Latest news with #GoldDomeNuggets
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Gold Dome Nuggets: DOGE walking, light side of pink, I got it, you take it
Jessica Blinkhorn "Walking the DOGE" at the Georgia Capitol. Photo by David Clifton-Strawn If a dominatrix went hunting in a Georgia forest, would she wear pink? And who would carry the bill in the Senate? Belly up to the buffet table, folks. It's time for another course of Gold Dome Nuggets, post-Crossover Day edition. If you follow Georgia politics on social media, you may have seen video of an unusual protest at the Capitol Thursday afternoon: a woman dressed in black stockings, high-heel combat boots and a studded silver face mask, in a wheelchair, 'walking' leashed actors wearing Donald Trump and Elon Musk masks. The Recorder caught up with the woman behind the act of protest, Georgia State University art instructor Jessica Blinkhorn on Friday afternoon, when she said video of the performance, titled 'Walking the DOGE,' had already topped a million views and been shared tens of thousands of times across various platforms. Blinkhorn said much of the reaction was supportive and some was less than kind, but she said she's not bothered by negative comments. 'When you grow up a chubby, gappy-toothed disabled girl in a lower middle class family, people come after you a lot,' she said. 'Some to your face and some behind your back. I have more respect for the people that do it to my face, but I have a thick skin because of that, and on top of that, I'm an artist, so I'm born to take constructive criticism, and I learned to acknowledge and absorb and accept the truths that I get from people versus discard the toxic imposed narratives that people throw at my work.' Blinkhorn has spinal muscular atrophy type 2, a genetic condition which gradually depletes the body of voluntary and involuntary muscles. Her late brother and sister had the same condition. It has changed the way she makes art – Blinkhorn said she is trained in drawing and painting, but took up performance art as a way to continue creating. She also uses her art to advocate for people with disabilities. She said 'Walking the DOGE' grew out of an earlier piece, 'Taking a B-tch for a walk,' which featured Trump but not Musk. That performance got her kicked out of the prestigious Art Basel in Miami and the cops called on her last year. 'I think the real reason that people kicked me off property at Basel is people were coming out of Basel to photograph me. I was also topless because – when in Rome – it was South Beach,' she said with a laugh. The idea came from apprehension of what Trump's second term could mean for people with disabilities, LGBTQ people and other vulnerable groups. 'The piece 'Taking a B-tch for a Walk' was very much reactionary political activism that was based off of fear and passion for putting him in his place and making him feel just as vulnerable in a submissive position as I am in my life every day and usurping that role as the dominant force,' she said. Blinkhorn said she staged Thursday's performance for the 35th anniversary of the Capitol Crawl, a pivotal disabilities rights event in which people with disabilities crawled the steps of the U.S. Capitol to highlight the barriers faced by people who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices. That protest and other acts of advocacy are credited with helping spur the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act a few months later. Blinkhorn said she hopes to one day take the show on the road – she'd love to perform outside the U.S. Capitol – and to continue to grow her pack of leashed political figures. 'Me and a co-conspirator tossed around the idea of Marjorie Taylor Greene being leashed to the back of my chair – not made to walk on her hands and knees, because no woman should ever bow to a man – but definitely leashed,' she said. To people upset that they missed Thursday's performance, Blinkhorn said she has no intention of stopping as long as she can keep going. 'I've watched both my siblings die from that disability. I've watched multiple friends die from that disability,' she said. 'Since I was young – eight years old, I lost my first friend – I've always been told, 'You're going to get weaker, you're going to die, you have a looming death date,' so every f—–g moment counts. I know, more than a lot of people, that every f—–g moment counts. If you die in battle, at least you f—–g die fighting for something. You made it f—–g count.' Wabbit season, duck season — silly season? That's what came to the Georgia Senate Thursday during a debate on a bill allowing pink hunting gear for Georgia hunters. The bill, sponsored by Lyons Republican Rep. Leesa Hagan, would allow hunters the option to wear fluorescent pink in addition to high visibility orange. Supporters say it will encourage more women to get into hunting and increase hunting license sales. The bill was the brainchild of a Georgia student named Carly who enjoys hunting and the color pink and wrote to her legislator asking for the bill as part of a school project last year. Democrats used the opportunity raised by the floor debate to talk about issues they'd rather focus on after Atlanta Democratic Sen. Elena Parent gave a speech in support of the bill. 'So while we're talking about choices for hunters, I'm curious, in your opinion, would you agree that it would be important to make sure that women have choices when it comes to their reproductive rights?' asked Stone Mountain Democratic Sen. Kim Jackson. 'I do agree with that, and you know, again, it is Women's History Month,' Parent said. 'I am so glad to see this body moving forward, not just on safety, but in the recognition that there are many women who are hunters, right? And you know, we need to make progress on some of these other issues that also matter to women.' Sandy Springs Democratic Sen. Josh McLaurin used the opportunity to talk about DEI bans. 'I certainly appreciate your passionate presentation, but are you aware that you said the word inclusion a lot during your speech?' he asked. 'Are you aware that word has been banned?' McLaurin joked that Parent might be at risk of losing federal funding. 'I am glad I'm a citizen and not a green card holder,' Parent said. 'Because we are worried. I'm not worried about my free speech rights right now. Yes, I might be able to be attacked on my wallet, but I still can stand here in this well, and I am honored and privileged to be a senator and be able to speak on behalf of my constituents, and I do think that that's what our citizens should be able to do under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.' Parent was referencing Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in connection with student protests at Columbia University in opposition to Israeli actions in Gaza. After that exchange, Savannah Democratic Sen. Derek Mallow made a non-serious amendment that would have also allowed lime green as a color that hunters could wear. Mallow said it was in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Savannah is home to one of the country's largest St. Patrick's Day celebrations. That was a bridge too far for Cataula Republican Sen. Randy Robertson, who demanded an immediate end to the japery. 'This is about gun safety,' he said. 'This is about a young lady who wanted to be a part of the political process, and this is about a young lady who looked up to another lady who served in the House of Representatives for the state of Georgia, and this is important to that young lady, and if it makes sense to us, then let's stop with the silly amendments, let's stop with the silly comments and give that young lady who loves to hunt her opportunity to see legislation work in a positive way so that she can have stuff to brag about about something that she's done and hopefully make her a stronger woman.' The bill passed unanimously after Dallas Republican Sen. Jason Anavitarte moved to finish debate. 'I move to call the question to end this mockery to female outdoorsmen,' he said. It's not uncommon for senators from both parties to joke around during floor debates. In fact, Majority Leader Steve Gooch made a lighthearted reference to the menstrual cycle earlier in the debate on the same bill. 'Senator, can you tell me what the letters PMS mean to you?' he asked a pink shirt-clad Sen. Drew Echols, the Gainesville Republican carrying the bill in the Senate. 'I can,' Echols answered. 'Premenstrual Syndrome.' 'No sir. PMS is called Pantone Matching System,' Gooch said. 'It is a color wheel that's used to match colors for printing materials. So senator, I'm not sure where your mind is this morning, but it's clearly not on your bill today.' A bill now making its way through the Senate proposes to no longer have magistrate court judges elected as partisan candidates in elections. This week the Georgia Senate Ethics Committee approved House Bill 426, which would exempt probate court judges from competing in partisan elections. It's a legislative priority of the state's councils for magistrate judges and the judiciary, whose supporters argue it would further boost public confidence by adding a layer of impartiality in the judicial system. After the March 6 Crossover Day deadline, legislators in both chambers begin the process of taking up measures passed by the opposite chamber leading up to the session's April 4 finale. A bill's original sponsor will select a legislator from the other chamber to 'carry' the bill across the finish line. And sometimes, the hand-off is less than smooth. On Wednesday, Ethics Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Rick Williams was surprised to be in charge of presenting the bill to the Senate. 'I think (Minority Leader Steve) Gooch is going to be carrying it in the Senate, is that correct?' Williams said to Villa Rica Republican Rep. Kimberly New, who is sponsoring the bill. 'You are,' she responded as laughter erupted in the meeting room. Williams, a Milledgeville Republican, said he must've misread a text message. 'Let me say this, one of us will carry it,' he said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gold Dome Nuggets: Cornbread baked in state code, pronoun triggers and get along little DOGE
Sen. Josh McLaurin, a Sandy Springs Democrat, held up a photo of the Doge meme that became popular in 2013 and is the namesake of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder This week's serving of Gold Dome Nuggets may contain traces of cornbread, Brunswick stew and 15-year-old funny dog pictures. Plus, should students read about plus-size women of color posing nude to increase their self-esteem? Let's dig in. If Georgia were an insect, what kind of insect would it be? That's an easy one – the honeybee, the official state insect, as designated by the Legislature in 1975. But how would one express the concept of Georgia as a fish? You could go with the official state fish, the largemouth bass – the obvious choice. But what about Georgia's official state saltwater fish, the red drum? Or the mighty Southern Appalachian brook trout, the state's official cold water game fish. Every day, state leaders make weighty decisions like how to encapsulate Georgia's rich history in a butterfly (the tiger swallowtail) or how to instill every Georgian heart with pride in the form of a folk dance (square dancing). But while Georgia has an official prepared food — grits — the state has no official state bread. Dalton Republican Rep. Kasey Carpenter wants to correct that oversight, and he's revived a bill that would enshrine cornbread as Georgia's official state bread. Carpenter shepherded a cornbread bill through the House in 2024, but it failed to get a vote in the Senate. (EDITOR'S NOTE: we used every cornbread pun known to mankind last year, so that's why there aren't any here.) 'It's back, baby, it's back, it's a reunion tour,' Carpenter said from the House floor Wednesday before the vote on this year's bill. The House approved elevating cornbread to the state's latest symbol 157-4, but not before peppering Carpenter with questions. 'Is it also a possibility that we could label any cornbread not made from the state as foreign cornbread?' asked Dawsonville Republican Rep. Brent Cox, a reference to a recently-passed bill requiring restaurants to label imported shrimp (the official state crustacean). 'I don't think we're gonna go that far,' Carpenter said with a laugh. Marietta Democratic Rep. Mary Frances Williams tossed out a cultural hand grenade: 'Can you answer the age-old question that has caused many a family break-up and fight: do you or do you not add sugar to cornbread?' she asked. A consummate politician, Carpenter tried to play to both sides. 'I do add a pinch of sugar,' Carpenter said. 'I think if you study the history of cornbread, the corn used to be a lot sweeter than it is now once they started mass producing.' Cornbread was not the only Southern delicacy to earn special distinction from the House Wednesday. Rep. Rick Townsend, a Republican from Brunswick, presented a bill to name Brunswick stew Georgia's official state stew. 'It goes with many things, whether it's biscuits, crackers, and especially cornbread,' Townsend said. 'It's delicious stew.' Not everyone agreed with Townsend's assessment. Macon Democratic Rep. Miriam Paris displayed a surprising amount of antipathy toward the tomato-based stew. 'Is it not true that if you took a poll in here today, that this bill would lose?' Paris asked. 'If you took a poll in here today, would it not be that 51% of these people would say they don't like Brunswick stew?' 'It would still be the best stew in Georgia,' Townsend said. As it turns out, they did take a poll. The House voted 152-2 to make Brunswick stew the official state stew, with Paris and Dallas Republican Rep. Joseph Gullett opposed. Paris did not respond to a request for comment. A Q and A on a bill in a Senate Committee Thursday started with a question about the presenter's pronouns. 'Let me start off with a couple of questions. What's your pronoun?' asked Senate Higher Education Committee Chairman Max Burns, a Sylvania Republican. 'Your majesty or your highness,' said Tyrone Republican Sen. Marty Harbin. 'That's interesting,' Burns said with a laugh. 'Does that question offend you?' 'I know what I am, and I know that I am a male, and I would take he and him, and that's where I am. I believe there are two sexes, male and female,' Harbin said. The two were discussing a bill Harbin said would remove diversity, equity and inclusion programs from Georgia's public and private universities. It was not scheduled for a vote. Harbin said DEI programs have become tools of ideology rather than inclusion. 'Too often they result in a campus culture where dissenting viewpoints are silenced, where professors fear retribution for presenting alternate perspectives and where students self censor themselves to avoid accusations of insensitivity or bias,' he said. 'Academic institutions should encourage the marketplace of ideas and not a dogmatic adherence to a singular worldview. When certain perspectives are deemed unacceptable simply because they do not align with DEI principles, we replace education with indoctrination.' Several dozen people came to the committee to oppose the bill. 'When we learn about different cultures, perspectives, and histories, we become better thinkers, leaders, and citizens,' said high school student Laila Erold. 'This bill attempts to stifle that growth, and I will not stand by and let it happen. By silencing discussions on race and identity, SB 120 perpetuates ignorance and fear. It tells us that our struggles don't matter, that our voices don't matter. We're not just students, we are activists, and we will fight for our right to learn in an environment that embraces rather than shuns diversity.' Harbin said he was bringing the bill on behalf of a constituent's daughter who had several galling experiences at Georgia College and State University. 'When she joined her sorority, she was required to pick a pronoun to describe her and what she was. And she said, 'I know what I am. I should not be required –' but she was required, in order to join, she was required to have to fill out the form as it was,' he said. The freshman had another problem with one of the texts in her English class, Harbin said. 'The requirement was this article, this was read, had to be read in class,' he said. 'And I will not read the title of it. You can read the title yourself there because I don't want to offend anybody, but if you read that, that was read in class by each of the students, (they) had to sit there and go through that and read different parts of this, and she was extremely offended.' The title of the article was 'I'm a plus-size woman of color. Posing nude in front of strangers helped my self-esteem.' For centuries, the word 'doge' was nothing but a childish misspelling for man's best friend. For a brief window from about 2013 to 2025, doge described a silly little dog that people on the internet could use to make jokes, as well as a niche cryptocurrency. But from January to an unknown point in the future, DOGE is the Department of Government Efficiency, a chaotic government agency dedicated to rooting out waste, spearheaded by the world's richest man, Elon Musk. Sandy Springs Democratic Sen. Josh McLaurin may have become the first Georgia senator to take to the well with an internet meme printed out on Senate letterhead Monday when he wielded a picture of the doge meme to speak against Georgia's 'Red Tape Rollback Act,' which supporters billed as Georgia's version of DOGE. In the broken English typical of doge memes, McLaurin's picture read 'so Senate, Red, very tape, much legal, wow.' McLaurin is accustomed to using humor to make a political point – he regularly takes on the persona of a news anchor to roast President Donald Trump's second administration from the Senate well, sometimes earning chuckles even from his Trump-supporting Republican colleagues. He said he used the doge prop to illustrate the disdain he says the administration shows toward institutions and the people who make them up. 'I think the challenge with using humor in politics is it's got to be a type of fun that everybody can get behind, or at least most people can get behind, that's not at somebody else's expense,' he said. 'Genuine fun for the sake of fun lightens all our spirits, but when somebody is couching something destructive or mean or insulting as a quote-unquote 'joke,' then it takes on a different character. That's my criticism of the use of the doge meme federally, is that it's being used to dismantle the government, to strand USAID employees overseas, to fire a bunch of people illegally who do great work and depend on those paychecks. There's some things that a meme can't make funny, and that's in that category.' Speaking with the Recorder about memes and humor in politics Friday, McLaurin used Vice President JD Vance – McLaurin's former college roommate – as an example of someone who uses comedy to punch down. McLaurin referred to a 2021 tweet from Vance after actor and outspoken Trump critic Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed a cinematographer while filming a movie. Vance called on Twitter's then-CEO to reinstate Trump's then-canceled account so the then-former president could comment on his detractor's misfortune, which many panned as insensitive in the wake of the tragic accident. 'When he was confronted about that, he said something like, 'the country wants authenticity and wants people to lighten up,'' McLaurin said. 'My sense is that the country does want people to lighten up. The country does want authenticity. But the country doesn't want leaders who are authentically an a–hole.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gold Dome Nuggets: Pink-clad predators, sickly shrimp and ABCs of child care tax credits
Gold Dome Nuggets Is your bib back from the dry cleaners? It's time for a second helping of Gold Dome Nuggets, the Georgia Recorder's weekly look back at legislative happenings that slipped through the cracks but still deserve their chance to shine. Right now, if you want to legally shoot a deer in Georgia, you are supposed to be wearing orange, but what if you could wear pink? And what's pinker than shrimp? A coastal Georgia lawmaker has a bill he says will help you be sure the little crustaceans on your plate of scampi or within your grits came from the briny blue and not 'shallow ponds in their own feces.' And a senator stumping for a child tax credit got some help from some fun little guys. Georgia hunters could soon be heading out to the woods decked out in pink — and no, they're not stalking flocks of flamingos. Lyons Republican Rep. Leesa Hagan is taking a second shot at a bill that would allow hunters to wear fluorescent pink in addition to the more traditional blaze orange. Hagan said increasing options for forest fashion could get more women out in the woods. 'The point is to give people options,' she said at a recent meeting of the House Fish, Game and Parks Committee. 'Now I have to say, there are some women apparently that don't want to wear orange so they won't hunt. Frankly, I think it's silly to not go hunting just because you don't like orange, but if it will encourage more hunting in the state, more license sales, I think it's a good thing to do.' Hagan pushed a similar bill last year and said the inspiration came from a Georgia student who loves hunting deer and wearing pink, but the girl got an accidental lesson that things can always go sideways under the Gold Dome. Last year's version passed the House 166-1, but the Senate amended the bill to be about airsoft guns and catfish, and Georgia's hunters have remained orange. This year's bill unanimously passed the committee, so it could be on track for a full House vote. Hagan told committee members that in addition to helping hunters look cute, pink gear could potentially keep them safer. 'Since we were here last year, I did some research because I had a question about color blindness and if fluorescent pink would be as visible as orange, and what I found out was it actually is more visible, especially in particular types of color blindness, so it might actually be safer than orange,' she said. Midway Democratic Rep. Al Williams wanted to know whether either color would be more visible to the hunters' prospective quarry. 'This cries out for an answer: are deer colorblind? Is there any difference between orange and pink?' he asked. 'That's a good question and I don't know the answer to that,' Hagan answered. 'But I don't think we're worried about the safety of the deer during hunting season.' 'I am because I believe that there should be parity in the field,' Williams said. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources keeps a list of what animals residents aren't allowed to keep as pets. Forbidden critters include minks, moles and muskrats, whales, dolphins, capybaras, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, sky larks and thrushes. One critter not on the list is the humble shrimp, and it just so happens there are a lot of desperate shrimp in this world looking for a new home. 'These shrimp never see an ocean, folks,' said Savannah Republican Jesse Petrea from the House floor Wednesday. 'We call them seafood. They live in man-made ponds. They swim in shallow ponds in their own feces. They get diseases. And so what do we do? We feed them antibiotics. There is no comparison, domestic shrimp to imported shrimp.' Petrea was introducing his House Bill 117, which would require restaurants to notify customers what countries the shrimp they serve come from. Petrea, who is usually more concerned about what countries other people come from, said the bill will give consumers more information and potentially help Georgia's flagging shrimp industry. 'Our shrimping fleet is 10% of what it was. It is almost gone,' he said. 'We have a vestige of our shrimping fleet that's been destroyed by foreign dumping of imports, and I think that's sad, but yeah this hopefully will be helpful for consumers to know what they're eating so maybe they can ask for other products if they so choose.' Co-sponsor state Rep. Al Williams, a Midway Democrat, said it used to be that shrimp boat captain was the kind of job one could aspire to. 'When I was a boy, some of the best jobs on the coast were in the fishing industry,' he said. 'I was an African-American kid who saw African-American captains of shrimp boats, who owned their own shrimp boats, who made a great living and hired people to work on these boats.' 'The imports destroyed this industry, and people who were making a great living were unemployed,' he added. 'And guess what? We helped eat them into unemployment. So whenever you see a former shrimp fisherman say, 'I helped put him out of business because I ate all these imported shrimp that I have no idea what was in them.'' Democratic state Rep. Solomon Adesanya, who operates two restaurants according to his bio on the Georgia House Democrats website, spoke out against the bill. 'Do you know that your average consumer don't even care about where the shrimp come from? When they look on the menu and ordering food, the origin of the food or the shrimp is not deterring anyone from ordering. Isn't that true? Do you know that?' he asked Petrea. 'I'm trying to understand, is your question that people don't care where their shrimp is from, is that you're asking?' Petrea replied. 'Yeah, when you sit at a restaurant and you're looking at a food menu and you see the shrimp coming from China or Indonesia, do you know that average consumer going to the restaurant don't even care about that?' Adesanya said. 'Well, representative, I guess we'll find out in a moment when we take this vote if consumers care about that,' Petrea said. If the bill was, as Petrea suggested, a referendum on whether consumers care about the nationality of their shrimp, then they do. The bill passed 165-7, with Adesanya and an unusual coalition of haters opposing. Republican Rep. Kasey Carpenter, who owns a restaurant, mashed his red button, along with hardline conservative Republican Reps. Charlice Byrd and Noelle Kahaian and a smattering of other Democrats like Reps. Jasmine Clark, Derrick Jackson and Mekyah McQueen. Henry County Democratic Rep. El-Mahdi Holly voted in favor of the bill, but he couldn't help taking a swipe at the concept of eating crustaceans. 'While I'm voting in favor of this bill because I believe that it's right for situations where a person, if they get sick, for their doctor to be aware of where that item came from, (but) the vegetarian in me looks at this bill and wonders how we could ever think we couldn't get sick from eating the cousins of roaches?' he asked. 'I'm gonna let you take that up with all these guys from the coast, I'm not getting in that argument,' said House Speaker Jon Burns. Shrimp and roaches are both members of the phylum of arthropods – animals with hard exoskeletons and jointed appendages, but roaches belong to the class insecta with other insects, while shrimp belong to the class malacostraca with other crustaceans like crabs and lobsters. Prior to the Georgia Senate unanimously approving a bill Wednesday designed to alleviate some of the high costs of child care, the bill's sponsor Sen. Brian Strickland took some ribbing from his colleagues for bringing special guests to tag along. While the McDonough Republican wrapped up his presentation of Senate Bill 89 by inviting his sons Charles Willis, 7, and five-year-old James 'Beecher,' to stand next to their father. Strickland introduced his sons and wife Lindsay to the Senate chamber by explaining that he wanted to 'pander just a second to present to you exhibits A, B and C as to why this bill is so important to Georgia families.' The bill creates a $250 tax credit for families with children under the age of seven, expands an existing tax credit for child care expenses, and further incentivizes businesses that offer child care for their employees. The bill carries a projected $176 million price tag, 'While there's more work to be done to help our working moms and dads, Senate Bill 89 recognizes that as a legislature, we believe that families shouldn't have to choose between having a career and being a parent,' Strickland said. Prior to the Senate vote, Cataula Republican Sen. Randy Robertson accused Strickland of hiring child actors curry support prior to senators voting on the legislation. 'Senator, is it not true that the props you used today were hired with film tax credits?' Robertson quipped. 'That's true,' Strickland admitted. 'I'm trying to take after the senator from the 14th.' Strickland was referring to Sandy Springs Democratic Sen. Josh McLaurin, who frequently gives animated speeches in the Senate, including 'Trump Morning News' segments in which he plays legislator and broadcaster while railing against the president. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gold Dome Nuggets: ‘Defender' of women, 2026 ambitions and GOP infighting over trans care
The 2025 legislative session is well underway now. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder Break out the honey mustard, it's time for nuggets. Introducing the Georgia Recorder's Gold Dome Nuggets, part of a balanced news diet featuring your weekly recommended allowance of state Capitol happenings that didn't quite generate headlines but gave us all plenty to talk about. For your first helping of Gold Dome nuggets, we present to you this three-piece special looking at reaction to Trump's transgender sports ban, the nascent field of 2026 gubernatorial candidates and a weird callout from an outspoken state senator. A House Republican lawmaker's praise of President Donald Trump's national ban on transgender athletes in girls' sports triggered a spirited response from Democrats. 'Mr. Speaker, last week, our great President Donald Trump signed no men in women's sports executive order into law,' said Rep. Reynaldo 'Rey' Martinez, a Loganville Republican, with freshman GOP state Rep. Sandy Donatucci at his side. 'You were there, Mr. Speaker, to witness this historic event, surrounded by girls and women athletes from all walks of life. President Trump said the war on women's sports is over,' Martinez said. Martinez made his comments Wednesday in the House chamber during a time that is set aside each day for condolences, hat-tips and other speeches from what is called the well. The next day, a group of Democratic women took to the mic in response. 'You know yesterday from the well, the president was portrayed as a defender of women and girls,' said Rep. Anne Allen Westbrook, a Savannah Democrat. 'I was wondering if this was the same president whose record on women and girls I had thought was well known, so I felt it necessary to remind folks of the fuller story.' Westbrook then read aloud the transcript from the infamous Access Hollywood tape where Trump can be heard talking so explicitly about his sexual advances of women that Westbrook bleeped out several words. Rep. James Burchett, who is the majority whip and a Waycross Republican, attempted to 'deescalate the situation.' 'I'm asking you to please, please, please, let's not escalate this chamber into a fight from the right or the left. Let's work together. Let's continue to do the good work of the state of Georgia and push the DC politics and national politics aside, and let's just concentrate on Georgia Politics,' Burchett said. The House GOP leadership has proposed its own ban on transgender athletes in girls' sports. In the Senate, that chamber has already passed its version as well as a bill that would cut off gender-affirming care for state employees, teachers and others covered by the state health benefit plan. Sen. Jason Esteves, an Atlanta Democrat, addressed rumors that he will run for the governor's office in 2026 – kind of. Esteves was elected to the Senate in 2022 after serving on the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education since 2013. The AJC reported Monday that he has been talking with activists and donors in preparation for a potential run. A reporter asked Esteves about his plans Monday at a Capitol press conference on a proposal to update Georgia's 40-year-old school funding plan to send more dollars to kids living in poverty, but the senator was demure. 'Right now, I'm focused on, like I said, on the session, I'm focused on addressing the issues that we have before us. And like I said, the fact that we have a literacy crisis in the state that has gone unaddressed, I think we need to move on that now.' Esteves has been called a rising star in the party and an expert on education policy. Gov. Brian Kemp will not be eligible to run next year because of term limits, so the open seat could attract a lot of attention, and prominent Democrats like former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Congresswoman Lucy McBath and DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond could throw their hats in the ring. On the Republican side, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr got in the race early, announcing his intentions back in November, but Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is widely expected to take a shot at the top spot. Carr got a weird shout-out Tuesday from Trenton Republican Sen. Colton Moore, a conservative gadfly whose antics have sometimes vexed members of his own caucus. In a Senate debate over a bill that would cut funding for gender-affirming care for state employees from the state health care plan, Moore blamed Carr for settling a 2023 court case brought by transgender workers who had been barred from receiving care. 'I was talking to some folks in northwest Georgia last night about this issue, and I tell you what, they are red mad that a Republican attorney general named Chris Carr could sign this consent agreement and allow their taxpayer dollars to fund transgender surgeries, not only on adults, but also on minors.' 'We hear the Attorney General say, 'Keep choppin',' well, I'm tired of chopping children's genitals with taxpayer money,' Moore added in a crude and inaccurate reference to gender-affirming care. The underlying bill, sponsored by Sen. Blake Tillery, a Vidalia Republican and Jones ally, also puts the blame on the AG for settling the case 'without prior notice to or approval by the General Assembly.' Carr has pushed back against accusations that he wants the state to help transgender people. In January, Carr's office announced that he and 23 other state attorneys general signed onto a court brief opposing taxpayer-funded gender-affirming care and that he had 'taken roughly 50 legal actions to prevent taxpayer-funded gender reassignment surgeries and the chemical and surgical mutilation of Georgia's children.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
