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Naomi Klein’s No Logo exposed the insidious invasion of our psyches by the billions of dollars in carefully scripted ad messages – propaganda - designed to program our brains to accept the branding of products and services churned out by the multinational corporations that run the global consumer economy.  More recently, in the era of social media, Shoshanna Zuboff’s The Age of Surveillance Capitalism demonstrated how the ad industries now steal our privacy by scraping the details of our lifestyles from the apps on our cell phones to feed Big Data’s targeted marketing campaigns in their endless pursuit of profit. 

Note: With most movie theaters closed due to the pandemic, major Hollywood openings have been put on hold. One of the few silver linings of this is that it allows small and often worthy films—some of them directed by women—to debut without competing with the blockbusters. This is one of them.

Tough but touching, Bull is the story of a girl’s coming of age amid the direst of conditions. It’s also the story of her unlikely relationship with an aging rodeo performer, as well as a window into a subculture most of us know nothing about. 

Kris (Amber Havard) is a 14-year-old living on the outskirts of Houston with her grandmother and younger sister while she waits for her mother to serve out a prison term. Mostly left on her own, she has a tendency to get into the kind of trouble that suggests she’ll eventually follow in her mom’s self-destructive footsteps. 

From Monday, April 27th, 2020 at noon EST to Monday, May 4th, 2020 at noon EST, #CitizenMiriam will be hosting an Online Silent Auction Benefiting Miriam Vargas. Folks with marginalized identities are often hurt the most in any crisis, and this is certainly true of the coronavirus pandemic. While many of us are experiencing social isolation and restricted movement for the first time, Miriam Vargas has been in sanctuary lock down at First English Lutheran Church for more than 670 days. Further, if she seeks urgent medical attention, she risks deportation.

#RepYourBlock2020, a grassroots coalition, recruited dozens of people from diverse political, demographic and racial backgrounds to run for central committee and strengthen the party. Our candidates are united in a vision for a Franklin County Democratic Party (FCDP) that works for the many, not the few. That means a Party that is radically transparent, accountable to all people, open to new ideas and has the political courage to fight for the urgent needs of our underserved communities.

A group of people begging to “Live Free or Die” may just get their wish as they gathered in Columbus to demand Ohio be “opened” – most of them failing to maintain social distance from each other or wear protective masks. Men in camouflage sporting large weapons added to the surreality of the scene.

Since the first Coronavirus cases in Ohio were confirmed in early March, events have been canceled left and right. Everything from small gatherings and weddings, to big city festivals and major international events have all been halted due to the pandemic. 

However, it is not 100 percent doomy and gloomy while we are all in quarantine. Organizations and individuals alike have come up with alternative ways to have events virtually, to align with the social distancing guidelines that have been governed by our State leaders and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Virtual Events are not just a way to keep the masses entertained while the curve is being flattened, but virtual events have also boosted morale and raised awareness, and sometimes funds for organizations and individuals who need it the most during these times. We can’t be together physically for each other, but we have been there and shown our support virtually for each other. Businesses and local municipalities have all held meetings on Zoom since the pandemic shut down gatherings of more than ten people.

As of Friday, April 24, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released numbers that show 30% of known black patients tested positive for COVID-19. Conveniently or not, the report didn’t have any other racial information for 75% of all cases totaled. It also didn’t include any demographic breakdown of deaths. Yet this was a released federal report of case data by race. I’m confused and concerned as to why they released the numbers for the black race only.   

Lets back up a little. On Monday, April 20, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine informed the public that he had formed a Minority Health Strike Force to study the problem in Ohio that the disease has “disproportionally” impacted blacks. This strike force is also supposed to study the implications on a national level. Some would say that they should just be focusing on Ohio at this time and after this pandemic is contained to then pool the information from the nation totals together to “study” the impact on blacks and all races of people. 

Over the weekend, ten inmates at the Morrow County Jail tested positive for COVID-19. The jail is one of two ICE contracted detention centers in Ohio.

Most, if not all are immigrants held on civil immigration charges for ICE. On Friday night, the ACLU of Ohio sued ICE, demanding the release of medically-vulnerable immigrants currently detained in Butler and Morrow Counties. 

Said Lynn Tramonte, Director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, “Doctors have been telling government officials to reduce jail populations to avoid mass outbreaks, and no one in charge in Ohio listened. For weeks, inmates at the Morrow County Jail have been warning family members and friends about the filthy conditions, lack of soap and PPE, and frequent transfers of people into and out of the jail. They felt like sitting ducks for the disease. And now their worst fears have come true. 

With eviction filings for Franklin County spiking in late March and early April, local housing advocates agree a “tsunami” of evictions will hit Columbus and the rest of the state if Governor DeWine and the Ohio congressional delegation do not act.

A wave of evictions for Franklin County this summer could be a foregone conclusion. 

Even before the pandemic, the county’s eviction court was one of the busiest in the state, averaging 75 hearings or cases a day and around 17,000 per year, according to the Legal Aid Society of Columbus. 

City Council member Shayla Favor has been tasked with the looming housing crisis. She told the Free Press her top priority is making sure Columbus residents are able to stay in their homes. 

Call your US Senators and Representative to demand that they work to ensure safe, secure elections during the COVID-19 Outbreak. We want to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and voting by mail is a good way to do it.
 

Senator Portman: (202) 224-3353, (614) 469-6774
Senator Brown: (202) 224-2315, (614) 469-2083

Rep. Balderson (202) 225-5355; (614) 523-2555 (OH12)

Rep Steve Stivers (202) 225-2015:(614) 771-4968 (OH15)

Rep. Beatty (202) 225-4324; (614) 220-0003 (OH3)
 

Background HERE (from Indivisible) on a plan from Senator Elizabeth Warren.