More than 23 years ago, George W. Bush, Jr. signed  Presidential Proclamation 7463 declaring that a “national emergency exists by reason of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, New York, New York, and the Pentagon, and the continuing and immediate threat of further attacks on the United States.”  

The White House has demonstrated, in several administrations, both Democrat and Republican, “threat inflation” for the sake of spending endless money on wars, and manipulating fears to hold on to power to continue to spend endless money on even more wars in the ultimate protection racket.

As a result, the constitutional system of checks and balances is being obliterated in favor of an Imperial Presidency, and, as the Constitution is eroded, so too, are our liberties.  

The recent chipping away at our First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights can be traced directly to the psychology of a "State of Emergency," which licenses shredding of freedom. 

On a recent warm evening at the Runaway Bay apartment complex in Grandview, a middle-aged woman in a rowboat was chased by a gaggle of white swans, geese, mallards and who knows what else. They pursued her over the quarry’s still waters as she throws them crumbs. It is a sight to be seen, but only a few are able to enjoy this private quarry filtered by the nearby Scioto River because its surrounded by condos, apartments and ugly office buildings built a few decades ago. Irony is how this quarry is also home to Hidden Lake Condominiums.

In 2022, the Free Press published a flippant story on how a section of this quarry should be returned to the public and made into a beach with boats or kayaks to rent (pictured above).

Thursday, May 23, 7pm, Tuttle Park [outside of the Tuttle Community Center], 240 W. Oakland Ave.

Join us this Thursday, May 23 at 6pm at Tuttle Park outside of the recreation center (weather permitting) or online at tinyurl.com/CORSmeeting to discuss Victor Serge’s What Every Radical Should Know about State Repression. The full text is available here.

After the victory of the Russian revolution, Serge was tasked with going through the archives of the Tsar’s secret police. His study reveals the incredible level of surveillance, infiltration, and provocation against which the Bolsheviks had to fight. His analysis shows how they were able to win, and ultimately how we can win against repression by our own state. This information is vital for any organizers to know in our current political moment.

Inadvertently, Israel has pressed the reset button on its war with the Palestinian people, taking back the so-called conflict to square one.

 Save a few self-serving Palestinian officials affiliated with the Palestinian Authority (PA), most Palestinians do not seem consumed with the return to the peace process, or even engaged in discussions about two state solutions.

 The conversation among Palestinians is now mostly concerned with all aspects of the Palestinian struggle, starting with the ethnic cleansing of Palestine 76 years ago, an event known as the Nakba, or Catastrophe.

 The Nakba is commemorated on May 15 of each year. The nature of the annual event, however, changes from one stage of the Palestinian struggle to the next.  Indeed, the Nakba anniversary acquires its meaning from the political context of the time – it is elevated during times of hope, demoted during times of despair, defeat and infighting.