I hit up Columbus Native Franz Lyons and asked him about his band Turnstile performing at the sold-out Metallica headlined Rock On the Range festival. Franz replied in regards to the size of the crowd. “I think it will make more sense when I get there…”

Franz was in Los Angeles with Turnstile for the “While We Were Young Festival.” The Baltimore, Maryland based hardcore band just played on a line-up that included Morrissey, the Descendants, A.F.I. and other bands that were too big to play the Legion, Bernie’s or the Hi-Five during Franz’s formative years.

Turnstile has also rocked stages with Sick Of It All, Madball, Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Ignite and New Found Glory off the strength of previous releases Move Through Me, Non-Stop Feeling, Pressure to Succeed and Step To the Rhythm.

Turnstile begins recording an album for Road Runner Records, June 26th. They are recording with William Yip who has worked with Title Fight, Lauryn Hill, Braid and Schoolly D.

Once again, a voter ID bill briefly reared its head again in the Ohio legislature. Ohio House Bill 41 in its original form sought to alter Ohio early voting requirements. State Representative Bernadine Kent (D-25) asked me to analyze the bill and offer testimony on its hearing in the Government Accountability and Oversight Committee.

Here’s my brief analysis. The bill continues a bizarre and undemocratic practice introduced in 2004 by our infamous Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell. That is, if voters are at the correct polling place but is directed to vote in the wrong precinct -- their vote will not be counted. The bill reads in a key section: “If an individual cast a provisional ballot in a precinct in which the individual is not registered and eligible to vote and in the incorrect polling location for the precinct in which the individual is registered and eligible to vote the provisional ballot shall not be opened and the ballot shall not be counted.”

“… the American people deserve a clear explanation of what their Central Intelligence Agency does on their behalf…. we are an organization committed to uncovering the truth and getting it right…. And sure—we also admit to making mistakes…. But it is always our intention—and duty—to get it right. And that is one of the many reasons why we at CIA find the celebration of entities like WikiLeaks to be both perplexing and deeply troubling.”

– CIA Director Mike Pompeo, April 13, 2017

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thailand's authoritarian coup leader Prime
Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Tuesday (May 2) he expects to enjoy a
much-needed boost to his military regime thanks to President Donald
Trump's surprise invitation to the White House.
   "The U.S. president said that we are their good ally, and he
assured me that although we have been rather distant recently,
Thai-U.S. relations will now be closer than ever," Mr. Prayuth told
reporters on Tuesday (May 2).
   While speaking with President Trump, Mr. Prayuth "affirmed that
Thailand stands ready to support and promote bilateral cooperation in
all fields, particularly trade, investment and security," announced
Deputy Government Spokesman Lt. Gen. Werachon Sukondhapatipak.
   Mr. Prayuth will "support the constructive role of the United
States in maintaining peace and security in the region," Lt. Gen.
Werachon said.
   Mr. Prayuth accepted the White House invitation and asked the U.S.
president to come to Bangkok.
   No dates were announced for either visit.

In the years 2013-2016, the Columbus Police killed 24 people, 20 of them black.

Mappingpoliceviolence.org lists the names of all Columbus citizens killed by the Columbus Police Department (CPD). Despite only 27.6 percent of Columbus’ population being black, 83.3 percent of all people killed by cops were black (see chart).

Out of the 15 largest U.S. cities, Columbus ranks number one in percentage of police killing black people. (see chart).

Often the police and their allies will excuse the high rates of police violence against black people by claiming they are just trying to stop black-on-black crime, a phrase popularized in the 1980s under Ronald Reagan, as the United States created the world’s largest prison industrial complex. Police shootings of black people are not reflective of high black-on-black crime rates. They are not the result of a police department’s attempt to protect poor communities. A report from mappingpoliceviolence.org points out that there is no relationship between police killing blacks and community violent crime rates.