A former reporter at the liberal Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper known for multiple, unapologetic accuracy blunders is apparently now a “Communications Associate” at the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA). GMA is the powerful lobbying entity for Georgia’s more than five hundred cities and towns. We hear the job change was effective January 1, 2021.
We were happy to take the time to post two requests for correction sent to the AJC editors last year stories created by Coyne and approved by her editors. Maybe it paid off?
Last February Coyne reported on a silly, but simple bill from anti-enforcement Democrats (apologies for the repetition) in the Georgia House that was virtue signaling against use of the term “illegal alien” (also “alien” and “illegal”) that we were proud to have helped install in multiple state laws. Through Coyne, the AJC reported that under the legislation, “illegal alien” would be replaced with the term “unauthorized immigrant”. One problem with the story was that “unauthorized immigrant” was not anywhere in the text of the bill. Apparently Coyne wished it or just made it up. Her yarn left out the changes to the other icky words – “illegal” and “alien.”
Kevin Riley, AJC Editor-in-Chief. Photo: Red & Black.
In November 2020, another Amanda Coyne story on the application process for poll workers in Gwinnett caught our eye. Coyne and her editors managed to muck it up by telling readers that the I-9 form is a “tax form.” It’s not.
The yarn, headlined “Application process stymies 200 + plus would-be poll workers in Gwinnett”explains at length that people who wanted to work at Gwinnett County polls have not been contacted after completing an application. The Gwinnett application is online and requires an easy and quick registration if you want to see it.
Amanda Coyne. Photo: MuckRuck
From the liberal AJC via reporter Amanda Coyne:
“Gwinnett County’s human resources department requires potential poll workers to submit an I-9 form before their application is moved over to the elections department. The I-9 is a tax form that allows the county to pay poll workers. Applicants are supposed to get an automated email after submitting their application with instructions on how to submit the tax form, country spokesman Joe Sorenson said. Nothing in the job posting or application indicates the I-9 is necessary to move forward.”
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the people who administer the I-9 form describe it as the ‘employment verification’ form that it has been since 1986.
From the USCIS I-9 website:
Use Form I-9 to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers must properly complete Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and noncitizens. Both employees and employers (or authorized representatives of the employer) must complete the form.”
Alas, as is usually the case with the agenda-driven editors at the AJC, they did not run a notice of correction as requested. But after our post, they did change the online copy to reflect the actual purpose of the I-9 form, but again, as usual, there was no note of the correction. This is a near daily practice for the AJC staff for whom the internet seems to mean never having to say you’re sorry…
We see from Linkedin that Amanda Coyne, the new communications associate at GMA, was editor-in-chief of University of South Carolina’s The Daily Gamecock and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in women’s and gender studies.
Rep Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton) blasts his home county Republican party at the Georgia Capitol. Photo: Screenshot, Georgia House/FYN
“A 2019 11th Circuit Appellate Court decision ruled that DACA does not provide lawful status and denied a group of DACA recipient’s lawsuit demand for admission to the three public-funded public Georgia universities that do not allow illegal aliens to attend at any tuition rate.”
Rep. Kasey Carpenter revolts against local GOP to defend his in-state tuition bill for DACA recipientFebruary 2, 2021
Dalton’s Republican state Rep. Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton) denounced his home GOP on the House floor in defense of his legislation (HB 120) to grant illegal aliens in-state tuition rates. The bill would allow undocumented international students living in Georgia to pay less tuition than Americans and legal immigrants from most other states in Georgia’s public universities and the technical college system.
“As far as DACA recipients receiving in-state tuition rates, These individuals are here thru no fault of their own. They are or will be taxpayers in the state of Georgia. I am interested in creating more givers than takers to our economy. Affordable College education is a step in that direction. The state pays the same rate whether that student pays in-state or out-of-state tuition. It is the university or college that takes the hit. Many take that hit on students from surrounding states. The federal government has failed America in regard to immigration. Unfortunately, we have to come up with the best solutions with the situation we have been handed. Making lemonade out of lemons,” Carpenter told FYN.
For the academic year 2019-2020, the average tuition & fees for Colleges in Georgia is $4,721 for in-state and $16,879 for out-of-state, according to collegetuitioncompare.com.
Last week Rep Carpenter made a short speech to the Georgia House blasting his bill’s opponents, lamenting the period in history when the U.S. had “a show-up” immigration policy, verbally merged ‘immigrants’ with illegals – and with an audible groan from an off-camera House member, cited the biblical story of Joseph and his family in ancient Egypt to defend his tuition legislation.
The now growing controversy began when the Whitfield Republican Party sent out an email opposing the legislation shortly after its introduction. The email read, “Carpenter is renewing his attempts to make Georgia a magnet for a new wave of illegal.” Rep Carpenter responded with a Facebook post saying his tuition bill was crafted for DACA recipients and would “only apply to individuals considered lawfully present in Georgia as of 2013, aka DACA.”
Carpenter had the following to say about Whitfield GOP, “My problem with our local GOP is they sent out miss information about this bill without even calling beforehand. Sometimes local parties have individuals involved with their own agenda. It doesn’t speak to the entire party but A select few.”
A 2019 11th Circuit Appellate Court decision ruled that DACA does not provide lawful status and denied a group of DACA recipient’s lawsuit demand for admission to the three public-funded public Georgia universities that do not allow illegal aliens to attend at any tuition rate.
DACA is a 2012 executive amnesty program put in place by then-President Barack Obama that grants deferred action on deportation along with a work permit and Social Security Number to illegal aliens. Georgia issues driver’s licenses and official state ID Cards to DACA recipients as well as other “public benefits.”… There is more here from FYN.com
Editors change source of inaccurate information on pending legislation from sponsor to…the AJC.
We posted a detailed piece last week on Republican state Rep Kasey Carpenter’s instate-tuition-for-illegal-aliens bill (HB 120) and the fact that he is selling it as a bill to provide instate tuition to DACA recipients only. He may change the language to put some reference to DACA in the legislation, but it isn’t there now – (LC 49 0327/a) and it wasn’t there when he introduced the bill. We cited a Carpenter quote from the uber-liberal and often fake news-spewing Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) promo coverage (Georgia lawmaker to reintroduce in-state tuition bill for young immigrants) that went :“Carpenter said his bill would apply to participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.”
The AJC didn’t put the second string on this one. The byline belongs to Jeremy Redmon, the AJC’s longtime immigration reporter (they removed that label several years ago, but he is still that guy). Redmon is pretty well-versed on immigration law as well as legislation and the fact that DACA is not in the HB 120 bill would not have gone unnoticed. Which is why the AJC had the qualifier “Carpenter said his bill…” (italics mine).
Jeremy Redmon reads our stuff. Amusing side note: Redmon has me blocked on Twitter. He knows the bill is in trouble and like the management and editorial staff of the AJC, he has an agenda.
Fast forward a few days to the January 31, 2021 Sunday edition in which the AJC ran a new blurb on the same bill on the “Capitol Recap” page (A-4) in which the liberal AJC is now telling readers (including irresponsibly ignorant Republican state lawmakers) that the legislation “would apply to participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.” Again, that is false. All anyone need do is to read the bill to see it is false. This is typical of the AJC. They are now beyond merely promoting the scam legislation, and are now misrepresenting its contents. It is far from the first time.
The AJC is not to be trusted, but there are still people who will accept total lies because “I read it in the newspaper…”
We post here because it seems the liberal AJC has ended consideration of publishing my letters.
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January 6, 2020
Dear editor,
A recent AJC report (‘New Gwinnett sheriff ends controversial immigration program’) on newly elected Gwinnett Sheriff Keybo Taylor included his first-day statement that his office “will no longer notify ICE of a person’s immigration status in the jail…”
For complete coverage, we hope to see AJC explain to readers the fact that state law requires jailers to use reasonable effort to determine immigration status of incoming prisoners and to report illegal aliens to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
This is a 2006 law (OCGA 42-4-14) that is apparently on Republican Attorney General Chris Carr’s list of “do not enforce” items. Gov. Kemp’s silence on the defiance matches that of the media.
It took almost two years of part time work as donated funds became available, but the Dustin Inman Society finally has a new website. We hope you will take a look when you have time and visit often. It will be updated regularly.
As Georgia’s only activist pro-enforcement group, we are proud of the difference we have made since 2005 and that the vast, corporate-funded illegal alien lobby cannot control or conceal their hate for us.
The new DIS blog is on our homepage
The current top story on the DIS blog is the fact that longstanding Georgia law requires jailers to report illegal aliens to federal enforcement officials. Don’t be surprised that this fact has not been in “the news” – but that the liberal media is thrilled to report that incoming sheriffs in Gwinnett and Cobb Counties have promised not to report illegals to ICE.
What we will not be doing is notifying ICE of anybody’s immigration status in the jail or any of our facilities,”announced Gwinnett Sheriff Kebo Taylor January 1st.
We will be asking for your help with phone calls and emails to push Georgia officials to enforce the law – even for Democrat Georgia sheriffs. With more illegal aliens than Arizona, Georgia is a much more dangerous place since the November elections.
If you are not already on our email list, please see the sign up page.
Also on the new DIS blog:
You can also see a recent news story in the Washington Times featuring the Dustin Inman Society and an analysis/opinion response from us.
We have spent countless hours researching compliance with Georgia’s 2011 law requiring most private employers to use the E-Verify program. Please see the media release that went out outlining the complaint we filed against the City of Dalton and a state Rep business owner who appears to have filed false documents on compliance. We do not expect news coverage or an official investigation.
The new website was created with donations and the hope that we can save some lives and maybe even the rule of law here in Republican-ruled Georgia. We are sorry to say that chances are not good.
Lexico defined “campesino” as “a peasant farmer.” Often, the word had an informal, derogatory ring to it.
Georgia Democrat Describes Migrants as ‘Peasants’ While Promising Amnesty for Illegal Worker
Latin Post
Dec 15, 2020
Georgia Senate Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff promised amnesty of illegal migrants, including “campesinos,” in a December 13 campaign video, reported Breitbart.
“We need to protect our Dreamers,” Ossoff said, promising path to legal status for migrants.
He pointed to the agricultural sector in the state, particularly the “campesinos who work in the fields, enduring some of the most brutal conditions of labor anywhere in this country to keep America fed.”
Ossoff promised that once federal agents arrive at these farms, it would be to make sure migrants were working in human conditions and paid the minimum wage.
While the promises seem good for the crowd Ossoff was talking to, it did not sit well with Mark Krikorian, the director of the Center for Immigration Studies.
He said when he heard the use of “campesinos,” translated to peasant,” during the speech he felt “revulsion,” especially since Ossoff was specifically talking about people working in the country during that part of the speech.
Lexico defined “campesino” as “a peasant farmer” Often, the word had an informal, derogatory ring to it.
“This is the acknowledgement and even the celebration of the importation of a subordinate class [of people],” he said.
Photo: BuzzFeed
He added that while many things were debatable about the U.S., it was clear to him that the country did not have peasants.
For Krikorian, Ossoff’s words mean the importation of a foreign country’s peasant class, and found the prospect “appaling.”
“What Ossoff is saying is that a post-industrial, knowledge-based, continental nation like ours cannot survive without the importation of a foreign peasant class,” he said.
–> Read the rest and see the short video of Ossoff here.
“People will die and American families will be separated forever because of the politically-based policy decisions of these pandering, “progressive” law enforcement officials. These are dangerous Democrats.”
The essay below originally appeared on the subscription website Insider Advantage Georgia on December 8, 2020
December 9, 2020
MetroAtlanta and Georgia were set on their way to becoming much more dangerous places on November 3rd— and the chaos over the alleged fraud in the election should not distract from that truth. Two Democrats in Cobb and Gwinnett counties— Craig Owens and Keebo Taylor– won on promises to end the 287(g) agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that expand their ability to locate, hold and report to ICE illegal aliens who land in their jails.
People will die and American families will be separated forever because of the politically-based policy decisions of these pandering, “progressive” law enforcement officials. These are dangerous Democrats.
According to federal law, all illegal aliens are removable. And the sole reason for deportation, which can only be done by the feds, is violation of the quite liberal American immigration laws. Put another way, illegal aliens are deported because they are illegal aliens.
Contrary to either incredible ignorance or willful falsehoods on the part of Taylor and Owens, neither is the 287(g) program limited by law to applying only to illegal aliens who were arrested for ‘serious’ or ‘violent’ crimes. Put still another way, and from the 287(g) law itself, authority includes “to interrogate any alien or person believed to be an alien as to his right to be or to remain in the United States;”
The corporate-funded, anti-borders crowd has long been pushing for the end of all 287(g) agreements. The names of these well-financed, anti-enforcement Georgia groups is far too long to list here, but mentions should include the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute and Atlanta’s GALEO, which enjoys financial support from Coca-Cola Inc. and Mundo Hispanico. (GALEO was founded by one-time MALDEF board member Sam Zamarippa and currently operated by former MALDEF lobbyist Gerardo E. “Jerry” Gonzalez.)
The ethnic-based MALDEF is known for a defiant 1998 statement from co-founder Mario Obledo:“California is going to become a Hispanic state and if anyone doesn’t like it they should leave.” Followed up with “they ought to go back to Europe.”
In 2004, Georgia’s “flagship newspaper,” the liberal AJC, served as Dinner Chair for a glitzy Buckhead MALDEF fundraiser. MALDEF is on the list of anti-287(g) groups.
Thousands of American families have suffered at the hands of illegal aliens who were released from custody by “progressive” law enforcement officers. A 2017 Fox Five news report (jail records reveal immigrants not deported after minor crimes later commit worse ones) shines some light on the very real danger to the entire state the incoming anti-enforcement sheriffs plan to implement.
Retiring Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway, who courageously worked to implement 287(g), reports that in a 26-day period in 2009, a startling 914 illegals were located in the Gwinnett County jail. More than half of them had been arrested previously.
The liberal AJC drops all pretenses
In one of several victory-lap news reports on the looming demise of 287(g) in the Atlanta area, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution went with the misleading headline “Cobb reckons with immigrant legacy” explaining it was withholding the names of multiple illegal aliens quoted in the long weeper. The mostly balance-free yarn included the stated AJC policy of shielding illegal alien’s identities “due to their concern over stigma or deportation.” This remarkable arrangement should be noted and a question should be asked: Will this ‘woke’ protection apply to all criminals in the future?
“Being undocumented, your dream is just not getting deported” one illegal alien laments to the AJC.
The vanishing dream for Americans — in their own country— is family safety, security and an equal application of our immigration laws. That ideal could easily have been illustrated in the AJC story with a quote from Woodstock’s Kathy Inman. If asked, Inman would have replied from her wheelchair. That’s where she has been since 2000 when an illegal alien who was released after multiple contacts with local law enforcement put her there, and killed her only child, Dustin Inman.
We don’t think “family separation” is a universal concern at the “credible, compelling and complete” Atlanta Journal–Constitution.
Not for the first time, we remind AJC editors that illegal aliens are not “immigrants.” Real immigrants do not require shielding in “news” stories to protect them from deportation.
D.A. King is president of the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society, which supports enforcement of immigration laws. He is not a member of any political party. NewDustinInmanSociety.org
An Atlanta Journal Constitution reporter with a growing reputation for blundering inaccuracies has been allowed to strike again by AJC editors.
Amanda Coyne has a news report in the October 30, 2020 print version of what is often referred to as Georgia’s “flagship newspaper” in which she tells readers that the I-9 employment and identity verification form is a “tax form.” It isn’t.
The yarn, headlined “Application process stymies 200 + plus would-be poll workers in Gwinnett”explains at length that people who wanted to work at Gwinnett County polls have not been contacted after completing an application. The Gwinnett application is online and requires an easy and quick registration if you want to see it.
From the liberal AJC via reporter Amanda Coyne:
Gwinnett County’s human resources department requires potential poll workers to submit an I-9 form before their application is moved over to the elections department. The I-9 is a tax form that allows the county to pay poll workers. Applicants are supposed to get an automated email after submitting their application with instructions on how to submit the tax form, country spokesman Joe Sorenson said. Nothing in the job posting or application indicates the I-9 is necessary to move forward.”
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the people who administer the I-9 form describe it as the ‘employment verification’ form that it has been since 1986.
From the USCIS I-9 website:
Use Form I-9 to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers must properly complete Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and noncitizens. Both employees and employers (or authorized representatives of the employer) must complete the form.”
Along with a request for correction sent to editors, Coyne was noted here (AJC inventing “facts” on state legislation again – HB960 and “illegal alien”) in February when her editors allowed her to report on legislation introduced by anti-enforcement Democrats in the Georgia Capitol aimed at removing the term “illegal alien” from state law. She apparently didn’t read the bill, invented language that was not there and as usual, to our knowledge (I asked several times via Twitter and email), the AJC never ran a correction.
We don’t think Coyne or her editors spend much time on research.
The slogan for the AJC is “compelling, credible and complete.” It isn’t.
Take part in the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Power Hour Virtual Phone Bank, giving supporters like you the ability to encourage voters in the South get out the vote, recruit people to work the polls and to register to vote.
Using your own phone in your own home, the SPLC Power Hour Virtual Phone Bank will provide you with a complete script, the name and phone numbers of voters, and easy-to-follow instructions to record the results of your conversation.
We hope to see you as we continue our weekly Power Hour Virtual Phone Banks.
The SPLC alert came the same day as a Fox News story reporting “Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has been urged by 100 prominent Orthodox Jewish rabbis across the U.S. to cut ties between the company’s AmazonSmile charitable initiative and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in a letter obtained exclusively by Fox News.” Entire Fox News report here.
Image: Twitter
The SPLC email reporting their success in Atlanta and promoting the September 10 ‘Power Hour’ is pasted below:
“We’re thrilled to report that our weekly SPLC Power Hours in support of voting rights are making a difference!
September 10 – Georgia Absentee Ballot Application Power HourJoin SPLC supporters from across the country in helping people vote absentee in Georgia!Last Tuesday, Sept. 1, was National Poll Worker Recruitment Day. Election officials across the country had reported critical shortages of poll workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of our Power Hour on Thursday, SPLC supporters had made thousands of phone calls into Georgia and successfully recruited over 200 new poll workers in Fulton County (Atlanta) alone!For this week’s SPLC Power Hour, we are continuing to help make the process of voting in Georgia as safe and secure as possible by alerting voters to Georgia’s new online absentee ballot request portal. Georgia voters need no excuse to vote absentee, and for the first time, they can submit their application to receive an absentee ballot online.Using your own phone in your own home, you can help make sure Georgia voters know about the absentee ballot options available to them.The SPLC Power Hour Virtual Phone Bank will provide you with a complete script, the names and phone numbers of voters, and easy-to-follow instructions to record the results of your conversation.Georgia Absentee Ballot Application Power HourThursday, Sept. 103-4 p.m. Eastern Time**The Virtual Phone Bank will be open from 3-8 p.m. Eastern Time to allow for the maximum number of people to join!Sign up below!”
A recent news report from the liberal AJC informs us that Zulma Lopez, wife of GALEO’s Dax Lopez has won the primary for State House District 86.
She also allows that former GALEO board member and fundraiser is “no longer a Republican.”
AJC:
Lopez moved to DeKalb County from Puerto Rico in 2007 and has owned her own practice for about six years. Her husband, DeKalb County State Court Judge Dax Lopez, was appointed to the bench in 2010 by then-Gov. Sonny Perdue.
President Barack Obama nominated him for a federal judgeship in 2016, but his nomination was thwarted by U.S. Sen. David Perdue due to the judge’s participation with the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials.
At the time, Dax Lopez aligned himself with Republicans, but Zulma Lopez said things have changed.
“Since he’s a judge, he’s nonpartisan,” she said. “I’m happy to live in a house that is not divided, and I can say he is no longer a Republican.”
State Court Judge and former GALEO board member, Dax Lopez circa 2014. Image: Twitter/GALEO
The Dustin Inman Society and this writer were (very proudly) key in educating Senator David Perdue on the relationship between Judge Dax Lopez and GALEO and GALEO’s true agenda and record in large part with the DIS “Beginner’s Guide to GALEO” series of posts.
We wish Ms. Zulma Lopez luck in the General Assembly.
