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A red map of Ohio with faces of black men shot by police and their names

In the years 2013-2016, the Columbus Police killed 24 people, 20 of them black.

Mappingpoliceviolence.org lists the names of all Columbus citizens killed by the Columbus Police Department (CPD). Despite only 27.6 percent of Columbus’ population being black, 83.3 percent of all people killed by cops were black (see chart).

Out of the 15 largest U.S. cities, Columbus ranks number one in percentage of police killing black people. (see chart).

Often the police and their allies will excuse the high rates of police violence against black people by claiming they are just trying to stop black-on-black crime, a phrase popularized in the 1980s under Ronald Reagan, as the United States created the world’s largest prison industrial complex. Police shootings of black people are not reflective of high black-on-black crime rates. They are not the result of a police department’s attempt to protect poor communities. A report from mappingpoliceviolence.org points out that there is no relationship between police killing blacks and community violent crime rates.

Lots of young people marching and with signs saying RESIST

Thursday, May 4, 7-8:30pm
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, 30 West Woodruff
The growing resistance to the Trump Administration's reactionary agenda is clear evidence of widespread anger at the glaring extremes of wealth and poverty and the many injustices inflicted on workers, the poor, and the oppressed in our society. 

In addition to organizing and joining protests, many people are seeking out an alternative to capitalism and are for the first time embracing socialism and joining socialist organizations. 

Each summer, the International Socialist Organization organizes the Socialism conference in Chicago, with the goal of building and strengthening left-wing organization. 

The conference annually brings out 1,500 activists and leftists from across the country and beyond for four days of debate, workshops, and discussion with sessions on key questions within the Left. 

Socialism 2017, which will take place July 6 - 9, will likely be the biggest Socialism conference yet, and ISO Columbus is looking to bring other solidarity-minded people to come with us and join the discussion.

People with pink signs standing outside a government building

Ohio legislature considers bills to prop up nuclear, tamp down renewables

FirstEnergy has gone to the Ohio legislature for bailouts for their two nuclear reactors (power plants) on Lake Erie: Davis-Besse east of Toledo and Perry east of Cleveland. SB 128 was introduced in the Ohio Senate on April 5, 2017. This bill would give Zero Emissions Nuclear Credits (ZENS) to these 2 reactors.  The subsidy would raise Ohio electric ratepayers’ bills by about 5 percent, amounting to around $300 million/year.

Ohio has excess electric capacity:  Ohio does not need electricity from Davis-Besse and Perry.  About 3000 megawatts of new gas plants are in the works in Ohio, more than compensating for the 2000 or so

Renewables are now cheaper and less polluting, with no radioactivity and much less carbon. There are now more jobs in solar and wind than in nuclear or coal.  Solar deployment numbers for 2016 show a 95 percent growth.

Three women holding sign that says Science Benefits Everyone

Because of President Donald Trump’s policies and Neolithic attitude toward women, pussy hats have become popular regalia at protests in downtown Columbus. But at the March for Science on April 22, brain hats outnumbered pussy hats. White lab coats were also in abundance.

An estimated five thousand people gathered on the west lawn of the Ohio Statehouse to hear physicians, researchers and science educators speak about the essential role of scientific research and the need to base public policy on objective evidence instead of ideology.

“We are wearing our white coats,” said Dr. Beth Liston MD, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at OSU. “They’re not red; they’re not blue. This isn’t a partisan issue. This is simple truth and real fact.”

Dr. Liston is also affiliated with the Physicians Action Network. “Science saves lives,” she said, describing cases of patients surviving cancer after receiving new treatments discovered through publicly-funded research.

A woman on the phone and another woman looking at her in an alarmed way

It’s no surprise that so many movies focus on the teenage years. Just think what this time of life puts us through.

After ambling our way through adolescence, we suddenly have to make crucial decisions about our future while simultaneously dealing with changing bodies, insistent urges and, for many of us, crippling inferiority complexes.

All of this makes teenagers a fascinating subject for movie fiction, and it makes them an equally fascinating subject for movie documentaries. At least, it does when the documentaries are as sensitive and thoughtful as All This Panic.

Director Jenny Gage and cinematographer Tom Betterton reportedly followed a group of Brooklyn girls through three years of their lives. In the process, they created a deeply personal record of the small and large crises they faced along the way.

And make no mistake about it: Though the flick’s title could be misinterpreted as a condescending comment on teen angst, these young women lead very complicated lives.

Words Columbus Media Insider

In a perfect world, $50 million would be spent showing Ohioans the following political ad on TV:

Announcer: "This is the Ohio Newscast featuring Lenny Smith and Lara Lewandowski." (Ken and Barbie lookalikes)

Lenny: "Ohio's runaway governor is running the Buckeye State into an even bigger ditch."

(Picture of a disgruntled-looking Gov. John Kasich superimposed in background.)

Lara: "That's right, Lenny. A few months ago Kasich said Ohio was running a $400 million deficit. Now it's ballooned to $800 million. Kasich is driving Ohio into a $1 billion debt hole."

Lenny: "In other words, Kasich's so-called Ohio Miracle has become a Buckeye Catastrophe."

Lara: "Isn't Kasich the guy who cut taxes for rich Ohio business owners and cut the hell out of Ohio public schools, cities and counties."

Lenny: "This guy's bad plans are bankrupting the state and hurting its people. What is Kasich doing running around the country campaigning for president and promoting his new book while our home state goes to hell in a hand basket?"

A fist with pencils in it and the words Public Education for an Educated Public

Excerpts from remarks made by Dennis J. Kucinich Monday, April 24, 2017 to the Ohio Legislature, Columbus, Ohio

Privatization of public assets is a major issue in America, and, in the case of education, the federal government provides billions to privatizers in the charter industry… The privatization of public education in Ohio has resulted in a wasteful, inefficient, duplicate school system, with duplicate buildings and a duplicate transportation system, paid for by the same taxpayers who have paid for public education in the first place.

Charter schools, which are falsely labeled as public charter schools, not only represent the privatization of education but the rejection of popular democracy and its connection to the education of its citizenry.

In the past year I have been meeting with representatives of public education organizations, gathering information on the impact of educational privatization, that is, charter schools, on the public education system, its integrity, its financing and its stability...

The “Good Good Salad” (front center), grilled vegetables (background)

The Granville Inn, located in the quaint Columbus outlier of Granville, and their chef, Chad Lavley, knows exactly how to serve vegans, and anyone looking for a healthy, delicious, satisfying and sustainable meal. The “Good Good Salad” on their tavern menu was loaded with nutrient dense, omega-rich, “brain food” in the form of; baby spinach and kale with quinoa, apples and blueberries tossed with carrot, red onion and sprouts (Yes! SPROUTS! THANK YOU!) in a pomegranate vinaigrette and topped with toasted chia and hemp seeds.
 

Big hamburger with pills between buns and words What The Health

VeganShift and The Columbus Vegan Meetup are hosting the exclusive Columbus premier of “What the Health” on Wednesday, May 3 at 7:30PM at the Gateway Film Center, 1550 N High St, Columbus, OH 43201. Visit VeganShift and Columbus Vegan Meetup facebook groups and websites for more details on getting connected to the vegan community. Tickets - $10.

 

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