A Post Office Debacle in Georgia

Our 15-year-old son Noah is a baseball player. Baseball gear today can be quite expensive. A new (and sometimes even used!) quality bat or glove alone can easily cost several hundred dollars. For many years now, we’ve used Christmas and Noah’s birthday to provide him with a new bat or glove based on what he most wants or needs. If it’s not gift-giving time and Noah wants an expensive baseball item, he typically either waits or uses his own money (maybe with a little help from us) to purchase the item. If it’s the latter, Noah will often look for used gear. This was the case recently.

In February of this year, Noah found a used bat on Facebook Marketplace that he wanted to purchase. The bat was just north of $100 with taxes and fees. He used his own money to purchase the bat. The seller was in our state (Georgia) but was several hours away, so we chose to have the bat shipped. What a mistake!

The bat was scheduled to arrive on February 26. As of this writing, now over five weeks later, the bat still has not arrived! This would not be much of a story if ours was an isolated incident. This is far from the case!

After filing a “missing mail search request” on March 1, a few days later I began wondering if our package delay was indeed an isolated incident. I began a simple internet search and quickly discovered that many others in Georgia were also experiencing missing mail. I started seeing several news stories of missing mail and problems with a new Atlanta area mail distribution center in Palmetto, Georgia.

Much to their credit, the Atlanta NBC News affiliate, 11Alive News, has been all over this story since early March. As far as I can tell, their first report on this story was on March 6. This initial report declares,

Some metro Atlanta residents are looking for their mail, but there's one big problem -- it's either late or, worse, not showing up at all.

These postal customers are also complaining that their packages can't be traced at all. They said these issues are centered around one postal facility in Palmetto -- which is located mostly in Fulton County [Another government debacle in Fulton County!] but also partly in Coweta County.

From paychecks and legal documents to mail of all types, customers from Lithia Springs, Kennesaw, Marietta, and other cities reached out to 11Alive about their mail being delayed, but there still aren't any answers as to why.

Weeks, and dozens of news stories, later (Atlanta-area FOX and ABC affiliates have also reported on this problem) and little has changed. A March 21 11Alive news story gave a comprehensive update on “What we know so far about the Palmetto USPS mail delays.” The story begins, “11Alive has received non-stop overwhelming concerns from those experiencing delays about their missing mail over the past couple of weeks.” On “why is the mail delayed,” 11Alive reports that they have “reached out to the United States Postal Service about what is causing the delays” but 11Alive “has not received a definitive reason.”

Additionally, the Palmetto distribution center, and the USPS in general, is being very evasive or vague on what is being done—if anything—to fix the problem. Not very much (If anything!) as far as we are concerned, since we are going on six weeks without our package!

Several elected officials in Georgia are demanding answers as well, but it seems they are also yet to get results. On March 14, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff released a statement on the matter. Senator Ossoff’s statement declared,

Sen. Ossoff today launched an inquiry with USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to provide detailed answers and explanation amid growing reports of missing and delayed mail processed through the Atlanta Regional Processing and Distribution Center — impacting families’ ability to get life-saving medicine and vital mail services.

On March 21 it was announced that Sen. Ossoff, along with Georgia’s other U.S. Senator, Raphael Warnock and U.S. Congressman Barry Loudermilk (GA-11), had launched a “bipartisan inquiry with USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to provide a detailed explanation for alleged fraud at the Marietta Post Office last year.” The announcement also declared that, “According to the Marietta Daily Journal, alleged crimes committed at the post office include mail theft, forgery, document fraud, and check-washing.”

One wonders if similar issues aren’t occurring at the Palmetto facility as well. Senator Warnock and U.S. Congressman Mike Collins (GA-10) have also officially inquired about the issues at the Palmetto facility but are also getting no answers as to what is the problem and what is being done to resolve it. About a week ago, a FOX5 (the Atlanta affiliate) headline declared, “Even Congress can’t get answers on Georgia post office problems.”

Today (April 4) Congressman Andrew Clyde (GA-09) requested an audit and an investigation into the USPS’s “recent consolidation process in North Georgia.” Congressman Clyde’s request states,

Since the transition and consolidation of processing and distribution activities from local PDCs across North Georgia into the Palmetto facility on February 24, 2024, my office has received a nearly 90% increase in email and phone call messages from residents of North Georgia about USPS mail and package delays happening in the region.

The “consolidation process” mentioned by Congressman Clyde (and by several others dealing with this matter) is evidently part of USPS’s 10-year plan, introduced in 2021, called “Delivering for America.” The Palmetto facility, which opened on February 24 of this year, consolidated Atlanta, Augusta, Macon and Duluth area processing and distribution centers. Atlanta was not the first area of the U.S. to experience this type of postal “consolidation” disaster.

Again, according to 11Alive News,

Atlanta is not the first area to experience disruption following the opening of this kind of facility. They are a centerpiece of a system-wide modernization drive within the USPS, and the first one the agency opened was in Richmond [Virginia] last year.

An audit of the metro Atlanta facility began in March, but a report won't be released until August. The report on Richmond, however, was released on Monday and gives some insights on the uneven results that followed its opening.

The report on the Richmond USPS issues can be found in the link above. It details very similar mail disruptions to what are currently happening in Georgia. In other words, the USPS should’ve learned its lesson in Virginia! But alas, the reputation of the USPS continues to worsen. Things for the Postal Service could get even worse if what has happened in Virginia and Georgia comes to your state, which is likely unless significant changes are made in these “consolidation” efforts.

When our mail was delivered today (April 4), for the first time—I’m not usually home when the mail is delivered—I got to speak with our mail carrier about our missing package. I informed her how long it’s been and so on. She pointed to the issues with the Palmetto facility, but she added that she was told that the area where we live was “caught up” on missing mail from the Palmetto facility. I assured her this was not the case. She told me she’s hearing the same from other postal customers.

How about instead of “consolidation” we just turn over mail operations in the U.S. to Amazon. They seem to be much better at delivering packages! What’s more, I’d wager the amount my son has lost on his package that Amazon could resolve whatever is the issue in Palmetto in a matter of days. Shame on the USPS for this debacle!

(See this column at American Thinker.) 

Copyright 2024, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
trevorgrantthomas@gmail.com

 

Fani Willis and the Corrupt Mainstream Media

Last week contained more than one terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for Fulton County, GA District Attorney, Fani Willis. On Monday, January 8, Ashleigh Merchant, lawyer for Michael Roman, one of the 18 Trump co-defendants in The State of Georgia v. Donald J. Trump, et al, filed a “bombshell” motion alleging that Willis “improperly hired an alleged romantic partner to prosecute Donald Trump and financially benefited from their relationship.”

The “alleged romantic partner” is special prosecutor Nathan Wade. On January 9, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported,

The bombshell public filing alleged that special prosecutor Nathan Wade, a private attorney, paid for lavish vacations he took with Willis using the Fulton County funds his law firm received. County records show that Wade, who has played a prominent role in the election interference case, has been paid nearly $654,000 in legal fees since January 2022. The DA authorizes his compensation…

The filing alleges that Willis and Wade have been involved in a romantic relationship that began before Wade was appointed special prosecutor. It says they traveled together to Napa Valley and Florida, and they cruised the Caribbean together using tickets Wade purchased from Norwegian and Royal Caribbean cruise lines…

Willis and Wade, the motion contends, “have been engaged in an improper, clandestine personal relationship during the pendency of this case, which has resulted in the special prosecutor, and, in turn, the district attorney, profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of the taxpayers.”

According to Merchant, multiple “sources close to both the special prosecutor and the district attorney have confirmed they had an ongoing, personal relationship.” Merchant’s filing also notes that Willis formally hired Wade on to her get-Trump team on November 1, 2021, just one day prior to Wade filing for divorce from his wife of 26 years. Wade’s wife, Jocelyn Wade, has also entered the legal fray against her (soon to be?) ex-husband and Fani Willis.

According to RedState, on the same day that Ashleigh Merchant filed her motion against Willis and Nathan Wade, Jocelyn Wade subpoenaed Willis to appear for a deposition in the Wade’s divorce proceedings. This whole sorry saga is a disaster for the Fulton County DA and her efforts to prosecute the former President.

Fani Willis said nothing publicly on these matters until yesterday (Sunday, January 14). Speaking at length before the congregation at Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta, but without admitting to being in a relationship with Wade, and without mentioning him by name, Willis referred to Wade a legal “superstar” who is uniquely qualified to be on her get-Trump team. She also referred to Wade as “a great friend and a great lawyer.”

In her speech, Willis read from a letter that she claimed to have penned to God during her trying week. (Note to Ms. Willis and Big Bethel AME Church: In these situations, the proper role of the church and the individual is truth and repentance, not allowing for, and the giving of, political speeches!) Of course, in an attempt to defend herself, her office, Wade, and her get-Trump campaign, Ms. Willis also played the race card numerous times.

Whatever the whole truth here—and in the name of Jesus, may it all come into the light quickly—one of the most telling aspects of this sordid, evil affair is the inaction of the Georgia media on these matters. The AJC reported on it only after Ashleigh Merchant filed her motion on behalf of her client, Michael Roman.

Likewise, all other Atlanta and Georgia media reports on the likely corruption within Willis’s office came after Merchant’s motion. So we are to believe that, in spite of what appears to be a lengthy affair between Willis and Wade, which involved numerous trips, and in spite of the timing of the hiring of Wade by Willis which corresponded very closely to the divorce filing by Wade, nothing was known about Willis and Wade’s personal relationship?!

I mean, we’re talking sex and politics here! We’re talking national politics involving a former U.S. President who is again seeking the office, and no one was talking about Willis and Wade’s relationship?! I would like to know if Nathan Wade’s wife, Jocelyn, reached out to anyone in the Atlanta or Georgia media concerning her husband of 26 years and his relationship with Fani Willis.

Was there an effort within the Georgia media to keep the truth about Willis and Wade quiet since Willis and Wade are leading agents in the get-Trump campaign? Someone needs to investigate this matter as well. Would you be surprised to learn that we are again looking at another case of gross media malpractice in the United States?

(See this column at American Thinker.)

Copyright 2024, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
trevorgrantthomas@gmail.com

 

Trump Co-Defendant Alleges DA Fani Willis Appointed "Romantic Partner" As Prosecutor

It looks as if the case against Donald Trump in the state of Georgia may be on the verge of collapse. The lawyer for Trump co-defendant Michael Roman--a former Trump campaign official--filed a motion this past Monday alleging that Fulton County DA Fani Willis improperly hired Nathan Wade as a special prosecutor in her efforts to prosecute Trump and his election associates. The motion alleges that the hiring was improper due to the romantic relationship between Willis and Wade and the financial benefits to both in their case against Trump. 

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the motion "seeks to have the charges against Roman dismissed and for Willis, Wade and the entire DA’s office to be disqualified from further prosecution of the case." The video below reveals more of the bombshell details.

Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.TrevorGrantThomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
trevorgrantthomas@gmail.com

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peddles Pro-Trans Propaganda

As numerous right-minded (note: those not led by Democrats!) states take legal steps—my home state of Georgia being one of those—to protect children from radical and irreversible medical “transgender” procedures, this past Friday (3/17/2023) the largest newspaper in Georgia, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) published an article that is littered with pro-transgender propaganda.

Of course, this is completely unsurprising. Like almost every large newspaper across the U.S., the AJC has long been little more than a left-wing rag. However, it is noteworthy the steps the left across America is taking to further the evil transgender agenda.

The article is entitled, “Trans kids say they have target on their back with GOP initiative.” The authors spend many of their words detailing the lives of several “transgender” youths in Georgia, who supposedly would be harmed by legislation aimed at protecting vulnerable children. The article does rightly note that the Georgia bill “would ban health care professionals from giving hormones such as estrogen or testosterone to transgender minors. Doctors also would not be allowed to perform surgeries on children seeking to align with their gender identity.”

One of the biggest bits of propaganda that runs throughout the piece is the idea that giving hormone treatments and radical cosmetic surgery to children is “healthcare.” Few things are further from the truth. In other words, it is not “healthcare” to mutilate and disfigure children. It is child abuse and should be treated as such.

The article details children as young five years old whose foolish parents subjected them to a “gender transition.” The authors write:

Jen Slipakoff, a Kennesaw resident, said her daughter first started talking about being transgender when she was 5. Up until then she had been raised as a boy. She’s 15 now.

“We already knew exactly what was happening before she ever said anything,” Slipakoff said. “She has an older brother, so our house was full of traditional boys toys. And our daughter would play with those toys in a very different way than our son was. She would take her little soldiers shopping instead of putting them on the battlefield. She was always drawn to what we would consider traditional girls toys and traditional female clothing.”

When she turned 5, she asked her mother to change her name.

The article also reports on a family with two “transgender” children:

Someone who is nonbinary doesn’t identify as strictly male or female. Dare, a 16-year-old from Dacula who uses “they” as their pronoun, said they were about 10 when they started to think they may be nonbinary.

“I’ve always been gender neutral my whole life,” Dare said. “My mom talks about how, when I was really little, I would pick toys from the boys aisle and the girls aisle.”

Dare and their sibling, a 13-year-old transgender boy named Jay, told their parents about their gender identities about the same time in 2020. 

Imagine that! Two “transgender” kids from the same family! As historically rare as is “transgenderism,” this would be a near statistical impossibility. Unless, of course, something else is up, which of course the AJC completely ignores. On the occurrence of “transgenderism,” Kimberly Klacik recently asked an important question with a telling answer. She asked, “Why aren’t kids in the hood transitioning to the opposite sex? I know the answer, just wanted to see if you knew.”

Interestingly, an excellent answer came from Sara Higdon, a self-described “transexual, Catholic, Veteran, minarchist/voluntaryist” who also happens to be a contributor to “Gays Against Groomers.” Answering Mrs. Klacik, Higdon writes:

Well because the typical demographic is upper middle class white kids of progressive parents. for two reasons. They have time and money to worry about such things, and have been conditioned to believe through Critical Theory that they are an oppressor and there is no way they can ever escape that status, so they see this as a way to join an oppressed class for which they are celebrated for instead of condemned. It’s the relationship between CRT and Queer theory.

Want to guess in what demographic Jen Slipakoff resides? (This will give you some clues.) The transgender craze sweeping America and various other parts of the world is not a medical phenomena but rather a social contagion, fueled by the evil LGBT arm of the radical left, and aided and abetted by the likes of the AJC.

Of course, the biggest lie behind the transgender agenda is the notion that one can change one’s sex. Almost nothing is further from the truth than the grotesque lie that sex-change is merely a medical process. The facts on who is a male and who is a female is one of the oldest truths in the history of humanity. We shouldn’t need legislation to protect children from the wicked lie that sex change is possible, but the left has brought us to this point.

Lastly, as Mrs. Slipakoff spoke before the Georgia Senate regarding the legislation, the AJC reported her saying,  

“I’m happy to report, she has never been bullied by her classmates,” Slipakoff said. “That’s not to say she doesn’t have bullies. Here in this room right now, they sponsored this bill and they’re the ones that are going to vote for it. ... She doesn’t want and she doesn’t need your protection. She wants you to leave her alone.”

Likewise, in one of the comments on the AJC article—which was a response to another comment—someone identified as “Benjamin McKoon” wrote, “Ever thought, hmmm... I wonder if this is any of my business??? Nope? Then shut the f*ck [without the asterisk] up and leave the kids alone inbred idiot.”

As the evil LGBT agenda has progressed throughout the U.S. the last several decades, “Just leave us alone!” or something similar, has been a frequent cry from LGBT activists. However, as I’ve often pointed out, “live and let live” has never been a hallmark of the LGBT agenda. This is quite evident if we only look at what’s occurred recently on the issue of “transgenderism.”

“Just deal with it,” was how a deluded Massachusetts male who’s competing as a female—and helping his school win a state title this year—put it when asked about boys competing against girls in sanctioned competitions. To help paint “transgenders” as being “targeted” in Georgia, the AJC article makes mention of how GA law, and the Georgia High School Association, requires athletes “to compete based on their biological sex.” How do you think Atlanta LGBT activists would respond to being told to “just deal with it” when it comes to this policy?

As was recently reported at Twitchy, the American left is filled with LGBT “mind your own business” hypocrites:

The radical trans Left loves to tell anyone who raises moral and ethical questions about the movement to mind their own business. Meanwhile, it’s the radical trans Left that insists on making themselves a part of everyone’s business — literally:

"Now bake us a cake bigot"

What? No.

"Stop playing that video game bigot"

What?

"Do not misgender me or we will ticket and fine you. Also get you fired"

You said for me to just mind my business.

"Pay for our surgeries"

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) February 10, 2023

Georgia’s legislators, and our Governor, Brian Kemp, need to stand strong in the face of the AJC’s transgender propaganda and protect children from the hideous lies of the transgender agenda.

(See this column at American Thinker.) 

Copyright 2023, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
trevorgrantthomas@gmail.com

 

Hurricane Ian and the Shortcomings of Weather (and Climate) Forecasting

In the days prior to hurricane Ian’s devastating landfall, millions of Americans were anxiously pouring over Ian’s forecasted “cone” and “spaghetti” models. These models, and the accompanying forecasts, played a huge role in policies that were meant to protect lives and property.

As Ian crept towards Florida, millions were evacuated, homes and businesses were boarded up, and scheduled events were cancelled, moved, or postponed. Tragically, for parts of Florida fears of what Ian would bring indeed proved true. However, in the area where I live—northeast Georgia—Ian-based precautions proved ill-advised.

Northeast Georgia is hundreds of miles from any U.S. coast, yet as early as the Monday (9/26) prior to Ian’s Florida landfall, schools across our area, and throughout Georgia, begin to change their schedules due to the possible impact of hurricane Ian. This was especially the case with Friday-night football. As reported by our local media, 17 out of the 20 games involving Northeast Georgia high school football teams moved from Friday evening to Thursday evening. This move also impacted numerous JV and middle school games, which are typically played on Thursdays.

Such a move might seem like a small thing, but, along with the players, cheer leaders, band members, and school officials involved, countless schedules—work, and the like—of parents and fans were also impacted. As we got to Thursday, it seemed clear that Ian’s impact in our area would be minimal. As Friday arrived, Ian’s impact was less than minimal. There was no rain, and only a slight breeze. Late Friday night—after midnight—a few showers grazed extreme northeast Georgia, and that was it.

Rescheduled football games were not the only Ian-based decisions made by Georgia school officials. Several central Georgia systems cancelled classes on Friday, or switched to the dreaded “virtual learning” schedule. Again, Ian’s impact in these areas was also minimal to nothing.

I say this not to lambast school administrators who made these decisions. Central and northern Georgia have, in the not-too-distant past, have seen significant damage due to the remnants of a hurricane or tropical storm. However, the missed forecasts of a weather event that was only days away should give us great pause when it comes to climate forecasts that speak of events that are typically decades or even centuries away.

We see failed weather forecasts constantly, as I’ve noted before, more than once. Yet millions throughout the world—with religious dedication—continue to buy the left’s doom-and-gloom forecasts when it comes to the global climate. Again, the lesson is this: if weather forecasters often get events wrong that are only days away, there’s no way we should put any faith in climate forecasts that are years away.

(See this post at American Thinker.)

Copyright 2022, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith and Reason.
www.TrevorGrantThomas.com 
Trevor is the author of The Miracle and Magnificence of America
trevorgrantthomas@gmail.com

 

The Folly of “You Are Only as Good as Your Last COVID Test”

Just prior to the Georgia (UGA) vs. Clemson showdown on the first full weekend of the college football season, you could just sense that media leftists were aching to (AGAIN!) make the Wuhan Virus an issue. The last thing the residents of Covidstan want to see is tens-of-thousands of rabid college football doing what football fans are supposed to do:

VIRGINIA TECH.
ENTER SANDMAN.

ABSOLUTE CHILLS. @HokiesFB pic.twitter.com/jRnd97Xs1R

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) September 3, 2021

Three days prior to the game, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that UGA’s head athletic trainer—Ron Courson— “has been diagnosed with COVID-19.” Most other outlets reported that the trainer had “tested positive.” As the UGA coaching staff was hounded with questions about how this would impact the team, UGA head coach Kirby Smart stated that, “We are above 90% [vaccinations]. Ron and his staff have done a tremendous job making sure that guys feel comfortable getting the vaccination. We feel really comfortable with where we are.”

Coach Smart continued, “My goal is always to be 100 percent, because I think that it is the safest thing for our players .... but you are only as good as your last COVID test.” There are numerous issues with Coach Smart’s statements here, not the least of which is his position on the Wuhan Virus “vaccines,” but I think everything wrong in this story can be summed up with the foolishness that leads one to conclude “You are only as good as your last COVID test.”

The full blame for that statement does not lie with Kirby Smart. Most of the blame for such a foolish conclusion lies with school administrators and health officials who have put coaches—and the like—into the position where they can only properly do their jobs if Wuhan Virus test results are what such officials want them to be.

For over a year and a half now we’ve had to endure the rampant fear porn of those who simply refuse to acknowledge that viruses are simply going to virus, and that, in spite of this, young people the world over are in little to no danger from the Wuhan Virus. This is especially the case among the physical specimens that inhabit football programs at the collegiate and professional levels. This begs the question: Why are schools and athletic programs continuing to administer Wuhan Virus tests to healthy, asymptomatic students and athletes?!

Of course, this does not mean no one should be getting tested for the Wuhan Virus, but given what we now well know about the Wuhan Virus, for schools to rampantly test the young and healthy is folly rooted in foolish fear. As healthcare expert Kevin Roche put it in February of this year “Massive [COVID] Testing is Pointless and Worthless.” He added,

How much you test has nothing to do with how many deaths you end up with. One of the biggest myths is that if we only tested more we would have gotten this under control. Just nonsense that overwhelmed contact tracing efforts and resulted in lots of false and low positives.

As Mr. Roche alludes, once an individual has a “positive” test—which by no means indicates they are actually sick—the infamous and unnecessary “contact tracing” begins. I’ve heard from numerous parents whose healthy children have been sent home from school simply because they were deemed “in close contact” with someone who “tested positive” for the Wuhan Virus.

All of this ignorant and foolish nonsense is due to the false notion that young, healthy people are in danger from the Wuhan Virus. As Joy Pullmann at The Federalist recently put it,

Continuing to keep kids locked into masks and out of normal life is a mass hysteria based on conspiracy theories far worse than QAnon. It has no basis in science, data, or reality. It is entirely a psychotic power play that sane people must refuse to allow to control our lives, because it’s hurting kids and destroying our nation’s future.

Nevertheless, the hysteria and conspiracy theories persist. As I was running errands this past Saturday, just past noon (EST), I turned on the radio to listen to a broadcast of one of the first Saturday games (Wisconsin vs. Penn State) from college football’s week one. Just prior to kickoff, one of the radio announcers began discussing each teams’ “COVID issues.” He ignorantly declared that COVID was “still a major threat to these student athletes.” Of course, the Wuhan Virus never was a “major threat” to student athletes, and it is still not a “threat” any more than a cold or the flu is a “threat!”

Foolish testing, masking, contact tracing, and the like, is also based on the false notion that the asymptomatic are significant spreaders of the Wuhan Virus. They are not. This is certainly the case on a football field! (As the CDC and the NFL revealed to be the case near the beginning of 2021.)

“You are only as good as your last COVID test” has taken on even more significance for UGA football. During his Monday (9/6) press conference, two days after defeating Clemson, Kirby Smart told reporters,

I’ll be honest with you, I’m as concerned as I’ve ever been, because we have three or four guys out with COVID and we have a couple staff members that have been out with COVID here recently. For us, we’re at our highest spike. And people are talking about vaccinations, well these are people that are vaccinated.

There is no mention if anyone is actually sick. If foolish contact tracing is employed in this situation, UGA could be down multiple players for its game this coming Saturday. For a team with national championship aspirations, and players who will never get this time back, that is no small matter. When reporting on this matter, Bleacher Report declared,

While Smart explained the players experienced breakthrough cases, they are statistically safer because they were vaccinated. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that those who are vaccinated are 29 times less likely to be hospitalized or killed as a result of the virus (h/t Katia Hetter of CNN).

Of course there was no mention of how “statistically safer” are young, healthy athletes, or how many times “less likely” a college athlete is to be “hospitalized or killed” as a result of the Wuhan Virus.

If you don’t want to worry about the outcome of the “last COVID test” of an athlete or student, fed-up parents and like-minded and influential school and athletic officials—especially coaches and athletic directors of powerful programs—need to demand most all “COVID protocols” cease! We don’t need to be testing anyone who lacks Wuhan Virus symptoms, and we certainly don’t need to be sidelining or quarantining the young and healthy.

(See this piece at American Thinker.)

Copyright 2021, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

7-Year-Old Boy in Georgia Died "from COVID-19"? Media Leaving Out Key Details

Update: The AJC is now reporting that, 

An initial investigation suggests that the 7-year-old Savannah boy listed as the youngest Georgian to die from coronavirus had a fever-fueled seizure while in the bathtub and drowned, a local official told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Chatham County Coroner Bill Wessinger confirmed previous reports from Savannah media regarding the boy’s death, which was included in the state’s daily coronavirus report on Thursday. ...

Wessinger cautioned that the full results of a Georgia Bureau of Investigation autopsy are still pending and may be a long time coming. But he said preliminary investigation suggests COVID-19 gave the boy a fever, which triggered a seizure that happened to occur while he was bathing.

Febrile seizures are not uncommon in young children and can be brought on by a number of illnesses and infections. 

In other words, though the left-wing AJC has gotten around to reporting more of the important details of this boy’s death, we still don’t really know why he had a seizure. We do know that the combination of the seizure and the bath/shower is what caused his death. The fact that he tested positive for the Wuhan virus post-death may mean nothing at all. After all, false positives on these test have been widespread. And even if he had the Wuhan virus, it certainly doesn’t mean that he died “from” the Wuhan virus. 

The “Savannah media” story (see here) mentioned above again reveals (as if we needed another reminder) why the “seven year-old Georgia boy died from the coronavirus” meme is prevailing. Their story on this tragedy begins, 

After a 7-year-old Chatham County boy was reported as Georgia’s youngest COVID-19 casualty Thursday, local medical leaders and community members are appealing to the public to regard this loss as evidence of the pandemic’s ongoing threat.

No single death should be used as evidence for the “ongoing threat” of a pandemic, and the death of a child should never be used for political purposes. Shame on the Trump-hating left for using this tragedy in an evil attempt to keep us in lockdown mode!

Original Post:

It has been widely reported in the last several days that, sometime within the past 10 days to two weeks, a seven year-old boy from Chatham County (the Savannah area), Georgia has died “from COVID-19.” If the media didn’t say that the child died “from COVID-19” they reported that he died “of COVID-19” or “of coronavirus.”

Even Fox News declared, “A 7-year-old old boy from Savannah, Ga., with no underlying conditions, became the youngest victim to die from the coronavirus…” (Emphasis mine.) Also, like Fox News, virtually all of the media also repeatedly reported that the child had “no underlying conditions.” Even my local radio station—repeating the deception every 30 minutes for hours on end—which, among other conservative programming, carries The Rush Limbaugh Show, helped perpetuate this latest example of Wuhan virus “fear porn.”

The AP—whose storied are often widely distributed in the media—did more accurately report that the boy died “with COVID-19.” However, the AP did go on to say, “The boy had no other chronic health conditions, according to data released by the state. …The boy’s death comes amid nationwide debate about the risks that children face in getting infected or spreading the coronavirus, particularly as the school year begins.”

Of course, the implication is that schools should not reopen, fall sports should not be played, and that America must remain in shutdown mode. If not for our own sakes, we must do it “for the children!” As is often the case with so many things when it comes to the Wuhan virus and the drive-by media, few things could be further from the truth.

As of late Friday evening, except for one Savannah TV station—whose more accurate account I first found via Facebook—I could find no drive-by media telling the whole story on this tragic episode. WTOC reporter Cyreia Sandlin provides some crucial details on the seven year-old’s death that the vast majority of the media has so far ignored:

So it seems that the boy died, not “from COVID-19,” but rather as the result of a seizure and a fall in the shower. It seems that, prior to his death, the child had zero Wuhan virus symptoms, and that after he was pronounced dead, “a rapid test showed evidence of COVID-19 positivity.”

I don’t know about you, but I’ve followed the news and the science on this virus as closely as most anyone, and I have yet to hear any reports of the Wuhan virus causing seizures. If this were the case—especially where children are concerned—it is a virtual guarantee that the media would have daily told us so. It would seem that fair and accurate reporting of this incident would include all of the circumstances surrounding this terrible tragedy, and that this is almost certainly another example of someone dying with the Wuhan virus—if even that—and not from it.

All the media has done here is give us another reason not to trust them in this grave matter.

(See this piece at American Thinker.)

Copyright 2020, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Media (Still) Trying to Hide Trump’s Success in Georgia’s Primary (an UPDATE to an earlier Facebook post):

(This is an update to a post that I placed on my website's Facebook page.)

UPDATE: I found this via the Augusta Chronicle (still nowhere to be found in the national/statewide in GA, media): With just over 80% reporting, according to the GA Sec. of State, Trump's lead over Biden is now about 155k votes (~714k to ~561k). Trump has over 40k more votes that all democrat candidates combined. If you total the votes, by percentages, Trump has 51.5% of the vote to democrats 48.5%.

To put this in perspective, in the 2016 GA Presidential Primary, Hillary/Bernie, et al totaled about 761k votes. Trump/Rubio/Cruz totaled about 1.3 million votes. Recall, that the 2016 primary election was on March 1, and it would be months before either party decided on a nominee. In other words, all GA voters had a reason to turn out in the 2016 primary election. Yet Trump will total more primary votes than 2016 democrats as well.

In the general election in 2016, Trump beat Hillary 50.5% to 45.4%. Given that voter enthusiasm is significantly in favor of President Trump--it's highly unlikely that Biden will hold all of that democrat vote, and republican voters will have even more of a reason to turn out in November--it seems that President Trump is on pace to outdo his GA results in the 2020 election.

NOTE: This is IMPORTANT to remember as you encounter general election polls that show Biden with LARGE leads over Trump. (I've already warned about this here: http://www.trevorgrantthomas.com/2020/01/remember-pay-little-to-no-attention-to.html ) Polls are one thing, elections are quite another. As Rush Limbaugh has often said, liberals use polling to try and influence (as opposed to merely report on) elections. The message here (to all Conservatives and ALL America-loving Americans): KEEP YOUR ELECTION ENTHUSIASM! Either for Trump, or against the America-hating left!

ORIGINAL POST: More evidence of our GARBAGE media: Try and find Trump's vote totals in Georgia’s primary election. It's not easy. Most sites (The New York Times, local NBC media in GA, etc.) are ONLY showing totals in the Democrat Primary. Here's (probably) why: According to Newsweek, running unopposed, Trump has 140k MORE votes than Biden (~770k to ~560k) and more votes than ALL democrat candidates combined. This is in spite of the fact that, with a statewide U.S. Senate primary (to challenge GOP Sen. David Perdue), Democrats had more to turn out for.

What's more, Trump's lead will probably GROW as more votes are counted. Additionally, according to Newsweek, "The president also outperformed former President Barack Obama's vote totals from the 2012 Georgia primary. Obama was running unopposed in the state and got 139,273 votes, over 500,000 fewer votes than Trump has received thus far." Just yesterday, NY Times was asking (hoping) "Is This the Year Georgia Flips?" It doesn’t look like it! 

Copyright 2020, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Hate Crime Hysteria in Georgia

Since the shutdown apologists seem to be losing their argument—because the vast majority of us are in little to no more danger from the Wuhan virus than we are from other such illnesses, because the number of Wuhan virus infections is a near-useless metric, because “social-distancing” is pseudo-science quackery, because more and more of us are getting the proper context on Wuhan virus numbers, and because the hand-shake police really are out there—democrats are now resorting to their favorite political fallback: “Racism!”

No doubt you’ve probably heard of the death of Ahmaud Arbery that took place recently in a small South Georgia town near Brunswick. Mr. Arbery, a black man, was shot and killed after suspicious behavior in a neighborhood and a 911 call led two armed citizens—Gregory and Travis McMichael, both white—to give chase. According to multiple reports and video evidence, at the time of the shooting, Arbery was not armed and was in possession of no stolen property.

After a brief investigation, the McMichaels were initially not charged. Several weeks after the shooting, video of the event went viral and charges of vigilante murder, an unjust cover up, and racism ensued. The McMichaels have since been arrested. I’m not going to argue here the guilt or innocence of anyone involved in this ugly incident. I’m praying and hoping for truth and justice for all those involved.

However, as is often the case when someone white (or “white Hispanic”) kills someone of color, many others are not content with mere justice. Some folks want to make political hay out of such events. And, as often happens when we go down this foolish road, truth and justice get set aside for ugly politics.

A few days after the McMichaels were arrested, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms—whose jurisdiction lies about 300 miles north of the Arbery, McMichael incident—called the shooting “a lynching” and laid blame at the feet of President Trump. On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Bottoms said, “With the rhetoric we hear coming out of the White House in so many ways, I think that many who are prone to being racist are given permission to do it in an overt way that we otherwise would not see in 2020.” Left-wing pundits galore have been using similar ignorant, inflammatory, and deceptive rhetoric.

In addition to such foolishness, Arbery’s death has led to rampant calls for hate crime legislation in Georgia. Of course, this is unsurprising from the left, but many on the right in Georgia have signaled that they are at least open to the possibility of such legislation, and some have even directly called for it.

The most notable individual in the latter group is no less than Georgia’s Speaker of the House, republican David Ralston. Just days ago, in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC), Ralston said that once Georgia’s legislative session resumes in June, he would “challenge and implore” the Georgia Senate to pass the hate crimes bill already adopted by his chamber, House Bill 426, “with no delay and no amendments.” Ralston added,

The time for being silent ended last week. It’s time to do what’s right. It’s going to take some leadership and some courage, but I think it’s time to act…It’s a shame that it took a video of this to engage many leaders, but our responsibility is threefold: to demonstrate that Georgia and Glynn County will not be tarnished by this act of evil. It’s time that we bring our law into the 21st century and make it more just, and it’s time to do what’s right.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has indicated that he’s open to signing a hate crime law. Georgia is one of four U.S. states that don’t have hate crime legislation, and for good reason. Hate crime laws are unnecessary, and they do nothing to deter hate.

According to FBI data, in 2018, there were only 7,120 hate crime incidents involving 8,496 offenses in all of the U.S. More than half of the offenses (52.2%) involved property damage or “intimidation.” About two-thirds of the offenses (5,566) were crimes against persons. Of these, 80% were crimes of intimidation or simple assault. In 2018, there were 24 murders that were classified as a hate crime.

One murder is too many, but if you take just three U.S. cities—say Chicago, Baltimore, and St. Louis—there’s around 24 murders nearly every week of the year. Most of these murder victims are black Americans. Shockingly, the CDC reveals that for U.S. black males, from birth to the age of 44, the leading cause of death is homicide. As has been often reported (but also often ignored), the vast majority (over 90%) of these homicides are the result of black-on-black violence.

Using the latest Bureau of Justice Statistics survey of criminal victimization (2018), Manhattan Institute researcher Heather MacDonald reveals: “There were 593,598 interracial violent victimizations…between blacks and whites last year, including white-on-black and black-on-white attacks. Blacks committed 537,204 of those interracial felonies, or 90 percent, and whites committed 56,394 of them, or less than 10 percent.”

MacDonald adds that, “Blacks are also overrepresented among perpetrators of hate crimes – by 50 percent – according to the most recent Justice Department data from 2017; whites are underrepresented by 24 percent. This is particularly true for anti-gay and anti-Semitic hate crimes.” In other words, in spite of the narrative so often perpetuated by hate crime apologists, America does not have a problem with white on black hate crime.

Of course, in spite of its lack of hate crime legislation, this is true for the state of Georgia as well. North Carolina and Michigan both have a total population that’s almost exactly equal to Georgia’s—about 10 million. In addition, both North Carolina and Michigan have hate crime laws. According to the FBI, in 2018, North Carolina had 142 hate crime incidents. Michigan had 431. Georgia had 35. And despite having half the number of black Americans as does Georgia, Michigan had 10 times more incidents of racially-based hate crimes than Georgia. North Carolina has two-thirds the number of black Americans as does Georgia yet had three times the number of racially-based hate crimes.

What’s more, hate crime laws are predicated upon someone’s idea of what is “hate.” As they have done with most everything else they have had their hands in, the modern left has even perverted hate. Sadly, in today’s America, a “hate crime” is often nothing more than the “heinous” act of disagreeing with a leftist.

This is especially true when it comes to anything or anyone that runs afoul of the evil LGBT agenda. For example, many on the left today consider it an act of “hate” to declare that marriage is only the union of one man and one woman, to note that biology determines sex, or to refer to acts of homosexuality as sin. More than half of democrats want to criminalize such “hate speech.” Last year, The Washington Post ran an editorial (from the former editor of Time magazine!) that declared “Why America needs a hate speech law.”

America doesn’t need a “hate speech” law. America doesn’t need hate crime laws, and neither does Georgia. Most violent crime is motivated by some sort-of “hate.” The effort to get hate crime legislation passed in Georgia is nothing more than the Georgia left trying to elevate themselves politically. E.g. “Because we support ‘hate’ crime legislation, we ‘hate’ crime like this more than those who don’t support ‘hate’ crime legislation, thus vote for us!” Shame on Georgia conservatives for not realizing such.

(See this column at American Thinker.)

Copyright 2020, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Wuhan Virus Numbers: Some Much Needed Context

Before I again get into Wuhan virus numbers, let me say that I understand well the sudden and tragic loss that many Americans are experiencing during these difficult times. Almost exactly five years ago, we tragically lost my father-in-law in a hit-and-run homicide. He was riding his bicycle when he was hit by an intoxicated driver. He died instantly. There were no last goodbyes, no farewell hugs. One minute he was here, and the next he was gone.

David left behind a wife, four children, their spouses, and 11 grandchildren. As President Trump himself highlighted yesterday, it was the hardest thing we’ve ever dealt with, and this Wuhan virus has brought such sorrow to many American homes. However, our response to the Wuhan virus has brought a different kind of suffering to countless other Americans. As we continue this fight, we must recognize that we can protect those vulnerable to this dangerous virus while reopening our nation for business.

As the Wuhan virus continues to dominate the news, and most of America remains in some form of foolish “shutdown,” it’s time many Americans got some much needed information on the context of the many Wuhan virus numbers with which we’ve been inundated. I suspect your mainstream media is much the same as is mine in Northeast Georgia. I can’t look at a news website without being forced to read the (supposed) latest Wuhan virus death numbers and the new and the total number infected with the Wuhan virus.

First, let’s deal with the number of infections, or as the largest newspaper in Georgia, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) has been putting it, “confirmed cases.” As the previous link reveals, since very early in March the AJC has been keeping a daily tally of Wuhan virus deaths and cases in Georgia. Almost certainly, every U.S. state has a newspaper doing the same. However, when it comes to Wuhan virus infections, readers of the AJC are only getting total number of cases in Georgia, while other valuable and informative data is missing.

In other words, from one of the major news organizations in the state, Georgia citizens are not getting much needed “context” to the number of Wuhan virus cases. For example, as AJC readers scan the daily numbers, it is almost never stated that Georgia’s number of Wuhan virus infections is increasing because testing is on the rise. For weeks now, we’ve been hearing that we need more testing—and foolishly, many politicians and like-minded pundits are declaring that the un-sheltering and reopening of America largely hinges on the frequency and availability of Wuhan virus testing—thus it should come as little surprise that we now see a rise in those positive for the Wuhan virus across the U.S.

Though, I agree with John Hinderaker when it comes to testing:

The more tests we do, the more people we will find who have, or have had, the virus. So what? Epidemiologists say that the virus will continue to spread until a critical mass of us have had it and are immune, a number that probably lies between 40% and 70%. The virus will then more or less die out. I fail to understand how doing millions of tests on apparently well people is going to guide policy in any significant way.

What’s more, readers of the AJC do not see the number of Georgians who have completely recovered from the Wuhan virus. This is quite misleading, as the vast majority who contract the Wuhan virus recover within a two-week period, if they even have symptoms in the first place. As of this writing, the latest AJC headline on the Wuhan virus numbers blared that the “number of confirmed cases in Georgia increased by another 999,” and went on to note that “at least 28,133 residents have tested positive for the disease.”

As one looks day by day, because those who have recovered are never removed from the count, the number of Wuhan virus cases in Georgia continues to rise. Of course, this will happen as long as the AJC continues to count cases in such a way. Additionally, many who test positive for the Wuhan virus have very mild symptoms, if they have symptoms at all. That leads us to another important missing number when it comes to Wuhan virus cases: the asymptomatic.

Along with cruise ships, U.S. prisons have provided some valuable Wuhan virus data. A contagious virus will spread through a prison faster than fake news travels the mainstream media. One recent study on federal prisoners showed that more than 70% tested positive for the Wuhan virus. However, another recent study on prisoners revealed that, of those infected with the Wuhan virus, 96% were asymptomatic.

Additionally, as Jonathan Geach, M.D., Ankur J. Patel, M.D., Lacy Windham, M.D., OB/GYN, Ashkan Attaran, M.D., and Jason Friday, M.D. recently noted in The American Spectator,

Every study that has tested for COVID-19 in healthy individuals has found the disease’s prevalence to be surprisingly high, especially that of asymptomatic cases. These studies looked for the actual virus from a mouth or nasal swab using a technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR). One of these was a study done at Columbia University, which tested every woman presenting for labor for COVID-19 for almost a month. Researchers found a 15 percent positive rate, and 88 percent were completely asymptomatic. Another study at a Boston homeless shelter tested nearly 400 guests, 146 of which tested positive. All were asymptomatic. Yet another study on the USS Theodore Roosevelt tested 94 percent of the crew for the virus, with 678 of 4,069 sailors testing positive. Sixty percent of these 678 have been asymptomatic.

So, of the over 28,000 Georgians who’ve tested positive for the Wuhan virus, how many of them have recovered or have mild or no symptoms? This is important—and potentially comforting and calming—information. Yet, we’re almost never told such things by the mainstream media. Because they are devoted to the removal of President Trump from office at almost any cost, the mainstream media has used print, television, and the internet to further the shutdown narrative.

Also, along with the number infected, we daily get the number of those killed by the Wuhan virus. Or do we? We do know that there is a definite financial incentive for hospitals to attribute as many deaths as possible to the Wuhan virus. We also know from the doctors themselves that there is pressure to count every death possible as a Wuhan virus death. And we know from state Public Health Directors that there is reason to suspect that the total number of reported deaths from the Wuhan virus is high.

As Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Illinois Department of Public Health Director, recently put it,

I just want to be clear in terms of the definition of people dying of COVID. So, the case definition is very simplistic. It means that at the time of death it was a COVID-positive diagnosis. So that means if you were in hospice and had already been given, you know, a few weeks to live and then you were also found to have COVID, that would be counted as a COVID death. It means that if, technically, even if you died of a clear alternate cause but you had COVID at the same time it’s still listed as a COVID death. So, everyone that’s listed as a COVID death doesn’t mean that that was the cause of the death, but they had COVID at the time of death. I hope that’s helpful.

Yeah, that is indeed “helpful,” but it’s something else the media virtually ignores as they report Wuhan virus numbers. Furthermore, we’re almost never told who’s dying. It’s surprisingly difficult (try it) to even get an internet search to reveal the average age of a U.S. Wuhan virus death. As Selwyn Duke noted recently, the average age of an Italian who’s died from the Wuhan virus is 79.5, with more than 99% of those having comorbidities.

In Georgia, the average age of a Wuhan virus death is 73.4, with only 4.5% having no known comorbidities (listed as a “chronic condition” on the Georgia Department of Public Health COVID-19 Daily Status Report). Of the Georgians who’ve died from the Wuhan virus with no (yet) known “chronic condition,” 15 of them were under the age of 65. Again, Georgia’s media virtually ignores such things when reporting their Wuhan virus numbers.

In addition, the total number of Wuhan virus deaths for the U.S. seems awry. Currently, the number being reported across the U.S. shows that we are coming up on 70,000 total Wuhan virus deaths. Though they do indicate that their numbers lag, the CDC site shows the total number of Wuhan virus deaths far smaller (almost half) than what is reported in the media. In addition, the CDC distinguishes between “COVID-19 Deaths” and “Deaths with Pneumonia and COVID-19.” Almost certainly the total number of Wuhan virus deaths the media reports includes the latter category (currently over 16,000), without ever including a similar distinction.

I’ll let the doctors from The American Spectator piece mentioned above summarize for me,

[I]t is clear that COVID-19 is more prevalent and less deadly than previous testing has shown. In addition, it has become clear that the disease progression is generally mild in those under 65 with limited co-morbidities and even less of a threat to children. Knowing how low the risk is for the vast majority of Americans, which is rapidly approaching the mortality rate of the flu, we can safely reopen most of the country’s economy while continuing to protect those who are most at risk from COVID-19. Once shelter-in-place orders have been lifted, those who remain fearful are free to continue to shelter in place for as long as they so choose. There is more than enough information available at this time to reopen America.

Copyright 2020, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Why Doug Collins Needs to Win the Georgia Senate Race

As is well known, Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson resigned in December due to health issues. He never should have run for reelection in 2016, but that's another matter. He had three years left in his term, and Governor Brian Kemp solicited applications from Georgians to fill his seat for 2020. Kemp received over 500 applications, one of which was from Representative Doug Collins, of my congressional district—the Georgia 9th. Collins was President Trump’s choice to replace Isakson. The president reportedly asked Governor Kemp on several occasions to appoint Collins to the senate, but Kemp bucked the president and chose political outsider and multimillionaire businesswoman, Kelly Loeffler, co-owner of the WNBA team, the Atlanta Dream.

Loeffler will serve as senator during 2020, and then there will be a special election this November in which the voters will choose who will serve the last two years of Isakson’s term. Georgia has a strange way of electing replacements to Congress when there’s an opening mid-term. All of the qualifying candidates will be on the ballot in November—democrats, republicans, and independents—a “jungle” election. If no one receives a majority of the votes, the top two will face a runoff in December to decide the winner. Some of our state legislators attempted to pass legislation to enact a spring primary and avoid the “jungle” vote so that the parties could unite behind their one candidate, but Governor Kemp threatened to veto the measure. The change would likely have favored Collins instead of Kemp’s pick, Loeffler. As of today, there are five declared republicans in the race (Collins and Loeffler are the most notable) five democrats, and one independent.

I don’t always agree with Doug Collins’s voting record, and in fact, I helped to manage my uncle’s congressional campaign when he ran against Doug in the GOP primary in 2012 and 2016. However, one thing that I love about Doug is that he has been an absolute bulldog when it comes to supporting and defending President Trump during the impeachment nonsense. He seems to have Trump’s back wholeheartedly, and that goes a very long way in my book. Doug has an established record of protecting the unborn, defending our 2nd Amendment rights, and exposing the corruption that plagues those who are opposed to the truth. He is a proven commodity, he is honorable, and I believe we can trust him to stand on conservative principles as long as he serves in Congress.

From a peek into her past, it appears that Loeffler is no reliable conservative. She uses the correct talking points now, but what I’ve been reading lately from some trusted friends who know the politics of Georgia quite well is that she’s a “globalist,” along the lines of the George Bushes and Mitt Romney, or worse.

Reportedly, Governor Kemp’s motivation in appointing Loeffler was two-fold: 1. She can pour millions of her own dollars into her re-election campaign, and 2. He hopes she will attract women voters who have supposedly left the party and ensure that republicans keep the seat in November. Those seem like pretty shallow reasons to me. As a woman, I don’t trust Kelly Loeffler to be the true conservative that she needs to be, once the pressure is off and she is sitting comfortably in her senate seat.

I couldn’t care less whether my senator is male or female, so her gender holds no sway for me. What matters is whether he or she is principled, trustworthy, and has a proven history of supporting conservative values. I simply don’t see that in Loeffler, who cozies up to the likes of Democrat Stacey Abrams, donates thousands of dollars to democrats like Senators Chris Dodd, Debbie Stabenow, Tom Harkin, and so forth, organizes her team against Georgia’s religious freedom legislation, and supports Planned Parenthood with revenue from her team’s ticket sales. The WNBA is a terribly liberal organization, so it begs the question why and how someone with strong morals and conservative principles would co-own one of the teams. Loeffler simply doesn’t pass the smell test, in my humble view.

According to a statement from Concerned Women for America in late November, shortly before Governor Kemp announced that Loeffler would assume Isakson’s senate seat:

Governor Kemp needs to know Kelly Loeffler would be the wrong choice for conservatives in Georgia and supporters of President Trump on several fronts. She sits on the board of a hospital in Atlanta that employs five abortionists and actually runs the largest training program for abortionists in Georgia. She is also part owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream franchise. The WNBA has been an outspoken supporter of Planned Parenthood, even partnering with the pro-abortion organization in opposing President Trump’s pro-life policies. Likewise the WNBA has remained disturbingly silent about China’s persecution of the citizens of Hong Kong, even after an NBA general manager courageously spoke out about it. Ms. Loeffler also sits on the board of a psychiatric treatment facility that provides transgender affirming counsel to minors. Likewise she has given thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to liberal and pro-abortion candidates. There are better choices for Gov. Kemp when it comes to the next U.S. Senator from Georgia. Gov. Kemp has a list of fantastic pro-life candidates. We hope he doesn’t pick the one the pro-life community will have to oppose.

We can’t take chances with something as important as a U.S. Senate seat, and we certainly don’t need any more Susan Collins or Lisa Murkowski-types there. This position is too important to the future of our nation. We need someone to represent Georgia who has proven that he or she will stand for life, biblical marriage, the family, the 2nd Amendment, border security, national sovereignty, religious liberty, and so on. Governor Brian Kemp disappointed much of his conservative base when he went against President Trump’s wishes and chose Kelly Loeffler for U.S. Senate, and we voters need to send a strong message in November that we won’t stand for playing patty cake with our senate seats.

What we absolutely need to avoid in November is splitting the republican base and ending up with a democrat senator from Georgia. Since this is a jungle vote and there is no primary to allow us to choose one candidate, conservatives need to unite behind the only reliable candidate in the race. Not only does Doug Collins need to win, but he needs a landslide of republican support. There needs to be a clear mandate from the conservative base that we want a proven, principled conservative. Doug Collins needs to defeat Kelly Loeffler so we can keep Georgia solidly, reliably red and maintain the republican majority in the U.S. Senate.

(See this column at American Thinker.)

Michelle Thomas is a Christ follower, wife to Trevor Thomas, and homeschooling mom of four. Her books include Lord, I Need You, Through Deep Waters, and Debt-Free Living in a Debt-Filled World. Her website is KingdomCrossing.com, and her email is michelle@kingdomcrossing.com.