Category Archives: Radio Commentaries

February 16, 2018 Radio Commentary

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H.B. 652, Simple, but VERY Dangerous!

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, February 16, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

H.B. 652 might sound like a ho-hum bill about a ho-hum issue, but it’s not. It would remove Georgia law requiring the Secretary of State to keep up with Georgia electors to the Electoral College.

The Electoral College was part of the Great Compromise between big states and little states when the 13 colonies were transformed into a constitutional republic, and it’s as necessary today as it was then.

The Electoral College allows all states, regardless of size, to be players in the national process of electing the president and vice president. Each state is allotted electors in the Electoral College according to its congressional delegation, that’s comprised of two senators, plus the state’s allotted number of U.S. representatives. That process assures equal representation. Since Georgia has two senators and 16 U.S. House members, Georgia has 18 electors in the Electoral College and they vote every four years.

Having the Electoral College meant only Florida votes had to be recounted in the 2000 election. Without the Electoral College, other states could have demanded recounts. But, this might be thebest reason for having the Electoral College: The Electoral College is the only function of national government that is performed outside of Washington, and no senator, representative, or other federal official is allowed to be an elector in the Electoral College. Continue reading →

February 9, 2018 Radio Commentary

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Poll Times, Voting Machines & Registration

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, February 9, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

During this session, the Georgia General Assembly has introduced at least three bills that would affect when we vote, the kind of voting equipment we’ll use, and where voter registration will be held.

As for when we vote, the days won’t change, but the time for polls to open and close will become uniform across the state if this bill passes as introduced.  Senator McKoon introduced S.B. 309 on January 9th to require Georgia polling places for primaries and elections to open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 7:00 p.m., whether it’s Eastern Standard Time or daylight saving time.

Also, if his bill passes as introduced, it would include a two-part method for determining how to fill vacancies that occur in Georgia’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives.  The first option authorizes a special election if more than twelve months remain in the term that was vacated.  The second option authorizes the governor or his designee to appoint a successor if the remainder of the term is under 12 months.  If you agree with that plan, call Senator Burke at 404 656-0040 and ask him to pass it out of his committee.

H.B. 680, introduced January 18th by Representative Scot Turner, would return Georgia to a paper ballot voting system.  If passed, the electronic voting system would be replaced with a new system of paper ballots, ballot marking devices especially designed for marking paper ballots, ballot scanners, and automatic tabulating equipment to count votes. Continue reading →

February 2, 2018 Radio Commentary

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English as Official Language

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, February 2, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

After several attempts to pass a law declaring English Georgia’s official language, it finally passed in the 1996 session.  Issues those days were pretty much the same as they are today, so I’ll quote the very wise Democrat Senator Steve Langford, who co-authored that 1996 bill and, during the debate, explained in three short sentences why English should be declared our official language.

His first point was: “If society is to thrive and communicate at an ‘optimum level,’ we must speak a common language.”  Then, he said, “Society is recognizing so many cultures that few common interests remain.”  I think he must’ve paused a few seconds, sighed, shrugged his shoulders and ended with this: “Language is the easiest interest to keep in common.”

That was 1996, but, evidently, he was aware that, already, many immigrants were avoiding America’s “melting pot” to create their own culture here.  Today, 22 years later, the United States is suffering from English-resistance and massive fragmentation under full-blown multiculturalism.

Legalizing English as our declared state language was a good start in 1996, and it’s past time to do the same in the State Constitution.  So, two bills have been introduced in the Senate to do just that.  S.R. 587 and S.R. 613 do not infringe on anyone’s right to communicate in another language, but it does require English to be used in official state actions that bind or commit Georgia or appear to present official state views. That’s already Georgia law, but it needs to be declared in the State Constitution. Continue reading →

January 26, 2018 Radio Commentary

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Marijuana: A Schedule I Controlled Substance

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, January 26, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Dangerous drugs are divided into classes – Schedule I, Schedule II and Schedule III. Marijuana and heroin are included in Schedule I because of (a) their high potential for abuse; (b) there is no currently accepted medical use for treatment in the United States; and (c) there is no way medical supervision can assure the safe use of marijuana or other controlled substances.

For those reasons, it is illegal for any person (1) to manufacture, dispense, or possess marijuana or any controlled substance.  Also, it is illegal to (2) create, distribute, dispense, or possess with intent to distribute or dispense, a counterfeit of marijuana or other controlled substance.

As a Schedule I drug such as heroin, marijuana is legal under state laws, but not under federal law, which overrules state law if the federal government decides to enforce it.  During the last administration, the federal government refused to enforce laws against marijuana use.  A complete list of Schedule I drugs is available online, along with the Administrative Controlled Substances Code Number for each drug listed.

In its 2016 publication entitled, Warning … Medical Marijuana Has Dangerous Side Effects,Heartland Research Corp. listed 18 powerful professional organizations, universities, and publications that explain the consequences of ignoring the hazards of marijuana.  That booklet, also, provides data on nine horrific traffic accidents involving drivers under the influence of marijuana. Continue reading →