Local

Let’s be honest.

There are many reasons that people decide to build an organization. Anger is one. A rage at injustice or an action by the government coupled with a recognition that your one voice, even yelling, will neither be heard nor will it create change, is often enough. Sometimes it is a mutual agreement between friends or like-minded individuals to all stand together and dive into the deep end of the pool and see if an issue can be attacked, a campaign created, or maybe an organization formed. Sometimes it is neighbors or fellow workers aggravated about a persistent issue or grievance that forces collective action. Sometimes it starts, as it usually did with ACORN, with someone knocking on your door. There can be all manner of triggers that begin organizations and without care, there can be as many that stunt its development or suffocate its future from birth.

Issues, grievances, inequities, and injustices are all reasons to build campaigns, but for an organization to live and win it has to have structure. It is important to be humble to the task, even while hopeful of the future.

After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, nobody other than his widow, Jacqueline, suffered worse than his brother, Robert, the attorney general. For Robert, his relationship with his brother was everything; he scarcely existed outside of it Pain was seared into his face and was palpable; within a few weeks after the murder, he seemed to have aged years. The death of President Kennedy and the end of all they hoped to accomplish so unsettled RFK that family and friends feared for his well being. In the end, it was his wife, Ethel, who brought him around. A very devout Catholic, she was certain that the president had gone straight to Heaven and they would be together again for all eternity.

One way to start your vegan journey is to eat like a vegan one day a week. That way you get a chance to taste some delicious meat-free dishes without the stress of going vegan cold turkey, to turn a phrase. As you slowly move away from animal products in your diet, you’ll discover you may find you don’t need meat, dairy, and eggs to satisfy your hunger.
 

Contrary to many people’s belief that eating meat makes you strong and powerful, think about the mammals who are vegan every day of the week. The top ten vegan animals, as listed by “Vegan Souls” are:
 

Elephant

Rhinoceros

Hippopotamus

Bison

Wildebeest

Horse

Manatee

Some whales

Deer

Yak
 

In a recent column in The Columbus Dispatch, Robert Cooperman talked about the challenges he and other conservatives face in the liberal-dominated theater scene. It’s a natural topic for the Ohio University-Lancaster professor, whose troupe, Stage Right Theatrics, hosted Columbus’s second annual Conservative Theatre Festival in January.

At the end of the piece, the Dispatch announced the troupe’s upcoming production of "Ferguson: Truth Matters," Phelim McAleer’s controversial play about the 2014 shooting of unarmed black man Michael Brown by police Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Mo. The work was described as a “right-wing view” of the fatal incident.

“That’s kind of unfortunate,” Cooperman said of the description, noting that the play’s dialogue was taken verbatim from testimony at grand jury hearings held to determine whether the shooting was justified. “It’s really not a right-wing version.”

Thursday, June 21 was Go Skate Day, which was changed to Sunday because of rain. Last time I tried to Go Skate during Go Skate Day I manage to manual a curb. A manual is a trick where you ollie up onto a surface and either coast on your back wheels or front wheels.

This year I decided to watch Embassy Boardshop's Go Skateboard Day which was held in at the Dublin Skatepark. Why am I always in Calabasas? Because they didn't fix Dodge when it would've made sense. It's OK. There are some meetings where they are building a new park at Driving Park.

I arrived at Dodge and ran into Shane Mastell who skates with all the dudes from the era Epicly Later'd was spawned from, though he is a little younger. He looked like the late Dylan Reider so we discussed beauty professions.

Skateboarding is one of those things you can't really fake. There many styles but kids know if you're wack. Shane was there because his friend John Simms was one of the judges. Simms is one of the best skaters in the history of Columbus skateboarding. Simms has a new ig (@dudleyclips) that shows footie from 90's skateboarding videos he had at home.

Wednesday, July 11; Wednesday, September 12; and Wednesday, November 14; 6:30-8:30pm, Bexley Public Library, 2411 E. Main St.

Why does the mere mention of the term “white privilege” seem to shut down meaningful dialogue? Why is it so scary? Is it real? Why bother? Join Suzanne Roberts, co-founder of Safe Conversations About Race, Dr. Maurice Stevens, Professor, Department of Comparative Studies, The Ohio State University, and Mary Lou Langenhop, as they facilitate a dialogue exploring the world we want to see and discovering what more is possible.

It is more and more undeniable that we live in a world where injustice is pervasive and tolerated. The host committee believes that we have to find another way beyond what we have inherited. They believe that the answers lie within us, collectively. Together, we will debunk myths and misunderstandings about white privilege and build conversation and community. This series will allow us to learn along the way, remembering that, no matter where each may be on the journey, we all can deepen our growth and understanding. You will leave with greater choice, skill, and new actions to create a more equitable society.

Anti-ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) activists shut down city streets around ICE headquarters in downtown Columbus, attempted to occupy the ICE office, and erected a two-story wooden tripod structure in front of the building with a sign reading "ICE RUINS LIVES HERE" on Monday, July 9. Local Columbus Sanctuary Collective activist Ruben Castilla Herrera said: "ICE was created and it can be demolished, it can be abolished and we're going to make it happen." Demonstrators held signs reading "Abolish ICE" and chanted "No Borders, No Wall!"

Monday, July 9, 9-11am, Ohio Statehouse

ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is not just tearing apart families of undocumented people at the border. Here in Ohio, that agency is actively working to target, harass, and criminalize immigrants, directly furthering the Trump regime’s cruel white nationalist agenda.

On Monday, July 9, at 9am, we will rally to #aboliceICE outside the Ohio Statehouse.

Bring signs, bring friends, bring family.

You’ve come a long way baby. Medical marijuana is now legal in Ohio. A bill passed, establishing an industry that will serve a significant portion of the state’s patient population. Certified physicians will recommend cannabis to those with one of 21 medical conditions. The plant will be grown in giant warehouses, processed into oils and tinctures, tested for contaminants and sold in dispensaries around the state. With patient numbers estimated at over 150,000, the Ohio market may well exceed $200 million.

But we still have a long way to go. The roll out of Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Control Program has hardly been smooth. As widely reported, marijuana will not be on the shelves by the program’s promised deadline of September 8th. Neither will it be tested as required in the legislation that begat the program. Processors have yet to be picked. Patients and caregivers must wait until September for cards. Further, hundreds of cities around Ohio have imposed moratoriums or even bans to keep medical marijuana businesses, and by extension, patients at bay.

My recent absence from The Columbus Free Press was thanks to a family trip to the land down under. I temporarily escaped the tire fire that is modern America and headed to Australia where the kangaroos run free and the government hasn’t run amok.