Recent weeks have seen several stories of states seeking to silence legislators going against the powers that be. The expulsion of two lawmakers from the Tennessee legislature advocating for gun control efforts was followed by a session-long ban placed on Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr for protesting the state’s proposed ban on gender-affirming care. In this race to the bottom to silence dissent and subvert the democratic process, however, Ohio’s recent effort stands out. The Ohio legislature's recent effort seeks not just to silence individual minority legislators, but to potentially ignore the will of a majority of Ohioans.           

The 39th annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival is taking place May 4-13 at a variety of mostly Downtown LA venues (see: https://festival.vcmedia.org/2023/venues-parking/). LAAPFF is arguably America’s main gateway for Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander productions to gain access to the U.S. movie market and in particular, LA, the world’s capital of cinema. The yearly filmfest is presented by Visual Communications, an LA-based media organization whose “mission is to develop and support the voices of Asian American & Pacific Islander filmmakers and media artists who empower communities and challenge perspectives. Founded in 1970 with the understanding that media and the arts are powerful forms of storytelling, Visual Communications creates cross cultural connections between peoples and generations.”

Sunday, April 30, 2pm, beginning and ending at Goodale Park, 120 W. Goodale St.

May 1, known as May Day, is also International Labor Day. This date was chosen to commemorate the Haymarket Affair, the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, in Chicago’s Haymarket Square. What better way to celebrate than learning about your own local labor history? Join Columbus DSA [Democratic Socialists of America] for a labor history bike tour of Columbus this year on April 30th!

Saturday, April 29, 11am-3pm, Land-Grant Brewing Company, 424 W. Town St.

Kaleidoscope Youth Center [KYC] and Land-Grant Brewing Company are back for the Second Annual Land-Grant Drag Brunch on Saturday, April 29, benefiting KYC and LGBTQIA+ youth in our community!

Hosted by Anisa Love and Virginia West, this is a free-admission event with registration strongly encouraged. This year, we are also introducing very limited VIP seating where 100% of proceeds to support KYC.

More details:

Time: Doors open at 11am; show starts at 12noon.

Food: RayRay’s Hog Pit and Mikey’s Late Night Slice

Drinks: Proceeds from your drink purchases during the event will be donated to KYC! Please drink responsibly!

Performances: Anisa Love, Virginia West, and more to be announced!

Ticket Info: We have three ticket tiers through kycbrunch.eventbrite.com.

• First Row VIP: four tables available: $200 per table. Each table seats six. Price includes seating plus a KYC pint glass and swag.

"Journalism is not a crime," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said this month, because Russia had arrested a U.S. journalist.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden's Department of Justice is still seeking to extradite WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange from the UK in order to prosecute him for essentially journalism.

Several Congress Members have just written to the U.S. Attorney General to ask that the case be dropped.

Click here to tell Attorney General Merrick Garland that you agree.