Why would Russia meddle in a U.S. presidential election? They were just returning the favor.

This Time magazine cover from July 15, 1996 documents it all. The United States bragged about helping rig the Russian presidential election that year, helping drunken authoritarian Boris Yeltsin remain in power.

How and why could this happen? A good place to start is the book Rewriting Russian History: Did Boris Yeltsin Steal the 1996 Election?

Yes he did. And the U.S. directly meddled in the election.

Yeltsin was much beloved by U.S. neo-cons because he allowed the massive expansion of NATO into the former Soviet bloc and U.S. and western corporations to control many Russian natural resources.

Going into his 1996 re-election campaign, Yeltsin’s poll numbers were worse than Trump’s and opinion said he was unelectable.

U.S. political operatives came to the rescue, many tied to former California governor Pete Wilson, becoming Yeltsin’s “secret campaign weapon,” according to Eleanor Randolph of the LA Times.

Editor's note: In March of 2017, researchers from the British Museum excavating an archeological site in Greece made one of the great discoveries of the twenty-first century. Sealed in a clay jar was a copy of the lost third epistle from the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians. The letter addresses Paul's growing concern about the Church of Corinth's use of Christian Rock praise bands in worship services. What follows is a verbatim translation from the original Greek.

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes.

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thursday, August 3, 7-9pm
Gateway Film Center, 1550 N. High St.
A decade after An Inconvenient Truth brought climate change into the heart of popular culture comes the riveting and rousing follow-up that shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution. 
Former Vice President Al Gore continues his tireless fight, traveling around the world to train an army of activists and influence international climate policy. Cameras follow him behind the scenes -- in moments both private and public, funny and poignant -- as he pursues the inspirational idea that while the stakes have never been higher, the perils of climate change can be overcome with human ingenuity and passion.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/huX1bmfdkyA
Join us for a panel discussion immediately following the film including:
Rev. Susan Smith (Crazy Faith Ministries) - environmental justice
Chad Stephens (Sierra Club) - energy efficiency
Cathy Cowan Becker (Sierra Club) - Ready for 100 campaign

I watched Saving Banksy in my boxers at 4am. This Netflix feature is one of my favorites of this summer next to Rick & Moraty, Dumb and Casual on Hulu. I had just polished off some Ramen with peanut butter, siracha, just a hint of the garlic and random vegetables sauce. I call it “Pad Thai that doesn’t cost 10 dollars.”

After spilling some broth on my shirt, I watched Revok, Risk, Banksy’s bombing partner Ben Eine and various people discuss a Banksy painting that was procured from a rooftop, and raised issues of the commodification of art.

Once the film ended, I noticed Eva Boros was credited with executive producing and screenwriting, I kind of knew this from the Columbus musicians that sound tracked some of the film, and social network feeds that didn’t quite register in my brain prior.

I said, “Hey this women is from Columbus.” I hit her in the DM, and later we exchanged this email. The Free Press had a production deadline looming. If you’re from Columbus, and/or friends with Miss Boro, I apologizes for the brevity.

Where were you a Columbus “local” in Middle School?

Upper Arlington. I went to Jones middle school.

You have news organizations that represent, even protect the public, and you have ones that buddy up to powerful institutions.       

The Columbus Dispatch showed just how far in the buddy-up tank it is with Ohio State University July 12 in the way it reported the 5.5 percent tuition and 6 percent housing increase that will drive the total cost of attending OSU to over $26,000 annually.

The Dispatch downplayed the fact that incoming OSU students and their parents were told they must pony up an extra $1,500 just six weeks before classes start.

The newspaper adopted the university's spin that a big tuition increase held steady for four years was a good deal. It sounds like it until you factor in the hundreds of students who will play the inflated rate for a year or two and then drop out. Not to mention that hundreds of other students take 5-6 years to graduate. They will pay an even higher rate for the fifth and sixth years.