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An amazing amount of progress has been made over the past month or so. America has catapulted itself all the way from the 1990s to 2016. The furthest-right elements of both major parties were again successful in the primaries. Another woman is seeking a powerful job on the back of behaving like the worst men. North Korea continues to consume headlines. Not even two years of an irredeemable president and declining enthusiasm on the left could convince our national leaders to change.

Four states held primary elections last week. Ohio, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Indiana went to the polls to select who will battle for office in November. There were no results to excite or inspire genuine progressives. As in the year of the Donald, Republicans competed to be the most disgraceful candidate, and, in many cases, the worst-of-the-worst won. The Democratic Party forced out progressives before the primaries and went medieval on those who dared to stay in the race.

Tuesday, May 15, 4:30-6:30pm
Broad Street United Methodist Church, 501 E. Broad St.
We will gather outside Broad St. United Methodist Church (corner of E. Broad St and S. Washington Ave) at 4:30 PM for a March to the Statehouse.

This event is in the planning stage. Please contact us if you would like to be part of the planning of this event at centralohio@jvp.org or message us on Facebook. We need speakers who can relate the history to the continued displacement of Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. 

Saturday, May 12, 2018 6:30-11pm
1021 E. Broad St., Columbus
Parking in side driveway, front or rear parking lot
Come to network and socialize with progressive friends with refreshments, music, and presentations: 
Tim Chavez and the Immokalee workers Wendy's Boycott
Free, no RSVP required.
614-253-2571, colsfreepress@gmail.com
columbusfreepress.org

Saturday, May 12, 9am-12pm
Goodale Park, 101 Buttles Ave.
Our next workday of the season is just around the corner!

Help keep Columbus, Ohio's oldest (and BEST!) city park looking beautiful. Weeding, watering, litter pickup and more. Our 13+ gardens are 100% volunteer planted and maintained. Can you lend a hand? 

Join us Saturday, May 12th, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Goodale Park. Meet at the Caretaker's Residence in the center of the park (use Park St driveway into the park and follow until it dead-ends). Please wear weather-appropriate clothing, as we will be working outdoors. 

A weather update will be posted on Facebook (Friends of Goodale Park) and on our Twitter page (@GoodaleParkFrnd) at 8am the morning of the event, so please check before heading to the park. 

Got tools? Bring 'em! We have a supply of garden gloves and tools, but we always need more. Hand trowels, shovels, and clippers (non-electric, please) are always in demand. 

Need more info? Email Emily at volunteercoordinator@goodalepark.org.

Thursday May 10, 7pm, Columbus Mennonite Church, 35 Oakland Park Ave.

We are building a future where mothers and their children can be together.

As Mother’s Day approaches, join us for an intersectional, sacred, and movement-building conversation where three women will come together to share their stories as mothers.

• A Mexican immigrant mother who has been in sanctuary for seven months and is fighting to be at home with her family.

• An African-American mother whose son was killed by the Columbus Police Department.

• A refugee mother who had to choose which son to leave in Uganda because she could only bring one child with her.

We will release a short video of their story and share individual and collective actions on how we must fight to keep mothers with their children.

Hosted by Solidarity with Edith Espinal.

Contact: SolidaritywithEdithEspinal@gmail.com

Well, not really a vacuum. The past three weeks have been more like the space between our planets which is actually full of all kinds of stuff but doesn’t have much happening. The bloated Congress has been typically idle, and the administration has spent most of its time battling through an increasingly large number of scandals. Then there’s the solar wind that blows in all directions, constantly moving but achieving no forward progress. That’s been the Democrats’ lackadaisical plans for the next couple of years and the executive branch’s staffing changes. It is said that a lot can happen in a day, but following national politics makes it impossible to believe.

Contact: Franklin County Board of Elections, 614-525-3100

Tuesday, May 8, 5:30-8:30pm
Columbus Metropolitan Library, 96 S. Grant
Photojournalist Sahar Fadaian and journalist Leticia Wiggins created Dreamers of Columbus to showcase DACA recipients living in Columbus. Sahar initiated this project to portray an intimate face of Dreamers that goes beyond the headlines we've all seen and into their personal lives. Free. 

These days, some mighty big players are talking about cannabis, extracts and scheduling: U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

As background, all marijuana, aka cannabis, is illegal in the U.S. according to the feds. It’s position as “Schedule I” in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) codifies this, as do international treaties like one negotiated in 1971. This rusty political machine meanders change through multiple agencies, arriving at a website called regulations.gov where mere interested persons can submit comments for the WHO to consider. The question is, should or should not cannabis’ classification match modern reality?

So, you have an idea for a way to make your neighborhood better, create social change, or join the resistance. You and others have hit the streets a couple of times, gone to public and community meetings, and want to reach out to others and take the next step to make things happen. A friend says his cousin is a lawyer who could give you advice. You have been online and learned a little something. It must be time to incorporate your idea so that you can build a “real” organization.

Whoa, Nelly, not so fast! Before your knee jerks and you incorporate, you have to figure out the “what” and “when” that would lead you down that path and answer the threshold question of “to incorporate or not to incorporate?”