On 13 June 1980, Pan Africanists, African scholars, political activists and scholars of various disciplines were stunned by the news – Walter Rodney was dead at the age of 38. He died in Guyana, his home, as a result of a car bomb that also injured his brother, Donald. Recently returned from Zimbabwe in southern Africa where he had celebrated the independence of that nation from settler colonialism, Rodney had once again thrown himself into developing a Guyanese coalition of all who were historically disenfranchised in the South American nation – the poor, various ethnic groups and women.

Shortly before the Columbus City Council election last November, The Free Press ran an article about the candidates’ positions on whether public access TV should be restored in Columbus. (The Free Press, Oct. 31 – Nov. 6) It’s now clear that when the article came out, the incumbent candidates were hiding more than just their positions on the issue. They and the rest of council were deceiving the public.

Independent candidate Nicholas Schneider made his support for public access TV a major issue in his 2013 campaign. Republican candidates Brian Bainbridge and Greg Lawson also expressed support for restoring it. But the Democratic incumbent candidates, Troy Miller, Eileen Paley and Priscilla Tyson, kept silent about the issue.

“Benghazi” is one of those kneejerk labels that rightwing folks slap on a story they don’t actually understand but have determined the “right” answer to anyway. It’s a hot button, not an argument, like the “IRS scandal,” which the right is finally beginning to admit it got wrong because it ignored the law as written.

If you have never heard of the word “vegan,” this is the definition: someone who has acknowledged the fact that animals are fully conscious individuals who desire freedom and as such, warrant the same fundamental right to be free, not to be treated as property or unnecessarily killed. Vegans, therefore, abstain from using animals or their products as much as is practical in modern society. However, people have often self-identified as “vegans” to simplify many needs: food allergies, doctor’s orders, plant-strong health (well planned whole foods, plant-based diets can prevent, arrest, reverse or otherwise positively impact 15 of the top16 causes of death), sustainable consumption, energy conservation, ecological preservation, food security etc. Demand for vegan, organic, non-GMO options are rapidly rising trends of the informed consumer, not a fad. Those who require vegan options would be delighted to dine anywhere and not treated like an afterthought or discriminated against outright. What a wonderful thing it would be to walk into any restaurant and see clearly identified vegan options for every course of a meal.