In a recent column in The Columbus Dispatch, Robert Cooperman talked about the challenges he and other conservatives face in the liberal-dominated theater scene. It’s a natural topic for the Ohio University-Lancaster professor, whose troupe, Stage Right Theatrics, hosted Columbus’s second annual Conservative Theatre Festival in January.

At the end of the piece, the Dispatch announced the troupe’s upcoming production of "Ferguson: Truth Matters," Phelim McAleer’s controversial play about the 2014 shooting of unarmed black man Michael Brown by police Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Mo. The work was described as a “right-wing view” of the fatal incident.

“That’s kind of unfortunate,” Cooperman said of the description, noting that the play’s dialogue was taken verbatim from testimony at grand jury hearings held to determine whether the shooting was justified. “It’s really not a right-wing version.”

Wednesday, July 11; Wednesday, September 12; and Wednesday, November 14; 6:30-8:30pm, Bexley Public Library, 2411 E. Main St.

Why does the mere mention of the term “white privilege” seem to shut down meaningful dialogue? Why is it so scary? Is it real? Why bother? Join Suzanne Roberts, co-founder of Safe Conversations About Race, Dr. Maurice Stevens, Professor, Department of Comparative Studies, The Ohio State University, and Mary Lou Langenhop, as they facilitate a dialogue exploring the world we want to see and discovering what more is possible.

It is more and more undeniable that we live in a world where injustice is pervasive and tolerated. The host committee believes that we have to find another way beyond what we have inherited. They believe that the answers lie within us, collectively. Together, we will debunk myths and misunderstandings about white privilege and build conversation and community. This series will allow us to learn along the way, remembering that, no matter where each may be on the journey, we all can deepen our growth and understanding. You will leave with greater choice, skill, and new actions to create a more equitable society.

Anti-ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) activists shut down city streets around ICE headquarters in downtown Columbus, attempted to occupy the ICE office, and erected a two-story wooden tripod structure in front of the building with a sign reading "ICE RUINS LIVES HERE" on Monday, July 9. Local Columbus Sanctuary Collective activist Ruben Castilla Herrera said: "ICE was created and it can be demolished, it can be abolished and we're going to make it happen." Demonstrators held signs reading "Abolish ICE" and chanted "No Borders, No Wall!"

"Knowledge is power; but who hath duly Considered the power of Ignorance? Knowledge slowly builds up what Ignorance in an hour pulls down. Knowledge, through patient and frugal centuries, enlarges discovery and makes record of it; Ignorance, wanting its day's dinner, lights a fire with the record, and gives a flavor to its one roast with the burned souls of many generations."-- George Eliot,from the author’s last novel,Daniel Deronda

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The Big Oil cartels have, for decades, been poisoning the air, the aquifers, the rivers, the lakes the air, the soil and the Gulf of Mexico, the Persian Gulf and every ocean and ocean floor on the planet with uncounted millions of gallons of toxic crude oil via their risky - and very leaky - deep water oil wells. It wasn’t just the crime against the planet that British Petroleum and Dick Cheney’s Halliburton perpetrated in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. There are many other entities that have contributed to the mortal wounding of the Gulf, and one of the big ones is the US military.

You’ve come a long way baby. Medical marijuana is now legal in Ohio. A bill passed, establishing an industry that will serve a significant portion of the state’s patient population. Certified physicians will recommend cannabis to those with one of 21 medical conditions. The plant will be grown in giant warehouses, processed into oils and tinctures, tested for contaminants and sold in dispensaries around the state. With patient numbers estimated at over 150,000, the Ohio market may well exceed $200 million.

But we still have a long way to go. The roll out of Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Control Program has hardly been smooth. As widely reported, marijuana will not be on the shelves by the program’s promised deadline of September 8th. Neither will it be tested as required in the legislation that begat the program. Processors have yet to be picked. Patients and caregivers must wait until September for cards. Further, hundreds of cities around Ohio have imposed moratoriums or even bans to keep medical marijuana businesses, and by extension, patients at bay.