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Free Press Hero – State Representative Bernadine Kennedy Kent

Rep. Kent is a Freep Hero for introducing House Bill 137. Currently, 49 states require law enforcement officers to be mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect. Ohio stands alone as the only state without this requirement. Teachers, medical personnel, attorneys and other professionals are already required under Ohio law to report cases of child abuse and neglect. Kent has firsthand knowledge, as a former school administrator and tutor, witnessing credible evidence that young children were being molested and raped. The police detective assigned to the case never wrote up an incident report or contacted Children’s Services. Kent and House Bill 137 will correct this large oversight.

Josh Mandel and John Kasich appear to have spent upwards of $5 million of taxpayers' money on their vain pursuits of a U.S. Senate seat.

Ohio Treasurer Mandel spent nearly $2 million on TV ads pushing him off as a nice guy who supports charity.

Governor Kasich is nearing the $3 million mark in secret spending of taxpayer money on security, travel and lodging while he runs for president, peddles his book and maybe runs for the Senate.

Do the math. Kasich has spent 300 days of the last 2 years out of state and not doing his job at an estimated $10,000 a day. That adds up to $3 million down the drain.

Imagine what the combined $5 million could do to fight the opioid epidemic that Kasich purports to care about.

Speaking of Kasich's latest "book," Two Paths, it limped into the 13th spot on the New York Times best-seller list three weeks ago only to drop out of the list the following week.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is awash in mysteries, but the biggest is existential in nature. Namely, why does this flick exist? 

In 2003, Disney gave us the first film in the series, The Curse of the Black Pearl, starring Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow. The eye-shadowed scamp of a pirate was such a hit that the studio brought him back in a trio of sequels that drowned the original’s charm under scattershot plots and frantic action sequences.

Despite critical brickbats galore, Disney continued to earn shiploads of booty from the series, which is why Depp is back with Dead Men Tell No Tales. The title of this fifth installment is based on a quote from the chief villain, Javier Bardem’s Capt. Salazar, who reveals that he and his cursed crew leave one man alive from each ship they attack because they want someone to tell the tale.

Of course, that’s assuming anyone is capable of explaining the tale. Like its predecessors, Dead Men is a convoluted mess involving undead or missing parents, curses, quests, revenge and a series of magical objects: a compass, an unreadable map, a mythical island and Poseidon’s trident.

Alliance for Ohio’s Future Plans Public Demonstration Against Fracking on Ohio’s Public Land
Alliance for Ohio’s Future will hold a public demonstration on Wednesday, June 14th at 1pm at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus to protest HB 49, a state budget bill that contains Amendment HC 2241, which strips the governor of the power to appoint members to the 4-member Oil and Gas Leasing Commission, and gives these appointment powers to the speaker of the house and president of the senate.      

I began my month certain that Metallica possessed the mother bread of justice. I feel they understand the human condition and have a special role in American culture. Everyone I know says, “I love the first three or four Metallica albums.” Metallica only got popular during the past 25 years.

In 2017, Monday is dedicated to Metallica. Tuesday is dedicated to bands influenced by Metallica. In 1989, they couldn’t even win the Grammy over Jethro Tull.

The month ended with me watching Metallica begin their set at Rock on the Range screaming in Columbus: “Hard-Wired to Self-destruct.”  This was in front of the largest crowd I’d even seen for music in Columbus. This is from Metallica’s platinum album of the same meme.

How do you interpret this meme?  Human death drive?  The condition of our country that appears to have spited themselves into Russian subterfuge? Who are the fall guys for the oligarchical revenge of the one percent?

If a FISA warrant falls in the Russian Mob’s woods does it record a sound? Do they reference technology that leaves issues of surveillance, hacking and electronic mishaps? 

Do you ever wonder how vegans survive, or rather, have the discipline to live without dessert, or actually believe vegans live a life of such stinking deprivation? Are you a would-be-vegan or a new vegan desperate for vegan dessert in what seems like a vegan dessert desert? Wonder and despair no more. These Columbus locations provide delicious, decadent vegan dessert options:

Wednesday, May 31, 4-10pm
Denmark on High, 463 N. High, 2nd floor
This is a great way to meet other Friends of Community Shares or just have a relaxing time at one of Columbus' most innovative Cocktail Lounges. Even if you don't drink..., they have other innovative soft drink selections and small bites. In addition they are locavores and source almost all of their supplies and ingredients within the state of Ohio, and much of it within a 35 mile radius. 
15% of all beverage sales for May 31st will be donated to Community Shares of Mid Ohio.
http://shortnorth.org/businesses/denmark-on-high/

Building on a successful strike against Verizon last year, on May 19 the Communications Workers of America hit the picket lines again to protect their livelihoods against corporate greed in the telecom industry. 21,000 AT&T Mobility workers in 36 states; 17,000 AT&T wireline employees in California, Connecticut and Nevada; and 2,000 DirectTV workers went on a three-day strike.

There was an outpouring of community support for the strikers in central Ohio. At 3 p.m. picket lines formed outside multiple AT&T stores in Columbus, Reynoldsburg, Hilliard, Upper Arlington and Westerville.

“Hey Randall, you can’t hide. We can see your greedy side!” 50 protesters chanted outside the AT&T store in the OSU Gateway district. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson took home $28.4 million in 2016. AT&T Mobility made $13 billion in profits last year.

A year ago this month, Ohio finally did the right thing and passed a medical marijuana law. It was a caring and honorable move, especially when you consider there are hundreds if not thousands of children and adults in the state suffering from epilepsy.

Research has proven time and time again that cannabidiols or CBDs with extremely low levels of THC, such as Charlotte’s Web or Epidiolex, are miracle medicines for epilepsy. Unlike what Big Pharma has to offer, CBDs work and don’t have potential side-effects like vomiting and liver damage. These researchers say many of their patients report nearly half as many seizures when using a CBD. What’s more, their patients are also more cognizant, happier and, no surprise, a little more hungry.

That being said, a father from Ohio with a 9-year-old epileptic daughter told the Free Press he’s still unable to legally acquire a CBD because the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program is going through growing pains as it crawls toward full functionality.

Tuesday, May 30, 6:30-9:30pm
700 Bryden Rd.
Columbus is a tale of two cities where luxury condos and militarized police are prioritized over schools and community health. Columbus could be a city that works for all of its residents, but right now big developers and CEOs are the ones calling the shots. Join us for a workshop on tools to analyze and map the power of the shot callers in Columbus and a strategy session on how we can come together as a community to make change by leveraging our resources and our greatest asset-- our people.