The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an alliance in name alone. Recent events notwithstanding, the brewing conflict over territorial waters in the Eastern Mediterranean indicates that the military union between mostly Western countries is faltering.

The current Turkish-Greek tensionis only one facet of a much larger conflict involving, aside from the two Mediterranean countries, Israel, Egypt, Cyprus, France, Libya and other Mediterranean and European countries. Notably absent from the list are the United States and Russia; the latter, in particular, stands to gain or lose much economic leverage, depending on the outcome of the conflict.

How much incompetence can one county jail exhibit, and continue to operate? A jail break Tuesday (September 8th) from the Morrow County Correctional Facility in Mt. Gilead should be the last straw. 

Despite warnings this would happen, the Morrow County Correctional Facility (MCCF) became 100% COVID-positive this year. Since the jail doubles as a federal detention center for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), MCCF became the first 100% COVID-positive ICE facility in the nation.

Now, with two jailbreaks and a suicide in the past few weeks, one has to wonder: When will the Morrow County Commissioners, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, or anyone else with authority step in and say enough is enough, this jail needs to close?

When I ponder the likelihood of looming electoral chaos — uncounted votes, a defeated president who won’t leave office, the possible termination of American democracy (coming soon!) — I can’t avoid putting it into a larger context:

We’ve always been, at best, a partial democracy, skewed in favor of the wealthy and powerful (and white). Furthermore, a destructive force has been growing in this country that has a global impact and is far larger than Donald Trump. This force — militarism, war — has been, at least in my lifetime, pretty much immune from the checks and balances of American democracy and has been growing increasingly out of control, regardless who’s in office, during the 21st century. It’s been met, at best, with a shrug, by the media and most politicians: set aside as a matter to be dealt with later.

I believe the time to deal with both issues is now.

Tuesday, Sept. 8, 6-7:30pm
City of Columbus, City Hall, 90 W. Broad St.
Columbus and Franklin County are in a housing crisis. Our elected leaders continue to kick the eviction problem down the road instead of providing rent relief and providing housing for all people. Join us in calling for an end to the police violence inherent in housing set outs, and an end to the commodification of housing that prioritizes profits over the lives of people, especially our Black, brown, and immigrant neighbors.