OMNI Blog

Changes in a Good Direction

 in Current Events

Changes in a Good DirectionIntroducing Alex and Rachel Alex Tripodi has been a member of Omni Board of Directors for over two years now. Maybe you remember the story of how his workplace closed down when covid started and he founded MayDay Community Kitchen for his own sanity and to feed others who were struggling. At the time, Alex told us “Peace will look different in the world my generation is facing. We need to think about how we do our work differently because if my generation is going to be part of this, they’ll want to see practical results.” […]

Birthing Omni 20 Years Ago – some of the people who did it

 in Current Events

The story’s been told before about how Dick Bennett and his friend Dana Copp retired in 1999 and wondered what they should do next with their passion for peace.  Around somebody’s kitchen table they pondered the idea of a peace center like the old Peace Center on Dickson Street that organized protests about the Vietnam War and subsequent social issues. Dick started an email newsletter and scheduled public talks and Dana went to visit the United Campus Ministries chaplain on Maple street and convinced him to allow them office space in their big basement. He also scrounged office furniture and an already-ancient […]

WHITE CHRISTIAN, PLUTOCRATIC, OLIGARCHIC, THEOCRATIC, FUNDAMENTALIST NATIONALISM ANTHOLOGY, #2 February 20, 2025

 in Dick's Newsletter 2025

Compiled by Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace, Justice, and Ecology https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2025/02/omni-white-christian-plutocratic_20.html What’s at Stake:   “Christian nationalism radically shapes what Americans think about who they are as a people, what their future should look like, and how they should get there.”  Andrew Whitehead. CONTENTS Local Connection:  FFRF Chapter Actions. History Whitehead.  Taking America Back for God. Onishi.  Preparing for W ar: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism.Seidel.“The Shadow Network, Project 2025….”Seidel.   “Church-state separation and. . .Christian Nationalist abuse of power.”   Taylor.  The Violent Take It by Force. Du Mez.  Jesus and John Wayne. History, Analysis, Action American […]

OMNI WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS, #217, FEBRUARY 19, 2025

 in WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS

Compiled by Dick Bennett   https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2025/02/omni-war-watch-wednesdays-217-february.html Origins of Wars:Walter Karp.  Indispensable Enemies: leaders’ desire for power.Herman and Chomsky.   Manufacturing Consent: media support of ruling power.Monthly Review:  failure to abide by international weapons treaties. Leaders’ Desire for Power Walter Karp, Indispensable Enemies: The Politics of Misrule in America.  Saturday Review P, 1973. “In prosecuting an aggressive foreign policy, the party oligarchs have been driven by no cause or interest external to themselves: by no fundamental economic interest, by no genuine threat to the security of the Republic, by no irresistible poplar demand.  Except in the post-World War I period [v. “Wilson’s war”], […]

OMNI CLIMATE MEMO MONDAYS #218, February 17, 2025

 in Climate Memo Mondays

Compiled by Dick Bennett   https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2025/02/omni-climate-memo-mondays-218-february.html Green New Deal. Kate Aronoff.      Overheated. Greenpeace. Inside Climate News. GREEN NEW DEALKate Aronoff.  Overheated: How Capitalism Broke the Planet—and How We Fight Back.  Bold Type Books, 2021.[Aronoff reflects the long tradition of Utopian thought and practice.  For utopianism means the ability to imagine a better world, without which we can’t get started,–such as with the New Deal of the 1930s.  –D]      “Decarbonizing the global economy and adapting to the climate changed century ahead will be the single hardest and most important thing our species has ever done.* It’s impossible without a big, […]

Buffalo River follow-up From the Ozark Society

 in Current Events

Arkansas Senate Bill 84 to allow industrial swine CAFOs in the Buffalo River watershed, came before the Senate Agriculture Committee again today.  SB84 was placed in a status of “deferred,” meaning it is removed from the agenda unless the sponsor asks to have it added back by 3:00 PM the day previous to their next meeting.  However, the committee by two thirds vote, can also vote to hear it at any time when they meet. The Governor is said to oppose this bill, as it is not supportive of her “outdoor economic initiative.” We certainly agree. There are rumors that the bill might be […]

Environmental & Outdoor Education Conference

 in Current Events

Connecting Health and Nature: Building a Sustainable Future Arkansas Tech University, Russellville March 7 & Saturday March 8, 2025 Registration is open for Arkansas Environmental Education Association’s Environmental and Outdoor Education Conference. The conference is a professional learning event that brings together classroom teachers, non-formal educators, higher education students, Master Naturalists, and conservation professionals from around the state. This year’s theme,Connecting Health and Nature: Building a Sustainable Future, features hands-on workshops, field tours, concurrent presentations, and exhibitors. The 2025 conference keynote speaker is Dr. Crystal Green-Braswell. As the Coordinator of Staff Wellness and Culture for Little Rock School District she […]

Housing Crisis Task Force

 in Current Events

Meets Weds Feb 19 – 5:30 pm City Hall Room 326 People on this Task Force care about Fayetteville people who are losing their housing, but they need to hear from YOU friends! To come and silently observe can move mountains. For more information email Gladys at omni@omnicenter.org.