Tag: Georgia

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Oprah To Campaign With Georgia Gubernatorial Candidate Stacey Abrams

Oprah Winfrey

Media superstar Oprah Winfrey is diving into Georgia politics this week as she will join Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on the campaign trail.

From NBC News:

Winfrey is set to join Abrams Thursday at a pair of town hall events in the state, and will accompany the Georgia Democrat in knocking on voters’ doors in one of the state’s final days of early voting and just five days prior to Election Day.

“Oprah Winfrey has inspired so many of us though the years with her unparalleled ability to form real connections and strengthen the bonds of family and community,” Abrams told NBC News in a statement. “I am honored to have Oprah join me for uplifting and honest conversations with voters about the clear choice before us in this election and the boundless potential of Georgians.”

Abrams is going toe-to-toe with Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp in one of the nation’s most hotly contested races. Last week, an NBC News/Marist poll found that the race is essentially tied, with likely voters favoring Kemp by a 49 percent to 47 percent spread, a number within the poll’s margin of error. Among registered voters, the two candidates are tied at 47 percent.

The race has been roiled by allegations that Kemp has purged voter rolls in an attempt to help his own candidacy. Kemp calls the charges “a farce.”

According to reports, Kemp’s office has been purging tens of thousands of voters, most of whom are black, from voter rolls ahead of next week’s election. Kemp says that he is simply following the law.

RealClearPolitics shows the race is a statistical tie.

If Abrams were to win, she will be the first black woman to become governor of any state in the U.S.

Abrams was recently a guest on The View where Meghan McCain thought she was going to embarrass Abrams on the topic of gun control. It didn’t quite pan out the way McCain expected.

Watch Abrams school McCain in the most graceful way below.

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News Round-Up: October 24, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• The above pic was sent to me over the weekend. I just enjoy the view… #woof

• The New York Times reports it’s very possible China may be listening in on the Donald’s personal calls as his iPhone is not a ‘secure’ method of communication.

• The Justice Department today told the U.S. Supreme Court that businesses can discriminate against transgender workers based on their gender identity without violating federal law.

• Republican nominee for Georgia governor, and current Secretary of State, Brian Kemp was caught telling supporters at a paid campaign event that his Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams’ voter turnout operation “continues to concern us, especially if everybody uses and exercises their right to vote,” according to audio obtained by Rolling Stone.

• At a candidate forum in Kentucky this week, anti-LGBT County Clerk Kim Davis told voters (with a straight face) that she “did not treat anyone unfairly” when she chose to deny same-sex couples marriage licenses after the Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land. #liar

• 20-year-old Swedish singer and songwriter Zara Larsson drops her first new single, “Ruin My Life,” since her 2017 debut album, So Good.

The award-winning multi-platinum pop artist holds the distinction of being “the second most-streamed debut on Spotify by a female artist ever,” eclipsing 5 billion streams.

I’ve previously written about Zara and her gorgeous 2017 collaboration with Clean Bandit, “Symphony.” Check the new single out below.

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Identical Twins Come Out As Transgender And Transition Together

Jack and Jace Grafe of Georgia

Jack and Jace Grafe, who live in Georgia, recently shared their amazing journey as identical twins who came out to each other as transgender and transitioned together.

Fox5Atlanta recently reported the story of the twins who were identified as female at birth, but came out to each other at the age of 15. That was just a year after they had even heard the word ‘transgender.’

“It’s like being in prison except it’s in your own body,” Jack told Fox5Atlanta. “And the older I got, the harder it was to swallow. And I was like, can’t do this for the rest of my life, I just can’t do it.”

Both men admit the fear of coming out was huge, but having a twin going through the same experience provided incredible emotional support.

“Fear is like the biggest thing to keep you away from anything,” Jack says. “That’s what kept me in my box.”

“I feel like we’ve saved each other from a lot of really dark and depressing moments,” added Jace. “Sometimes, I wonder if he wasn’t here, if I would have been by myself, if I would have had suicidal thoughts. I’m not saying I would have, but it’s very possible. I would have been most definitely alone.”

Study after study has shown that transgender teens are much more likely to face high instances of anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.

Even though they came out to each other at 15-years-old, the two continued to present as female until they graduated from high school. “But as soon as I got out of there, I cut my hair, and I changed my clothes,” Jace says.

Both men are in long-term relationships and work as corrections officers in East Georgia. Looking to begin careers in law enforcement, Jace has already begun study at the police academy and Jack plans to follow in his footsteps.

(screen capture)

It wasn’t until they reached the age of 21 that they began giving each other male hormone injections which deepened their voices and made their appearance more masculine.

And in August of this year, the twins underwent top surgery on the same day which removed excess breast tissue and contoured their chests for a more masculine shape.

The twins turned to Georgia Plastic Surgery’s Dr. Sheldon Lincenberg for the final step in their transition.

Dr. Lincenberg told Fox5Atlanta that the surgery helps both Jace and Jack to look the way they feel inside – male.

“Their identity is set inside themselves,” Dr. Lincenberg says.  “They’re not trying to change that. They just want the world to see them as they are.”

Thanks to the gender-confirming survey, the twins were able to obtain new driver’s licenses that identify their gender as male.

“It’s real now, it’s official,” Jack says. “It’s like the biggest relief you could ever feel.”

“It’s perfect to me, I’m finally perfect to me,” added Jace. “I’m just excited to finally go out there and be exactly what I’ve been dreaming about for a long time.”

Watch the report from Fox5Atlanta below.

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GOP Sen. David Perdue Snatches Phone From Constituent As He Refuses To Answer Question At Public Event

Sen. David Perdue of Georgia (R)

A Georgia Tech student attempted to ask Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) a question about the upcoming gubernatorial election in November when the senator – a f*cking U.S. senator – snatched the student’s phone out of his hand.

Perdue has endorsed current secretary of state, Brian Kemp, for governor.

This week it was revealed that Kemp has been involved in what appears to be voter suppression of African American voters (folks who wouldn’t be supporting him) for the upcoming election against Atlanta Mayor Stacey Abrams.

From The Washington Post:

Abrams has accused Kemp of voter suppression and of using his current position to try to swing the gubernatorial race in his favor. Kemp has defended his office by saying it was simply complying with an “exact match” state law that requires election officials to put a registration application on hold if there are even minor discrepancies with existing records (for instance, a typo or an extra hyphen in a name).

Polls show the race between Kemp and Abrams is a toss-up.

“Hey, so, uh, how can you endorse a candidate — ”

That was as far into the question as the student got. Before he could continue, Perdue snatched the phone out of the student’s hands, as evidence shows in a video suddenly turned erratic.

“No, I’m not doing that. I’m not doing that,” the senator can be heard saying in the cellphone recording.

“You stole my property,” the student tells Perdue. “You stole my property.”

“All right, you wanted a picture?” the senator replies.

“Give me my phone back, senator,” the student says.

“You wanted a picture? I’m going to give it to you,” the senator continues, ignoring the student’s request. “You wanted a picture?”

“Give me my phone back, senator,” the student repeats.

At this point, the video rights itself again, apparently because the student is reunited with his phone. By then, Perdue is walking away, on a crowded pedestrian pathway.

What would have been wrong with just answering his constituent’s question?

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Georgia: GOP Secretary Of State Purging Voters From Voter Rolls With No Notice

Georgia’s current Secretary of State, who also happens to be the Republican candidate for governor this year, has purged up to 10% of Georgia voters from the voter rolls.

The purged names, numbering up to half a million, are reportedly disproportionately black voters.

Oh, did I mention the Democratic candidate, Stacey Abrams, is black? And she would become the first black, female governor in the United States?

Watch the report below from Now This.

Additionally, Talking Points Memo reports that Kemp is blocking 53,000 people from registering to vote using a controversial “exact match” program to approve or block voter registrations that disproportionately impacts minority voters.

According to the Associate Press, 70% of the voter applications that are being held up by Kemp’s office are from black people.

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Podcast: Broadway, Conversion Therapy, Transgender Soldiers, LGBT Workplace Discrimination, Out Oscar Winners

In this week’s podcast:

• Harvey Fierstein’s iconic play Torch Song is heading back to Broadway

• California aims to make so-called “ex-gay therapy” illegal

• Georgia lawmakers are trying to legalize discrimination against same-sex couples wanting to adopt

• South Carolina looks to label same-sex marriage as “parody” marriage

• Defense Secretary James Mattis has given Donald Trump his recommendations for transgender soldiers

• The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals says Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTs from workplace discrimination

• Anti-gay bakers in Oregon take their case to the state Supreme Court

• How many out LGBT Academy Award winners can you name?

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report podcast.

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Georgia Strips Tax Breaks From Delta Airlines Over NRA Discounts

After Delta Airlines announced the company would end its discount with NRA members after the deadly gun massacre at a Florida high school, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle of Georgia threatened the airline with retaliation via tax legislation.

Casey made good on his threat as this week state lawmakers killed a proposed tax break that would have saved Delta Airlines millions.

The new tax bill passed in both chambers with the fuel exemption stripped out. The state Senate voted 44-10 with only Democrats opposing. The House approved the measure 135-24.

Republican Gov. Nathan Deal criticized the Delta kerfuffle but has signaled he would sign the tax measure.

Based in Atlanta, Delta Airlines is the state’s largest single employer with 33,000 employees in the state.

Now, that was a pretty strong position to take – basically a $38 million slap to Delta.

You have to wonder how many NRA members have actually used their Delta Airline discount…?

Well, Delta confirmed to USA Today that only 13 discounts had ever been used by NRA members.

So, Casey and company have threatened the state’s largest employer over 13 discounts?

I can’t imagine that makes for smart economic growth. And I’m not the only one.

Several governors around the country sent clear messages they would be happy to welcome Delta.

Check out just a few of the invitations the airline has received.

Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia:

Gov Andrew Cuomo of New York:

Lt. Gov Kathy Hochul of New York:

Gov. Cyrus Habib of Washington state:

Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio:

Mayor Randall Woodfin of Birmingham, Alabama:

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Georgia State Senate Approves Anti-LGBT Adoption Bill By 35-19 Vote

The Georgia state Senate approved a bill today that would allow adoption agencies to deny same-sex couples the opportunity to adopt based on “deeply held religious beliefs.”

Additionally, the legislation (known as Senate Bill 375) would prohibit the state from taking any adverse action against agencies who discriminated against those same-sex couples.

The legislation was approved by a vote of 35-19 and now moves to the state House.

More from The Georgia Voice:

Senate Bill 375, called the “Keep Faith in Adoption and Foster Care Act,” was introduced earlier this month by state Sen. William Ligon (photo), who added similar language to an adoption overhaul at the end of last year’s legislative session, causing the bill to stall. A Senate Judiciary sub-committee met on Feb. 8 to take up the bill, moving to send it on to the full committee, which passed the bill on Feb. 20.

Senators debated the bill for over an hour, and the 2015 Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage was a hot topic throughout, with several senators who support the bill quoting directly from the ruling. Sen. Ligon and other supporters of the bill continued to try and make the case that passage of the bill would lead to more adoption opportunities in the state and not less.

Equality Federation deputy director Fran Hutchins issued a statement saying, “As someone who was adopted myself I find it deeply insulting that a few politicians are putting LGBTQ youth and families at risk for discrimination. Every child deserves a loving family and place the call home.”

And executive director for Georgia Equality, Jeff Graham, called SB 375 “mean spirited” and said, “This legislation goes out of its way to make it harder for loving and committed same-sex couples to start a family—and unfortunately, it’s children in need of permanent homes who will pay the steepest price.”

Georgia Equality has announced a March 1 rally across from the Capitol.

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Georgia Senate Committee Approves Anti-LGBTQ Adoption Bill

A Georgia state Senate committee has approved an anti-LGBTQ bill that would allow adoption agencies to refuse to place children with same-sex couples based on “sincerely-held religious beliefs.”

The legislation would also keep the Georgia Department of Human Services from taking any “adverse action” against such agencies who chose to discriminate against LGBTs.

Senate Bill 375, also known as the “Keep Faith in Adoption and Foster Care Act,” passed in the Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee this morning on a party line vote. Only the two Democrats voted against the measure.

There were no public comments allowed during the committee meeting and the bill now head to the Senate floor for a vote.

Jeff Graham, Georgia Equality’s Executive Director, issued this statement:

“There are no winners with SB 375. This bill does not help the thousands of young people in our state’s adoption and foster care system. It does not help loving parents who are looking to open their homes to children in need, either through fostering or adoption.

“It does not help our state’s economic image – particularly at this crucial juncture in our bid to bring up to 50,000 new and high-paying jobs to our state through Amazon.

“There are only losers with this bill: children denied permanent and loving homes, and potential parents coldly turned away simply because of who they are.”

(source)

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Podcast: Transgender Folks Get Help In The Workplace; “Yes” Vote Leads In Australia’s Marriage Equality Mail-In Vote

In this week’s podcast:

• California’s governor signs “first in the nation” legislation that will require training meant to help high unemployment among transgender people

• Donald Trump joked that Vice President Mike Pence wants to “hang” all gay people

• The “Yes to Marriage Equality” campaign in Australia appears to be leading

• Georgia state lawmaker considers quarantining HIV+ people

• Rentboy.com CEO goes to prison even as female escort websites continue without penalty

• Out Canadian country music artist Patrick Masse headlines Las Vegas Pride

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report