Reflections of a virgin activist: March on Washington October 25th, 2003

Like so many Americans, I do feel frustrated, angry, and disheartened with the current government. Many friends, colleagues, and acquaintances have shared their sense of betrayal by George W. Bush. For the first time, I decided to actually act, to do something. Writing two letters a week to various politicians and companies didn’t seem like enough. I marched on Washington DC with the A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition last October 25th.

Having never done this before, I was hesitant and wary. Getting on a bus of complete strangers to protest our military’s occupation of another nation, what am I doing? I could get arrested. My dad’s going to flip! My students could see me on the television. What am I going to pack? I’ll admit, it was a little thrilling. By Friday the 24th, I was telling everybody about it not to sell my beliefs or obtain a reaction, but simply out of anticipation. Reactions were intriguing.

Boycott CM foods

The term GM foods or GMOs (genetically-modified organisms) is used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption that have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. For example, plant geneticists can isolate a gene responsible for drought tolerance and insert that gene into a different plant. The new genetically-modified plant will gain drought tolerance as well. Not only can genes be transferred from one plant to another, but genes from non-plant organisms also can be used. Agribusiness is criticized for pursuing profit without concern for potential hazards of GMOs, and the government for failing to exercise adequate regulatory oversight. It seems that everyone has a strong opinion about GM foods. Even the Vatican and the Prince of Wales have expressed their opinions. Most concerns about GM foods fall into three categories: environmental hazards, human health risks and economic concerns. Genetically Modified foods are finding their way in increasing numbers into the marketplace. Find out how to avoid them here:

The year democracy ended

As the year ends, 2003 will be remembered by future historians as the year the pretense of democracy in the United States ended.

Since the 1940s, conservatives have accepted the assumption of economist Joseph Schumpeter that democracy in a mass society existed of little more than the following: the adult population could vote; the votes were fairly counted; and the masses could choose between elites from one of two parties.

With the most recent revelations about the 2000 Bush coup in Florida disclosed in the shocking stolen Diebold memos, the Bush family has signaled that an authoritarian right-wing dynasty is the future course for American politics.

Playboy uncovers Rainbow Farm siege

The October 2003 issue of Playboy included the must-read article “Siege at Rainbow Farm” chronicling the events leading up to the dramatic 5-day standoff between the farm owners and the FBI that left two gay marijuana activists dead in Michigan. The Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism, which publishes the Free Press, was mentioned in the article as an ally of the hemp festivals thrown at the legendary Rainbow Farm. The Free Press was one of the few newspapers that gave extensive coverage to the killings which occurred just prior to September 11, 2001. More than anything else, the article documents the vicious reactionary agenda of right-wing Republicans and their Bible-thumping buddies in northern Indiana and southern Michigan who will go to any length to keep the population from smoking pot. Now if we could just get the ATF to attack the pharmaceutical companies that addict thousands to their happy pills Prozac and Zoloft we could have a real war on drug pushers.

Kucinich in Columbus

Congressman and Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich of Ohio visited Columbus on November 1, meeting with the Central Ohioans for Peace, students at OSU and the Ohio Green Party, before speaking at the national Natural Law Party convention. Kucinich promoted his proposal for creating a federal Department of Peace and proclaimed his opposition to the occupation of Iraq.

Kucinich also graciously allowed his “Prayer for Peace,” written at the start of the war in Iraq, to be used as the Preface of Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman’s new book, George W. Bush vs. The SuperPower of Peace. The new book can be purchased by sending in the form on the back cover of this newspaper or online at www.freepress.org in the Online Store.

Think before you pink!

We’re excited to give you a heads-up on the launch of the second phase of our “Think Before You Pink” campaign, which offers an alternative look at the pink-ribbon marketing promotions that were especially prevalent during October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

This year’s “Think Before You Pink” campaign focuses on companies that promise to donate a portion of their profits to breast cancer charities but, at the same time, use chemicals in their products that may actually be associated with the development of the disease. For instance, major cosmetics companies such as Avon, Revlon, and Estee Lauder all market themselves as allies in “the fight against breast cancer,” but they also use endocrine-disrupting chemicals that may be linked to the disease.

An ad publicizing the campaign appeared Friday, October 4 — on the op-ed page of the national edition of the New York Times. You can see a preview of the ad now, along with loads of information, at our updated campaign web site: www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org.

Local food at local restaurants

Jorgensen Farms, a Westerville-based community-agriculture-ecology-research-education center, brought together chefs and farmers from Central Ohio to talk about getting more local foods to local tables. Along with members of Chefs Collaborative, the Ohio Ecological Food & Farms Association, Innovative Farmers of Ohio and the Greater Columbus Foodshed Project, Jorgensen Farm wants to encourage “the preservation of family farms.” Chefs who expressed interest in the program were from: the Bexley Monk, Dragonfly Neo-V, the Elevator Brewing Company, The New Albany Country Club and Katzinger’s in the Columbus area. Let those restaurants know you’d like to see them see more locally-grown foods on their menus!

Bush, Bush, you can’t hide. We know you’re with the oligarchs inside!

George W., in his quest to raise more money than any other presidential campaign in U.S. history – the old record was $100 million by Bush himself in the 2000 election – came to Columbus for a $2000-a-plate fundraiser on October 30. The SEIU, the Ohio Democratic Party, the Sierra Club, Howard Dean and Dennis Kucinich for President supporters and others demonstrated against the Resident’s policies that have cost the nation over 3 million jobs, the worst performance since Herbert Hoover during the Great Depression. The loss of jobs, the record half-a-trillion-dollar yearly deficit and the U.S. occupation of Iraq were the predominant issues of the protest.

One prominent local Republican told the Free Press that many Columbus GOP members did not “appreciate the President coming in so close to the election and sucking up all the Republican funds for his presidential campaign.”

Who will tell the people?

On a Sunday night in the inner city of Columbus, nearly 300 attendees gathered for a rally to promote jobs and justice. Best-selling author and social activist Barbara Ehrenreich headlined the event and received a standing ovation as she detailed the harsh reality of corporate America’s attack on working people. Her speech drew from her popular book, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, a firsthand account of her journey as an underpaid member of America’s notorious “pink collar” ghetto.

Ehrenreich emphasized that while corporate execs in Germany and Japan might make on average 40 times the salary of a worker at their companies, in the U.S. the number is 400 times the salary. She outlined how the democratic movements over the last century wrestled power away from the corporations and how the corporations are now using their size and wealth to destroy democracy and to quite literally require that people work for them for low wages.

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