Games and Blocks

Redistricting Baseball

After every census the game of redistricting baseball begins. On deck are the Republicans who run the state of Georgia.

Georgia and eight other states are mandated by the Voting Rights Act to get approval for redistricting from the federal government. Pitching to the Georgia GOP is a democratic administration -- President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder. The GOP is leaning toward going to federal court in lieu of the Department of Justice though no one is saying out loud that they don't think they'll get a fair shake at the DOJ. Apparently saying so can be used against them in court.

But guess what folks, this is nothing new. Democrats did the same thing in 2000, when Georgia was a blue state and the federal government was Republican.

Redistricting in Georgia is political baseball season. My former district held by Cynthia McKinney and later Hank Johnson, got chopped up, leaving me in Rep. Tom Price's district, which included the black and the brown but was extended into a more affluent area, with more likely voters. We were gerrymandered right out of the process.

Though redistricting is a game, the graphic is really incorrect. The baseballs are really people. In this state, specifically in the metropolitan Atlanta area the black and the brown are the ones who suffer most. Leaving the city limits, becomes dicey in terms of representation for o

our folks. Though my current county is a majority minority county you best believe that this county is RED. My particular niche is blue but on the local level, there is no one who truly represents the interests of the black and brown folks in this area. Which leads me to this update.

Ruling on H.B. 87

Judge Thomas Thrash blocked two key provisions of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011. What is now blocked (simplified version) is:

"One of those provisions would empower police to investigate the immigration status of suspects who they believe have committed state or federal crimes and who cannot produce identification, such as a driver’s license, or provide other information that could help police identify them. The other part would punish people who -– while committing another offense -- knowingly transport or harbor illegal immigrants or encourage them to come here."

Yes those two and they are big points of contention are blocked. The remainder of the law is still set to go in affect on Friday July 1. The ACLU is considering the block a victory, the Governors office considers it a disappointment and of course the ruling will be appealed.