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"How many times does one person have to safe his own life before he can stop moving, and live in peace?" asked Lynn Tramonte, Executive Director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance. "How much good does he have to put out into the world, before Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will just let him be? Imam Ayman Soliman was arrested July 9 at the Cincinnati ICE office, despite having won his asylum case years ago, despite being a comfort to so many children and families, and Ohio became a poorer, sicker, dimmer place because of it."
RED ALERT — Ohio Statehouse Republicans are trying to ruin your Summer.
The Ohio House just announced that they will pause their Summer break and return to Session for one day on Monday, July 21st. Senate Republicans are trying to schedule a Summer Session date as well.
Do they just hate spending time with their families, or what?
The House plans to override some of Governor DeWine’s budget vetoes. They specifically mentioned:
We sat an outdoor platform in Nassjo, Sweden, awaiting the train that would take us to Arlanda Airport in Stockholm for our return flight to Texas. I had attended a professional conference there, and my wife had explored the city more thoroughly than my time allowed. Afterwards, we explored Scandinavia, wandering to Gothenburg, Copenhagen, and to my great-grandparents birthplaces in Smaland in Central Sweden. The morning train from Växjö to Nassjo had lasted about an hour, and we were enjoying the late summer afternoon, only to be interrupted by a barrage of text messages.
“You should call or text someone about your house; horrible flooding and people evacuating” The texts were variations on that theme. My brother returned my call with news that “things didn’t look good.” Anxiety prevailed for 24 hours. It was worse than we feared, damage that 18 inches of standing water would produce; outdoor furniture washed downstream, never to be seen; damaged photographs and pictures stored in closets, never to be hung; papers in our study drawers, illegible by mud stains.
One Big Beautiful Bill Signed into Law
The Republican budget reconciliation bill that recently passed both the House and Senate will end all incentive programs and tax credits for the wind and solar industry by the end of 2027.
Commercial and utility scale solar projects already permitted must be completed and placed in service by December 31, 2027 in order to qualify for the 30 percent tax incentive.
Alternatively, if a project has not yet been permitted and it begins construction within one year of the enactment of this bill, then they will have four years to complete that project to qualify for the tax credits.
The bill also eliminates all residential solar tax incentives that are completed after December 31 of this year.
House Rejects Foreign Entity of Concern (FOEC) Restrictions
The holiday weekend’s smoke has cleared from the summer sky, but a different kind of haze lingers over cities like Columbus. It is the acrid aftermath of a celebration scarred by gunfire, a pall that hangs over communities trying to reconcile the promise of America’s birthday with the reality of its violence.
On the South Side at a house party that should have been filled with the sounds of summer, the life of 17-year-old Cameron Moore was extinguished. His death was one of at least six youth fatalities in a five-day span that saw 25 other young people wounded in shootings across America.
The bloodshed was as tragic as it was predictable. Criminologists like James Alan Fox of Northeastern University have long identified Independence Day as consistently the most violent day of the year in the United States. The holiday’s mix of large social gatherings, warm temperatures, and alcohol consumption creates a volatile environment where the presence of firearms can instantly escalate conflict to fatal ends. This year was no exception as local officials grapple with the paradox of surging violence against a backdrop of statistically declining crime.
Tuesday, July 8, 2025, 4:30 – 5:30 PM
Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory Care Center, 420 N James Rd, Columbus
Join Indivisible Central Ohio’s and Veteran’s for Peace Central Ohio weekly Rush-Hour Resistance Rally to protest the cuts to the VA and support veterans!
Registration (plus more info about the location & parking) HERE.
One of Ohio’s most common stigmas is that our drivers are amongst the worst in the nation.
And while data shows that the state’s motor vehicle deaths per capita are relatively low compared to the rest of the country, the empirical issue stems from a gradual increase in vehicular violence since 2013.
When an actually progressive candidate wins a primary and excites people who might become loyal supporters of the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party's so-called leaders tend to put their efforts into undermining or defeating their own candidate and potential.
Background:
>> Common Dreams: Zohran Mamdani's Battle Against the Billionaire Class and Democratic Establishment Is Just Beginning
>> C-SPAN: Jeff Cohen on the Future of the Democratic Party
This article first appeared in the Buckeye Flame
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has signed the state’s two-year budget, vetoing three anti-LGBTQ+ measures and leaving three intact.
Shortly before the midnight deadline on June 30 to approve the budget, DeWine issued 67 line-item vetoes to the 5,500-page document.
Three key vetoes
DeWine vetoed an amendment requiring all public libraries to place material related to sexual orientation or gender identity or expression out of the view of persons under the age 18.
In a document explaining his vetoes, DeWine said the language created “vague restrictions” and that current laws on obscenity and material harmful to juveniles can be used to ensure that “no child should have access to inappropriate materials or to materials that their parents or guardians deem inappropriate.”
Sunday, July 6, 2025, 5-7pm
Global Gallery, 3535 N High St, Columbus, OH
In these challenging and chaotic times, we need the power of music now more than ever to make sense of and to heal the world from all that is currently happening. Come to this monthly meeting of the Social Action Song Swap (SASS for short). Join host JOANIE CALEM as she shares classic and original songs of Justice, Peace and ACTION! This event is OPEN to any musician who wishes to share their songs and vision! Bring yourself, bring a song, bring those who yearn for a better, just world. There is still hope!!!