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Flock Group, Inc. has had some explaining to do this year. Billed as an intelligent platform that "unites communities, businesses, schools and law enforcement, combining their power to solve and deter crime together," the vendor of automated license plate reader (ALPR) data has, in actuality, been accused of using data points from 83,000 cameras to help a sheriff's deputy in Texas track one of the state's citizens as she fled to Illinois -- a state where the right to end a pregnancy is protected -- following a self-administered abortion in the Lone Star State.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) has a contract to give the company $90,000 per year. For some Ohioans, that's too much.
"Given [the lack of regulation], we think it is irresponsible of our state and local governments to be purchasing, obtaining, or using these types of mass surveillance devices and technologies with no adequate statutory safeguards in place governing their use," says Gary Daniels, a legislative director at the Ohio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Join Indivisible every Saturday as we stand at the corner of High Street and North Broadway and protest the destruction and degradation of the Trump administration. Location: East North Broadway and High St., Columbus.
This article first appeared on the Buckeye Flame.
In January, I became the first out transgender person to serve on a city council in Ohio when I was appointed to fill an open seat. I ran to keep that seat in November and lost, but I wasn’t deflated or discouraged.
I’m actually more energized and more committed than ever. And here’s why.
Back in 2023, I ran for the Ohio House of Representatives. I knew winning wouldn’t be easy. For starters, I was running in Ohio’s most conservative district. My opponent was a co-sponsor of the Ohio Drag Ban. But that wasn’t all. As a transgender woman running in that political climate, I had more than just a tough race ahead – I had to face the reality that people who didn’t want to see me or anyone like me in politics would do everything in their power to stop us.
I wasn’t alone, though. Alongside me, two other transgender women ran for Ohio House seats. Together, we were determined to show up, fight and challenge the status quo.
Progressives in Congress introduced a resolution recognizing Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and demanding accountability for these atrocities.
Tell your member of Congress to join this historic resolution today.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) is joined by 20 additional Members of Congress in introducing a resolution Recognizing the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza. The legislation calls on the U.S. to end its complicity in the genocide, including halting weapons to the Israeli military and supporting international measures of accountability.
This article first appeared on Substack
Donald Trump is a horrible person. He is vile, corrupt, petty, mean, narcissistic, immature, greedy, dishonest, selfish, cruel, and evil, so naturally, he would be best friends with a pedophile.
“I have met some very bad people,” Jeffrey Epstein wrote in a 2017 email. “None as bad as Trump. Not one decent cell in his body.”
It's not Epstein's opinion of Trump that we should care about. After all, Jeffrey Epstein was a pedophile. Who cares about Trump's opinion when he disses Joe Biden or Barack Obama? Does anyone really believe Jack Smith is a lunatic just because Trump says it? If we don't care about Trump's opinion about people, then we shouldn't care about Jeffrey Epstein's. I'm sure people don't get worse than Jeffrey Epstein. So I don't care about Epstein's opinion; I care about his recollections.
Yesterday, House Democrats released emails in which Epstein wrote that Trump had “spent hours at my house” with one of his victims. And another email, Epstein wrote that Trump “knew about the girls.”
The Ohio Immigrant Alliance (OIA) is hosting its first ever Family Reunion and Fundraiser on November 15 at Chez Rama from 4-7pm (3669 E. Livingston Ave. in Columbus), a popular Senegalese restaurant. The entire community is invited!
Performer: Habi Gawlo, renowned West African griot and Columbus resident. Find additional examples of Habi’s beautiful performances on OIA’s TikTok page, from Pulaagam: A Celebration of Fulani Heritage. Reunion attendees will be invited to participate in the juurgal and should bring dollar bills.
From Democratic Socialists of America:
Union Starbucks workers across the country are launching a nationwide strike today, Thursday, November 13. More than a year after the company stopped bargaining in good faith, stonewalling any progress at the table, Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) members in 19 cities across 14 states will go on the picket lines at Red Cup Rallies. The SBWU strike will keep going until the company comes to the table.
The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) is a community of sustainable and organic farmers, handlers, producers, and consumers across the U.S. The challenges faced by those in our network are unique to diversified and usually small- or mid-scale farms that provide healthy food to their communities.
The government shutdown, tariff negotiations, staffing changes at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and other recent events have specific implications for these farms and the local communities that benefit from their products. We have been actively connecting with individuals who want to share their stories to uplift some of the experiences of those in our community.
I sawTariq Ali while watching Democracy Now. Tariq is a British Pakistani intellectual who was discussing Palestine. Tariq Ali shouldn’t be confused with Al Tariq of the Beatnuts.
Are You Ready?
The Rolling Stones wrote Street Fighting Man about Tariq Ali in the late 60’s. Street Fighting Man’s lyrics discuss social revolution against authoritarianism during economic, social oppression and the Vietnam War.
One of my ideas around my ANONROCKNROLL radio show is an idea that Rock N Roll was the soundtrack for Black Panthers, Weathermen, and 70’s leftist social revolution. I applied our reverence for the term Hip Hop determining Rock N Roll is proto-Hip Hop if you respect Panthers and reject COINTELPRO.
I decided I should read Tariq Ali because a left-wing culture was consistent with bands like Turnstile, Clairo, El-Michels Affair, Earl Sweatshirt and Badbadnotgood’s support of Palestine. El Michels Affair, and Badbadnotgood specialize in returning sampling into musicians by studying sampling. I suspect Earl Sweatshirt would like both Tariq Ali and Al Tariq’s debut,the Beatnuts Intoxicated Demons EP.
The DSA’s grassroots is music.