“NOW MORE THAN EVER” 1

“NOW MORE THAN EVER” 

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The Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism (freepress.org)& 

Democratic Socialists of Central Ohio (DSCO) 

Invite you to the 

2013 Annual Free Press/DSCO 

Awards Dinner 

Monday, November 18, 2013 

6:00-9:00 p.m. 

Honoring community activists for their commitment to social justice 

Bill Cohen 

Former Ohio Public Radio 

Statehouse reporter and 

60s coffeehouse performer 

2013 Free Press “Libby” award winner 

Matt Bors Special Guest 

Presentation of political comics and humor by 

Free Press Pulitzer Prize-nominated cartoonist 

2013 DSCO honorees 

Susan Carter 

& Alice Faryna 

Tickets: $20 person, $35 couple, low income negotiable at the door 

Buy your tickets at the door or in advance at: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/506212 

Featuring dinner and cash bar at: 

Via Vecchia Winery 

485 South Front Street, Columbus 

In the Brewery District 

2

THE COLUMBUS FREE PRESS 

.....THE ONLY LOCAL NEWS WEEKLY NOT OWNED BY THE DISPATCH 

News 

Election Results---------------------------------------------------------------------5 

Hemp: ORG responds to DFAA----------------------------------------------------8 

Janitors Activists busted at Columbus protest-----------------------------10 

How our state legislators are fracking us now---------------------------12 

Editorial 

Obamacare: Godsend or law from hell?---------------------------------------6 

Aint no love in the heart----------------------------------------------------------7 

Dining 

Socially Just Dining--------------------------------------------------------------------- 22 

CMH Gourmand - Lavash Cafe---------------------------------------------------------22 

Wings: A scotch drinkers paradise----------------------------------------------------23 

Sports 

Reaching for the restart button------------------------------------------------ 

Geek Speak 

Geek Speak: BLIZZCON---------------------------------------------------------24 

People 

Lady Monster----------------------------------------------------------------------18 

Activist Calendar------------------------------------------------------------------34 

Peaves------------------------------------------------------------------------------38 

Arts 

Musical targets those who prefer bullets to ballets-------------------------27 

Bonobo fiim kicks off Columbus film Festival-------------------------------32 

Farktoids-----------------------------------------------------------------------33 

Entertainment 

Crossword-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26 

Comics------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 31 

Sudoku------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 26 

Farktoids---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33 

Venue Listing---------------------------------------------------------------------- 36 

Music 

John Petric--------------------------------------------------------------------------21 

DJ Pos 2’s love movement-------------------------------------------------------25 

I don’t pop molly, I rasta------------------------------------------------------------28 

Take 5 with Sue Harshe-----------------------------------------------------------30 

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 

Dear Editor, 

People are talking. Here’s what your 

You probably recall a couple of Native Facebook friends have to say 

American rallies during AmeriFlora, and 

the changing of the city’s name being 

mentioned? 

Thanks Lady Monster and The Columbus Free Press for this 

Every year I mention this and my liberal friends still glare praise for The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories! “For 

at me like I am crazy, even as I recite the horrible things more insight and inspiration for your orgasms, and the various 

done by Columbus and his companions. One of the reasons I types of orgasm that can be achieved, I recommend reading 

differentiate “liberals” from “progressives,” and yes I get glares this brand new anthology of erotic short stories, The Big 

over that too. 

Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories by prolific erotica writer/ 

So how about a name change to Geebus. Very close to Cbus, editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. Each story is about achieving 

and seems we are stuck with (E. Gordon)Gee, even after his orgasm. Short, hot and steamy revelations. An excellent bedside 

humiliation and the way he embarrassed the city. Even (Woody) companion for yourself or story time with a partner.” 

Hayes and (Jim)Tressel had to quit, or were fired. So just cave 

in and name it after him! 

Rachel Kramer Bussel (author) 

Or (Leslie)Wexner will want in on the ego, so maybe just 

“Wexner, Ohio.” Or Wexnerton, or Wexnerapolis? 

And there are those Hayes worshipers, so might as well throw 

Excellent full-page Q&A in this week’s [Oct 31] The 

those variations in. 

Columbus Free Press. Willie Phoenix of Blues Hippy and The 

I do think some day, (in a)decade or two, the name will be 

Soul Underground answers 5 questions in Technicolor (no one 

changed, because it was an awful choice to go on forever. I 

word answers here) and the pic by Rachelle DeClue Shearon 

understand in 1800 that people did not understand the truth of 

t’ain’t too bad, neither!! 

the history of Columbus. 

I will have to think on about other “serious” names. But I go 

Myke Rock 

with Geebus for now. 

Charles Preston 

PS-I have been reading ‘The Free Press’ since the ‘80s, and 

like the new format. Good Work! 

Dear Editor, 

November 30, 2013 from 7:00 until 9:00, Blue Dublin will 

have a seminar and introduction of candidates at the Dublin 

Library, 25 North High St. Dublin OH 43017. The topic: 

The importance of the 2014 and 2016 elections. The speaker 

and leader of the seminar will be Dale Butland. He is with 

Innovation Ohio and is a most effective speaker on progressive 

issues on central Ohio talk shows. He was Senator Glenn’s 

legislative assistant. 

We are inviting the five Ohio-wide candidates for 2014: Ed 

FitzGerald for Governor, David Pepper for Attorney General, 

Nina Turner for Secretary of State, Connie Pillich for Treasurer, 

John Patrick Carney for Auditor and Scott Wharton who 

is running for Congress in the 15th District. Each of these 

candidates or their surrogate will be asked to give their stump 

speech. Since parts of Dublin are in Franklin, Delaware and 

Union Counties candidates for Ohio-wide, county and city 

offices in these counties in 2014 and current office holders will 

be introduced. 

Schedule: 7:00 PM register and network 

7:30-8:45 PM speech and seminar 

After 8:45 PM talk to candidates 

Albert A. Gabel 

Chairman Blue Dublin 

[Referencing “Diebold Indicted” article in Oct. 31 issue]: 

They’ve been busted so many times I’ve lost count. But instead 

of focusing on them, focus on the two party criminal syndicate 

that’s been playing us all for the past century instead. 

Rustifari Satori 

I would like to know why the American people are not up in 

arms about the absolute foolishness that is taking place in our 

nation’s capitol at the moment. How can we call ourselves a 

democracy, when every piece of legislation put forth by the 

Republican Party is solely to the detriment every of every 

social program that is currently in force?This party( gang of 

terrorists,more like it) is destroying our economy when its at 

its most vulnerable point. And, the real sad truth of the matter 

is that when all is said and done, we’re going to all be affected 

in one way or another-- especially minorities, whose fortunes 

have been grievously damaged already. I propose that the Black 

Caucus of the Congress, of both houses, call for a referendum 

to bring these facts to light. 

Gregory Gartrel 

Let the NSA know what you think about the 

Columbus Free Press. Friend us on Facebook and 

make your voice heard. 

SEND US YOUR LETTERS 

The Columbus Free Press is eager to engage our readers. Letters to the 

editor are not only welcome but encouraged. Have a comment, gripe or 

criticism? Send your letter to: letters@columbusfreepress.com. 

Include your name and city of residence. 

Submission does not guarantee that your letter will 

appear in the Free Press, but every submission 

will receive due consideration. 

a word from Managing Editor 


We have seen this act before. It always appears innocent to the 

untrained eye, but those who pay close attention can sense when 

something is rotten in Denmark, or in this case Dennison Place. 

Concerned citizen Frank Zindler smelled something foul 

in his neighborhood when he was notified that this year he 

wouldn’t be voting at the Thompson Community Center, where 

he’s cast his ballot for three decades. Instead Frank was told 

to go to the Ohio Student Union on campus to exercise his 

franchise. 

On the surface it sounds like a reasonable replacement for his 

usual polling station. It’s public, it’s open and easy to find. How 

can anyone complain they are being inconvenienced, as Frank 

did? 

Frank saw a fly in the ointment when he launched a recon 

mission to scope out the new polling place. What he found 

caused him to write a letter to the Columbus Dispatch. 

In that letter he explained a clear and present danger to his 

neighbors’ voting rights. There’s no place to park. 

Sure, there’s a fairly large parking garage attached to the Ohio 

Union. But, as Frank pointed out in his letter, there’s just one 

itty bitty problem. Turns out those garages are only open to 

those with key cards. The general public can’t enter them until 

after 4pm. 

In Frank’s mind, that’s the sort of thing that just might keep 

some of his elderly neighbors, and perhaps some less motivated 

voters, from casting a ballot. 

And so he wrote a letter to the Dispatch, who called him to 

verify he had written the letter, something they do if they think 

they might publish a letter. But the Dispatch did not publish the 

letter. Frank believes that what the Dispatch did do was call the 

Franklin County Board of Elections. He can’t prove that, nor 

can we, but soon after hearing from the paper he got a letter 

from FCBE. 

“To alleviate this concern, we have worked with The Ohio 

State University [not the private company now running the 

parking business?-Frank’s question] to provide vouchers to 

every person that needs to park in one of the university parking 

garages in order to vote. When you sign in at the polling 

location at the Ohio Union, please mention to poll workers that 

you are parked in one of the university garages and they will 

provide you with a pass to exit the garage at no cost.” 

In an email to me, Frank wondered about a few things. 

“How nice!” he wrote. “If you can’t get into the garage in the 

first place, how will you get a voucher and for what will you 

use it? 

“I am worried that there may be a wider importance to this 

case. The consolidation of precincts may not be important for 

off-year elections, but if it is primarily in Democratic areas 

during a major election it may produce the outrageously long 

lines we experienced preceding the accession to the throne 

of King George II. I admit that the closure of the Thompson 

Community Center gives a slight justification for changing the 

voting site, but why wasn’t a small, accessible alternative site 

chosen? An oversight? I doubt it.” 

You are not alone. 

Frank emailed me several times Tuesday afternoon. He was 

on another mission. He found that the first entrance to the parking 

garage still prohibited public parking before 4pm, while the 

second entrance had no such barrier. However, as Frank pointed 

out to me, there was no way of knowing if his neighbors were 

also told by FCBE about parking vouchers. 

“It would appear that my letter to the Dispatch did in fact 

ameliorate somewhat the situation in my precinct. I am certain 

that this would not have happened if the editor had not contacted 

the FCBE. I doubt that any letter was sent out to all registered 

voters. If it had been sent, surely it would have told them 

to look for the second entrance to the parking garage, wouldn’t 

it? Even so, it is hard to underestimate the impact on my elderly 

neighbors during an off-year election of the specter of having 

to go to so forbidding a site as the Ohio Union. My guess is that 

some of them have never been in a parking garage.” 

Thanks, Frank, for caring enough about the election process 

to have taken as many steps as you did to uphold your neighbors’ 

right to vote.

Post election issue 

By: the Free Press Staff 

by big business and the power and social 

CITIZENS TO SUBMIT CAMPAIGN elite. 

FINANCE REFORM LAW 

Seattle Proposition 1 was a companion 

Using the citizen initiative provisions of proposal to fund elections through property 

the Columbus City Charter that allows citizens 

to propose legislation, the Columbus In Columbus, the Columbus Coalition 

taxes. It failed 54percent to 46percent. 

Coalition for Responsive Government (“the for Responsive Government announced on 

Coalition”) announced it will file signatures Thursday, November 7th that they would be 

in support of a proposed law to reform political 

campaigns in Columbus on Thursday. reform law. In addition, the Coalition is 

submitting signatures for a campaign finance 

“As progressive people, in the wake of the collecting signatures for a proposal to move 

Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United, 

we recognize the pernicious influence member council with 4 members elected At 

from a 7 member At Large council to an 11 

of money in our political life. Because all Large and 7 members elected from Districts. 

politics is local and we think globally but act ELECTION RESULTS 

locally, we are addressing this issue in Columbus,” 

said Coalition committee member Education Plan 

Voters Overwhelmingly Reject Coleman’s 

Denise Benning. 

In a stinging rebuke to Mayor Coleman 

“Governance should be about more than and big business, voters rejected Coleman’s 

staying in power. True public servants will signature Columbus Education Plan proposal 

to increase Columbus City School prop- 

want to ensure we have a robust, competitive, 

and fair electoral system, and we are erty taxes by 24 percent. Despite spending 

hopeful that the individual members of over $2.4 million on a campaign with glossy 

Columbus City Council can see past their mailers, non-stop radio ads and television 

short-term political goals and approve this commercials with cute kids, the Mayor’s 

ordinance based upon the good it provides to Columbus Education Plan (Issue 50) was 

residents of Columbus, present and future,” trounced by voters at the polls, losing with 

said Willis Brown. 

69percent in opposition to 31percent in 

“This will be a test of our priorities. support (44,417 to 19,548). The companion 

Council approves casino tax money to fund issue, Issue 51 which would have created a 

a bailout of an entertainment venue -- Nationwide 

Arena. Now, citizens are asking also failed, losing 61percent to 39 percent. 

new auditor position overseen by the City, 

for a small fraction of that amount, every The ball of string started unraveling in 

other year, to be used to make more and September, a month after the pro levy forces 

better information available to voters, so we started running commercials and sending 

can have the best representation and the best glossy mailers. In a first for Columbus, 

governance possible. The Coalition believes organized opposition to the levy came from 

that having a strong local democracy is newly-formed citizens groups named “No 

worthy of some public investment,” said Cheaters No Charters Columbus,” “It’s 

Denise Benning. 

OKAY To Vote No,” and “Citizens Against 

“Over time, we have watched as elections Issues 50 and 51.” In a preliminary rebuke, 

have become more irrelevant. In the 2013 the Columbus Council of PTA’s refused to 

primary, about 4 percent of the Columbus endorse the levy, and one PTA member’s 

electorate voted. We’ve got to get people statement that the Columbus Education 

to trust that elections matter – that their Commission did not listen to the people 

vote matters – and we’ve got to stop letting prompted an emotional Coleman to melt 

money and influence buy elected office,” down and yell at a parent “I didn’t have to 

said Suzanne Patzer. 

engage in this ever. I could have let it float 

SEATTLE VOTERS APPROVE DIS- off and then it would burn down.” Further, 

homeowners and landlords organized 

TRICT GOVERNANCE LEAVING 

COLUMBUS ALONE 

in objection to the increased tax on their 

Seattle voters adopted Amendment 19 by properties. 

a vote of 64percent to 36percent, moving In his concession speech, Mayor Coleman 

Seattle from the out-dated all At Large City said “it is clear to me that the District must 

Council format, to a District led governance continue to restore trust … while at the same 

format. Seattle’s current city council consists 

of 9 members, all elected in city-wide the voters are saying.” Alex Fisher, CEO 

time changing in the process. That is what 

elections (At Large). Voters supported of The Columbus Partnership wrote “today, 

the initiative led by citizen’s group Seattle voters expressed a lack of trust in our school 

Districts Now, to move toward a Council district … the voters are asking for reform 

that will consist of 7 members elected from before new taxes.” 

Council Districts, and 2 members elected At This public assignment of blame to the 

Large. With Austin’s similar vote last year Board of Education is stunning, since this 

to move from 7 members At Large to 10 appears to be the first time the campaign 

members from Districts and one member At mentioned the Board of Education in 

Large, the Seattle vote leaves Columbus as connection with the levy and because the 

the only remaining big city that retains the community leaders had been stunningly 

outmoded At Large council format favored quiet about the Board’s ineptitude prior to 

the election. 

While pro-levy leaders cast blame for the 

loss at the feet of the Board of Education 

(and certainly the Board deserves a share 

of blame), this was a campaign run by the 

Mayor’s Office and local business community, 

under the Mayor’s banner, with the Mayor’s 

plan, and with the Board of Education 

having no presence whatsoever, which was 

a deliberate part of the planned duplicity of 

the pro-levy campaign. So, although it was 

the Mayor’s plan and campaign, blame for 

its loss went immediately to the District. 

Broad Spread Opposition 

Opposition to the levy came from all 

quarters of Columbus and for many reasons. 

Observers remarked that putting Issue 50 

on the ballot was a strategic blunder by the 

school board and the community’s power 

elite because there was something there 

for everybody to hate. Board of Education 

member Mike Wiles, who was not re-elected, 

had advocated that the issue be split into 

several separate issues; however, he was 

out-voted. 

Columbus City Schools parent Miriam 

Bowers Abbott from the Northwest side of 

Columbus objected to the lack of specifics 

in the Columbus Education Plan saying, “I 

won’t support a plan that simply sucks up 

more public money to fund vague platitudes. 

‘Give us more money’ is not a plan.” 

Prior to the election, Gail Burkholder of 

the Near East Side said, “the Columbus 

Education Plan offers us the opportunity to 

pay the largest property tax increase in CCS 

history. The proceeds would fund non-union 

charter schools, a whole new level of bureaucracy 

and more. This is to be entrusted 

to a school board currently under state and 

federal investigation and a mayor’s office 

with no educational expertise.” 

Amy Harkins, mother of a 7th grader in 

Clintonville objected to Issue 51, saying, 

“I cannot support removing Carolyn Smith 

as internal auditor, the only person brave 

enough to speak out against the data manipulations 

happening in our district.” 

Parent Heather Rouse said “I urge you to 

look more carefully at the money spent per 

student…it varies greatly depending upon 

the school. For example, at Champion MS 

the district spends $21,000 per pupil. Champion 

MS is a new, state of the art building…. 

at Ridgeview MS the district only spends 

$12,000 per pupil yet it is an older run down 

building, filled to the max with a wait list of 

students that wanted to lottery in….which 

school has a better performance index? 

Ridgeview is one of the highest rated middle 

schools in the district. I guess that proves 

that throwing money at the problem isn’t the 

solution!” 

Larry Spencer wrote to levy opponents 

No Cheaters No Charters Columbus, saying 

“according to the state impact website the 

only districts that spend more per student 

than CPS are Grandview & Upper Arlington. 

Grandview and Upper Arlington both 

earned A ratings. CPS earned an F. How 

do you justify asking for more money for 

CPS considering its already high per student 

cost. At this point it does seem to be about 

money but using resources more wisely i.e. 

reducing overhead, etc. It’s also hard for me 

to support this very large levy when schools 

such as Beechcroft and East High are well 

below 100 percent occupancy.” 

Black Clergy Bucks the System 

The Interdenominational Ministerial 

Alliance, the oldest alliance of historically 

Black churches, broke with the orthodoxy in 

advocating a “No” vote. Forming a group 

called Citizens Against Issues 50 and 51 and 

led in partnership by Elder Dale Snyder of 

Bethel AME Church; Pastor Frederick La- 

Marr of Family Missionary Baptist Church 

on the south side; and Rev. Joel L. King 

associate pastor at Union Grove Baptist 

Church in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood, 

this group of community-based ministers 

stated the proposed levy was too high and 

that it would be a burden on the poor and 

fixed income seniors. Further, the group 

noted the data rigging scandal, and the lack 

of accountability shown by Columbus City 

Schools and the Board of Education. In a 

written statement, the group called upon: 

“[School Board President] Perkins and the 

school board to direct Mr. Trafford to compile 

a comprehensive report to the public on 

behalf of the Board of Education about the 

data scrubbing and other misdeeds over the 

past decade. This report should detail exactly 

what went wrong, who was responsible, 

what the consequences were, and what has 

been put in place to ensure this breach of the 

public trust never happens again. Complete 

disclosure to the public is a necessary precondition 

before a return to the ballot once 

Issue 50 is rejected. 

We ask for Mayor Coleman to support our 

call for complete transparency from this 

scandal-plagued and corrupt school system, 

before he advocates for any more money 

from the citizens of Columbus.” 

Prior to the election, a representative of 

the Mayor’s Office had dismissed this group 

of Pastors as being “small churches,” and 

bragged “we just released a list of fifteen big 

churches that agree with us.” It appears as 

though those small church pastors understood 

the pulse of the community. 

In contrast, sources tell The Free Press 

that Pastor Timothy Clark, of big church 

First Church of God gave an endorsement of 

Issues 50 and 51 from the pulpit. According 

to sources who attend the church, while such 

a testimonial from the pastor would normally 

result in thunderous applause, sources say 

after he issued the endorsement you could 

hear a pin drop in the sanctuary. 

Attorney Byron Potts of Citizens Against 

Issues 50 and 51 said, “now it’s time for 

them to come back to the table and do reform 

properly. They must clean up – clean 

house -- before they come back asking for 

more money.” 

Maria Kozelek and Christina McMenemy, 

organizers of ItsOKAYtoVoteNO, wrote 

“The community has rejected The Columbus 

Plan. Now the real work begins. Community 

and parent activists defeated the Plan 

with less than $4,000. Can a cost-effective, 

continued on pg.17 


5

Obamacare: 

Godsend or the law from hell? 


6 

By Kurt Bateman 

Progressive Democrats of America 

Obamacare (The Patient Protection 

and Affordable Care Act) PPACA 

has been alternately called both 

things. In the hyper-ideological 

world our political system labors 

under these days, the reality is that 

the PPACA is both to different 

constituencies. 

Here in Ohio and in the other 

states whose political power 

structure maintained the vociferous 

and unanimous opposition to the 

law, PPACA is looking less like 

a godsend and more like a Rube 

Goldberg contraption that won’t 

provide the solution to the health 

care access crisis. 

In states who have, on the 

other hand, dealt with reality and 

implemented the law to the best 

of their abilities; i.e. set up state 

exchanges, expanded Medicaid etc, 

tens of thousands of their citizens 

are benefiting from gained access to 

insurance if not financial protection 

from medically precipitated 

financial crisis. It is important here 

to remember that in the seven years 

since Massachusetts implemented 

the state model for the PPACA, 

the rate of medically precipitated 

bankruptcy has seen no statistically 

significant decline! 

In Ohio, any participation 

in the federal law was a dead 

issue until the medical provider 

establishment (Ohio Hospital 

Association) weighed in to 

support the Medicaid expansion. 

Furthermore, for all the ideological 

blather by “conservatives” about 

local control, the majority party 

in state government dug in their 

heels and refused to manage the 

administration of the law and 

consequently Ohioans are subject 

to the federal exchange 

and all its complexity 

and “glitches.” I’m not a 

lawyer but to my mind this 

is malfeasance at the very 

least and certainly doesn’t 

represent the best interests 

of the citizens of Ohio. 

For individual Ohioans 

the challenge will be to 

maximize the benefit 

this law holds for their 

individual financial situation. 

Frankly the individual penalty for 

non-compliance is nothing more 

than a nuisance. For business noncompliance 

might hold a $2000 

dollar penalty for non-compliance, 

however, the cost for purchasing 

insurance might approach four 

times that figure. Additionally, 

for the working poor, Medicaid 

expansion in Ohio will truly 

be a godsend, if it survives the 

inevitable legal challenges. 

The difficulty for most Ohioans 

in the middle, who currently 

purchase health insurance on the 

individual market, is the mind 

boggling complexity. In states like 

Ohio, the number of plans that 

people will need to consider might 

conceivably approach 100 given all 

the iterations of out of pocket costs, 

deductibles and coverage levels. 

The question I guess you need 

to answer is this; Am I and my 

loved ones Bronze, Silver, Gold or 

Platinum human beings? Or which 

one can we afford to be? 

Therein lies the main problem. 

The PPACA continues to rely on 

profit-first insurance companies 

whose stock holders on Wall Street 

demand maximized return on 

capital. That capital is comprised 

of the insurance premium dollars 

paid to them minus the actual cost 

of care for the population they 

serve. Meanwhile, the hospital 

corporations are consolidating to 

build power against any reduction 

of their “piece of the pie.” Left out 

of this equation with no position at 

ShAre the Gift of life. 

the table are patients. 

As citizens we must demand 

universal access to a single 

standard of quality care (not 

insurance) for all without regard to 

financial status. 

Today more than 100 million people in the U.S. have signed up to share life 

by registering as organ, eye, and tissue donors. Do the right thing, right now. 

Go to organdonor.gov. 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

Health Resources and Services Administration 

Photo Credits: DRB Images/iStockphoto. Model in image is for illustrative purposes only. 

register today. 

organdonor.gov

Ain’t no love in the heart 

All Quiet on the Western Front 

By Peter M. Gunn 

On Monday, October 28, an explosion and heavy 

gunfire were reported outside the US embassy 

in Yemen. You may have heard about it. It got 

a brief mention on all the cable news channels 

with promises of more on this story as it develops 

including possible casualties. It pierced my 

leftist information silo through a small paragraph 

on Gawker mentioning this fact and nothing 

else. It was, a sobering reminder, indeed, of the 

dangerous world we live in. A moment of pause, 

for reflection that for all the criticism we do and 

outrage we share about the military-industrial 

complex, they really are working to keep us, 

Americans, safe. A few hours later, there was 

more on this story as it developed: the explosions 

were fireworks from a wedding party. 

Now this is far from the first time that the 

US has “mistaken” a wedding party for socalled 

terrorist activity, as quite a few former 

citizens of Afghanistan can attest to. Nor is this 

far from the first time that questionable news 

reports have been deployed in an effort to keep 

the populace good and scared. I will admit that 

were it not for this column, I would have never 

bothered to follow up on the story. No news 

outlet. ever reports the boner-killing truth-filled 

updates as breathlessly as it does the the initial 

scandalizing lies. This is of course not a bug of 

the news media, but a feature, and as much as I 

love Chomsky, it’s not just about manufacturing 

consent, but about the nature of the concept of 

news itself. 

When we talk about the evils of imperialism, 

much is made about the damage it does militarily, 

economically and politically, but more than that it 

shapes and limits our fundamental understanding 

of the world itself. Regions, cultures, borders 

become defined solely for the purposes of 

imperial interests. There is no concept of “the 

West” without an Oriental East to colonize and 

conquer, and any and all discourse about the West 

plays off that tradition. Similarly, Afghanistan and 

Iraq are not in the same region, historically and 

environmentally. They are completely different 

cultures with different languages and traditions. 

However, in order for its War On Terror/Project 

for a New American Century agenda to make 

sense, the Bush administration started to push 

a new regional formulation called the “Greater 

Middle East.” 9 years later, and the war in 

Afghanistan is colloquially understood as a war in 

the Middle East, with all of the wonderful Clashof-Civilizations 

elements implied. 

And once those regions have been defined, 

our understanding of what goes on in them is 

also almost entirely shaped by imperial interests. 

Suppose that the reported explosion was an actual 

attack. Explosions and bomb attacks happen 

in Iraq on a regular basis, and yet now that the 

country is no longer under occupation, they don’t 

constitute “news” to American media. Back in the 

real world, the operative question is, why would 

the nation’s largest media outlets report on a story 

using anonymous sources that wasn’t even close 

to being fully developed? Because the US foreign 

policy apparatus (insert-historical-imperial-power 

here) gets to set the terms of the discourse for 

everyone from war-machine sycophants to postcolonial 

theorists. 

This is the dilemma that those seeking to resist 

hegemony or create a just world face. One of the 

most effective ways to make the powers that be 

irrelevant is to treat them as such, but in doing so 

you allow the hegemonist propaganda to continue 

unmolested. Applied to the non-explosion, if 

you’re a purported anti-imperialist media outlet, 

do you ignore the story or do you report it with a 

healthy context critical of US drone strikes in the 

area? 

This dilemma is more than theoretical. The 

more insidious effects of the media lie not in the 

stories people read, but the ones they skim, the 

ticker feed, or the ones they don’t even click on. 

It is in the milieu where the US war machine has 

achieved its most complete propaganda victory. 

The number of Americans who do not believe 

that the US was/is the morally superior party in 

the wars it’s been fighting for the past ten years 

probably numbers in the thousands. There is no 

Islamist celebrated figure among the radical left 

a la Ho Chi Minh. The most ardent criticism 

still comes from a fundamentally liberal 

standpoint, of a desire to see American force 

used for good. Nobody argues that American 

imperialism actually deserves to be fought, 

much less that political Islam is a valid way to 

do so. We may have avoided military aggression 

in Syria, but Assad is a secular dictator, and 

indeed much of the skepticism was over how 

the plan fit in with the goals of the War on 

Terror. Currently, all signs point to Congress 

scuttling any deal President Obama might be 

able to reach with Iran. 

Back in August, when the same embassy 

closed in Yemen, along with other US embassies 

around the Middle East, Al Jazeera had a 

token imperial stooge, on Inside Story, who 

said the closings were in a response to “some 

very specific intelligence, particularly within 

the region. It may not have been specific” 

and of course that the intelligence came from 

intercepted communications. These closings 

came at a time when hubbub around the 

Snowden leaks/NSA surveillance story was at 

a high point. All of which is to say that master 

propagandists these guys are not. And yet 

they’ve largely managed to succeed, not least 

because whenever they clear their throat, we all 

come running. 

Address all hate mail to petermgunn@gmail.com 


7

The ORG Responds to the DFAA on the FDA 

By Mary Jane Borden 


8 

Cheryl Shuman’s 

successful tour 

of Ohio to 

promote the Ohio 

Cannabis Rights 

Amendment, 

sponsored by the 

Ohio Rights Group (ORG), concluded 

in Cleveland a week ago with a 

segment by Lee Jordan on the city’s 

News Channel 5. Success becomes 

self-evident when the opposition 

appears, often in the form of the 

Drug Free Action Alliance (DFAA), 

which is headquartered on Huntley 

Road in Columbus. The segment, 

entitled “Northeast Ohio family seeks 

medical cannabis in Colorado to find 

effective treatment for seizures” and 

aired on October, 25, 2013, included 

several quotes from DFAA Executive 

Director Margie Seidel to rebut 

the use of cannabis for treating the 

devastating seizures experienced by 

Jordan Lykes who suffers from Dravet 

Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy. 

In the first quote, Ms. Seidel states 

that, “Medicine goes through a very 

rigid process of study and research 

through the FDA, a revered system 

throughout the world.” Really? 

Many of these FDA approved drugs 

have proven to be harmful or even 

deadly. For example, in 2009, drug 

induced deaths, principally from 

otherwise legal opiates, exceeded 

deaths from motor vehicle accidents 

for the first time since such tracking 

began. There were 1,373 such deaths 

in Ohio in 2009. Further, the FDA’s 

own Adverse Event Reporting System 

for prescription drugs reveals an 

epidemic of serious patient outcomes, 

reporting over 500,000 deaths and 3 

million “serious outcomes,” with such 

outcomes up by 90 percent in just 

the last five years. By “serious,” the 

FDA means that one or more of the 

following were documented: “death, 

hospitalization, life-threatening, 

disability, congenital anomaly and/ 

or other serious outcome.” Over 200 

medicines contain the FDA’s strongest 

“black box” warning, and a record 

number of drugs have been recalled 

from the market. 

To add insult to injury, the “very 

rigid process of study and research” 

conducted through this “revered 

system,” is exorbitantly expensive. In 

its 2012 exposé on drug development, 

Forbes Magazine estimated the cost of 

bringing one pharmaceutical drug to 

market at an average of $4-11 billion, 

over a time frame of about 12 years. 

According to Forbes, fewer than 1 

in 10 medicines that begin testing 

in human clinical trials succeed in 

becoming marketable medicines. The 

magazine concluded, “The high cost 

of developing drugs shouldn’t be a 

badge of honor for drug firms; there’s 

no reason it has to be this expensive 

… Just because something was 

expensive doesn’t make it good.” 

Despite this deadly and expensive 

system, Ms. Seidel goes on to 

insist the “DFAA’s position is that 

medical marijuana should meet the 

same standards as other medicines 

rather than being pushed as a voter 

initiative.” 

She emphasized that, “I’ve 

never voted on an antibiotic, or an 

antihistamine, nor am I qualified to 

do that. I want to know what research 

says so (when it’s taken) it’s the 

same dose every time. You know 

the side effects, how it reacts with 

other medicines, foods. You want the 

fidelity of it safe and accurate, not just 

today but in the long term,” 

But how can knowledge about 

potential drugs or an understanding 

their “fidelity” be achieved when 

the approval of new drugs is on 

the decline? Is it possible that the 

pharmaceutical industry’s profitability 

has been pinched by safety, accuracy 

and cost concerns? For these reasons, 

has it purposefully put the brakes 

on drug development over the last 

decade? 

In 2010, the FDA reported that 21 

new molecular entities (NMEs) had 

received approval, which was slightly 

lower than the ten-year average of 

23. The agency principally blamed 

this decline on a significant drop in 

the number of applications filed by 

the industry. In 1996, there were 45 

applications for FDA drug approval. 

The 21 in 2010 represented the lowest 

number in 15 years. 

However, Ms. Seidel may be right 

about cannabis. Few of the studies 

presently underway will meet that 

clinical trial threshold for FDA 

approval. Of the 85 clinical trials 

for “cannab” listed at ClinicalTrials. 

gov, only 35 are actively recruiting, 

only four are in Phase 3 (fairly close 

to market) and only two concern the 

alleviation of suffering (ALS and 

multiple sclerosis). The other two 

focus on cannabis dependence. 

This dearth of clinical trials does 

not result from a lack of trying. 

The FDA will approve cannabis 

studies, but research continues to be 

hampered by the plant’s presence 

in the most restrictive Schedule I 

of the Controlled Substances Act. 

These restrictions make cannabis 

the only substance to require study 

approval from four governmental 

agencies: not just the FDA, but also 

the DEA (researcher must hold a DEA 

license), the National Institute on 

Drug Abuse (as a source of supply) 

and the Department of Health and 

Human Services (which can reject 

an application even though the study 

design has been approved by the 

FDA). Such has been the case with a 

trial proposed by the Multidisciplinary 

Association of Psychedelic Research 

(MAPS) to evaluate the use of 

marijuana in the treatment of PTSD. 

This clinical study has been delayed 

for years. 

As Channel 5 reported, the famed 

Dr. Sanjay Gupta recently changed 

his position on the use of cannabis 

in medicine after he personally 

observed the plant’s positive effects 

on Dravet Syndrome seizure victims 

like 4 year-old Charlotte Figi or 18 

year-old Jordan Lyles. As he noted, 

“Those studies [for which Ms. 

Seidel advocates] are hard to do and 

that is part of the problem.” Noting 

that cannabis is one of the safest 

medicines ever used over the course 

of human history, never having been 

associated with one overdose death, 

Dr. Gupta acknowledged, “You start 

to realize this is a medication, one 

that can work when other drugs don’t 

work. And it can be a lot safer for 

children who have this intractable 

epilepsy.” 

Which brings us back to the Ohio 

Cannabis Rights Amendment. 

The “revered system” of drug 

development in the United States 

touted by Ms. Seidel has turned 

deadly, costly and time consuming. 

Perhaps the pharmaceutical industry 

is realizing this as reflected through 

its growing aversion to FDA approval. 

“Safe and accurate” research into the 

medicinal qualities of cannabis has 

been thrown out the window by an 

institutional bias against conducting 

studies, despite the plant’s long 

standing, extraordinary safety profile. 

Within this tangled web, what is the 

quickest and least expensive way by 

which cannabis-based medicines can 

be made available to patients such 

as Charlotte, Jordan and millions of 

others? The answer? A constitutional 

amendment – voter initiative – for 

it will cost as little as $5 million 

(compared to $12 billion) and take 

only one year (compared to 12 years). 

With all of these factors combined, 

which is the best course? Which 

medication would you prefer? Which 

would you give your child? 

Update. Cheryl Shuman has given 

1,000 percent to the Ohio Rights 

Group’s campaign to pass the Ohio 

Cannabis Rights Amendment, and 

for that we are so very grateful. We 

were very distressed to learn that 

Cheryl collapsed while at the Drug 

Policy Alliance Conference in Denver 

and remains in the hospital as of this 

writing. We view Cheryl as one of our 

own. A sister and friend to our cause. 

We love and support her in every 

way. Our hearts and souls go out to 

Cheryl and her family at this time of 

need. May the love we and the world 

have for you, Cheryl, restore you to 

complete health. We want to again 

welcome you home.

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K 

ids don’t get enough 

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with royalty named duke. 

But it’s finally time to set 

the record straight. 

Edward Kennedy “Duke” 

Ellington didn’t rule over 

a small English estate. 

Instead he reigned supreme 

Royal dukes are squaresville. sparked a revolution and an evolution. 

They have no rhythm. 

And they wear crowns. His music spread across the world 

with songs like “Sophisticated Lady,” “In a 

A mericA nsf ort heA rts.or G 

Sentimental Mood,” and 

“Take the ‘A’ Train.” His 

historical concert in 1953 at 

the Newport Jazz Festival 

has entered the lexicon of 

legendary live performances. 

There is no doubt about it, 

Ellington’s brand of jazz 

has contributed significantly 

to the American songbook 

and to the lives of anyone 

who has ever tapped their 

foot to a beat. 

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READIN’ 

’RITING 

Give your kids a chance 

to succeed. Up their 

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over jazz institutions like 

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The Cotton Club. He riffed Duke Ellington reigned over a land called Jazz. 

powerfully on the piano, but it was the full really transform lives. 

orchestra that he considered his most compelling In fact, the more art kids get, 

instrument. He introduced improvisation to his the smarter they become 

compositions — a process unheard of in subjects like math and 

using a 15-piece orchestra. The result science. And the more 

was a different approach to jazz that likely they’ll become wellrounded, 

cool members of 

society. For Ten Simple Ways to get more art in 

kids’ lives, visit AmericansForTheArts.org. 

ART 

’RITHMETIC 

Image donated by Corbis-Bettmann. TM 2006 Estate of Mercer K. Ellington by CMG Worldwide 


9

Janitors, activists busted 

in Columbus protest 

By Steve Palm-Houser 

From examiner.com 


10 

In the book “All Labor Has 

Dignity,” Reverend Martin 

Luther King described how the 

organized labor movement first 

came into being: “The worker 

became determined not to wait 

for charitable impulses to grow in 

his employer. He constructed the 

means by which a fairer share of 

the fruits of his toil had to be given 

to him.” 

Janitors in the Midwest have 

decided not to wait for charitable 

impulses to grow in their 

employers. A series of strikes 

began last month in Columbus, 

Ohio, and janitors in Cincinnati 

went on strike for the first time last 

Thursday. 

On the same day 12 supporters 

from Chicago, Cleveland, Toledo 

and Columbus were arrested 

in a supportive act of civil 

disobedience at PNC Bank in 

Columbus to raise awareness of 

unfair labor practices by New 

York-based ABM Industries, the 

largest janitorial contractor in the 

U.S. 

“At the negotiating table, ABM 

was the ringleader—demanding a 

part-time janitorial workforce in 

Columbus,” said Claude Smith, a 

Vietnam War veteran and full-time 

ABM janitor in Columbus. 

“I don’t understand why,” Smith 

said. “We show up every day and 

we work hard doing the best job 

we can. I know ABM can afford 

good jobs. We just want to be able 

to put food on the table and maybe 

save a little for retirement.” 

Part-time status would make the 

janitors ineligible for companyprovided 

health insurance, sick 

leave and other benefits. 

“I am supporting this cause 

because I cannot see myself 

working part-time without 

benefits,” said Griselda Paz, a 

mother of three and a Chicago 

janitor for more than 20 years. 

“We are all in this together.” 

Janitors in Columbus currently 

earn an average of $18,000 a year, 

below the federal poverty line for 

a family of four. Like Wal-Mart 

employees, many of the janitors 

rely on SNAP and other assistance 

programs to make ends meet. 

I was one of the 12 arrested 

in Columbus. I’m not a union 

member, but I support the work of 

SEIU Local 1 to protect workers 

from corporate greed. Wealth 

inequality in the U.S. is at its 

worst level since before the Great 

Depression. 

Corporations have been 

exploiting workers in all of the 

service industries with impunity 

for decades. People who care 

about economic justice want 

to change that. But Corporate 

America isn’t going to change its 

practices and priorities because we 

ask nicely. 

Steve Palm-Houser is a member 

of the First Unitarian Universalist 

Church in Columbus. He studies 

the mystical aspects of several 

world religions. Steve works as an 

instructional designer and freelance 

writer. He can be reached at steve. 

palmhouser@gmail.com. 

Photos: Michael Alwood


11

As if they 

haven’t caused 

enough havoc 

by destroying 

social programs, 

pensions, women’s 

health and voting 

rights – our multitasking 

state legislators now want to 

line their pockets while they line our 

landfills with radioactive waste. Ohio’s 

neo-conservative Republican Governor 

John Kasich, a founding member of 

the American Legislative Exchange 

Council (ALEC), has come up with 

another way to frack the people of Ohio 

with this “beneficial use” scam. 

If you wanted to suck up to the 

fracking industry and transform Ohio 

into a haven of radioactive waste 

dumps, the best place to hide it is in 

the budget. The Ohio budget bill (SB 

59) passed in June gives the Ohio 

Department of Natural Resources sole 

authority over the radioactive content 

of fracking wastes, along with the most 

of the toxic sludge that the industry 

brings up from deep underground. This 

squeezes-out other regulatory agencies 

like the Ohio Environmental Protection 

Agency and the Ohio Department 

of Health. Both are out, no longer 

protecting people, the environment and 

our health from the sludge. 

Horizontal hydraulic fracturing 

drilling, or what we know as “fracking,” 

routinely produces radioactive waste 

as a byproduct. A typical well extracts 

1500 tons of clay and stone that is often 

radioactive. 

Tons of toxic water co-mingled with 

each fracking company’s proprietary 

chemical cocktail is injected into the 

wells to extract gas and oil. This process 

of forcing water and chemicals into the 

earth dissolves tremendous amounts of 

radium 226. Radium has a half-life of 

12 more than 1600 years. 


How our state legislators 

are fracking us now 

Who benefits from the “beneficial use” of radioactive waste? 

By Bob Fitrakis 

Abnormal is the new 

NORMal 

Ohio Senate Bill 59 deals with this 

in the following way – it simply reclassifies 

this radioactive fracking waste 

to the status of normally-occurring 

radioactive material (NORM) from 

its previous status of “technicallyenhanced 

NORM,” called TENORM. 

By redesignating it to be NORM, the 

fracking waste no longer has to be 

monitored or handled in any special 

manner. If the waste had correctly 

remained TENORM, it would be 

closely regulated as radioactive 

material. 

Only about 10 percent of the total 

radioactively contaminated fracking 

waste stream will now be regulated. 

The only fracking waste that remains 

regulated as TENORM is drilling muds, 

spent pipes and sludges from the bottom 

of tanks. 

The “beneficial use” 

of radioactivity 

“Drill cuttings” – meaning the soil, 

rock fragments and pulverized material 

that are removed from a borehole 

during the fracking drilling process – 

are now de-regulated. This allows the 

radioactive material to be disposed 

of in landfills throughout Ohio. The 

Free Press could find no other states 

that have declassified such radioactive 

material. 

How is this done? 

SB 59 contains a so-called “beneficial 

use” clause that allows fracking drill 

cuttings to be deposited in licensed 

landfills as a clay liner. 

If the drill cuttings are used as a liner, 

they are required to be remediated by 

removing all hydrocarbon residue, 

including diesel fuel. The law does not 

require that any radioactive content be 

removed, since it is, well, NORMal. 

Getting lit takes on a 

whole new meaning 

Ohio Soil Recycling (OSR) handles 

remediation at the Integrity Drive dump 

in Columbus. OSR has developed a 

process using microbes that “eat” the 

hydrocarbons and thus remediating the 

soil. Their process does not remove 

radium and radioactive components. 

Radioactive elements are highly watersoluble 

and are prone to entering the 

watershed through leaching over time. 

The Ohio Environmental Protection 

Agency (OEPA) limits the amount of 

low-level radioactive materials to 5 

picocuries in our drinking water. An 

Ohio Department of Health memo 

entitled “Analysis of Environmental 

Samples for Gamma Ray Producing 

Nucleides” analyzed six samples of 

fracking material and found that the 

fracking mud contained 896 picocuries 

of radioactive material, 3000 times 

the allowable EPA drinking water 

limit, which would be regulated. But 

coming out of the exact same hole the 

remaining 90 percent of the material 

exposed to the same radioactivity will 

now go to the Integrity Drive dump on 

Alum Creek under “beneficial use.” 

Alum Creek flows next to the site and 

merges into the Scioto River just a few 

miles downstream. According to Teresa 

Mills of the Buckeye Forest Council, 

the Integrity Drive dump has twice been 

remediated itself in the past through 

EPA enforcement for leaching toxins 

into Alum Creek. Mills claims that the 

clay topping layer is expected to take 

fifteen years to complete, while the 

heavy metals will leach through in rain 

and snow. 

Will we get Pennsylvania’s 

sloppy seconds? 

In 2012, more than 22,000 tons of 

drill cuttings and other toxic waste 

were dumped in Ohio’s landfill from 

Pennsylvania’s fracking industry. 

According to a study by Radioactive 

Waste Management Associates, “The 

state could see more than 4000 fracking 

wells over the next ten years.” The 

study points out that, “It takes between 

2 and up to 8 million gallons of water 

to fracture a single Marcellus shale 

well one time, and each well may be 

fractured multiple times.” 

The report notes that: “…in April 

2013, a truck carrying a load of solid 

fracking waste was sent away from the 

MAX landfill in South Huntingdon, 

Pennsylvania after the truckload set off 

an alarm because its contents were so 

radioactive. The drill cutting materials 

in the truck had a radiation dose rate 

of 96 microrems per hour caused by 

the radium 226 contents. The limit for 

radioactive material at the landfill is 10

microrems per hour.” 

After the passage of SB 59, they can 

simply bring these drill cuttings to 

Ohio. 

Now we are fracked 

By disposing of the radioactive drill 

cuttings as “beneficial” waste, the 

fracking industry will pay no fees to the 

area’s solid waste district or to the State 

of Ohio. Frackers are now relieved of 

the burden of paying to dispose of their 

radioactive waste in any safe manner. 

But the real beauty of “beneficial 

use” in the budget bill is that it 

exempts this radioactive material from 

any requirement that its toxic and 

radioactive content be tested. 

Rules are not in place for any 

kind of proper radiation monitoring 

in Ohio. According to retired OSU 

geologist Julie Weatherington-Rice, 

on-site monitors such as Geiger 

counters will not identify Radium 

226 because the particles emitted are 

not picked up by the instrument. She 

claims it requires a 21-day lab test to 

incubate the material and then test for 

the radioactive products that result. 

Weatherington-Rice states that the 

lab tests are the only way to uncover 

the radium 226 potency. Radon gas 

is a daughter product of radium and 

is highly toxic. Non-smokers have 

gotten lung cancer from radon in 

homes. Long-term exposure to radium 

is also known to increase the risk of 

developing lymphoma, bone cancer, 

leukemia and aplastic anemia. 

Kasich and his Republican 

cohorts in the statehouse are raking 

in fracking industry donations (see 

sidebar) and now have relieved 

that industry from the burdens of 

regulation for 90 percent of its 

radioactive waste. So-called “beneficial 

use” is beneficial abuse for Republican 

lawmakers and we are all now victims 

of uncontrolled fracking. 

a sidebar 

Who Fracking 

Paid for This? 

By Gerry Bello 

While the votes of politicians 

are recorded, even when they 

slip through an obscure clause in 

the budget, the question of who 

influenced them remains. Who 

poured them the glass of tainted 

water to wash this poison bill down 

our throats with the budget? While 

it is not technically correct to use 

campaign contributions and bribes 

interchangeably, there is a tendency 

to contribute to politicians who will 

support one’s position. 

A leading recipient of fracking 

money in Ohio is House Speaker 

William Batchelder. The cushions 

of Batchelder’s house seat are 

stuffed with a considerable amount 

of fracking money. Since 2006, 

he has received $44,293 from 

the Ohio Oil and Natural Gas 

Association, an industry lobbying 

group. The fracking industry also 

supported him directly with $55,000 

from FirstEnergy Corp, $26,850 

from NISOURCE, $26,350 from 

Dominion, $16,250 from Duke 

Energy, $12,500 from Chesapeake 

Energy and $35,750 from American 

Electric Power. A few cents of many 

Columbus residents’ power bill 

helps to line Batchelder’s campaign 

fund as he quietly legalizes the 

injection of radioactive waste into 

our drinking water. 

As the money flows down the 

trough, many other politicians 

squealed and muscled their way in 

to lap it up. Republican Ohio State 

Senator Keith Faber received money 

from the Ohio Oil and Natural Gas 

Association and the six companies 

previously mentioned. He also got 

campaign funding from Spectra 

Energy, Vectren, Dayton Power 

and Light, Marathon Oil and archpolluter 

British Petroleum. 

The Ohio Oil and Natural 

Gas Association gave to Ohio 

Republican house members 

Cheryl Grossman, Dave Hall, 

Matt Huffman, John Adams, 

Ron Amstutz, Kristina Roegner, 

Andrew Thompson, Thomas Patton, 

James Butler, Christina Hagan, 

Peter Stautberg, AL Landis, Jay 

Hottinger, Jeffery McClain, Cliff 

Rosenberger, Bob Peterson, Louis 

Terhar, Timothy Derickson, Dorothy 

Pelanda, Mark Romanchuk, Pete 

Beck, Gerald Stebelton, Anne 

Gonzales, Terry Boose, Mike 

Dovilla and Brian Hill. Many 

received only $1000, making 

them not just fracking political 

prostitutes but cheap fracking 

political prostitutes. Dave Hall is the 

highest priced after Batchelder at 

$13,500.00. 

Additionally the Ohio Oil and 

Natural Gas bought themselves 

eleven Ohio State Senators with 

contributions of less than $10,000 

each. All are fracking Republicans. 

Twenty-one other Ohio House 

Republicans received $500 or less 

for their support. 

The fracking money also flowed 

directly to Secretary of State Jon 

Husted and Governor John Kasich 

who signed the budget. Husted 

received $7,500 directly from 

executives of American Electric 

Power, $5000 from FirstEnergy, 

$2000 from NiSource, $2500 from 

Dayton Power and Light and $3000 

from Vectren. 

Governor Kasich’s 

election in 2010 

received big piles 

of fracking money, 

which continued to 

flow after his election. 

NISOURCE has given 

$20,044. American 

Electric Power gave 

$20,043. The Ohio 

Oil and Natural Gas 

Association gave him 

$16,396. Duke Energy 

gave $11,543. Dominion 

helped him with $6,500. 

All in all, Ohio has the best 

fracking politicians money can buy. 

There appears to be a clear line from 

contribution to budget amendment 

to poisoned wells. Many of the 

same politicians received substantial 

contributions from the health care 

industry, that fracking will cause 

many more Ohio residents to 

patronize in the coming years. 


13


14

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EARTHJUSTICE.ORG/STAND 

15

Reaching for the restart button 

including a 1-yard touchdown run on 21 

Longwell concentrates on changing Capital’s momentum 

carries. 

By Paul Batterson 

“It was such a good feeling in the 

on a fourth and 1 at the Otterbein 35 with our offensive huddle.” 

locker room after we came away with the 

It could be very easy less than a minute to play. 

“Playing at Darby definitely helped victory,” Longwell says. 

for Chase Longwell Capital closes out the season against prepare me,” Longwell adds. “My 

Since the Sept. 21 win, the Crusaders 

to get discouraged. visiting Muskingum (1-7 overall) on coaches were great; they harped on have been trying to recapture that feeling. 

In the Hilliard Darby High School 

Saturday and Wilmington (0-8) on Nov. discipline, discipline, discipline. That is The month of October was particularly 

graduate’s first eight games as quarterback 

16. The Muskies, sixth in the league in one of the things (Candeto), coming from ruthless to Capital. It didn’t help that the 

for the Capital University football team, 

scoring defense (30.1), are allowing 214.9 the U.S. Naval Academy, preaches all the Crusaders’ faced three teams ranked in 

the Crusaders have lost as many games as 

the Panthers did in the last three years of 

yards through the air and 134.9 yards on 

time.” 

the top 15 of the Division III poll released 

Longwell was set to attend Georgetown 

Longwell’s career there. 

the ground per game. Wilmington dwells 

on Oct. 28, including top-ranked Mount 

College in Kentucky when Capital hired Union (currently 8-0 overall), ninthranked 

Heidelberg (7-1) and 15th ranked 

As Capital (1-7 overall, 1-6 in the Ohio near the bottom of most of the OAC’s 

Candeto as its head coach. Candeto, who 

defensive categories including scoring 

rushed and passed for more than 1,000 John Carroll (8-0). 

yards as a quarterback his senior year Capital was outscored 185-20 in a 54-0 

with Navy in 2003, eventually convinced loss at John Carroll on Oct. 5, a 73-17 loss 

Longwell to sign with Capital. 

at Heidelberg on Oct. 12 and 58-3 loss to 

“I actually verbally committed to Mount Union on Oct. 19. 

Georgetown but coach Candeto came Longwell says the team is trying to 

around and changed my mind,” Longwell learn from its losses. 

says. “I really liked everything he was “The losses have been learning 

about and what he stood for and what he experiences for us,” Longwell said. “We 

had planned for this program.” 

learned from (the lopsided losses) even 

Longwell found out there’s huge though they weren’t great games for us.” 

different between high school and college Longwell says he would like to see his 

football in the first few weeks of the team play at the level of a Mount Union. 

Crusaders’ practices. The speed of the The Purple Raiders are to Division III 


16 

Chase Longwell, shown here throwing a pass against Thomas More (Ky.) game on 

Sept. 7, says he has had to adjust to the speed of the college game. 

Photos (2) by Jeff Mills/Capital University Athletics. 

Athletic Conference) gets ready to take on 

Muskingum University on Saturday, the 

freshman refuses to give up. 

“Things are starting to turn around 

here,” says Longwell, who completed 

five of 10 passes for 32 yards and rushed 

nine times for six yards in a 19-14 loss to 

rival Otterbein on Nov. 2. “(Coach Craig) 

Candeto keeps talking about ‘Changing 

Momentum.’ We need to take all the bad 

stuff that has happened in the past and just 

really change it around for the better. We 

need to keep pushing forward.” 

As the only freshman starting at 

quarterback in the 10-team OAC, 

Longwell completed 34 of his 69 passing 

attempts (49.3 percent) for 442 yards with 

four touchdowns and four interceptions 

and is the team’s second leading rusher 

with 398 yards and two touchdowns on 

129 carries. 

The Crusaders came up six points short 

of ending their current six-game slide 

against Otterbein. Brent Walton scored on 

a 6-yard touchdown run with 9:36 left to 

play in the game to cut Capital’s deficit to 

16-14. However the Cardinals went on a 

13-play, 6:04 drive that ended with a 22- 

yard field goal by Alana Gaither with 3:26 

left to play. The Crusaders were stopped 

defense (ninth allowing 49.3 points per 

game), pass defense (ninth, 240.6 yards) 

and rush defense (seventh, 225.4). 

Longwell has been a part of turning 

programs around before. His freshman 

year at Darby, the Panthers sputtered to 

a 3-6 finish. Over the next three years, 

Darby went 26-7overall, including an 

11-1 finish Longwell’s senior year, and 

made the Division I Region 3 playoffs in 

2010 and 2012. 

Longwell played safety all four years 

and after serving as a backup quarterback 

his first two years, took over as the 

starting quarterback his junior year. He 

completed 97 of 165 passes for 1,551 

yards with 17 touchdowns with three 

interceptions and rushed for 1,574 yards 

and 25 touchdowns on 277 carries his 

junior and senior years. 

“Chase is a tremendous competitor. 

Whenever we needed a yard, Chase 

Longwell got the ball,” Panthers coach 

John Santagata says. “While at Darby, 

Chase demonstrated a great work ethic 

in practices, the weight room, and the 

classroom. He was a special type of leader 

who commanded respect naturally. (It 

was) never forced. His teammates always 

listened when he spoke as he commanded 

Chase Longwell takes off against Ohio Northern on Sept. 28. 

game is light years ahead of high school. 

“Those first couple days of practices 

were definitely an eye opener,” says 

Longwell, who is majoring in nursing. “In 

high school, I was completely used to the 

speed of the game (at that level). Then all 

of sudden I’m stepping in and competing 

with all these other guys who were used 

to how fast the game is.” 

Longwell didn’t see much playing time 

in a 20-0 loss to Thomas More in the 

Sept. 7 opener, throwing just one pass 

(an incompletion) and rushing six times 

for 19 yards. A week later, he emerged 

as the starter in the Crusaders’ 42-13 win 

at Marietta on Sept. 21. The 5-foot-10, 

191-pound freshman completed seven 

of 12 passes for 150 yards with two 

touchdowns and rushed for 95 yards 

what Alabama is to Division I. Since 

2005, Mount Union is 115-5 with eight 

OAC titles and four national titles. Four 

out of their five losses have come in the 

Stagg Bowl, the Division III national title 

game. The Purple Raiders’ last league 

setback was a 21-14 loss to Ohio Northern 

in 2005. 

“They played at a different level than 

what we were used to. The first thing 

we noticed is they did their assignments 

to perfection,” Longwell says. “To beat 

teams like that, you have to be perfect at 

everything you do. 

“Those guys come into the game 

expecting to win every single game. 

That’s something we can take as a 

program and put that with what we have 

to do in the future.”

Continued from pg. 5 

Schools? Together, we can. It’s time for 

the community to create a plan for reform 

in Columbus City Schools. Parents for 

Real Education Reform in Columbus City 

Schools want to engage you to form the 

NEW Columbus Education Reform Plan.” 

No Big Surprises Here: Council Incumbents 

Roll to Easy Victories 

In an election that shocked absolutely 

nobody, the three Columbus City Council 

incumbents -- A. Troy Miller, Priscilla 

Tyson, and Eileen Paley -- were returned to 

office, continuing the string of victories by 

incumbent council members. It has been 

sixteen years since an incumbent lost an 

election, last happening when Republican 

Peggy Fisher lost to Democrat Maryellen 

O’Shaugnessey. 

The vote count for the incumbent winners 

was Tyson (47,500), Paley (43,603), Miller 

(42,704). The vote totals for the challengers 

were: Brian Bainbridge (24,460), Greg Lawson 

(26,139) and Nick Schneider (16,454). 

Under the City Charter adopted in 1914, 

the City of Columbus has nonpartisan 

elections for council, and party affiliations 

are not listed on the ballot. However, 

campaigns for council are clearly partisan 

in nature and the current council is 100% 

Democrat, and has been since 2002. 

Campaign finance reports filed October 

31st revealed that campaign financing continues 

to be a major issue for challengers, 

as Brian Bainbridge for Columbus reported 

raising $1,434.99, Friends of Greg Lawson 

reported raising $2,826.43, and the Nick 

Schneider Tyranny Prevention Fund raised 

$482.05. 

In contrast, Citizens for Priscilla Tyson 

raised $22,010.35 and also benefited from 

$58,901.58 of in-kind contributions from 

Friends of Ginther; A. Troy Miller for Columbus 

raised $7,110.74 and benefited from 

$58,751.58 from Friends of Ginther; and 

Paley for Columbus raised $12,159.30 and 

also benefited from $58,751.58 contributed 

in kind from Friends of Ginther. The major 

in-kind contributions from Friends for Ginther 

were for radio time and TV time, which 

the challengers did not have. 

The Columbus Coalition for Responsive 

Government has announced it will be filing 

a proposed campaign finance reform law 

that would limit transfers of money between 

candidates. Denise Benning of the Coalition 

states, “quite frankly, we believe all candidates 

should carry their own water. There 

should never be any doubt in voters’ minds 

about whether a candidate is independent, or 

beholden to another council member due to 

the contributions that keep them in office.” 

Incumbent Auditor and City Attorney Returned 

to Office 

Unopposed City Attorney Richard Pfeiffer 

was returned to office by the voters, winning 

65,385 votes. City Auditor Hugh Dorrian 

will also be returning for his 45th year in 

office, defeating the nominal opposition offered 

by newcomer Igor Ternovsky (63,432 

to 8,093). 

Issues 1, 2, 3, and 4 Pass 

Columbus bond issues 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 

passed by the voters handily, and will allow 

for capital investments in public safety, 

parks and recreation, public service, and 

public utilities. 

Environmental Court Judge Retained 

Recently appointed Environmental Court 

judge Dan Hawkins was re-elected by the 

voters on Tuesday, defeating Frank Macke 

and James Adair, with each earning 60,147, 

41,412, and 15,756 votes respectively. 

Committee of Citizens Against Issue 50 & 

51 releases guidelines for moving forward 

The Committee of Citizens Against Issue 50 & 51 will start open discussion 

and state points of correction for the education of children in the the 

Columbus City Schools district. The committee will work with all citizens to 

do the right things for all the children in the system moving forward. 

The committee requests the State Auditor’s Office release information 

regarding the data rigging investigation report to the citizens/parents of the 

Columbus City Schools district. 

The committee requests the prosecutor’s office file any criminal charges as 

well as execute proper criminal procedure to address concerns centered in 

this scandal. 

The committee asks that the Mayor’s current school commission be 

dissembled or re-organized to include parents and individuals living within 

the Columbus City Schools district. 

The committee requests the internal auditor be returned to that position 

and given all the cooperation to conclude investigation and resolve concerns 

causing harm. 

Citizens request a curriculum and program audit to detail all concerns in 

each building, department and administrative office be compiled for each 

location in the district. 

Citizens encourage and ask that the Columbus City School System 

collaborate with the community to develop a comprehensive education plan 

that will truly benefit all children in Columbus City Schools. 


17


THE LAIR OF LADY MONSTER 

Public Displays of 

Sex and Sexuality 

During the Halloween 

season, there is a lot of flesh being exposed. 

Several events are planned that are fetishoriented 

and have a Halloween theme. For 

instance, in Columbus we have Trauma, 

Detroit has Theatre Bizarre, San Francisco has 

Masquerotica – to name a few. 

Many Halloween costumes have “sexy” in the 

title, and some fun with memes has come into 

play with this, like the Sexy Tampon costume, or 

Sexy Cockroach. Some have brought up the topic 

of shaming those who choose to be sexy during 

the Halloween holiday season. 

For some, this may be the one time of the year 

that they can dress sexy or revealing, where 

they feel comfortable enough to be exposed. 

They look forward to it, and get turned on by the 

idea that they can be freer with their body and 

sexual expressions in public. However, the issue 

of availability from women who dress sexy or 

revealing can turn a holiday celebration into a 

painful memory. 

Let’s think about some things that may have 

come up, for the next time you choose to be sexy 

in public. 

Consent and Shame 

Something that happens during the big 

Halloween events where fetish and spooky are 

commingled, is a lack of consent. Groping, 

grabbing, ogling, lewd remarks, judgments, 

boundary crossing, jealousy and insecurities 

abound. People forget to ask, and just do. 

They see exposed body parts and don’t grasp 

the human condition. This includes shaming 

someone who may, in your opinion, have a 

flawed body, is an older age or noticeably out of 

their element. 

Exhibitionism 

Public displays of sex and sexuality as a 

lifestyle choice have always existed. Finding 

places that are open to others can be a challenge. 

They do exist, whether in the underground 

of people’s homes or an actual public space 

devoted to sexual play. When, as a couple, do 

you agree to move from a fantasy of sex in 

public to actually setting up a scenario to be 

sexual in public? Does it end up being as sexy 

and fulfilling as you wished? Did you spend time 

communicating all the pros and cons, possible 

conflicts, or were you just hit with a rush of 

18 spontaneous libido lightning? How far did you 

go? How did others around you react? Did you 

have the consent of your voyeurs? 

Role Playing 

Most of the manufactured costumes available 

for the Halloween season look more like roleplaying 

costumes than anything from Halloweens 

past. Role playing may not be a regular sexual 

act, or expression for you. It can be a doorway 

for a single person, to dress up in a costume 

that reflects their sexual interests. They can 

meet someone who finds this particular costume 

a huge turn-on. Cos-play (costume play) is 

becoming more of a mainstream and known 

expression and lifestyle. It merges desire, fantasy, 

exhibitionism and community for your character. 

At some Cos-Play conventions, being part of a 

sexually playful environment is a highlight for 

spending the money to attend, creating a unique 

costume and engaging in sex as your character. 

I could write chapters about all of the nuances 

of public sex and sexuality - what is current 

in society, what it means to be open to it, and 

accepting of others who are comfortable with 

their body and sexual expressions. 

For more insight, I suggest looking 

at the following books: 

Exhibitionism For The Shy by Carol Queen 

Public Sex by Pat Califia 

The Ethical Slut by Dossie Easton and Janet W. 

Hardy 

If you have a question or a topic you would like 

to have covered in this column, please go to: 

http://ladymonstersex.info and click on the link 

for the Google form. It is 100% anonymous. 

Thank you. 

(Lady Monster illustration by W. Ralph Walters. 

www.wralphwalters.com ) 

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19


20

One foot rooted in the South 

By John Petric 

Thanks to a 

southern mother 

and time spent as a boy growing up in the 

heart of Dixie, I have a devotion to the 

region. This, I think, helped me understand 

the fertile cultural and emotional soil from 

which the rock ‘n’ roll and soul music 

revolutions sprang. Maybe, maybe not. But 

I like to think so. Southerners are not like 

Northerners. 

Margaret Yates was born beautiful, stayed 

that way her whole life and had a whole 

lotta soul if not a whole lotta education. 

Second eldest of 11 kids, she grew up 

in Richmond, Virginia, during the Great 

Depression, dirt-poor and left-handed, two 

things the tender mercies shown by the 

Catholic nuns never changed though they 

left painful memories from the trying. 

But that part, as they say, is another story. I 

was my mother’s son. 

We moved around the country a few times. 

Dad was an up-and-coming steel company 

manager frequently promoted and transferred. 

Which is how I came to live in northern 

Alabama for a few precious boyhood 

years, Gadsden, to be exact. 

We were pegged for civil rights workers 

at first, it being the early ‘60s and with Ohio 

license plates on our ‘63 blue Mercury. The 

first day after school at Eura Brown kids 

threw dirt clods on the street in front of the 

car to express their rebel disdain for us Yankee 

carpetbaggers. Strangely, I didn’t take 

it personally. I was already used to hostility 

from a new neighborhood. 

Once I explained to ‘em during recess 

the next day I hated black people as much 

as they did, they relaxed a bit. I didn’t of 

course, but I wanted to play kickball. I was 

in. Whatever. I was seven years old and 

navigating my way through the churning 

changing waters of the Deep South--though 

I didn’t know it at the time, obviously. 

What did give me fright was having to 

participate in early morning Bible readings. 

No one asked. It was just expected of you. 

Surely Yankee Boy read the Good Book up 

there in Cleveland. 

But I’d never read the Bible, I knew no 

favorite psalms. When it came my turn 

as it did to one us every morning in Mrs. 

Sharpe’s second grade class, I was prepared 

though scared someone would find out my 

family held no respect for religion, God, the 

Bible and especially its thumpers. Growing 

up in a house where God’s last name 

was Damn, no one prepared me for this, an 

elementary school religious fraud. 

Come my turn, I just read what Billy 

Abbott had a couple weeks earlier, a psalm 

about sheep or something, he being at the 

beginning of the alphabet and me being twothirds. 

No one noticed and I closed my eyes 

solemnly at the end of the short paragraph. 

Without a hitch, I was accepted again. 

It got easier as the school year wore on. 

And I’ve never held this against those fine 

southern people. Because frankly, the more 

my family got to know Alabamians, the 

more we liked ‘em. None of them cussed. 

None of them used the ‘n’ word (my father 

did). Few of them drank. Everybody went to 

church. Genteel to the max. And eventually 

we did consider them fine people. And 

became quite fond of them. 

The men were soft-spoken and gentle; 

the women were proper but kind, sincerely 

kind. The little rituals breaking us in aside, 

they really did want to show us southern 

hospitality. 

It’s the only place in the entire world I saw 

this: when Mrs. Geiger picked us and her 

kids up after school, she’d say hi to every 

passing car coming her way. No, really. A 

smile and kind of a breathy, “Hah.” I was 

fascinated. 

So I was seven, figuring out how to survive 

in this strange, humid place, in a school 

which had no library, only a handful of 

books on southern heroes printed in the 

1920s languishing on one of two shelves 

next to my desk. Andrew Jackson, Jim 

Bowie, Davy Crockett and J.E.B. Stuart 

became my heroes. I hated what happened at 

the Alamo. 

But for me, growing up with a woods, a 

creek and a mountain behind our house was 

a dream come true. In the northern ‘bama 

pine forest there was freedom--no adult 

supervision, just tree houses, forts, pine cone 

battles and perfecting our rebel yells were 

the order of the day. 

The weather was decent year-round and 

mum’s plants started blooming in February. 

Pa and I hunted arrowheads on the weekends 

with his work colleagues, nearly all 

ex-WWII vets--a couple Normandy paratroopers 

and a couple Pacific Marines. I was 

in the company of giants, walking cotton, 

tobacco and corn fields looking for Cherokee 

and Creek Indian artifacts and finding 

them, bags of ‘em, while hearing war stories 

fighting the Nazis and Japs. I was in heaven. 

Southern men make great soldiers. 

We hunted arrowheads on high ground 

near rivers, from George to Mississippi, 

through Alabama and southern Tennessee. 

You will never meet a white boy whose 

walked more cotton fields than I. I saw 

sharecroppers and snakes, poverty and 

mansions. I fired pistols on lunch breaks and 

saw more backwoods southern country than 

Sherman, a previous Yankee interloper. 

I was sad to leave my tree house and 

friends, the sweet soft smell of southern pine 

forests. 

When I started getting serious about music, 

I eventually realized Elvis couldn’t’ve 

come from Cleveland; Booker T. and the 

MG’s could only have happened in Memphis; 

Hank Williams Sr. had to start out in 

Butler County, Alabama, and then meet 

Rufus Payne, a black street performer in 

Georgiana who became perhaps his biggest 

influence. And of course the re-channeled 

Southern Baptist hell fire of Jerry Lee 

Lewis. Southern men are passionate, their 

primal emotions close to the surface, like the 

immortal and magnificent Johnny Cash. 

Once, many years ago, I was interviewing 

Carl Perkins by telephone and was having 

such a good, emotional talk about life he 

began to cry--about his mama, about his life, 

about his fortune. It wasn’t Jimmy Swaggart 

tele-tears. It was real. 

A few years ago I rode a motorcycle 

straight from Columbus to Gadsden, 675 

miles in a day. It was a Saturday. I stayed 

at a motel near the Coosa River, sight of a 

small Civil War battle, a war that was fresh 

in southern minds back in ‘63. Next morning, 

I casually rode around town, trying to 

remember the lay of the land. I was turning 

around in a tidy little un-sidewalked neighborhood 

off the main drag when I came 

upon a sight unthinkable when I was a boy: 

a black city police woman ticketing a white 

cracker in his pick-up truck, with back-up 

provided by two other white cops. 

I remembered the city pool which cost a 

dime to swim in being closed because the 

city refused to integrate. 

Anyway, I believe southern blood and 

spirit made the rock ‘n’ roll revolution 

entirely possible. Because for one thing, the 

south is poor and poverty is a great equalizer 

between the races. I just don’t feel the tension 

down there that I do here. Blacks and 

whites, I believe, get along better now down 

there than they ever have up here. 

I’ve more than once been the lone Yankee 

voice battling verbally with entire dinner 

parties filled with uppity pointed-headed 

liberals sure of their assumed knowledge 

the south is a lost and hateful place, still 

full of Bull Connors and strange fruit trees, 

convinced that to sound southern is to sound 

stupid. I even met a woman so arrogant she 

simply couldn’t believe there were seven 

synagogues in the southern Appalacia. 

“A Jew in the Appalachians?” she puffed. 

“Whoever heard of such a thing?” 

Well, one was Adolph Ochs, who traveled 

from Chattanooga to New York City in 1886 

to buy a newspaper called the New York 

Times, the bible for every pointy-headed 

liberal. “Who ever heard of a JEW riding a 

horse?” spat the venomous mother to Tony 

Soprano in the episode where Hesh the 

Jewish bookie was used as a pawn between 

Tony and Uncle Junior. 

By the way, during my years as a rock 

critic I took my mother with me to see Pink 

Floyd, Diana Ross, the Rat Pack and Sting. 

One of my last memories of her was watching 

Mick Jagger performing on TV from one 

of his lame solo albums. He was still great 

and she still got a kick out of him. She was 

74 and a gas. 

My unscientifically derived point to this 

column: southerners are different. They got 

more soul than most northern white folk and 

American music has been the better for it. 

Much, much the better. 


21

Banana Leaf 

For me one of the best things about 

going vegan was discovering Indian 

food. I had no idea what an amazing 

spectrum of satiety I was really 

missing for the first score of my 

life. Banana Leaf has been a most 

generous supporter of the Columbus 

vegan community, and they 

strive at empowering others. This 

month, they started a new program 

designed to help people eat vegan 

easily, simply, deliciously, healthfully 

and affordably. Monday through 

Friday after 4 pm, you can pick up 

some rice, lentils and curried vegetables 

(vegetable changes daily) for 

only $5. If you would like to know 

how to prepare Indian style food, 

they also offer cooking classes; their 

Columbus Vegan Meetup Buffet Plate 

next one is Nov 24th. They are aware 

that socially just diners are concerned 

about making sure they get organic 

foods produced locally and are in the 

process of making those priorities 

part of their operations model. They 

do provide a variety of gluten free 

options in their breads and desserts 

as well. All food is made from 

scratch, fresh daily, and their regular 

customers know nothing goes to 

waste; any left overs are sent home 

with customers at the end of the day 

to share with their friends and family. 

Banana Leaf is located at: 816 

Bethel Road, Columbus, OH 43026. 

Open 7days a week. http://www. 

bananaleafofcolumbus.com/ 

Eriyah’s Favorite: Malai Kafta 

(because it is the only vegan Malai 

Kafta in the city) 

“Socially Just 

Dining” brings you 

tips on where to find 

restaurants that may 

serve any or all of the 

following: vegetarian, 

vegan, gluten-free, 

organic, or locallygrown 

foods. 


22 

Lavash Cafe 

relaxed and casual 

By CMH Gourmand 

Nasir Latif 

has a long 

history in 

the Columbus Mediterranean 

restaurant business. He stepped 

out for a while but came back 

with Lavash several years 

ago. He planted a fast casual 

restaurant in south Clintonville 

and it has been a huge hit, 

especially with me since, it 

opened. I will mention a few 

things I really appreciate about 

the place: great daily specials, 

very good vegetarian and 

carnivore friendly offerings and 

a wide selection of baked goods, 

many from Nanak Bakery. 

I have enjoyed each meal 

from a simple shawarma to any 

of the daily specials. However, I 

never visit without ensuring I get 

a serving of hummus with a side 

of their freshly made pita bread. 

Hummus is one of the basic 

staples of any middle eastern 

restaurant but not all are created 

equal. The Lavash hummus 

blends ground chickpeas, tahini 

sauce, lemon juice, garlic and 

extra virgin olive oil in just the 

right proportions. The balance of 

all of the flavors mixes together 

in just the right proportion and 

pairs perfectly with the pita 

bread. Lavash pita is thicker than 

what you typically encounter 

elsewhere. The outer crust 

offers just a bit of resistance 

while the inside of the circle 

of bread is doughy, bubbly 

and has just the right amount 

of firmness yet is porous 

enough to soak up the 

hummus from the plate so 

you leave no evidence of the 

dish behind. 

Lavash is frequented by 

a wide variety of guests, 

many walk from their homes 

in Clintonville, many more 

journey up from the campus 

area and a diverse range of 

cultures seem to make this 

a destination meal. Lavash 

is relaxed and casual. You 

can count on the staff to be 

friendly and helpful. An on the 

right night, you can sit outside 

to soak in the sunset on a table 

under the vines. 

Lavash Cafe 

2985 N. High St. Clintonville 

(614) 263-7777

Wing’s, a scotch 

drinkers paradise 

By Michael Alwood 

Nostalgia. The word itself has the power 

to transform our thoughts for a moment. It’s 

pleasant and familiar, which is also a good 

way to describe Wing’s Restaurant, 2801 E. 

Main St in Columbus. 

For those who grew up in Bexley or on 

Columbus’s east side, as owners Ken and 

Kim Yee did, a trip to Wing’s will certainly 

be nostalgic. Both Eastmoor High School 

graduates, the Yees continue a family 

tradition that’s gone on now for 44 years. 

If you have ever been to Wing’s during that 

time span, rest assured it has not changed. 

It will be exactly as you remember it. 

Wing’s has many regular customers and 

the Yees know most of them by name. And 

Ken, who mans the bar, remembers what 

they drink. And if what you like to drink 

is scotch, well, Ken has a surprise for you. 

Wing’s maintains what is surely the widest 

selection of scotch in central Ohio. Any 

label you can think of and about twice that 

number in brands you’ve never heard of 

dot his extensive list. Back in the day, this 

reporter favored Pinch from Haig and Haig 

and was delighted to see it on Ken’s menu, 

as it has not been available locally for years. 

Sure enough Mr. Yee was able to produce 

the distinctively shaped bottle. Pinch, by 

the way, is a bargain at Wing’s compared 

to some of the prices of the more exotic 

single-malt labels. The serving Ken poured 

Ken Yee and just some of the many scotch 

brands available at Wing’s. 

sent me further along my nostalgia trip, 

it tasted as fine as I remembered, maybe 

better. 

The food menu is even lengthier as the 

one for scotch, with a full range of both 

Chinese and American cuisine. 

Picks: any number of single malts, leave 

the Pinch alone, there’s less than half a 

bottle left. 

Just $26 per month for two 

award-winning, handcrafted wines. 

Experience Fine California Wine 

from Small Family Wineries. 

1-800-419-5185 

Call Us Monday through Friday 

8am to 5pm PST. 

Void where prohibited, some restrictions may apply. 

Also Makes a Fun 

& Unique Gift 


23

On November 8th 

and 9th, video game 

goliath Activision 

Blizzard is hosting 

BlizzCon 2013, a 

not-quite-annual 

gathering dedicated to Blizzard’s 

wildly popular Warcraft, Starcraft 

and Diablo series. The event brings 

together gamers from all over the world 

to compete in World of Warcraft raids, 

massive Starcraft PvP tournaments 

(which are so dominated by South 

Korean players that even on Californian 

soil anyone competing from anywhere 

else is considered a “foreigner”), 

and...whatever it is Diablo players do 

competitively. Gold farming? 

But let me wax personal for a bit, 

because, for me, BlizzCon evokes a 

certain nostalgia for a time long past 

for myself and many others. A time 

when we actually cared about World of 

Warcraft. 

I was an addict. No, seriously. At one 

time, I spent more time playing WoW 

in a week than I did at my full-time 

office job. I got cranky if I was kept 

away for too long. I logged on when I 

came home from work and didn’t log 

off until I went to bed – and for much 

longer on weekends. I would pick on 

younger friends who logged off for 

family dinners, telling them they should 

eat at the computer “like an adult.” And 

what’s worse, I was a role player, using 

the game as a sort of virtual LARP. I 

wrote thousands upon thousands of 

words about my characters and spent 

many of those hours not playing the 

game at all but socializing in character 

in some in-game tavern. 

24 Since the event is used as a stage to 


A lament for World of 

By J. J. Ulm 

Warcraft 

announce new expansions for WoW, 

BlizzCon was a time to gather with 

friends around the computer to watch 

live-streamed events that would tell 

the futures of us and our characters. 

Where were we headed next? The 

broken wastes of Outland? The frozen 

mountains of Northrend? What new 

things would we learn about the world 

we played in, what villain would we 

gather together to fight next? 

And then lots of people, literally 

millions of people worldwide, lost 

interest. It may not be a coincidence 

that the biggest drop in the game’s 

popularity came with Cataclysm, the 

first expansion made after Blizzard 

Entertainment was absorbed into 

gaming megacorp Activision. It may 

have been that, after 6 years, many of 

the game’s players had experienced 

and accomplished everything they 

wanted to and Activision was unwilling 

to let Blizzard be innovative enough 

to create new content that would hold 

their interest. For me, that feeling of 

stagnation certainly played a part. Too 

many good characters in the setting 

had been killed without being replaced 

by anyone nearly as compelling. The 

fights I wanted to be a part of had been 

fought, and I didn’t care enough to pay 

$15 a month (the game’s subscription 

fee, which has remained unchanged 

despite the growing popularity of 

MMOs with lower or no fees) to be 

involved with any of the new ones. 

So this weekend, while thousands 

of people will be attending BlizzCon 

and perhaps hundreds of thousands 

will be watching the livestream, I will 

be missing that feeling of excitement, 

nostalgic not for the game itself so 

much as for how much it used to mean 

to me. 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STUDZINSKI 

Robert Studzinski 

614-483-5225 

studzinskiphoto@gmail.com 

studzinski.smugmug.com

DJ Pos 2’s love movement 

By Wes Flexner 

DJ Pos 2 and I sat 

down to talk about 

his monthly gig at 

the Rehab Tavern Vibes N Stuff which has its 

4 installment Friday. 

“We wanted to do something different 

than Buggin’ Out.” said the Hip Hop veteran 

comparing it to the successful bi-monthly 

Hip Hop showcase at Carabar that Pos and 

Zerostar have been promoting for two and a 

half years. 

“We just want to do something for the older 

crowd. It was just, ‘let’s do jazz fusion. Ohio 

funk.’ Just something different from Hip 

Hop.” 

In addition to Pos spinning jazz fusion 

staples such as Miles Davis and Donald Byrd, 

Vibes N Stuff also incorporates down-tempo 

music such as Flying Lotus and Diabese, 

which Columbus instrumental Hip Hop producer 

Maggz will be playing. 

Envelope will also be doing a guest deejay 

set of rock and soul classics. 

If Vibez N Stuff is different than Buggin’ 

Out, a beloved Hip Hop showcase that has 

had performances by some of Columbus’s 

finest such as Illogic, P.Black, Path, J. Rawls, 

King Vada and more as well as out of town 

acts such as Nemo Achida and Supastition, 

then it is a WAY different mood than the 

event Pos cut his teeth on. 

Pos 2 was the late DJ Przm’s understudy 

during the bulk of Columbus’s Legendary 

Fonosluts Hip Hop Night at Bernie’s 

Distillery. The Fonoslut Hip Hop Night was 

known as the home base for the internationally 

revered Columbus Hip Hop scene that the 

MHz, Weightless, J. Rawls and Spitball were 

putting on the map. Locally, it was a known 

as a High Energy Riot/Party. 

Pos spun there from the summer of 2000 to 

2005 alongside Przm and DJ Lo-Zone. The 

event was hosted by So What aka Daymon 

Dodson. 

I used to hang out there. There were fist 

fights, rhyme battles, bboys, graffiti vandalism, 

dancing, moshing, public sex acts, 

drug abuse and all sorts of random campus 

mayhem. 

I asked Pos what it was like to be playing 

music and look out into a crowd of humans 

punching each other. Pos said they wanted 

wildness at the time, “Przm used to want to 

have a fight while we were performing. So 

if someone was fighting while we were deejaying 

we were like ‘alright. this is what we 

need.’ Let’s throw on some hardcore stuff. 

Unless it got too serious. At times it was just 

a dumb brawl.” 

Pos got his start at Bernies because Przm 

needed to go home to Detroit and so the 

Fonosluts needed someone to fill-in. 

It was where Pos developed, “Lo was like, 

‘keep bringing your records down here.’ A lot 

of times I didn’t spin. Sometimes I would. Or 

Camu would spin my records and steal the 

crowd.” 

After paying dues for awhile, Pos became 

one of the most respected deejays in Columbus, 

known for his mix tapes. His “Bust-It” 

series and “the Live 95er” are Bustown 

Classics. 

As out of hand as the Fonoslut night got 

at times, it was always kinda silly. I remember 

listening to rowdy sets of Wu-Tang and 

Mobb Deep, later watching emcees rap with 

vulgarity, and then somehow ending the night 

playing musical chairs in a very wholesome 

manner. 

Pos says having a slapstick sense of humor 

Photo by Najhla 

helped the 

Fonoslut 

night avoid falling into Hip Hop cliches. They 

would let the local panhandlers win the rap 

contest. They would give actually good rappers 

worthless prizes such as a singing fake 

fish. The Fonosluts would play the school 

yard game of “fart touch” while all types of 

chaos was going on. 

They enjoyed doing silly things to have fun. 

Unfortunately, Przm’s heart problems and a 

few other factors eventually brought the event 

to close in 2005. 

Przm, Daymon Dodson and Camu Tao died 

shortly thereafter, all of Natural causes which 

brought an end to that era in many ways and 

also left Pos mourning the loss of some very 

close friends. 

Pos spun the Blueprint-Hosted So What 

Wednesdays (2007-2009) with Detox and did 

random events until starting Buggin’ Out in 

2011. 

Obviously, if Pos is spearheading a Jazz 

Fusion monthly, there has been some maturity 

since the days of encouraging fights and the 

fart touch. But maintaining a place for people 

from his era to go is a primary motivation for 

Buggin’ Out and Vibes N Stuff. 

“It seems now to have more of a purpose. 

We are doing it for a reason because there 

isn’t a lot of what we used to do. Now isn’t 

exactly what I did back then, People are still 

around that are our age. They can relate to 

me. They see a familiar face...It gives some of 

those people somewhere to go. And hopefully 

some of the newer people will come out as 

well. It’s more of a purpose for Columbus 

than it was back in the day.” 

Vibes N Stuff is this Friday November 8th 

at the Rehab Tavern located at 456 W. Town 

Street. Admission is Free. 

Let’s save the planet 

One acre at a time 

Photo: © istockphoto.com / lopurice 

What if everyone took responsibility for one small 

piece of the planet? 

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preserve the diversity of life on Earth, in places 

close to home, and around the world. 

To adopt your acre, visit nature.org/adopt 


25

ACROSS 

1 Menaces for 

mariners 

6 Game related 

to bingo 

11 Circle of friends 

18 Fermi of physics 

20 Noisy confusion 

21 Away from 

the wind 

22 Street corner 

cupholder 

23 Develop gradually 

24 Neighbor 

of Georgia 

and Turkey 

25 Hit that clears 

the bases 

27 Petri dish filler 

29 Light-refracting 

crystal 

30 To distant spots 

33 Some stinging 

buzzers 

37 Topper for 

a Scottish soldier 

39 Immunization 

shots, e.g. 

40 Angel dust, briefly 

43 “Bye for now” 

44 Rude look 

46 Words after 

“point” or “bill” 

48 Flightless bird 

49 Impression 

produced 

by pressure 

or printing 

55 Ancient 

Persian ruler 

56 Dreamer’s 

acronym 

57 Private sign? 

58 Paper unit 

60 Homophonic duo 

61 “Glycerine” opener 

63 Debate topic 

64 Walt ___ Disney 

65 Wes Craven 

street name 

66 Submission with 

a submission 

71 Tolkien’s 

tree creature 

72 “My Dog Has ___” 

74 “He loves me” 

piece 

75 Donkey’s 

Asian cousin 

77 Grown-up bug 

78 Like a proverbial 

bug in a rug 

79 Safe harbors 

82 Nintendo game 

system introduced 

in 2006 

85 Some donated 

organs 

87 Ignores 

89 ___ Mae Brown 

(Whoopi’s “Ghost” 

character) 

90 Coal tar product 

91 “Beverly Hills 

Cop” character 

Foley 

92 Violinist Zimbalist, 

or his son 

94 “Little Bo Peep 

___ lost ...” 

95 Casino wheel 

100 Furthermore ... 

102 Checks for liens, 

mortgages 

and such 

105 ExxonMobil brand 

106 Bay or cove 

109 Beds in tents 

110 It’s used but 

not owned 

112 Become ex-exes 

114 One who does 

penance 

117 Ultimate 

conclusion 

121 Massage 

therapist 

122 Staccato’s 

opposite 

123 Mono 

improvement 

124 Certifies 

under oath 

125 Notched like 

a maple leaf 

126 Concepts 

DOWN 

1 Yank’s 

Civil War foe 

2 112.5 degrees 

away from S 

3 Unit of work 

4 Legendary 

leaf source 

5 It may show 

after stitches 

6 Cut corners? 

7 Shoguns’ capital 

8 Musketeer 

motto word 

9 Southwest people 

10 Alphas’ 

counterparts 

11 Sci-fi author 

Arthur C. ___ 

12 Done, to poets 

of old 

13 Takes risks 

14 Fancy-shmancy 

pitchers 

15 Eastern 

royalty 

16 Fleur-de-lis 

17 Gouda alternative 

19 Eastern Indian 

language 

20 Boxing match 

sound 

26 ___ rally (school 

event) 

28 Do some 

film work 

30 More up to 

the task 

31 Draw for a moth 

32 They “drift by,” 

in song 

34 Beyond 

pleasantly plump 

35 Bit of bait from 

the backyard 

36 Love archer 

38 Wave’s high point 

40 “Good-bye” 

and “See you” 

41 Paw, like a bear 

42 Gourd fruits 

44 Costello of old 

comedy 

45 Winter hours 

in NYC 

47 Like Munch’s 

“The Scream,” 

in 1994 and 2004 

50 Wine press 

residue 

51 Some accidental 

singles 

52 It’s heard in 

the Highlands 

53 Where fledglings 

are fed 

54 Drawn tight 

59 Less likely to put 

up a fight 

62 Pictures on 

a screen 

63 “Well, ___ be!” 

65 New York city 

where Twain 

is buried 

67 Work the 

bleachers 

68 Decorative needle 

and scissors case 

69 Tattered cloths 

70 Outside of 

a watermelon 

72 Steal 

73 Some college 

clubs 

76 75-Across, mules, 

hinnies and such 

79 Evil spell caster 

80 Some claim it’s 

before beauty 

81 Kilmer of 

“Top Gun” 

83 ___ fixes 

(obsessions) 

84 “You are not!” 

reply 

86 It welcomes 

change 

88 ___-tat (knocking 

sound) 

93 Caught a 

fly ball, e.g. 

96 Stomach ailments 

97 Feline zodiac sign 

98 Sprawling 

property 

99 Perfumery 

employee 

100 Film rat 

101 Colorado’s 

___ Park 

102 On edge 

103 Largest of the 

Greek Islands 

104 Role model 

106 Jerry Lewis 

film “Friend” 

107 “No ice, 

bartender” 

108 Suffix for “wander” 

111 Opposition 

party member 

113 Egyptian 

boy king 

115 Lennon’s bride 

116 Xis’ preceders 

118 It can follow you 

but not me 

119 Herd’s pasture 

120 ___ Gatos, Calif. 

Universal sUnday Crossword 

Edited by Timothy E. Parker 

one For THe BooKs 

By aaron Zarrie 

© 2013 Universal Uclick SOLUTION ON PG. 29 

12/1 


The Free 

Press 

is proud 

to print on 

recycled 

paper!!! 

26


Musical targets those who 

prefer bullets to ballots 

By Richard Ades 

You always 

remember where 

you were the first 

time you saw 

Assassins. 

I was in the Riffe Center’s Studio One, 

which looked a lot different than it does 

today. For his 1993 Players Theatre 

production, director Steven Anderson forced 

viewers to stare at each other from either 

side of the central stage. The idea was to 

underline the fact that the Stephen Sondheim 

musical is about us—Americans—and our 

violent history. 

It was a brilliant concept, but a look at 

the viewers across the way suggested that 

many of them didn’t know what to make of 

this provocative and darkly comic history 

lesson. And some (myself included) had 

trouble with its surreal “explanation” of 

President Kennedy’s assassination, a crime 

that remained controversial 30 years after 

the fact. 

So now it’s 50 years after JFK’s death, 

and his murder has largely been replaced by 

9/11 as the most shocking event of modern 

Presidential murderers (from left) Charles Guiteau 

(Scott Wilson), Leon Czolgosz (Jay Rittberger) and John 

Wilkes Booth (Ian Short) raise their voices and weapons 

in Assassins (photo by Dan Welsh) 

history. In fact, political assassinations have 

generally given way to terrorism and mass 

shootings as the major sources of national 

paranoia. 

It’s in this atmosphere that Red Herring 

Productions brings the Sondheim musical 

back to Studio One. The change is a doubleedged 

sword: It makes the musical seem 

less relevant, but it may give us enough 

emotional distance to finally appreciate its 

artistry and audacity. 

Both qualities come through in the 

production director John Dranschak and 

musical director Pam Welsh-Huggins have 

created, which is more traditional than 

its predecessor but just as polished. 

Holding it together are two awesome 

central performances. 

Ian Short is at first passionate as 

pioneer assassin John Wilkes Booth, 

then dangerously seductive as his 

spirit, who coaxes malcontents to 

follow in his bloody footsteps. When 

Giuseppe Zangara (Drew Eberly) 

complains that nothing can cure his 

chronic stomach ache, Booth asks 

coyly, “Have you considering shooting 

Franklin Roosevelt?” 

In the other pivotal role, Nick Lingnofski 

puts his fine voice to good use as the 

narrator-like Balladeer, then morphs into a 

surprisingly hesitant Lee Harvey Oswald for 

the controversial finale. 

Some would-be assassins serve as 

welcome comic relief. The broadest 

laughs are provided by Charles Manson 

follower Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme (Kate 

Lingnofski) and her crooked-shooting 

cohort, Sara Jane Moore (Kim Garrison 

Hopcraft). Also hilarious, thanks to Todd 

Covert’s cranky delivery, is Samuel Byck, 

who is determined to exterminate Dick 

Nixon by flying an airliner into the White 

House. 

Likewise treated with little gravitas are 

deranged Garfield assassin Charles Guiteau 

(Scott Wilson) and the Jodie Foster-obsessed 

John Hinckley (Christopher Storer). But 

McKinley assassin Leon Czolgosz (Jay 

Rittberger) is accorded more sympathy, 

though the musical suggests his admiration 

for radical lecturer Emma Goldman 

(Danielle Mann) drives him as much as his 

class consciousness. 

Supplying the guns for all of these 

miscreants is the Proprietor (Scott Willis), 

whose strong presence is marred only by 

a shaky singing voice. In general, though, 

catchy tunes such as the ironic Everybody’s 

Got the Right and the pop lament Unworthy 

of Your Love are well served by the cast and 

the onstage band. 

Assassins may be less relevant in the 

post-9/11, post-Columbine era, but that’s 

no reason to miss it. It’s simply a reason 

to wish Sondheim would come up with a 

new musical that comments on the violent 

proclivities of 21st century America. 

Red Herring Productions will present 

Assassins at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday 

in Studio One, Riffe Center, 77 S. High 

St. Tickets are $20 in advance, “pay what 

you want” at the door. 614-723-9116 or 

redherring.info. 

Jenna Morasca, winner of Survivor, The Amazon 

27


28 

I Don’t Pop Molly 

I Rasta 

By Wes Flexner 

Didn’t the Halloween season seem to last 

forever this year? How do people come up with 

so many costumes ideas for all the different 

events? I can never think of anything to wear so 

I went out as grown and sexy per usual. 

On Thursday, I went to the Atrocity Party at 

Sugar Bar 2, which is in a location that’s part of 

one of my fondest memories, centered around 

Dipset’s residency when Chubbie Baby owned 

it. Then it was called the Red Zone. 

When I arrived at the downtown nightclub, 

former Roc-a-Fella Producer Just Blaze was 

playing a block of Dipset songs. It felt like the 

good old days of the Red Zone. 

Just Blaze ended his Dipset segment with 

Cam’ron’s mention of him “I’ll take a couple 

bars off/ and let Just live” from the Blaze 

produced “I Really Mean It.” Before I could say 

“you crazy for that Just,” the New Jerusalem 

producer switched up and played a Jay Z song. 

After a few more Hov and Ye songs the 

evening became awful. Blaze looped up Biggie’s 

self-loathing “When I die/I want to Go to Hell/ 

I’m a piece of shit/It ain’t hard to tell” from 

“Suicidal Thoughts” over some sort of electronic 

dance music. I thought, well, this explains it all: 

dubstep zombies want to go to hell, and so brostep 

is a facsimile of eternal misery. 

After playing Coolio, and a couple rap songs, 

the whole thing just committed to Babylonstep. 

There were no Halloween classics like 

“Nightmare of My Street,” “My Mind is Playing 

Tricks On Me” or even “Thriller.” 

The only two conclusions I could I come up 

with why Just decided to play mainly dubstep 

are: 

A) On an Unholy Holiday like Halloween, The 

Vatican and the CIA required him to play music 

that promotes the usage of Molly to brainwash, 

and create criminals for the Prison Industry. If 

that’s the case, I would offer Freekey Zekey 

or Dipset was involved with an XTC ring at 

some point. In addition, rappers Freeway and 

Rick Ross take their names from a man who 

sold crack for the CIA, Freeway Ricky Ross. 

It’s possible to aid the government’s Satanic 

agenda without having to play lowest common 

denominator EDM. 

B) Just Blaze, Jay Z and Bauer had huge 

success with their EDM heavy song “Higher” so 

maybe he was catering to one of his audiences. 

Blaze did loop Jay Z saying, “I don’t Pop Molly. 

I rock Tom Ford.” from Hov’s song “Tom Ford” 

at some point so my guess is “B” would be the 

correct scenario. 

I just like to complain about most forms of 

dubstep because it is completely out of a sci-fi 

novel on how to placate the masses. 

There was another holiday party last weekend. 

Jamaican Reggae star Capleton came to the 

Al Rosa Villa Saturday to celebrate the 83rd 

Anniversary of Haile Selassie’s coronation as 

the Emperor of Ethiopia. Al Rosa was in full 

bustle, as Roots High Powered Sound System 

played conscious reggae classics while the 

sizable crowd ate, drank and became merry. 

The warm feeling that permeated became 

immediately incandescent when Capleton 

took the stage backed by the Prophecy Band. 

“The King of Fire” jumped up and down while 

Cap2 

Photo by Kristin Kolaczkowski 

singing and fast chatting dance hall raps which 

had an intensity I had not seen since seeing 

Cleveland Hardcore band Ringworm play at 

Carabar a while back. 

Through the duration of Capleton’s 

performance, he would make very short 

commentary about healthy living, and also 

praise Haile Selassie, Marcus Garvey and High 

Priest Emmanuel while the band would continue 

the rhythm. The steady beat and momentum 

allowed Capleton to jump right back into crowd 

favorites such as “Jah Jah City” without any 

stoppage. 

As exhilarating as Capleton’s exhalations to 

Selassie at this coronation show was, they were 

also pretty educational in terms of a spiritual 

community. 

Earlier in the evening, while Roots High 

Powered was warming the crowd up, 

selecta Pete Funk thanked and gave praise 

to Jesus Christ. Apparently, there is a pretty 

strong overlap between Christianity and 

Rastafarianism. 

Haile Selassie was an Orthodox Christian 

when he was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in 

1930. The coronation was recognized by all 

of the world’s powers so the emergence of a 

powerful black man resonated with Jamaicans 

who were in colonial hell. Around the same 

time, Marcus Garvey was promoting the 

idea that the spirituality of oppressed people 

of African descent be separated from their 

oppressors to avoid control and identity issues. 

Haile Selassie fit this job listing. He was a black 

king who had bloodlines that could be traced 

back to King Solomon. 

When Capleton sang “Selassie” from his 1994 

Method Man duet “Wings of the Morning” 

during an encore Saturday, watching a room full 

people sing along was something special.

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30

with Sue Harshe 

Sue Harshe is a founding member 

of the post-punk band Scrawl, who 

released seven albums between 1986 and 

1998 on such labels as Rough Trade, 

Simple Machines, and Elektra. Last year 

they were invited to perform at the All 

Tomorrow’s Parties festivals held in New 

York City and Camber Sands, England. 

She also performs in the rock band Fort 

Shame, who released a full-length CD in 

the fall of 2012. 

Since 2003 she has composed 

music for nine films in the Wexner 

Center’s silent film series, the latest 

installments being The Farmer’s Wife 

and Champagne, part of the Hitchcock 

9 series shown this fall. Last year she 

scored and performed music for the 1920 

movie The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, which 

was commissioned by Shock Around the 

Clock, Columbus’ annual 24-hour horrorfilm 

marathon. In addition, recordings of 

her compositions for six shorter films can 

be found on all three volumes of Kino 

International’s DVD collection of avantgarde 

experimental cinema. 

She composed and performed the 

music for two theatrical performances at 

The Ohio State University, both staged 

by visiting director Alexander Stillmark: 

Reader for City-Dwellers in 2006 and 

HamletMachine in 2010. 

She was one of twelve composers 

invited to participate in Finding 

Time: Columbus Public Art 2012, in 

conjunction with Columbus’ bicentennial 

celebrations last year. 

FP: Put together your fantasy band, 

dead or alive. 

That’s difficult. It would end up 

looking like Sun Ra’s Arkestra, with 87 

members in it; but a four-member fantasy 

band would have to include Jon Langford 

from the Mekons (because he’s probably 

a lot of fun, and I was just listening to 

them today), Ann Wilson from Heart, 

Andy Gill from Gang of Four, and any 

of the guys from Kraftwerk. So, I guess 

it would be a weird 80s band: no drums, 

2 vocalists, a guitarist, and keyboards. It 

would probably sound like 

some fucked up version of 

the Thompson Twins. 

FP: What’s the best, most 

exciting concert, music 

event you’ve been to? 

Again, very difficult! 

But I would have to say 

that seeing Wire at the ATP 

Festival in England last 

December was a gigantic, 

over-the-top, I’m-16-yearsold-again 

experience. Marcy 

(Mays) and I wept, because 

we just could not believe we 

were actually there watching 

them perform. 

FP: What is the best (or 

most important) thing 

about the music scene in 

Columbus? 

I suppose the most 

important thing about the 

Columbus music scene is 

that there *is* a scene. It 

has been pretty healthy for 

as long as I can remember 

and that’s saying something. 

What I like about local 

shows right now is the 

variety within one night’s 

offering; you can see a 

country band, a rock band, 

and a punk band on one bill 

(and it isn’t Comfest). That 

drives some people crazy, 

and I get that, but it tells me 

the audience’s musical taste 

is diverse (or at least that 

they are tolerant people). 

FP: What’s the most 

important issue (political 

or otherwise) going on in 

Columbus? 

Dwindling abortion 

rights, the quagmire of the 

Columbus Public School 

System, civil rights for 

LGBT, Affordable Care Act 

and how it will play out in 

Ohio. The list is long. 

FP:Anyone who has played in multiple 

bands knows each one is different 

but in some ways they are the same. 

What’s different about Scrawl/Fort 

Shame, what’s similar? And how do 

you fit your movie writing into your 

schedule? (We know, two questions, 

but we wanted to hear about your 

movie work.) 

Scrawl will always be different 

from anything I will ever do, because 

Marcy and I cut our teeth in that band, 

together. We learned how to write 

songs by writing together. We learned 

how to sing by singing together. We 

learned how to play our instruments by 

photo: Michael Alwood 

playing together. We traveled the world 

together, played in the worst cockroachinfested 

fire traps and gigantic festivals 

together. We recorded in a friend’s 

basement by the fairgrounds and we 

recorded in an 18th century farmhouse 

in France. Making music with someone 

for that long changes your DNA. That 

said, Fort Shame is awesome because 

it’s a different kind of discovery. With 

Scrawl, Marcy and I had an incredible 

learning curve that we were fortunate 

enough to overcome together. With 

Fort Shame, every musician in that 

band already has their chops and their 

defining musical experiences, so it’s an 

interesting collaboration. Those guys are 

such good musicians, they can afford to 

be very generous; they are enthusiastic 

about hearing new ideas and offering up 

new ideas. It’s an extremely gratifying 

relationship. And that is the similarity of 

both bands. 

Film scores happen once every year 

or so, and it’s a finite amount of time of 

serious, balls-to-the-wall commitment. I 

just did 2 films for the Wexner Center’s 

Hitchcock 9 series this month and I 

pretty much forsook all else for about 6 

weeks, to finish up those scores. But then 

it’s done and I can move on. It’s intense 

and all-absorbing, but then it’s over. It’s 

kind of like being in a play: rehearse, 

perform, close. I really like doing them 

though. I think they keep me musically 

sharp and on my toes. 


31

Bonobo film kicks off 


32 

Columbus film festival 

By Susan Halpern 

The 61st Columbus International Film & 

Video Festival opens tonight (November 

7) with a French film shot in the Congo 

at the Gateway Film Center, at 1550 

North High Street Columbus, Ohio, with 

a reception at 7 pm and film at 8:00 pm. 

Admission to both the reception and film 

is just $5. This screening is one night only 

and it is the Midwest premiere of the film. 

The film follows the story of an orphan 

bonobo, rescued by Claudine André, a 

conservationist who has dedicated her 

life to bonobos, our closest primate 

cousins. The event is co-sponsored by 

the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, who 

are bringing some animal friends to the 

opening reception. A percentage of ticket 

sales will be donated to Lola ya Bonobo 

(Bonobo Paradise), the bonobo sanctuary 

featured in the film. 

In addition, Congolese biologist Suzy 

Kwetuenda (who appears in the film) will 

be on hand to present the film and talk 

about Lola ya Bonobo and the bonobos 

featured in the film. The documentary 

was created to raise awareness for our 

endangered primate cousins. Bonobos 

(pronounced “buh-NO-bos”) are often 

confused with chimpanzees, and until 

1933 they were not considered a different 

species. With a 98 percent match to 

human genetics, the bonobos are truly 

our closest relatives in the animal world. 

Some scientists suggest that the bonobo 

is so closely related to humans that their 

genus name also should be classified with 

the human genus Homo: Homo paniscus, 

Homo sylvestris, or Homo arboreus. 

Bonobos are infamous for their 

sexuality, rivaling that of humans, but that 

behavior is only slyly hinted at in the film. 

“It is a mainstream movie, so we cut out 

the sex scenes,” says André, the human 

star of Beny: Back To The Wild. Bonobo 

society is matriarchal and surprisingly 

gentle, unlike chimpanzee societies. 

Conflicts are resolved peaceably, and 

strangers are generally accepted into the 

tribe. Bonobos have been referred to as 

the “hippies of the primate kingdom.” 

But, as the film shows, these gentle 

creatures are endangered and could 

be facing extinction. The poverty 

of the region threatens the bonobos 

survival, from both poachers and habitat 

destruction. 

“If we can’t save our closest cousins,” 

André says, “whom are we going to 

save?” 

About the Columbus International 

Film + Video Festival: 

The Columbus International Film & 

Video Festival is the longest-running 

film festival in the United States. It is 

organized by the Columbus Film Council, 

which is dedicated to serving filmmakers 

and their audiences by celebrating 

excellence in filmmaking, the Columbus 

Film Council believes in educating and 

entertaining people with the art and 

experience of film and video. 

Parking at the Gateway Film Center 

is available in the garage located next 

door to the cinema on both 9th and 

11th avenues. To validate your parking, 

purchase a single exit voucher at the film 

center box office. The cost is $1, which 

covers three hours in the garage. 

You know that noise 

your heart makes 

when you work out? 

IT’S CALLED APPLAUSE. 

Think of each beat as your heart’s way of cheering you on 

for staying physically active. Want a standing ovation? Try 

keeping your diet low in cholesterol and saturated fat too. 

For more ways to lower your risk of heart attack and stroke, 

visit www.americanheart.org or call 

1-800-AHA-USA1. 

This space provided as a public service. © 1999, American Heart Association 

C (4.25´´ X 5.25´´/85 line screen) 

Portable Heater 

Fire Safety 

An estimated 900 portable 

heater fires in homes are 

reported to U.S. fire departments 

each year and cause 

an estimated 70 deaths, 

150 injuries and $53 million 

in property loss. 

Only 2 percent of heating 

fires in homes involved 

portable heaters; however, 

portable heaters were 

involved in 45 percent of all 

fatal heating fires in homes. 

You can prevent a portable heater fire in your home 

this winter by following a few fire safety steps: 

• Turn heaters off when you go to bed or leave the room. 

• Keep anything that can burn such as bedding, clothing and curtains at least three feet away. 

• Only use portable heaters from a recognized testing laboratory and with an automatic 

shut-off so that if they tip over, they shut off. 

• Plug portable heaters directly into outlets and never into an extension cord or power strip. 

Label of a recognized testing laboratory 

For More Information: 

www.usfa.fema.gov/ 

citizens/focus 

NW00-3

Maybe the Blue Jackets 

could try this with Stinger 

Fox Sports reported over the weekend that the Denver 

Nuggets didn’t really hang their mascot, Rocky, Friday 

night. It just looked like they did, potentially traumatizing 

every child in the crowd. 

What actually happened was, the Nuggets’ mascot 

apparently suffered a dizzy spell while he was being 

lowered to the court during a pre-game stunt and passed 

out, dangling lifelessly and then crumpling on the floor as 

the crowd watched in horror. 

The mascot tweeted that he’s OK, but after announcing in 

April that he’s retiring after this season, Rocky may want to 

speed it up. 

“What’s up Doc” indeed 

Carrots have long been said to be good for your vision. 

Now, it has emerged, they can also improve the fertility of 

men. 

The DailyMail.com reports that Researchers investigating 

the effect of fruit and vegetables on the health of sperm 

discovered that carrots produced the best all-round results. 

They had the greatest effect on ‘motility’ – a term used to 

describe the ability of sperm to swim towards an egg. 

Researchers at Harvard University in the US asked almost 

200 young men to follow diets containing a variety of fruit 

and veg before testing to see what effect it had on sperm. 

Yellow and orange foods were found to help make the 

sperm stronger. The boost was attributed to pigments called 

carotenoids because the body converts some of these into 

health-boosting antioxidants. These include beta-carotene, 

which the body can make into the antioxidant vitamin A. 

Slow readers beware of tiny 

Texas town 

Jory Enck of Copperas Cove, Texas was arrested and jailed 

recently, reports opposingviews.com. 

His crime? Failing to return a GED study guide that he 

checked out of the local library in 2010. 

Enck was locked in jail last Wednesday after police noticed 

a warrant for an overdue library book during a routine stop. 

According to Copperas Cove law, any person who does 

not respond to calls or emails about an an overdue library 

book checked out for more than 90 days will be reported to 

the local court, which can issue a “library warrant” for an 

arrest. 

“The reason they passed it was that they were spending a 

tremendous amount of money replacing these materials that 

people just didn’t return,” Municipal Court Judge Bill Price 

told local TV station KWTX. 

Enck was released on a $200 bond and returned the GED 

study guide to the library, along with his library card. 

Please don’t feed 

the alligators 

(we want them hungry) 

SFExaminer.com reports there’s a new medieval rage in 

celebrity homes – moats. 

For stars such as Rihanna - who have to move to super 

secure buildings to avoid stalkers that end up on their back 

porches - a dense swath of impenetrable water starts to look 

appealing. 

Gisele Bündchen and her hubby Tom Brady have a moat, 

complete with the requisite koi. Their architect Richard 

Landry is one of the hot designers credited with the trend. 

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the elite prefer the 

term “wraparound water feature.” No doubt when drums of 

hot oil are poured on invading hoards, that’s also called “an 

immersive skin peel.” 

That explains the “dead 

quiet” atmosphere 

Bob Moschetto and his wife Ellen share their home with a 

Shih Tzu, two cats and about 70,000 dead neighbors. 

That’s right. The married Queens couple lives in a 

cemetery and has done so for the past 13 years. The couple 

lives rent free in exchange for taking care of the property 

and they love it. 

“I like to say I live in a gated community,” Ellen 

Moschetto, 61, told the New York Post. 

Though their decision to live in a cemetery may raise 

eyebrows, the couple insists they didn’t settle for just any 

cemetery. 

“There are many cemeteries in Queens. This is one of the 

best,” said Bob Moschetto, 65. 

Moschetto is the graveyard’s caretaker, whose job it is to 

open and close the gates, patrol the grounds and keep out 

trespassers. It’s a creepy job, but someone has to do it. His 

wife Ellen fully supports him. 

“It’s very quiet. No one here comes knocking on the door 

to borrow anything,” Ellen Moschetto told Philadelphia’s 

Fox 29. 

Would have been a spiffier 

headline if he lived in 

Hermon, Maine 

A Maine man who locked himself away in the woods for 27 

years, living as a hermit and stealing to survive, could be a 

free man within weeks after pleading guilty to theft charges 

last week. 

Christopher Knight, 47 — known as the North Pond 

Hermit — was put into a diversion program to keep him out 

of state prison and help him reintegrate into society. 

He will remain in county lockup for a short time but most 

of his five-year sentence was suspended as part of his plea 

deal, the Associated Press reported. 

After he was arrested in April at the scene of a break-in 

with a backpack full of purloined food and supplies, Knight 

admitted to committing 1,000 or more thefts from camps 

and homes ringing the pond over the years. 

In a tale that invited awe, he told police he had walked 

into the woods at age 19 and never looked back — cutting 

off contact with his family and the rest of society and 

holing up in a camouflaged campsite through bitter winters. 

Let’s Call him Joltin’Joe 

and leave it at that 

A Waikanae, New Zealand man remembers seeing a small 

green flash come out of his finger, and then his vision and 

speech going fuzzy. 

His name? Joe Fraser. And no, not that Joe Frazier, but he 

can take a punch. Maybe he should be called Smokin’Joe. 

The Waikanae 67-year-old was standing in his living 

room on October 24 when a bolt of lightning struck his 

chimney, surged through the fire box, into his left leg and 

out his left index finger. 

“I’d been outside in the garden when I saw lightning hit 

over by the hill, and then it hit a bit closer so I decided to 

come inside to be safe,” Fraser said. “Then it hit the house 

and I got hit anyway. 

“I stumbled over to the phone and just managed to speed 

dial my son, who lives next door. All I could say was that 

I’d been hit by lightning and that was it.” 

He said an American doctor, with previous experience of 

fork lightning victims, told him he was lucky he was not 

touching the chimney when the lightning struck. 

“I was about a foot away from it. If I’d been touching it 

I’d be history. I got pretty lucky, but I was still shocked that 

you can be struck by lightning inside your own house.” 

The only after effects he has is a bit of stiffness, and a 

burn on the end of his index finger. 

Meanwhile his mates at Kapiti Ten Pin bowling alley are 

having their fun with the lightning survivor. 

“They’re always asking me to ‘bowl a strike, bowl a 

strike’. They think it’s very funny.” 

Dig it, man, 60 is the new 30 

A Virginia cocoa extract supplement company said its 

survey of members of the baby boomer generation indicates 

63 percent feel younger than their age. 

The CocoaVia National Healthy Aging Outlook Survey, 

conducted online by Toluna on half of Cocoavia, owned by 

Mars Inc. of McLean, Va., found 63 percent of the 2,200 

adults ages 40-to-65 felt an average of 13 years younger 

than their age. 

The Sept. 22-27 poll indicated 13 percent of women in 

the boomer generation feel 30 years old or younger. 

The survey indicates 68 percent of boomers are enjoying 

the current phase of their lives and 78 percent described 

themselves as healthy. 

CocoaVia did not release a margin of error for the survey. 


33

“Fixing the Facts: National Security 

and the Politics of Intelligence” 

Friday, November 8, 2013, 12:30pm, 

120 Mershon Center, 1501 Neil Ave. 

Joshua Rovner is John Goodwin Tower 

Professor of International Politics 

and National Security at Southern 

Methodist University. He is also 

director of studies at the Tower Center 

for Political Studies, a interdisciplinary 

center for public and international 

affairs. Rovner is author of Fixing 

the Facts: National Security and the 

Politics of Intelligence (Cornell, 2011), 

which won the International Studies 

Association award for best book in 

security studies, as well as the Edgar S. 

34 Furniss Book Award from the Mershon 


ACTIVIST CALENDAR 

Show some of that Community Spirit and Get 

Involved! Here’s Where, When & How! Nov.7-17 

“Building Communities for Social 

Justice and Social Change” 

Thursday, November 7, 2013, 5:45pm, 

1000 McPherson Chemical Lab, 140 

W. 18th Ave. [on The Ohio State 

University campus] 

A presentation by Adam Schneider, 

Director of Community Relations at 

Health Care for the Homeless (HCH), 

on the critical role that communities 

have played in the history of social 

justice movements. There will be 

discussion on the common thread 

of economic oppression, political 

exclusion, and social marginalization 

that the civil rights, women’s rights, 

welfare rights, and similar movements 

have in common. Rather than 

taking the view of the individual 

as fundamental, the presenter will 

propose that we should instead focus 

on community, raising issues of 

power, political economy, and critical 

consciousness. Changing the world 

can happen only when we understand 

that community is as important as the 

individual. A panel discussion will 

follow the presentation. 

This presentation is part of The Ohio 

State University College of Social 

Work’s “50 Years: Project,” which is 

intended to commemorate and re-ignite 

the spirit of progressive change that 

had been alive and well in America 50 

years ago. 

csw.ohio-state.edu/article.cfm?id=8090 

Contact: Keith Kilty, kilty.1@osu.edu 

Center. In addition to his work on 

intelligence and foreign policy, he 

writes widely on nuclear weapons and 

contemporary strategy. Read more and 

register at go.osu.edu/jrovner 

Simply Living Social Meets Sierra Club 

Central Ohio Group 

Friday, November 8, 2013, 6:30-8:30 

pm, Northwood-High Building, 2231 

N. High St., Rm. 100 

It’s double green fun in November 

as Simply Living meets our 

environmental friends from the Sierra 

Club! There will be an update about 

plans for the new Simply Living 

University; the Sierra Club will talk 

about their local activities and their 

advocacy work on state and national 

campaigns. Bring lots of questions 

and leave time for networking. More 

collaborations are in the works. Light 

refreshments will be provided. 

simplyliving.org 

Contact: Chuck Lynd, chuck.lynd@ 

gmail.com or (614) 354-6172 

2013 Living with Epilepsy Symposium 

Saturday, November 9, 2013, 8am- 

3:30pm, Bing Cancer Center, 500 

Thomas Lane [near Riverside Hospital] 

OhioHealth Riverside Methodist 

Hospital, OhioHealth and the Epilepsy 

Foundation present an epilepsy 

symposium. CEUs will be available for 

social workers, counselors, and nurses. 

epilepsy-ohio.org 

Registration: 15155.thankyou4caring. 

org/living-with-epilepsy-conferenceregistration 

Humanist Community of Central Ohio 

[HCCO] monthly meeting 

Saturday, November 9, 2013, 12:30- 

3pm, 1550 Old Henderson Rd., Rm. 

131 

Our monthly program is a lecture or 

discussion on topics of interest to 

humanists! Join us at 12:30 for pizza. 

Topic to be announced. 

hcco.org/ 

Free Press Second Saturday Salon 

Saturday, November 9, 2013, 6:30- 

11pm, 1021 E. Broad St. 

Join progressive friends for food, drink 

and music. Presentation by the Ohio 

Fair Food Campaign. 

colsfreepress@gmail.com or (614) 

253-2571 

Queen Brooks at the closing reception 

for her show “The Clipboard Journals” 

at the Homeport Gallery Friday. 

Central Ohioans for Peace 

Monday, November 11, 2013, 7-9pm, 

Columbus Mennonite Church, 35 E. 

Oakland Park Ave. 

In observance of Armistice Day, we 

will watch Part 1 of “Century of 

Warfare: The History of the United 

States at War in the Twentieth 

Century.” In 1914, the world was 

aflame with its first world war. Revisit 

the causes of the war, its early years, 

and the American entrance into the 

conflict. Journey with the American 

Expeditionary Forces as they go over 

there and exclaim, “Lafayette we are 

here!” Follow General Pershing’s 

attempts to train the forces for the 

rigors of combat and see the results 

as the Yanks are committed to combat 

in the Allies’ darkest hour. Finally, 

celebrate with all of America as the 

war ends and the world has been made 

safe for democracy. 

sites.google.com/site/ 

centralohioansforpeace/ 

Public Forum on 

Radioactive Frack Waste 

Tuesday, November 12, 2013, 7pm, 

Columbus Metropolitan Library, 96 S. 

Grant Ave. 

Ohio has become the radioactive waste 

dump for the oil and gas industry. 

Currently, Ohio landfills accept 

radioactive solid waste from the natural 

gas industry (fracking). Ohio imports 

the waste that Pennsylvania and 

West Virginia reject. Dumping large 

quantities of radioactive waste is a 

threat to public health and to our water 

supply. We oppose the disposal of solid 

and liquid radioactive and toxic waste 

in Columbus landfills. Experts will 

address the health risks, science, and 

legislation surrounding the dumping of 

this radioactive waste. 

radioactivewastealert.org/ 

facebook.com/ 

events/319267708212097/ 

“Can the Natural World 

Afford a ’Just War’?” 

Wednesday, November 13, 2013, 

7pm, Maple Grove United Methodist 

Church, 7 W. Henderson Rd. 

A presentation by Sr. Dianne Bergant, 

prominent Biblical scholar, Catholic 

Theological Union, Chicago. 

Sponsored by Call To Action (CTA), 

a national organization of Catholics 

working together to foster peace 

and justice in our world, our church, 

and ourselves. Call To Action is 

the country’s largest church reform 

organization. 

cta-columbus.org/ 

Democratic Socialists of Central Ohio 

monthly meeting 

Thursday, November 14, 2013, 7-9pm, 

2231 N. High St., Rm. 100 

Special program: “Someone’s 

Watching Me: Drones and Domestic 

Surveillance,” by Adrienne Gavula, 

the associate director for the ACLU 

of Ohio in Columbus. An activist 

right out of college, she worked for 

five years at the ACLU of Ohio in 

Cleveland and has re-joined the ACLU 

in the Columbus office. Adrienne 

helps guide and sustain community 

organizing in Central and Southern 

Ohio to ensure that civil liberties 

violations are pursued, that people’s 

voices are heard, that neglected and 

important civil liberties issues are 

given attention, and that systems of 

oppression are continually challenged. 

Free parking is available in the “R” 

spaces — “R” for “Rardin Clinic” — 

behind the building. 

Contact: Simone Morgen, smorgen@ 

juno.com or dsco.org/

“A Contest for Supremacy: China, 

America and the Struggle for 

Mastery in Asia” 

Friday, November 15, 2013, 12:30pm, 

120 Mershon Center, 1501 Neil Ave. 

Aaron Friedberg is professor of 

politics and international affairs at 

Princeton University, where he has 

taught since 1987, and co-director of 

the Woodrow Wilson School’s Center 

for International Security Studies. 

He is author of The Weary Titan: 

Britain and the Experience of Relative 

Decline, 1895-1905 (winner of the 

Edgar S. Furniss Book Award) and 

In the Shadow of the Garrison State: 

America’s Anti-Statism and its Cold 

War Grand Strategy, both published by 

Princeton. His latest book is A Contest 

for Supremacy: China, America and 

the Struggle for Mastery in Asia 

(Norton, 2011). In this presentation, 

Friedberg will examine the factors 

that appear to be impelling the United 

States and China towards a deepening 

geopolitical rivalry. Read more and 

register at go.osu.edu/afriedberg 

“Spirit of the 1960s” Coffeehouse to 

benefit the Mid-Ohio Food Bank 

Friday, November 15, 2013, King Ave. 

United Methodist Church, 299 King 

Ave. 

Civil rights sit-ins. Bell-bottoms. Antiwar 

marches. Student Power. Afros. 

Mini-skirts. Hippies. Riots. Space 

flights. The generation gap. 

Those hallmarks of the turbulent 

1960’s will be rekindled this year 

at the annual “Spirit of the ‘60’s 

Coffeehouse.” 

The show begins at 7:30pm in the 

church basement, but get there early 

for a good seat. 

Bill Cohen will lead a candlelit, 

musical, year-by-year journey through 

the era, with live folk songs, “news 

reports” of sixties happenings, displays 

of anti-war buttons and posters, and 

far-out sixties fashions. 

Bill will also challenge the audience 

with sixties trivia questions. 

Proceeds from the suggested $10 

donation will go to the Mid-Ohio Food 

Bank. Refreshments will be available 

at no extra charge. Free parking is also 

available in the lots just south and west 

of the church. 

The program is suitable for adults and 

mature teens. 

spiritofthe1960s.com/ 

Central Ohio Gay Atheists 

Saturday, November 16, 2013, 10am- 

12pm, Upper Arlington Public Library, 

2800 Tremont Rd. 

In Central Ohio, there are groups 

for being LGBTIQA and groups for 

being a nonbeliever, but not one for 

being both. Central Ohio Gay Atheists 

(COGA) is a group for LGBTIQA 

who are nonbelievers; note that the 

“A” indicates that straight allies are 

welcome. The group tackles issues of 

being gay and atheist in our personal 

lives and in the Midwest. The format 

is that of a support group that features 

a discussion mainly because many of 

us have not one, but two skeletons in 

the closet which can make things a 

lot worse in our own personal lives. 

The group incorporates a social aspect 

following the discussion portion of the 

meeting so that members are able to 

get to know one another. 

meetup.com/CentralOhioGayAtheists/ 

Carolyn Harding at the presentation of the 

film “Triple Divide.” The film was screened 

at the Unitarian Church at 93 W. Weisheimer 

Rd, Friday. It is a documentary about what 

happened when fracking came to north central 

Pennsylvania. Film narrated by Mark Ruffalo 

and produced by Public Herald. 

March on Wendy’s for 

Farmworker Justice 

Saturday, November 16, 2013, 1:00pm, 

Wendy’s, 1510 N. High St. 

On the 44th anniversary of Dave 

Thomas’ founding of Wendy’s, 

consumers and faith groups are 

coming out again to ask Wendy’s to 

support farmworker justice and to 

help eliminate sweatshop conditions 

in the fields of Florida by joining the 

Fair Food Program. Of the five largest 

fast food corporations, Wendy’s is the 

only company not to participate in the 

Coalition of Immokalee Workers Fair 

Food Program. 

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is 

coming to Columbus! Please join Ohio 

Fair Food allies from Columbus Fair 

Food, Cincinnati Fair Food, Unitarian 

Universalist Justice Ohio, Presbyterian 

Church (USA), OSU Student/ 

Farmworker Alliance, and students 

from Denison University for the 

Founders Day Rally at the Wendy’s at 

1510 N. High St. in Columbus, Ohio. 

The Fair Food Program has been 

recognized internationally and 

nationally (recently by the White 

House, the United Nations and the 

Roosevelt Institute) as one of the most 

effective campaigns fighting modernday 

slavery and promoting worker’s 

rights that exists today. The Coalition 

of Immokalee Workers has successfully 

signed with eleven major multinational 

corporations, including: Yum Brands 

(owner of KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco 

Bell), McDonald’s, Burger King, 

Subway, Chipotle, Sodexo, Bon 

Appetit, Aramark, Compass group, 

Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s. 

We need all of you to make this event 

a success for the farmworkers. Please 

RSVP to ohiofairfood@gmail.com, so 

we’ll know you’re coming. 

Contact: Sue Carter, (614) 459-0017 or 

ohiofairfood@gmail.com 

indiegogo.com/projects/wendy-sfounder-s-day-march 

In Organic We Trust 

Sunday, November 17, 2013, 2pm, 

Studio 35, 3055 Indianola Ave. 

An eye-opening food documentary 

that follows director/producer Kip 

Pastor on a personal journey to answer 

commonly-asked questions about 

organic food. The film digs deep with 

farmers, organic certifiers, scientists, 

and organic critics to explore the 

content beneath the label and the truth 

behind the marketing. What began as 

a grassroots movement of small-scale 

farmers has turned into a $30 billion 

industry. Small, diversified organic 

farms have been replaced by large 

corporate operations and the “certified 

organic” label has become a marketing 

tool. In spite of the corporatization 

of “organic,” the original grassroots 

philosophy is making a comeback 

in many innovative forms. The 

film highlights inspiring stories of 

local family farmers dedicated to 

stewardship of the land, a thriving 

“locavore” subculture centered on 

farmer’s markets, chefs feeding 

children healthy school meals, and 

urban and school gardens sprouting 

up to bring fresh food to low-income 

communities. [A “locavore” is a 

person who is interested in eating food 

that is locally produced, not moved 

long distances to market.] Individual 

citizens and communities are taking 

matters into their own hands and 

change is happening from the ground 

up. Sponsored by the Columbus Film 

Council and Simply Living. 

simplyliving.org/ 

inorganicwetrust.org 

Care and Share Time Bank potluck 

and meeting 

Sunday, November 17, 2013, 7-9pm, 

93 W. Weisheimer Rd. 

A Time Bank is a community of 

people who support each other. When 

you spend an hour to do something 

for an individual or group, you earn 

a “time credit.” Then, you can use 

that “time credit” to buy an hour of a 

neighbor’s time or engage in a group 

activity offered by a neighbor. It’s 

that simple. Yet it also has profound 

effects. You get to know your 

neighbors and friends and build an oldfashioned 

extended family of people 

who take care of each other. A Time 

Bank changes a whole community. 

Bring a dish to share and learn about 

the Care and Share Time Bank. Earn a 

credit for providing transportation. 

This month’s program will be an 

introduction of the new Clintonville 

Solar Energy Co-op that is developing 

programs to offer energy efficiency audits 

and solar panel installations while 

using Time Bank credits! 

Contact: hourworld.org or call Alice at 

(614) 754-7287 

Send your activist event to: 

activist@columbusfreepress.com 

SEND US YOUR ACTIVIST PHOTO 

Submit your photo from your 

activist event. Include name of 

event, date, place and photo 

credit. Be sure to tell our 

readers how to get involved in 

your organization. Send to: 

activist@columbusfreepress.com. 


35


36

Community Festival 

GENERAL PLANNING MEETINGS 

AT THE RESIDENCE HOUSE IN THE MIDDLE OF GOODALE PARK 

(ENTER FROM N. PARK ST.) 

All are welcome. Join us and help plan ComFest 

2013: 

Wednesday, November 13, 7:30pm 

Tuesday, November 26, 7:30pm 

Tuesday, December 12, 7:30pm 

Sunday, December 22, 1pm 

. 

2014: 

Thursday, January 9, 7:30pm 

Tuesday, January 21, 7:30pm 

Thursday, February 6, 7:30pm 

Tuesday, February 18, 7:30pm 

Sunday, March 2, 1pm 

. 

LOGO CONTEST: 

Thursday, March 6, 7:30pm 

Tuesday, March 18, 7:30pm 

Sunday, March 30, 1pm 

Tuesday, April 8, 7:30pm 

Wednesday, April 16, 7:30pm 

Sunday, April 27, 1pm 

. 

MEMBERSHIP MEETING: 

Thursday, May 1, 7:30pm 


Wednesday, May 14, 7:30pm 

Tuesday, May 20, 7:30pm 


Tuesday, June 3, 7:30pm 

Wednesday, June 11, 7:30pm 

Wednesday, June 18, 7:30pm 

Tuesday, June 24, 7:30pm 

Thursday, June 26, 7:30pm 

. 

2014 Community Festival: June 27, 28 & 29 


37

PEAVES, THE FREE PRESS 

7 th Annual State of The Near East Side 

BUTLER, SOUNDS OFF 


38 

The man on the phone was talking very 

fast. I thought perhaps he had a lot to say 

but a short time to say it. I was wrong. It 

turns out he had lots of time, scads of it, 

far more time than I would have preferred 

to allot him. But I am polite on the phone, 

I listened to the bastard ramble on. What 

the conversation concerned is unimportant, 

it was an admonishment at the end that 

starched my collar. 

The fellow wanted to foist some 

documents upon me. I did not want them, 

but he insisted. “I can fax them to you,” the 

cad announced. 

I explained that I did not have a fax 

machine and that he’d be better off 

emailing them to me. “Just send them as 

attachments,” I said. 

That’s when things got interesting. 

“You should really have a fax machine,” 

the meddler mumbled. 

I didn’t say anything, still being polite. 

“If you had a fax machine,” the obtruder 

continued. “I could just fax these over to 

you.” 

“Yes, but I don’t,” I said, still holding my 

tongue. 

“You might want to think about getting 

one,” he went on. 

Still I remained mum. But I was thinking, 

“And where shall I look for one, an antique 

store?” 

I also did not bother to tell the unxious 

gent that in all my years as a butler, I had 

not previously had need of one. Not once. 

Eventually I managed to end the 

conversation, which was no easy task. 

Later I thought longer on the unpleasant 

incident and realized the irony in it. 

It is I who is usually behind the times 

technology-wise, not the next fellow. 

It has only been recently that I have 

become comfortable using a computer. My 

first one was given to me by a friend and 

on it I learned how to use email and browse 

the internet. Beyond that, I have little use 

for the contraptions, but I can see their 

usefulness. 

At some point I decided to buy a new 

computer and expected it to act in a manner 

similar to the one my friend had given me. 

Again, I had erred. My new computer came 

equipped with all manner of foibles. 

I soon learned that it lacked software 

that I had previously taken for granted. 

For weeks I learned of all the little tid bits 

I needed to download and install. It was a 

very annoying process. 

For example, soon after my new 

acquisition arrived I tried to watch a video a 

friend had guided me to via email. “Really 

funny,” the subject line read. Being a sap, 

I clicked on the link. Nothing happened. 

I clicked again. The doohickey told me I 

needed something called a “plug in.” 

The missing element was something 

called “Java,” but I do not know exactly 

what that is or what it does. I only know 

that it was a pain in the caboose to deal 

with. 

After an hour or so, I managed to view 

the video. It was an hour wasted in my 

opinion. The video was not even mildly 

amusing. Still I learned something: my 

friend has an odd sense of humor. 

That is just one incident among many. 

Almost daily I found some thingamabob 

or other that my computer lacked. Always 

there would be an explanation of what I 

needed to do to rectify the situation and 

always it was gibberish. 

Finally I decided I needed to get a printer. 

I figured, with a printer, I could print out 

the instructions for how to accomplish the 

endless tasks my computer was assigning 

me in order to get it up to speed. 

Honestly I had no idea what I was getting 

myself into. Installing the printer was easy 

enough, it did all the work. I was not, 

however prepared for the aftermath. The 

damn printer has taken over my computer. 

It lives on my monitor, taking up about a 

quarter of the space with little icons for 

functions I have no need of nor inclination 

to use. 

Worst, though, is that the printer is 

constantly trying to sell me products to feed 

its insatiable thirst. It pesters me to buy ink, 

it implores me to visit its store (who knew 

printers had market places?), it nags at me 

about each and every one of its needs. 

Off The Beaten Path 

Hidden Gems on Our Side Streets 

Thursday, November 7, 2013 

refreshments provided by 

Central Community House 

1150 East Main Street 

6:30 to 8:00 PM 

For more information call 614-252-3283 

or email kathleendbailey@hotmail.com 

● Copies courtesy of

WE WANT YOUR VINYL 

Every Monday is “Vinyl 

Monday” at Used Kids Records- 

20% Off all used vinyl 

purchases! 

1980 North High Street 

Columbus, Ohio 43201 

(614) 421-9455 


39


40

“NOW MORE THAN EVER” 1

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