August 1, 2021 / Newsletter 235

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This week's events

‌ Next meeting of Hall County Democrats Monday, August 9, 6:30 pm Location: HCDP HQ 314 College Ave SW, Gainesville, GA 30501 Following CDC's latest guidance, we require that all attendees wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status. Arrive early to network and help set up chairs! HCDP Communications Subcommittee meeting Monday, August 9, 5:30 pm (before Party meeting) Location HCDP HQ 314 College Ave SW, Gainesville, GA 3050 All who are interested in working with this sub-committee are welcome to attend. Live Webinar on COVID19 in Hall County featuring local health leaders When: Thursday, Aug 5, 12 noon Via Zoom  Registration required. Coordinated by Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce For more information, contact Madison Hopkins at 678-971-6224 or [email protected].

Blue To Dos

Thanks to everyone who volunteered to write redistricting post cards!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT The CDC has now issued the following guidelines for indoor meetings: To maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission. Accordingly, until further notice, we now require masks be worn at all times inside the HQ, whether you are vaccinated or not. We regret this restriction but remind everyone that this is for everyone's protection. Because our Republican Governor, Republican elected officials, and other purveyors of disinformation have deterred the majority of eligible Georgians from becoming vaccinated, Georgia is a Covid “hot spot” of high transmission communities. If you or someone you know needs to get the COVID19 vaccine, visit this website to find the closest available location: https://www.vaccines.gov/search/

Weekly Thoughts from the Chair: Republican Skull & Crossbones

Each year, 60,000 people die in the United States from poisons. OSHA requires the use of the skull and crossbones pictogram on things that are acutely toxic. The symbol indicates that the thing with this pictogram can cause death or poisoning. There is an acutely toxic substance circulating in Georgia and the United States. So far, this substance has killed 21,000 Georgians and 613,000 in the U. S. We are entitled to know when deadly substances are set free in our environment. What warning symbols should be required to warn of this substance? Why do we allow some to encourage behavior that directly leads to contact with this acutely toxic substance? Just like a poison, exposure to Covid-19 and the Delta variant can lead to acute distress and death. Further, as the Delta variant spreads, we face the potential economic disaster of renewed Covid restrictions that can destroy our recovery. Finally, if we do not stop the spread and thus mutation of Covid, we may well encounter a variant that is even more deadly – and immune to our vaccines. We would not stand for any person shouting “fire!” in a crowded theater. We would not stand for any person releasing deadly Anthrax. We would not stand for any person spreading tuberculosis, smallpox, measles, mumps, rubella, or polio. Why, then, do we allow anti-reality prophets to preach lies that encourage activities that spread Covid? Why do we allow certain elected officials to dance around the need for every citizen to get vaccinated? Why do we not call out those elected officials who refuse to admit whether they are vaccinated? Our Republican Governor, Republican elected officials, and other false information mongers have failed to ensure that Georgians who are eligible to be vaccinated are, in fact, vaccinated. Georgia has become a Covid “hot spot” of high transmission communities because Republican State officials refuse to lead and to provide accurate information to our citizens. They have politicized responses to Covid. The only way we stop the Covid-19 mutation process is mass vaccination. It is the Republicans who are largely responsible for the failure to achieve sufficient vaccinations to stop the transmission. Republican deniers, liars, and enablers continue to directly and indirectly cause countless unnecessary deaths. They should be required to wear the skull and crossbones pictogram – the middle ages symbol of death. Mike

Click here to listen to the interview with our Chair, Mike Ford, on the North GA Blue: Getting into Good Trouble podcast. While you're there, you can subscribe to the podcast, which focuses on our district.

Georgia Republicans move to take over Fulton County elections office

Georgia Republicans are wasting no time invoking the law they enacted in the last session to try to rig elections in 2022 in their favor. But do they understand their own law? Or are they just beating their chests to try to intimidate some Georgia voters and impress others? The AJC reports that Butch Miller and other GOP state senators have taken the first step towards a state takeover of Fulton County's elections board, writing a letter in support of a performance review of Fulton County elections director Rick Barron. It's no surprise the GOP has picked Fulton as its test case. As we're all aware, Fulton County is strongly Democratic and has one of the most diverse populations in the state. It has 10% of all voters in Georgia. Trump & Co used problems with long lines in Fulton to help spread the Big Lie. Not to be outdone, Butch (who is running for statewide office next year) is rushing to make headlines and endear himself to the MAGA voters who fear cities, people of color, and Democrats. GPB political reporter Stephen Fowler, however, questions whether Republicans can actually accomplish their stated goal of evaluating the Fulton County elections director: " A review of the law, the potential process and the politics behind the decision shows it could potentially be more of a political talking point than a likely outcome." The GOP state senators may not know what their law says, or they may not care, so long as they can fool the people of .Georgia. In other voting rights news this week, a county District Attorney in Kansas says he won't prosecute violations of that state's new voting law, DOJ has issued guidance to the states regarding voting, and Raphael Warnock was leading the effort to advance voting rights legislation in the Senate. Locally, we're working on the FairDistrict post card campaign, keeping up with developments at the Hall County BOE, and searching for good candidates to run for state office. We hope you'll support us in all our efforts to prevent Jim Crow 2.0 from disenfranchising voters in Georgia.

Georgia Republicans take first step to Fulton elections... A performance review begins upon request of at least two state representatives and two state senators from the county. With more than enough senators, the letter addresses the representatives needed: "We have every reason to believe that the... Read more www.ajc.com Federal lawsuits challenging Georgia's new voting law... The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups suing to overturn Georgia's new election law have an arduous road ahead to show how it disparately harms minorities after a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision sets what legal experts say is a... Read more georgiarecorder.com Republicans poised to rig the next election by... The fight to vote Ten years ago, Republicans pulled off what would later be described as "the most audacious political heist of modern times". It wasn't particularly complicated. Every 10 years, the US constitution requires states to redraw the... Read more amp.theguardian.com Justice Department Issues Guidance on Federal Statutes... Today the U.S. Department of Justice announced the release of two guidance documents to ensure states fully comply with federal laws regarding elections, specifically federal statutes affecting methods of voting and federal constraints related to ... Read more www.justice.gov

How Does Georgia's Election Board Takeover Law Work? Not ... Another controversial part of Georgia's sweeping new voting law would allow state officials to temporarily take over local county elections boards, with Republicans eyeing Fulton County as the first target. An analysis of the measures and... Read more www.gpb.org The Texas Election Bill Contains a New Obstacle to... There's a problem buried inside Texas's latest election bill, and it's not one of the headline-grabbing restrictions that have torn the Legislature apart during the special session. Nonetheless, it could disenfranchise a significant number of the ... Read more www.texasmonthly.com The Jolt: Federal election bill still alive, with... Senate Democrats are putting the final touches on a revised voting rights measure this week. And U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock is right in the thick of the effort. Read more www.ajc.com Kansas county won't prosecute violations of new voter law Republicans supporters of the legislation argued the voting law, which is being challenged by separate lawsuits in federal and state courts, will prevent "ballot harvesting," particularly by candidates or campaign workers. Read more www.kake.com

State & Local News (Some links may require a subscription)

Henry County judge dismisses runoff election lawsuit... The results gave Democrats control of the U.S. Senate. HENRY COUNTY, Ga. - A Henry County judge dismissed a lawsuit Monday that sought to overturn the runoff election results. The results gave Democrats control of the U.S. Senate. The lawsuit was ... Read more www.11alive.com Georgia Power discloses more Vogtle nuclear delays, big... Georgia Power Chief Executive Officer Chris Womack, in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday, highlighted the completion this month of a crucial round of testing at the site. The company is "very excited about the future... Read more www.ajc.com

Dozens captured here in Georgia's biggest gang bust ever AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The bust — dubbed Operation Kibosh — targeted the Ghostface Gangsters, a white supremacist gang with activity that stretches across Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee and deep into the Georgia Department of Corrections. Read more www.wrdw.com On the Heels of Foot Soldiers - THE BITTER SOUTHERNER Food trucks line the street in front of Ebenezer Baptist Church on an especially humid June afternoon in Atlanta. Vendors sit under tents handing out snacks, masks, fans, and T-shirts. The Cash's Juke Joint cover band has the crowd rocking to old ... Read more bittersoutherner.com

National News (Some links may require a subscription)

The January 6 Investigation Hearings Were Disturbing,... On Tuesday morning, I turned on the TV. That afternoon I was supposed to fly home from Denver, where I had been touring colleges with my eldest son. I had almost completely forgotten that the first day of the January 6 Insurrection Select... Read more www.vogue.com Biden boosts assistance to fight COVID-19 as delta... WASHINGTON - Amid a rise in infections and hospitalizations from the surging delta variant of COVID-19, the Biden administration is boosting money and other assistance to the hardest-hit areas of the country. This week, just three states with... Read more georgiarecorder.com

Analysis: Trump and the GOP spin fantasies to hide his... It's gone beyond whitewashing history. Ex-President Donald Trump and his House Republican enablers are now spinning fantastical inversions to hide his crimes against the Constitution on January 6. Read more www.cnn.com America Is Getting Unvaccinated People All Wrong They're not all anti-vaxxers, and treating them as such is making things worse. Last week, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said that COVID-19 is " becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated." President Joe Biden said much the same shortly after. They ... Read more www.theatlantic.com

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