It was supposed to be just another round of pork in Columbus. The nuclear power industry, which was flush with success from winning billions in bailouts from state governments in New York and Illinois was again prepared to play Ohio's government like a fiddle. Ohio had, in the past, ponied over $9 billion in subsidies for such flimsy reasons as "stranded costs" to keep the Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear plants running. This time, though, it's proven to be much more complicated. Fierce opposition from every part of the political spectrum meant a reduced payoff, and even though Governor DeWine signed House Bill 6 (HB6) into law on July 23, the money may never be delivered.

Saturday, July 27, 2019, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

In my town in the United States — as is not especially unusual — we have big memorials in prominent public places marking some of the most catastrophically immoral actions of the past. Unfortunately, all five of these major monuments celebrate and glorify these past horrors, rather than reminding us not to repeat them. The University of Virginia is building a memorial to the enslaved people who built the University of Virginia. So, we will have five celebrations of evil, and one cautionary remembrance thereof.

Two of the five monuments celebrate the genocide of the westward expansion across the continent. Two celebrate the losing and pro-slavery side of the U.S. Civil War. One honors the troops who participated in one of the most devastating, destructive, and murderous assaults on a small part of the earth that humanity has yet produced. In the United States people call it “the Vietnam war.”

Living in Columbus, it’s not hard to see that the system is broken. We live under a reign of police terror where working-class black and brown youth are targeted for execution and imprisonment; Ohio State University and the city of Columbus have been working together to gentrify neighborhood after neighborhood; tens of thousands of students are getting into life-long debt for an education; ICE harasses undocumented immigrants with impunity; landlords and capitalists exploit and oppress us.

The only hope that we have is the organized force of our class: the working class. We must continue the work of building revolutionary organizations and movements that can fight relentlessly for our rights in the workplace, in housing, and as living and working people.

The Central Ohio Revolutionary Socialists is one such organization. If you tremble at every injustice, you are a comrade of ours. Join us to help forge a weapon in the struggle for a better tomorrow!

Contact: iso.columbus@gmail.com

Ignoring criticism that they weren’t going far enough, Columbus City Council used home-rule powers at their July 22 meeting to reduce penalties for low-level marijuana offenses below the state’s penalties.

The legislation makes Columbus the 13th Ohio municipality to reduce marijuana penalties below the state’s punishments. The Free Press and many others feel the legislation is far too late in the making.

What the legislation truly reveals is a painful and obvious history. For decades Columbus police and courts have unfairly enforced marijuana possession laws along racial lines and will continue to do so.

For possessing less than 100 grams or having marijuana paraphernalia in the city, the penalty is now a fine not exceeding $10, while state law provides for a maximum fine of $150.

For possessing 100 or more grams but less than 200, the punishment is a fine not exceeding $25. State law on the other hand allows for penalties up to a $250 fine and 30 days in jail. State law also still makes possessing 200 or more grams a felony.