Part Two

A new set of factors emerged in winter 2021-22. The first opened a previously unexposed window into the failed interworking of the Assistant City Attorney liaison for the Columbus Police Department (CPD). I first learned about this from a conversation with an exceptionally knowledgeable, professional CPD officer about why he was not permitted to give a citation or tow a car that was parked illegally.

For a relatively brief time, a court in another state ruled that police or parking enforcement officers chalking tires or making a note on a car’s window to indicate that it was observed for the 72-hour limit represented an “invasion of privacy.” A Michigan court struck that down.

After my conversation with the CPD officer, I contacted the relevant Assistant City Attorney. He refused to accept any information, citizen input, or question. While referring to the relevant court rulings, he denied their actual content, demonstrating complete unfamiliarity with the basics of his paid employment.

Protesters staging a protest outside the Lincoln Theatre on East Long Street in Columbus, Ohio before the City of Columbus's Martin Luther King Day Program, demanding change and action in the City, in regards to equality and preventing violence.

These protesters were carrying signs demanding justice for recent high-profile Black murders in the Columbus area, including Andre Hill (killed by a then-Columbus Police Officer in Northwest Columbus in December 2020), Donovan Lewis (a 20 year-old Black man who was killed by Columbus Police in the Hilltop), and 13 year-old Sinzae Reed. Reed, who was murdered in October 2022 outside the Wedgewood Apartments in West Columbus was murdered by a 36 year-old White man. On January 17, the Columbus Dispatch reported that the Franklin County Coroner's Office officially declared Reed's death a homicide.

Thursday, Jan 19 7pm-9pm
Join the Central Ohio Revolutionary Socialists!
This week, we will be meeting at the Ohio State University campus in the Enarson Classrooms Building Room 214 from 7-9pm, where we will be watching a screening of the revolutionary film “Soy Cuba.” This film explores stories of four Cubans suffering under the U.S.-supported Batista dictatorship before the 1959 Cuban revolution. Hope to see you there! 
Join online: http://tinyurl.com/CORSmeeting

“Folks keep talking about another civil war. One side has about 8 trillion bullets, while the other side doesn’t know which bathroom to use.”

The words — actually a 2019 Facebook post — are those of then-Iowa Republican congressman Steve King, loosing a puerile smirk as he stirred the pot of violence on the American political right. The politics of stupid has intensified since then, as white supremacy and fear of the Great Replacement Theory take over the GOP.

From Amnesty International, USA
The military detention facility at Guantánamo Bay is a glaring, longstanding stain on the human rights record of the United States. Today, it continues to hold 35 Muslim men, most without facing charges or a trial. Many, like Toffiq al-Bihani, were tortured by the U.S. government. And Toffiq, along with 19 other detainees, has been cleared for transfer to other countries, yet he remains behind bars without charge or trial. 

President Biden has a critical window of opportunity to end these ongoing abuses by closing the detention center before the end of his term.  

Help us close Guantánamo and ensure the transfer of all cleared detainees to countries where their human rights will be respected.  

Act Now to tell President Biden to shut down the Guantánamo Bay detention facility!