Readers write
Mike Collins’ Trump-style deception is abhorrent
The Georgia Senate campaign of U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, who’s running for Sen. Jon Ossoff’s seat, recently posted a fake AI-generated video on X depicting Ossoff’s votes for the recently ended federal government shutdown as completely dismissive of the pain caused to everyday citizens. Literally putting words in Ossoff’s mouth that he never said.
Rather than expressing any remorse for his deceit, in true discipleship style of cult leader Trump, the campaign simply doubled down on the post as a “new opportunity” to communicate with Georgia’s voters.
As a fellow Republican, I find this latest form of Trump-style deception abhorrent. Collins’ campaign has uncaged yet another Pandora’s box that will inevitably launch a tit-for-tat volley of fabrications inflicted upon the American voting public.
Though Ossoff has already pledged he will not use “deepfakes that misattribute or fabricate words or actions of their opponents to mislead voters,” others with lesser integrity surely will. Just wait until someone creates and posts a sham AI video of Collins engaging in some form of phony despicable behavior and maybe he and others like him will begin to comprehend what his campaign has just unleashed.
ALAN FOSTER, ACWORTH
Stop Congress from slashing EPA budget
As reported in the AJC on Nov. 14, the U.S. House voted to reopen the federal government, approving a bill that was then signed by the president. Congress must now focus on its job to finalize a fiscal year 2026 federal government budget, which includes a budget for the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA’s purpose is to protect our health by protecting the environment in which we live. I think we have shared values of clean air to breathe and clean water to drink.
The Senate Appropriations Committee, which oversees the EPA, recognizes its importance and has proposed an EPA FY2026 budget that is only 5% less than its FY2025 budget. However, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee wants to slash the EPA budget by 23% which will have detrimental impacts on the EPA’s ability to protect us and the environment we live in.
If you feel like I and other Climate Hope Affiliates members do, that clean air and water are important to our health and well-being, then ask your U.S. representative to write House Appropriations subcommittee chair Mike Simpson and ranking member Chellie Pingree to request strong support for the Senate FY26 funding level for EPA when the committee goes for conference.
STACEY BOUMA, CLIMATE HOPE AFFILIATES, ATLANTA
