Illegal immigration in Georgia: Beware the BF from trusted “conservative groups” on “school choice!”

We passed on some important facts on the “school choice!” hustle in the 2022 legislative session. We are happy that the excessive exposure to the facts helped kill three separate bills aimed at providing taxpayer funded private school scholarships to a few K-12 students in Georgia. The bills were HB 60, – HB 999 and SB 601. All of them were derived from model legislation provided by and pushed by an organization called American Federation for Children. The bills would have given the taxpayer funded money to a small fraction of the total K-12 student body in the state.

None of that model legislation contained any prohibition or device to stop the scholarships from going to illegal alien families.

One more time: Illegal aliens would have been included in the benefits while many American students and families would have been excluded because of limited funding that was subject to appropriati0ns.

I take the time to type this all again so that nobody forgets the corporate-funded “conservative” groups (hello, Buzz Brockway at the Georgia Center for Opportunity) that pushed these bills and lobbied so hard under the Gold Dome and the fact that they all withheld the whole truth from trusting voters.

I’ll add to this post when I get time to include a list of names but today we focus on ‘Frontline Policy Action’ run by Cole Muzio.

On the “who we are” page Frontline Policy Action describes their effort as “a state-focused, biblical organization that could tactfully address issues of life, religious freedom, educational opportunity, God’s design, human dignity, free speech, and principled government.”

Indeed.

Muzio still has the call to action on the Frontline website. In it he is telling people that the last “school choice!” bill to fail, SB 601, would have increased “educational opportunities for the vast majority of school children in the state…”

As gently as I can say it: Bullfeathers! This is simply not true. Again, the bills would have applied to a small fraction of K-12 students.

• Related: Our 2022 SB 601 file.

From the Frontline call to action page:

 

 

 

Where is the rest of the story?

From a WSB TV report taken from Google (I am happy to report that I have not watched TV news of any description since sometime mid-2017) – the Georgia High School Association, representing 463 high schools, voted unanimously to go back to their 2017 bylaws, which said all high school athletes must compete based on the gender that is on the athlete’s birth certificate.

What this story and the sound bytes I have heard on radio “news” doesn’t mention is that according to Georgia law (OCGA 31-10-23, paragraph (e) ), birth certificates can lawfully be amended to change the sex of an individual born in Georgia. See the link on the bottom of this post.

Section 31-10-23 – Amendment of certificates or reports

(e) “Upon receipt of a certified copy of a court order indicating the sex of an individual born in this state has been changed by surgical procedure and that such individual’s name has been changed, the certificate of birth of such individual shall be amended as prescribed by regulation.”

It seems relevant. It seems like part of the story.

This is not my issue and not the subject of this website. I put it here because I can.

Here is a link to the text of the entire state law. I am trying to find out exactly when paragraph (e) was added ( I think maybe 2004), what legislator was lead sponsor, who the cosponsors were, vote record and reasoning for the need for passage.

You can change genders on your Georgia drivers license too!

dak

Affidavit for Amendment (Form 3977) – Revised

 

Update 9:10 AM: I adjusted the headline due to a text from Martha Zoller. Replaced “GOP” with “Republican.”

Ending sanctuary cities, “track and deport” and a criminal alien registry not necessary now?

Transcription and audio, Martha Zoller Show, April 4, 2020 (partial) #BrianKemp

I sometimes am able to listen to my friend Martha Zoller on her radio show (9-11 AM weekdays, WDUN -AM) and have been a guest on her show. Martha was a speaker at one of our White House rallies against amnesty when ‘W’ was president.

Today (Monday, April 4) in an interview with the Speaker of the Georgia House, Martha told her audience and Speaker David Ralston that Gov Kemp has done everything he promised he would do in the 2018 campaign. That is not true.

I tweeted as much with a tag to Martha and she replied on the air. My tweet and what Martha said in response is below. It sounds to me that the essence of Martha’s defense of Kemp is that because so many illegal aliens are coming over the border now as compared to 2018 when Kemp ran for governor the first time, that he doesn’t need to honor his 2018 promises on criminal aliens and the legislation he promised to see passed on those “criminal illegals.” Many obedient Republican voters will accept this as reality.

Georgia is home to more “undocumented workers” than Arizona.

Martha Zoller will be the first one to tell you that she has been a paid staffer for both Gov. Kemp and former Senator David Perdue, who is now one of Kemp’s primary opponents for 2022. For the record, as we have said before, Perdue also ignores illegal immigration in Georgia and does not mention Kemp’s defiant betrayal on his 2018 campaign promises. We call it the “#BigTruckTrick.” Led by the liberal AJC editors, most of the Georgia media ignores it. Likewise most Republican groups, but not in Cobb County.

 

The Martha Zoller Show – WDUN-AM, Gainesville GA.

Link to audio from the Martha Zoller Show, Monday, April 4, 2022

Transcript below from Rev.com

Part 1 (Ralston interview before bottom of the hour break) audio. Relevant text in bold.

Part 2 audio (after break)

Transcript below from Rev.com

My time: 3 hours. My cost $21.00

Martha Zoller (host): (00:04)
“Now you- when you go out at the end of the day today, whenever that is, um, you- there’s a big task then, uh, after that. There are people running in primaries, there are people that are gonna have, you know, a roughly a month until early voting starts, and then, uh, we’ve got about six or seven weeks until the- ’til the primary. What is the work that needs to be done in order to unite, in our case, you and I are both Republicans, the Republican party. But the Republican party is not the only party with- with some division issues, they’ve got ’em on the Democratic side too. Uh, so what are your thoughts about that going forward?

Speaker Ralston: (00:44)
Well, I- I tell Republicans that, uh, if we’re not united, um, then we might as well be prepared to turn over, uh, state government to the other party. Uh, that would include the Governor’s office as well as one or both of the, uh- uh, legislative chambers. Um- uh, you know, Republicans are, you know, and we are Republicans, you and I, have been for many, many years. Uh, I have been for over 65 years, uh, and, um- uh, but we just have a real, real knack of eating our own and turning on one another, and having these, uh, sort of circular firing squads and… Um, I- I don’t know much about the other party’s divisions, um- um, but- but my sense is, is that they’re not, uh, as deep or as, um, seemingly insurmountable as those we have.

Speaker Ralston: (01:50)
And then the last thing we needed this year was a contested race in a primary against the sitting, uh- uh, Governor, uh, and, um, but, you know, it’s a free country and, uh, we are where we are, so we’ll, uh, tee it up. Uh, we don’t have long to go after today before or, as you say, early voting starts of the primary. It’s not gonna be a, um, a marathon, it’s going to be a sprint, and it’s going to be a very fast sprint.

Martha Zoller (host): (02:24)
—>No, I’m with you on that, completely. We’re gonna- I’m in the process now of laying out these interviews, and I know… And it’s a good thing in many of these races to have opposition, but I’m- I’m with you, um, that we have a Governor that’s done a very good job, that’s done everything he promised he would do and, uh, that’s- the, you know, the primary in that particular race is not helping. But, you know, you and I, I know, will be working hard for our values between now and- and that primary. And the primary is gonna be a ver- May 24th is gonna be a very big day for what people like to call the Trump Republicans versus the establishment Republicans, because Tex- Texas will be having their run-offs, and we will be having our primaries, and it’s gonna tell us a lot about where we are, I think.

Speaker Ralston: (03:12)
Well, you’re exactly right. Um- um, you know, the, um, former President Trump has made the Georgia primary and the… He- he’s made it, this hasn’t been the media, but he has made it, um, the first big test of his, uh, continuing, um, influence over, uh, the Republican party. And if he loses there and he doesn’t do well in Texas, and then it looks like, uh, he’s not going to do well in, um, Alabama. Uh, he’s pulled off of his un- endorsed opponent, or the endorsed, uh, candidate there, a fair chance, uh, or better that he doesn’t do well in North Carolina, then I think people, uh, will start saying, um, you know, maybe, uh- um, maybe the dew’s worn off the rose now.

Martha Zoller (host): (04:06)
Well Speaker Ralston, I know you’ve got a very long day ahead of you, and we appreciate you giving us a few minutes of your time today.

Speaker Ralston: (04:13)
Thank you very much, Martha. It’s always good to be with you and, uh, I hope you get some rest after the session and, um, and- and- and- and I’d- I’d love to come back on, but not until after I get some rest.

Martha Zoller (host): (04:25)
That’s right, you got it.

Speaker Ralston: (04:26)
(laughs)

Martha Zoller (host): (04:26)
I will have you on again soon. Thank you very much, sir.

Martha Zoller (host): (04:29)
We’re gonna take a break right now, and when we come back we’re gonna talk with you, find out what you think. What are you looking for in this, what we call, sine die. We’ll be back.

End of interview with Speaker Ralston, show goes to commercial break.

Return from 9:30 AM break:

Announcer 1: (00:00)
5:50 and FM 102.9 WDUN. (singing)

Martha Zoller (host): (00:09)
That increase in groceries every single week, uh, almost $300 a month. That is absolutely crushing. That is essentially a tax on every American. In addition, energy costs.

Martha Zoller (host): (00:20)
It is the Martha Zoller show. And, uh, you know, what is it that you guys are looking for as you look at this last day of session, are there still bills that you’re looking for? (770) 535-2911, because what’s really interesting about any of this is that, uh, you know, what’s really interesting about any of this is that they could actually gavel out right now. They pass the budget, that’s all they have to do. Um, and you know, I, I think it’s one of those things that people need to be aware of. Um, I think it’s important. So I got this tweet in from D.A. King and I don’t don’t really us- I usually don’t, um, uh, you know, read tweets on the air, but I think because he called me out directly, I will, he says, “Martha Zoller just told listeners and speaker Ralston that governor Kemp has done a very good job of keeping all of his 2018 campaign promises.”

Martha Zoller (host): (01:18)
Um, and, and he put in here, um, uh, some comments from governor Kemp related to immigration policy as governor, conservative businessman, Brian Kemp create a comprehensive database to track criminal aliens in Georgia. He will also update the Georgia law to streamline deportation from our jails and prisons. Uh, Donald Trump was right, we must in sanctuary cities and he goes on and talks about some other things.

Martha Zoller (host): (01:43)
Where I would disagree with D.A. about his, his, you know, belief. And he’s entitled to that belief, uh, that, uh, governor Kemp has not kept promises on immigration is that the immigration issue has changed as this session, as this governor’s term has gone on. So what is necessary is different than what he promised in 2018. He has been working with the Tex- with Texas, with putting National Guard on the border to try to help stem the tide of people coming across the border because in my view, the biggest problem is not the things that were mentioned here in this promise that was made in 2018.

Martha Zoller (host): (02:24)
And this is just my opinion. This is not governor Kemp’s opinion. Although I’ve asked governor Kemp this question when he’s been on the program and he will be on again tomorrow, and I will be talking to him about this, but there are these issues that, um, have changed. And you have seen that the governor has responded to immigration issues as they relate to sex trafficking and human trafficking and people that are coming across the border. No, it is not exactly what he promised in 2018. But if, if the situation changes and the people coming across the border have changed, then you’ve got to adapt to that.

Martha Zoller (host): (03:01)
Now, D.A.’s gonna disagree with me, and that’s perfectly fine. Okay. But I think sometimes you have to amend what you promised and it doesn’t mean that you didn’t keep your promise. It meant that you saw that you needed something different than what he had originally promised. And he did something different, but D.A. can disagree with me because, hey, we’ve been friends for 25 years talking about this issue and we don’t agree on every single thing. You can join us on the phones at (770) 535-2911. Let’s talk to Chad…”

 

 

 

 

 

Candidate for Lt. Governor, Senator Butch Miller on the Trump agenda and his role in HB 87 in 2011. 

Below is a transcript of part of the radio (Access WDUN) interview Martha Zoller did with Sen Butch Miller, March 25, 2022. here is the audio and a link to the entire seven-ish  minute interview.

We think Martha does good work.

 

Martha Zoller (host): (00:00)

‘…[inaudible 00:00:00], um, uh, you know, I, I think we’re pa- We’re getting past that, and I don’t think that Donald Trump- Donald Trump was asked not to come to Virginia in the governor’s race, and he, he had complied with that wish, didn’t come. Virginia had a positive message, and they ended up electing a Republican governor. You know, I have said- I said in the AJC yesterday, if he is negative and fore and backward looking, then he doesn’t help these candidates that he says he wants to help.

Butch Miller: (00:28)
A-, absolute that’s the case. And, you know, before they were, uh, Trump policies that, that they’re all talking about, they were Butch Miller policies. And matter of fact, we passed, uh, uh, I particularly passed, uh, legislation in the Georgia chamber that, that President Trump picked up and passed on a national basis to our federal employees when we talked about, um, family, uh, access, family leave, uh, low taxes, uh, those kind of things. Those are things that I have been worked on for years now and not, not gonna stop.

Butch Miller: (01:00)
And, uh, you know, we, we talked, he talked about immigration, making sure we had immigration control. I, I was part of passing House Bill 87, which was the strongest immigration bill in the history of the, of the United States. No one has more … No one has a stronger immigration bill than Ho-, House Bill 87. Uh, so I’ve been working on those issues for years on the state level. On the federal level, they picked up those very same issues. And I think-

Martha Zoller (host): (01:27)
Absolutely.

Butch Miller: (01:28)
… that’s [inaudible 00:01:28] you know, what, what is it? Uh, intimidation is the gra- Uh, excuse me. Imitation is the greatest compliment. And, uh,-

Martha Zoller (host): (01:33)
That’s right, greatest-

Butch Miller: (01:33)
… so that’s what we’ve done.

Martha Zoller (host): (01:35)
… form of flattery. Butch Miller,-

Butch Miller: (01:37)
[crosstalk 00:01:37]

Martha Zoller (host): (01:37)
… if people wanna help you in your campaign, how can they do that?

Butch Miller: (01:40)
Uh, butchmillerforgeorgia.com and, uh, that’s the website.

 

 

It turns out that passing a poorly-written bill out of committee while refusing to allow public comment does not guarantee final passage! We are very happy here!

 

Breitbart

March 15, 2022

The Georgia Senate has blocked a draft bill that would have sent taxpayer funds to illegal migrants, says D.A. King, an activist for pro-American bills.

“Senate Bill 601 was voted down about 2.10 in the afternoon here in Georgia and I’m extremely happy and very proud,” said D.A. King, the founder of the Dustin Inman Society, which advocates for pro-American immigration policies

The bill was backed by the GOP leaders, including state Sen. Butch Miller (R-49), who is the Senate President Pro Tempore. Miller is also a candidate for the Republican nomination in the state’s pending lieutenant gubernatorial election.

“I can tell you, them being hammered with enough facts on the illegal immigration angle and the facts that the students in the country illegally could easily be put in private school while American citizens were skipped over,” King added. “Having illegal alien parents in charge of not only disbursement of the money — but oversight of the expenses — did not help them.”

The legislation would have created a small-scale school choice program for all students, including illegal-migrant youths. The bill also allowed illegal immigrants to play a role in overseeing the funding.

However, the program would have been funded by appropriated funds, so… the rest here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jennifer Lee should correct her agenda-driven inaccuracy

Now that yet another instate tuition for illegal aliens bill (HB 120) has been stopped in Georgia, when will the GBPI board post a correction and apologize to trusting state legislators for fake “facts” ?

FACT: “Illegal aliens who have been awarded deferred action on deportation proceedings through the DACA amnesty by both the Obama and Trump administrations are illegal aliens and do not have “lawful presence” says the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision was handed down March 6, 2019.”

Fast Fact: Appellate Court: Not lawfully present, illegal aliens with DACA are illegal aliens – Georgia issuing public benefits based on disputed status, D.A. King, on ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com, March 8, 2019

FICTION: “Estrada is one of about 21,600 undocumented young people who participate in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in Georgia. Through DACA, she is lawfully present in the U.S., but Georgia policy requires she pay out-of-state tuition rates three times higher than in-state tuition.”

 “Extending In-state Tuition to Dreamers Creates Opportunity for Georgia” – Jennifer Lee, Senior Policy Analyst for Higher Education, Georgia Budget and Policy Institute,  April 23, 2019

 

 

 

 

We will have more facts and analysis later, including the interesting absences and “no” votes after I wash my hair and mow the lawn – and do the traditional Happy Dance.

Please see here if you are new to this one. We’ll have a better view of the tally board tomorrow.    See below for vote count and record.

* The Georgia Senate is made up of 34 Republicans and 22 Democrats. Green votes below are “YES.” Red votes are “NO.” Names in yellow are “excused” and did not vote.

Quick count from here: Eight (corrected) Republicans voted “NO.” Six Republicans were excused and did not vote. One Democrat was excused.

 

VIDEO: Go to 1:45-ish on the counter.

We note that Sen Jason Anavitatre voted “YES” in committee but “NO” on the floor.

 

 

 

 

Update: Noon, March 16, 2022: SB 601 failed to see final passage on the senate floor yesterday by a vote of 20-29. More here.