ATLANTA — Democrats are on track to carry two of three runoff races, two of which will tip the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. The power shift will occur as Democrats break a streak of state-wide runoff defeats. Three incumbent Republicans were forced to runoffs following strong state-wide Democratic turnout in the general… Read More Democrats to win two of three runoff races
ATLANTA — Beneficiaries of two federal programs will receive a 1.3% cost of living adjustment, according to Social Security Administration (SSA) data released last month. The 8.05 million Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries will see the increase in December, while the 69.7 million Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) beneficiaries will receive additional pay beginning… Read More Pensioners to receive 1.3% raise at year’s end
With the stroke of a pen, Governor Brian Kemp removed Georgia from a discouraging list of states lacking a hate crime bill. For years now, Georgia has been one of only four states without a law to adequately punish against crimes targeting a person because of bias against a “race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender… Read More “Georgia is a state too great to hate;” Governor Signs Hate Crimes Law, Completing Legislative Cycle
Last Thursday, after being inactive for over a year, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a long anticipated hearing on HB 426, which is the latest attempt to pass a hate crime bill. The committee was dually tasked with considering Rep. Chuck Efstration’s (R-Dacula) bill that passed the House last year, but also with Lt. Gov.… Read More Hate Crime Bill Continues To Turn As End of Session Looms
06/18/2020—Since last writing, the long awaited hate crimes bill finally had a hearing last Thursday. The hearing can be streamed here. The majority of the testimony supported passing HB 426, but one person voiced opposition citing “thought crimes.” The supporters included a collective of Interfaith, Jewish, Racial and Gender Equality organizations. Former Attorney General Sam… Read More A Weekend Update on Georgia’s Hate Crime Bill
Yesterday morning in a press conference, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan unveiled a hate crimes bill proposal, after criticizing HB 426 for not going far enough. Last year, HB 426 passed the House 96-64 and made its way to the Senate where to date, has largely been inactive, but that will change this week as the… Read More New Hate Crimes Proposal Introduced, But Time is Running Out
With legislative day 31 in the books, another day passed without movement on the Georgia General Assembly’s latest effort to pass a hate crime bill. Last year, HB 426 passed the House 96-64 and made its way to the Senate where to date, has been stuck in committee. Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee cancelled a… Read More Hate Crimes Bill Stalled For Now, But Tomorrow Promises Movement in Day 32
Yesterday, the Georgia General Assembly reconvened to complete the remaining 11 days of this year’s legislative session, after a 3 month coronavirus delay. As “sine die” approaches, a budget resolution has to be passed. Also of significant attention here and nationally, is HB 426, which is Georgia’s latest attempt to pass legislation increasing punishment for… Read More With Day 30 Completed, No Movement on a Hate Crimes Bill
Anyone dialed into this year’s political discourse would reasonably expect this election cycle to be volatile, but not the way we saw on Tuesday. Voters in at least eight counties here experienced considerable delays when they went to the polls to cast votes in the primary. Whether the delay in exercising the franchise was due… Read More After Difficult Election Day, Results Finally Available
8:30 pm EST— Tonight, I’m watching several election results closely. They are: *U.S. Senate Democratic Primaries, since both of Georgia’s Senate seats are up for election. *Georgia 7th Congressional District seat, which was a contest that drew significant attention in the 2018 midterms. There is a crowded field of both Republicans and Democrats. –As results… Read More Election Night in Georgia: Here are the contests I’m watching.
Rocker Jerry Cantrell’s 2002 song “Solitude” has a line highly relevant to today’s climate: “Take the time to pull the weeds, choking feathers in your life.” In these “corona days” we find ourselves highly reliant on social media, Zoom, FaceTime, and countless other apps. Chances are that if you are engaged politically, you are reading… Read More The Importance of Unplugging During a Time of Increased Connectivity
Hootie and the Blowfish’s 1995 song “Time” carries a line still relevant today. Here goes: Can you teach me about tomorrowAnd all the pain and sorrow, running free?Cause tomorrow’s just another dayAnd I don’t believe in time For most of us, May will be the third month of coronavirus lock down. Initially, the thought of… Read More THE CONCEPT OF “TIME” IN QUARANTINE
Before the votes were cast last Tuesday, former Vice President Joseph Biden led Vermont Senator Bernard Sanders in polls in Florida, Illinois, and Arizona. After several weeks of disappointing results, the Sanders campaign is all but dead in the water as the march to the Democratic presidential nomination continues. As the complete results are available,… Read More On Super Tuesday III, Biden Outshines Sanders by Significant Margins
If the Sanders’ campaign hoped for a late comeback on Super Tuesday II, it fell short, especially in states where it found success in 2016. In the last cycle former Secretary Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernard Sanders (I-Vt) nearly split the vote in Michigan’s primary, but Sanders inched ahead with a slight 1.5% victory. While… Read More Biden Routs Sanders on Super Tuesday II, Clearing a Path to the Nomination; More States Vote Tomorrow
Now that the dust has settled on last week’s Super Tuesday primary, we can return to watching Youtube videos without the saturation of Michael Bloomberg ads, but enjoy the respite because the general is coming–and neither Shaq nor Snoop Dogg will be driving. In just under a week and a half, the state of the… Read More Looking Back at Super Tuesday I
ATLANTA—Former Vice President Joesph Biden finally got his long awaited vindication last weekend in South Carolina. For months now, the survival of Biden’s presidential campaign has rested almost singularly on the turnout of African American voters in South Carolina. In last Saturday’s contest, Biden carried roughly 48% of the Democratic primary’s voters. Roughly 56% of… Read More Biden’s White House Bid Defibrillated as Super Tuesday Starts
According to July 2019 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the white populations of Iowa and New Hampshire are 90.7% & 93.2% respectively. Tonight’s caucus and next week’s Primary in South Carolina contain the highest number of minority votes, specifically 29% Latino in Nevada and 27% Black in South Carolina. As the campaigns drive on… Read More All Eyes are on Nevada as Caucus Begins
This week starts the 2020 session of the Georgia General Assembly. Similar to sessions of the past few years, at least one bill has been filed meant to draw support from social conservatives. In 2016, Gov. Nathan Deal (R-GA) vetoed a religious liberty bill after significant pressure from corporate and film industry interests. Last year,… Read More Georgia Assembly 2020 session opens, but controversy looms
Significant attention has recently focused on retirements from the House of Representatives and the Senate, prior to the upcoming presidential election in 2020. The reasons are various: declining health, scandal, or perhaps as the unstated notion: fear of losing in a heated political theatre. Nonetheless, the 116th Congress’ Casualty List seems to add another Congressional… Read More A Closer Look At Upcoming Congressional Retirements
According to data released today from the Social Security Administration, the 68.6 million beneficiaries of the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs will receive a cost of living adjustment of 1.6% next year, a decrease from last year’s 2.8% bump. The adjustments will commence on December 31, 2019 for… Read More Beneficiaries To Receive Nominal Increase Next Year
