“What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society who abandons him and treats him like trash?” asks Joker. Directed by Todd Philips and starring Joaquin Phoenix, Joker was a sweaty and melancholy telling of how Batman’s most iconic nemesis came to be. We’re not here for spoilers though, although I strongly recommend the reader to go and find the punchline of this joke. Too often in reality we see mentally ill loners being abandoned and treated like trash.

The Journey is led by those directly impacted by the death penalty, including the wrongfully convicted, the families of death row inmates, and murder victim family members. The events this Saturday are a chance to hear their stories and energize the movement. This comes at a crucial time, as leaders including the Governor, House Speaker, and others have signaled discomfort with the death penalty.

Despite the corporate hype, Democratic Socialism and Social Democracy are deeply rooted in the mainstream of our nation’s history.

The lie that they’re “foreign ideologies” starts with the fascist assault Woodrow Wilson waged against them during and after
World War 1.

Their marginalization today by corporate Democrats and Trump Republicans is itself profoundly unAmerican.

Here’s the reality (as explained in greater length in my new People’s Spiral of US History):

In the decades after the Civil War, Robber Baron corporations captured the core of the American economy. Led by JP Morgan and John Rockefeller, they pushed family farmers and urban workers deep into the depths of poverty.

In the west and south, agrarian activists formed the People’s (Populist) Party to demand public control over the monopoly capitalist forces that were destroying their lives. Their socialistic platforms demanded democratic rule over the money supply, banks, railroads, telecommunications and much more. They wanted female suffrage, direct election of Senators, referendum and recall.

By World BEYOND War, October 8, 2019

The fourth annual conference of World BEYOND War, which was held on October 4th and 5th in Limerick, Ireland, produced this letter, which is being delivered to Julian Assange.

We are grateful to you for the work you have done exposing criminal activities and abuses of power by militaries and governments. We believe that governments’ (monstrous and criminal) behavior should not be secret. People should know what their government is doing, and what a powerful foreign government is doing to their own countries. The actual results of the work of WikiLeaks have been hugely beneficial.

It is outrageous that you are behind bars for exposing actions far more serious than a recent phone call between Donald Trump and the President of Ukraine, which has political opponents of Trump suddenly claiming to support whistleblowers.

Columbus is booming. The unemployment rate is low, the economy is up. Central Ohio continues to attract new business and our designation as a Smart City means new innovations will be flowing in.

And yet, despite our growth, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Central Ohio jumped nearly seven percent in 2018.

That’s 1,807 people, the highest number recorded since 2007.

The obvious question is “why?” More jobs, more economic growth – why does this add up to more people without homes?

The reality is that unemployment isn’t the only cause of homelessness. In fact, 43 percent of people in Central Ohio’s homeless shelters are working. From housing costs to the structure of services, there are a host of factors that lead to and perpetuate a cycle of homelessness.

To date, some incredible organizations have taken steps to address these factors, including the Columbus Community Shelter Board. Founded in 1986, it was the first to create alignment among the homelessness service system and their model for support is still revered and used throughout the nation.