Pinback
Pinback's JournalA. Wayne Johnson will face insurrectionist opponent in GA-2 Repub runoff
With 88 percent of the votes in, it appears that Georgia businessman Dr. A. Wayne Johnson, former Trump administration official in the Dept. of Education, will face January 6th insurrectionist Chuck Hand in a runoff election for the Republican slot in the Georgia District 2 congressional race. The winner will face long-time Democratic incumbent Sanford Bishop, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Primary results: https://apnews.com/projects/election-results-2024/georgia/?r=11984
For reference:
‘It hasn’t come up negatively on the trail at all,’ says Chuck Hand, who is competing to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop in the southwest Georgia U.S. House district.
Some candidates might run away from their role in the violent pro-Donald Trump mob that engulfed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Chuck Hand is embracing it.
The Republican contender for a rural Georgia U.S. House seat refers to his arrest as a “nonviolent protest participation” on his campaign website. He posted on social media that he traveled to Washington that day to target the nation’s “biggest national security threat.”
And when his guilty plea and prison sentence came up during a recent debate with a trio of Republican rivals, Hand hardly blinked.
“My campaign isn’t based on Jan. 6. The only reason Jan. 6 ever comes up in the campaign is so that you three cannot throw it in my face,” he said to his opponents at the Atlanta Press Club showdown, maintaining that it won’t matter to voters.
- AJC, May 4, 2024: https://www.ajc.com/politics/a-georgian-charged-in-jan-6-attack-wants-to-return-to-us-capitol-as-member-of-congress/WG2HOZDBZNAUJMOVDKBDJKXQ6I/
Non-paywall link: https://www.printfriendly.com/p/g/ujaTxP
For more on this charmer, see: https://seditiontracker.com/suspects/charles-hand.html
Lucy McBath coasts to primary win in Georgia's 6th Congressional District
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath prevailed over two challengers in the Democratic primary in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District.
McBath, the former Delta flight attendant who became a gun control activist after her son was murdered in 2012, now is the favorite to win a fourth term in Congress. She will face Republican Jeff Criswell in the November election in a newly drawn district that is both majority Black and Democratic-leaning.
The Associated Press called the race less than an hour after polls closed. In a statement, McBath blamed state Republican leaders for revising the lines of her congressional district in ways that made it tougher for her to win. McBath instead switched her candidacy to friendlier territory and won both in 2022 and again in 2024.
“Twice, Georgians have stood with me and resoundingly voted to send me back to Congress,” she said. “Our work to keep our families safe, expand access to health care, and protect Georgians is just getting started.”
Read more: https://www.ajc.com/politics/lucy-mcbath-coasts-to-primary-win-in-georgias-6th-congressional-district/NLB3PUTTVZFLBORGRTCOPXX224/
Thanks to the Republican legislature's gerrymandering, McBath chose to run in a different district from the one she had previously represented. I'm not thrilled about Congress members representing districts where they don't live, but I'm glad Lucy McBath will continue to be a member of Congress.
Non-paywall link: https://www.printfriendly.com/p/g/fRjnKK
Fulton DA Willis easily defeats primary challenger
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fani Willis easily secured the Democratic nomination for Fulton County district attorney Tuesday, besting a left-leaning primary challenger as she looks ahead to a November contest against a first-time GOP candidate.
The veteran prosecutor defeated Christian Wise Smith, an attorney and former Fulton solicitor whose platform included legalizing marijuana and emphasizing prison diversion and other criminal justice programs. The Associated Press called the race less than 30 minutes after polls closed.
Willis is seeking a second term leading the state’s largest local DA’s office as she steers several high-profile racketeering cases, including an election interference investigation involving former President Donald Trump and a gang case that’s ensnared several of Atlanta’s most famous rappers.
She will face off this fall against Courtney Kramer, a Republican who worked for the Trump White House and the Trump 2020 campaign. Kramer has been sharply critical of the election case and accused Willis of using her office for “political lawfare.”
Read more: https://www.ajc.com/politics/fulton-da-willis-easily-defeats-primary-challenger/EDRDKE26CZFNPDLWLI7HUDVUOU/
Even with the conservative votes from North Fulton in the fall, Willis should easily prevail in a county where Biden trounced Trump in 2020.
non-paywall link: https://www.printfriendly.com/p/g/dWZ54u
All Day Music - War
Instagram influencer Jay Mazini sentenced to seven years in prison for crypto fraud
- from Web3IsGoingJustGreat by Molly White, Apr. 24, 2024
Tampa Free Press
(SNIP)
In addition to seven years in prison, Mazini has been ordered to forfeit $10 million. Restitution has not yet been determined.
- "Instagram Influencer Known as 'Jay Mazini' Sentenced to 84 Months in Prison for Overlapping Fraud Schemes", U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York - https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/instagram-influencer-known-jay-mazini-sentenced-84-months-prison-overlapping-fraud-0
- "Serial Scammer and Instagram Influencer Jay Mazini Pleads Guilty", The Daily Beast - https://www.thedailybeast.com/instagram-influencer-jay-mazini-pleads-guilty-in-dollar8-million-bitcoin-scam
Instagram influencer, crypto "investor," kidnapper, sleazebag with a fake name, gold neckchains, and a white-sidewall hipster hairstyle -- who wouldn't trust this guy with their hard-earned cash?
Earlier (March 25) article from Tampa Free Press: https://www.tampafp.com/instagram-celebrity-nj-man-known-as-jay-mazini-charged-with-wire-fraud/
TUES. 4/9 DEADLINE for public comments on Okefenokee mining proposal
Alabama mining company Twin Pines, LLC hasn’t given up on plans to mine titanium at Trail Ridge, an important natural dam near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, threatening this unique and wondrous natural resource as well as the adjacent St. Marys River. Twin Pines' plans include pumping 1.4 million gallons of water a day from the aquifer that feeds the Okefenokee. Despite the obvious threat to the wildlife refuge, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources granted a permit for the proposed mine in February, with a public comment period that extends through this Tuesday, April 9. (You can thank the Trump administration for the loophole that enabled the approval.)
Submit your comments directly to the DNR at TwinPines.Comment@dnr.ga.gov or use the comment form on one of the websites below. As always, personal, unique comments are weighted more heavily than form letters, so if you have the time, phrasing your comments in your own words will be most effective. If you’ve visited the Okefenokee personally, including your appreciation for the place is a nice touch. (And if not, you really should visit, because it’s gorgeous!)
Key issues / talking points are summarized on the Georgia Water Coalition’s website:
https://www.gawater.org/okefenokee-swamp - scroll down to What's so special about the Okefenokee?. Here are some quotes from the Georgia Conservancy's April 5, 2024 letter to DNR:
- The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge provides a safe haven for thousands of species of plants and animals, including many that are threatened and endangered.
- In addition, the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge functions as an international destination for outdoor recreation and serves as an unmatched location for wonder, spiritual renewal, and solitude.
- Boasting more than 700,000+ visits per year, the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is an economic engine that contributes more than $64 million to the local economies and supports an associated 750 long-term, sustainable jobs.
- Simultaneously, the Okefenokee provides invaluable ecosystem services such as water quality protection and carbon sequestration.
To get an idea of how special this place is, see:
For more information, see:
- Georgia Conservancy - https://www.georgiaconservancy.org/okefenokee/mining
- Southern Environmental Law Center - https://act.southernenvironment.org/o9jl4iw
- Georgia Water Coalition - https://www.gawater.org/okefenokee-swamp
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution: ‘Not now, not ever’: Public tells officials to stop Okefenokee mine - https://www.ajc.com/news/business/not-now-not-ever-public-tells-officials-to-stop-okefenokee-mine/5CACOOZADZEHJGAWRABU32ICRE/
- ”A Dire Threat to a National Wildlife Treasure” - NY Times essay by Margaret Renkl - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/25/opinion/okefenokee-strip-mine-georgia.html
(non-paywall version: https://archive.ph/rxQd8) - Overview from the Savannah Morning News - https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/environment/2024/02/15/georgia-issues-drafts-permits-for-controversial-mine-near-okefenokee-swamp/72617797007/
- Other articles from the Savannah Morning News / SavannahNow.com - https://www.savannahnow.com/search/?q=Twin+Pines+Okefenokee
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