Ohio Students express outrage over immigration raids and family separations

Young people posing outside wearing mostly red shirts with their fists in the air

The Ohio Student Association expresses its disgust and outrage at the heinous actions of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Sandusky and Salem, Ohio, this month. We as students, workers, activists, and Ohioans have made it our goal to fight against the racist system of mass incarceration in our communities. Therefore, we demand the defunding and abolition of ICE, which has become an unaccountable paramilitary force whose main goal seems to be executing violent attacks upon the most vulnerable members of our society. We demand the immediate release of the nearly 250 people arrested by ICE in raids at Corso’s and Fresh Mark, and the payment of restitution to those families for the trauma experienced.

Why we are suing Ohio and Kansas - We CAN Reverse Purges

Black man holding a sign reading My vote has been paid for in BLOOD

The Supreme Court decision blessing the purge of half a million voters in Ohio is NOT the last word.

On Monday, the renowned law firm of Mirer Mazzocchi Julien of New York will serve a 90-day notice on Jon Husted, the Secretary of State of Ohio, of our intent to file suit in federal court unless we receive complete information on each of the hundreds of thousands of voters removed from the voter rolls.

We have already filed a demand for information on Kris Kobach, the éminence grise behind Ohio and other mass purges nationwide, to open his purge program files to us. We are joined in this demand by the ACLU of Kansas.

What we can do

As I explained in my prior report, the Supreme Court did not authorize Ohio to remove voters who skipped an election. Rather, failing to vote was merely one of Ohio's excuses to send a postcard to these voters. Not returning the postcard was taken, absurdly—insanely—as evidence the voter had moved away.

Wendy’s New Initiative: From Rape in the Fields to Rape in the Greenhouse?

Black man holding a sign that says Freedom from Sexual Violence

On Tuesday, June 5, Mr. Nelson Peltz, Board Chairman of Wendy’s, International and Todd Penegor, Wendy’s CEO, announced their new initiative designed to ensure a steady supply of locally grown fresh produce by purchasing tomatoes and other fresh foods primarily from greenhouse growing operations in the United States and Canada. One might suppose this move would not only provide a better tomato supply, but also address the modern-day slavery, sexual violence and other abuses in fields in the U.S. and Mexico where Wendy’s had been purchasing their tomatoes. After all, what could be more farmworker-friendly than locally-grown greenhouse produce?

Transit Arts - Youth Arts Program

Four squares, top left looks like a sculpture, top right is the words Transit Arts, bottom right is a series of paintings on easels and bottom left a woman black girl painting at an easel

TRANSIT ARTS, a program of Central Community House (CCH) and the Columbus Federation of Settlements, is a youth arts development program working in partnership with the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education. TRANSIT ARTS transports young people to a place of discovery -- where creative abilities expand & doors open to a world of possibilities. Our team of inspiring professional artists guide and learn from young people as we travel together to reveal and nurture our talents and entrepreneurial abilities.

TRANSIT ARTS engages young people, ages 12-21, with a wide variety of interactive, multi-disciplinary arts workshops. Workshops are FREE for youth members. TRANSIT ARTS activities are made possible through support from: United Way of Central Ohio; Franklin County Board of Commissioners, The Ohio Arts Council, and The Puffin Foundation through the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education; the Alfred L. Wilson Charitable Fund of The Columbus Foundation, and individual contributors. *The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the Franklin County Board of Commissioners

What’s in the air? The residents of Powhatan Point, Ohio deserve answers

Backs of two people standing outside on a hill pointing off to the distance down in a valley

After a gas well owned by XTO, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, exploded on February 15, it continued leaking pollution into the air for three weeks. The word “leak” is deceiving–what came out of the Schnegg well was a 100-foot vertical geyser of smoke, brine, and gases. Powhatan Point, Ohio residents 1.5 miles away could see the initial explosion, and continued hearing the ongoing eruption until XTO capped the well on March 6.

Enemy of the People: Mike DeWine

Smiling older white man wearing round black-rimmed glasses
After an appeal by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to an en banc session to review the unanimous ruling that blocked John Kasich’s unconstitutional 2016 bill to defund Planned Parenthood.   NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Executive Director Kellie Copeland said:   Appealing this unanimous decision is outrageous. Mike DeWine would rather Ohioans not have access to the cancer screenings and HIV testing that keeps them healthy than allow Planned Parenthood to help them. He is fighting against funding for rape prevention programs. Mike DeWine is putting funds at risk that combat Ohio’s infant mortality crisis. He’s willing to do all of this just to further his anti-abortion crusade and to appeal to conservative Republican voters. Think about that.   The Sixth Circuit was very clear in their original unanimous ruling. Physicians must be able to provide health care and education to patients without unconstitutional restrictions on what they can say. Politicians don’t know better than doctors and shouldn’t be allowed to block them from doing their jobs.   The bill aimed to block Planned Parenthood from receiving these state funds:

    The Vegan Connection at the Solar Stage during Comfest 2018

    Three happy people by a table outside that says VEGAN on a sign
    June 24, 2018 @ 11:30 am – 12:15 pm
    Goodale Park Comfest Weekend "Solar Stage" 120 West Goodale St.
    While Comfest 2018 runs Fri Jun 22 through Sun Jun 24th this year, and we will have a Columbus Vegan Meetup and VeganShift booth there all weekend long, we want to make a special invitation to you to join us on Sun, Jun 24th as we will also be hosting the 8th annual "The Vegan Connection" presentation developed by veteran vegan Eriyah Flynn for Comfest. It is a free event hosted by local vegan community collaboration from nonprofit Vegan Shift and the Columbus Vegan Meetup group.

    The Vegan Connection 2018 presents:

    Noelle Bartholdi, a world-class competitive and winning vegan athlete, who lives in Columbus, OH. She is passionate about helping others achieve fitness excellence on a vegan (100% plant-based) diet!

    Also presenting will be Kamal and Ami Panchal, of Banana Leaf Indian restaurant. This dynamic duo will delight our attendees with a demonstration of a delicious authentic Indian vegan cuisine recipe.

    Willie Phoenix and the soul underground

    Black man in a hat playing a guitar at a mic

    6:35 PM - Bozo stage
    Saturday, June 23 at Comfest
    Goodale Park
    This is a rock n' roll band that paints with the psychedelic volumes of 68 and 69

    6:35 PM - Bozo - Saturday

    Volunteer to help gamers with disabilities

    Lots of people smiling and sitting around a table posing for the camera, board games on the table

    Dave & Busters with Individuals with Disabilities - 6/27/18
    6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
    3665 Park Mill Run Drive, Hilliard
    Franklin County Recreation is teaming up with Dave & Busters to offer this event for individuals with disabilities. Volunteers will help welcome attendees and families and socialize and play games with them. This will be a great interactive event to help our neighbors with disabilities have a fun evening out. Volunteers are needed primarily to play games with the attendees and assist in any other way as prescribed by the staff of Franklin County Recreation. The purpose of Franklin County Recreation is to promote community activities, leisure time and social opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities, and to help recreation members connect to opportunities in their community. paul@columbusgivesback.org

    Trump, Kim and The Nuclear Status Quo

    Peace, love and Donald Trump?

    I get the skepticism regarding the tentative nuclear disarmament agreement the president and Kim Jong-un reached last week, but not the cynicism — not the outright dismissal.

    It’s too easy to hate Trump, but he isn’t the point. In his reckless unpredictability — in his lust for applause and desperation to steal headlines from the Robert Mueller investigation — he snatched an opportunity to meet with the leader of North Korea . . . “Little Rocket Man” . . . and talk about reducing the danger of nuclear war. Say what?

    It hardly seems possible — but maybe Trump has a mission far beyond anything he himself envisions: visiting creative destruction, you might say, on the planet’s geopolitical infrastructure, loosening the certainties of nationalism and armed self-defense. Perhaps the salvation of Planet Earth begins with cluelessness and ego: a superpower leader who has no idea what he’s doing.

    Pages

    Subscribe to ColumbusFreePress.com RSS