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The original story on the complaints is here and the OIG initial response along with my reply and request for reconsideration is here. I added links to the OIG’s response in an effort to make it easier to digest.

• Note: We filed three complaints, one against Gov. Brian Kemp one against Gwinnett Sheriff Keybo Taylor and one against Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens. The complaint against Gov Kemp is still under consideration at OIG.

The below was received via email on Sept. 12, 2022. I am grateful to Mr. McAfee for his reply.

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Good afternoon Mr. King,

  I appreciate your consideration of our office for your complaint. To be clear, declining an investigation does not mean we’ve taken any position on the merits or thoroughness of your concerns. We must simply “stay in our lane” and only execute the powers delineated to us by executive order. In my mind, that executive order is clear. OIG does not police all executive powers, constitutionally created or otherwise, only the “agencies of state government” and “state agencies within the executive branch.” I’ve attached a copy of our founding executive order for your convenience.

While county sheriffs may perform state and executive branch functions as your cited AG opinion points out, the fact remains that county sheriffs are not state agencies but rather instrumentalities of county government. See, e.g., O.C.G.A. § 15-16-1 (a) (“the sheriff is the basic law enforcement officer of the several counties of this state”); Veit v. State, 182 Ga. App. 753, 756 (1987). OIG has not been granted jurisdiction to investigate anything considered executive in function. Only “state agencies.”

  Feel free to call me anytime at the number below. I’m happy to talk through your concerns and explain our position in greater detail. And disregard any previous reference to DOC, as I agree that DOC would not be the appropriate venue for your complaint.

The below letter to the editor was published in the Cherokee Tribune & Ledger News today.

LETTER: School choice bill would allow taxpayer-funded vouchers for children living in U.S. illegally

Dear editor,

Since Pres. Biden was sworn in, we have all seen the unforgettable images of the now literally millions of “migrants” crossing the rivers in Texas and gaps in national security in Arizona to enter the U.S. illegally. The truth is most of these people are coming to America in violation of our already extremely liberal immigration laws “for a better life.” Many are either bringing their children with them or sending for them after arrival.

It is also true that the Democrats who run the federal government have not only encouraged this illegal scheme and stood by and watched as these illegal aliens swarm the southern border – but have also loaded these illegals onto busses to be distributed all over the nation. Many are landing in Georgia where we already host more illegal aliens than Arizona.

The insanity doesn’t end with the Democrats. I learned last week that a group of Republican state lawmakers here in Georgia is pushing hard to pass legislation next year that would require Georgia taxpayers to fund K-12 private school education for illegal alien children. It would be part of a “school choice” plan in which education dollars ‘follow the student…” The group is called the ‘Freedom Caucus Network’ and is 100% GOP.

As a black, conservative American who votes Republican, it is impossible to express my own outrage that any politician would suggest that we increase the benefits already offered to illegals and thereby make Georgia even more attractive to the endless stream of illegals the GOP claims to want to stop.

Cherokee Rep Charlice Byrd is a member of this “Freedom Caucus” group. We hope she can explain why illegal aliens would be included in taxpayer-funded private school education when it is so easy to exclude then from any such legislation. This political trick will not create a better life for Americans in Georgia.

Everett Robinson

Canton

Here.

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Note, Everett is a dear pal, a former thirty-four year neighbor and a member of the board of advisors, the Dustin Inman Society.

See more on the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the House Higher Education Workforce Subcommittee in previous episodes linked below.

We will cover the whole enchilada.

Episode 1

Episode 2

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Episode 3

“As a reminder, all are welcome to attend this meeting, but there will be no public testimony/speaking. The meeting will also be available via livestream on the House Broadcast webpage.” – Staffer for Chairman Chuck Martin in the emailed meeting notice pasted below.

• Since public comment won’t be allowed, we assume this glaring fact will not be mentioned: Half of US companies gearing up for layoffs, survey suggests
• I just sent Rep Chuck Martin an email asking for a short comment on why he has chosen to exclude the public from speaking at a legislative meeting that will be six hours long. When/if he takes time to reply, I will post his comment here. Update: Rep Martin did reply, see here.

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*Update: August 24, 2022, 5:21 PM: The below column has driven a pro-enforcement Cherokee County resident to send a letter to the editor of his local newspaper. You can read Everett Robinson’s letter as it was published yesterday here.

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A well-funded group in Washington D.C. that describes itself as “conservative” is boasting that it has put a law in place in Arizona that gives illegal aliens taxpayer-funded K-12 private school tuition. The group is an off-shoot of the congressional “House Freedom Caucus” and is known as the “Freedom Caucus Network.” They have chapters in several states, including Arizona, South Carolina and Georgia. They claim to fight for “conservative values.”

The State Freedom Caucus Network sent out an email alert yesterday boasting that they had successfully fought for a bill in Arizona that sends tax dollars to all K-12 students for private school and that the Arizona governor has signed the legislation into law – it’s HB 2853.

The Freedom Caucus Network says they will now work to pass the same language into law in other states. Including Georgia.

Georgians with memories that go back to the 2022 session of the Republican-ruled state legislature may recall that three separate “school choice” bills (example) died before Sine Die. What the media and the Republicans successfully hid was the fact that the bills required Georgia taxpayers to fund the private school education of illegal alien students – with illegal alien parents included in the system set up to allow parents/guardians to distribute state funds sent to an account set up for the student.

After exposure and pressure, the House and the Senate bills saw amendments/language that purported to exclude illegals. They didn’t. It was hokum.

Here in Georgia, public comment was not allowed in the committee process that passed out the senate “school choice” bill that did not exclude illegals.

It is incredibly easy to put language into the legislation that really does exclude illegal aliens and their families from receiving taxpayer-funded private school tuition in school choice legislation. We have it here.

• Related: Neither federal law or the 1982 Plyler v Doe Supreme Court decision require states to pay for private school education for illegal aliens.

The State Freedom Caucus in Georgia was founded by outgoing state Rep Phillip Singleton.

You can read about the Freedom Caucus Network on their website, but only after you sign up for their alerts. Here is part of the “Leadership” page:

“In December of 2021 Philip founded the Georgia Freedom Caucus and helped launch the State Freedom Caucus Network. Philip is now the acting Georgia State Director for the State Freedom Caucus Network and the Vice Chair of the Georgia Freedom Caucus.”

*Update:”Georgia’s contingent includes Rep. Philip Singleton of Sharpsburg, Rep. Charlice Byrd of Cherokee County, Rep. Emory Dunahoo of Gillsville, Rep. Sheri Gilligan of Cumming, Rep. Timothy Barr of Lawrenceville and Sen. Burt Jones of Jackson. Sen. Brandon Beach of Alpharetta also stood with the group…” (Georgia Recorder).

*Update again, August 29, 6:06 PM: State Senator Greg Dolezal is also a member of the Georgia Freedom Caucus. He was omitted from the list pasted above. Dolezal serves as the Chair or co-Chair, depending on what news outlet we check. 

There is a fight coming between Republicans who want “school choice” at any cost and pro-enforcement conservatives who refuse to reward and encourage more illegal immigration into Georgia by expanding benefits for the illegal aliens who are right now crossing the border with their children.

We have picked a side. We hope you will too.

Below is part of yesterday’s Freedom Caucus Network email. On top is a photo of just some of the illegal aliens who came last week looking for a better life.

The latest email from Cole Muzio:

Georgia’s Frontline Policy Action lobby  sent out a lengthy email today in which he announces that one of their legislative priorities for the 2021 General Assembly is “universal school choice – taxpayer dollars following the child” – known as “school choice.”

We take no position on the school choice issue other than we think it could be a good idea if implemented considered with the constant awareness that Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than Arizona and our schools are crawling with illegal aliens. And that the feds say we must provide K-12 education to illegal aliens in public schools – not private schools. And that the model legislation most often used to create state legislation on “school choice!” comes from the ‘American Federation for Children‘ led by a character named Cory DeAngleis (see here also) who is also hooked up with the open borders Cato Institute. All concerned there have made it clear that they do not want to exclude illegal aliens from receiving taxpayer funded, private school tuition.

Muzio and his Frontline staffers should be reminded that honesty in promoting their legislative goals is imperative. The truth is that there was nothing in the three bills that were defeated in the 2022 session that would have prevented illegal aliens and their families from accessing the private school tuition funded by tax-paying Georgians. And the truth is that if passed, the legislation from last year, including SB 601 would have benefitted a small fraction of Georgia’s K-12 students – not “…the vast majority of school children in the state…” as was asserted by Muzio’s Frontline Policy Action on SB 601.

Related: We have taken the time to show legislators how to easily exclude illegal alien students from any “school choice!” legislation.

Our constant goal is to make Georgia as inhospitable to illegal immigration as possible. We wish that were true of the Republicans who rule the state legislature. We hope it is true for Frontline Policy Action. We don’t think so.

By now most people who can think for themselves recognize that the liberal media – meaning most of the media – is tireless in its endless effort to blur the lines between illegal aliens and immigrants.

Reporters, producers, editors and headline writers (and many politicians) intentionally refer to illegal aliens as “immigrants.” It doesn’t happen the other way around.

This is done to confuse the easily confused and the ever-decreasing number of Americans who still trust the liberal media. But it is also done with planning and foresight in an intentional effort to smear pro-enforcement activists. The end game is that if you dare to support immigration enforcement and deportation of illegal aliens – as the law allows – the liberal media will soon refer to you as “anti-immigrant” or “anti-immigration.”

Not many newspapers handle this dishonest scheme more shamelessly or more often than the Atlanta Journal Constitution where the latest marketing slogan is “It’s Worth Knowing What’s Really Going On.” Really.

Today’s edition of the AJC is a good example of the above. A front page story is headlined “Doctors: Immigrants need dialysis help.” The news report is all about selling Georgia taxpayers on the idea of providing illegal aliens with taxpayer-funded dialysis which doesn’t happen now. But as you can see from the headline, the average liberal reader who trusts the liberal AJC editors for “the news,” scans the headlines and moves on will be walking around from now on with the idea that immigrants cannot get dialysis.

Today’s AJC:

The same agenda was presented in an AJC online story on August 3 with the headline “Doctors push state to cover dialysis for undocumented immigrants.”

To recap for the few liberal readers we have here: Twelve days ago the subject of the same AJC sales presentation was “undocumented immigrants.” Today they are “immigrants.” Get it?

Whatever you think about encouraging more illegal immigration into Georgia by providing more and more services to “the undocumented” be aware of the constant, abject dishonesty in the presentation by the AJC.

For another example, see the AJC editors tell headline readers to open the door to higher education to immigrants.

• Our long-established and foolproof test of who’s who on this topic goes like this: Real immigrants come to the U.S.A. lawfully and do not require amnesty.

Ed Painter was a friend, an advisor and an inspiration. There should a photo of Ed Painter in the political encyclopedia under the term “genuine, sly conservative.” And he was patient. He will be missed. We are all better because he was here. Our best to his loving family.

We sometimes worked together on illegal immigration under the Gold Dome and I was always grateful for Ed’s advice, experience, insight and knowledge of North Georgia politicians. Ed was Chairman of the Republican Party in the 14th District for awhile but had a special place in his heart for sell-out, anything-for-a-buck, establishment Republicans who betrayed the voters who sent them to Atlanta. I can think of no better example of that description than out-going state Senator Jeff Mullis.

Ed was somewhat upset and perhaps a tad jealous that Mullis listed me over Ed on a list of Capitol regulars who public servant Mullis did not want to deal with.

I think the 2017 photos below of Sen Mullis’ office in the Georgia state Capitol tell that story. Adios, Ed and thank you.

Note: We have posted four photos below here. We are being told that they are not visible when using some portable devices. We are trying to figure out why.