James Buckner receives award from Justice Dept., Bureau of Prisons

Buckner (r) receives award from Hurwitz.

UPDATE: This award was given for Outstanding Performance in Communications Monitoring and Analysis.

James W. Buckner, Intelligence Analyst-Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) at the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) in Martinsburg, West Virginia, has received an award for outstanding performance.  The award was presented by Hugh J. Hurwitz, Acting Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Buckner, a native of Kentucky, has served 19 years with the BOP. Previously, he was with the Correctional Service - Internal Affairs Sergeant, Security Threat Group Coordinator (street/prison gang intelligence and management), Kentucky Department of Corrections. He also served with the Fayette County Detention Center and spent two years with the Sheriff's Office in Lexington, KY. 

Wife, Marlene, and daughter, Michelle, attended award ceremony.

“My family made the trip, too, which made it more special for me," Buckner said after receiving the award. 

Peace meeting plans in Metro Atlanta

My Hero, Rev. Dr. Henry Bradford, Sr. dies

1957 photo from The Heritage, A&M's yearbook

Listen to obituary: https://obits.al.com/obituaries/huntsville/obituary.aspx?n=henry-bradford&pid=191869198&fhid=23832

The Rev. Dr. Henry Bradford, Jr., my former piano/voice teacher and mentor, has died. If anyone is listening to a heavenly choir and orchestra, he is!

Notes made by Rev. Bradford in my John Thompson Piano Course book

Rev. Bradford taught me how to play "Oh Danny Boy" on the piano and also accompanied me when I performed solos at beauty pageants. He was very patient with me, even though my fingers were small and I didn't like to practice.

The Bradfords were married over 70 years.

"Fingering" I needed to work on noted in red by Rev. Bradford

Bradford is survived by his wife, Nell, and they were married for over 70 years. They have two living children - Andrea and Hank, III. It has been reported that Bradford, 97, died days after being involved in a car accident in which his wife was also injured.

Family hour will be Friday night, and the funeral will be held  Saturday at 12 noon in Huntsville, Ala.

Rev. Bradford wrote the music for A&M's school song.

For more information on Rev. Bradford's life, go to:  http://www.aamu.edu/news/2011/Pages/AAMU-Mourns-Death-of-Icon.aspx?fbclid=IwAR0zO_0bRO3hbfNto9FvX_jeP3oRvQaSre_XPLCypsPkmprXFQNfKLs-pr0

Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side.
The summer's gone, and all the roses falling,
It's you, it's you must go and I must bide.

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow,
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow,
It's I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow,
Oh, Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so!

But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying,
If I am dead, as dead I well may be,
You'll come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an Ave there for me.
And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me,
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be,
For you will bend and tell me that you love me,
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me!

Funeral: https://www.facebook.com/ucmbc.pastor.davis/videos/dr-henry-bradford-jr-funeral-23-march-2019/1367723656703680/

Muslim leader condemns attack in New Zealand

The World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph), His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad has strongly condemned the terrorist attack that took place earlier in New Zealand.

Speaking from London, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“On behalf of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community worldwide, I express my deepest sympathies and condolences to all those affected by the barbaric terrorist attack that has taken place in Christchurch.

“Such heinous and utterly inhumane attacks must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. It is a grave tragedy that dozens of innocent Muslims have lost their lives whilst joining together for worship. All people, no matter their faith or belief, have the right to worship peacefully.

“This tragic event should serve as a lesson and warning to other countries of the developed world that we must join together to tackle all forms of racial, ethnic and religious hatred with wisdom and with a firm hand.

“Our heartfelt prayers are with the victims of these attacks and all those who have been affected. May the perpetrators of this evil act be promptly brought to justice.”

Additionally from a local member: "We are horrified and devastated by this attack. New Zealand is a peaceful and tolerant country and if this can happen there, it shows that no part of the world is safe from extremism or terrorism. 

"We offer our deepest sympathies and prayers all those affected by this tragedy. 

"Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has spoken out against extremism for many years. It is not the right time to apportion blame but certainly when the dust has settled we hope that authorities across the world will see how the perpetrator(s) were radicalized and what can be done to prevent such hatreds developing in future. Everyone has a role to play to fight extremism by promoting tolerance and speaking out against all forms of bigotry and prejudice."

Read the alleged killer's Manifesto here: 

https://katana17.wordpress.com/2019/03/15/the-great-replacement-manifesto-of-new-zealand-mosque-shooter-mar-2019/

"Healthcare Not Handcuffs" meeting with Georgia Legislators Tuesday

On behalf of local criminal justice reform organizations, you are invited to attend a teach-in and dialogue with Georgia legislators on how our state can reduce criminalization of mental illness and increase access to critical behavioral health services. 

To register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/healthcare-not-handcuffs-tickets-56670327475
Join local organizations, state legislators, impacted community members, and advocates to learn about the critical needs facing people in our state, and what the state legislature could do to move from punishment to healing, from locking people up to connecting them to care. 

AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS

• Impact of Lack of Mental Health Resources on People, Families and Communities
• Historical Perspective on Mental Health and Criminal Justice Reforms in Georgia
• Opportunities for reform:
  • Atlanta/Fulton County Pre-Arrest Diversion Initiative
  • Mental health care in local jails
  • No Health = No Justice community conversations report
• Legislator Panel and Discussion
• Hosted by the Southern Center for Human Rights • Legal Action Center  • Mental Health America of Georgia • National Incarceration Association •  Atlanta/Fulton County Pre-Arrest Diversion Initiative

Update on the Riverside Apartment crisis in South Cobb County, Ga.

This information was provided by Community Activist Monica DeLancy.

The attorney representing the three sister properties - Kingsley Village, Parkview Apartments and Hunter Grove Apartments - withdrew from the eviction cases on March 15th. All cases from those properties were dismissed, and residents who had counter claims were awarded their judgments. There were multiple judgments awarded -were $15000, $1500, $2950, $1200, and $1000.

On Monday, March 11th new property managers took over the property and stated that they are in the process of working maintenance orders and speaking with tenants to build relationships. The tenants who went to court for eviction were filed before the new management started on March 11th.

On March 12th, 30 residents from the South Cobb community went to the state Capitol to discuss HB346 with elected officials as well as education policies. HB 346 is the bill presented by Representative Sharon Cooper that stops landlords from retaliation if residents complain about living conditions on rental properties. The trip was organized by Monica DeLancy, We thrive in Riverside Renters Association in partnership with National Center on Learning Disabilities, and Word of Faith sponsored the transportation.

The three properties are still owned by the same investment group which has requested a jury trial for their 80 code violations. The date of the trial have not been set.

Opportunity to Thrive Community Pop Up will be at Parkview Apartments, 360 Riverside Parkway in Austell, Georgia on Thursday, March 21st 1:00p.m. to 4p.m. This will be an opportunity for residents to meet the new managers and receive fresh fruits and vegetables from Amerigroup. In addition there will be resource guides and keep Cobb Beautiful info table so residents can learn strategies to help keep their community clean. The Community Pop Up is in partnership with We Thrive in Riverside Renters Association.

For more information, contact Monica DeLancy at 770-369-6531.

For federal rental assistance, go to https://www.hud.gov/topics/rental_assistance.

Culture makes U.S. communities great!

International Night at McCleskey Middle School

Opinion: At the same time I have been reading Alain Locke’s "Race Contacts and Interracial Relations", our WingChun Kung fu School, Atlanta WingChun (http://www.iaw-atlanta.com), was invited to give a demonstration at Cobb County’s McCleskey Middle School for the PTA’s International Night.

Locke removed race from its biological basis and put it on a cultural foundation. The idea that we should harness and promote our many cultural strengths as a nation will lead us to truly make our communities better, for in “America”, all cultures are important; none should be placed in a vacuum, and none should be deemed supreme.

Martial arts training can be enjoyed by all.

At the event, a student of Chinese descent asked me what country I was representing. When I said China, she looked at me a little puzzled. “Do you speak Chinese?” she asked. “No, but my family teaches a martial arts style from China,” I told her.

Yes, African Americans do practice and teach kung fu! In our classes, we teach all races and sexes from different countries -  Mexico, England, Columbia, Ethiopia, etc. Kung fu is an art that can be enjoyed by all, and our Grandmaster is German!

When one of our highest leaders proclaimed that “We speak English here,” he made a lying mockery of our cultural strengths. Doesn’t his wife speak four or five languages? Aren’t polyglots some of the most advanced people in the universe which could mean the more languages you speak, the more folks you can relate to?

Expand your mind, and never limit your learning.

AHEPA Condemns Publisher's Call for KKK to "Night Ride Again"

WASHINGTON, DC - Press release dated Feb. 20, 2019 - Supreme President George E. Loucas has issued the following statement: 

"We are alarmed by an editorial published in the Democrat-Reporter, an Alabama small-town newspaper, that opened, 'Time for the Ku Klux Klan to night ride again.'

"The KKK terrorized immigrants and minorities, including Americans of Hellenic heritage, during its resurgence in the early 20th century.  The KKK's intimidating and sometimes violent discrimination toward Greek immigrants led to the founding of our Order in 1922 in Atlanta--the home of the KKK's headquarters at the time.

"Therefore, any call for the KKK to 'night ride again'--no matter where it is published or the volume of the media outlet's circulation or distribution--must be condemned.

"We appreciate U.S. Senator Doug Jones and U.S. Congresswoman Terri Sewell for speaking out against the editorial.

"We call for the author of the editorial, Mr. Goodloe Sutton, who is the publisher and editor of the Democrat-Reporter, to resign."

Earlier this week, Mr. Sutton confirmed to the Montgomery Advertiser that he did author the editorial, which was published unsigned.

Background

The Order of AHEPA was founded in 1922 in Atlanta, Georgia, on the principles that undergirded its fight for civil rights and against discrimination, bigotry, and hatred felt at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan.

In 1990, AHEPA filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in the Georgia Supreme Court. It backed the legal position of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of B'nai B'rith in support of a state law banning masks in public which was challenged by the KKK. The court ruled 6 to 1 to uphold the constitutionality of the anti-mask statute.

 

For more info on this subject, go to: https://www.pappaspost.com/forgotten-history-the-klan-vs-americans-of-greek-heritage-in-an-era-of-hate-and-the-birth-of-the-ahepa/

# # #  

 

AHEPA is the largest and oldest grassroots association of American citizens of Greek heritage and Philhellenes with more than 400 chapters across the United States, Canada, and Europe. 

Uptick in white terrorism indicative of old supremacist ideology

OPINION:  A few months ago, I had to control myself when an older white man purposely and with anger banged into my shopping cart in the grocery store for no apparent reason. My impression was that he was trying to provoke me into a violent altercation. Knowing that there were cameras recording things in the store, I called him out as evil, and he retreated down the aisle.

A few years back at a church function, a white congregant said, "Fuck you," while we were both working as volunteers. When she apologized after I informed the church council of her actions, she told me she had taken medication and didn't remember what she said.

Ten years ago, I was waiting in line when a white woman broke in front of me.  When I called her out, she mentioned, "survival of the fittest" and went to another checkout lane.

All these incidents stuck in my mind as attributed to deep rooted anger/hate probably coupled with pain killers and attempts to cause a stir, perhaps leading to dire consequences for me. I'm glad I kept my cool...

Now I'm confronted with two news items: 

1) a report from the Southern Poverty Law Center that there has been "a 30 percent increase in U.S. hate groups over the past four years and a 7 percent increase in hate groups in 2018 alone, according to the center's annual 'Year in Hate and Extremism' report. The group designated 1,020 organizations as hate groups in 2018, a high of at least 20 years." (https://www.npr.org/2019/02/20/696217158/u-s-hate-groups-rose-sharply-in-recent-years-watchdog-group-reports)

2) a U.S. Coast Guard employee, Christopher Paul Hasson, who is also a self-described white nationalist, was arrested in Maryland last week for plotting mass killings (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/20/us/christopher-hasson-coast-guard.html)

“If you don't understand white supremacy/racism, everything that you do understand will only confuse you.”

― Neely Fuller, Jr., The United Independent Compensatory Code System Concept a textbook/workbook for Thought, Speech and/or Action for Victims of Racism

Racist ideologies are not new and have been documented in conservative journals. In the May 1995 Edition of Georgia Trend Magazine which featured Newspaper Publisher Otis Brumby on the cover, an opinion piece was printed on page 78 written by Virgil R. Williams, a supposedly noble communicator. 

 

In this article, Williams states in the first paragraph, "A phenomenon is occurring in the lives of the white American male. He is rapidly losing his once esteemed position in American society. Beneath the surface, he is seething with anger. The three characteristics that describe him - white, American and male - are all under attack."

Virgil R. Williams is an entrepreneur, former executive and bank owner, and current CEO of the Williams Companies which provide services to engineering and oil/gas sites. Williams lives in Suwanee, GA in Gwinnett County on a massive estate, according to Globalglobetrotting. (https://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/virgil-r-williams-house/view/bing/).

 https://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/virgil-r-williams-house/view/bing/

Williams is also former director of Bank of America and former owner of the Georgia Force Arena Football team. I don't mind him having things, especially a nice house, but why is he saying white men are losing ground and must do something because of the plight they are in?

So what do folks like Williams, Hasson, and Trump have in common? 

*They appear angry, especially at people they deem lower than themselves.
*Reconciliation is not their priority.
*They fail to face reality: the world is run by whites who use racism/white supremacy/fear to suppress non-whites. 
*They don't respect white women or "other" races.
*They want it all, including death to those not like them and will even kill other whites who get in their way.

What do you think? What action should be applied?

Update: The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported in 2004 that Virgil R. Williams had $67m in bank stocks (792,048 shares) when he retired and also owned the Georgia Force Football Team which he later sold to Arthur Blank.

Recent: Alabama newspaper publisher says KKK should ride again: https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2019/02/21/goodloe-sutton-alabama-kkk-editorial-wont-back-down-ku-klux-klan-linden-alabama-racist-editor/2938252002/?fbclid=IwAR2r94FcAycPQdXY2M2w5rFqPMCCqeQoNJVogf0Lw-uBLXp6XDDyCtFj17A

Shaun Calhoun receives Costco President's Award for heroism

Shaun Calhoun (c) of Metro Louisville, Kentucky received the Costco President's Award for helping a child of one of the chain's members in need of life-saving medical attention. 

Including a heartfelt thanks, the award, and a President's badge,  Calhoun will receive 25 shares of Costco stock.

Calhoun, 35, is married with children. "He is a symbol of what it means to be a good Christian man," said his proud father, George "Bubba" Calhoun.

 Way to go, Shaun! It is reported that the stock he received is worth $5k.

GA Solar mixer brings politicians, policymakers, advocates, and installers together

The Georgia Solar Energy Association held a Connections Networking Mixer last night at the Warren City Club in Virginia Highlands in Atlanta. The event was sponsored by Enercon.

Barber and Ginn attended the function.

Public Service Commission (PSC) Representative Jamie Barber, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Manager, said the state has deregulated many industries, but solar is not one of them. According to its website, the PSC's mission is "to exercise its authority and influence to ensure that consumers receive safe, reliable and reasonably priced telecommunications, electric and natural gas services from financially viable and technically competent companies." One important question is, “Why hasn’t solar been deregulated?”

According to Solar Power Rocks (https://www.solarpowerrocks.com/georgia/), Georgia has an F policy grade in 2019 because of low tax credits. Solar installation tax incentives have soured since 2008 and have not rebounded, even with the passage of the solar Power-Free Market Financing Act of 2015.

When asked would he recommended putting solar panels on the State Capitol, Georgia State Senator Frank Ginn  (R) - 47th District, said he would not recommend putting them on the Gold Dome because it’s the wrong application for an historic, 1879 building, but he has solar on his own residence. 

"I've been in the solar industry since the '70's and actually live in a passive home," Ginn said in my interview. "Most all of the energy we have on the planet, accept for nuclear, came originally from solar.  Whether we're talking about coal, or natural gas, bio-mass, or active solar, it all came from the sun. "

"I do serve on the World Congress Center Oversight Committee, and we've done some things there on parking decks. It's a great application that can be done in urban areas because you're not only producing energy, but you're giving some protection to the automobiles against the heat of the sun," Ginn said.

Ginn also said people need to understand that solar applications are more than just panels on house rooftops but include industrial and major building uses. He said the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, famous for its retractable roof, utilizes solar technology. 

       Young said the sun's power can be harnessed and utilized wherever you are.                   
 (Photo credit: Don Tonic, President/GM and Certified PV Installation Professional)

Thatcher Young, VP of Business Development of VeloSolar, says there are a myriad of ways solar is integrated into customer applications, including solar lighting, portable solar electronic charging, and a whole host of off-grid applications, i.e. tiny homes, campers, etc. which harness electricity naturally available from an unlimited source - the sun.

“Solar energy can be used while you’re hiking, camping or lounging on your own private island,” Young said.

Kurk Johnson and George Lovelace, both IT professionals originally from Kentucky, shared a toast at mixer.

For more information on this organization, go to: https://www.gasolar.org/

University of Alabama history lesson

Correction: Foster Auditorium was not named after Lucy but after Richard Clark Foster in 1939.

Today marks the day University of Alabama Student Autherine Lucy (Foster) was suspended from attending classes, three days after she entered the Department of Education through a side corridor. I visited the place where a courageous Lucy, who wanted to become a teacher, tried to be the first person of color to attend “Bama” despite white protests two years after the Brown desegregation case was announced by the U.S. Supreme Court.

These were the steps leading to Education Building where Lucy was escorted away from protesters.

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Buford Boone of TheTuscaloosa  News described the incident in this editorial:

These are bulletin boards on the walls in the corridor today.

The pictures speak for themselves. Know History. 

The place where Gov. George Wallace stood in the schoolhouse door is Foster Auditorium where young women now practice volleyball and basketball.

It took Lucy 35 years to be awarded her Masters from Univ. of Alabama, but she did it!

MLK Birthday Celebration dampened by poverty, economic inequality, involuntary servitude and incarceration

Scene from Ebenezer Baptist Church, WAGA TV, Fox 5

When the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was in the midst of planning a Poor People’s March and Campaign in 1968, he was doing so as a reaction to huge economic inequalities in the U.S.

As I prepared to watch his commemorative celebration today (he would have been 90 years old if he had lived), I felt a deep sadness while celebrating his life and am disappointed about our progress as a nation towards freedom since his assassination 50 years ago.

“Hope you enjoy the service,” was the invitation given by the Fox 5 Atlanta newswoman before the live telecast, which was an intro to a production I knew would be a lot of "entertainment" more than a call for new rules for constructive action. 

And here we sit for the 51st time in worst conditions with no end for institutional racism in sight. What’s even more disturbing is the way we are treating each other while standing on the shoulders of civil rights activists who have paid an unforgivable price.

“I wish he was here to help us,” said his only surviving daughter, Dr. Bernice King, recently while the King Home was closed due to a government shutdown. Noticeably absent again were her two brothers, MLK, III and Dexter.

We have to keep trying to keep hope alive, but here is why I’m pessimistic in 2019 while celebrating the life of MLK.

According to the Economic Poverty Institute, “Today, the black poverty rate remains more than twice as high as the white poverty rate. Children today face the highest rates of poverty of any age group, with 18.0 percent of all children living below the poverty line.”

In America, people are judged by their assets, not the content of their character. —-Tomi Johnson

Why do we do this every year? To keep hope alive while problems get worse? Maybe it's because we've taken on the oppressor's culture instead of returning out minds back to Africa.

Attorney Brian Stevenson, the guest speaker who Bernice King called a prophet, said we must do these things after we celebrate King's life:

Stevenson of Montgomery, Ala. heads the Equal Justice Initiative

1. Be in proximity to the poor and help them.
2. Change the narrative concerning race and racism.
3. Stay hopeful.
4. Commit to perform actions that are uncomfortable and inconvenient.

PayPal offering “shutdown” government workers loans at 0% interest

This message was received from PayPal today: 

We understand that the current U.S. federal government shutdown may be impacting you and creating additional financial needs. During this time of uncertainty, we are offering a one-time 0% APR cash advance up to your available credit line for a maximum of $500 (with a minimum amount of $250) to PayPal Credit customers who are U.S. federal government employees. This offer is subject to certain terms and availability.* You can find more details here.

If you are a U.S. federal government employee impacted by the shutdown and would like to access this assistance, please call us at 1-877-689-1975. We’re available Monday to Friday from 8AM-11PM Eastern Time and Saturday to Sunday from 9AM-9PM Eastern Time.

Cobb County School District could face court actions over bullying

Madayag and Skandalakis (seated at table) before Santa, Thompson and Busse with Williams (standing).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTUm7r5-iW0

A press conference convened January 11 at the law offices of Attorney Demetrios John "Mitch" Skandalakis in East Cobb to discuss bullying in Cobb County Schools and a potential lawsuit which could turn into a class action suit.

Skandalakis alleges that the Cobb County School District (CCSD) has not followed state law governing bullying in its practices or reporting of incidents, and it's all about money and daily attendance rates. He was accompanied by parents of CCSD students: Jorge Santa, Sr.; Carol Thompson, and Catherine Busse.

Skandalakis is representing Jorge Santa, Jr., a student at Harrison High School. Jorge Santa, Sr., a Atlanta police detective, said he loves his two sons and since they are small in stature has advised them to defend themselves if attacked. 

According to Skandalakis' investigation and eye witness accounts, Jorge, Jr. was bullied last May by two students who called him racial slurs, stole his property from his backpack, and sprayed him with silly string. When Jorge defended himself, he was charged with two felonies which were later dropped after Skandalakis represented Santa.

Santa, Sr. is the father of two sons.

Santa, Sr. takes discipline seriously and before the press conference said his son, who was 14 years old and 100 lbs. when attacked at Harrison High School, is presently on punishment at home for not taking out the garbage and is temporarily not allowed to play video games which is a common disciplinary tactic used by parents to correct childhood behavior.

Santa said students have the right to defend themselves and should not face retaliation by bullies, whether they be students or school administrators.

"We have responsibilities as parents. I love my kids and always tell them that if you do the right thing, I will have your back," Santa, Sr. said. He advises parents to become familiar with case law and the legalities of punitive actions when it involves their children's rights and seek out corrective resources. He said his son should not have been criminalized. "Fight for your kids, tooth and nail." Santa, Sr. said parents in a similar circumstance should not fight by themselves, however.

"When you see that your kids who are really good kids go through something like this, and to deal with other kids around the same age group that are constantly in and out of the judicial system, it's heartbreaking. This particular situation was a wake-up call for my son - that you can do the right thing and still get in trouble." Santa, Sr. said he had considered homeschooling his son, but his son said no, he wanted to return to school.

Santa, Sr. said that if other kids witness bullying in school, "Don't be part of the little crowd that just laughs about it, but report it. Take the opportunity to help."

Carol Thompson’s younger son also attends Harrison High School and said the same student who bullied Santa also bullied her son and others. She said the only reason her son is still in school is because he has excellent teachers. 

Thompson and Busse represented bullied sons at press conference.

Thompson said two weeks after the Santa incident, one of the bullies shot another student in the face, which could have been avoided if Harrison High's administrators had reacted differently to previously documented incidents.

Catherine Busse's son attended Walton but said since her son was bullied, he has not returned to school because he is afraid. He waited outside the press conference and was accompanied by his father and a service dog. Busse said data on bullying is not reported because the school system thinks it will harm property values.

Madayag's photo from Lee and Hayes website

Attorney Robert Madayag of Lee & Hayes got involved in the Santa case after his own daughter, Catherine, was bullied at Simpson Middle School, but the school took appropriate steps to rectify the situation. Her experience led Madayag to take a closer look at bullying in Cobb County schools. 

Madayag identified himself as an intellectual property attorney, and his firm's website states that he received his law degree from Villanova University, a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Tech, and he attended the US Navy Nuclear Power School.

When asked if it's wise or financially viable to try to fight the government in court, Madayag responded, "These are kids lives. Kids will commit suicide because of bullying, and bullies can end up going into more criminal actions." 

Madayag says these incidents in CCSD are worse than the Atlanta School District's cheating scandal. "A life is more important than anything, so I rank this as a higher issue."

At stake are sovereign immunity, Miranda Rights, Writ of Mandamus, the RICO Act, school codes being at odds with state law, and school safety. The attorneys said that individual school administrators retaliate against students and parents instead of attacking the issue of bullying. 

CCSD bullying pamphlet: http://www.cobbk12.org/bully/

Georgia law: http://www.bullypolice.org/ga_law.html

"The district is not protected when they are intentionally falsifying information and declaring a bullying incident 'horseplay,' " Madayag stated. 

"The principal simply didn't know what the hell he was talking about or intentionally tried to buffalo Jorge Santa, Sr. into thinking that school code trumped state criminal law," Skandalakis said. He continued that Santa, Sr. knew all about interviewing techniques and tape recorded the conversation he had with the school administrator after the incident. 

"The issue has been decided in the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia that you absolutely have the right to stand your ground and defend yourself when you are set upon in a school setting," Skandalakis said. "The principal was jumping to conclusions and not performing an investigation but determining on his own that he was going to be judge, jury and executioner." 

"Keep in mind that this is a spearhead case backed up by patterns and practices - a gateway to getting the school district to do the right thing," said President of the Cobb SCLC Dr. Ben Williams. "Please do not think that this is an isolated case... the Board, the school site, the Superintendent are not immune to violations and abuses of their primary responsibilities - to ensure the health and safety of every kid that attends school in that district."

Dr. Williams urged reporters to investigate the matter further and to inform the public of what is happening.

To learn more, go to: https://wingcomwatchdog.blogspot.com/2019/01/bullying-becomes-expanding-problem-for.html