GRTM Blog

Explore Georgia - January, 2024
Posted on January 11, 2024 by GRTM Communications
Start planning your best vacations of the year in Georgia!
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Indigenous Civilization
Posted on November 26, 2023 by GRTM Communications
Categories: State of Georgia
Indigenous Civilization
 
 
And then We were found
The one thing we’ve learned, is there’s one thing for sure
that history is there’s who would write it
That those who would rule, would give us their truth
and force us all here to recite it
From Ancient Greek cultures, to grand Persian sultans
to empires of Egypt and Rome
and China’s great wall, speaks nothing at all
of culture and history at home
Was ours not worth knowing? Our people, our story?
Of customs that long had been here
Of a world that was true, and not really brand new
On record for thousands of years
Their history portrays, we were sadly misplaced
When three Spanish ships ran aground
And five hundred nations received their salvation
after waiting so long to be found
But we did pretty good for being ‘lost in the woods
dating back to 10 thousand BC
Our writings were words, not hieroglyph forms
like those found in Egypt and Greece
Our writings have shown, this long had been home
and something the Maya were proud of
For infinite seasons, their garden of Eden
was one they were never cast out of
The Anasazi had built a palace with cliffs
which spirit inspired the thunder
This great canyon remains in four-corner states
A Mecca they simply called Wonder
So why weren’t we schooled of this nation of jewels
with traditions we still remember?
A culture so near that in twelve hundred years
we’d be taking a train up to Denver
Fort Ancients evolved with what they would call
Three Sisters of corn, squash and beans
And before they were found, their Great Serpent Mound
was crowned at Ohio Brush Creek
The Cahokian tribes built their cities astride
the greatest American rivers
One village maintained, and completely sustained
thirty nine thousand civilians
But one of the greatest nations of Natives
emerged from a Nahua reliance
From the Mexico Valley stood a glorious palace
brought forth by the Aztec alliance
The pyramid culture was left for the future
which spoke of the people’s creator
And we’d truly admired the Incan Empire
which prospered around the equator
Before they were found the Taíno were strong
and harvested land and the sea
They used ancient ways for travel and trade
while maintaining the guidelines for peace
For thousands of years, these nations were here
with resources, wealth and with power
Sharing assets abound, before they were found
Before the fruit had turned sour
Then Columbus showed up with three loads of nuts
The Taíno received them as friends
The white folks had thought the Natives were lost
And Natives were sure it was them
Though cordial at first, this visit got worse
They resembled those guests we all know
They wear out their welcome, won’t do what you tell them
and seems like they’ll never go home
On their very next trip they had seventeen ships
and the Natives would soon to discover
they weren’t here to trade, but to kill and enslave
and make riches for only each other
In a four year time two-thirds of them died
a genocide in a full swing
Slaying young and the old, for God and for gold
for them was that’s very same thing
The Columbus regime, was a killing machine
that ruled with terror and fear
This man once admired was finally fired
so brutal he scared his own peers
But his rule still applied that all Natives must die
throughout the Caribbean nations
And a million once strong were soon dead and gone
through murder, disease and starvation
We were much better off back when we were lost
back when we could truly excel
One way or another all Natives discovered
Columbus was sent here from hell
And this is the case to destroy a whole race
with no trace of hundreds of nations
Telling natives in class, enshrined Euro-trash
is honored for killing relations
And by teaching our youth their version of truth
is keeping their legend intact
They're entitled to keep the opinions they reap
but never entitled to facts
And that’s where it’s at, they’re ashamed of the facts
of what they had done to the Natives
they can’t figure out, just how to slide out
from lies that they’ve created
So on Columbus day we’ll rain on parades
To compete with the lies and distortion
The facts they’re bending denies ethnic cleansing
that happened in massive proportions
If it’s Columbus you want, he’s yours but don’t flaunt
by teaching this perjury in class
Though Natives are known for signals of smoke
We don’t need it blown up our Ass
(Author) Daaxkoowadein
  Thank you for reading and liking the article. If you're Native American, this is the store for you (t-shirts, blankets, jewelry, tumbler,bags..).
  Visit the Native American store here: https://nativesblood.com/collections/best
Peach Pass
Posted on November 7, 2023 by GRTM Communications
 
Peach Pass is Now Accepted in Six More States Through Agreement with E-ZPass
https://tinyurl.com/GRTM110723C
 
The World Of Illumination Rockin' Christmas Is Coming To Georgia
Posted on November 6, 2023 by GRTM Communications
 
The World Of Illumination Rockin' Christmas Is One Of Georgia's Biggest, Brightest, And Most Dazzling Drive-Thru Light Displays
One of the best and brightest drive-through light shows is running in Georgia and you do not want to miss out. World of Illumination’s Rockin’ Christmas in Marietta is a one-of-a-kind event with the most dazzling lights around. Picture driving through a holiday wonderland of sparkling, twinkling, and shining LED lights in every direction. This is one Christmastime event that the whole family can come together for and enjoy.https://tinyurl.com/GRTM110623
 
Become a Georgia State Police Officer
Posted on November 4, 2023 by GRTM Communications
 
Become a Georgia State Police Officer
 
 
 
Georgia Department of Public Safety
 
Are you ready to embark on an exciting and challenging journey?
Applications are now open for the 118th Joint Trooper School,
and we want YOU to be part of this elite team.
Go to gatrooper.com now to apply. #gatrooper
5 Georgia podcasts you should be listening to
Posted on June 23, 2022 by L David McCollum
Categories: State of Georgia
 
 
 
5 Georgia podcasts you should be listening to
 
 
 
 
 
Georgia Legislature
Posted on February 27, 2022 by L David McCollum
 
 
Georgia General Assembly
 
5 stories to know from this past week at the General Assembly
 
Legislation prohibiting transgender students born male from competing in most girls' sports in Georgia
cleared the Republican-controlled state Senate on Thursday. 
Georgia Senate passes transgender sports bill Feb 24, 2022
ATLANTA — Controversial legislation prohibiting transgender students born male
from competing in most girls’ sports in Georgia cleared the Republican-controlled state Senate Thursday.
The bill, which passed 34-22 along party lines, stems from complaints by parents
of biological girls who have quit sports because they don’t want to have to
compete against transgendered girls who were born male and, thus, enjoy an unfair
advantage in strength and speed, said Sen. Marty Harbin, R-Tyrone, the measure’s chief sponsor.
“This bill is about fairness,” he said. “It’s simply not fair to force biological girls to compete against biological boys.”
But Senate Democrats argued the legislation stigmatizes transgendered students,
a particularly vulnerable group of young people who suffer from a high suicide rate.
“This is hurting our kids,” said a tearful Sen. Sally Harrell, D-Atlanta, who is the mother of a transgendered child.
Harrell said the bill is premature, coming at a time when transgendered children aren’t well understood by many.
“Let society deal with this issue for a little while,” she said. “Let the sports associations try to figure it out.”
Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, said the measure is politically motivated,
part of a conservative agenda Republicans are pushing under the Gold Dome.
“It’s another election-year bill about another fabricated problem,”
she said. “Ostracizing vulnerable children to get votes is despicable.”
But Sen. Matt Brass, R-Newnan, said the bill is meant to safeguard the integrity of girls’ sports.
“Women’s sports is one of the greatest tools we have in the
fight for gender equality,” he said. “This bill simply protects that tool.”
The bill now moves to the Georgia House of Representatives.
 
 
Georgia Senate passes Parents' Bill of Rights
Feb 22, 2022
ATLANTA — Legislation guaranteeing parents input into their children’s
education cleared the Republican-controlled Georgia Senate Tuesday.
The bill, which passed 33-21 along party lines and now moves to the state
House of Representatives, is part of an education agenda being pushed by
GOP Gov. Brian Kemp that includes measures prohibiting the teaching of
certain “divisive concepts” in Georgia schools and banning
transgendered students born male from competing in girls’ sports.
The Parents’ Bill of Rights would give parents the right to review curriculum
and other instructional material during the first two
weeks of every nine-week grading period in public schools.
Principals or superintendents who receive a request for
information from a parent would have three working days to provide it.
If the principal or superintendent is unable to share the information within
that timeframe, they would have to provide the parent a written description
of the material and a timeline for its delivery, not to exceed 30 days.
Parents not satisfied with a local school’s decision on a
request could appeal to the school district and, beyond that, to the state.
Parents also would be able to opt out of sex education instruction for their
children and could prohibit photos or videos of their children unless necessary for public safety.
“At the end of the day, parents know what’s best for a
child before the government,” said Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas
Senate Democrats argued the legislation is unnecessary because
parents already can play a role in their children’s education if they choose to.
“Parents are invited to back-to-school nights and parent-teacher conferences,”
said Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta. “They can attend school board
meetings and many do. They can elect school board members.”
The bill would create an adversarial relationship between parents
and teachers when they should be working together, Parent said.
“This bill creates a process for investigation and appeals ... document production
efforts that contribute to an atmosphere of censorship and overburdening of teachers,” she said.
Parent predicted the bill would worsen an already troublesome shortage of teachers in Georgia.
Supporters countered that a Parents’ Bill of Rights has become necessary in
Georgia because in-home instruction during the coronavirus pandemic has
shown parents what their children are learning that, in some cases, conflicts with their values.
“Our parents have learned more of what their children are being taught
than ever before,” said Sen. Marty Harbin, R-Tyrone. “That’s what’s caused some of these concerns.
“How can you sit here and fight against the rights of parents?” Sen. Matt Brass,
R-Newnan, asked the bill’s opponents from the Senate well. “We are simply returning control back to the parents that they have lost.”
 
Georgia lawmakers eyeing bill to jump-start stalled medical marijuana program 22 hrs ago
ATLANTA — In 2019, the General Assembly created a commission to launch
a medical marijuana program in Georgia by awarding licenses to
companies to grow the leaf crop and convert it into low-THC cannabis oil.
Three years later, not a single patient has received a single dose. Despite
the tentative granting of six licenses last summer, the initiative is mired in
legal protests filed by companies denied licenses claiming the selection process was flawed.
“It’s the most maddening process I’ve ever seen,” said state
Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, chairman of the House Regulated Industries Committee.
Now, Powell is pushing legislation he says would resolve the legal issues and get the program on track.
House Bill 1400 would increase the number of licenses the state awards
from six to as many as 28. That would allow the 16 companies that have
filed protests to reapply for a license rather than pursue their protest in
court and cause further delays, Powell testified during two days of hearings on the bill.
“It’s time we do what’s necessary to fix a broken system,” he said.
The more than 20,000 Georgia patients who have registered with the state
Department of Public Health to receive low-THC cannabis oil are frustrated they
haven’t been able to get the drug three years after the legislature created the program.
Under the 2019 bill, patients suffering from a variety of diseases qualify for
low-THC cannabis oil. The list includes cancer, seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis,
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and sickle-cell anemia.
Dale Jackson, the father of a teenage son with autism, took lawmakers to task
during one of the hearings for failing to keep their promise to provide a legal pathway for Georgians to get the oil.
“We were told, ‘Just do it right. Just follow the process,’ ” Jackson told members
of a House subcommittee assigned to consider Powell’s bill. “You lied to us. … This problem has to be fixed. This has to end.”
Several lawyers representing companies denied licenses to
produce low-THC oil spoke out in support of the bill during the two hearings.
Kellen Carr, representing Georgia Bioscience Research, one of the companies
protesting denial of its license application, said limiting the number
of licenses will drive up the costs of the oil, which is not covered by insurance.
“The only thing that keeps costs down in this industry is marketplace competition,” she said.
Kristen Goodman, representing Symphony Medical, another protester,
said the six licenses that were granted went to large out-of-state
companies with plans for cannabis oil-producing operations concentrated in Middle Georgia.
“The north half of the state is not represented at all, nor is the southwest corner,”
added Wesley Dunn, representing Revolution Georgia, another company denied a license.
Andrew Turnage, executive director of the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis
Commission, did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment on Powell’s bill.
But during a commission board meeting last month, he said the commission supports expanding the number of licenses.
Powell’s bill got some pushback during the hearings over whether granting
more licenses would mean caving in to the threat of lawsuits from companies denied licenses.
“I am deeply concerned we are rewarding people simply for
having the ability to file a lawsuit,” said Rep. Michael Smith, D-Marietta.
But others on the subcommittee said increasing licenses to get
low-THC oil to patients sooner rather than later should be the overriding consideration.
“We’ve got children who are sick and hurting all over this state and need this
to make a difference in their life,” said Rep. Rick Williams, R-Milledgeville. “We need to make this happen.”
 
 
Georgia Senate OKs new districts for state Public Service Commission
Feb 24, 2022
ATLANTA – Republicans in the Georgia Senate approved new district boundaries
for the state Public Service Commission (PSC) Thursday over objections from minority Democrats.
The new map, which now heads to the state House of Representatives,
would move 41 of 159 counties from one commission district to another.
The changes were necessary to reflect population shifts reflected in the 2020
Census, Rep. John Kennedy, R-Macon, chairman of the Senate Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee, told his Senate colleagues.
But Senate Democrats argued the map makes more changes
than would be necessary to get the districts nearly even in population.
They singled out Gwinnett County, which would move from PSC District 2 to
District 4 under the new map. That change would prevent Democrat Patty Durand,
who is challenging Republican Commissioner Tim Echols this year in District 2, from running because she lives in Gwinnett.
The term being served by District 4 Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald doesn’t expire until 2026.
“Incumbents [are] trying to protect their seats,” said Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta.
Beyond the issue of changes affecting individual counties, Sen. Jen Jordan,
D-Atlanta, sought to change the system of electing members of the PSC.
Currently, commissioners must live in one of the five commission districts, but they run statewide.
Jordan proposed an amendment to have commissioners elected only by voters in their districts.
She said electing members of the PSC statewide makes it more difficult for a minority candidate to win.
“It dilutes the voting power of people of color in this state,” she said.
But Kennedy said the current system guarantees commissioners
will address issues facing the PSC from a statewide perspective.
“We don’t need regionalism,” he said. “We don’t need
district fights about what statewide energy policy should be.”
After Jordan’s amendment was defeated, the Senate
passed the new PSC map 33-21. Both votes were along party lines.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service,
a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
 
 
Georgia lawmakers mulling bill to grant refugees in-state college tuition
Feb 24, 2022
ATLANTA – Legislation that would grant in-state college tuition to refugees from
Afghanistan resettled in Georgia last year drew bipartisan support in a state House committee Wednesday.
House Bill 932 would waive the one-year residency requirement to qualify for in-state
tuition at the state’s public colleges and universities that applies to students who have moved to Georgia from out of state.
“These refugees … worked with our military, primarily in Afghanistan,” Rep. Wes Cantrell,
R-Woodstock, the bill’s chief sponsor, told members of the House Higher Education
Committee Wednesday. “These folks want to be American and live the dream.”
Cantrell chaired a legislative study committee last year that looked for ways to
strengthen Georgia’s economy by enabling foreign-born Georgians to contribute
to the fullest extent possible. About 10% of Georgians today were born outside of the United States.
“We’ve got more jobs in Georgia than people,” Cantrell said. “We shouldn’t be
putting up artificial limits to these people getting educated and becoming productive members of society.”
“It’s a common-sense way to address an economic development issue,” added Rep. Betsy Holland, D-Atlanta.
Darlene Lynch, chairman of the Business & Immigration for Georgia Partnership,
a coalition of business and civic leaders, said refugees should be treated differently
under the law governing in-state tuition than people who choose to move here from other states.
“Georgia is the only state they have ever called home,” she said.
“They have been told to come to Georgia to resettle here.”
But committee Chairman Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta, said he’s uncomfortable with
waiving the one-year residency requirement for refugees while still applying it to others who move to Georgia.
“My struggle is putting these folks ahead of other folks,” he said.
The committee did not vote on the bill Wednesday but
could decide whether to advance it as soon as next week.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service,
a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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