Author: Chris Butler

Brian Kemp to List Actions He’ll Take Against Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Mandate for Federal Contractors

Chris Butler

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is scheduled to appear alongside the state’s attorney general and agriculture commissioner Wednesday to discuss how President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors violates the law and harms the state. This, according to a press release that member of Kemp’s staff emailed Tuesday. The press release called Biden’s mandate “unlawful” and suggested that state officials would file a lawsuit to fight it.

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New Technology at Robins Air Force Base Will Boost the Military, Says Georgia Rep. Austin Scott

Chris Butler

New robotics at Robins Air Force Base (AFB) in Houston County will improve productivity and better equip the military on future missions, said Representative Austin Scott (R-GA-08).

Robins AFB personnel, Scott said in June, provide critical capabilities to counter America’s adversaries in China, Russia, and Iran.

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Georgia Congressman Says Joe Biden and Merrick Garland Consider School Board Parents More Dangerous Than Incoming Illegal Immigrants

Chris Butler

Representative Barry Loudermilk (R-GA-11) said members of the Biden administration misplace vital priorities, especially in how they treat parents at school board meetings versus how they treat a flood of incoming illegal immigrants. Loudermilk made these remarks this week as he appeared on Newsmax.

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Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s New Book, ‘Integrity Counts,’ Scheduled for Release Next Week

Chris Butler

Forefront Books is scheduled, on Tuesday, to release Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s new book, which villainizes former U.S. President Donald Trump and defends the state’s November 2020 election results as authentic. Raffensperger has titled his book “Integrity Counts.”

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Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath’s Gun Restriction Bill Passes Judiciary Committee

Chris Butler

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday passed a bill that Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA-06) filed that, if enacted into law, would deny firearms to individuals under certain circumstances. McBath said in an emailed press release Wednesday that her bill, H.R. 2377, would allow family members and law enforcement to obtain an extreme risk protection order. That order would temporarily remove access to firearms for people deemed a danger to themselves or to others by a federal court.

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Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr Scolds Joe Biden and National School Boards Association in New Letter

Chris Butler

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and other state attorneys general this week repudiated the Biden administration as well as the National School Boards Association (NSBA) for colluding with one another to threaten parents nationwide. Carr announced the news Wednesday in an emailed press release.

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Georgia Legislators Who Oppose Buckhead Separation Accused of Spreading ‘Hyperbolic Drivel’

Chris Butler

A group of Georgia state legislators, all Democrats, have come forward to publicly oppose Buckhead residents’ efforts to secede from crime-plagued Atlanta. But the residents of Buckhead who want to separate have responded to those lawmakers.

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Georgia Rep. Barry Loudermilk Tells Maxine Waters That Government Meddling Caused Rotten Economy

Chris Butler

Representative Barry Loudermilk (R-GA-11) said during a House Financial Services hearing this week that the government’s meddling in the economy and its out-of-control-spending cause the current economic disaster, but Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA-43) evidently disagreed. “Let’s stop pushing the policies that are causing the problems. Out-of-control spending is causing consumer prices to skyrocket. The massive expansion of entitlements has caused millions of people to stay at home and not go to work. Hence, the supply chain catastrophe that we are currently in. There is an all-time-record of unfilled jobs, and, by the way, an economist just came out and said the reconciliation bill will cost 8 million jobs,” Loudermilk said.

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Georgia Sets Record-Low Unemployment Rate

Chris Butler

Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) officials announced this week that Georgia’s unemployment rate dropped three-tenths of a percentage point to 3.2 percent in September. GDOL officials said in an emailed press release that this is an all-time low for Georgia, dipping below the rate of 3.3 percent in January 2020. The number of employed people rose above 5 million for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, while the number of unemployed was reported at 161,786, the lowest level since June 2001.

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Georgia Receives Major Investment by Solar Company Plagued by Ethics Issues

Chris Butler

Lee County, Georgia will accept a more than $220 million investment from a Tennessee-based company with a reported history of ethics problems. That company, the Silicon Ranch Corporation, helps finance the construction of solar arrays. Silicon Ranch will invest those millions into the 250-megawatt (MWAC) DeSoto Solar Farm.

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Georgia Could Suffer New Tax Hikes Due to Inflation, New Analysis Warns

Chris Butler

Inflation could trigger tax increases in Georgia and 21 other states, according to a new analysis from the Tax Foundation, which is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit. Tax brackets “fail to adjust for changes in consumer purchasing power,” according to The Tax Foundation’s report. The nonprofit described this phenomenon as “bracket creep.”

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Former Oconee County, Georgia Teacher Sentenced for Child Pornography

Chris Butler

Federal officials have sentenced a former Oconee County middle school teacher to prison after he pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography. This, according to a press release that staff at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia published this week.

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Unelected Judges in Fulton County, Georgia Too Lenient on Criminals, New Report Reveals

Chris Butler
Fulton County Response

A panel of experts plan to release data Wednesday proving that unelected judges in Fulton County are dramatically more likely to release criminal defendants in unsecured judicial release. Elected judges, meanwhile, are far less likely to release criminal defendants, according to the statistics.

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Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr Says He’ll Fight Joe Biden on Behalf of Parents

Chris Butler

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said this week that he joined a 17-state effort to deter the Biden administration from threatening parents who express their views to school officials on issues regarding their children’s education. Carr announced this in an emailed press release.

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Georgia’s Soaring Crime Rates Possibly Due to Nathan Deal’s Criminal Justice Reforms, Experts Say

Chris Butler

Two separate things have likely enabled Georgia’s repeat violent offenders to go on breaking additional laws while, at the same time, forcing Atlanta’s crime rates to soar. Unelected judges in Georgia are the first cause. Former governor Nathan Deal’s criminal justice reforms are the second.

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Georgia Republican Meagan Hanson Reports Big Fundraising Numbers to Unseat Georgia Democrat Lucy McBath

Chris Butler

Meagan Hanson, a Republican running in a competitive race to unseat incumbent Georgia U.S. Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA-06), this week reported she’s raised more than $300,000 in the first quarter of her bid for Congress. This, according to an emailed press release from Hanson’s campaign.

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Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr Urges Congress to Oppose Legislation Increasing Natural Gas and Oil Costs

Chris Butler

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has urged Congress to reject “burdensome legislation that would increase fees on energy producers and hit American consumers with even greater price hikes as heating bills surge this winter.” Carr announced the news in an emailed press release Friday. He said he and 19 other state attorneys general sent a letter to Congress on Thursday.

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U.S. Rep. Jody Hice Asks Georgia Legislators to Appoint Special Counsel to Investigate Alleged Fulton County Election Fraud

Chris Butler

U.S. Representative Jody Hice (R-GA-10) this week called on Georgia legislators to appoint a special counsel to investigate alleged election fraud during last year’s presidential election in Fulton County. Hice wants to defeat and replace Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Former U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed Hice for the position in March.

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Buckhead City’s Fundraising Surpasses $1 Million in Georgia

Chris Butler

Buckhead, Georgia residents and businesses have contributed $1 million to support the initiative to create Buckhead City, members of the Buckhead City Committee said in an emailed press release Thursday.“The Buckhead City Committee expects to raise another million dollars before the end of this upcoming legislative session (April) to further advance Buckhead’s path to cityhood,” according to the press release.

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Former Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck Sentenced to Federal Prison

Chris Butler

Federal officials have sentenced former Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck to federal prison following his conviction for stealing more than $2.5 million from the Georgia Underwriting Association (GUA). This, according to a press release that staff at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia published Wednesday.

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Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s Claim About No Counterfeit Election Ballots is Not Credible, Garland Favorito Says

Chris Butler

Henry County Superior Court Chief Judge Brian Amero has reportedly done away with a lawsuit that alleged election fraud in Fulton County, Georgia during last year’s presidential election. Members of the nonprofit VoterGA wanted to inspect Fulton County’s mail-in ballots. This, after four senior poll managers signed sworn affidavits indicating they handled counterfeit ballots during the Fulton County hand count audit.

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COVID-19 Prompted Georgia Department of Labor to Waste $1 Million of Taxpayer Money, New Report Says

Chris Butler

Georgia taxpayers spent more than $1.1 million so that state Department of Labor (DOL) employees could eat meals — free of charge to them — during a 15-month period. This, according to a new report from the Office of the State Inspector General (OIG).

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Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger Wants Feds to Investigate New Allegations Against Fulton County

Chris Butler

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Monday called upon members of the U.S. Justice Department to investigate Fulton County elections. This, following recent allegations that Fulton County shredded 300 municipal election-related applications in violation of state law. The Georgia Secretary of State’s office has already launched an investigation into the allegations, according to a press release.

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Georgia U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter Warns Middle Class That Inflation About to Intensify

Chris Butler

U.S. Representative Buddy Carter (R-GA-01) said late last week that, because of the U.S. Senate’s debt limit increase deal, inflation is about to worsen and deliver even more hardships to middle- and low-income Americans. Carter made his remarks when he appeared on Newsmax.

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Two Executives Plead Guilty in Georgia Court to Large-Scale Visa Fraud Employment Scheme

Chris Butler

Two Florida business executives pleaded guilty this week in the Southern District of Georgia to charges related to their roles in a scheme to recruit and hire foreign nationals who were not authorized to work in the United States. The executives did this to fill temporary housekeeping and food service positions and commit various other criminal immigration offenses for profit.

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Georgia U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath Demands Yearly Federal Report on School Shootings, Including Racial, Ethnic, and Sexual Orientation Data

Chris Butler

U.S. Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA-06) has filed legislation that would, if enacted into law, require that federal officials publish an annual report about school violence, with a heavy emphasis on racial and economic demographics. To file the bill, McBath paired with U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-23). They labeled the bill the School Shooting Safety and Preparedness Act.

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Georgia U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde Probes Why Illegal Immigrants Don’t Have to Produce Negative COVID-19 Tests

Chris Butler

Georgia U.S. Representative Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09) this month took U.S. Transportation Secretary David Pekoske to task over illegal immigrants crossing over into the United States without having to produce a negative COVID-19 test. This goes on, Clyde said, while Americans and people with valid visas must produce a negative COVID-19 test to enter the United States.

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Georgia House Majority Whip Matt Hatchett Announces Whip Team for the Remainder of the 2021-2022 Legislative Term

Chris Butler

Georgia House Majority Caucus Whip Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin) on Thursday announced he has appointed his Majority Caucus Whip Team for the remainder of the 2021-2022 legislative term. This, according to a press release that Hatchett published on the Georgia General Assembly’s website.

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Major League Baseball Embraces China, Even as It Mistreats Georgia, Columnist Says

Chris Butler

Major League Baseball (MLB) is, according to one Washington Examiner commentator, “chasing after the Chinese market while pretending that places such as Atlanta are the locus of evil in the modern world.” Commentary Fellow Zachary Faria said in the publication this week that the MLB “is taking a page out of the NBA’s book when it comes to social justice politics.”

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Georgia Democrat in Major Swing District Dodges Questions About Federal Spending, Republican Opponent Says

Chris Butler
Meagan Hanson

Meagan Hanson, a Republican running in a competitive race to unseat incumbent Georgia U.S. Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA-06), said Tuesday said that her opponent is snubbing questions about the new federal spending bill. “In a desperate attempt to avoid answering for her radical agenda, Congresswoman Lucy McBath spent the weekend dodging questions about her support for Nancy Pelosi’s trillion-dollar spending package,” Hanson said in an emailed press release.

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Georgia Department of Education Awards Money to 14 School Districts

Chris Butler
Group of young students working in classroom

Georgia Department of Education (GADOE) officials announced Tuesday that they are giving $4.9 million in competitive grants to support school improvement efforts in 14 school districts and state charter schools. This, according to a press release that GADOE officials published on their website.

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Fulton County School Administrators Fight New TikTok Trend While They Also Want to Keep COVID-19 Mask Mandates

Chris Butler
TikTok smartphone

Fulton County School System officials are currently fighting to keep a COVID-19 mask mandate in place while they’re also trying to clamp down on reported vandalism and violence within the schools. The Atlanta-based Reporter Newspapers said late last week that several parents want a Fulton County judge to issue a temporary restraining order and restrict the schools from imposing a mandatory mask mandate.

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Georgia Democrat Prefers to Honor Confederate Soldiers Instead of Clarence Thomas

Chris Butler

One member of the Georgia General Assembly wants a statue of Clarence Thomas on the state capitol grounds, but one Democrat vigorously opposes the idea and the way she stated her opposition left some people shocked.

Georgia State Representative Donna McLeod (D-Lawrenceville) stated those remarks when she spoke to The Atlanta Journal Constitution late last week.

“I’d rather them keep a Confederate monument than a statue of [Supreme Court Justice] Clarence Thomas,” McLeod reportedly told the paper.

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Georgia General Assembly Democrats Say New State Program Could Make Them Liable for Criminal Activity

Chris Butler

Five Democrats in the Georgia General Assembly said that the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) has created a program that could put them and other state legislators in legal jeopardy. GDOL spokeswoman Kersha Cartwright said Friday that this Legislative Portal Access pilot program gives legislators and members of their respective staffs access to certain unemployment information. Legislators may use this information to act on behalf of their constituents. But each constituent must grant his or her consent first, Cartwright said.

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Owner of Russian Energy Company Sentenced in Georgia for Evading U.S. National Security Trade Sanctions

Chris Butler

Officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia have sentenced the owner of a Russian energy company to federal prison for his role in a scheme to evade U.S. national security laws. This, according to a press release that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia published this week.

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Georgia General Assembly Special Session to Feature Hearings on Buckhead’s Proposed Separation from Atlanta

Chris Butler

Members of the Georgia General Assembly are scheduled to convene a three-week long special session starting November 3 where they will hold hearings and discuss whether Buckhead should incorporate as a municipality separate from Atlanta. This, according to a press release that members of the Buckhead City Committee emailed this week.

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Georgia Department of Education Launches Dashboard to Show How Schools Are Using COVID-19 Relief Money

Chris Butler

Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) officials have developed an ESSER funding dashboard that they say reveals to the public how the state’s school districts’ use federal COVID-19 relief funds. This, according to a press release that GaDOE officials emailed Wednesday.

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Stacey Abrams Tried to Get Georgia Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger Disinvited from California Event

Chris Butler

Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight reportedly asked the chancellor of the University of California, Irvine to disinvite Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger from an event at the school late last week. But university officials did not comply with Abrams’ wishes. Organizers titled the event “Election Subversion.”

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