A mid-campaign revolution is breaking out, according to Politico.com:
The next Republican presidential debate is Nov. 10 in Milwaukee, Wisc. Sponsors are the Fox Business Network and the Wall Street Journal.
***
The Marietta Daily Journal sends word that Joe Kirby, the newspaper's longtime editorial page editor, died overnight after a long battle with cancer. Funeral details to come.
***
Georgia Democrats approved their 2016 presidential primary ballot last night, becoming the first state in the nation to name candidates a state ballot.
The party's early deadline was believed to be one of the factors that pushed Vice President Joe Biden toward a decision on whether to run for the White House. Now that he's out of the race, there was little drama in the selection.
Voting choices for Democrats on March 1: Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, law professor Larry Lessig and attorney Michael Steinberg.
“Georgia Democrats look forward to a robust primary that has already brought out the best of our party," said party chief DuBose Porter.
We're waiting on news of the Georgia Republican ballot.
***
U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, has joined Brooklyn Democrat Hakeem Jeffries on a bill that would bar federal prosecutors from reading email sent between inmates and their lawyers. From the New York Times:
"I assume that most fair-minded prosecutors understand that our system of justice requires a dynamic where individuals are able to have the effective assistance of counsel necessary to adequately defend themselves," Mr. Jeffries said in an interview, adding that "email is the most efficient way for an attorney to communicate with an incarcerated client."
Collins is already knee-deep in what could become the biggest bipartisan accomplishment to come out of the current fractured Congress: A rewrite of the nation's laws that determine who gets locked up, for how long, and how they're treated on the inside.
***
Just in case witches and goblins don't rev your fright motor this weekend:
The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech has won a $485,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to investigate the ways future cyber wars could increase chances of an accidental nuclear war. From the press release:
The Nunn School's project team will seek to understand the phenomenon of escalation during a national response to a large-scale cyberattack.
***
We're told that a familiar face will run for the House seat being vacated by state Rep. Simone Bell.
Former Rep. Ralph Long is said to be eyeing the race. Bell defeated Long in the 2012 primary after the two were drawn into the same east Atlanta House district. His wife challenged her in the primary last year and also fell short after a heated rivalry.
***
The Georgia AFL-CIO has begun a campaign to block the privatization of MARTA's paratransit division, known as MARTA Mobility. The union has targeted a Thursday vote by the governing board of the transit agency.
***
Over at WAGA-TV, Dale Russell has a piece on the $4 million cost of changing the name of what is now Augusta University. Twice. Key to his investigation is the ukulele music in the background.
About the Author
