Columbus searches in vain for an identity, bouncing ridiculously from Cowtown to Crop Town, Cap City, Arch City, Buckeyeville, Nationwide or Crew City, or Number 14 or 15 (in population rank among U.S. cities). None of those fit the city past or present. I propose another, more appropriate and accurate moniker: the lawless, wild-wild-Midwest. (See my “Columbus’ identity crisis and its media”; “Columbus searches for its Downtown with historical, urbanist, and developers’ blinders”; “Columbus, Ohio, searches to be a city: The myth of the Columbus Way”; “Is Columbus actually a City?”)

A group calling itself the Columbus Coalition on Rent Control filed a petition this week with the city to officially begin a citizen-led ballot initiative which would create a rent control ordinance and establish a new city office named the Department of Fair Housing.

While the petition for rent control or rent stabilization may not be a first for the state of Ohio, this would be Ohio’s first-ever rent control ordinance if the citizen initiative were to win at the ballot.

The Columbus Coalition on Rent Control is driven by several well-known progressive and political activists, such as Jonathan Beard, Joe Motil, Tyrone Thomas, and Noel Williams, Chair of the housing committee for B.R.E.A.D, the local faith-based activist group.

Seemingly overnight, the cost of housing in Columbus went from relatively affordable to now putting tens of thousands under extreme pressure to keep a roof over their family’s heads. 

With the great ANDREA MILLER and JOEL SEGAL our GREE-GREE gathering #91 dives into the realties of grassroots campaigning.

While the major parties will blow tens of millions on TV advertising, we saw in Georgia 2021 how effective “relational campaigning” can be.

Andrea reveals the realities of a Democratic Party dependent on a foreign-owned data company, and unwilling to do the nitty-gritty work of getting on the ground.

If a right-wing wipe-out is to be avoided, democracy centers and door-to-door tactics will be key.

TATANKA BRICCA, WENDI LEDERMAN and RON LEONARD then fill us in on the war against rooftop solar.  Anti-green moves in CA and FL are now at the cutting edge.

Join us to save both our democracy & our planet!!

https://youtu.be/CgstC82_I2M

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Moscow is trying to profit by offering weapons, investment, tourism and diplomatic support to Thailand and other best friends in Southeast Asia, to buffer Russia's international losses caused by U.S.-led sanctions against its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's latest success appeared April 7 when Bangkok joined 57 other nations and abstained from voting at the United Nations General Assembly when it suspended Moscow from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

"Thailand is deeply sorry about the loss of life, and is gravely concerned about the escalating conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, and believes urgent actions are needed to address the allegations about human rights violations," by Russia during its war in Ukraine, said Thailand's Ambassador to the UN Suriya Chindawongse.

Other Southeast Asian abstentions included Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Thailand -- a non-NATO U.S. treaty ally -- declined on February 28 to obey an unusually pointed, public demand by 25 Bangkok-based European ambassadors telling the government to condemn the invasion.