The Columbus Free Press

09/05/2025

We love posting Clay Jones substack! Find the link to his fantastic prose in the comments...

Describing the city as the “murder capital of the world, Donald Trump said he’s going to send the National Guard into Chicago, saying, “We’re going in.” Actually, Memphis is the “murder capital” of the United States, but it’s in Tennessee, which is a red state. These are all photo-ops, you know.

Trump reversed course today while entertaining Poland’s new president, who, like Putin, got a military flyover. A lot of DC residents didn’t appreciate the flyover, as those things tend to be loud, and they shake things off shelves, like cats do.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to the District, and I’ve never gotten a military flyover.

Trump said that now he’d like for the military to be invited by governors before he sends the military into their cities for photo-ops, like he did with DC.

Trump said, “We are making a determination now. Do we go to Chicago? Or do we go to a place like New Orleans where we have a great governor, Jeff Landry, who wants us to come in and straighten out a very nice section of this country that has become quite – quite tough, quite bad?” Make up your mind, Trump. Is it nice or is it bad?

Someone must have told Trump that it’s illegal to send the military into cities without formal requests by governors. DC is a different situation as it is under the exclusive constitutional authority of Congress, which has the power to directly intervene in local governance. This arrangement is due to the city's status as a federal district, not a state, and gives DC residents limited self-government and no voting representation in Congress. The citizens of Washington, DC have taxation without representation.

But other cities are different, and a judge just ruled that Trump broke the law when he sent Marines into Los Angeles to break up anti-ICE protests. Trump can probably expect the same verdict if he invades Chicago, which the city will reject.

Trump is not serious about fighting crime and is more interested in conducting photo-ops that cost taxpayers millions, like today’s flyover. The Trump regime is gutting funding for law enforcement across the nation. It would probably be more cost-effective to return that funding than to spend millions on these photo-op invasions. Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress have cut hundreds of millions in public safety and crime prevention grants.

Trump lies about the crime rates in cities with Black mayors. Of course, there’s crime in DC and Chicago, but not at the levels Trump claims it is. DC is at a 30-year low in crime, which Trump denied, but is now taking credit for. Chicago has seen a reduction in crime as well, and is at least safe enough for a goofy cartoonist with a head injury to walk through the South Side at 2 a.m. for Gatorade and Doritos.

Cities with higher murder rates than Chicago, which Trump doesn’t talk about invading, are Cincinnati, Dayton, Detroit, Shreveport, Birmingham, Kansas City, Richmond, Montgomery, Little Rock, Louisville, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Oakland, Albuquerque, etc, etc.

And if Trump did deploy the military to the Windy City, would they parade tanks up and down Michigan Avenue or will Trump send them to the South Side? Maybe they can declare war against deep-dish pizza. That stuff truly is an abomination toward God. The Pope is from the South Side. Would he have something to say about it?

A few nights ago, my buddy Chris told me I’d have to go back to Chicago if Trump invades the city. And after his comments yesterday, I looked at flights and hotels. I have to be at a convention next week, but I started making plans. I was thinking about flying to Chicago on Monday and returning on Thursday morning, then going straight to the convention from there, as it’s in the DC suburbs. But I didn’t pull the trigger on any purchases because I knew Trump might TACO out…again. And guess what. He TACO’ed out…again. Maybe tomorrow, he’ll TACO back in. I’m relieved that it looks like
I’m not going to Chicago at this time. I’m tired.

Knock on wood. I hope I didn’t just jinx it.

09/05/2025

A Global Awakening: How People Power is Reshaping Western Policy on Palestine While the West has not yet fully turned against Israel, it may only be a matter of time. The precious blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinians in Gaza deserves for history to be finally altered. The children of Palestine deserve this global awakening of conscience. https://freepress.org/article/global-awakening-how-people-power-reshaping-western-policy-palestine

Is it finally happening? Is the West turning against Israel? Or are we, whether motivated by hope or driven by despair, simply engaging in wishful thinking? The matter is not so simple.

09/04/2025

Polling consistently shows that most Democrats support a ceasefire and oppose sending more military aid to Israel. A Quinnipiac poll released just before the meeting found that only 35% of Democrats back additional military aid to Israel, the lowest level on record.

There's nothing quite like watching Democrats condemn dark money in politics while lobbyists are literally handing out talking points in the same room where they're voting.

09/04/2025

https://columbusfreepress.com/article/say-something-rally-community

Thursday, September 4, 2025, 4:30 – 5:30 PMGrant and 349 E. Livingston, Columbus 43215If you think the U.S. is rapidly moving in the wrong direction with healthcare cuts, rising prices, student loan changes, corruption, loss of rights, eroding democracy, personal data collection, tariffs and massi...

09/04/2025

Let’s Fund Real Public Safety, Not Ice We should be funding schools, health care, and education, not $50,000 signing bonuses for ICE agents. Starting this summer, the Trump administration began deploying masked, flak-jacketed men wearing military fatigues sporting the word “Police” against low-income communities of color in immigrant-heavy Southern California and elsewhere.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted a recruitment message on social media this summer saying, “America has been invaded by criminals and predators. We need YOU to get them out.”

09/04/2025

Global Sumud Flotilla aims to break Israel’s illegal blockade on Gaza https://freepress.org/article/global-sumud-flotilla-aims-break-israel%E2%80%99s-illegal-blockade-gaza Global Sumud Flotilla aims to break Israel’s illegal blockade on Gaza, to deliver urgent humanitarian aid, and to expose the genocidal war waged on Palestinians. According to the Global Sumud Flotilla, delegations from 44 countries are taking part and started to sail aboard over 50 ships to Gaza as part of the largest maritime mission in history to break Israel’s illegal siege.

09/03/2025

In March 2010, Republican strategist Karl Rove wrote in the Wall Street Journal that “he who controls redistricting can control Congress.”
Rove and friends then spent 2010 implementing a strategy Republicans called the REDistricting MAjority Project, AKA "REDMAP.”
The REDMAP plan was to win seats in key state legislatures so Republicans could rig district lines and take near-permanent control of Congress.

There’s a lot of national attention on this topic right now, because President Trump is telling states like Texas to rig (“gerrymander”) districts to give Republicans more seats in Congress.

09/03/2025

The vacancy rate in high-end apartments now hovers around 12 percent, according to the Columbus Apartment Association. Working families, however, are still competing for scarce affordable homes, often in poor condition.

Columbus is in the middle of a building boom. Sleek apartment towers climb skyward, marketed with rooftop lounges and pet spas. Rents stretch past $1,500 for one-bedroom units. But a very different Columbus exists on the other side of the leasing office glass: one where families tuck their children....

09/03/2025

In addition to the removal of renewable energy tax incentives by the Trump administration, tariffs are also having a negative impact on projects. A study by Arevon, a leading utility-scale solar developer, found that the cost of solar and battery storage projects increased by as much as 30 percent due to tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Global investment in renewable energy projects hit a new record this year - but fell in the U.S. according to a study by BloombergNEF.

09/03/2025

https://columbusfreepress.com/article/moving-line-redistricting-ohio-and-across-united-states

Wednesday, September 3, 2025, 12:00 PMOhio is preparing to draw new congressional maps this year. The Ohio Environmental Council has invited Peter Miller with the Brennan Center for Justice to provide an in-depth dive into redistricting at the national level and its relationship to Ohio’s upcoming...