Opinion

El Michels Affair’s 24 Hour Sports understands all bands should aspire into being “The Best Damn Band in The Land.” 24 Hour Sports starts with Drumline which embodies organics of a college marching band finding inspiration by contemporary rap.

For the sake of inventing a phrase which I will disavow immediately, El Michels Affair’s new album 24 Hour Sports is post-Hip Hop.

Is Southern University’s football band playing Tyler, The Creator post-hip hop? I don’t know the world needs the words post-Hip Hop. I don’t think I would call Budo’s Band or the Menahan Street Band post-Hip Hop. El Michels Affair and Badbadnotgood are post Hip Hop. I don’t think anyone should ever say Post-Hip Hop.

I know I wouldn’t say El-Michels Affair is post-modern. I know as an Aerosol Linguist that reviews rap records I saw something new in El Michels Affair.

There is a great opportunity coming up to build the peace movement by supporting or creating anew a powerful local event on the International Day of Peace. We’ve got all the resources you could want below — and if something is missing, let us know!

September 21 is the International Day of Peace, first celebrated in 1982 and recognized annually by many nations and organizations, including day-long pauses in wars that reveal how easy it would be to have year-long or forever-long pauses in wars.

This could not be more critical than at this moment of escalating genocide in Gaza, the ongoing devastation of the war in Ukraine, horrific militarized violence in Sudan and the Congo, and military spending skyrocketing across much of the globe.

This is a good day on which to work for permanent peace and to remember the victims of war. Below are events you can join, and resources you can use to support those events or to organize new ones.

Donald Trump, recently sporting his red ballcap modestly featuring the words “Trump Was Right About Everything,” is apparently in regular contact with Israel’s genocidal Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Per Netanyahu, the most recent telephonic exchange had Trump expressing full support for the establishment of control over all of Gaza and the West Bank by the Israeli Army. Trump observed that Israel has been losing the “PR” (Public Relations) war over the carnage and must push ahead “with full force” to “finish the job” as quickly as possible.

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.

 Last July, a significant number of countries and organizations signed the 'New York Declaration,' a strong statement that followed a high-level meeting titled, "Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine."

 The conference itself and its bold conclusion warrant a deeper conversation. What matters for now, however, is the identity of the countries involved. Aside from states that have traditionally advocated for international justice and law in Palestine, many of the signatories were countries that had previously supported Israel regardless of context or circumstance.

The laughs return to Columbus in September from Thursday, September 4 through Sunday, September 7 when the city hosts 100+ comedians for four days of events during the second annual Columbus Comedy Festival. National headliners, regional performers and local talent will take the stage at venues including The Columbus Funny Bone, Palace Theatre, Shadowbox Live, Maroon Culture Lab, The Attic Comedy Club, MadLab, The Nest Theatre, The Hashtag Comedy Company, Don’t Tell Comedy: Columbus, Leisure Club, and more.

"As Columbus grows, so does the importance for quality, live entertainment in the city,” stated Hannah Romes, performer, producer and co-owner of Hashtag. “We are incredibly lucky to have such a strong pool of comedic talent in Columbus, which has been a bit of a secret until recently.”

This year’s list of headliners and four-day schedule includes Jeremiah Watkins, The Second City, ALOK, Shadowbox Live, Sam Tallent, Maddie Wiener, Geoffrey Asmus, Kasaun Wilson, James Adomian, Ric Diez, Katie K, Aiko Tanaka, Chad the Bird, Henry Allen, Curtis Cook, Gwen Rose, Jordan Conley, Sean Reilly and many more.

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.

That's exactly what happened at the Democratic National Committee's summer meeting in Minneapolis, where party officials simultaneously passed resolutions condemning secret political influence and allowed pro-Israel lobbying groups to orchestrate the defeat of a Gaza resolution through classic dark money tactics.

The irony was lost on no one really paying attention.

Democracy Theater Meets Real Power

While DNC members were busy congratulating themselves for supporting campaign finance reform and transparency in politics, Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) was running a textbook influence operation inside the Resolutions Committee room itself.