Central Ohio residents have the opportunity to take direct action to safeguard our water, though we must act fast. The opportunity is through support of the Columbus Community Bill of Rights, the proposed city ordinance that affirms our inalienable rights to protect our community from the harmful effects of fracking and associated activities. Two factors necessitate prompt action: the March 2017 deadline to submit petition signatures demonstrating widespread support of the initiative; and the threat posed by the injection wells currently in our watershed area.

610 WTVN on your AM dial, Central Ohio’s conservative windbag and of course home to big fat idiot Rush Limbaugh, ran an extra number of gun sale commercials the afternoon of the Ohio State tragedy inflicted by a legal immigrant and student who lost his mind through hate. Coincidentally, interspersed among these same commercials were a lot of callers speaking angrily that if many OSU students were packing guns, the tragedy would have never happened in the first place.

The Free Press, in an effort to understand why conservatives hate immigrants, blacks and poor people so much, regularly turn into the channel’s John Corby Show in the afternoon. After shooter situation massacres, 610 seems to refrain from running gun advertisements, but they do run an abnormal number of freeze-dried food commercials for all their prepper listeners who fear the apocalypse could happen at any moment (and under President Trump, some freeze dried eggs sounds like a good idea). And while John Corby and his crew would never, ever claim to be aligned with the alt-right, they sure as heck sound like bigots when they implicitly complain about immigrants, blacks and poor people.

The November 2016 election of the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, has enticed people to protest, march in the streets, insult and physically attack both Trump and Hillary supporters and some have even demanded a recount of votes in three states.

Now that the year 2016 is ending, Americans, black and white, male and female, old and young, educated and uneducated, rich and poor are all wondering what the new year will bring under the political leadership of Trump. 

Women are wondering what it means for them now in the work place. After hearing the remarks made by Trump in regards to men with power being able to “grab” women in their private parts. They fear that they will now have to deal with an increase of unwanted, unwarranted sexual abuse on the job.  Is the glass ceiling going to be lowered even more for the working woman?

The Free Press will honor Calvin Hairston with our 2016 Award for Community Volunteer.

Calvin Hairston is well-known on the streets of Columbus, and in the halls of power for always speaking his truth -- providing facts and perspectives that makes the powerful uncomfortable and giving strength and encouragement to the weak. Calvin has been a leader in efforts to revitalize the Near East Side and advance political reform to advance African American population of Columbus. He is a member of the Columbus Action Network, has been instrumental in the effort to preserve the history of Poindexter Village and worked hard to support the three petition efforts to move to a City Council elected primarily by district including his support for last year's Issue 1. As a supporter of other advocacy groups, Calvin has been a strong and consistent supporter of police reform efforts being advanced by various groups, and is well-known by the OSU labor and student advocacy communities for the positions he takes for justice and fairness. 

The national religion of the United States of America is nationalism. Its god is the flag. Its prayer is the pledge of allegiance.

The flag's powers include those of life and death, powers formerly possessed by traditional religions. Its myths are built around the sacrifice of lives to protect against the evils outside the nation. Its heroes are soldiers who make such sacrifices based on unquestioning faith. A "Dream Act" that would give citizenship to those immigrants who kill or die for the flag embodies the deepest dreams of flag worship. Its high priest is the Commander in Chief. Its slaughter of infidels is not protection of a nation otherwise engaged, but an act that in itself completely constitutes the nation as it is understood by its devotees. If the nation stopped killing it would cease to be.

What happens to myths like these when we discover that flying killer robots make better soldiers than soldiers do? Or when we learn that the president is using those flying robots to kill U.S. citizens? Which beliefs do we jettison to reduce the dissonance in our troubled brains?