Category Archives: Public Policy

Preachers and Politics – No Subject is Off Limits

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Be assured, God is not deaf to the cries of the millions of innocent babies callously killed as if a sacrifice to the god of convenience. Then as if mere killing was not enough, Planned Parenthood and other organizations determined that if they killed the baby is just the right manner, they could butcher the body and sell the parts to highest bidder.

Our nation cannot continue down this path and expect that there will not be consequences from the just and righteous Creator who watched over us and formed this nation of freedom. Do not think for a moment that the great United States of America cannot fall under God’s judgment.

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Who Will Fill the Void?

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Who will fill the void? The language and tone of the political season has deteriorated to a repugnant cesspool. Most of us grew up being taught the value of good manners, treating others with respect, and having humility.

Name calling and making fun of others was a punishable offense. So, it is understandable to hear people wish for the campaign season to be over. They just want the conflict to finally end for a season at least.

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Professor Perdue Leads Revolt in Senate Nursery

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Last week, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina referred to Freshman Georgia Senator David Perdue as a “Two year old politician.” The context of that reference was a series of speeches on the Senate floor about the budget process.

Senator Perdue has spent months quietly working with his senate colleagues to address the budget process.Then, on September 28, he scheduled the time for the Freshman Senators to join him.

In the fashion of a learned professor, he lectured the seasoned Senators about the budget. He used plain, common sense language. Just a few quotes below:

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How I Will Vote on Constitutional Amendments

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Many times I am asked my opinion about various issues on the ballot. This year in Georgia we have four proposed amendments to ratify or reject.

Get my Common Sense Updates sent directly to your mail box by signing up  here or at the end of this commentary. Sign Up for Note From Don Cole

If you want to jump to a specific amendment, use the links below to go directly to the Proposed Amendment.

Proposed Amendment # 1 – Opportunity School District

Proposed Amendment # 2 – Georgia Additional Penalties for Sex Crimes to Fund Services for Sexually Exploited Children

Proposed Amendment # 3 – Georgia Replacement of the Judicial Qualifications Commission

Proposed Amendment # 4 – Uses of Revenue from Taxes on Fireworks

Just a little review on the process to amend the Constitution. A resolution to amend the Constitution must receive a 2/3 vote in the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate. If the resolution meets that super majority in both House and Senate, then it goes to the voters to ratify by a simple majority.

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Steadily Increasing Federal Debt

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The Congressional Budget Office released its 2016 Long Term Budget Outlook today. The one sentence summary is devastating.

If current laws remained generally unchanged, the United States would face steadily increasing federal budget deficits and debt over the next 30 years—reaching the highest level of debt relative to GDP ever experienced in this country.

Even more troubling is to read the one sentence summary from prior years.

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The Friendly Extortion Letter from the DOE and DOJ

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On May 13, a joint letter from the US Department of Education and the US Department of Justice went to school administrators across the nation. It was addressed to “Dear Colleague.” The first page of the document was written in seven different languages offering free language services if the reader had difficulty understanding English.

Stop and let this sink in for a moment. This is a letter to professional educators in public

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The Opportunity School District Amendment Grows Bureacracy

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This November you will have a decision to make on the Georgia Constitution. One of the Constitutional amendments will be to ratify an amendment relating to failing schools. Here is what you will see on the ballot:

Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow the state to intervene in chronically failing public schools in order to improve student performance?
( ) Yes
( ) No

A one question description is inadequate to fully explain the impact of a yes or a no vote. A simple reading of the text above would likely generate a response of “of course!”

The Democrat party of Richmond County wanted to get feedback from Democrat voters on the amendment. This is the wording of a non-binding question on the May 24 Richmond County Democrat Primary ballot:

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Repatriated Income Explained in Middle Class Kitchen Table Terms

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The Obama stimulus plan approved in 2009 was supposed to cost 787 billion dollars when it was enacted. Estimates are now exceeding 830 billion. The idea was to take your tax money (actually borrow against your tax money) and create jobs so that the economy would grow. We are now in 2016 and still awaiting the economic reaction to the stimulus. It looks like the only thing stimulated was federal spending and the growth of our national debt.

Did you know that there is an estimated 2 trillion dollars that could be invested back in the US economy and it would not cost taxpayers a dime? Ted Cruz and Donald Trump have both talked about it on the campaign trail. I first heard it mentioned by David Perdue before he formally announced that he was running for US Senate.

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The Birth of a Monster – The 16th Amendment and the IRS

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I will give you a list of dates and ask you to associate events with each date. December 25, July 4, April 15. You probably got three for three. Christmas, Independence Day, and the day that taxes are due.

This year, the IRS, generously allowed another 3 days until April 18. If you have not filed already, enjoy those three days while you can because it does not happen very often.

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Governor Deal Vetoes HB 757 Free Exercise Protection Act

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Governor Deal vetoed House Bill 757, commonly referred to as the Religious Freedom Act. His stated reason was that the law was not necessary in Georgia. He referred specifically to requiring someone to participate in a religious ceremony, including marriage ceremonies, if it was contrary to sincerely held religious beliefs.

“While most people would agree that government should not force such actions, there has not been a single instance of such taking place in Georgia. If there has been any case of this type in our state it has not been called to my attention.”

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