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State Senate rule allowing unrecorded votes should be scrapped *Repost

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Image: Twitter

 

The below essay was posted on the subscription news and opinion outlet Insider Advantage, January 4, 2017. It is reposted here for the education of the  Warriors for Freedom group in Fulton County.  Note, the senate rules can be changed. dak

 

Here is an “extreme” concept to start the year: All votes in the state Capitol should be recorded so that we the people always know exactly how each one of our state legislators vote.

Believe it or not, that is not the case in the Georgia Senate.

State Senate rules used for decades allow unrecorded votes on very significant amendments to legislation offered on the Senate floor long after public input and any scrutiny in the committee process has been completed.

This lack of transparency in government affairs can be easily changed. Georgians need to know that the senators vote on the rules as their first order of business every other year – and 2017 is one of those years. We provide this information just in case a few state senators forget to mention it to constituents.

High up on the front wall of the Senate chamber is a large brightly lit machine that displays each Senator’s vote and electronically records it in the permanent Senate record.  It’s called the “Yeas and Nays” voting method.

In the full chamber, if any senator wants to change a bill that has already been through the committee process, a “floor amendment” can be offered and senators can vote on whether or not to approve the amendment – with an unrecorded raise-your-hand vote. And they can decide if that vote is an unrecorded vote with another unrecorded raise-your-hand vote. Oddly enough, this is inaccurately referred to as the “voice vote,” or “rise stand and be counted” voting method.

It takes five senators to very quickly demand a machine-recorded vote on floor amendments. See Rule 5.1-3 

 

Senate tally board, 2021, SB 601

Confusing, isn’t it? Here is an example: In 2015, the Georgia Senate killed an amendment aimed at ending the current practice of issuing drivers licenses to illegal aliens by holding an unrecorded, raise-your-hand-vote on whether or not to have an unrecorded raise-your-hand-vote. Unrecorded won. Illegal aliens won.

We the People lost.

There was also an unrecorded vote involved in getting to final passage of the 2015 transportation tax increase. This writer watched both events.

Readers should contact their state senators and demand that when the Republican-controlled Senate comes to order on Monday morning, January 9, the existing rule allowing any unrecorded floor votes is changed. And that it be done with a machine-recorded vote.

Then we can start working on eliminating unrecorded votes in the House and Senate committee process.

D.A. King is president of the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society

New Congressman Rich McCormick commends the Iranian-American community

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I think he is getting better at it.

“I rise today in support of the people of Iran, as they struggle against an oppressive and dangerous regime,” said Rep. McCormick. “I also commend our great Iranian-American community in Georgia and across this nation, who hope that their friends and family on the other side of the world may one day have the freedom and prosperity we all enjoy in the United States.”

 

I am blocked at the call-in number of the Erick Erickson national radio show – Erick Erickson to GOP: ‘Do school choice as an entitlement!’ – No mention of excluding illegal aliens – transcript & audio

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“The party you are trying to reach is not accepting calls at this time.”

My cell phone number may be is apparently blocked from calling the Erick Erickson radio show 

 

UPDATE: Feb. 9, 2023: Still blocked as per attempt to call in today.

UPDATE: Feb. 23, 2023: Still blocked and I can’t stop laughing.

 

 

The below is related to the Erick Erickson radio show from WSB-radio in Atlanta, *Jan 24, 2023. Podcast here – S12 Episode 16, Hour 2.  Transcript on the bottom. Audio below. Below that, audio of the results of me trying to go on the air to ask Erickson about illegal aliens and state-funded private school tuition. I had a statewide column posted that day.

 

 

The below is most of an Erickson segment on “entitlements” and school choice. It’s Erickson’s advice to Republicans – focused further down on Republican state legislators in Georgia. I listen to the show only sporadically but have heard this same idea presented three or four times since last January (our legislature starts up in January) when I called in to suggest Erickson qualify that Georgia taxpayers should not be paying for private school tuition for illegal alien students or families. At the time he was selling the ridiculous HB 999 in the Georgia state House.

Using my iPhone, as I did last year, I tried to call in for this January segment too – I got a recording saying that “the party you are trying to reach is not accepting calls at this time.” I tried it several times. Same recording. You can hear it in the below 10 second audio recording. Here is a photo of my iPhone screen after several tries.

Then I tried my land line. It went right through to Erickson’s call screener who asked me what I wanted to say and then my name, then told me to hang on for Erick. That was a little before 2:00 PM.

  • Related: Not accepting calls at this time – Recipient is blocking the caller
  • Update: 12:25, Jan 25: With a guest host on Erickson’s show today I used my iPhone to call Erickson’s call in number again. I got the same recording as yesterday. Then I tried using two land lines and my wife’s cellphone. Our calls rang through on all of them except my iPhone. My apologies to the call screener – yep, that was me.

I put the call on speaker and listened as Erickson took four or five calls, including two on school choice. He didn’t put me on the air. The show was over at 3:00 pm. I tried to get on again about three months ago using my iPhone, but stayed on hold for about forty-five minutes before the show was over without being “picked.”

I may have been blocked by Erick Erickson on his show call-in number    877-973-7425.

I can get to the call screener with a land line on a number I have never used to call in, but not on the iPhone number I usually use. I am wondering if Erick Erickson, Republican, conservative, national radio show host has blocked me. Could be…he is also a shameless Brian Kemp protector. I am not. I don’t think either one of them like my determination to expose Kemp, who is also shielded by the Georgia media – including the liberal AJC newspaper. There is no doubt that I am blocked at the AJC.

I follow Erickson on Twitter I’m not blocked there yet:

  • Erickson file here.
  • (Part of) AJC file here.

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Transcript by Rev.com. My cost $20.00 and about 4 hours.

Erick Erickson radio host:

“…Actually did show up in the election and vote. The- the people who voted early, the people who voted on election day, they’re surveyed; we have lists of those people. Media agencies go out and find those people. And what we’re finding is that, uh, the cultural conservative values of the GOP, and particularly as the Democratic Party becomes Whiter and Whiter, the culturally conservative values of the GOP are resonating more and more with Black voters.

But, to Michelle’s point, it doesn’t seem like it’s significant because when you’re… when you go from 90% voting Democrat to 85% voting Democrat, you still got 85% voting Democrat. But to put this in further perspective, Brian Kemp got almost half of the Hispanic vote. In 2018, he only got 38% of it. That was a pretty significant shift. He also did better with Black… among Black men in 2022, than 2018.

Put it to you this way, if Republicans continue to improve with the Hispanic vote, Brian Kemp is term-limited, but if the next Republican governor in Georgia does the same in the Hispanic community and the same in the… in the White vote, he’s still gonna win. Republicans in Georgia are shifting the state and I firmly believe, those of you listening in Atlanta, in the state legislature right now, if you would pursue school choice, that issue resonates in the Black and the Hispanic community. You give an entitlement, these voters aren’t gonna walk back that entitlement. This is something you need to pursue.

Time for me to get on my soapbox. Let’s take a Republican and Democratic theory at face value. When you give an entitlement, that entitlement will not go away. Democrats have given Medicare and Medicaid, and Social Security, and healthcare, and you name it, and Republicans had never got rid of them. So, Republicans, here is an entitlement to give voters, give families, give citizens, and that is: The opportunity to pick the school of their choice for their children.

You give school choice to the kids; That’s an entitlement. And it is the one entitlement the Democrats hate. So, you will see Democrats campaign on getting rid of it and fighting it. We see this with Katie Hobbs in Arizona; The Republicans gave school choice to parents, Katie Hobbs has come in, she beat Kari Lake, she’s now the governor, and she wants to defund it. There’s already a voter backlash in the Hispanic community against Katie Hobbs for taking away their new entitlement.

You do this in a place like Georgia where Republicans are beginning to make ground with Hispanic voters and Black voters, you’re gonna lock Republicans in for the next several decades because no Democrat running in 2026 is going to campaign on school choice; They’re gonna campaign on getting rid of it. They’re gonna claim, “It killed the public schools.” And you know what? All those parents, whose kids are suddenly getting a good education, they’re gonna vote Republican. This is how Ron DeSantis won in Florida; Andrew Gillum, his opponent, campaigned on finally getting rid of Jeb Bush’s school choice reforms. And Ron DeSantis won enough Black women and Hispanic women, that he barely won the governorship, but he did. And look what happened four years later? He improved school choice, he bolstered it, he strengthened it, he funded those schools.

You all focused on the culture war stuff. The people in Florida, they’re focusing on who we navigated COVID, how we navigated the economy and what he did for school choice. And they all voted for him. That Republicans nationwide are not rushing to school choice is… just shows you how stupid so many people in the party are. Democrats have, for years, given everything to voters and dared Republicans to take it all back. And when Republicans campaign on taking it all back, they lose. That’s why Donald Trump is out right now telling Republicans, “Don’t campaign on cutting Social Security. Don’t campaign on cutting and reforming Medicare and Medicaid. Don’t you dare do it, you’ll lose.” And Republicans are listening to him.

So, give parents hope for their kid’s future. Give parents the opportunity to get their kids out of failing public schools; Where the schools are now more interested in- in turning your kids woke, than helping your kids not be broke. They want your kids to be indoctrinated, not educated. They want your kids to be down with left-wing groupthink. They don’t want your kids to be on entrepreneurial. They don’t want your kids to learn individual responsibility. They don’t want your kids to learn the basics skills to get a job as an entrepreneur and compete against the big business, no, they want your child enslaved to big business. Teaching them Common Core maths, so they can’t get out on their own. Binding them to the administrative governmental state.

You give parents school choice and watch the GOP become the dominant party, and watch the kids thrive. This is the civil right issue of the day, and I cannot believe Republicans aren’t with the program. I can’t believe Republicans nationwide aren’t pushing this. In my state of Georgia, there’s a headline in the newspaper today, that there’s a renewed push to expand Georgia’s private school tuition subsidies. They want a hundred million dollar increase to Georgia’s Student Scholarship Program. So far, they only secured 20 million dollars. The chief architect of the scale back legislation, John Carson of Marietta, is proposing to expand the cap on the Tax Credit Program from a 120 million to 200 million dollars.

The American Federation of Teachers and The, uh, National Education Association are opposed, but the American Federation for Children supports it. Y’all, I- I can’t emphasize this enough: You’ve got to give school choice. You’ve got to allow parents to get their kids out of these public schools. Do you know where I am in Georgia? On Valentine’s Day last year, an elementary school gym teacher decided, on Valentine’s Day, to bring his first grade students into the gym and show them a video on same-sex love. I’m not making that up.

Parents, many of them didn’t know about it until I talked about it on this program. They found out from their first graders, that’s what happened at that elementary school. And the superintendent of the county education system sent me a very indignant letter.

Erick Erickson radio host:

Upset that I exposed what happened. There are a lot of private schools in that county. There are a lot of private schools that would love to take in Black and Hispanic students who are in those failing public schools, but it’s the Republicans who are blocking them. The Democrats don’t have the votes to stop it. The Republicans could embrace full school choice, and these private schools would bring these kids in, allow them in. Don’t- don’t punish the private schools that are Christian and run according to Christian guidelines, you don’t have to do that. Let ’em in and grow. Let ’em in and grow. Support them. You gotta do that.

This is the civil rights issue of our time. Republicans are failing on this. Don’t heap poor kids in failing public schools, when you have the opportunity to give them access to a private school where they can get a great education and become tomorrow’s entrepreneur. You support your job force, your workforce, your future by giving these kids school choice. Whenever you are nationwide, if you’ve got a Republican legislature and a Republican governor, and that’s the majority of the nation, you should be doing this. So, support tomorrow, today.

Now, you should go to edenpuredeals.com and get an EdenPURE Thunderstorm. You can get three of them for less than $200. You’re saving $200, and you get free shipping at edenpuredeals.com. You’ll be greeted with a discount code box. You can put in Erick…

 

‘Kemp backs down on immigration’ – Retired INS agent’s letter to the editor published in the Brunswick News – Bob Trent

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The below letter is in today’s edition of the Brunswick News and was also sent to us. Thanks, Bob.

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Kemp backs down on immigration

Gov. Kemp has joined more than 2,500 planetwide elites who gathered to decide how to solve the world’s problems in Davos, Switzerland, at the globalist World Economic Forum. One of those problems is “irregular migration” — or what many of us in the USA refer to as the invasion of our fading nation.

Meanwhile in Georgia, laws put in place to ensure that illegal aliens who land in our jails are reported to federal immigration authorities are defiantly and publicly violated by a very conspicuous Democrat metro-Atlanta jailer. Two years ago, Gwinnett County Sheriff Keybo Taylor boasted to the media that he will not obey the law and refuses to convey anyone’s illegal immigration status to ICE.

Other Georgia jailers are allowed to operate with this illegal sanctuary policy.

Only six states have more illegal aliens than Georgia. While Kemp turns a blind eye to the “undocumented workers” who are facilitating his “number one for business” reputation, he is ignoring the fully preventable crimes the illegals are committing and illegal immigration at home. Including our children, innocent Georgians are suffering the consequences.

When he ran for governor in 2018, Kemp made clear promises to end “sanctuary cities” and to “track and deport criminal illegals” — he didn’t. Last week he renewed his oath to “take care that the laws are faithfully executed” and be the conservator of the peace. He isn’t — and media is silent.

We can only hope for more conscientious watchdog press coverage if Kemp runs for president.

Robert Trent

St. Marys

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Note: Bob Trent is a retired Senior Special Agent of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (USINS) and served on metropolitan area drug, and organized crime task forces for many years. Bob also supervised special agents assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force. In addition, he spent ten years as a uniformed Border Patrol agent assigned to both the northern and southern borders. He retired as  the Assistant Director, Enforcement Training, U.S. Immigration Officer Academy, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, GA.

The above letter is not the first time Bob has noted Gov. Kemp’s refusal to honor his oath of office on illegal immigration, here is another example.

 

Round up of my complaints sent to GA Office of Inspector General against Gov. Kemp, Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens and Gwinnett Sheriff Keybo Taylor – OIG

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All complaints are explained by this letter that was hand delivered to Gov. Kemp’s office on August 1, 2023 (yes, I know I need to create an easier-to-read version without all the typo corrections and notes).

Ga Gov. Brian Kemp
  • Original complaint against Gov. Kemp, Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens and Gwinnett Sheriff Keybo Taylor and response here.
  • Initial response to my original complaint and my reply, here.
  • 1st addition to my complaint, here.
  • 2nd (final) addition to my complaint here.
  • Telehone explanation from the OIG on why none of these complaints will produce action on forcing Gov. Kemp or the sheriffs to enforce and/or obey state law on criminal aliens, here. 

 

GA OIG telephone discussion of my complaints against Gov. Brian Kemp and two sheriffs (storage for book)

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I am grateful to Mr. McAfee for his time and interest in my complaints. Here is a round up of this story and all complaints/responses.

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Email to me, Jan 17, 2023 at 2:22 PM:

“Good afternoon Mr. King,

  I wanted to let you know that I’ve received and reviewed your supplemental complaint. I also forwarded it along to the Deputy AG in charge of investigations with the AG’s Office as you requested. I think it would be more efficient for me to explain my thoughts on this by phone, specifically why I think OIG still lacks a jurisdictional mandate to explore your concerns. Feel free to let me know a good time to call.” (Scott McAfee)

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Audio

Transcript by Rev.com

D.A. King:

[inaudible 00:00:00] (hello?…)

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

… Mr. King. Hey, Mr. King?

D.A. King:

Yes?

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Hey, this is Scott McAfee with, uh, State OIG. How are you?

D.A. King:

I’m fine, sir. Thank you very much for calling, Mr. McAfee. I appreciate your time.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

No, not at all. Um, and uh, I can tell that you’ve, you’ve put a lot of time and effort into this complaint, and uh, and done a lot of research, which I can certainly appreciate because not all of the complaints we get have that level of detail. Um, so, uh, but I thought that it might be easier for me just to call you and, uh, and talk through some of these things. Um, and, and try to, and try to explain kinda where I’m coming from as I, as I read your complaint. Um, so, you know, as we’ve, as we’ve kinda gone through it before, when it comes to county sheriff’s …

Or, uh, lemme start out at a higher level. So, OIG, um, at, at, in Georgia is actually formed through an executive order that goes way back to, um, Governor Sonny Perdue. And uh, we’ve got it linked on the website if you have any interest whatsoever in reading it, but we only exist in statute. Uh, we’re purely an arm of the governor’s office, uh, with the, with the mandate of, um, prevention of fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption in state government. Uh, specifically the Executive Branch, right?

So that’s where, as a general matter, whenever anyone comes to us, uh, talking about, uh, county sheriffs, county boards of education, county jails, that sort of thing, that’s a pretty clear line in the, uh, in the sand for us where we say, “Look. That’s not our mandate. Uh, we don’t have jurisdiction to get into that. We need to stay in our lane.”

Now, um, I can tell, um … And now, the way you’ve, you’ve put it, uh, and, and, and looked through it, you, you have concerns over how, uh, the governor, and obviously, especially these, uh, these county sheriffs are executing, um … Or administering, uh, the immigration policy and, and some of the statutes concerning that, right?

D.A. King:

Well, no- no- not exactly, and if I may, uh, I appreciate your break.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Sure. No, no, no. Yeah.

D.A. King:

Um, I, I have done a lot of research, but I have a … Uh,  I have what I believe to be be probably a, a, a unique, um, vantage point in all this in that I have been privy to drafting and passing m- m- most, if not … th- … Uh, no, I, I think there’s one I can think of. One of the laws in this state that is aimed at deterring illegal immigration into Georgia, that I didn’t have anything to do with. Other than that, I’m not sure that there is anything that I didn’t have my hand in in some way. It was a OJT kind of…-

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Mm-hmm.

D.A. King:

… situation, but I appreciate your notice. Um, I’ve devoted my life to trying to educate people on the dangers of illegal immigration in an effort to honor a, a, a friend’s son who is forever 16 because we don’t do exactly that.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Mm-hmm.

D.A. King:

So, to save you some time, and please know how much I appreciate your time, I am clear on your response about the state, about the county sheriffs being employees of the county and not state officers.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Mm-hmm.

D.A. King:

Um, it’s kind of a, a, a … I regard it as kind of a gray area in that they are their own constitutional office in the state.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Mm-hmm.

D.A. King:

But, I, I, I’m not going there for now. My most recent attempt to get some action from your office was aimed at the current governor, um, being a- a- b- according to their constitutional oath, obviously, he has a duty to make sure all the laws are enforced. The law is pretty clear on, on what the sheriff or any jailer is supposed to do as far as using reasonable effort to determine immigration status and reporting illegal aliens to the feds.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Mm-hmm.

D.A. King:

U- um, that’s not happening. Not only is it not happening, but um, the sheriff in Gwinnett County has told the Associated Press and every reporter he could fit into the room at his, um, swearing in ceremony in January, uh, 1st of 2021 that it, not … He’s not going to do exactly what the law requires.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Mm-hmm.

D.A. King:

So, I’m looking to s- find an agency that will force the governor to honor his oath of office, to go after a sheriff who is in clear violation of state law.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

So, that, I think, maybe where we can, we can really flesh out and, and, and really see, uh, where, I think, we’re gonna fall short, is when you say, “An agency that can,” uh, uh, uh, the words you used were, “to force the governor to follow the law.” Uh, OIG, that is not something that we have the power to do. Um, we, uh …

As I mentioned, there’s about 10 of us here. We have auditors. We have some investigators. Uh, we’re not POST certified. We’re working on that. But we’re not officially a law enforcement agency. Uh, but generally, what we do is we will work up a case. If there’s a criminal element to it, we investigate it, we do interviews, we do a financial analysis. We put together a package, and we give it to the Attorney General’s Office, and we, and we hope that they’ll bring an indictment.

Um, I write some letters if I find, if I find things that I think, um, you know, fall under the waste, fraud, abuse, corruption angle. But in terms of having the legal authority to force, uh, a public official to do anything, that’s, that’s not what, that’s not what we can do. Um, you know?

We … I’ve, I’ve … Certainly, we had issues come up along the way where I, I’ve, I’ve written letters, and I’ve, and I’ve made recommendations. Uh, but other agency heads, and especially elected officials are fully free just to toss it in the trash (laughs) and disregard it. Uh, so if … Uh, you know, when … We can start right there in terms of if, if you’re looking for us to be able to actually force anyone to do anything. That’s just really not in [inaudible 00:05:36] goal.

D.A. King:

No, I … That was clear, and I me- … I, I understand that. Um, you told me a couple of things I did not know there, so, uh, uh, I, I, I think I get it, and I … I’m … I’m trying to go down the line to find somebody who has, A, the, the authority, and B, the honor to get the laws enforced that I’ve worked for 18 years to put on the books. That’s kind of the short version. But-

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Yeah. And, and I’m not, and I’m not trying to downplay the work you’ve put into it, or the, uh, you know, the, the righteousness of your cause as you see. Uh, my, my point is simply that, you know, the, the, the structural, uh, s- system as it stands, um, you’re gonna be facing a very, very tall order. Um, you know, uh, I … It reminds me a lot of, um … You know, there’s a whole line of Supreme Court cases about, uh, redistricting, and whether the Supreme Court can step in and … into gerrymandering, right? And the Supreme Court has come out and said, “Well, that’s essentially a political question,” and if it’s a political question, they have a doctrine where they’re just not gonna get into it, and they say, “We’re gonna leave that up to the general assembly and the voters.” And they don’t step into it.

And I think what you’re gonna find as you, as you explore this issue with other folks is that, in the Constitution, yes, you’re right. You absolutely quoted it, “The faithful execution of the laws,” but there’s a lot of discretion about how one actually goes about doing that. And I, I, I mean, ultimately, I think you’re gonna find that even, uh, a court’s not gonna be willing to step in and say, “No. This is how you should be doing it, Governor.” Or, um, you know, an agency isn’t gonna have that ability. And … Yo- you know?

So, I think it’s ultimately gonna come down to a political questions, and that’s, uh, and that’s one where it’s … You have to get, uh, public opinion, and um, and the, and the voters involved if you wanna see change on that.

D.A. King:

Well, I-

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

That’s just my … That’s, that’s my two cents, anyway. [inaudible 00:07:29]

D.A. King:

No, no. I, I, I … And I’m grateful for it. I … Just an observation, it’s nothing to do with, with your office. It’s just two guys talking on this next sentence, and that is, it is impossible to get a public opinion on your side when the media, um, is diligent in their effort-

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Yeah.

D.A. King:

… to prevent the public from knowing anything about what you and I are discussing right now.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Mm-hmm.

D.A. King:

That’s neither here nor there for you. I understand. I just had to say it. So-

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Well, no. I mean, I can, I can, I can certainly sympathize with, uh, with frustration (laughs) with media coverage. I, I, I hear you. I know it can feel like an uphill battle just about every day on that.

D.A. King:

Okay. So … I, and I, I’m, I’m assuming that when I speak to other … When I speak to law enforcement they’re, the … They’re not authorized or they refuse or they’re not able, however it’s phrased, to offer legal advice.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Mm-hmm.

D.A. King:

So, you can answer my question, my next question like that, and I will understand, but-

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

(laughs) Oh, no. You’re [inaudible 00:08:23]

D.A. King:

… if, if you were me-

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Yeah. (laughs)

D.A. King:

… what would you do to try to find anybody with authority to force the Governor of Georgia to obey his oath of office when people are literally being murdered, raped, and killed on this?

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Yeah. Right. I mean, when you say … A- a- again, it’s, it’s … When you’re ta- when you’re wanting to see the change being … The governor of a state is a very powerful individual, uh, with a lot of, uh, you know, authority and discretion. Um, to force him to do anything, I, I, I am not aware of any le- legal avenue for that to happen through a mandate. I think the only way, in my mind, for you to get what you want as you’ve outlined in your complaint is gonna be at the ballot box or it’s gonna be through the general assembly.

It’s gonna be through the political process. That’s, that’s, that’s my take on it, ’cause I don’t, I, I, I’m not aware of any legal remedy, personally, or any other one through state government.

D.A. King:

Okay.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

That is just [inaudible 00:09:28] for you.

D.A. King:

I, I, I appreciate that. I’ve, I’ve kinda deduced that.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Yeah.

D.A. King:

I was hoping maybe you had lift- … You could lift the veil on something I wasn’t aware of.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Yeah.

D.A. King:

What about the same question as applied to the sheriff of Gwinnett? I have seen news reports-

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Hm.

D.A. King:

… and legal documents in which the, the, a sitting governor of Georgia has, has suspended a sheriff after charges-

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Yeah.

D.A. King:

… were leveled at that sheriff for violation of his oath of office.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Well, it reminds me … Um, didn’t we just see, uh, Governor DeSantis do that to a district attorney down in Florida, right? F- … Uh, and that one ha- happened to be about … What was it? Marijuana prosecutions, or maybe it was abortion prosecutions? I forget exactly. Uh, but that’s, that’s what it reminds me of is, is, um, the Governor of Florida stepped in and removed a county official through statutes that he had at his disposal.

I don’t know if any of those are … carry over into Georgia, uh [inaudible 00:10:21]

D.A. King:

Well, yes, sir. But I, I, what … My, my example was in, in, was in Georgia.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Yeah, yeah.

D.A. King:

Geor- Georgia governors have, have relieved Georgia sheriffs of their duties because they have been-

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Yeah.

D.A. King:

… charged with something. I can’t find anybody to even charge the sheriff with anything.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Yeah. Yeah. Well, now, now I know that, that if, if, if the, if the sheriffs are actually charged with a crime, then, yes. Absolutely. The … And a statute kicks into effect where they, they are removed, and the governor does that routinely. Um, so, I guess to that point, if you think you can make a, uh, criminal case out of this, um, then that’s how they would be removed from office.

I don’t know if there’s a … What I don’t know about is if there’s discretionary mechanism where he can do it absent a criminal case if you, if you catch my drift. Um, but if you’re looking for a, uh … You know, the automatic removable that’s triggered by an indictment, uh, yeah. That’s, that’s absolutely on the books, and the people who could bring an indictment against the county sheriff are gonna be either the, uh, County District Attorney, um, it’s gonna be the Attorney General, or it’s gonna be the US Attorney.

And um, I think, again, just, um … My own personal assessment is I doubt you’re gonna get much of a consideration from, uh … I think the only person who might be willing to review the complaint would be the Attorney Generals Office. That’s just my-

D.A. King:

Hm. That’s bad news for me. But I, I-

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Yeah. That’s just my own assessment, but …

D.A. King:

I, I, I, I appreciate that very much. Um, okay. To … Uh, uh, one more time, thank you very much for your courtesy and your time. Please know that having been involved in the politics Under the Gold Dome and in Georgia for as long as I have, I am not only grateful for what you’re saying, but very, very unsurprised. (laughs)

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

Yeah. Well, look, I always … Look. I always respect the passion. So, um, I don’t, I don’t know if we’d always see eye-to-eye on every issue, but I’m certainly willing to, to, to give you my, my thoughts on it. My, um, I … You know. I’m always glad to hear of someone thinking of OIG whether it’s the right case for us or not. So, um, best of luck to you, all right?

D.A. King:

Thank you very much.

GA OIG Scott McAfee:

All right. Take care.

D.A. King:

You too.

Sanctuary Georgia: Another law that is ignored on “criminal illegals”

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Sanctuary cities, counties and states. Immigrantfoodonline

 

 

*Updated with a correction on year of  passage of OCGA 36-80-23.

 

“I do solemnly swear or affirm that I will faithfully execute the office of Governor of the State of Georgia and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution thereof and the Constitution of the United States.”

Oath of office made by Governor Brian Kemp last week – for the second time.

My January 2nd column concerned state laws that are not enforced. We reminded readers that Gov. Brian Kemp took an oath to obey the constitution and quoted part of that document with “the Governor shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed and shall be the conservator of the peace throughout the state.”

 As an illustration of one law dealing with illegal immigration that is defiantly ignored, we explained that at his January 1, 2021, swearing in ceremony, Keybo Taylor, the sheriff of Gwinnett County here in Metro Atlanta, told the world “What we will not be doing is notifying ICE of anybody’s immigration status in the jail or any of our facilities.”

Then we explained a state law (OCGA 42-4-14) that requires all jailers to use reasonable effort to determine immigration status of foreign-born prisoners and report the illegal aliens to the feds. It’s a state law that Brian Kemp voted for as a state senator.

What I didn’t mention is that the above state law has no penalty in the text of the law.

That is correct. It’s a law with no penalty – don’t scramble to the law books to find one that does not have a penalty for normal, working Georgians.

This writer was involved in the drafting of the law in 2006 and a significant legislative improvement in 2011. I can tell you that none of us dreamed that “jailers” – mostly county sheriffs – would defy that statute. That was then. Now we know. It looks like the Gwinnett sheriff is not the only one ignoring this law.

You will probably read this here first: I can predict with a great deal of confidence that the current General Assembly session in Atlanta will see a bill that would create a stiff penalty for jailers like Gwinnett’s anti-enforcement, Democrat sheriff.

But wait, there’s more.

 As I wrote earlier in the month, Georgia can accurately be described as a “sanctuary state” for the “criminal illegals” Kemp promised to go after when he ran for office in 2018 and pledged to end already illegal sanctuary policies.

This brings up another state law that we need to share here. It’s OCGA 36-80-23 with a title that goes: “Prohibition on immigration sanctuary policies by local governmental entities; certification of compliance.” I am proud to have helped with advice on this legislation when it passed the Republican-ruled state senate by a vote of 37-9 in 2010  . *Correction. Jan. 17, 2023 11:02AM – This law was passed in 2008 as SB 340. The Senate vote was 47-5. The vote in the House was 129-32. I apologize for the error. dak

The short version of this one is that it is illegal for counties, cities, and agencies, including law enforcement agencies, to put in place “sanctuary policies.”

“Sanctuary” in Georgia law 

Ga Gov. Brian Kemp

According to state law, “sanctuary policy” means “any regulation, rule, policy, or practice adopted by a local governing body which prohibits or restricts local officials or employees from communicating or cooperating with federal officials or law enforcement officers with regard to reporting immigration status information while such local official or employee is acting within the scope of his or her official duties.” Pretty clear, we thought.

The enforcement mechanism goes like this: “Any local governing body that acts in violation of this Code section shall be subject to the withholding of state funding or state administered federal funding…” The “governing body” in Gwinnett is the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners.

How would the various state agencies that administer tax dollars as grants to cities and counties know if those cities and counties were in violation of the law? They don’t know, but the funds are distributed anyway. So, there really is no penalty. This one isn’t enforced either.

More news:

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a bill that injects a severe penalty into this toothless “no sanctuary policies in Georgia” law too.

Again: Georgia is a sanctuary state because illegal aliens can go into and out of many of our jails and never be reported to the feds. It’s a bit of California right here in the Peach State. If you want to see action from your state legislators on this, it is a good idea to let them hear from you.

Let’s close with a quote from Brian Kemp’s first TV campaign ad in 2018: “Donald Trump was right. We must secure the border and end sanctuary cities.”

You can see the video from that TV ad on our website, ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com.

  • A version of the below column is published in the January 16, 2023, edition of The Islander newspaper in Glynn County, GA.

Another check-in with the liberal AJC to be sure I am still blocked – another LTE not published #SchoolChoice

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The below letter was sent to opinion page editor Andrea Jackson and the letters submission address the AJC last week (Jan 11). I have been cancelled for about two years.

Here is another example. I have many more.

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Re: “Students need more schooling choices” Buzz Brockway, Jan 10, 2023

“School choice” talk should include immigration reality

In his recent guest column, lobbyist and former Gwinnett Republican state Rep Buzz Brockway offered a renewed argument for K-12 “school choice” in Georgia that warrants further consideration. The premise is that students are behind because of Covid so we need legislation to allow “…parents and guardians to access funds directly…” so they can use state money to pay for private school tuition and other benefits, including private tutoring.

Missing here is recognition of the raging illegal immigration crisis in the nation and in Georgia. Somewhere north of 260,000 unaccompanied migrant children/minors have been encountered at the southern border since President Biden took office, per U.S. Customs & Border Protection agency data. The Center for Immigration Studies in Washington estimates about 80% of the minors are placed with family members who are already living here illegally – including in Georgia.

School choice is a solid idea. Encouraging and rewarding illegal immigration into Georgia with offers of a taxpayer-financed private K-12 school education isn’t. The former should not include the latter.

D.A. KING

MARIETTA

PRESIDENT, THE DUSTIN INMAN SOCIETY

404- ***-*****

 

 

 

Newly sworn GA GOP Congressman Rich McCormick: We need “immigration reform” – Indians are best immigrants

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GA Congressman Rich McCormick – GA06

Updated, Jan 15, 4:50PM.

*Updated Jan 31, 8:54 AM

I confidently predict U.S. Rep Rich McCormick will vote for amnesty if he gets the opportunity.

 

“McCormick, who is a doctor specialising in emergency medicine, said that they “don’t have the problems other people have when they come to the emergency room for overdoses, because these are the most productive and family-centred.”

Absolutely zero surprise here. As a candidate, Rich McCormick, the new Republican for GA06 (my home district) usually evaded the immigration issue like it was illegal to talk about it. I was introduced to him several times as an authority on the topic. After a nod and a cautious-looking half-grin, he couldn’t get away fast enough.

His first attempt at going to Congress was in the old GA07 and failed. Redistricting found him running again in the more Republican GA06 (McCormick lives in the 9th District). On his first campaign site he was firm that we should deport violent criminals and drug dealers…yada, yada.

Some Republican women I know that went ga-ga over him from day one – then got plenty upset what I pointed out that “maybe we should deport all illegal aliens.” I heard “well that’s what he really means, D.A…” or “well, we should deport drug dealers, D.A.” in response.

On immigration, this guy brings to mind Mitt Romney – maybe John Cornyn.

He ran on the fact that he is an MD and a former U.S.M.C pilot. I am not the only person here who reads him as a typical, pandering “yes man” for the special interests. Doubters, stay tuned.

It looks like his (successful) second try to get to Washington didn’t include borders or illegal immigration – violent criminals or not – at all. You can take look to see if I am missing anything on his campaign website “priorities” page.

You can also help me find any mention of the raging border crisis or illegal immigration on his House website “issues” page. (I have a screen grab).

The Forsyth County News has a report on “What Rep. Rich McCormick says he wants to tackle in Congress” –  somebody double check because I see zero mention of borders or immigration (registration to read the report is free and quick).

If it helps make my point here, Georgia Gov. Brain Kemp happily endorsed McCormick.

Maybe somebody can ask Kemp why he would back a candidate for the House of Representatives in Georgia that avoids talk of immigration – in a state with more illegal aliens than Arizona.

You will need to wait for Kemp to return from Davos.

Reward for information, Image, Dustin Inman Society

Here is a bit of insight: Kemp doesn’t talk about illegal immigration in Georgia – ever. Georgia is a sanctuary state.

Evading immigration is not that difficult here – the liberal Atlanta Journal Constitution makes sure of it. Check out the grueling questions set out by the AJC on a 2020 “where do the candidates stand on the issues?” piece – (here).

Now, mid-way through his first month in office McCormick has decided to talk about immigration! As in “immigration reform.” As in “streamline the process” and “we need more Indian immigrants…”

This from the January 14, 2023 Siasat Daily:

Making pitch for immigration reform, U.S. lawmaker says Indians pay 6 pc (percent) of taxes”

 New York: Making a pitch for immigration reforms, a Republican lawmaker has cited the contributions of Indian immigrants, who, he said, pay 6 per cent of taxes in the U.S.

 Saying that the US must “make sure we streamline the immigration process”, Rich McCormick said that Indians “represent some of the best citizens we have in America”.

 “They pay about 6 per cent of the taxes and (are) among the top producers,” he said of the Asian Indians who number 4.5 million, making up 1.4 per cent of the total US population of 333 million.

 The Asian Indians, who number 137,000 in the Atlanta area of his state of Georgia, “do not cause problems and follow laws”, he said.

 McCormick, who is a doctor specialising in emergency medicine, said that they “don’t have the problems other people have when they come to the emergency room for overdoses, because these are the most productive and family-centred”.

 McCormick represents a constituency that encompasses the suburbs of Atlanta, an area that has seen an influx of Asian Indians in recent years, fuelled impart by the growth of the science and technology sectors.

 With the long wait for permanent resident status for Indians, a legislation to make more green cards available for them died in the last Congress session.

 The legislation, which had the backing of members of both parties and President Joe Biden’s administration, would have eliminated the limit of 20,000 green cards for each country with some exceptions.

 The matter is expected to come up again in the current session.” Read it here.

Congressman Dr. Rich McCormick (and most GA GOP voters) needs to get out more. Or maybe not flee the scene when he has a chance to talk to a pro-enforcement authority on immigration. Or at least read The India Times “Illegal Immigration From India To US Doubled In 2022, US Government Data Shows.”

And it would help if the Republican grassroots would find a spine and talk back to the candidates and elected officials who are now allowed to decide what “the issues” are – and it’s seldom immigration enforcement.

Georgia is controlled by Chamber of Commerce Republicans – but not many people outside Georgia are watching the train wreck happening here (not many inside the state either).

I left the ballot on our congressional seat blank in the General Election.

 

Independent black voter to Georgia lawmakers: “Exclude illegal aliens from ‘school choice’ benefit”

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Photo: Ga. Health News

“If somehow the Republicans running the state government decide that we have a budget big enough to encourage and reward illegal aliens who migrate here with a private school education, we should all start a “what about” list that includes detailed inquiries about the allocation for our own homeless, our veterans and the pay we give our law enforcement officers.”

The below essay was sent here by our friend Ev Robinson and also ran on the subscription outlet Insider Advantage, January 12, 2023 in response to a column there from Jake Evans.

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Many thanks to InsiderAdvantage for posting Jake Evans’ recent column in support of “school choice” legislation passing in the 2023 General Assembly. Kudos to Evans for including the commonsense caveat that the state benefit should be limited in its scope of recipients.

I write to offer a few observations and suggestions on the important matter. Evans wrote that “last legislative session, the General Assembly considered a bill embodying the concepts of school choice. The Georgia Educational Freedom Act provided for a $6,000 scholarship to nearly all of Georgia’s 1.7 million public school students, from kindergarten through 12th grade.”

It is vital to a fair discussion on this matter that all concerned are careful with the accuracy of the information they present.

Lines 3 & 4 in the Georgia Educational Freedom Act make it clear that any taxpayer benefits for “school choice” would have been completely dependent on appropriations put in place by the legislature. Any appropriation – or lack thereof – would determine the number (if any) of K-12 students who would be able to access taxpayer dollars to attend private schools in Georgia.

On eligibility for any proposed school choice benefit, Evans seems to be inclined to limit eligibility to “taxpayers.” We should ask if he means federal and or state income taxes, sales taxes or property taxes. Here, it is important to note the raging illegal immigration crisis in the U.S. and in Georgia and remind everyone favoring “school choice” that Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than green card holders, with estimates of that illegal population going up to 400,000-ish foreigners here in violation of our immigration laws.

None of these “undocumented workers” can escape paying some sort of tax in Georgia even if their income level would exclude them from paying state income taxes – were they to be inclined to obey our tax laws.

I submit that paying taxes alone is not a qualification for inclusion in a state program that would provide taxpayer-funded private school tuition to any, some or all K-12 students in our state.

I am a retired, black conservative American who has raised two wonderful kids in Georgia. As an independent voter who takes an unapologetic pro-enforcement position on U.S. borders, I have watched as the plight of poor Americans is often ignored when the politics of illegal immigration and “migrants” is discussed. If somehow the Republicans running the state government decide that we have a budget big enough to encourage and reward illegal aliens who migrate here with a private school education, we should all start a “what about” list that includes detailed inquiries about the allocation for our own homeless, our veterans and the pay we give our law enforcement officers.

Any and all legislation considered under the Gold Dome should include the consideration that we should do everything possible to discourage illegal immigration in Georgia. Limiting school choice benefits to U.S. citizens and green card holders is the answer to the question that too few legislators are asking on school choice eligibility.

Whatever the percentage of students that are funded, including illegal aliens in the “educational freedom” funding concept should instantly end the discussion on school choice.

Everett Robinson of Canton is a founding member of the board of the Dustin Inman Society.