The charter consisted of a preamble and 63 clauses and dealt mainly with feudal concerns that had little impact outside 13th century England. However, the document was remarkable in that it implied there were laws the king was bound to observe, thus precluding any future claim to absolutism by the English monarch. Of greatest interest to later generations was clause 39, which stated that “no free man shall be arrested or imprisoned or disseised [dispossessed] or outlawed or exiled or in any way victimised…except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.” This clause has been celebrated as an early guarantee of trial by jury and of habeas corpus and inspired England’s Petition of Right (1628) and the Habeas Corpus Act (1679).
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution, “the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white” and that “the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” One hundred years later, on June 14, 1877, was the first observance of Flag Day.
As the NAACP’s chief counsel from 1938 to 1961, he argued 32 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, successfully challenging racial segregation, most notably in public education. He won 29 of these cases, including a groundbreaking victory in 1954′s Brown v. Board of Education, in which the Supreme Court ruled that segregation violated the 14th Amendment to the Constitution and was thus illegal. The decision served as a great impetus for the African American civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and ultimately led to the abolishment of segregation in all public facilities and accommodations.
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Marshall to the U.S. Court of Appeals, but his nomination was opposed by many Southern senators, and he was not confirmed until the next year. In June 1967, President Johnson nominated him to the Supreme Court, and in late August he was confirmed. During his 24 years on the high court, Associate Justice Marshall consistently challenged discrimination based on race or sex, opposed the death penalty, and supported the rights of criminal defendants. He also defended affirmative action and women’s right to abortion. As appointments by a largely Republican White House changed the politics of the Court, Marshall found his liberal opinions increasingly in the minority. He retired in 1991, and two years later passed away.
After failing to persuade the Times to voluntarily cease publication on June 14, Attorney General John N. Mitchell and Nixon obtained a federal court injunction forcing the Times to cease publication after three articles.Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger said:
Newspapers, as our editorial said this morning, we’re really a part of history that should have been made available, considerably longer ago. I just didn’t feel there was any breach of national security, in the sense that we were giving secrets to the enemy.
The newspaper appealed the injunction, and the case New York Times Co. v. United States (403 U.S. 713) quickly rose through the U.S. legal system to the Supreme Court.
On June 18, 1971, The Washington Post began publishing its own series of articles based upon the Pentagon Papers; Ellsberg gave portions to editor Ben Bradlee. That day, Assistant U.S. Attorney General William Rehnquist asked the Post to cease publication. After the paper refused, Rehnquist sought an injunction in U.S. district court. Judge Murray Gurfein declined to issue such an injunction, writing that “[t]he security of the Nation is not at the ramparts alone. Security also lies in the value of our free institutions. A cantankerous press, an obstinate press, a ubiquitous press must be suffered by those in authority in order to preserve the even greater values of freedom of expression and the right of the people to know.” The government appealed that decision, and on June 26 the Supreme Court agreed to hear it jointly with the New York Times case.Fifteen other newspapers received copies of the study and began publishing it.
On June 30, 1971, the Supreme Court decided, 6–3, that the government failed to meet the heavy burden of proof required for prior restraint injunction. The nine justices wrote nine opinions disagreeing on significant, substantive matters.
Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government. And paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people and sending them off to distant lands to die of foreign fevers and foreign shot and shell.
Former Democrat Vernon Jones, who dropped out of the race for governor to run instead for the 10th District, was asked whether he’d support the governor at a Walton County GOP event this week.
“I was not behind Gov. Kemp 100% in the primary. Why? Because he didn’t stand for election integrity,” Jones said, invoking lies about widespread election fraud. He added: “I’m not going to blindly support a RINO. I’m not going to do that.”
Mike Collins, the frontrunner in the June 21 runoff, was unequivocal: “I’m a Republican and I support Republican candidates and I’m behind Gov. Kemp 100 percent.”
On June 11, 1776, the Continental Congress appointed Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut and Robert R. Livingston of New York to draft a declaration of independence from Britain. Language in the original draft that condemned the introduction of the slave trade in the colonies did not make the final draft.
The Declaration was adopted unanimously by the Fifth Virginia Convention at Williamsburg, Virginia on June 12, 1776 as a separate document from the Constitution of Virginia which was later adopted on June 29, 1776. In 1830, the Declaration of Rights was incorporated within the Virginia State Constitution as Article I, but even before that Virginia’s Declaration of Rights stated that it was ‘”the basis and foundation of government” in Virginia. A slightly updated version may still be seen in Virginia’s Constitution, making it legally in effect to this day.
It was initially drafted by George Mason circa May 20, 1776; James Madison assisted him with the section on religious freedom.
The Virginia Declaration of Rights heavily influenced later documents. Thomas Jefferson is thought to have drawn on it when he drafted the United States Declaration of Independence in the same month (June 1776). James Madison was also influenced by the Declaration while drafting the Bill of Rights (introduced September 1789, ratified 1791), as was the Marquis de Lafayette in voting the French Revolution‘s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789).
The importance of the Virginia Declaration of Rights is that it was the first constitutional protection of individual rights, rather than protecting only members of Parliament or consisting of simple laws that can be changed as easily as passed.
On June 10, 1793, Washington, DC officially replaced Philadelphia as the Capital of the United States. To honor Washington, today we will adopt a smugly superior attitude, name-drop constantly, and speak condescendingly to those who currently live in the states we used to live in.
I am delighted today to approve the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibits arbitrary discrimination against women in the payment of wages. This act represents many years of effort by labor, management, and several private organizations unassociated with labor or management, to call attention to the unconscionable practice of paying female employees less wages than male employees for the same job. This measure adds to our laws another structure basic to democracy. It will add protection at the working place to the women, the same rights at the working place in a sense that they have enjoyed at the polling place.
While much remains to be done to achieve full equality of economic opportunity–for the average woman worker earns only 60 percent of the average wage for men–this legislation is a significant step forward.
On the morning of June 11, the day the students were expected to register, Wallace stood in front of the University of Alabama campus auditorium flanked by Alabama state troopers while cameras flashed and recorders from the press corps whirred. Kennedy, at the White House, and Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, in Tuscaloosa, kept in touch by phone.
When Wallace refused to let the students enter for registration, Katzenbach phoned Kennedy. Kennedy upped the pressure on Wallace, immediately issuing Presidential Proclamation 3542, which ordered the governor to comply, and authorizing the secretary of defense to call up the Alabama National Guard with Executive Order 11111.
That afternoon, Katzenbach returned with the students and asked Wallace to step aside. Wallace, knowing he was beaten, relented, having saved face with his hard-line, anti-segregation constituency.
[T]he most memorable performer may have been an automobile: the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California, a custom-built car revered by auto collectors.
According to Motor Trend, the first Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California—colloquially known as the “Cal Spyder”—was produced in 1957 and the last was built in early 1963. In addition to the long-wheelbase (LWB) Spyder, Ferrari also produced a sportier, short-wheelbase (SWB) model. Though estimates vary as to exactly how many were made—Cameron says “less than a hundred” in the film—approximately 46 LWB and between 50 and 57 SWB Spyders were produced in all. For “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” the filmmakers used a modified MGB roadster with a fiberglass body as a stand-in for the Ferrari. The filmmakers reportedly received angry letters from car enthusiasts who believed that a real Ferrari had been damaged.
One 1961 250 GT SWB Spyder California, with chassis number GT 2377GT, belonged to the actor James Coburn (“The Magnificent Seven”), who died in 2002. On May 18, 2008, at the second annual Ferrari Leggenda e Passione event at Maranello, Italy, the British deejay Chris Evans bought that car at auction for 6.4 million Euros, or $10,894,400 (including fees), the highest price ever paid for an automobile at auction.
Governor Brian Kemp’s office announced that May 2022 revenues were up 1.6 percent over the same period the previous year, according to a press release.
The State of Georgia’s net tax collections for May totaled almost $2.70 billion, for an increase of $41.8 million, or 1.6 percent, compared to May 2021, when net tax collections approached $2.66 billion. Year-to-date, net tax collections totaled nearly $30.24 billion, for an increase of $5.84 billion, or 23.9 percent, compared to fiscal year 2021, when net tax revenues totaled almost $24.40 billion as of the end of May.
Year-over-year comparisons of net tax collections for April and May are made difficult by the deferral of the previous year’s state tax filing deadlines for both quarterly and annual income taxes to May 17 rather than the traditional mid-April filing deadline set for most years. While annual revenue totals are comparable as of May 31, net revenue totals in the current month’s year-over-year comparison are not aligned as a result of the FY 2021 filing deadline shift into May.
The changes within the following tax categories help further explain May’s overall net tax revenue increase:
Individual Income Tax: Individual Income Tax collections increased by $90.5 million, or 5.8 percent, to a total of roughly $1.66 billion compared to last year, when Income Tax collections approached $1.57 billion. The following notable components within Individual Income Tax combine for the net increase:
• Individual Income Tax refunds issued (net of voided checks) were down $264.8 million, or 66.5 percent
• Individual Withholding payments increased by $175 million, or 17.4 percent, over fiscal year 2021
• Individual Income Tax Return payments were down $370.3 million, or 42.5 percent, from May 2021
• All other Individual categories, including Non-Resident Return payments, were up a combined $21 million
Sales and Use Tax: Gross Sales and Use Tax collections during the month totaled $1.44 billion, for an increase of $153.8 million, or 11.9 percent, over the previous year. Net Sales and Use Tax increased by $69.4 million, or 10.5 percent, from May 2021, when net sales tax totaled $657.7 million. The adjusted Sales Tax distribution to local governments totaled $711.7 million, for an increase of $85.8 million, or 13.7 percent, compared to last year. Lastly, Sales Tax refunds decreased by $1.4 million, or 31.7 percent, compared to May 2021.
Corporate Income Tax: Corporate Income Tax collections increased by $27.5 million, or 53.8 percent, compared to FY 2021, when Corporate Tax collections totaled $51.2 million for the month.
The following notable components within Corporate Income Tax make up the net increase:
• Corporate Income Tax refunds issued (net of voided checks) were down $10.3 million, or 42.8 percent
• Corporate Income Tax Return payments increased by $17.6 million, or 138.9 percent, over FY ‘21
• All other Corporate Tax categories, including Corporate Estimated payments, were down $0.4 million
Motor Fuel Taxes: Motor Fuel Tax collections for May decreased by $168.9 million, or 99.3 percent, from FY 2021, as a result of the Executive Order issued by Governor Kemp to suspend the Motor Fuel Excise Tax through mid-July.
Motor Vehicle – Tag & Title Fees: Motor Vehicle Tag & Title Fees increased by nearly $2.7 million, or 8.7 percent, while Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) collections declined by $4.6 million, or 6.2 percent, compared to last year, when TAVT totaled $73.8 million in FY 2021.
Georgia is still in the money, with tax collections on track to deliver another big surplus in its state budget.
The state has already collected roughly $2 billion more in general tax revenue than it’s on track to spend in the budget year that ends June 30, according to figures released Wednesday.
Plus, Georgia will bank another month of tax collections before it closes the books on the 2022 budget year, which could add another $2.5 billion to the surplus.
Georgia ran a $3.7 billion surplus in the 2021 budget year, filling its rainy day fund to the legal limit and leaving $2.3 billion in additional undesignated surplus Kemp has used to give income tax refunds worth $1.1 billion, in addition to paying for the gas tax holiday.
But lawmakers could be cautious because they have set a big income tax cut to begin on Jan. 1, 2024. Changing Georgia’s income tax from a system with a top rate of 5.75% with lower brackets below there to a flat tax of 5.49% could forgo $450 million in tax revenue. After that, the measure calls for the tax rate to fall one-tenth of 1% each year, reaching 4.99% by as early as 2029, unless overall revenue stalls.
Democrat Michelle Munroe will not endorse either of the runoff candidates vying to lose to Republican U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter in the general election. From the Savannah Morning News:
Since May 24, both camps have courted Munroe’s endorsement, but she says she’s not giving one. She said she supports both Joyce Griggs and Wade Herring and will stand behind the winner when they face longtime Rep. Buddy Carter in November.
Munroe’s neutrality may come as news to some Coastal Georgia Democrats, though, at least to those who saw an online poll that suggested Munroe had endorsed Herring. The item was put out by the Herring campaign following the primary as a data-gathering tool for research to determine the value of Munroe’s endorsement for the runoff, according to a spokesman from the campaign.
Munroe quickly moved to “set the record straight” through an appearance on a Facebook Live talk show hosted by Savannah Alderwoman Alicia Miller Blakely. “Support” does not equal an endorsement, Munroe said on the June 1 edition of “By Us, For Us.”
Glynn County election officials prefer voting locations be kept out of public schools, according to The Brunswick News.
Christina Redden, assistant supervisor for the Glynn County Board of Elections and Registration, said the reason polling places are at the schools is because there are few public buildings in the areas where they are located.
Elections officials recently approached Glynn County School Board members to see if they would be willing to close public schools on Election Day, but Redden said they were told it would be too difficult to schedule another day off for students in an already busy schedule.
“It is absolutely a priority to get out of Glynn County schools,” she said. “We are seeking organizations that have handicap access.”
Under the new law signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, the attorney general’s office will have concurrent authority with local prosecutors to bring gang cases. The state plans to spend $1.6 million on the unit in the budget beginning July 1.
Carr said the law will help his office work with law enforcement, district attorneys and federal agencies.
Supporters of the law say local prosecutors sometimes have trouble pursuing gangs that commit crimes across multiple of Georgia’s 50 judicial circuits. The attorney general’s office will also target gang activity in prisons.
“Cara Convery has established herself as a force in the field of criminal gang prosecution and is a proven leader in Georgia’s legal community,” Carr said in a statement.
The only race on the Republican ballot is the one between Travis Chance and Toby Conner for the GOP nomination for County Commission Seat 2-B, while the Democratic ballot features runoffs for that party’s nomination for four statewide offices: lieutenant governor, secretary of state, insurance commissioner and labor commissioner.
In-person early voting will be available 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. for five days only, Monday-Friday, June 13-17, at the Bulloch County Annex, 113 North Main St., Suite 201, Statesboro. There will be no Saturday voting and no second early voting location. The deadline to request a mailed, paper absentee ballot is this Friday, June 10.
Republicans Bob Duncan and Rick Townsend meet in a June 21 Runoff Election for State House District 179, according to The Brunswick News.
Both candidates, Bob Duncan and Rick Townsend agreed on most issues.
Townsend said he’d be reluctant to eliminate the state income tax without a plan to replace the revenue.
“Give me a plan first,” he said. “What are we going to cut?”
Duncan said there is a plan to continue to lower the state income tax.
Gwinnett County Commissioners will ask voters to adopt a new Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax to replace the one that is expiring, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Gwinnett County and its 16 cities will ask voters in November to extend the county’s special purpose local option sales tax for another six years and collect an estimated $1.35 billion.
“Gwinnett County has benefited from SPLOST programs for decades, starting with the first program in 1985, and since then voters have approved eight additional SPLOST programs,” Gwinnett County Commission Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson said. “It always amazes me what one cent, one penny, can do and has been able to provide for our county.”
The Jekyll Island Authority proposed an increase in the cost of an annual pass from $55 to $75, according to The Brunswick News.
The changes are included in the proposed $35.4 million budget for Jekyll Island’s upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1. The JIA board is set to vote on the final budget at its June 21 meeting.
On June 8, 2004, Georgia hosted the G-8 summit meeting of the world’s major industrial democracies, which included representatives from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United Kingdom, plus a representative from the European Union. The 30th meeting of the G-8 was held at Sea Island at the Cloister.
A Gainesville man in the Hall County Jail’s work release program removed his ankle monitor Monday, June 6, after being allowed to leave for a job interview at a local chicken plant, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Hall County authorities are searching for Jerry Lamar Thomas, 31, who did not return Monday, after a scheduled job interview at Pilgrim’s.
Thomas was arrested in May on drug possession charges and was in the work release program by court order.
Thomas was allowed to leave at 5:45 p.m. Monday for the job interview, but a representative from the chicken plant called the jail at 6:20 p.m. to say Thomas missed the appointment.
I’d have improved it by rewriting it: Flight risk: jail bird flies coop on way to interview at chicken plant.
Lee’s resolution declared: “That these United Colonies are, and of right out to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; that measures should be immediately taken for procuring the assistance of foreign powers, and a Confederation be formed to bind the colonies more closely together.”
June 7, 2016 was declared “Prince Day” in Minnesota under a proclamation issued by Governor Mark Dayton. Prince was born on this day in 1958. Governor Dayton missed his chance to begin a proclamation with “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together today….” The next year, Dayton proclaimed Prince Day on April 21, 2017.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
I literally could not make this stuff up.
The Capitol Beat News Service covers the Atlanta Press Club Runoff Debates:
Jones hammered away at Collins for being the son of a former congressman, the late Mac Collins, who was elected to the Butts County Commission as a Democrat in the late 1970s before turning Republican two years later.
“He was raised as a Democrat,” Jones said of Collins. “Mike is a RINO (Republican in Name Only.)”
Collins noted that Jones, on the other hand, served in the General Assembly as a Democrat and voted in the Democratic presidential primary in 2020.
“He has spent his entire life as a Democrat,” Collins said of Jones.
The two did agree on the need for Georgia to switch to closed primaries, where voters must register their party affiliation and can only vote in their party’s primaries.
The two Democrats seeking their party’s nomination for Georgia Secretary of State agreed on the issues Monday while focusing most of their fire on Republican incumbent Brad Raffensperger.
State Rep. Bee Nguyen gave Raffensperger credit for standing up to former President Donald Trump and refusing to go along with Trump’s attempts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.
But she accused the Republican secretary of state of harping on the need to ban non-U.S. citizens from voting and prohibit “harvesting” of absentee ballots when there’s no evidence either is a problem in Georgia.
Former state Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler, who finished second to Nguyen in the May 24 Democratic primary, criticized Raffensperger for supporting legislation the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed last year requiring Georgians to show a photo ID to cast an absentee ballot. She said the incumbent also favors assigning armed security to polling places.
“The last thing we need is an armed guard at any polling place,” Dawkins-Haigler said. “That intimidates people.”
Despite Trump’s endorsement of one of his Republican primary opponents, Raffensperger won renomination for a second term outright, avoiding the need for a GOP runoff.
Charlie Bailey, a lawyer who is running for Georgia’s lieutenant governor position, was the sole candidate to appear at the Atlanta Press Club runoff debate today.
Kwanza Hall, the other Democratic candidate in the runoff, failed to show up for the debate, giving Bailey a chance to explain how he would defeat Republican nominee Burt Jones in November.
The Democratic primary race was pushed to a runoff because no Democratic candidate passed the 50% mark in the May primary. Hall earned 30.2% of the vote, while Bailey garnered 17.6% of the vote.
Bailey criticized Republican nominee Burt Jones’ record of support for Donald Trump.
“The values of Burt Jones and Donald Trump and authoritarianism and extremism are not the values of Georgians,” said Bailey.
Bailey said that he could defeat Jones in the November general election.
[Janice Laws] Robinson’s opponent, Raphael Baker, did not attend the debate.
Robinson said she could win the general election in November, pointing out that she nearly beat the prior insurance commissioner, losing by only 3 percentage points in 2018.
[] Robinson earned far more votes than Baker in the May primary – 48.7% for Robinson compared to 33% for Bake[.]
“I have a plan. I’m going in as the next labor commissioner with a mantra of people, processes, and technology,” said Horn, a businesswoman. She noted that only 4% of phone calls at the Department of Labor are answered.
Horn also said that she would appoint a chief diversity officer at the agency.
Boddie, a lawyer and state representative from East Point, said he would lobby the General Assembly for increased funds so that the agency could hire more workers, modernize technology, and set up a managerial training track to promote from within.
Horn said she slept outside of the department to protest that decision and that the early cut-off had hurt Georgia’s workers and economy.
Boddie said he was part of a task force at the Georgia House of Representatives that advocated against the decision.
Kudos to both candidates for showing up and taking it seriously.
Savannah Lawyer Wade Herring, the stoic newcomer with a war chest filled to the brim with individual campaign contributions, came in second place in every county in the district.
Instead, retired Army Lt. Col. Joyce Marie Griggs, who was the nominee in 2020, beat Herring handily in the election day vote count, despite only having fundraised .003% as much money as Herring, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Voters will decide between Griggs and Herring on June 21 and provide several answers to the following questions: Will Herring’s fundraising offset his lack of name recognition? Will Griggs’ name recognition and firebrand persona make up for her only having a little over $2,200 in her campaign account?
[Herring] took a sharper edge when talking about his runoff opponent following election day, calling Griggs a “demonstrated loser,” and said he expects the votes cast for Munroe in the primary to find their way to his total in the runoff.
“[A Munroe vote] was a vote not for Griggs. It was a vote for change. Griggs is a demonstrated loser in the general election. She’s lost twice. This isn’t baseball. She should not get a third strike,” Herring said.
Griggs has been the Democratic nominee for the first district twice, in 2020 and in 2002. She lost both times to Carter in 2020 and Jack Kingston in 2002.
Runoff elections are June 21 for three nonpartisan Augusta offices, including mayor. Steven Kendrick, the former Richmond County tax commissioner, and Garnett Johnson, an Augusta business owner, were neck-and-neck in the May 21 election and now face off for the mayor’s office.
Two Augusta commission district seats are on the runoff ballot[.]
One week of advance voting starts June 13, and the deadline to request an absentee ballot is June 10. Here’s the who, what, when, where and how to vote in the runoffs.
On the morning of June 5, 1944, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe gave the go-ahead for Operation Overlord, the largest amphibious military operation in history. On his orders, 6,000 landing craft, ships and other vessels carrying 176,000 troops began to leave England for the trip to France. That night, 822 aircraft filled with parachutists headed for drop zones in Normandy. An additional 13,000 aircraft were mobilized to provide air cover and support for the invasion.
By dawn on June 6, 18,000 parachutists were already on the ground; the land invasions began at 6:30 a.m. The British and Canadians overcame light opposition to capture Gold, Juno and Sword beaches; so did the Americans at Utah. The task was much tougher at Omaha beach, however, where 2,000 troops were lost and it was only through the tenacity and quick-wittedness of troops on the ground that the objective was achieved. By day’s end, 155,000 Allied troops–Americans, British and Canadians–had successfully stormed Normandy’s beaches.
Governor Brian Kemp appointed William Duffey as Chair of the State Elections Board, according to a press release.
“Judge Duffey has been involved in complex litigation for decades, both as a lawyer and a judge,” said Governor Kemp. “Through his vast experience, he has established himself as a man of integrity who will uphold the highest ethical standards in his application of the laws of our state and nation. I am confident Judge Duffey will be a great asset to our state and help ensure our elections are secure, accessible, and fair.”
“I have dedicated my career to serving others to seek fair and just results in legal matters,” said Judge Duffey. “Our democracy is founded on citizens participating in the process to elect those who govern them. I am committed to working with my colleagues on the State Elections Board to perform our duty to protect the integrity of the election process because every Georgia voter is entitled to know their vote is secure and that it counts.”
William S. Duffey, Jr. retired in 2018 from active service as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia. From 2001 to 2004, before assuming the federal bench, Judge Duffey served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. As United States Attorney, he was responsible for prosecution of federal crimes, for civil actions filed by and against the United States government, and he led the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Taskforce.
Before his appointment as United States Attorney, Judge Duffey was a partner at King & Spalding in Atlanta. He was elected as a partner in 1987. From 1994 to 1995, Judge Duffey left private practice to serve as Deputy Independent Counsel in charge of the Arkansas phase of the Whitewater investigation. He rejoined King & Spalding as a partner following government service. At King & Spalding, Judge Duffey’s practice included complex civil and criminal litigation, focusing on trade secret, corporate espionage, and fraud matters. He also had a substantial internal corporate investigations practice, including the investigation of EF Hutton’s plea of guilty to mail and wire fraud arising from its banking practices, responsibility for the grounding of the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska, and the Florida Attorney General’s investigation into Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph’s retail sales practices.
An honors graduate of Drake University in 1973, Judge Duffey received his J.D., cum laude in 1977 from the University of South Carolina Law School.
Judge Duffey served in the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps from 1978-1981 as a Circuit Trial Counsel, and as an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate to the United States Logistics Group in Ankara, Turkey.
Judge Duffey has served in a variety of assignments that focused on ethics and integrity. In 2019, he served as a member of the City of Atlanta Task Force on the Promotion of Public Trust. In 2016, Judge Duffey represented the United Department of State at a conference on Human Trafficking and Organized Crime convened by Pope Francis at the Vatican. From 2008 to 2015, Judge Duffey represented the United States judiciary on nine trips to Ukraine to make presentations to Ukrainian judges and government officials on the requirement of ethical conduct as the foundation of an independent judiciary in a democracy. At King & Spalding, Judge Duffey’s practice included ethics counseling, including state and local elected officials’ compliance with state ethics requirements. While on the court, Judge Duffey served as President of the Eleven Circuit Judges Association, served on the Eleventh Circuit Pattern Jury Instructions Committee, and was a member of the Georgia Supreme Court’s Commission on Civil Justice.
A frequent presenter at legal conferences and seminars on professionalism, in 2022, Judge Duffey’s book “The Significant Lawyer: The Pursuit of Purpose and Professionalism” was published.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers announced it will not permit a mining proposal near the Okefenokee Swamp, according to the Savannah Morning News.
The decision came after a request from Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff to restore federal protections of the wetlands in the country’s largest blackwater swamp due to its cultural and historical importance to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals, as previously reported by Savannah Morning News, submitted applications in late 2020 for multiple permits from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to mine titanium oxide, often used in whitening products, as well as other heavy metals on more than 500 acres of ancient beach dunes called Trail Ridge in Charlton County. The dunes, which border the swamp and help contain it, are within 3 miles of the Okefenokee National Refuge, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service property.
“My whole team and I are exhilarated and thrilled to announce this restoration of protection for the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge and surrounding wetlands,” Ossoff said in an interview with Savannah Morning News.
The corps concluded it did not properly consult with the Muscogee Creek Nation when initially granting mining rights.
Since then, the fate of the Okefenokee has been awaiting the issuance of permits from the Georgia EPD. In the meantime, environmentalists have shared their concerns over the environmental and hydrological impacts of the mining facility.
With Connor’s June 3 memorandum, the previous decision that the Okefenokee’s wetlands are not protected is null and void for Twin Pines Minerals. However, the memorandum does say that Twin Pines Minerals can go back to the drawing board and reapply, should they choose to do so, taking into consideration wetland protections and consultation with the Muscogee Creek Nation.
“I just want to thank everyone that joined in this effort,” Ossoff said, including people of all political persuasions, environmentalists and conservationists. “This is a wonder of the world, and we’ve averted disaster by restoring these protections.”
Chatham Board of Elections candidates Robin Greco and Jennifer Salandi have joined fellow Savannahian Jeanne Seaver, who ran for lieutenant governor, in her call for a recount. The push follows a recount in Dekalb County prompted by voting equipment issues.
Seaver, who finished last in the lieutenant governor primary with 7.5% of the vote, has formally petitioned Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for a statewide recount. Contacted Friday, Seaver said that if there were discrepancies in Dekalb, the Secretary of State’s office has an obligation to investigate whether there were similar issues with the Dominion voting system machines statewide.
“It’s all about the right thing to do. They did it in one county because someone requested it. What about the 158 other counties?” Seaver said.
Meanwhile, the Chatham Elections Board candidates, Greco and Salandi, have “demanded” a recount in an email to Wooten and the board member who beat them both, Marianne Heimes.
Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams told the Ledger-Enquirer that she will create a program to provide an emergency, one-month supply of insulin to qualifying Georgians as part of her plan to address access and rising insulin costs if she’s elected governor.
The emergency insulin program would be open to low and moderate-income residents who have gaps in health insurance coverage or who may be unable to pay for their monthly insulin supply due to the loss of a job, a recent move or other circumstances. Uninsured Georgians will also be eligible. The state would initially allocate $23 million toward the program.
“Georgians with diabetes should not have to make tough choices about whether to ration or go without their insulin or provide for their families,” Abrams said.
In addition to the emergency program, Abrams is calling for Medicaid expansion and federal action to address insulin prices. Medicaid expansion would provide uninsured residents with diabetes who can’t afford the cost of treatment with access to affordable medications, she said. As of April 2022, Georgia is one of 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid.
On June 3, 1941, Georgia voters ratified a Constitutional Amendment extending the term of office for Governor and the other Constitutional Officers from two years to four. Governor Eugene Talmadge campaigned for the Amendment, hoping to serve a four-year term after the two-year term he currently held, but was defeated in the 1942 Democratic Primary by Ellis Arnall. Remember this phrase: legislation almost always has unintended consequences.
The Battle of Midway began on June 4, 1942. During the battle, four Japanese aircraft carriers that had participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor and one cruiser were sunk at the cost of one American carrier and one destroyer.
Saturday, June 4, 2022 is the anniversary of the beginning of the Tiananman Square Massacre in Beijing, China. Pro-democracy protests had begun on April 15, 1989 and on May 20, martial law was declared. The People’s Liberation Army began taking the square back on the evening of June 3d.
Today is National Donut Day, the most glorious day of the year. From WJBF:
First celebrated in 1938, National Doughnut Day was organized by the Salvation Army to celebrate the volunteers who traveled overseas during WWI to provide support for the troops, sometimes by frying up doughnuts on the front lines. These “Donut Lassies,” as they came to be known, helped to popularize the treat among returning GIs, according to the Salvation Army.
Today, National Doughnut Day is celebrated every year on the first Friday in June (and also, somewhat strangely, in early November). Despite all the empty calories, there’s a whole lot to celebrate too: The doughnut has had a long, interesting history in the United States.
The Canadian show, which is in its second season, pits three doughnut enthusiasts against each other in each episode in a double-round elimination challenge. During the first round, all three chefs must use a surprise ingredient picked by the celebrity judges, and the remaining two rounds require the contestants to bake large batches of doughnuts based on themes picked by the judges.
Barrett, who works as a pastry chef for Atlanta’s Four Seasons Hotel’s Park 75 restaurant, found himself in the final round competing against the famous Rebel Donuts of Albuquerque, N.M.
“(Doughnuts) are (Rebel Donuts’) bread and butter,” Barrett said. “That’s what they do all day all week. They had a really refined presentation style, and I was very nervous. I thought they were going to win for sure.”
However, Barrett and his fellow pastry chef, Chris Munguia, who competed alongside Barrett, surprised the judges with a trio of epically edible doughnuts.
For the three rounds, the duo designed three different and dynamic doughnuts. First was the creation they dubbed “Crown Jewels,” which was a horizontal-shaped doughnut made of doughnut holes, marshmallows and rice crispies — all topped with 24-karat gold leafs and fresh edible flowers.
The second doughnut, titled “Queen of Hearts,” was a playing card-shaped doughnut made of sour cream cake and topped with a cayenne cinnamon glaze.
Finally, they made “Duke of Earl Grey” which was a yeast doughnut with an Earl Grey tea custard filling and a topping composed of a chocolate mirror glaze and a handmade chocolate crown.
On June 2, 1989, Dead Poets Society, starring Robin Williams, was released in theaters.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
DeKalb County’s recount of District Commission 2 appears to produce different results, according to the AJC.
The results announced Wednesday evening — more than a week after election day and two days after the manual count was completed — showed Michelle Long Spears leading the way in the race for the District 2 commission seat, with Lauren Alexander finishing second.
If the results stand, those two would be in a position for a runoff later this month.
Marshall Orson, a longtime DeKalb school board member looking make the transition to the county government, would be in third place and out of the running.
That would be a dramatic departure from the preliminary results first reported in the race to represent the district that covers parts of the Decatur, Brookhaven and Atlanta areas in northwest DeKalb.
Results posted the morning after the May 24 Democratic primary showed that none of the candidates had eclipsed the 50% mark to avoid a June 21 runoff election. Orson and Alexander were at the time reported as the top two vote-getters, with Spears on the outside looking in.
Orson, who would be out of the runoff if the updated results stand, said he and his team were reviewing the new data but there were “serious questions as to the administration of the election and the administration of the results.”
“The idea that problems related to the programming of the voting machines and the calculation of votes could not ultimately taint every aspect of the process, including the production of paper ballots, defies belief,” he said in a statement provided to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We will continue to review our options, keeping at the forefront that any decision should work to foster the integrity and trustworthiness of our electoral process.”
Delta Air Lines says fuel prices are driving higher fates, according to the AJC.
Delta Air Lines says its air fares are 25-30% higher this summer on average compared with 2019, the year before the pandemic, as high fuel prices and strong demand drive up the cost of flying.
Ed Bastian, the CEO of Atlanta-based Delta, cited the figures during an investor conference Wednesday, adding that “we’ve never seen anything of that scale.”
Delta, like other airlines, is battling inflation, soaring fuel costs and labor shortages, amid robust demand for travel as people are more willing to take vacations and travel for business after two years of pandemic-depressed demand. The Consumer Price Index for airline fares rose 33.3% over the last year, the largest such increase since 1980, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report in May.
Arnold negotiated his defection to the British and the subversion of West Point over several months. The British already held control of New York City and believed that by taking West Point they could effectively cut off the American’s New England forces from the rest of the fledgling nation.
In August 1780, Sir Henry Clinton offered Arnold £20,000 for delivering West Point and 3,000 troops. Arnold told General Washington that West Point was adequately prepared for an attack even though he was busy making sure that that it really wasn’t. He even tried to set up General Washington’s capture as a bonus. His plan might have been successful but his message was delivered too late and Washington escaped. The West Point surrender was also foiled when an American colonel ignored Arnold’s order not to fire on an approaching British ship.
Arnold’s defection was revealed to the Americans when British officer John André, acting as a messenger, was robbed by AWOL Americans working as pirates in the woods north of New York City. The notes revealing Arnold’s traitorous agreement were stashed in his boots.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is the most important rock & roll album ever made, an unsurpassed adventure in concept, sound, songwriting, cover art and studio technology by the greatest rock & roll group of all time. From the title song’s regal blasts of brass and fuzz guitar to the orchestral seizure and long, dying piano chord at the end of “A Day in the Life,” the 13 tracks on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band are the pinnacle of the Beatles’ eight years as recording artists. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were never more fearless and unified in their pursuit of magic and transcendence.
Issued in Britain on June 1st, 1967, and a day later in America, Sgt. Pepper is also rock’s ultimate declaration of change. For the Beatles, it was a decisive goodbye to matching suits, world tours and assembly-line record-making. “We were fed up with being Beatles,” McCartney said decades later, in Many Years From Now, Barry Miles’ McCartney biography. “We were not boys, we were men… artists rather than performers.
“It was a peak,” Lennon told Rolling Stone in 1970, describing both the album and his collaborative relationship with McCartney. “Paul and I were definitely working together,” Lennon said….
Rolling Stone should stick to writing about music.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Put down your smokes and pick up some shrimps. Two stories from WTOC:
