After reading “Painting the City Red,” (Feb, ’18, Vol 6, Free Press—Pranav Jani) I wanted to thank the author for the article, but to also correct the record.  While a decent piece, outlining activities of three of Columbus’ socialist groups in the recent period, left out was the revolutionary workers’ organization with, by far, the longest, deepest history here.  The Communist Party, USA (CPUSA) has been active here since the 1930’s, a previous period, like today, of massive people’s upsurge.  Central Ohio’s communists were then in the middle of the historic struggles to organize unemployed workers, for relief, to organize the huge new industrial unions.  Communists here, and across the nation, played a central role in the fight for democracy and the defeat of Nazism/fascism.  CP members were here, actively organizing, fighting alongside regular people, during the Civil Rights struggles, peace actions in the 60’s and had activists, leaders, of the huge Rank & File Movements in organized labor a decade later.          

ENOUGH: National School Walkout
Wednesday, March 14, 10am
Various schools across central Ohio
Details at: https://www.actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/enough-national-school-wal...

Youth EMPOWER is calling for students, teachers, school administrators, parents and allies to take part in a #NationalSchoolWalkout for 17 minutes at 10am across every time zone on March 14, 2018 to protest Congress’ inaction to do more than tweet thoughts and prayers in response to the gun violence plaguing our schools and neighborhoods. We need action. Students and allies are organizing the national school walkout to demand Congress pass legislation to keep us safe from gun violence at our schools, on our streets and in our homes and places of worship.

Students and staff have the right to teach and learn in an environment free from the worry of being gunned down in their classrooms or on their way home from school.

Parents have the right to send their kids to school in the mornings and see them home alive at the end of the day.

The United States of America spends something like $80 billion annually on intelligence gathering and analysis. When the CIA was founded by the National Security Act in 1947 the intention was to create a mechanism that would warn about an imminent threat. The memory of Pearl Harbor in 1941, when Japan attacked the U.S. naval base was still fresh, and the legislation was popularized by the slogan “no more Pearl Harbors.”

In spite of the dedication of considerable resources and manpower, there have been some major intelligence failures in the past seventy years, starting with the inability to anticipate the breakout of the Korean War and including the embrace of false intelligence on Saddam Hussein’s alleged weapons of mass destruction. But the most recent failure is perhaps more consequential than either Korea or Iraq.

Here is an incomplete list of some of the culprits:

      A) Foreign Mining Corporations (PolyMet, Glencore, Twin Metals, Antofagasta, etc);

1. Minnesota’s Elected Politicians/Accomplices (both Corporate-influenced “Liberal” Democrats, and “Conservative” Republicans);
2. Minnesota’s “Regulatory” Agencies that are Supposed to be “Natural Resource Protectors” (Including the DNR, the PCA, and the US Forest Service); and
3. Most Area Newspapers; Most Area Television Stations; All the Area’s Chambers of Commerce; Minnesota Power (Electric Utility); the Trump Administration; Regional Labor Unions: and Dozens of Suppliers/Businesses that will Temporarily Profit from Supplying the Mining Industry While Simultaneously Risking the Permanent Poisoning of the St Louis River Watershed, Including Lake Superior

Wriply, Ashley and Kendall of the #BlackPride4 were recently tried and found guilty of six out of eight of their heinous trumped-up charges stemming from their peaceful protest at 2017 Columbus Pride. After a week-long jury trial in Franklin County Municipal Court, a jury decided the following in three of the four #BlackPride4 cases:

Wriply Bennet:
  Disorderly Conduct – Guilty
  Failure to Obey – Guilty
  Resisting Arrest – Guilty
Ashley Braxton:
  Disorderly Conduct – Guilty
  Failure to Obey – Guilty
  Resisting Arrest - Not Guilty
Kendall Denton:
  Disorderly Conduct – Guilty
  Failure to Obey - Not Guilty

Now these folks have a quickly approaching sentencing date of March 13, with the threat of jail time looming heavy overhead. Wriply Bennet, a beloved Black trans activist and artist, was convicted of the most charges.