7 days in … 2016

Caricature of white lady with glasses and brown hair

An amazing amount of progress has been made over the past month or so. America has catapulted itself all the way from the 1990s to 2016. The furthest-right elements of both major parties were again successful in the primaries. Another woman is seeking a powerful job on the back of behaving like the worst men. North Korea continues to consume headlines. Not even two years of an irredeemable president and declining enthusiasm on the left could convince our national leaders to change.

Four states held primary elections last week. Ohio, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Indiana went to the polls to select who will battle for office in November. There were no results to excite or inspire genuine progressives. As in the year of the Donald, Republicans competed to be the most disgraceful candidate, and, in many cases, the worst-of-the-worst won. The Democratic Party forced out progressives before the primaries and went medieval on those who dared to stay in the race.

Nakba - March and Rally

Black and white photo of women and children walking down a dusty path outside with the woman in the foreground carrying a big heavy bag on her head

Tuesday, May 15, 4:30-6:30pm
Broad Street United Methodist Church, 501 E. Broad St.
We will gather outside Broad St. United Methodist Church (corner of E. Broad St and S. Washington Ave) at 4:30 PM for a March to the Statehouse.

This event is in the planning stage. Please contact us if you would like to be part of the planning of this event at centralohio@jvp.org or message us on Facebook. We need speakers who can relate the history to the continued displacement of Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. 

SEX Theater Review

Around 90 years before Stormy Daniels burst onto the scene, Mae West shook vaudeville, Broadway, Hollywood and then Las Vegas. Buzzworks Theater Company’s Sex is a buzzworthy revival of West’s play. After Sex’s 1926 Broadway premiere, the comedy’s playwright/star “was arrested, fined $500, and sentenced to ten days in prison,” according to Gregory D. Black, author of Hollywood Censored, which features a picture of West from her 1933 movie She Done Him Wrong on the book’s cover.

 

A faux radio news bulletin about West’s bust (no pun intended - the actress was so well-endowed she gave her name to life preserver jackets) cleverly opens Buzzworks’ production of Sex. While the two-acter’s dialogue may have seemed cutting edge during the Roaring Twenties, to 21st century ears used to a discourse continuously coarsened, from pop culture to the presidency, many of the lines today sound corny and campy.

 

You're invited to the Free Press Second Saturday Salon

Latino man in foreground with drum around his neck and hitting it with drumsticks, his mouth open chanting, wearing a shirt that says Boycott Wendys with a picture of a girl's head with red pigtails and a No sign around it (circle with line through it) and a Latino woman behind him holding a bright orange and yellow sign also with her mouth open chanting

Saturday, May 12, 2018 6:30-11pm
1021 E. Broad St., Columbus
Parking in side driveway, front or rear parking lot
Come to network and socialize with progressive friends with refreshments, music, and presentations: 
Tim Chavez and the Immokalee workers Wendy's Boycott
Free, no RSVP required.
614-253-2571, colsfreepress@gmail.com
columbusfreepress.org

Columbus Bill of Rights

Bob interviews Sandy Bolzenius, Bill Lyons and Charlotte Owens about the Columbus Community Bill of Rights that will protect us from fracking pollution

http://www.wcrsfm.org/audio/by/title/the_other_side_of_the_news_may_11_2...

Enough is Enough. The Time Has Come to BDS the US.

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War

People, organizations, and governments around the world, and people and organizations in the United States, need to stand up at long last and nonviolently resist the lawless behavior of the rogue U.S. government.

How ‘American Exceptionalism’ Is Exploited to Justify War and Exploitation

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-zhmIexXJw

Curing Exceptionalism.

TRANSCRIPT:

BEN NORTON: It’s The Real News. I’m Ben Norton.

New Polls Show Anti-Trump Isn’t Enough to Beat GOP

With six months to go before the midterm election, new national polls are showing that the Democratic Party’s much-touted momentum to gain control of the House has stalled out. The latest numbers tell us a lot about the limits of denouncing Donald Trump without offering much more than a return to the old status quo.

 

Under the headline “Democrats’ 2018 Advantage Is Nearly Gone,” CNN reportedWednesday that nationwide polling found “the generic congressional ballot has continued to tighten” -- “with the Democrats’ edge over Republicans within the poll’s margin of sampling error for the first time this cycle.”

 

Big Pharma Wants People on Antidepressants Forever and It’s Working

30 Apr 2018– Antidepressants were once considered a short-term therapy to help people get over a troubled time. All that changed with the debut of the so-called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant drug ads on TV, and the promotion of the now-discredited “chemical imbalance” theory of depression. Though there is almost no evidence of the theory––that SSRI antidepressants correct deficits in brain levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter––antidepressants became blockbusters for Pharma.

May Volunteer Workday

Trees and a pond, tall grass and a white gazebo

Saturday, May 12, 9am-12pm
Goodale Park, 101 Buttles Ave.
Our next workday of the season is just around the corner!

Help keep Columbus, Ohio's oldest (and BEST!) city park looking beautiful. Weeding, watering, litter pickup and more. Our 13+ gardens are 100% volunteer planted and maintained. Can you lend a hand? 

Join us Saturday, May 12th, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Goodale Park. Meet at the Caretaker's Residence in the center of the park (use Park St driveway into the park and follow until it dead-ends). Please wear weather-appropriate clothing, as we will be working outdoors. 

A weather update will be posted on Facebook (Friends of Goodale Park) and on our Twitter page (@GoodaleParkFrnd) at 8am the morning of the event, so please check before heading to the park. 

Got tools? Bring 'em! We have a supply of garden gloves and tools, but we always need more. Hand trowels, shovels, and clippers (non-electric, please) are always in demand. 

Need more info? Email Emily at volunteercoordinator@goodalepark.org.

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