As expected, the “bad mayor” ads launched against Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nan Whaley by backers of her opponent Gov. Mike DeWine in early August are driving up negative sentiment toward Whaley, the former Dayton mayor.

According to CrowdSense.Live, a web site devoted to examining the metrics of political contests, the net social media sentiment on Aug. 1 was -58.2% for DeWine and -0.4% for Whaley. In other words, the public was down on DeWine while Whaley was breaking even.

But by Aug. 30 it had all changed, most likely because of the monthlong heavy rotation of the ads demeaning Whaley and her performance as mayor. DeWine improved to -38.5% while Whaley sank into negative territory at -31%.

Now a second bad mayor-themed ad campaign is running on Ohio TV screens, declaring that Whaley as governor would be “dangerously expensive.”

To Whaley’s brain trust’s discredit, they have chosen not to respond directly to the bad mayor charge. Ask Ted Strickland and Richard Cordray how not bright their failure to respond to critical ads was when they ran for governor.

Orwell’s Peerless Proletarian Parable: Socialism with an Animal Face

Not even Brecht or Odets could make this one up: Mere days before A Noise Within debuts a theatrical version of George Orwell’s classic satirizing the betrayal of the Russian Revolution, as if right on cue, the last leader of the Soviet Union dies. Mikhail Gorbachev, of course, embodied the central theme of Animal Farm: Could socialism be democratic in nature or must it be bureaucratic and autocratic? I always regarded Lucy Pollak as a great publicist, but even she couldn’t pull off a publicity stunt like staging Gorbachev’s death right before the premiere of this proletarian parable about the USSR. Not to mention the timeliness of the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kyiv…

ANW’s superb production presents Sir Peter Hall’s Animal Farm, with live music by Richard Peaslee and lyrics by Adrian Mitchell, is a perfect choice to open over Labor Day weekend. The musical premiered at the UK’s National Theatre in that most Orwellian of years – 1984, but of course – and adapts the 1945 novella by George Orwell.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, a worker uprising could soon boil over at Kroger stores throughout Central Ohio. The uprising is not only in response to their ultra-wealthy corporate leaders, but also towards their union, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) 1059, headquartered on Columbus’ far east side.

Over the previous 45 days, Kroger associates, who’s current contract ended August 6th, twice voted ‘No’ to a new three-year contract. The “No” vote happened even though both contracts had been endorsed by UFCW 1059, as first reported by World Socialist Web Site or WSWS.org.

“This [second contract] was just reworded, but we all knew it was the same contract as the one we just turned down,” said a Kroger employee who refused having their name published out fear of retaliation.

Hello Columbus.

After a much-needed sabbatical from writing about the social issues that I feel are important, not only to me in my present life, but to my children, and all of the grandchildren that will be from the seeds of my womb, I have decided it is time to start my articles again.

I spoke with a young man, doesn’t matter the race, who said he was twenty-eight years old. I don’t know how we got on the subject, but voting came up. He said it was a “waste of time to vote.”

I have learned that it is better to speak logical when speaking with young people in regard to political matters. In fact, in regard to anything that pertains to adulthood and life. I speak to them where they live.

Tuesday, September 6, 2022, 8:00 PM
On June 24, the Supreme Court issued a dangerous ruling overturning Roe v. Wade in an unprecedented attack on reproductive freedom. But this fight isn’t just taking place at the Supreme Court. The ACLU is prepared for this moment, and will continue fighting in courts and legislatures, in the streets, and at the ballot box — but we need you with us.  

This summer, join ACLU People Power’s Abortion Activist Series, a collection of virtual events and trainings on how you can join the fight for abortion rights, no matter where you live.  

Join us every other Tuesday evening.  

More information and registration here.