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Let’s talk about strains. The word strain has many meanings: there are musical strains, muscular strains, and, yes, marijuana strains. The latter is what one looks for when purchasing cannabis from a dispensary.

Granted, in simpler times, all that mattered was 1.) the baggie held an ounce (the metal meter on the hanging scale read “1”), 2.) no stems, no seeds (Acapulco Gold is … ), and 3. It got ya high. As the plant has grown more well known, simplicity seems quaint. To purchase intelligently and learn which plant properties alleviate aches, pains, nausea, seizures, stressors, tremors and traumas, familiarity with various forms and components of cannabis becomes essential. Strains categorize these components and forms add flexibility to how they are consumed.

Saturday, February 8, 6:30-11pm
1021 E. Broad St., east side door
Parking in side driveway, back parking lot or street
Free, no RSVP required
Join progressive friends for socializing, networkings, refreshments provided by Lavash, music, art, and a presentation on the upcoming priimary elections. 614-253-2571, colsfreepress@gmail.com

Saturday, February 8, 1-5pm
First English Lutheran Church, 1015 East Main Street, Columbus

Generally speaking, I don’t comment on or criticize the voting behavior of others. As old folks used to say when I was growing up, my mouth ain’t no prayer book. But if I live to be one hundred, I will never understand why any black person in this country voted for Donald Trump, and I know at least one who did. Indeed, Trump captured eight percent of the African American vote – the worst in the last forty years, but astonishing nonetheless.

Most African Americans wouldn’t think of voting for a Republican candidate, much less one as racist as Trump. Trump knew this, and at a rally in the predominantly white suburb of Dimondale, Michigan in August 2016, he taunted black voters, urged them to ditch the Democratic Party, and “try Trump.” Mocking what he sees as blacks’ wrongly placed allegiance to the Democratic Party, who many believe take black voters for granted, he said to black Americans: "You're living in poverty. Your schools are no good. You have no jobs. Fifty-eight percent of your youth is unemployed.” Trump then asked, “What the hell do you have to lose?"

I attended the January 8 debut event of Jay Swifa’s Sound GODZ producer showcase, described as an event “where artists play original beats and grooves.”

Because I’d only heard Jay Swifa’s “Jungle” song and Rashad Thomas’ recent production for CoCity, I wasn’t sure if my expectations for the event were constant with my existence as a hip hop fan.

I arrived to find Columbus producer KMB playing hip hop music from the stage. He wasn’t playing arena dubstep circa 2010. KMB understood that there is something warm and inviting about the nakedness of traditional hip hop beats if they aren’t wack in terms of bad rhythm, clutter or completely lacking understand of key.  KMB beats were slightly upbeat, without getting ahead of themselves. KMB utilized multiple similar subtle sounds that don’t sound cluttered or disjointed.

Swifa was up next. Swift’s beats boomed with bass. soft melodies and charismatic rhythms. Swift’s new song sounded Middle Eastern with a hip hop draw to it.

He welcomed Rashad to the stage. Both still are fresh producers.

If the Columbus Dispatch could be trusted to report accurately and fairly about itself, readers would be more likely to trust its coverage of other matters and the paper's circulation and readership might stop hemorrhaging.

Alas, the newspaper and website could not bring itself to write the following lead a few weeks ago when it announced the closing of its Columbus print site and loss of 188 jobs:

“In bad news for the local economy, the Dispatch, that is controlled by the Japanese hedge fund SoftBank, announced the closing of a major local manufacturing facility, its west side print site, and the layoff of 188 employees.”

“This represents an estimated loss of $9,000,000 of annual wage and benefit payments to local residents and a significant loss of municipal and state income tax collection as well as potential property tax losses if the plant remains idle or is reborn with tax abatements.”

In a time when American politics keeps getting more bizarre, yet another bizarre occurrence happened last month when the two leading progressive candidates in the Democratic primary were pitted against each other, resulting in what could only be described as a “hot mic heard around the world.”

Immediately after the Democratic debate in January, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) approached Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to tell him she thought he had just called her “a liar on national TV.” Sanders was going in for the typical post-debate handshake when Warren blindsided him with the comment, ultimately not even shaking his hand. However, because viewers couldn’t hear what was said until later, CNN’s commentators spent the next 24 hours salivating and speculating about what kind of drama had just gone down. Naturally – and as I predicted – CNN magically “recovered” the audio the next day, ultimately revealing what Warren said.

Martin Luther King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

1DivineLine2Health (1DL2H), a grassroots community 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, was denied the purchase of a house to be used as a Drop-In Center for the Street Sisters on Sullivant Avenue who are often murdered, raped and beaten. Currently the City does not want to issue the permits for the house that was donated to 1DL2H and is demanding 13 different construction items to be completed before allowing the building to be used as a drop-in center.

On the week of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Mayor Ginther came to the Hilltop to give his gratuitous speech to roll out the Hilltop Envision plan and ignored the picketing of 1DL2H supporters. Last year, the mayor walked away three times from me when I implored him to exercise his authority and help the west side human trafficking victims. He gave the usual shrug-off, telling me “Someone will get back to you.”

Donald Trump received the highest Republican presidential vote total in Lake County, Ohio since George Herbert Walker Bush whipped Mike Dukakis in 1988. Trump beat Hillary by 15 points in that county. The Lake County News Herald pointed out that “Trump won in many communities that had traditionally voted for Democratic candidates.”

By contrast, Barack Obama lost in Lake County by less than one percent of the vote in 2012. Bill Clinton only lost by three points in that county in 1992 to Bush the Elder. Obama won 16 counties in Ohio, Hillary Clinton only won seven.

Various polls indicate that Ohio is in play once again as a swing state for the 2020 election. A recent Emerson poll of Ohioans revealed that 47 percent of Ohio voters supported impeachment while only 43 percent opposed. In a recent Baldwin Wallace University poll, Trump is trailing a hypothetical “or any” Democratic candidate by five points, with 16.3 percent undecided.

Will your vote be counted?

Tuesday, February 4, 2020, 1:30 – 4:00 PM
It’s time for equality.  Join us at the Ohio Statehouse for public testimony on the Ohio Fairness Act (HB369). #OHFairnessAct would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination throughout the entire state.  Please plan to arrive on Tuesday at the Ohio Statehouse 1:30 PM.  The hearing itself is at 2:00pm.  Over 250 people have submitted testimony. Come listen to fellow Ohioans make the case for LGBTQ equality.  Location:  Ohio Statehouse, Room 114, 1 Capitol Square, Columbus.  More information on Facebook.