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Columbus Stand Up! And 1DivineLine2Health Host Black History Month Meditation

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Saturday, February 13th, 12 PM
1Divineline2health Center, 2424 Sullivant Avenue, Columbus, OH

Columbus Stand Up and the 1Divineline2Health Center is convening a community conversation around mental wellness as well as a community meditation in commemoration of Black History Month. The event will be outdoors, adhere to social distancing protocols, and participants will be provided free hot coffee from Third Way Cafe to keep warm throughout.

Columbus Stand Up! is a non-profit dedicated to mobilizing people in Central Ohio to serve the community, engage in the political process, hold elected officials accountable, and advocate for policies that will ensure everyone in our community can lead a stable life. 

1DivineLine2Health is a nonprofit organization fighting sex trafficking and serving vulnerable populations through grassroots movements in Columbus, Ohio and all over the world.

On January 5th and 6th, Democracy Won, Fascism Lost

The United States of America was redefined on January 5th and 6th, 2021. Never underestimate the pivotal power of these two dates in our nation’s history. And do not believe that a likely Senate failure to convict Donald Trump will change any of it.

On January 5th, the voters of Georgia chose a black preacher and a Jewish filmmaker to successfully flip the empowered majority of the United States Senate. No one died. But the vote merged an epic demographic shift with a massive grassroots election protection movement to remake our nation.

The next day, Donald Trump incited an armed, violent mob to invade the US Capitol and kill his Republican Vice President, Mike Pence, before Pence could certify the nation’s choice for a new president. Five people died. The mission failed.

And it left intact nationwide what we had won in Georgia the day before … a demographically remade America, the real enemy of the Trump mob.

Lucky Coup Among Authoritarian Regimes

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Myanmar's coup leader may be lucky his Southeast Asian country is wedged among authoritarian regimes which are interested in making money by accessing its natural resources and strategic geography, instead of condemning the destruction of its fledgling democracy.

Nearby key investors, including China and Thailand, muted their responses to the coup in Myanmar, a France-sized nation also known as Burma.

But the U.S., Europe, Australia and several other more distant lands denounced Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung's bloodless coup at dawn on February 1.

"We call upon the military to immediately end the State of Emergency, restore power to the democratically-elected government, to release all those unjustly detained, and to respect human rights and the rule of law," the Group of Seven major economic powers said after the coup.

The G7 comprises the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.K.

In contrast, China did not support a UN Security Council's effort on February 2 to produce a joint statement condemning the putsch.

Can Democratic Socialists help turn Ohio into a different kind of Red?

The recent wave of corruption among both Republicans and Democrats in Ohio – House Speaker Larry Householder and Cincinnati City Councilmembers being charged with bribery – along with the pandemic’s mishandling, could be the final straw for voters.

While the GOP might split and form a new right-wing populist party, the Democrats are already divided among the centrists and progressives with most progressives being endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

And with so many Trump voters from 2016 saying they would’ve voted for Bernie Sanders, can Democratic Socialists fill the populist void left by Trump with a party that represents working class interests?

Many on the left, especially those disenchanted with President Biden and the bulk of the Democratic Party, are taking a good look at the Democratic Socialists of America, which has grown to over 90,000 members with 71 members holding office (33 of those elected in 2020).

Can Democratic Socialists help turn Ohio into a different kind of Red?

The recent wave of corruption among both Republicans and Democrats in Ohio – House Speaker Larry Householder and Cincinnati City Councilmembers being charged with bribery – along with the pandemic’s mishandling, could be the final straw for voters.

 

While the GOP might split and form a new right-wing populist party, the Democrats are already divided among the centrists and progressives with most progressives being endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

 

And with so many Trump voters from 2016 saying they would’ve voted for Bernie Sanders, can Democratic Socialists fill the populist void left by Trump with a party that represents working class interests?

 

Many on the left, especially those disenchanted with President Biden and the bulk of the Democratic Party, are taking a good look at the Democratic Socialists of America, which has grown to over 90,000 members with 71 members holding office (33 of those elected in 2020).

 

Take action: Urge President Biden to halt deportations to Haiti

Young Haitian girl

In recent days an alarming number of asylum seekers, including children and pregnant women, have been deported to Haiti despite efforts by the Biden administration to put a moratorium on all deportations. This is happening during a pandemic and a growing, violent political crisis in Haiti.

Take action: Urge President Biden to immediately halt deportations to Haiti

Stealing the Vote, Building a Wall

Imagine a “USA!” that has truly outgrown – transcended – racism. Would it still have a Republican Party?

One recent and shocking – but hardly surprising – piece of news is the huge scramble in legislatures, especially the Republican-controlled ones, all across the country to draft and pass legislation restricting the ability of Americans (some of them, anyway) to vote. It’s as though there’s a national effort going on to repeal the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and return to a happier time: Let’s make America great again!

Left out in the cold by both state and corporate bosses, say Kroger store employees

Collage of photos about Kroger

On a recent frigid early morning in a cramped, small-town Kroger twenty minutes outside Columbus, a long line twists and turns near the in-store pharmacy, one of 2,200 in-store pharmacies Kroger operates.

The line is somewhat socially distanced, mostly middle-aged men, some wearing camo, others sporting Harley Davidson logos, some have brought their own folding chairs. Fights have nearly broken out in the past over losing a place in line.

But this line of a dozen or so is not waiting for the vaccine. Kroger’s in-house state-controlled liquor store is mere feet from the pharmacy. They are waiting to find out if a high-end whiskey costing $400 a bottle has arrived or not.

When the liquor store’s door opens, the expensive whiskey did make it in overnight, and the line moves briskly with happy customers.

Standing not far from this scene is a long-time Kroger employee who spends her days stocking pizzas and other frozen goods into tall glass-doored freezers.

With tired eyes she glances at the absurdity of those buying $400 bottles of whiskey, then turns to a Free Press reporter.

Community Organizing 101

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Wednesday, February 10, 2021, 5:00 - 6:30 PM

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