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One of the unrecognized benefits of music is its value as an anthropological tool. Music functions as the soundtrack of a culture, identifying norms and taboos and painting a vivid picture of the lives of its listeners. Music is also invaluable for keeping tabs on the present. For example, according to insideradio.com, there are an estimated 118 million country music fans in the United States. Other than folk legends about a place called “Tennessee” and some unpaid water bills, we know very little about these people.

In the early 70’s, anthropologists Steve Goodman and David Allen Coe performed the first real musical research on the subject, the results of which were eventually published in song format as “You Never Even Called Me by My Name.” According to Goodman and Coe, country music fans in the 70’s were a primitive culture centered around mama, trains, trucks, prison and getting drunk.

The Problem of the Borderline

In The Souls of Black Folk, W. E. B. Du Bois wrote: "The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line." Paraphrasing Du Bois, we propose that the problem of the twentieth-first century is the problem of the borderline -- above all, the borderline between the global North and the global South. As we write this, the right wing in the United States are in a frenzy of xenophobia, whipping up fear and hatred against a caravan of Honduran migrants crossing Mexico and heading toward the US border, just as their European counterparts have against migrants from Syria and Afghanistan, Kosovo and Albania, etc.

Monday, October 8 was the 2018 Free Press Annual Awards Ceremony at Woodlands Tavern. It was supposed to be “Columbus Day” – but we at the Free Press were happy to hear that the city of Columbus DID NOT commemorate Columbus Day this year. City offices and services remained open. Though they did not admit the decision had anything to do with public outcry or changing the holiday to Indigenous People’s Day – it may still be a step in the right direction to finally stop celebrating the genocidal maniac who didn’t really discover our city or America for that matter.

Instead, it was an occasion to honor local community activists, artists and volunteers. Free Press Editor Bob Fitrakis presented awards to the year’s honorees. The “Free Press Volunteer Award” went to Steve Caruso, who has given so much time, effort and expertise to the Free Press for many years. He provides computer technical support, handles social media, ensures our websites and domain names are up to date, fixes air conditioning/lights/TV/internet connections, helps with salons, plays music, and is an all-round great person to have around.

Thursday, November 1, 7pm
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, 30 W. Woodruff Rd.
Join the International Socialist Organization as we discuss Leon Trotsky's "Fascism: What it is and how to fight it." Link: https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/works/1944/1944-fas.htm
We will follow this discussion with reports on local organizing against fascist hate recently displayed in Pittsburgh.

With the latest UN announcements regarding our twelve-year timeline for humanity to adapt to foundationally sustainable practices that mitigate the pollution and cease and desist deforestation that is driving mass global extinction and climate change, there is no better time or reason to embrace a rapid vegan shift in consciousness, policy and behavior. As daunting as this announcement sounds, the good news is – you don’t have to “give up” your favorite holiday meals! The vegans have got you covered and our 100% plant-based alternatives will save you and the rest of the sea and terrestrial dwelling individuals (human and non-human), large and small, who share our world in ways you probably wouldn’t fully grasp until you watched documentaries such as Forks Over Knives, Cowspiracy, Seaspiracy, Racing Extinction, or Earthlings or Dominion. Get connected with us and join The Columbus Vegan Meetupgroup (and/or on Facebook) and attend one of the many gatherings that are happening throughout the holiday season.

First of all, if you are reading this you are not a dummy. However, you are most certainly considered to be a dummy by anyone who fits the psychological profile called the “malignant narcissist.” My intent is to describe this entity for people who are not physicians.

The psychiatric literature has recognized the term malignant narcissist for over 50 years. The diagnosis rests on the person’s main thought process: ” I am superior to everyone else and incapable of being wrong”. This simple point explains why they do not ever feel shame, and why they strongly dislike reality as facts interfere with their perception of superiority over everyone else. The opposite side of this coin is that they will 100% of the time strongly attack anyone who questions their superiority and get much enjoyment from exploiting others as this reinforces their perceived superiority.

It’s time for America to get ready for the November ballots. Time to vote! Vote for your favorite person to represent you and your family when it comes to paying taxes, getting your street repaved and the potholes repaired. We vote for people we know personally and people we don’t know at all. We get our information from the formal and informal “meet your candidates” receptions that are held generally during the pressing weeks up to election day. 

  We watch the media news, the rampant rush of commercials that talk about what the “opponent” is not doing or are doing if its of a criminal nature. We only see images of the candidates wearing freshly pressed clothing, walking hand in hand with their spouses and children, shaking hands of people who mostly look just like them, and telling us only the good news that they will treat our family as if it were their family. 

To vote is a privilege to some and a necessity and a right to others. African Americans and women have not always had the right to vote. Where is the power in the vote of a group of people who have, nothing to gain, it seems, when they do vote? Is there power in the vote?

On the heels of the recent report that we’ll all be dead from climate change in a few decades, several friends have asked me – how do libertarians feel about climate change? As with anything involving libertarian philosophy, the answer isn’t exactly simple and requires some further explanation.

Most libertarians live by the creed that our political party professes – don’t hurt anybody and don’t take their stuff. Arguably, harming the environment in any way would fall under that realm of violating our principles, because the environment is something that we all live in.

If you take part in poisoning an area’s groundwater or air, you’re effectively hurting several people and certainly taking their stuff, namely their ability to drink water and breath safely. Environmental laws are something that libertarians, in theory, would be in favor of since they stop senseless abuses by the rich and powerful – and more importantly, their attempts to hurt less powerful people’s bodies and properties.

Wed, Oct 31, 6-8pm
Corner  of South Ogden Avenue and Whitehead Road
We want to support our neighborhood children and keep them safe on Halloween night so SC Hilltop neighborhood is hosting it's sixth annual Trick or Treat Corner, Wednesday, October 31st from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the corner of South Ogden Ave. and Whitehead Road (around 682 S. Ogden Ave).

Please bring a chair (if you would rather sit) and a bowl of treats to share with the kiddos. We want to make sure they receive tons of candy as many years very few neighbors turned on their lights and opened their doors to giving.

Massey's Pizza on Sullivant Avenue is once again sponsoring subs to hand out to the kids as Trick or Treat falls at the end of the month and some families are pretty low on food.

Feel free to come dressed in costume and join in the FUN!.

Let's make wonderful Trick or Treat memories for the children and build community while we're at it.

CPD Chief Kim Jacobs: "We do not tolerate bad cops here," Jacobs stated when her Vice Unit decided to investigate itself for their dubious arrest of Stormy Daniels and two other women, and the unconscionable eight bullets shot by CPD vice squad officer Andrew Mitchell that killed Donna Dalton. The Free Press is curious as to Jacobs’ definition of “bad.” Cases in point: Columbus Police Sergeant Dean Worthington indicted on child pornography charges; CPD Officer Randall Mayhew fired for buying sex on the job; Officer Joseph Bogard temporarily suspended for his racial slurs caught on his bodycam; excessive use of force on a man for having an open can of beer. The list goes on and on. Now the FBI has taken over the Vice Unit investigation. We hope they can determine not just why undercover vice cops are arresting and/or killing people – but why some corrupt cops are disciplined, while those who kill people are cleared of all charges.