In the United States we now live under a government that largely operates in secret, headed by an executive that ignores the constitutional separation of powers and backed by a legislature that is more interested in social engineering than in benefitting the American people. The US, together with its best friend and faux ally Israel, has become the ultimate rogue nation, asserting its right to attack anyone at any time who refuses to recognize Washington’s leadership. America is a country in decline, its influence having been eroded by a string of foreign policy and military disasters starting with Vietnam and more recently including Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Yemen and the Ukraine. As a result, respect for the United States has plummeted most particularly over the past twenty years since the War on Terror was declared and the country has become a debtor nation as it prints money to sustain a pointless policy of global hegemony which no one else either desires or respects.

Another Irradiated and Charred Victim of the Nagasaki Bomb

77 years ago (August 9, 1945) an all-Christian bomber crew dropped an experimental plutonium bomb on Nagasaki City, Japan, instantly incinerating, asphyxiating and/or vaporizing tens of thousands of innocent civilians, mostly women and children. Very few Japanese soldiers were killed by the bombs.

The protests in the summer of 2020 after the murder of George Floyd focused attention on the interaction of police and the Black community. Protestors accused Columbus Division of Police officers of multiple use of force violations. Several internal and external investigations, trials, and lawsuits are still pending. The Division’s internal investigations are conducted under the supervision of Mark Gardner, the Commander of the Internal Affairs Bureau. 

Gardner and other supervisors have expressed the notion that many protestors are affiliated with an “organized group” called Black Lives Matter (BLM) in internal documents obtained through records requests. They also expressed opinions that BLM is or should be on the City’s official list of hate groups.

“It is concerning that the person who is in charge of Internal Affairs, the bureau that is responsible for investigating the complaints filed by the protestors, also believes that Black Lives Matter is a hate group,” said Columbus police Lt. Melissa McFadden, speaking as a private citizen. 

Monday, August 9, 2021, 6:30 PM (social time), 7:00 PM (program)
Dick Gunther, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Ohio State University will join us to discuss the process of redistricting that will begin that month. Current information from the Bureau of the Census is that data will be released August 16 so states can begin the process of redistricting. Professor Gunther serves on the Ohio Redistricting Commission.  Location:  Open air shelter #1 at Whetstone Park.  This is just across the bridge on your left as you enter the park on Hollenbeck.  The meeting will also be shared on zoom.  Join Zoom Meeting:  https://ashlanduniversity.zoom.us/j/91270379532. Meeting ID: 912 7037 9532. 

I read Daniel Sherrell’s Warmth: Coming of Age at the End of Our World sitting on the edge of what was left of the Shenandoah River after a summer of very little rain. Six inches is enough to canoe in but it’s less than that in many places. Fish are few and far between, yet humans are out there in canoes, dragging them over rocks, casting their lines, luring the last fish to their doom. I know the fish murders are not the problem, not at this scale. The problem is the power lines hanging low across the water, the 12-foot American Flag hung up on the shore, the massive actions of corrupt governments and industries — but also the cabin my family’s in and the car that drove us to it — not to mention the airplanes audible from great distances and tricking the mind into hoping for thunder.