Our recent elections delivered a setback to Donald Trump, his allies, and their corporate-based campaign of racism/misogyny/homophobia, division, across our nation. It broke my heart, but didn’t surprise me, that my state of Ohio bucked that positive trend.

As national pundits cite Ohio as a “Red” state (not in the “good way”), it’s important to understand that it wasn’t always so and begin to understand why.

What Union Density Looks Like

When I hired in the Lorain US Steel mill a half century ago and joined up with the Steelworker’s Union (USW), Ohio was trusted to be a union-voting “Blue” state, especially its northern industrial section. Workers voted for those who delivered on our list of worker/people friendly issues. It wasn’t that right-wing Republicans didn’t float racist, misogynist, homophobic or other divisive issues, they did. It was that Unions were in place, represented/stood up for and educated workers on where their interests did/didn’t lie. Workers knew they weren’t alone, had people just like them to help them sort issues out.

Saturday, Feb. 18, 7-11pm
Old First Presbyterian Church, 1101 Bryden Rd.
$5 requested donation
All ages community mixer with live jazz and poetry, snacks, treats, fun games, contests, lively conversation.
 

Our Jam-packed GREEGREE #126 starts with NY’s JULIE WIENER reporting from the NY legislature on hackable voting machines.

Ohio’s RACHEL COYLE tells us about the astounding trial in Columbus about the $61 million a nuclear utility slipped to the speaker of the Ohio House to get a $1 billion bailout for two atomic reactors.

The question, says Rachel, is whether in the world of Citizen’s United, it is perfectly legal to buy (or rent) a state legislature. 

“You couldn’t write a movie better than this,” she says.  It’s a trial to legalize bribery, with major national repercussions. 

PACO FABIAN then tells us about the successful and impactful progressive campaigning of OUR REVOLUTION.

We merge in the possibility of using referenda to help get out the grassroots vote, particularly on the issues of Choice, Gerrymandering, Marijuana and Expanding Medicaid. 

Our Revolution also focuses on raising the minimum wage, as was tried in California, demanding clearer messaging.

LORENZO CANIZARES gives us the news from Peru, where a Revolution is definitely not being televised.

The mayor’s, city council’s, and Columbus Police Department’s chiefs’ uninformed, misleading commentaries and mismanagement of public safety would be comic if they were not often deadly.

Much is captured in two current events: the legally irrelevant and self-promotional devotion to what I renamed Colemanville (formerly downtown Columbus) in city council’s passing on Feb. 6, 2023 a resolution that has neither merit nor authority, setting a speed limit of 25 mph in the small, ragged downtown area. (See Graff, “Columbus searches for its Downtown with historical, urbanist, and developers’ blinders,” Busting Myths, Columbus Free Press, Dec. 22, 2021; “Still searching for Downtown: ‘Ideas considered for Downtown plan,’” Busting Myths, Columbus Free Press, Aug. 14, 2022)