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On the one hand, there’s no sugarcoating how progressives feel as President Trump retakes office: rough.

Trump and his allies in Congress are already rolling out plans to cut taxes for billionaires, slash services for the rest of us, pollute the planet, and deport people who’ve lived here their whole lives.

But if you look closely, you’ll see signs people aren’t just going to accept all this. Here are five that caught my eye from this past election year.

1. Populist anger is boiling over. 

Americans have had it with economic elites. Union activity has been on an upswing for a few years running now, with union petition filings in 2024 significantly up over 2023.

Los Angeles is now being destroyed by fire.

Next will be the “Big One” earthquake everyone knows is coming.

And then---unless we take immediate action---Diablo Canyon’s radioactive cloud will make this region a radioactive dead zone. 

My family is now besieged by four fires raging less than four miles away.  We don’t know how long our luck will hold.

We are eternally grateful to the brave fire-fighters and public servants who are doing their selfless best to save us all.

We are NOT grateful that Gavin Newsom has recklessly endangered us by forcing continued operation at two unsafe, decrepit nuclear power plants perched on active earthquake faults, set to pour radioactive clouds on us from just four hours north of here.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s resident site inspector---Dr. Michael Peck---after five years at Diablo warned that it cannot withstand the earthquakes we all know are coming.  

This article first appeared on Ohio Capital Journal

An Ohio woman who was criminally charged after having a miscarriage in her home has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Warren, city police officers, a local hospital and its owners.

Brittany Watts filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division claiming violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment, along with the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), a law that establishes the right for anyone to be admitted to a hospital in an emergency situation regardless of their ability to pay or insurance status, and for them to receive “necessary stabilizing treatment,” according to Watts’ attorneys from the firm Loevy & Loevy.

We welcome the news that a ceasefire agreement has apparently been reached between Israel and Palestine in the Gaza Strip. However, we approach this news with caution for a variety of reasons.

This article first appeared on Reel Time with Richard Ades.

This is the time of year when critics get a chance to catch up on recent flicks they might have missed, courtesy of studios in search of buzz and, hopefully, award nominations. While I don’t claim to be clairvoyant when it comes to the latter, I can confidently say this: If the Oscars and other competitions gave out prizes for bravery, these three films and their creators would win hands down.

One filmmaker displays creative courage by breaking the mold in a familiar genre, while the others put their liberty and even their lives at risk in order to bring their truths to the screen.

Let’s look at them one by one.

Biopic with a difference

By now, we all know the drill when it comes to film biopics: The would-be celeb claws his or her way to the top, but success comes at a steep cost. Friends are abandoned, spouses are cheated on, and alcohol and/or drugs are abused.

The new Congress took office this past week, both houses now with an anti-environment majority. Tomorrow Trump will return to the White House. We’re facing an unprecedented attack on our environmental protections.

The new administration and its Big Oil allies have detailed plans to roll back clean energy protections and tear down the critical safeguards that defend our planet.

Tell the new Congress to oppose attempts to undo climate protections!

Several times during his confirmation hearings this week, Pete Hegseth invoked his “lord and savior, Jesus.” Yet he employed the reference more as a shield or lifeline than an indication of Christian humility or kindness. A big part of what made Hegseth so objectionable was his utter lack of humility; throughout, he exhibited the bravado and smug self-satisfaction of a schoolyard bully. His target was anything that could be described as “left-wing woke.” The irony is that if Jesus were alive today, He would be “woke.” 

What exactly are Republicans afraid of? What are they critical of when they smear someone (or something) as “woke”? 

January 18, 2025, 2pm jazz sax player from Cleveland, 3pm - conversation
Old First Presbyterian, 1101 Bryden Road. 43205
“Third Space” project, join the conversation and hear great music. Plans for 2025 organizing.

Saturday, January 18, 2025, 12:00 – 3:00 PM
Goodale Park, 120 W. Goodale St., Columbus - march to the Ohio Statehouse at 1pm
This is our time. Our time to make it clear: we will not be pushed aside, ignored, or silenced. On January 18, we march together—as women, as LGBTQIA+ individuals, as BIPOC communities, as immigrants, as allies. We stand united to demand a world where equality is not a threat, but a reality.   

Facebook Event 

Dr. Bob Fitrakis and Dan-o Dougan spin songs recorded by all-girl groups from the 1940s, such as the Carter Sisters and Andrews Sisters, through the 50s, 60s and 70s with the Ronettes and Supremes, up to the 80s with Sister Sledge and lots more!

Listen live at 11pm January 17 and 24 streaming at wgrn.org or on the radio at 91.9FM
and
Mondays at 2pm streaming January 20 and 27 at wcrsfm.org or on the radio at 92.7 or 98.3FM

Archived on Mixcloud here