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When Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Meade used deadly force against Casey Goodson, Jr., as he entered his home shortly after noon on December 4, 2020, Meade felt justified.

He told the first officer on the scene, Clinton Township Officer Terry Phillips, "He [Goodson] came out of his car, gun in his hand as he was going to the side door as I was pulling up.."

This week, during his murder trial, Meade amended his statement including new insight into his threat assesment. He testified, "I thought he was going to shoot me." He added, "An armed suspect like that, he could go into a home and take hostages, and barricade himself to ambush police officers.”

Ohio has no legislated laws, signed by a governor, that define the justifications that allow a law enforcement officer to use deadly force. Instead, we rely on one Ohio Supreme Court case, Ohio v. White, that relied on two US Supreme Court cases, Tennessee v. Garner, and Graham v. Connor, that relied on the 4th Amendment of the Constitution, which set the boundaries for legal search and seizure. 

Despite its flaws and an '80s soundtrack that outshines the film itself, Zelda Williams' directorial debut, "Lisa Frankenstein," crafts a modern-day Frankenstein tale with a mix of camp, romance, and a dash of gore. This oddly satisfying concoction resembles the quirky storytelling of Tim Burton’s classics, such as "Edward Scissorhands" and "Beetlejuice."

Penned by Diablo Cody, known for "Jennifer's Body," the film is a coming-of-rage story about a misfit teenager and a reanimated corpse. Is this the dawn of a new cult classic?

Set in the neon-tinted year 1989, Kathryn Newton's Lisa is an outcast struggling with her mother's tragic murder. She is navigating her senior year at a new high school, further complicated by her father's remarriage to an insufferable nurse (Carla Gugino). Amidst this chaos, she finds an unlikely confidante in her cheerleader stepsister, Taffy, who offers a genuine sisterly connection.

Thursday, February 15, 2024, 7:00 – 8:30 PM
Join the Abortion Fund of Ohio for a virtual workshop on Abortion & Black Queer Liberation. We’ll discuss Black Abortion History, Queer approaches to Reproductive Justice, the state of Ohio abortion access, and hear from Black Abortion Storytellers on the future of Midwestern abortion advocacy. Expect to gain tools to help you speak out against abortion stigma and fight for Reproductive Justice in your community.  ASL and live captioning will be provided.  

More information and link for registration here. 

This story originally appeared in the Buckeye Flame and the Athens County Independent

For its victims, war is . . . yes, hell. For the rest of us — the onlooking and supportive patriots — war is an abstraction embedded in ignorance, a.k.a., public relations, served up for public consumption.

At least that’s the way it’s supposed to be. The reality of war should never directly confront the official PR of those waging it. If it does, God help the war industry!

In the U.S. Congress, the Democrats and Republicans have been unable to reach an agreement on immigration policy governing the southern border. This is so even though the number of immigrants crossing the border illegally has risen to record levels. This post offers an explanation of the policy stalemate and what an alternative, less restrictive and less punitive policy would contain.

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Katherine Bucholz reports on the number of “migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border for fiscal years 2023 and 2024. These include

“both migrants apprehended and those asking to enter legally but deemed inadmissible. Their numbers rose to almost 2.5 million in FY 2023 and stood at 785,000 three months into the new fiscal year, which would constitute another record if extrapolated” (https://statista.com/chart/20397/number-of-migrants-apprehended-at-us-mexico-border).

While President, Trump’s efforts to control the border

In the past two years, the Big 4 Wall Street banks—Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, and Wells Fargo—have provided $349 billion to fossil fuel companies, fueling the climate crisis.

In the past two years, the Big 4 Wall Street banks—Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, and Wells Fargo—have provided $349 billion to fossil fuel companies, fueling the climate crisis.

You can see the documentary, "Nuked," about the brutal history of nuclear weapons tests through the 1950's by the U.S in the Marshall Islands, to understand their struggle and see a bit of their coming together with the Western Shoshone in Nevada over the destruction and dispossession of indigenous people in service of the U.S. nuclear war machine.  The Shoshone leader Ian Zabarte appears prominently in this, bringing the two peoples together.  It's free and online from February 7-13, 2024.

Here's how to watch the documentary:  Go to this link: NUKED DOCUMENTARY.  Enter the code: SayNoToNukes.  Enjoy the film!  

In 2023, the United States experienced a record number of weather-and climate-related disasters that each caused $1 billion or more in damages: 28 severe storms, floods, wildfires, winter storms, hurricanes, and droughts, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Since 1980 the United States has experienced 376 billion-dollar of these events, with 16,340 deaths and damages totaling $2.6 trillion.

The insurance industry stands on the front lines of this climate crisis. Every time a climate-related fire, flood, or storm damages or destroys an insured person’s home or business, they expect their insurance policy to help foot the bill for repairs and rebuilding.

Abandoning policy holders in a climate crisis…