off:  no less than eight women have accused Biden of sexual imposition. At least one has accused him of forcible digital entry. Her description of the alleged event is gruesome, grotesque and extremely damning.