I have a Harvard MBA, have been an exec for 18 years & have owned trucking/logistics companies since 2009 w/thousands of employees. As a business owner, I think the decision to end $300 in additional unemployment benefits is a TERRIBLE idea for Georgia. Here’s why: 1/🧵#gapol

https://twitter.com/politicalinsidr/status/1392847636965863429

Federal minimum wage has been $7.25/hr since 2009. Georgia min wage (non-FLSA) is $5.15/hr — that’s about 1/3 of the average hourly pay for a babysitter in GA. Given GA’s low vaccination rates, it’s no wonder folks aren’t rushing back to low-wage, (potentially) high-risk work. 2/

I felt this article — and FOR these moms — in the depths of my soul. Moms are not ok. Working caregivers are struggling.

Let’s get real: childcare is an economic issue, and a full economic recovery will require we treat it as such. Here’s why: 1/thread
nytimes.com/interactive/20… The number of jobs lost by women during the #COVID19 are staggering. Here’s some data from today coverage in @nytimes 2/

🚨America’s childcare crisis: a THREAD🚨

“We’re literally going to destroy a generation of upward mobility,” Amico said. “A lot of us have known for a long time that childcare is not a personal issue. It’s an economic one for working moms.”

1/ #gapol ajc.com/politics/polit… Not an exaggeration:
“We’re in danger of erasing the limited gains we’ve made for women over the past few decades, and especially women of color,” said Melissa Boteach, Vice President for Income Security and Child Care/Early Learning @nwlc. 2/fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-t…

A week ago, I tested positive for #COVID19. Here’s my experience so far, how my symptoms have progressed, and why I hope you’ll #WearAMask ... even if our governor won’t mandate them to protect public health (or even wear one in his tv interview). 1/THREAD wsbtv.com/news/georgia/g… I’ll start by saying that our family has been diligent in observing Georgia’s previous shelter-in-place order and social distancing as #COVID19 spread. When we could finally leave the house, I wore a mask >90-95% of the time. But masks work best when EVERYONE wears them. 2/

As former Chief Executive of a company with publicly traded securities, I oversaw investor relations & capital markets. Here’s what I believe @SenDavidPerdue hopes you won’t notice about the suspicious stock trades he made after attending Senate #coronavirus briefings: THREAD 1/8 1️⃣ Perdue bought stock in pharmaceuticals — not just any pharma company — he invested up to $245,000 in #Pfizer, which just announced its plan to create a #Coronavirus vaccine. Bear with me, it gets worse. 2/8

usnews.com/news/top-news/…

“But the facts in this instance are unambiguous: The president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents.”

Straight talk — from the GOP’s base. 1/bit.ly/38X9yo1 The piece raises important questions for Trump-voting Christians: “To the many evangelicals who continue to support Mr. Trump...Consider what an unbelieving world will say if you continue to brush off Mr. Trump’s immoral words and behavior in the cause of political expediency.”2/

Today’s impeachment vote is a gravely serious moment for our country. The House of Representatives, in accordance with its constitutional duties, had no choice but to condemn the President for his brazen abuse of power and betrayal of his sworn oath 1/ The President has repeatedly flaunted the fact that he put his personal political agenda ahead of his obligations to his country and office, and in the process, threatened American national security and the security of a European ally 2/

“And the impact was greater on black voters than white ones, the AJC found. Black voters were 20% more likely to miss elections because of long distances.”

Stunning piece by @markniesse on the impact of precinct closures in GA minority voter turnout. 1/
ajc.com/news/state--re… 2013’s Shelby Co. v. Holder SCOTUS decision struck down Sec4(b) of the Voting Rights Act, a formula determining which states w/a history of voting discrimination (including GA) required “pre-clearance” of state/local voting procedure changes to prevent harm to minority voters. 2/

I’m proud to announce my endorsement of Senator @RonWyden's election security bill, the PAVE Act.

This bill would ensure secure & accurate federal elections by requiring paper ballots, which would be subject to the voter’s verification before counting. 1/
bit.ly/2YAKttl The PAVE Act would prohibit the use of paperless machines, like those used in the 2018 elections here in #Georgia, where election security experts found deeply flawed vote counts that could have had a dramatic impact on the outcome of our election. 2/

1/thread on #MaternalMortality

@harvardmed Professor Dr. Neel Shah to @HarvardHealth:

American #women today are 50% MORE likely to die in childbirth than our mothers were & “the risk is consistently 3 to 4 times higher for black women than white women...”health.harvard.edu/blog/a-soaring… 2/x- The disturbing racial disparities in America’s #MaternalHealth outcomes mirror racial inequality among our nation’s infant mortality rates.

The @CDCgov found the infant mortality rate for black babies in our nation is TWICE that of white babies. ajc.com/news/national/…

Rural healthcare reality✔️: thread.

For 14 yrs, 1 party (GOP) has controlled GA state gov’t w/legislative majorities + Governor.

In that time, 7 rural have hospitals closed. 64 counties have no pediatrician, 79 no OB/GYN, 9 no doctor at all. 1/
#gapol politics.myajc.com/news/state--re… Per the article: “Georgia’s GOP-dominated Legislature decided not to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, saying the state could not afford the long-term cost. That has left adults who earn less than the poverty level uninsured.”
Result: 240k Georgians in ‘Medicaid Gap’

“When Republicans focus on these side issues like religious liberty, when they spend more time on a resolution about kneeling football players than they do on fixing the rural health care crisis, that’s heat loss....It literally conducts energy away from the problems at hand.” 1/

https://twitter.com/politicalinsidr/status/1022893069769891844

Afterwards I asked her how this Democratic team of women would work over the next few months. “Women learned a long time ago that one of the best ways to make our voices heard was to amplify one another. I’ve seen it in the board room, and I’ve certainly seen it in politics,” 2/