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Thursday, August 9, 2018, Noon
When Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court vacancy left by Justice Kennedy's retirement, we knew we were in for a fight. President Trump has vowed to appoint Justices who would overturn and gut Roe v. Wade, and that's what we anticipate should Kavanaugh be confirmed. Despite over 70% of his constituents supporting Roe v Wade, Senator Portman wrote an op-ed about Brett Kavanaugh, saying that he is glad that President Trump nominated him, and affirming his support for this dangerous ideologue. Let's show Portman what we think of that decision!  Location:  Outside of Senator Portman’s office, 37 W. Broad St., Columbus.  Organized by Naral Pro-Choice Ohio.  Facebook event

The Libertarian Party of Ohio is pleased to release our slate of candidates for state, federal, and local office.

Travis Irvine and J. Todd Grayson are running for Governor and Lt. Governor with a focus on criminal justice reform, decriminalizing marijuana usage, and the significant reduction of taxes and debt that drags against everyone’s future but especially those with the least among us.

Bob Coogan is running for Auditor of State bringing decades of experience in accounting, audit, and financial information technology from private and public sectors. Bob has the experience to ensure that Ohio and its more than 5,600 entities are using resources efficiently and effectively.

Dustin Nanna is running for Secretary of State. As the executive to run elections, issue licensing, and maintain the state’s records, Dustin brings his staunch support that government exists by the permission of the people and is dedicated to reducing overreach.

Looking into federal positions, the party has Dirk Kubala, Don Kissick, David Harlow, and Johnathan Miller running for US Congressional Districts (1, 5, 10, 15, respectively) across the regions of the state.

It is said in China, that a popular curse is to tell a person “may you live in interesting times.” Given the history of the world for roughly the past few centuries, mankind appears to be, not merely cursed, but damned. And in our present, things have become even more “interesting.”

Particularly in the years since 1945, the world has been almost literally burning, even given the end of the Second World War. The Cold War and its insane nuclear arms race, the proxy wars of the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s and, most especially, the quagmire that most people refer to simply as the Middle East. It is this last subject that I will address here.

As an American Jew born in the early 1950s, I have watched the progress of things Middle Eastern, with interest and, often, horror. It wasn’t until recently, however, that I really explored, considered and, finally understood, how things got to be as bad as they are.          

Tuesday, August 7, 2018, 5:00 – 8:00 PM
Night Out for Safety and Liberation is an annual event which takes place on the firstTuesday of August where we redefine and re-imagine what public safety means for our communities.  Night Out for Safety and Liberation began in 2013, as an alternative to the more police-centric National Night Out, which highlights police-community partnerships as the pathway to community safety. Too often, conversations about public safety revolve around policing and punishment. But safety is about more than that—it’s about having a living wage job, healthy food, healthcare, housing, education, and more. Location: Bethel A.M.E Columbus, 2021 Cleveland Ave, Columbus, Ohio 43211.  Facebook Event.  

AUGUST 6, 2018—On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, followed three days later by an attack on Nagasaki. Tens of thousands perished within seconds. For some who died, the only evidence they existed was a radiation shadow found on a concrete wall. The stated justification for this horrific crime was the need to hasten the end of World War II. But not only was Japan already attempting to surrender, it made the final decision to do so because the Soviet Union declared war—Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not need to be bombed.

“Freedom is indivisible,” John Kennedy once remarked. “When one man is enslaved, none are free. In Columbus, I had the opportunity to interview four men who have been directly affected by a system of slavery and brutal racism in the West African country of Mauritania. Three are either seeking or have received asylum because of slavery.  The fourth is an abolitionist, who is running for president of Mauritania, Biram Abeid. Ahmed Tidiane raises money to support ex-slaves. Omar Wagne risked his freedom and even his life to register those recently freed from bondage, so they could vote and send their children to school.  Hassan Fall fought to save his aunt from the punishing bonds of slavery. Ahmed, Omar and Hassan have sought asylum in the U. S. Together, these four men have risked their lives to tell a story that highlights the repressive and brutal system now operating against Black Africans in Mauritania, but they also tell a story of hope for a tribe of slaves and ex-slaves.

What has become of the Columbus Dispatch, that cranky, one-sided, right-wing, influence-peddling, friend-rewarding-and-enemy-punishing, black and white with a splash of color and read all over, or at least in break rooms and doctors' offices?

Three years ago, almost to the day, the Capital City's morning friendly was sold by the Wolfe family to New Media Investments/GateHouse Media, owned and controlled by SoftBank, a Japanese conglomerate.

I wrote then that the new ownership had an opportunity to transform it into a newspaper of the people after way too long as a publisher's propaganda play toy.

My reasoning was simple. Once Republican, Columbus and Franklin County have turned dark blue Democratic while the Dispatch was still embracing the Republican good old days.

Wolfe consigliore Ben Marrison, who held the title of executive editor, departed in 2015 to become auditor and attorney general wanna be David Yost's flack. Maybe Marrison's protégé and successor Alan Miller would lead the paper's editorial stands and coverage policies in a more responsible if not Democratic direction.

Monday, Aug 6, 6:30-8:30pm
Northside branch Columbus library, 1423 N. High St.
Columbus DSA welcomes you to our ABC's of Socialism Reading Group!

In our first session, we will discuss the following chapters:
- Wouldn’t a more democratic world just mean a bigger economic crisis?
- Are socialists pacifists? Aren’t some wars justified?

There are additional articles linked within the chapters; we may touch on those as well.

Our fourth session will be held on Monday, August 6, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Columbus Metropolitan Library Northside Branch, in Meeting Room 2.

If you do not have a copy of the book, you can get a PDF here: https://s3.jacobinmag.com/issues/jacobin-abcs.pdf.

Saturday, Aug 5, 2:30pm
Olentangy Orange High School, 2840 E. Orange Rd, Lewis Center Ohio