The drug is a driving force in the chemical warfare that plagues our communities. The recent news of drug overdose deaths seemed like a light at the end of a long and tortuous tunnel. For people like me who have lost a loved one to fentanyl, it offered a glimmer of hope for others.

I have organized around police accountability for over five decades and helped to lead the fight for civilian oversight in St. Louis, MO. I was appalled, but not surprised, to hear that Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway is already proposing cuts to Madison’s agencies that oversee police operations. This is what happens when the police unions get in the ears of elected officials with their veiled threats and predictions of increased crime. Given the history of the city’s police abuse, the community’s demand for an independent and effective Police Civilian Oversight Board (PCOB) is a step in the right direction.

If the ultimate goals are peace and sovereign respect, new thinking is mandatory to re-imagine how we get there.We are past the one year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel. To mark the deadly occasion, Vice-President Kamala Harris planted a pomegranate tree at her home and President Joe Biden lit a candle at the White House. The initial calls for a ceasefire now seem woefully inadequate and definitely ineffective. It’s time to light some fire under Congress.