Escalator decent

The fight to eliminate cash bail in Ohio is not over, HB315 and SB182 are pending

Six out of ten people in jail have not been convicted of a crime. They simply cannot afford to pay their cash bail and are awaiting their court trials. The financial implications for taxpayers include an estimated quarter of a billion dollars spent each year to incarcerate these folks.  

For the accused who can’t afford to pay cash bail, the financial ramifications of sitting in jail compound each other. They could suffer the loss of their job, an eviction, loss of custody of their children, additional health concerns, or a long-term impact on their credit rating.  

Cash bail is paid to the court by the accused to get out of jail and returned when they appear for trial. Bail bondsmen, essentially loan companies, are often used to come up with the amount, but they charge on average a 10% nonrefundable fee.

Have a Union-Made Thanksgiving

List of union foods

When you buy union, you're supporting good jobs in American communities, jobs that provide living wages and benefits, safe working conditions, and dignity and respect for work. Look for these quality products, produced by union members, when preparing for your Thanksgiving feast.

The following list comes to us from Union Label and the products are made by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM); the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers-USW (GMP-USW); the Machinists (IAM); UNITE HERE; the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW); the United Steelworkers (USW); the United Farm Workers (UFW); and the Teamsters (IBT).

Set the Table

·Anchor Hocking (GMP-USW)

·Bennington Potters (UNITE HERE)

·Clauss knives (USW)

·CorningWare (USW)

·Cutco knives

·Fiestaware (GMP-USW)

Liberating Africa from Poverty Requires Changing Power Relations with the West

Soon after arriving in Oslo, my taxi zigzagged through the city's well-organized streets and state-of-the-art infrastructure. Large billboards advertised the world's leading brands in fashion, cars, and perfumes. Amid all the expressions of wealth and plenty, an electronic sign by a bus stop flashed the images of poor-looking African children needing help. 

 

Over the years, Norway has served as a relatively good model of meaningful humanitarian and medical aid. This is especially true if compared to other self-serving western countries, where aid is often linked to direct political and military interests. Still, the public humiliation of poor, hungry and diseased Africa is still disquieting. 

 

Bonesaw Dreams

UBU THE KING: Theater Review

Upon returning from Tahiti and Pitcairn Island I was glad I hadn’t missed The Actors’ Gang’s 40th Anniversary production of Ubu the King, which has been extended. Especially as this veteran reviewer has never seen anything quite like this inspired insanity performed on a live stage before. The playbill includes credits for, and I quote, “fartists” (cast members Adam Dugas and Guebri Van Over hold that honor), and before the proverbial curtain lifts a bilingual woman announces house rules, such as where emergency exits (presumably for faint of heart ticket buyers) are located and warns audience members against committing acts of “terrorism,” like talking during the show.

The latter admonitions may reference the outraged disruptions that punk-tuated the world premiere of Ubu Roi (for readers who don’t parlez vous, “roi” is French for “king”). The ensuing 90-minutes of merry madcap mayhem on the boards of The Actors’ Gang’s Culver City theater clearly reveal what triggered Parisian spectators to riot during the apparently not-so-“Gay Nineties,” and the subsequent banning, of symbolist Alfred Jarry’s surreal satire.

Palestinians are Native Americans: Time to Correct the Language of History

At a recent Istanbul conference that brought many Palestinian scholars and activists together to discuss the search for a common narrative on Palestine, a Palestinian member of the audience declared at the end of a brief, but fiery intervention, ‘we are not red Indians’.

Handwritten Christmas cards going out to half of Ohio prison inmates

People writing letters

A local non-profit movement continues to make a positive impact on the lives of Ohio’s prison inmate population each year by sending them personalized, handwritten Christmas cards that encourage them to "Continue the Story." 

Over the past several years, Central Ohio’s “Continue the Story" movement has personally reached more than 64,700 inmates incarcerated in Ohio’s prison system at Christmastime, one inmate at a time, in hopes of brightening their lives by spreading the Christmas spirit, which is one of joy and hope. 

Although it is rapidly growing with hundreds of volunteers throughout Greater Columbus, “Continue the Story” was created six years ago after members of the organization became painfully aware of some of the horrors of the modern criminal justice system. Organizers believe a lot of the people who are incarcerated today are essentially good people who’ve made mistakes. 

World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Victims

Details about event

Sunday, November 20, 1pm
Washington Gladden Social Justice Park, northeast corner of E. Broad St. and Cleveland Ave.

Please join us as we remember victims of traffic crashes and their loved ones, as well as first responders and medical professionals.

Traffic crash rates in Columbus are still increasing, unfortunately — up 14% in 2021 and rising — despite the “Vision Zero” traffic safety strategy that had been adopted by the City of Columbus two years ago.

Therefore, we are calling on our officials to immediately implement data-driven solutions to prevent traffic crashes beginning with the high-injury network arterials.

For too long, we have prioritized moving cars at high speeds over the safety of everyone, and society at large is paying the price with endless stories of lives ruined and/or never fully realized because of death, injuries, and lifelong disabilities.

This loss and suffering is preventable!

The National Safety Council estimates the annual cost of traffic crashes to society at $887 billion in 2021, which equates to $2.6 billion annual cost to the City of Columbus.

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