John Rose

INVESTIGATION: Dickens admin uses Housing Trust Fund to pay bonds, employee salaries “From the very beginning, this looked too much like a slush fund, and not enough like a housing trust fund.”

Atlanta’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, formed to bankroll housing initiatives, is now being used to cover bond debt and staff salaries — a shift that’s alarmed advocates and city officials.

For @atlantaciviccircle.org:
atlantaciviccircle.org/2025/05/26/i...

My fellow Americans, Tonight, we stand together at a critical crossroads—a moment that calls us to remember who we are as a nation, and the core values that have always guided us forward. Among those cherished values is respect for the rule of law, enshrined clearly in our Constitution, especially within the Fifth Amendment. It guarantees that no person in our nation can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Yet today, we confront an alarming disregard from the highest office for this foundational principle. Recently, we saw the troubling case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident and father, wrongfully deported to El Salvador despite explicit protections granted by our courts. Even after the Supreme Court ruled clearly in his favor, directing the administration to facilitate his return, the President refused to comply. Now, you might think, "Well, I'm not an immigrant. I'm just a good, hardworking American who wants to retire comfortably. This won't affect me." But let me tell you exactly how it does. Imagine you're a factory owner who criticizes the government. Suddenly, without warning or due process, your assets are seized. You challenge this injustice, fighting all the way to the Supreme Court. The highest court in our land rules unanimously in your favor—but the President chooses to ignore the ruling. Now what? Your investment is gone.

The same rule of law that protects Kilmar Abrego Garcia protects you. When the rule of law erodes, uncertainty takes hold. Who will invest in building a factory or starting a business if Donald Trump can take it if he decides he doesn’t like you? Businesses stop investing, jobs vanish, innovation grinds to a halt, and yes, your 401(k) savings begin to plummet. This is already happening. Other nations and people in other nations used to pay for the privilege of holding our debt. Now they don’t trust us, and they’re selling it. That’s causing interest rates to rise and making mortgages impossible to obtain. The fundamental concepts of life, liberty, and property have been enshrined in our nation's founding documents starting with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. We either uphold the rule of law for everyone, or risk losing it for ourselves and future generations. Tonight, I'm asking all of us—citizens, entrepreneurs, and leaders—to reaffirm our commitment to these essential rights. Because in America, no one—not even the President—is above the law. Together, let us safeguard the principles that protect our freedom, our economy, and our very way of life. Thank you. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

Any Democrat could give this speech. Connect the two.

It's very clear that the majority of GA Republicans despise ordinary folks and work for Big Money interests - in this case GA Power and the Data Center billionaires.
Households will be screwed as massive Data Center power expansions result in higher bills.

Atlanta's recent CDP and Zoning 2.0 processes are such clear examples of governing from a place of fear rather than vision.

I'm gonna attempt a 🧵 focusing on housing aspects of the plans.

What the hell is going on with MARTA? Even the weekday heavy rail service is falling apart. If we can't even get the backbone of our transit system working reliably, what hope do we have?

by freezing all federal grants, trump is fundamentally transforming the relationship between the executive and congress. he is asserting dictatorial authority over federal spending, transforming congress's lawmaking powers into advisory authority. it is a constitutional crisis

Jennings: This salute trutherism is outrageous. 

Rampell: Do it right now on TV! If you think it’s a normal way to greet people, do it right now on TV. Why won’t you?!

Legislation reducing the powers of the Office of Inspector General and the Ethics Office is on today's agenda. That legislation was scheduled for discussion by the Committee on Council. However, that meeting was canceled today and will be held during this full council meeting.

Pretty amazing that council members created an anti corruption office just a few years ago and are now neutering it. The next scandal in 3,2,1. Felicia Moore says hold on! Howard Shook knows better.

“As damaging as one could imagine,” City Council introduces legislation to weaken oversight  – Atlanta Community Press Collective Proposed amendment ousts Governing Board Chair and League of Women Voters nominee after her vocal support for independent oversight in the

Atlanta City Council just introduced legislation that could seriously weaken city government oversight. Inspector General Manigault said that the proposed changes to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) would limit its independence and ability to investigate corruption.

“As damaging as one could imagine,” City Council introduces legislation to weaken oversight  – Atlanta Community Press Collective Proposed amendment ousts Governing Board Chair and League of Women Voters nominee after her vocal support for independent oversight in the

atlpresscollective.com/2025/01/09/a...

I'm shocked that Liliana is on this list of people dismantling the oversight of the inspector general who is knee-deep in rooting out corruption from our city government: atlantacityga.iqm2.com/Citizens/Det...

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter died today at 100. The 39th president led an extraordinary life that included a Nobel Peace Prize and a inspiring post-presidential career as a champion of health, peace and democracy. He worked for Habitat for Humanity, oversaw fair & free elections and voted for Kamala Harris.

Atlanta with its first (?!?!?) permanent jersey painted barriers for protected bike lanes. Adjacent Piedmont Park and extends a couple blocks from a train station.

Extension planned& project to carry over the bridge either under construction or happening imminently 👀

Just discovered this. Atlanta City Council meetings covered with easy-to-ready summaries and shortcut video links to skip all the nonsense: atlanta-ga.documenters.org/reporting/?g...

Seems like not all the meetings are getting covered, but still very valuable!

I'll be watching this vote closely. Voting to adopt these recommendations would be a vote in favor of corruption. We need to clean up our city government. Root out the corruption and inefficiency and get the city working for us instead of slimy inside players.

As long as parking is abundant, Atlanta will never build a robust public transit system. The first step is going to have to be making driving more painful. It'll either be intentional (e.g. taking space for buses/bikes, traffic calming), or more likely we'll just let the traffic keep getting worse.

All NPUs are trash, and we'd be better off shutting the system down and redirecting any money spent on it to professional opinion polling and better city websites.

Ah yeah that's screaming for a connection. It's just crazy how things get half-assed like this.

The gap on what street between where and where? You mean Glenwood from Bill Kennedy to Moreland? Or Memorial from Glenwood to Austin?

Homeboy stopped the wrong lady

(H/T @agirlhasnopres.bsky.social )

We need to do what the conservative movement started doing decades ago. Aggressively cultivate a favorable media ecosystem where Democrats can play on home turf. And if we ever get the Supreme Court back (unlikely), start working to reduce the role of money in politics.

Problem is that people tune ads out. They're not trusted sources. Even guests on conservative shows can be self-sabotaging, because conservative hosts are effectively showing their audience how to respond to liberal talking points (instead of listening).

I think they're expecting some people to just get a car instead of dealing with transfers, and I think that's a reasonable expectation. After decades of gentrification, they're finally pivoting their bus service to try to win "choice" riders with high-quality routes.

I'm only an occasional bus rider these days, so take this for what it's worth. But I think the reliance on transfers is an unavoidable outcome of reducing overall route-miles (to improve frequency on high-demand routes). I have no idea if this map is good, but we certainly need a shake-up.

Yeah after experiencing that in NYC and Miami, it's hard to go back to Breeze cards and crappy custom-built apps. Hopefully it's already on-the-way in Atlanta: itsmarta.com/marta-awards...

I love being able to slow down and wave to a neighbor. I love sharing the road with fellow bicyclists and feeling solidarity instead of the resentment drivers feel at other drivers being in their way.

Hey, thanks for making this list. I'm here in Atlanta, and I'd love to be part of the conversation.

I would think 2025 is SCC's chance to demand real commitments from politicians, but voting to break a land lease contract after the place is already built doesn't seem particularly realistic or impactful. They could demand anything!