You Cannot Serve God and Wealth

Political cartoon of a golden calf labeled wealth power resting on the tax code while workers bear the burden beneath it and Christ points toward justice.

A Tax Day debate about billionaires, refunds, and fairness misses the larger point: the American tax code is part of a political order that protects ownership, disciplines labor, and teaches the public to mistake small adjustments for structural change.

The Charter Died. The Structure Remains.

19th-century political cartoon showing Augusta’s political structure surviving after charter reform collapsed

Charter reform failed in Atlanta, but Augusta’s deeper political structure did not fail with it. The April 14 Commission meeting showed a government still organized around delay, limited access, and public dependence.

Augusta’s May Election Is About More Than the Mayor’s Office

19th century style political cartoon illustrating the fight over Augusta’s future in the May 2026 mayoral, judicial and commission races

by Charles Rollins, Publisher Augusta’s May 19 nonpartisan election is broader and more consequential than a simple mayoral rematch. Alongside the four-way mayor’s race, voters will decide a key Superior Court contest and several challenged commission seats that could reshape local power. Augusta, GA – As Augusta moves toward its May 19 nonpartisan election, the […]

Tax Day in Augusta: What the Affordability Debate Refuses to See

A period-style editorial caricature of the article’s central argument: both parties contest the banner, while the structure beneath them keeps feeding capital and calling the result relief.

Why the latest tax cuts feel small, why the pressure remains, and why race belongs in the center of the story rather than the margins By Charles Rollins, Publisher, Garden City Gossip Tax Day invites a very American form of misdirection. Politicians speak of “relief.” Accountants speak of compliance. Cable television speaks of winners and […]

Special Guest Op-Ed from Gayla Keesee of the League of Women Voters: Augusta’s Charter Effort Stalled — What Happened and Where We Go From Here

Political cartoon illustrating Augusta charter review stalled process, Guest Op-Ed by Gayla Keesee League of Women Voters

Guest Editorial by Galya Keesee, Ph.D. – Co-President, League of Women Voters of the CSRA Georgia lawmakers worked into the final hours of the legislative session to pass a slate of bills before sine die. But one effort tied directly to Augusta did not make it across the finish line. The proposal to change the […]

🌺 UNDER THE AZALEAS 🌺 – Who Killed Augusta’s Charter? A Reform Effort Dies Under Political Pressure

19th century political cartoon showing Augusta charter reform being destroyed by political interests at the Georgia General Assembly

by Simone Raines After months of work and a promise to keep politics out of the process, Augusta’s charter reform effort ended not with a vote—but with interference. The collapse in the Georgia General Assembly leaves Richmond County exactly where it started—and makes clear that the failure was not procedural, but political. AUGUSTA, GA – […]

Augusta Is One Body: How Division Still Shapes the City

Deaconess Ruth Byllesby’s work in Augusta’s Harrisburg neighborhood offers a model of unity in a city shaped by division. by Charles Rollins – Publisher On a map, Augusta appears as a set of parts—distinct, legible, and seemingly self-contained. Summerville rises above the rest, geographically and historically, its tree-lined streets and institutional weight reflecting long-standing stability […]

🌺 UNDER THE AZALEAS 🌺 – The Charter Wasn’t Just Rushed—It Was Reclaimed

Graphic criticizing the collapse of Augusta’s charter review process, citing political interference, lack of transparency, and concerns over a 2026 referendum tied to the mayor’s reelection campaign

Notes from Inside Augusta’s Political Garden Wait, wait, wait, I thought we were keeping politics out of this… By Simone Raines Augusta, GA – If the investigative piece establishes what happened, this is about understanding what it means—and why it should concern anyone paying close attention to how power actually operates in Augusta. The Charter […]

Augusta’s Charter Rewrite Was Supposed to Be Independent. It Wasn’t.

19th century political cartoon illustrating Augusta charter reform conflict, showing corruption, power struggle, and government control themes

by Charles Rollins, Publisher Augusta, GA – A citizen-led reform effort has been overtaken—and the result may reshape who holds power in Augusta for decades The effort to rewrite Augusta’s governing charter was presented to the public as a corrective to politics—not an extension of it. After years of public distrust in how the Augusta […]

🌺 UNDER THE AZALEAS 🌺 – The Curious Urgency of Augusta’s 2026 Charter Vote

Graphic depicting Under the Azaleas column titled "The Curious Urgeny of Augusta's Charter Vote

The new charter will pass eventually. So why abandon the process to force it onto the ballot now? By Simone Raines Why does it matter so much that Augusta’s revised charter appears on the 2026 ballot? Why has the Commission demonstrated such urgency—enough urgency, in fact, to discard the rules and procedures it established precisely […]

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