Minute by minute, Putin’s “Peaceful Atom” pushes us to the brink of an atomic Apocalypse…maybe as you read this….likely within hours or days.

Some 440 atomic power reactors now heat this planet, 93 in the US. For a half-century opponents have warned that a madman like Putin could make them spew out enough radiation to burn our species off this planet. (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/science/ukraine-nuclear-power-plant.html )

We are headed precisely in that direction. The clock ticks down in real time.

Start at Chernobyl. Despite decades of industry denials that any commercial reactor could explode—-Soviet or otherwise—-Unit Four blew up on April 26, 1986. (For a gut sense of what happened, watch HBO’s five-part mini-series “Chernobyl.”)

The last of Chernobyl’s other three reactors ran through 2000. Unit Four’s blown core is still so hot the world community spent some $2 billion to cover it with a giant shield, aptly called a sarcophagus.

I recently received a phone call from Andrew Nortz who is a 6½ year resident of Blendon Township and whose one-acre property abuts a new development of 27.88 acres that is currently being cleared for 156 units of one- and two-bedroom one story apartments. He asked if I would meet with him and his wife and listen to what they had to say about how they and other neighbors were bamboozled by the City of Columbus, developers and the developers’ seasoned zoning attorneys. Andrew had read about my involvement in fighting alongside of the Little Turtle neighborhood against the jaw-droppingly unethical Little Turtle Roadway project that is just around the corner from Blendon Township.

Columbus City Council unanimously approved the rezoning of the property in July of last year. Mr. Nortz gave me a tour on March 16 of the 27.88 acres that is now being developed. He said the area is home to wild turkeys, fox, deer, owls, hawks, raccoons, numerous bird species, wetlands, natural springs and vernal pools.

At this 86th zoom session of the Grassroots Emergency Election Protection Coalition we are joined by activist Nicole Dvorak who has pioneered powerful new means of tracking the purchase of politicians by giant corporations.  Nicole’s work offers a roadmap for building the critical data base needed to expose exactly how our democracy is being destroyed by big money.

We also proudly host Nancy MacLean of Duke University, whose landmark Democracy In Chains digs deep into the destruction of our essential government structured by a greedy Uber-rich class of fascists and autocrats who threaten us all.  Nancy is interviewed by the great Tatanka Bricca, whose detailed knowledge of what plagues our electoral system sets a critical framework from a truly unique discussion.

On February 26, 1987, President Ronald Reagan officially declared Proclamation 5613 making March National Disabilities Awareness Month. 

Proclamation 5613 called for understanding, instilling confidence, and opportunities to help those with disabilities to live productive and fulfilling lives.

I think inclusiveness benefits individuals with disabilities as well as the rest of our society.

A functioning organism as a society ensures all people have a healthy existence.

I worked as a provider for the Franklin County department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (MRDD) until Franklin County MRDD switched to a company called Boundless in 2016. I worked with Boundless until 2020.

A provider goes into the homes of the developmentally disabled. A provider works with social, and life skills from a recommended individual service plan. A provider drives a person with Autism or Down syndrome to work, school, recreation centers, the grocery, and other places where a individual might visit.

A new global geopolitical game is in formation, and the Middle East, as is often the case, will be directly impacted by it in terms of possible new alliances and resulting power paradigms. While it is too early to fully appreciate the impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war on the region, it is obvious that some countries are placed in relatively comfortable positions in terms of leveraging their strong economies, strategic location and political influence. Others, especially non-state actors, like the Palestinians, are in an unenviable position.