In case you missed the several years of my ramblings, I’m in the custody of an agency that calls itself the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Of course, anyone with any sense who has seen this shit-show in action knows that it’s really the Oppressive Department of Retribution and Corruption. That is, the folks who run this program are not really interested in rehabilitating or correcting anyone. In fact, they have no motive to benefit anyone in custody whatsoever. At best, corrections staff are apathetic. At their worst, they’re deliberately malicious toward their captives.

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Great news: Last Act of the Circus Animals is now available for sale by Little Black Cart publishers, wherever good books are stolen. And since I like cheese puffs, and I’d like to be able to afford to buy cheese puffs, I have to convince all of you ski-mask-clad machete-wielding molotov-throwing savage-cannibal maniacs to buy copies of Last Act of the Circus Animals. So, I figured I’d share with you how Last Act got written. You know, the story behind the story.

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Everything I’m about to tell you is absolutely true, except for the parts I made up.

According to the Associated Press, Lebanon, Ohio– the area surrounding this prison –is dealing with a serious monkey problem. Folks in the local area have taken pictures of monkeys that appear to be flourishing in the forests and wild spaces surrounding the town. Officials claim the monkeys were probably pets that were released.

The monkey infestation in Lebanon, Ohio, made national news. I would suggest to you, however, that officials have it wrong and that these monkeys are not merely released pets. These monkeys are really trained operatives in a ground-breaking, earth-shattering clandestine program to destroy swivelization.

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I have an important announcement. You may want to sit down for this. On second thought, it’s really exciting, so you may want to stand up. I don’t know. If you’re sitting down, feel fre to stay seated, and if you’re standing, that’s cool too. Or laying down.

Wow. I didn’t know it was going to be this complicated. So many options.

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Aired July, 2017 on The Final Straw.

On 18 July, Hamilton County, Ohio, Prosecutor Joe Deters announced that his office would not pursue a third trial of former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing. Tensing had pulled over Sam DuBose in what has been characterized as a routine traffic stop. Tensing is white. Sam DuBose was black. Tensing, a white officer, shot DuBose, a black man, in the head during this routine traffic stop.

By the way, the t-shirt that Tensing wore that day when he shot Sam DuBose in the head had a confederate flag on it.

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Aired July, 2017 on The Final Straw.

Matthew Salser is an oil-war-era army combat veteran. He’s been diagnosed with some pretty serious psychological disorders. In fact, a decent argument could be made that Salser ended up in prison as an indirect result ofnhis mental health struggles and his inability to function.

So, Salser entered the custody of the Ohio Department of Retribution and Corruption with a mental health file as thick as a phone book with multiple shrinks having all drawn the same conclusions, independent of one another. These shrinks had, additionally, prescribed Salser medications they all say he needs in order to function.

So when he got to prison, the prison shrinks deferred to the professionals who trated Salser for years and years and continued his medications, right? Well, no. The prison shrinks dismissed all of the prior diagnoses and took Salser off of all of his meds.

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Aired June, 2017 on The Final Straw.

I think this would be the perfect time to re-visit the topic of “convergences.” I’ve advocated this as a strategy before but I think now, more than ever, with gas prices being what they are, and the mass availability of electronic communications, “convergences” are the wave of the future.

The theory is a synthesis of some really good ideas that worked– from the WTO protest in Seattle to the Invisible Committee’s ideas about establishing communes; from the Occupy movement to proposals to “block everything,” creating choke-points. Here’s how I see it working:

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Aired June, 2017 on The Final Straw.

Matthew Pearson, Sr., is a former marine who spent Memorial Day in debilitating and excruciating pain here at Warren Corruptional Institution. While in the Marine Corps, Pearson seriously injured his knee. After getting discharged, he ended up in prison for killing someone. For years, Pearson has attempted to get medical care from the prison system for his long-documented knee injury.

Seven years ago, he was sent out for a consult at Ohio State University. The doctor who examined him– the State’s own medical consultant –recommended an immediate knee replacement surgery and even set up scheduling for the procedure to be performed.

Pearson’s been waiting seven years.

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Banner hung in Komotini, Greece by folks at the anarchist squat Utopia A.D.

From Contrainfo:  “On Monday, June 12th 2017, we hung a banner at the Old Law School in Komotini as a small sign of solidarity with all long-term anarchist prisoners. We do not forget the comrade Sean Swain.   – Utopia A.D. anarchist squat”

Many thanks for the expression of solidarity! These gestures mean so much to Sean.

I recently read and enjoyed Ami du Radical’s “Downfall: Preparing for Right-Wing Factionalism,” and I agreed with everything but the conclusions. The writer suggests that Trump’s failure will lead to both corporate parties rushing to the center in the next few election cycles in order to grab moderate voters who have been alienated by the parties’ drifts to the fringe. I think the writer misses a broader context.

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