Sunday, June 13, 1-6pm, Northwest Kiwanis Park, 4840 Stonehaven Dr.

Join Rainbow UA in celebrating the first-ever LGBTQ Pride event in Upper Arlington!

This event will include the following.

Booths: Kaleidoscope Youth Center [plus bins for donations], Equitas Health, flags from Trans Ohio, LGBTQ history table, free Mom Hugs / Momma Bears, League of Women Voters, Stonewall Democrats of Central Ohio, Equality Ohio [Ohio Business Competes], Columbus Public Health, James Center for Cancer Health Equity, Ace and Aro Alliance of Central Ohio, Family Pride Network, and Lifeline of Ohio,Stonewall Columbus, GLSEN [Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network]

Speakers: Rick Neal, Glennon Sweeney, David Polakowski, and Joe Matessa

I reviewed a couple of the June 12th releases

Schoolly D + Ice T – The Real Hardcore

Philly Rapper Schoolly D invented teenage rap marketing in the 80’s. Schoolly D’s album namedSchoolly D released on Schoolly D Records boasted sex, money, and street respect. Schoolly D fathered every gangster rapper from Ice T to Biggie Smalls.

Record Store Day finds the Philly Legend releasing his recent recording with actor/rapper Ice T’s“The Real Hardcore” in vinyl form.

Ice T who starred in a Geico Commercial and won a Grammy with Body Count raps with Schoolly D influencing Ice T’s the L.A. Rap classic “6 In the Morning.” Schoolly D triumphs over a hard drum reminding the listener he invented “Gucci Time.”

 Ice-T and Schoolly D were teenagers who had to figure out how to navigate the 1980’s C.I.A. bringing crack cocaine in their neighborhoods while puberty and poverty existed.

Gucci Mane would agree that Schoolly D looked fresh in his watch and fly gold chain.

The danger of nuclear apocalypse is at an all-time high. Understanding of the damage that would result from a nuclear war is of a greater horror than ever previously understood. The historical record of threats of nuclear weapons use, and of near-misses through misunderstandings, has mushroomed. The influence of the Israeli model of aquiring nuclear weapons but pretending not to have done so is spreading. The Western militarism that other nations see as justification for their own nuclear armament continues to expand. Demonization of Russia in U.S. politics and media has reached a new level. Our luck will not hold out forever. Much of the world has banned the possession of nuclear weapons. Presidents Biden and Putin could very easily make the world dramatically safer and redirect massive resources into benefitting humanity and the earth, if they were to choose to abolish nuclear weapons.

The American Committee for U.S.-Russia Accord has made these three excellent proposals:

1. We urge the Biden Administration to reopen the Consulates and reverse its recent decision to halt Visa services for most Russians.

We are led to believe that history is being made in Israel following the formation of an ideologically diverse government coalition which, for the first time, includes an Arab party, Ra’am, or the United Arab List.

If we are to accept this logic, the leader of Ra’am, Mansour Abbas, is a mover and shaker of history, the same way that Naftali Bennett of the far-right Yamina Party, and Yair Lapid, the supposed ‘centrist’ of Yesh Atid, are also history makers. How bizarre!

Sensational media headlines and hyperboles aside, Israel’s new government was a desperate attempt by Israeli politicians to dislodge Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving Prime Minister, from power. While Lapid is fairly new to Israel’s contentious politics, Bennett and Abbas are opportunists, par excellence. 

We do not need qualified immunity for vigilante cops! We need Qualified Communities to police themselves by living the golden rule. Love has the power to heal and protect people by engaging as thy neighbor’s keeper. Perhaps if people stopped voting for a political party and focused on the content of the politician’s character then we will not have greedy politrickcians capitalizing from human suffering.

It is the recycled ineffective strategies of these leaders that create tragedies in our neighborhoods. Disruptive honesty by law abiding citizens in peaceful demonstrations demanding accountability and transparency of our officials is a constitutional right. Corrupted leaders get re-elected by misinformed voters who belong to their political party or have the same skin color. The Covid 19 pandemic has fueled violence, overdoses, unemployment, poverty, and loss of homes, and shut down of nonprofits.