Senator Max Burns grew up attending segregated schools, but deems himself something of an expert on the necessity of deiversity, equity and inclusion in public schools and colleges in the state of Georgia.

The fact that he can't even enunciate the word "ethnicity" should already be a 'red flag,' but here we are.

Thursday, while struggling to say "ethnicity" correctly (never did), he promoted his unfounded belief that D.E.I. is some form of discrimination versus a means to ending it. The Senate Committee on Education and Youth hearing on Thursday devolved into an argument about what "anti-racism" meant, shortly after Senator Shaun Kemp opined "it seems that if civil rights laws were to be put before this body today we'd be voting against them."

You can watch the entire hearing HERE.

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Then, how about Elon Musk going on Fox News with Bret Baier insisting The Trump administration will "go after" propagandists spouting what he calls :"Tesla lies." The lead propagandist who owns hiw own social media platform is telling us the President of the United States who also own his own social media platform - on Fox News, no less - that propaganda suddenly isn't protected free speech. "The ones providing the money, the ones pushing the lies and propaganda, we're going after them."

Just like he and Donald believe should happen with those who riled up the January 6th tourists, right? Ahem.

Remember the four years of noise from the right about Joe Biden being the doddering, senile old man who wasn't really "in charge" of his presidency?

So now that we're all aware of the Signal app "klatch" (read the dialogue here) ruminating over clearly classified information (except, "nuh-uh!") the question that came up for me, mostly recently is "where was the President?"

Images of Presidents and their inner circle in the "situation room" or a secure room flanked by monitors and communication paraphernalia come to mind, right?

He was playing golf. (cue the 'sad trombone' effect) So, who's in charge? Elon runs amok with DOGE; attorney general Pam Bondi seems to have taken up permanent residence at Fox News to fling vapid threats, and JD Vance and Pete Hegseth and the intel fellas get on Signal to play real life "Call of Duty?"

While POTUS plays golf.

Oh, and because Hegseth lies like you and I breathe, it's worth noting that his characterization of Biden having "cratered" in the face of the threat from Houthis is an out-and-out LIE.

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Meanwhile, under the gold dome in Georgia's capitol city of Atlanta, "religious freedom" zealots are continuing their decade-long quest to codify protections for bigotry and bias under the thin veil of religion. With me to discuss his and his organization's efforts to (again) stifle it and combat another round of anti-trans legislation, Georgia Equality executive director Jeff Graham.

Also, how is it that LGBTQ+ sports organizations have been working for nearly half a century to find a place for any and everyone who wants to play sports - even heterosexuals - yet the notion befuddles anti-trans activists on the right in 2025?

A Georgia legislator hailing from a county of less than 15,000 people thinks it's a perfectly fine idea to limit early voting to one day and one centralized location per county.

Voting rights advocates and Democrats, notably potential gubernatorial candidate Jason Esteves, made a lot of noise in opposition - and dozens more spoke out this afternoon at a Senate subcommittee hearing on the bill targeting voter turnout via early voting.

Joining me today to discuss this bill and a host of other voting-related issues is Marilyn Marks, executive director with the Coalition for Good Governance.

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While we wait on whatever the next jaw-dropping Trump/MAGA bombshell to take "Signal-gate" off our radars, Ronny Chieng and The Daily Show staff poked some holes through the three-pronged response: "it was a mistake," but "it was an awesome mistake" and "the journalist who revealed the mistake is a 'doo-doo head.'"

Group texts are the scourge of modern communication technology, sure, but when you find yourself somehow looped in on a juicy conversation you know you're not meant to be privy to, who wouldn't stick around to see how it continues?

That's the situation Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg (likely "JG" in Mike Waltz' phone or Signal app contacts) found himself in two weekends ago when he was inadvertently (we presume) looped into a curious mixture of Trump Cabinet officials, Pentagon brass, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (and later we learned, another unqualified individual - Joe Kent, as the New York Times reports, "Trump’s nominee to run the national counterterrorism center has been acting as a chief of staff to Ms. Gabbard. A confirmation date for Mr. Kent has not been set."

Today a Senate subcomittee got to grill Gabbard and CIA director John Ratcliffe on this, and while Ratcliffe insists the conversation wasn't classified, he and she both answered (and dodged) questions as if the information in the conversation was. "You can't have it both ways," exclaimed Senator Mark Warner (D-Va).

The one consistent response from Trump officials has been to be smug and disimssive in smearing Goldberg - while also not denying he was erroneously looped in. It's always the journalists with that tribe and never the scandal they created, after all.

For his part, Goldberg not only exonerated himself with Jen Psaki, he made the rounds to CNN, and to The Bulwark with Tim Miller, where he claimed an undercover CIA operative was identified (though he's not revealing that agent's name).

But remember ... not classified. *wink*

Meanwhile, a foul-mouthed Pete Buttigieg did a rare social media take on his own before landing on CNN to weigh in further.

Secretary Buttigieg, someone who in a military and political capacity, had to handle classified information, knows the ins and outs of NIPR and SIPR, but the general public of course doesn't. A friend of mine with a two-plus decade career in service gave me a primer on it overnight, insisting "I have a government-issued “secure phone”. It’s an iPhone. What makes it “secure” is the Microsoft Azure platform that holds my email certificates; but that’s still only NIPR - USG SIPR isn’t broadcast in any form via a cellular tunnel. My gov phone is basically software-hardwired to a VPN to the gov non-secure  network. It’s ridiculous. To put signal on my gov phone I’d have to establish an Apple ID with my gov email (but the gov server would filter the confirmation, so it wouldn’t/shouldn’t  happen) or login to Apple with my personal account on my gov device (I ain’t doing that) - and no, Signal isn’t available on a ‘government device storefront’ so yeah - the whole thing is ridiculous."

The whole Chinese spy balloon stuff seems kind of trivial now, no?

Governor Brian Kemp got the 'tort reform' he wanted this legislative session, and there were three House Democrats among the 91 votes he can thank for it. One of those votes came from Rep. Dr. Michelle Au (GA 50) , who penned a two-page letter-explanation to share on her social media. She's catching a lot of heat from her base for it. So are the handful of Republicans - including one who lost his jobs hours after voting against SB 68. Wow. Mob-like, no?

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Meanwhile, Senator Jon Ossoff launched his re-election campaign in Atlanta over the weekend with a lot of fiery rhetoric - both supporters and critics noting how much attention he gave to Trump - to kickstart the 2026 cycle. With no current primary opposition (Esther Panitch being a 'hard no' now), all eyes are on who Ossoff will face. Right now, he's aiming at MAGA. It's a tactic.

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Last week, Jay Bookman penned a piece equating the deconstruction of federal agencies to a 'giant game of Jenga.' He and I caught up to take that conversation a little further. Always an insightful conversation with the longtime writer/journalist.

George Chidi, journalist with The Guardian, Rolling Stone and the man behind The Atlanta Objective, sat in on recent town halls hosted by Reps. Nikema Willilams and Hank Johnson and came away with more questions than answers - not unlike their constituents.

He and I had a free-wheeling conversation about a lot of what's going on, politically. Preparing the American population for Medicaid cuts shuttering nursing homes and families having to take their loved ones in ... the "fajita sizzle" media manipulation with ICE raids not adding up in gaudy numbers despite the salacious headlines ... news nuggets he brought that included the date we learn the fate of Rep. Williams as head of the Georgia Democratic Party ... his sense that there's a bubbling scandal in Atlanta City Hall ... his FOIA request for benign documents from Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis.

Chidi - like many of us - is wondering who's going to step up and "do something!" to take on MAGA.

Hear us discuss all that and project towards 2026 and beyond (if it even matters) ...

Oh, and I promised I'd let y'all know: Georgia is looking for a freelance writer (or multiple) to help him cover the stories he's known for covering in the Atlanta Objective. If you're interested, drop him an email: [email protected]

Governor Brian Kemp got what he (and his 'dark money' donors) sought: legislation to try and limit lawsuits and suppress massive jury verdicts (rare as they actually are, actually) . On today to discuss the kinds of impact this bill will have on everyday Georgians and particularly plaintiffs seeking damages, my good friend Nick Utley with Utley Law Firm took my call.

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Columnist Jay Bookman likened the Trump Administration's stripping away of federal agencies' workforce to a "giant game of Jenga," and honestly, it's the most appropriate framing I've read of this push to gut the U.S. government.

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Cautiously excited about the Georgia Department of Transportation is at the 'seeking input' stage of exploring an Atlanta-to-Savannah rail option. Before anyone gets too excited, though, this is like "step two" in a long list of steps before a shovel moves a patch of dirt, but still ...

Senator Nabila Islam Parkes joined me today to talk 'tort reform' with me, and actually has personal background.on the matter. While she was in high school, her mother was injured at a warehouse job. She saw, firsthand, the failures of both the American healthcare system and the challenges in getting justice in the legal system when taking on 'big business.'

We discussed Governor Brian Kemp's fixation on tort reform and where SB 68 stands now.

Also, dueling op/eds dropped today, weighing in on the pivot made by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens regarding Beltline rail. Maria Saporta ripped into the decision while Bill Torpy pronounced the Eastside trail line plans a "boondoggle" while thinly veiling his cynicism that any of the rail gets done at all.

Then today it hit me: his action (to give Atlanta voters more inaction on transit) is PRECISELY why Democrats as a party have a 27% favorability rating, nationwide. Democrats are THE party in the city and can do just about what they wish, ideologically, so when they get voters' backing on "big ticket" projects, then fail to even come close to following through - now at nine years after the "more MARTA" ballot measure & with the promise of years' more in delays - is it any wonder Democrats appear ineffective to even their own base?

When Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth carried out President Donald Trump's will to end "the tyranny of so-called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies " one initiative in particular - a planned two-day workshop nd performance with gifted high school musicians of color and the U.S. Marine Corps Band - got whacked.

The workshop & concert was salvaged, somewhat, thanks in large part to the same CBS News and '60 Minutes' in the Trump FCC crosshairs.

[See the full performance here]

With black and brown students suffering more from a lack of access to arts education than their white and Asian students, the organization Equity Arc works to connect student musicians of color with mentors and opportunities; opportunities just like the Hegseth-cancelled collaborative effort.

At least these kids can't feel targeted or singled out; there's also inexplicable base name changes and the scrubbing of Department of Defense web pages honoring veterans of color, too.

However, thanks to Equity Arc, some noble military music veterans and, yes, CBS News and '60 Minutes' bravely contributing to the cause (in the face of Trump's threats to target media outlets not beholden to him), the mentorship and the concert, went on anyway.

Yesterday's 'Meet the Press' was DE-pressing for "D" party folks. When Steve Kornacki rolled out the latest NBC News poll, it showed the party with a meager 27% approval rating. It's a three-decades long low, and after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer rallied enough Democrat Senate votes to pass a continuing resolution to keep the federal government (somewhat) churning, there's every likelihood a poll number like that could go lower.

Lower than an all-time low.

If ever a term defined the Democratic Party, that's it.

Joining me today to discuss where the party can/should/might go from there, local liberal political consultant Andrew Heaton. The former Warnock campaign aide and I discuss various liberal politicians and their various means to message and resist (or iwhatever you call what Schumer did). Is there a leader among the current crop?

Plus, hear the one name I'm REALLY high on who isn't even in office right now (but Trump wasn't in 2015 either) but who seems to have a lot of the skills and attributes that could resurrect the Democratic Party - even though he's been quite a critic of it the last two-plus decades.