Julian Bene
@julianbene.bsky.social
Let's reform the Atlanta Way to use resources for an equitable city. Former 'tax break naysayer' on Invest Atlanta board & Gulch RedLighter, I campaign against wasteful revenue giveaways that favor billionaires at the rest's expense.
A critical challenge for politics observers at billionaire media is to avoid asking if candidates not supported by AIPAC, AI & other oligarchs can overcome the deluge of dirty attack ads. El-Sayed did it once - but only just. Unfortunately for the rest of us, the billionaires can probably relax.
Greg Bluestein@bluestein.bsky.social · 12h agoAbdul El-Sayed’s Senate candidacy poses a critical challenge for Democrats’ progressive wing: Can an insurgent candidate, with unabashedly liberal positions, win a general election in a moderate state? www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/u...
We must re-elect @peterhubbardga.bsky.social and elect Shelia Edwards to the #gapol PSC to combat the same pillaging by Georgia Power and the data center industry
Good Jobs First@goodjobsfirst.org · 16h ago"A 2024 state audit estimated Dominion may spend $16 billion to $18 billion by 2040 on transmission tied to data centers. Under the current setup, residential customers would cover 55% of that total, compared with 26% for data centers." www.thecooldown.com/green-busine...
Publicizing this has zero impact for 2026 but is kiss of death for potential 2028. #GApol
Greg Bluestein@bluestein.bsky.social · 2d ago“Character matters.” U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff picked up the endorsement today from former U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican whose clashes with President Donald Trump prompted him to back other prominent Democrats. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Tired of high-horse legalisms over tolls. Did Israel & US comply with international law when they attacked Iran, killed the regime's leaders, >100 school kids & 1000s more, & inflicted untold material damage? No. So let Iran charge tolls. End this before many more die, incl. US military.
Brian Finucane@bcfinucane.bsky.social · yesterdayWhether or not the arrangement under negotiation for the Strait provides a pragmatic solution for the current situation is distinct from whether it is consistent with international law.
Hey, Musk is pulling in rent of $2B per month - yeah, per month! - from Anthropic & Google to use Colossus 1 & 2 in Memphis. So what if a bunch of mere humans have to suffer? It might not hurt to mention Musk's unimaginable greed. $2B rental per month to trash the health of Memphis residents.
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · yesterdayWATCH — “Elon Musk poisoned his town… now he’s running for Congress to stop toxic DATA CENTERS.” @moreperfectunion.bsky.social profiles @justinjpearson.bsky.social and the fight against xAI in MEMPHIS, and the polluting (illegal) turbines xAI uses to power them.
The public grasps that data centers are driving up power costs and the volume of fossil fuel burned. This expert comment gets at some of the technicalities that confirm the public's intuition. Vote for Peter Hubbard and Shelia Edwards for PSC! #GApol
@ericdmintz.bsky.social · 2d agoLET'S BE CLEAR: WE ARE ALL PAYING FOR DATA CENTERS AND GEORGIA POWER IS LYING WHEN THEY SAY WE'RE NOT❗ Watch the short video and listen to the many ways Georgia Power customers pay the costs of billionaires' data centers. Vote for Peter Hubbard and Shelia Edwards for PSC! youtu.be/upZEWqTF6OQ
What the dickens is "Excess Hotel Motel Tax"? City of Atlanta gets ~1/3 of this tax for the general fund. Just a revenue source for paying cops. Spend it on a boondoggle & you need to tax residents more to pay cops. Or is CFO claiming convention boosts hotels & produces 'excess'? World Cup, anyone?
Atlanta Community Press Collective@atlpresscollective.com · 2d agoFinance Executive Committee Vice Chair Alex Wan says the legislation says the CFO would have the discretion to determine the funding source. Balla says that the legislation does include a clause identifying the Excess Hotel Motel Tax as the funding source.
Jason Koebler@jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 3d agoExclusive: We obtained a leaked playbook that Flock gives to cops to coach them on "how to speak to city council" to avoid getting their contracts canceled. Includes strategies like "own the narrative" by talking to mayor "before public comment periods" www.404media.co/own-the-narr...
#GApol Who will 'Georgians for Tomorrow' be supporting? Cos like AIPAC, the data center industry's support should be the kiss of death for a candidate this year. If they're backing Jackson, Keisha should slam him with it.
GaPolBot@gapolbot.bsky.social · 3d ago#gapol New large Georgia campaign finance filing: $10,000.0 from T5 Data Centers II LLC to Georgians for Tomorrow, Inc. on 06-30-2026 To view, go to the contributions tab and filter campaign filings a... https://peachfile.ethics.ga.gov/public/cf/contribution
Not > if you're comparing the public subsidies to real estate billionaires. Nobody outdoes the Atlanta Way's $1.9B giveaway.
Mayor of MARTA@mayorofmarta.bsky.social · 5d agoNashville Gulch > Atlanta Gulch
Oh, please. This comes to us from Kim Greene, Georgia Power CEO, who's paid $6M/yr. "It's hard to get a person to understand when they're paid $6M not to." www.ajc.com/opinion/2026...
Data centers raise electric prices and lower reliability, but not in Georgia
Georgia Power has worked with the state Public Service Commission to put protections in place to guard consumers from excessive rates and they should soon expect lower bills.
ajc.com
Well you woudn't expect her billionaire opponent - or the AJC these days - to remind us that she handed the Gulch bros $1.9B of our money. The Gulch was her signature move. The other stuff was arguably inept management of crises that were not of her making.
Pete Fuller@petefullerga.bsky.social · 6d agoDecent primer on the Bottoms mayoral administration. www.ajc.com/politics/202...
#GApol If I'm reading this correctly, Rs gerrymandered GA well. Even if Ds win 54% of the votes for the state legislature, they may easily not win the House & won't win the Senate. So Keisha would be living on W Paces without a governing majority. Will need a superstar to run the show for her.
Civic Forge Solutions@hello.civicforge.solutions · 6d ago🚀 New model: In Georgia, 🔵 Dems are modeled to have an 18% probability of winning a majority in the State House, and a 3% probability in the State Senate. I know it's not great, but these probabilities may still shift with add'l polling data... Read more: civicforge.solutions/articles/ga-...
NYT can't help bothsidesing, here with zero logic. "But exiting comes with costs... creates a vast new problem for energy markets." What vast problem? A $2/bbl Hormuz toll? Compared to the current $40/bbl hike that's not material. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/26/u...
Trump Seems Trapped by Iran War, Even as He Wields the World’s Biggest Hammer
A president who thought there were no limits to his power has discovered several, leaving him more frustrated and erratic.
nytimes.com
Has Effingham's development authority given away the property tax store - or not yet? Proper valuation with no tax breaks would represent substantial revenue to the county and a significant expense to OpenAI. On the order of one-third of their power bill. Which might make them go away.
maggie-lee.bsky.social@maggie-lee.bsky.social · 2w agoIf you're on the Tik and/or Tok, so is The Current GA: Here's a guy from OpenAI in speaking in Effingham Co. Georgia. Editor @savmargaret.bsky.social asks if anything would derail the data center that would take enough electricity to power 2 million homes. #gapol www.tiktok.com/@thecurrentg...
Jon going Andy Burnham: Every community will thrive
Jon Ossoff@ossoff.bsky.social · 2w agoDid you all see Pete Hegseth in front of that committee this week?
In which we learn that MBS is ignorant of the Aeneid's most famous line: Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes.
Shipwreck@shipwreck75.bsky.social · 2w agoAn air defence system operated by Greek military personnel in Saudi Arabia intercepted two ballistic missiles launched from Yemen on Saturday targeting oil refineries in Yanbu, Greek security sources said.-Reuters
#GApol Does Sanford Bishop retain the title of worst GA Dem without breaking a sweat?
Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 2w ago19 House Democrats voted yesterday to give Trump broad authority to experiment with the livelihoods of people with Social Security Disability Insurance with no guarantees against loss of income. There is never a reason to give that guy more powers.
I'm pleased to report that the Fulton Board of Assessors just reinstated the full valuation of the QTS data campus on the Beltline, correcting the freeze that should not have been applied this year. A rare bit of good news. #GApol
Julian Bene@julianbene.bsky.social · 2w agoAOC is right ofc. We're stuck with the QTS data center behemoth on the #GApol Beltline now. But at least it would pay $42M in taxes in 2026. Come to find Assessors staff reverted to <$2M without telling their board. Will the board insist on correcting it back, so at least Atlanta gets fair revenue?
Exactly, Darin! Sales tax may also be up a bit due to World Cup attendance, but I don't imagine it amounts to a hill o' beans. It's the Atlanta Way. Socialize the costs and privatize the profits! I hope bartenders made a little more than usual.
Darin Givens@atlurbanist.bsky.social · 2w agoYikes! Unless my math is wrong, that amounts to less than $1 million, even if you consider that June-July might have higher hotel activity.
CoA's share of Atlanta's hotel-motel tax was on the order of $35M last year.* An 11% increase for a month of that would be a rounding error. * GWCC, ACVB & Arthur Blank took around another $70M
Darin Givens@atlurbanist.bsky.social · 2w ago"the revenue hoteliers received per available room was up by 11% from this time last year. Even though we’ve booked fewer rooms (than) in a typical summer, the revenue has been much higher" So... An 11% increase in hotel tax for a month. Is that good? www.ajc.com/business/202...
Kemp has protected #GApol state tax breaks for data centers. GA county Development Authorities give most of them hefty local tax breaks. Fulton Assessors are on knife edge over an unauthorized change saving QTS $40M property tax in 2026. boondoggle.substack.com/p/ban-data-c...
Ban Data Center Subsidies Once and For All
The case for them no longer exists, if it ever did.
boondoggle.substack.com
Why on earth is it only $3.3M of taxes? This is a 300MW facility, worth many billions including the Nvidia-based equipment. Tax on that should run at least $100M/yr.
MLK50: Justice Through Journalism@mlk50.com · 2w agoOn Tuesday, the Young administration pitched the Memphis City Council on how it plans to spend about $3.3 million on the 5-mile area around Colossus I. Young has proposed no money for healthcare. dailymemphian.com/section/busi...
Who's going tonight? Let's ask Rohit to commit to avoiding financial crisis & secession over Jail redo & new hospitals: 1. Make Fulton tax ultra-high value commercial properties properly. e.g. QTS data center let off $40M tax 2. Stop DAFC tax breaks on projects in hot mkts 3. Don't extend the TADs
Rohit For Atlanta@rohitforatlanta.bsky.social · last mo.📣 OK, y’all. We’re running it back. I’m officially on the ballot in a special election this November as a Democrat for Fulton County Commissioner for District 4. Join us on Thursday, July 23 at 6:00pm for a launch and rally that will build on the joy, organizing, and community from last year.
Hahaha! The World Cup made money all right. Just not for the host cities. Rahm got that one right. Did I hear Andre spent $120M tarting the town up? No way the City's sales & hotel taxes rose by anywhere close to that. #GApol
Griffin Wasdin@heflinhollis.bsky.social · 2w agoI wouldn’t call the World Cup a success until we see the tax revenue reports. Logistically, it went well, but it was supposed to make money.
AOC is right ofc. We're stuck with the QTS data center behemoth on the #GApol Beltline now. But at least it would pay $42M in taxes in 2026. Come to find Assessors staff reverted to <$2M without telling their board. Will the board insist on correcting it back, so at least Atlanta gets fair revenue?
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez@ocasio-cortez.house.gov · 2w agoToday I asked if any Congressmember on @energycommerce.bsky.social would want to live next to a data center. The silence in the hearing room reflected the realities of working people across the country. We must address the real, dangerous health impacts of data centers on our communities.
Remind us. How did it work out when US Navy tried to stop the Houthis messing with shipping in Bab el Mandeb a couple years ago?
OSINTRadar@osintradar.bsky.social · 2w agoSaudi Arabia, via its Coalition, released a statement announcing they will protect their commercial vessels in Bab el Mandeb and will respond to threats "firmly and forcefully".