At a time when long-winded polemics and punditry about the upcoming presidential election are all over the place, a longtime progressive populist author and agitator has just summarized it all in less than a minute.

“Hi, Jim Hightower here,” a just-released video begins, “with a message for progressives who don’t like Joe Biden’s corporate-hugging politics. Neither do I! But — and it’s a very big ‘but’ — Trump is a crackpot, a total plutocratic toady who’s literally destroying the lives of workaday people and killing America’s progressive possibilities.”

Hightower continues: “Trump has to be gone before we the people can move forward with our agenda of fairness and justice for all. So I don’t care if Biden is a 200-pound sack of concrete, we have to carry him into the White House to eject the Orange Menace. I urge all of you, especially in swing states like mine, to suck it up and do this heavy lifting. Let’s dump Trump, then we’ll take on Biden!”

The struggle to make the Columbus Division of Police reflect the racial make-up of urban neighborhoods goes back nearly 50 years and perhaps longer. But even though federal lawsuits and demands to have more African Americans on the force have been ongoing for more than half-a-century, the number of Black Columbus police officers is still woefully short compared to the number of African-American residents.

Columbus police union’s FOP President Keith Ferrell has said “systemic racism” does not plague the division, but there is too much evidence showing the division’s hiring process has historically “removed many good Black officers,” several current and retired African-American Columbus police officers told the Free Press.

One question these officers raised is: Have Black and People of Color candidates been removed deliberately by systemic racism or is implicit bias to blame?

The Black officers told the Free Press they agree both factors have played a role in keeping their numbers down.

September 11th, 12th, 13th, 2020 
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an alliance in name alone. Recent events notwithstanding, the brewing conflict over territorial waters in the Eastern Mediterranean indicates that the military union between mostly Western countries is faltering.

The current Turkish-Greek tensionis only one facet of a much larger conflict involving, aside from the two Mediterranean countries, Israel, Egypt, Cyprus, France, Libya and other Mediterranean and European countries. Notably absent from the list are the United States and Russia; the latter, in particular, stands to gain or lose much economic leverage, depending on the outcome of the conflict.

Thursday, Sept. 10. 5-7pm
299 King Ave,.
In partnership with the Ohio League of Women Voters, King Avenue Church will be hosting a drive-through event in the church parking lot to help folks to check their voting registration, register to vote, update their information, and apply for absentee ballots.
You can help by spreading the word about this event!
Voting by absentee (mail-in) ballot? Don’t delay - use this link to request an absentee ballot: https://bit.ly/31cpnp4