The Ron Show

First, a good chuckle from The Lincoln Project: The Epstein Memorial Ballroom. Brilliant!------President Donald Trump challenging Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to take the same cognitive test given to patients under physicians' scrutiny for dementia or Alzheimer's Disease isn't the "own" he thinks it is, but it begs the question: why's a guy who's had two MRIs in six months and showing clear signs of decline still in office when it was his party that had massive(ly overblown?) concerns about a similar (was it?) scenario just a year ago? ------Steve Bannon's confident there'll be a third Trump presidency (wouldn't Trump need to be alive and in good mental health?) in 2029, but polling indicates that Americans are remembering why they soured on a Trump presidency the first time. Trump's hemorrhaging Hispanic American support (this should surprise no one), but he's also under water with Georgia voters. New Atlanta Journal Constitution polling shows about one in five Republicans agree the nation is on the "wrong track." Overall, GOP support for Trump remains stubbornly strong, but not as strong as disdain for him from outside the GOP. His clout in 2026 races? Not that big a deal, according to likely GOP voters, but then neither is the endorsement of Governor Brian Kemp. ------Are CNN staffers right to be concerned their boss is gently nudging his network to lighten up on coverage of the East Wing demolition? Hmm; why, after his visit to The White House would he be doing that? Also, is it that Americans can actually visualize Trump destroying our nation's institutions and it's a bad look?------Frequent show guest, Jay Bookman with the Georgia Recorder, has weighed in on the 2026 Democratic field for Georgia's governor's race, boiling it down to a likely generational rumble between the 72-year old Mike Thurmond and 42-year old Jason Esteves. His reasons for discounting the early polling leader (Keisha Lance Bottoms) aren't new to consider on this show, but noteworthy, still. Also noteworthy, he didn't even mention Rep. Ruwa Romman, who's galvanizing energy with a small army of campaign volunteers and already door-knocking and doing interviews aplenty to grow awareness of her and her progressive bona fides.On with me to discuss his time with Rep. Romman is Atlanta Voice editor-in-chief Donnell Suggs.------Then, state Senator Nikki Merritt joined me to discuss her bold idea: asking Governor Brian Kemp to call for a special general assembly session to tap into the state's $14.6 billion in reserve funds to keep SNAP benefits going for the state's 1.3 million recipients. She and other members of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus held a press conference Monday to validate their rationale, and there's plenty of merit in it.------This one's wild: a Cobb County school board member (it's vice chair!) is fielding calls for his resignation after he and a business of his has been named in a $250,000 civil lawsuit. On with me to discuss this story, Cobb County Courier's Rebecca Gaunt.

Donald Trump seems to think he's playing a verbal game of "poker," claiming he's only targeting "Democrat programs" ... and Democrats are calling his bluff. They know (but does he?) that benefits cuts to programs like SNAP bring bipartisan pains. But it isn't just SNAP benefits: special education and the Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund with its grants boosting private-public partnerships supporting low-income communities are impactful to Americans no matter their political leanings. ------I'm a Cathy Woolard fan; any time she's on 'The Georgia Gang' on WAGA-TV / Fox 5, it's "must watch." Her barbs are sharp and I *almost* feel for the conservative pundits in her crosshairs. Almost. She made a rather valid point when discussion of the Cartersville crazy at the Atlanta airport with an AR-15 came up: that Georgia Republican legislators passed a law letting anyone carry a concealed weapon into airports without a permit in the first place. Boom.I've finally made contact with her, by the way, and once she's back from some international travel, I look forward to having her on the show!------You can align with someone, ideologically, and still react to their transgressions with some questions about their rationale. Such is the odd case of Patty Durand, caught on camera, allegedly lifting "trade secrets" (stupidly labeled as such and left unattended on a table, by the way) and leaving a hearing room with them. The video is pretty damning, though I must say - it feels like a baited trap, no?------Finally, and indulging tirade for me, the beleaguered, vastly less-interested Atlanta Falcons' fan who's grown weary of poor personnel decisions for going on nearly a decade now. The parallels between that time period of poor planning with a football team and my preferred political party, incidentally, aren't lost on me.

It was three years ago this month that I launched this show and my first guest then was Melita Easters, executive director at the Georgia WIN List. She rejoined me today to discuss the legacy of Rosalynn Carter setting up office in the now-bulldozed East Wing of the White House. We bemoaned that destruction, together, before wandering into topics of the day like "what will Stacey do" and "do Democratic women trust Geoff Duncan" and "why is Keisha Lance Bottoms leading polls right now?"Also on tap: on November 1st, Georgia WIN List celebrates 25 years with Dr. Joyce Vance doing a Q&A with Melita and the viewing of "Command Ground," following the work of Georgia Rev. Senator Kim Jackson. ------Also joining me today, Ava Davis, local black and trans activist, actor, writer and the "duchess of Grant Park," to speak to me on the dearth of black participants in 'No Kings Day.'

A Cartersville man "off his meds" drove all the way to Hartsfield-Jackson International AIrport in Atlanta after going on social media to tell his followers he was going there to 'shoot it up.' It was only a call from a family member to law enforcement that prevented this from happening - not stricter gun laws. Fortunately, that tip and swift action from airport and Atlanta law enforcement that apprehended Billy Joe Cagle, but the question remains: how'd a mentally unwell man have access to an AR-15? Who's AR-15 is it? Why is that person not being prosecuted?------Democracy Docket's Yunior Rivas joined me after filing an article that illustrates what we said was going to happen all along: Georgia's SB202 disproportionately stymied voters of color from participating in elections since its passage. ------Indivisible Georgia's Laura Judge joined me to provide insights into the planning that went into the 2nd 'No Kings Day' in Atlanta and future plans, as well. I also asked when we can expect our checks from George Soros.------Fired for comments made on someone else's social media post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk assassination, former Emory University professor and cancer research associate Anna Kenney joined me. In the conversation, we discussed the confusion about a meme erroneously associated with her concocted by a right wing account and all the hate-filled comments that came her way on her own account - mostly on posts having nothing to do with politics. ------Kenney isn't the only person who's had her job threatened. An Oglethorpe County teacher has been asked to resigns (she has thus far refused and is suing), and an LGBTQ+ professor targeted by Turning Points USA's "professor watch list" lost a speaking gig. He penned an op/ed that I read and shared here. I'm old enough to remember when the right mocked "cancel culture."

I wanted to give a lot of my platform today to voices from the Atlanta "No Kings Day" event, from local grassroots activists like Dom Kelly of the New Disabled South to Rev. Senator Raphael Warnock and Stacey Abrams. There was also appearances from former state senator Jason Esteves and Atlanta City Council Presidential candidate Rohit Mahlotra.------There's also this: the Atlanta Journal Constitution profiled Ashley Merchant, the attorney central in the exposing of the Fani Willis / Nathan Wade coupling that formed the basis for Trump co-conspirators' 'conflict of interest' claims (not that a conflict even existed ...). There's just something gross about the legal profession when this is something journalism would laud. Not sorry to say so. ------MAGAs and their unintended consequences ... an Augusta conservative talk radio host posted a close-up, zoomed in photo of someone wearing blue gym shorts. Clearly we were looking at someone's genital "bulge," but have no idea whose, but in the post, host Austin Rhodes wrote "There have been more scholarship players with ding-dongs on the Augusta University Women’s Volleyball Team, than there have been KINGS in the U.S. government."Never mind the pivot from "No Kings Day" and its historic precedent; no, as right wing pundits are wont to do, Austin felt the need to play "hey, look over here! Back to banging on trans people!" game with his audience. The problem is, he didn't make it clear the alleged trans athlete no longer plays at the local university, but only after his followers openly stated they'd be uh "scrutinizing" the current roster. That poor girl, named "Hunter," with her ample shoulders and thighs. Oops. ------My guest today: Amir Badat, Fair Fight's senior policy advisor and southern states director, to weigh in on the looming evisceration of Section of the Voting Rights' Act by the U.S. Supreme Court. Also, his Fair Fight co-hort Max Flugrath, shared on social media a 2019 New Yorker piece that brought attention to the "master of modern Republican gerrymandering." A timely look back as the intent of the VRA is set to be done away with by a Trump-packed Supreme Court.

Georgia Conservation Voters, and their action fund, have a slate of 2025 endorsements: but they're going hard at incumbent Republican Public Service Commission candidates for raising utility rates multiple times in their terms. Paul Glaze, Media & Public Affairs Strategist with GCV, joined me to discuss what's at stake and on the ballot with the two PSC races this election cycle for voters with concerns about affordability and sustainability.------The conservative majority of the US Supreme Court seems to be indicating they're ready to dismantle Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. I discuss why conservative arguments for an expiration date only make sense in a vacuum where we're pretending the last sixty-ish years of conservative obstruction and sabotage didn't occur. ------As a pack of "young" Republicans face repercussions for antisemitic and racist slurs in a sea of Telegram dispatches, here in Atlanta, a former Emory professor and researcher today finds herself unemployed for using two words on social media: "good riddance."Not to Charlie Kirk as much his ideology, she says, and yet, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Georgia) made the concerted effort to see to it he lambasted her on social media and pressured Emory to fire her. The folks who railed against "cancel culture" suddenly love "cancel culture," eh?

Briana Boyd with 50501 Georgia joined me just as word was breaking that the city of Atlanta had granted the organization's permit to march this Saturday for the second nationwide network of 'No Kings Day' rallies. Hear - from her perspective - what was causing such a fuss and trepidation on the city's part.------The New Georgia Project and its associated PAC are no more, as word broke this morning. Fret not, however; there are other voter registration organizations in the state ready to step up. They include Fair Count, GLAHR Action Network and We Vote We Win. ------Trump's latest bluster, targeting FIFA World Cup host U.S. cities with a claim he could pull games from Boston, Santa Clara (he means San Francisco but the fool isn't aware the stadium is 45 minutes from the city in Santa Clara) and Seattle, has no relevance to Atlanta and Georgia ... or so you'd think. While we're in a state with a GOP governor (though one he isn't fond of), what happens if a Democrat wins the office in 2026 with the 2028 Super Bowl slated for February here? Also, how's it help blue cities in blue states meet his demands to combat crime (already lower than in his first term) if he's pulling terrorism funding from those same states? ------Lastly, time to stop calling those "young" Republicans exposed for their Telegram chatter "young;" they're all adults in their mid-20s or older. That doesn't make them "mature," but it sure doesn't make them "kids," either.

Question: why is Rep. Nikema Williams (D) unveiling a slate of endorsements for municipal races in her district when most of the races are Democrat v Democrat? Is this a slate of debts owed for her ascendancy into the Congressional seat when the late Rep. John Lewis passed? Otherwise, what's the sense in this? It's a bad look - particularly for the former Georgia Democratic Party chair.------Speaking of endorsements, former state Senator Jason Esteves netted the endorsement of Jason Carter, former Democratic gubernatorial candidate and grandson of the late President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalyn. Also, I believe (and correct me if I'm wrong) Esteves was the only gubernatorial candidate in the Atlanta Pride parade this past weekend. Uhm ... ------An Atlanta school board candidate Rep. Nikema WIlliams didn't endorse (okay, his school zone isn't in her district, so there's that) has some refreshing candor when it comes to what we need to be teaching our kids: an accurate representation of our nation's history, warts and all.------Why is the city of Atlanta gumming up the process to file for a protest march with this weekend's upcoming 'No Kings' protests? ------Good on Atlanta Journal Constitution op/ed columnist Patricia Murphy openly wondering how Donald Trump can craft peace in the Middle East (truth is, he didn't; the deal was a year old) but can't unite Congress to end a government shutdown?

It was as I surmised in prior days: Benjamin Netenyahu's vested interest in Donald Trump winning the U.S. presidency in 2024 played a large role in why the deal everyone (myself included) is hailing this week wasn't reached more than a year ago. That, according to a key negotiator involved in that 2024 deal.It's not like there aren't breadcrumbs from the election cycle, either. From CBS News: "If we win, it will be very simple. It's all going to work out and very quickly."That's what candidate Donald Trump said then. Prescient, no?------With the likes of Joe Rogan and Marjorie Taylor Greene moderating and/or softening on their - get this - immigration rhetoric, how do we approach the likeminded, going forward? I myself wrestle with this. Marjorie, in particular, I've covered a lot in recent weeks. Her appearance over the weekend on the Tim Dillon podcast shows she's (dare I say?) maturing, though still lacking in self-awareness to her complicity in the toxic and divisive tone in American politics.

The start of the work week began with the release of the remaining (living) Israeli hostages by Hamas. It's a moment in human history we should all be able to find common joy. The question is this: how did Trump secure a deal that eluded Joe Biden? I believe (rightly so, reporting would reveal) Benjamin Netenyahu had a rooting interest in the 2024 Presidential election here. ------Before anyone begins thinking I'm softening on the Trump administration over one good news cycle, however, it begs the question: how can the Trump White House orchestrate a deal to end the Israel / Hamas war while still waging war on non-MAGA America? They whacked an entire Education Department unit charged with overseeing special education programs. CEO/Founder at the New Disabled South, Dom Kelly, took to social media to provide a furious, frustrated response. ------Keeping up with the evolution of Marjorie Taylor Greene from bombastic radical MAGA nutjob to concerned momma bear bucking her party and finding agreement from and with Democrats is quite an experience. Atlanta Journal Constitution op/ed contributor Jamie Dupree is among us (and her) who note that the GOP has had fifteen years to craft an Obamacare alternative and have come up empty. Trump told us - in 2016 - it was coming out in a matter of "weeks." It's been more than 460 weeks since Trump first won the presidency in 2016. How many more "weeks" will we need to continue waiting before that plan comes out?Wouldn't it be something if they suddenly came out with a plan to provide "Medicare for All?"

We awoke to word that a ceasefire agreement had been reached freeing the remaining 20 hostages from Hamas control with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netenyahu's blessing. What remained unclear, at least initially, was if President Donald Trump knew if Gazans would be free to return to Gaza or be temporarily or permanently displaced. The framework of the '20-point plan' is very shaky, and - it turns out - recycled from past plans offered a year ago, but rebuffed by Netenyahu and because so, unpursued by then-President Joe Biden. And there's no guarantee it'll hold. I'll keep reminding anyone paying attention, by the way, that the world only has a Hamas to deal with because Netenyahu propped it up at the expense of looming Palestinian statehood.------Are we witnessing the caterpillar-to-butterfly "molting" of Marjorie Tayler Greene into a rational politician? Could she be better-positioned now (than before) to take a stab at statewide office? Atlanta Journal Constitution op/ed writer Patricia Murphy thinks ... maybe. That she's taking to the set at CNN to speak with Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown on this is telling, in and of itself. Her potential general election combatant - Democrat Shawn Harris - calls "bullsh*t."

Noel Heatherland with Georgia Equality was kind enough to join me Thursday morning ahead of Atlanta Pride to provide a bit of a "temp check" on all things Georgia LGBTQIA+ rights. ------Shame on Marci Collier-Overstreet, one of two Democrats vying to be Atlanta City Council President, for using the groan-worthy "defund the police" quip at a recent Atlanta Press Club debate, in an attempt to take a swipe at her opponent, Rohit Malhotra. Overstreet, it should be noted, voted in favor every time she had the chance, for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center - aka "Cop City."

Early polling shows name recognition is putting former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in the drivers' seat for the Democratic Party race for Georgia's governor's office in 2026. Hear why I find this worrisome for the party, and why I have a hunch this comes down to a "Geoff Duncan vs. the field" race inevitably.------I wasn't the first to say it, but I have another hunch: that seeing air traffic controllers not being able to fully staff towers may well be what ends the government shutdown. It also doesn't help MAGA that Marjorie Taylor Greene is bringing her kids' plight in having to buy health insurance on their own to social media has her pitted against the White House and House Speaker Mike Johnson's posturing. ------A Chicago Presbyterian minister being shot in the face by a federal agent with a pepper ball gun isn't quite the same as what Americans saw on live TV in Selma, Alabama, but I happen to think that the more Americans see of ICE and National Guard interactions in America's city streets, the more they'll sour on Trumpism. As Dr. Bernice King, Dr. Martin Luther King's daughter, deftly pointed out, earlier this week, the "riotous city streets" trope isn't new. It's a callback to racist tropes in the 1960s. ------Speaker Johnson couldn't have sounded more out-of-touch when pegged by a reporter to respond to the NFL tabbing Bad Bunny to perform this season's Super Bowl halftime show. But if he wants a country artist (Lee Greenwood is a pitiful panderous choice, Mike) why not Zach Bryan?Oh, wait.

"A movement driven by prosperity preachers, extremist politicians, and right-wing power brokers laid the groundwork for Trump’s presidency and is now advancing its agenda under his second administration. This multipronged effort against our national institutions is being led by millennial “kingmaker” Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and the new face of Christian Nationalism."That's the book pitch for "Seven Mountains Mandate: Exposing the Dangerous Plan to Christianize America and Destroy Democracy," by Dr. Matthew Boedy, professor of English and rhetoric at the University of North Georgia.This isn't new ground for this show, but it brings into focus the role of Turning Points USA (TPUSA) and its assassinated leader, Charlie Kirk in this 'anything-but-Christian,' white nationalist movement that's been slowly, steadily working its way towards usurping democracy to maintain control by a white evangelical minority even if it means using an unholy man in Donald Trump to achieve their goals. He and I discuss his book along with his own occupational and personal safety in a right wing "cancel culture" fervor.Then, a local progressive minister, Cody Deese, touched on 'Christian nationalism' and its flock either being ignorant or "in line," mentally, with the likes of TPUSA's fallen leader and his intentionally hurtful statements. Deese, saying,  Now you start to see the exterior being a mirror to the interior."

Atlanta-based Democratic political strategist Andrew Heaton mixed and mingled with Georgia Democrats at their annual Carter-Lewis Dinner , then joined me Monday to spill the tea.Who was there? Who (notably) wasn't? Who was working the room, who's likely to emerge with campaigns for statewide office that hasn't already? These questions and more are all answered in our post-dinner conversation.

I've known Clay & Shelly since 2019; they're an active younger couple with two kids. Both are realtors - in fact they're a married "team" - who have to shell out the full cost of health insurance as small business owners. Clay took to social media to spell out what the federal government shutdown and Democrats' posturing to save ACA credits (and claw back Medicare/Medicaid cuts) is about: the cost increase to cover their family is akin to that of a "decent used car" in 2026. Patricia Murphy at the Atlanta Journal Constitution, however, opines that Democrats are the "biggest losers" in this shutdown stalemate, but is this not the kind of "kitchen table issue" Democrats are supposed to be standing firm for?Meanwhile, Sheryl Arno, executive director of the Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta, opined in the AJC as well that the looming Medicaid cuts are going to impact families who have loved ones with special needs - and not just poor families. Those in the "messy middle" who earn just enough not to qualify for Medicaid may find themselves taking their adult neuro-atypical children back in and be full-time caregivers if the GOP-led cuts to vital waiver programs take effect in 2026.

There's an ask, since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, for a return to "civility" in our political discourse. I'm here to tell you that "civility" is a luxury for only the privileged, and it's more obvious now than ever. When Elon Musk is calling for the shuttering of the Southern Poverty Law Center and he and FBI director Kash Patel see the Anti-Defamation League as a hate group, they're looking to silence arbiters of bias and hatred instead of the amplifiers of bias and hatred. Does that warrant our "civility?"Sadly, the ADL caved! I mean, wasn't that Musk and Patel's intent? NewsNation host Chris Cuomo tried "civility" with Musk, and was told directly by Musk to "piss off." Is that "civility?"Roxanne Gay, New York Times contributing opinion writer - a bisexual black woman - says "civility is a fantasy." AJC op/ed writer David Plazas says "civility" isn't enough; that we need to show each other "mutual respect."So how does one respect people who pathologically lie to perpetuate a political movement hell-bent on the continuation of marginalizing an American majority to the benefit of the long-empowered white conservative patriarchy?

Go figure, a dysfunctional, MAGA-controlled federal government has ground to a halt; while there's a cynical explanation as to why the Trump White House and his Congressional bootlickers are okay with this, courtesy of 'Politics Girl' Leigh McGowan, a New York Times op/ed puts it plainly: "The American people deserve and ought to demand better options."I'm actually not so sure; the American people voted for this because "trans people!!!" But that's not to say we, the American people, can't continue to play a role in how things like federal government shutdowns play out. We can throw heat at either side (or even both), but one side has cooked up a whopper of a lie about undocumented immigrants and access to 'free healthcare,' and the other is fighting to keep health insurance rates affordable for working families. Former Trump OMB director Mick Mulvaney was cornered by Brian Tyler Cohen on this point and Mulvaney filibustered. House majority leader Mike Johnson, on CNN with Kaitlin Collins, also got corrected live on the air.Speaking of Mikey J., what's up with the latest ultimatum put on him regarding a Grindr history? Bernie Sanders gave his assessment and offered his terms: no loss of healthcare coverage for 15-20 million Americans, no steep increases in insurance rates, an end to the evisceration of NIH funding, and an end to our sprint towards authoritarian fascism. Obviously untenable to the MAGA GOP. ------Have ya heard the one about the drunk and the fat guy who dodged serving in the military brought hundreds of military brass to a lecture on fitness to serve? Donald Trump - about 44 minutes into his latest inane rant - suggested to those assembled military higher-ups that AMERICAN CITIES should be used as "training grounds" for National Guard troops. Oh, and permitted them to be physically violent with anyone who protests: "they spit, we hit."

Admittedly, I've been a little distracted the last couple weeks, caring for an ailing cat and being a part of a caretaking team for a dear friend. Both passed away over the weekend so I'm just diving back into some things I've missed of late, one of them being the Tom Homan sit down on "Real Time With Bill Maher."On the one hand, I'm a little baffled by Maher's recent display of anti-wokeness, and on the other, he's an aging white cynical comedian who's no different than most straight white men in that they don't get the plight of the trans community and so like most straight white men, he craps on their right to exist in any measure of equality.That being said, he brags about his ability to pull Republican guests while complaining Democrats won't come on his show. I suppose Ro Khanna, Tim Ryan, Rahm Emanuel, Jon Tester, Josh Shapiro, Tina Smith, Al Gore, Adam Schiff, Seth Moulton, John Fetterman and Jason Crow (all from just this season!!!!) don't ring a bell. So in the last three weeks, he's sat with Ben Shapiro, Nancy Mace and Tom Homan. but he's clearly not proud of his sit-down with Homan. Having listened back to it and dissected it for today's show - I can hear why.

Author ("Southern. Gay. Teacher." and "Gay Arab American and Middle Eastern Men") and former Fulton County educator Randy Fair joined the show today to share with me what prompted him to write an op/ed in the South Florida Sun Sentinel (paywall ... wah wahhh) defending teachers' free speech rights. I read the op/ed for the audience prior to the conversation, so you won't need to pay to read it.In the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk assassination, school systems throughout the country have been suspending and/or terminating educators for social media posts reacting to Kirk's passing. Fair believes this is an overstep. We also discussed what prompted him to write about Gay Arab American & Middle-Eastern Men for his latest book. ------ She's already shattered never-before crossed boundaries as Georgia's first-ever Palestinian-American lawmaker, and now, Rep. Ruwa Romman wants to be Georgia's first woman governor. She spent time with me to discuss what prompted her to run for the Democratic Party's nomination with an already-heavy ticket.