Opinion

Monday, October 8 was the 2018 Free Press Annual Awards Ceremony at Woodlands Tavern. It was supposed to be “Columbus Day” – but we at the Free Press were happy to hear that the city of Columbus DID NOT commemorate Columbus Day this year. City offices and services remained open. Though they did not admit the decision had anything to do with public outcry or changing the holiday to Indigenous People’s Day – it may still be a step in the right direction to finally stop celebrating the genocidal maniac who didn’t really discover our city or America for that matter.

Instead, it was an occasion to honor local community activists, artists and volunteers. Free Press Editor Bob Fitrakis presented awards to the year’s honorees. The “Free Press Volunteer Award” went to Steve Caruso, who has given so much time, effort and expertise to the Free Press for many years. He provides computer technical support, handles social media, ensures our websites and domain names are up to date, fixes air conditioning/lights/TV/internet connections, helps with salons, plays music, and is an all-round great person to have around.

The Precautionary Principle: "Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage to environmental or human health, exploitation by any corporate or personal entity that could damage the environment or the health of humans must be delayed until there is absolute scientific certainty that damage can be totally averted.”

"Altruism is a great evil...while selfishness is a virtue." -- Ayn Rand, atheist author of Atlas Shrugged, Fountainhead andThe Virtue of Selfishness whose books were the inspiration for the American libertarian movement.

Migrant caravan 1,000 miles from US border poses NO threat

he actual news, as of October 28, was that the migrant caravan of mostly Honduran asylum-seekers posed NO imminent threat to the US. Even Mexico doesn’t treat the caravan as a threat. The caravan is traveling through southern Mexico. The caravan is more than 1,000 miles from the US border’s nearest point. Nobody knows how many people are in the caravan, estimated at 7,000 at its peak. Currently the caravan is shrinking, with estimates running around 3,500. Some Hondurans have decided to go home. An estimated 1,700 have applied for asylum in Mexico. By all reliable reports, the caravan has been peaceful and has been peaceably received by Mexicans along its route. The only unusual thing about this caravan was its initial size, and now that, too, is unremarkable.

“Screw your optics, I’m going in.”

This is bigger than hate, this latest mass shooting, last weekend, at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, in which, oh my God, 11 more innocent souls died at the hands of a home-grown terrorist.

Our two previous podcasts---two full hours---with experts Greg Palast, Mimi Kennedy, Dan Sheehan, Sara Nelson, Steve Rosenfeld, Jon Simon, John Brakey & others are at:  

https://greenpowerwellnessshow.podbean.com/e/solartopia-green-power-and-wellness-hour-102618/
 

They Might Be Giants (TMBG) has gained a lot of traction within the last year. With their latest full album “I Like Fun” being in the top 40 charts and an international tour, things are looking better than ever for this band. A discography of 20 full studio albums and an endless dedication to delivering fantastic live shows on a regular basis to their diverse and eclectic fan base, this surge of attention is long overdue for anybody who’s been paying attention.

Personally, listening to every album that has come out as it came out over the past decade and a half, I am not surprised – and quite refreshed – that they gained enough traction to obtain a wider audience. For those not familiar, TMBG has a colorful spectrum of work, from being the creators of the familiar Malcolm In the Middle theme song, kid’s albums, to hyper-politically suggestive and sometimes very dark songs.

With the latest UN announcements regarding our twelve-year timeline for humanity to adapt to foundationally sustainable practices that mitigate the pollution and cease and desist deforestation that is driving mass global extinction and climate change, there is no better time or reason to embrace a rapid vegan shift in consciousness, policy and behavior. As daunting as this announcement sounds, the good news is – you don’t have to “give up” your favorite holiday meals! The vegans have got you covered and our 100% plant-based alternatives will save you and the rest of the sea and terrestrial dwelling individuals (human and non-human), large and small, who share our world in ways you probably wouldn’t fully grasp until you watched documentaries such as Forks Over Knives, Cowspiracy, Seaspiracy, Racing Extinction, or Earthlings or Dominion. Get connected with us and join The Columbus Vegan Meetupgroup (and/or on Facebook) and attend one of the many gatherings that are happening throughout the holiday season.

First of all, if you are reading this you are not a dummy. However, you are most certainly considered to be a dummy by anyone who fits the psychological profile called the “malignant narcissist.” My intent is to describe this entity for people who are not physicians.

The psychiatric literature has recognized the term malignant narcissist for over 50 years. The diagnosis rests on the person’s main thought process: ” I am superior to everyone else and incapable of being wrong”. This simple point explains why they do not ever feel shame, and why they strongly dislike reality as facts interfere with their perception of superiority over everyone else. The opposite side of this coin is that they will 100% of the time strongly attack anyone who questions their superiority and get much enjoyment from exploiting others as this reinforces their perceived superiority.

It’s time for America to get ready for the November ballots. Time to vote! Vote for your favorite person to represent you and your family when it comes to paying taxes, getting your street repaved and the potholes repaired. We vote for people we know personally and people we don’t know at all. We get our information from the formal and informal “meet your candidates” receptions that are held generally during the pressing weeks up to election day. 

  We watch the media news, the rampant rush of commercials that talk about what the “opponent” is not doing or are doing if its of a criminal nature. We only see images of the candidates wearing freshly pressed clothing, walking hand in hand with their spouses and children, shaking hands of people who mostly look just like them, and telling us only the good news that they will treat our family as if it were their family. 

To vote is a privilege to some and a necessity and a right to others. African Americans and women have not always had the right to vote. Where is the power in the vote of a group of people who have, nothing to gain, it seems, when they do vote? Is there power in the vote?

Someone recklessly left a copy of a Washington Post lying around in this coffee shop, and I succumbed to morbid curiosity long enough to notice an article that begins:

“Major U.S. defense manufacturers say they will stand by the Trump administration regarding whether American-made weapons systems should be sold to the Saudi government, despite a global political backlash over the killing of a Saudi journalist and an ongoing humanitarian crisis at the hands of a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen.”