Brambleman

Reps. Scott Holcomb, Scot Turner: We need to upgrade vote machines

By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Georgians should rally behind Reps. Scott Holcomb (D-Atlanta) and Scot Turner (R-Holly Springs) and their request for funding to upgrade the state’s voting systems. Read their letter to Governor Deal They state it will cost $21,000,000. I’d say that vote security in the age of Russian Influence would be a bargain at any price. What could possibly stand in their way? Oh yeah. Brian Kemp. Georgia’s Secretary of State thinks everything’s hunky-dory, except for the constant attacks by liberals on the sanctity of the vote. How did he not get Pants on Fire for that one? Well, I’m giving him one. A Secretary of State shouldn’t go around saying bombastic things about voters all the time, but that’s what…

Friday: Brian Kemp Recall Petition Signing and Holiday Celebration!

By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman It’s not Festivus exactly—we’re too charitable for that—but it is a petitioning of grievances because Brian Kemp is terrible at his job and thinks this entitles him to a promotion to governor next year. It does not. It entitles him to be fired. So that’s what we’re working to do. Gross incompetence, voter suppression, hyperpartisanship (preety sure that’s a word)—-the list goes on. The horrible is strong in this one. I’ve written as much already. Do we want this man to oversee an election that could catapult him into the governor’s mansion? No. We do not. Anyway, A Voice For All Georgia is having a party. It will be much more festive than Festivus. With activities and speakers…

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp: Threat or Menace?

Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Brian Kemp has an important job. Among other things, he oversees Georgia’s elections. He wants an even more important job: governor. Unfortunately, the Republican Secretary of State’s performance in office is causing widespread concern among people who care about voting rights, which should be everyone, but unfortunately isn’t. But that’s a long story that goes back a couple of centuries, so more on that another time. As for now, let’s just ask ourselves a question. Do we want this man to oversee an election that could catapult him into the governor’s mansion? Many people are saying NO. Kemp’s hyperpartisanship and incompetence have led Atlanta resident John Ziegler to launch a petition drive to recall Kemp from office. There are…

Q&A with Chain Gang Elementary author Jonathan Grant

Note: This article was originally published in Like the Dew Why did you write Chain Gang Elementary? I tell people it’s my revenge for having to read Lord of the Flies in high school. Actually, I first started on a completely different project. When I became a PTA co-president at a high-achieving public school, I was interested in publishing a non-fiction book—a how-to guide for parent leaders taking over the reins of a parent-teacher group. And then I saw Murder at the PTA Luncheon. No, actually, while studying the subject, I came across this phrase, or something like it: “Every good school is fundamentally the same, but every bad school is unique.” This got me thinking: Hmm. Unique is more interesting. Being a novelist at heart…

Read free sample of Award-winning Georgia Novel

Download the Prologue and Chapter One of Brambleman to read at your leisure, Enjoy! BRAMBLEMAN A Novel by Jonathan Grant PLOT DESCRIPTION: Down-and- out Atlanta writer Charlie Sherman has no idea what madness awaits him when a mysterious stranger convinces him to finish a dead man’s book about a horrific crime that’s gone unpunished for decades. What Charlie inherits is an unwieldy manuscript about the mob-driven expulsion of more than 1,000 blacks from Forsyth County, Georgia in 1912. During the course of his work, Charlie uncovers a terrible secret involving a Forsyth County land grab. Due to its proximity to Atlanta, the stolen farm is now worth $20 million—and a sale is pending. When he finds the land’s rightful owner, Charlie becomes convinced he’s…

Forsyth marchers remember. Do you have a story to tell?

(Original post published Jan 24, 2014) Wanted: I’m looking for firsthand accounts from people who marched with Hosea Williams in Forsyth County in 1987. You can email me at info@thornbriarpress.com. I’d love to hear your story. And if you’ve written an account, I’d be happy to reprint it here. Updated Jan. 19, 2018: Molly Woo wrote to me: “Worked as a reporter for the Forsyth County News at the time of the marches – remembered the scenes a few years ago, in this post Last year, I posted an account of Hosea Williams’ two Forsyth County marches. This year, I wanted to focus on first-person accounts of participants. Below are the memories of three marchers. I interviewed Joe Beasley of Atlanta and Jo Marsh of…

Brambleman

Georgia politics, history, and other stuff