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In response to the growing number of children and youth separated from their immigrant families at the border or their homes, and the thousands of children who have been harmed or abused by Trump's immigration agencies, we are holding a non-violent National Day of Action for Children on Friday, June 1st. More info at familiesbelongtogether.org

I sat down last week ready to say how the week before had bruised my ego. Some (very, very few) progressives won Democratic primaries and the Korean negotiations collapsed overnight. I hadn’t expected any progressives to even come close to victory and I thought any dysfunction surrounding the then-upcoming Korea summit would be minor and only occur in dribs and drabs. Then more children were murdered as they studied peacefully in their school. I was disgusted at the lack of response from all politicians and found myself unable to write about another mass shooting and how gun violence is easily unavoidable so soon. So I decided to give myself another week to start to get over my horror and see if anything would be done to stop innocent people being gunned down on a daily basis.

Five years ago, five activists and I set up a protest action at the Wendy’s restaurant located on South High Street in Columbus, Ohio. We lined up on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant with a 30-foot-long banner that stated, “Wendy’s Stop the Exploitation, Join the Fair Food Program.”

Customers did not turn away or stop driving into the parking lot, but when they sat at the outdoor dining area, they would shout out, “What’s wrong with Wendy’s?”

That’s the problem: not many people know what’s wrong with Wendy’s. It is necessary to reiterate the reason that larger and larger groups of farm workers and consumers demand that Wendy’s join the Fair Food Program.

Collaborating as the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) the farm workers’ demands are simple: to be compensated just one penny more per pound for tomatoes picked, and for the companies to purchase from participating farms that adhere to the Fair Food Standards (FFS).

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the assassinations of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther, King, Jr. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Already a surfeit of books about the two men are in the stores. Indeed, books about the sixties in general and 1968 in particular are now in high demand.

Kennedy and King looks at the herculean battle over civil rights through two of its larger-than-life protagonists: President John F. Kennedy, and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The junior senator from Massachusetts was working double time to be chosen as the Democratic nominee in the 1960 presidential election. Wealthy, handsome and charismatic, Kennedy was only one of many Democrats interested in running that year. His record in Congress was thin, and he was seen as a dilettante and playboy. Liberals such as former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt found him wanting; his pragmatism generally won out over idealism. And while not a dyed-in-the-wool racist, Kennedy was like millions of northern, urban whites who seemed to be uninterested in and untouched by northern de facto racism.

In building an organization for social change it is clear to everyone that the group should be nonprofit, but what does that really mean?  Talking to other people there seems to be an automatic assumption that nonprofit means the same as tax exempt.  Asking for advice from colleagues and lawyers, there is often a kneejerk presumption that if the organization is going to be nonprofit then by definition it should become a tax exempt under the rules of the Internal Revenue Service.

What is the real deal?  Is this an automatic and default option or is this something that an emerging group of leaders and organizers really needs to spend time thinking about when they begin building this new organization? 

Structure matters!  Every minute spent on the front end of these decisions may determine the long-term future of the organization, so the time to debate these questions and make the hard decisions is at the very beginning before it prejudices the ends.

There’s something Nasty in the Columbus Watershed.  In the Upper Scioto Watershed, farm crops are growing, cattle and sheep are grazing and in the middle of 13 of these farm fields, one can see an old oil well from days gone by - rickety, rusted, out of commission relics - one might think.

But these abandoned vertical oil wells have become something of a hot destination for the Fracking Industry.  When a well is fractured to release natural gas, millions of gallons of fresh water is mixed with toxic chemicals, and through the fracture process radioactive elements combine with the toxic water that flows back up.  This Frack water waste is so deadly that the industry is desperate to find ways to dispose of it.

Now that Donald Trump has punked out on peace in Korea, it’s time to give that Nobel Prize to the guy who really deserves it: Dennis Rodman.
 

Please sign the moveon.org petition urging the Nobel Committee to give him the award.  

https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/give-dennis-rodman-the?source=c.tw&r_by=1398470
 

Rodman, of course, is the flamboyant former pro basketball star who’s made repeated trips to North Korea to visit with that country’s enigmatic young dictator, Kim Jun Un.  
 

MAY 25 @ 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Dublin Recreation Center

Join us for the CAIR-Columbus 22nd Annual Sharing Ramadan Interfaith Iftar. Our interfaith guests will share the experience of Ramadan and fast breaking with their Muslim neighbors, co-workers, and friends.

Ramadan is the month in which Muslims are required to fast from sunrise to sunset, and it can last from 29-30 days. It is a time to empathize with those who are less fortunate and to appreciate what one has. It is a time of personal restraint and renewed focus on moral conduct and religious studies. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the 5 pillars of Islam.

$10/person, interfaith guests are free. Babysitting available on site.  Space is limited, please be sure to get your tickets in advance!

Thursday, May 24, 8-10pm
Flowers & Bread, 3870 N. High St.
You are invited to an evening of Art, Energy, Flowers & Bread, as Ready for 100, Sierra Club, starts off their campaign. Ready for 100 is collaborating with OBLSK and Flowers & Bread to host a discussion about clean enegy. Imagery of wind, sun, sky, and ground will be projection mapped onto the facade of Flowers & Bread, exploring how these elements play a part in providing life's energy. Refreshments by Flowers & Bread will be provided on the patio as well as an ice cream truck from Tillamook Ice Cream. Representatives from the Ready for 100 Columbus, Sierra Club, will be there to answer any questions.

Wednesday, May 23, 6:15-8:30pm
Ohio Environmental Council, 1145 Chesapeake Ave.
We are very excited to partner with Ohio Environmental Council, Metro Parks, and Great Lakes Brewing for another great Green Drinks event.
Join us for free beer, light snacks, and information about one of the great free resources of in Central Ohio: parks, trails, and public lands. 
This event is part of OEC Emerging Leaders series. Everyone is invited to come!
Please RSVP on their event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/189333858444708