Taxpayer Gripes 12-24-24

We moved to Dunwoody GA in 1983 and discovered that Politics was splintered and improvements were impossible. The Atlanta Metro Leaders were divided and they failed to provide highway systems to allow growth. 

I was spoiled by flawless governance in St. Louis Mo, St. Charles Mo and Salina Kansas. St Louis was able to begin to build its internal highway infrastructure in the 1960s. The small homes built for families during the 1940s were occupied by older couples. Older factories occupied the areas around the Mississippi River. St Louis County DOT was looking for land to put I-44 and I-55. DOT called on the older couples and offered current market price for their homes that needed maintenance by the 1970s. They all took the deal.  I-44 was built quickly. The DOT also began buying property for the Horizontal connectors to connect to I-70. I-270 was built in the 1970s This provided a grid of Interstates making is easy to drove East and West across the St. Louis Metro. These Interstates were built for safety with wider lanes and a shoulder. In addition, their other main roads were well maintained. The Community Leader during the 1960s and 1970s were the heirs to the Founders of the largest companies headquartered in St. Louis and they kept the politics clean. Their parents were the ones who bought Forest Park for the 1904 World’s Fair and gave it to the City of St. Louis to develop as a large park for the people.

Salina Kansas was taken care of by the families of their largest companies that included Grain and Transportation Companies. They took turns serving in elective office and their service was well appreciated by the families living in this “market town” surrounded by wheat fields. Salina sits at the intersection of I-70 and I-35. Salina had a population of 40,000.  I lived in the Salina Suburbs. My commute to work was 10 minutes.

When we moved to Georgia that all changed. Georgia had a reputation for being conservative and that was true. Georgia voted for Reagan in 1980. The Atlanta Metro population was 3 million in 1983 when we moved there. Getting around was easier than it is now with a population of 6 million. Georgia politicians ignored the warning signs and in 1980 the US EPA froze highway development and made our current dilemma inevitable. Atlanta Metro was a divided along Party lines and growth opinions in the Atlanta Metro.

The Electronics Revolution was bringing in hundreds of thousands of “Yankees”. The State of Georgia was experiencing growth in 1983 due to the electronics revolution and was intent on bringing new businesses to Georgia, but failed to build the infrastructure needed to accommodate the growth in the Atlanta Metro. The population in the Atlanta Metro doubled from 3 million to 6 million without providing an adequate highway Outer Belt to divert Interstate Trucking. Atlanta Metro also got behind in water and sewer maintenance.

Republicans have held the Majority at the Capital by continuing to bring large companies to Georgia and managing with a balanced budget to be #1 in the US for business recruitment. These Republicans are Establishment RINOs who cow-tow to the Democrats, who keep electing them. County and City Governments in the immediate Atlanta Metro are now mostly Democrat.

Georgia has the worst Income Tax form I’ve ever seen. It is difficult to fill out. It has multiple pages that mostly relate to farming and specific charity deductions. It is 28 pages long with the box to report taxable Social Security on page 28.  The farming and specific charity deductions need to be on separate Schedules and the regular folks could easily fill out a 2 Page GA-500 fill-in form.

There is no “deep bench” for top State jobs in Georgia. Most State Senate and House Reps are in rural counties.

Groups bankrolled by liberal billionaires George Soros and Michael Bloomberg poured $300,000 into Georgia to back Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in the runoff elections. -google search.

Georgia needs to outlaw outside money, but is not likely to do it. Elected officials continue to prefer access to “outside money”. Global manufacturing has stripped Rural Cities of the manufacturing companies they once had. Families are moving to the Metro Atlanta Exurbs. Manufacturing needs to return to rural Georgia.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

 

Federal Waste 12-24-24

US DOT Grant Funds for unnecessary infrastructure in cities and counties began in 2009. This is part of Obama Democrats $10 trillion in Climate Change overspending from 2009 to 2016. I formed the Dunwoody GA Tea Party in 2011 and defeated the Dunwoody City Council Park Bond vote in 2012. It was a 30-year Bond that paid 5% interest and would have doubled the cost of the $66 million to $132 million. We had Subdivision Bath and Tennis Clubs and didn’t really need any more parks. But we were below the UN Agenda 21 edict to have 10% of city land dedicated to parks. 

The rationale was to make people bike and walk rather than drive cars and trucks. Democrat States were quick to apply for these grants and began building public paths in Seattle WA and Portland OR. The American Planning Association was the agency used to implement UN Agenda 21 to form “Transit Villages” where transportation would be limited to public transit and walking. State funding of commuter trains failed at the ballot box, because their T-SPLOSTs were not passed. The projects proposed didn’t solve any traffic problems. Tea Parties in Georgia campaigned against the 2012 TSPLOST and we won. That saved $18.67 billion in government waste.

https://www.senate.ga.gov/sro/Documents/AtIssue/July_2012_

The war on cars had multiple agencies coordinated to implement this ridiculous plan.

Everybody in the US uses cars and trucks to commute to work and get their groceries. Walkers used subdivision and city streets and went to parks with running paths. When Bike Lane Grants were made available around 2013, the bike lanes were too narrow and were not used by bikers because they were unsafe.

The website below lists the project costs of 12-Foot Public Paths by city.

https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-09/RAISE%202022%20Award%20Fact%20Sheets_1.pdf

The City of Dunwoody GA continues to cling to its UN Agenda 21 implementation. It is embedded in their “Master Plan” along with creating unnecessary Parks. We have empty bike lanes and are fighting the City Counsel to stop building unnecessary 12 foot concrete Multi-use Public Paths that seize our easement property, remove our shade trees and reduce the value of our residential lots.

I look forward to an end to Federal Grant funding of unnecessary infrastructure and urge the Trump Administration to repeal all the left-over UN Agenda 21 spending in the US to defund UN Agenda 21 completely.

     Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

 

Woke is Broke 12-23-24

MSNBC is on the chopping block.

Obama is the leader of the old left Marxist Democrats.

Federman is breaking ranks

Bill Mahr is breaking ranks

DEI is Dead

Critical Race Theory and Transgenderism will be removed from the curriculum.

Marxist Colleges and Public Schools are in trouble

Teachers Unions are in trouble

Public Employee Unions are in trouble

The Left is losing its grip. 

The Far-Left Democrat Party isn’t dead in the US. Democrat Kamala Harris got 74,441,439 votes (48.4%). Trump got 76,917,041 votes (50%) in the 2024 Election.

53 Republicans won Senate seats. 47 Democrats won Senate seats.

220 Republicans won House seats. 214 Democrats won House seats.

These margins are too close.

Republicans would need to vote in a solid block on every spending Bill to keep spending low to eradicate the $1 trillion in debt interest.

https://www.google.com/search?q=us+election+results+2024+live+map&oq=us+election+results+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgDEAAYgAQyBggAEEUYOTIMCAEQABhDGIAEGIoFMgwIAhAAGEMYgAQYigUyBwgDEAAYgAQyBwgEEAAYgAQyDwgFEAAYQxixAxiABBiKBTIGCAYQRRg8MgYIBxBFGDzSAQkxMzE0M2owajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

The real danger is if Democrats aim to retake the House and Senate in 2026. That would risk the return the threat of excessive federal spending. The RNC needs to build a strong candidate bench for future US House and Senate Seats between now for the 2026 Midterm Elections.

Republicans need to increase their numbers in the House from 220 to 270 and decrease the number of Democrat House Reps from 214 to 180. The RNC will need to prepare an additional 50 new Republican Reps to win office in 2026. Republicans need to increase their numbers in the Senate from 53 to 60 and decrease the number of Democrat Senators from 47 to 40.

     Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

 

US Congress Reform 12-23-24

The House and Senate need to out-law Omnibus Bills and use “regular order” for all Bills passed by Committees. They also need to outlaw “Continuing Resolutions” to end the rush to “fund the government”. They should outlaw all bills that will cause “money-printing” inflation. 

Congress needs to shrink spending to achieve a “surplus” to use to fund unavoidable “military actions”. Vulnerable spending should include Foreign Cash and Military Aid and Grants to States for infrastructure. Current recipients for this aid should plan to fund these categories themselves.

Foreign countries and US States need to adjust their spending to handle these contingencies.

The ”bumbs rush” to fund the government with an Omnibus Bill or Continuing Resolution Bill needs to be abandoned for good. If the House and Senate cannot pass bills to cover expenses, it should be able to continue with the “current level” of spending until they agree on any increases. If Congress does not pass increases for Agencies, these Agencies should function with previously authorized spending. Unrelated Amendments should not be allowed to be voted on by the House and Senate.

The UN should be unfunded if their illegal International Criminal Courts continue to operate. The US will quit the UN Climate Accords in 2025. All US Agenda 21 enabling laws should be repealed. 

Federal Agencies will need to upgrade their processes and equipment to make the productivity and reliability gains they need to make. These improvements should reduce labor costs in these Agencies. Productivity improving technologies have been proven over the past 30 years and should be employed by Federal Agencies. The Data provided by the US Federal Agencies needs to be improved to ensure accuracy. The Department of Labor BLS Jobs Report could use AI to improve it’s jobs numbers accuracy. New Employees should be reported by their Employers in real-time upon employment and compared to all other Federal Citizen Records to ensure accuracy and ensure against identity theft.

The role of the House and Senate to “bring home the bacon” should be abandoned permanently. All States compete for business and should do so on an even footing. Citizens of all States should expect their governments to tighten their belts. This should move States and local governments to prioritize their spending to “necessities”, like roads, highways, bridges, water systems and sewer systems.

State Funding Reform will be necessary to adjust to tighter Federal Funding. States need to prioritize spending to include roads, bridges and water availability. Interstate Highway maintenance, improvements and construction should be funded by States Counties and Cities and eliminated from the Federal Transportation Budget.

States that initiate major import and export harbors should apply for Federal Loans and repay these loans with interest within 10 years.

City and County Funding Reform will be necessary to adjust to tighter State Funding. Cities and Counties need to prioritize spending to include roads, bridges, water and sewer systems. Unnecessary infrastructure like 12-foot wide multiuse paths, greenspace and parks should not receive any Federal or State Funding. If Counties and Cities want these paths, greenspace and parks, they should be required to let their voters decide these expenses on their ballots and pay 100% of the costs.

Cities are overcrowded and need to expand their populations to the Exurbs. Manufacturing needs to return to Rural Cities to allow these populations to migrate to Rural Counties. Most families use automobiles to commute to work and need to live close to work. Reducing gasoline prices will help Rural Populations the most, because their commutes are farther apart using rural roads.

Finding good schools is possible in the Exurbs where schools concentrate on reading, writing and math in grades 1-8 and occupational and life skills are taught in High Schools. Students should be required to perform reading, writing and math at grade level before they are advanced to the next grade or allowed to graduate from Grade School or High School.

The Technical Trade Schools already teach occupational courses. GED courses need to ensure that students who have “dropped out” of school are able to bring their reading, writing and math up to Grade Level.

Trump needs to have Congress produce a Bill that requires States to concentrate on reading, writing and math in grades 1-8 and occupational courses and life skills in High Schools.

Teachers should be required to hold BS Degrees in subjects they teach. Math Teachers should have a BS in Math.

Government funding for education and student loans should be restricted to occupational courses in high school and college. Non-occupational courses are hobbies that students are free to pursue, but not with tax dollars.

The tax code is a mess and needs to be reduced and simplified. IRS doesn’t know what tax breaks are valid.

Identity Theft is out of control. Titles to homes are not protected from Identity Theft by the State Agencies. Bank Accounts are vulnerable. Social Security Numbers are vulnerable.  AI can be used to eliminate Identity Theft and eliminate Voter Fraud in “real-time” by linking Post Office Records, Title Records, IRS Records, Birth Certificate Records and other data-bases.

The cost of political campaigns needs to be reduced. States need to restrict campaign contributions to “Voters Only”.  Candidates should be made to produce websites that include their entire resumes and positions on all issues before they are allowed to become candidates.

Campaign contributions should be restricted to “Voters Only” who would be allowed to contribute up to $1000 for candidates who appear on their ballots. This would end “TV Hit Job Ads”. It would end “Outside Money” and all candidates would be on an even footing. Businesses and Industry Groups would still have access to elected officials, but would not be able to make campaign contributions.

National Parks and Federal Land needs to become State Parks and State Land. The Interior Department can be eliminated. Mining and Logging needs to be allowed. States like Nevada and other Western States need to sell their land or lease it. Desert land occupied by the US Military should remain as Federal Land. Forrest Land should be sold to US Citizens and US Corporations who will end the annual forest fire festivals and annual mud slide festivals. Snow-Melt water should be deposited in new fresh water lakes to ensure sufficient water for crops and human use. Western States need to be able to increase their land use to expand their economies and attract populations and expand their State GDPs.

Foreign Governments and Foreign Corporations should not be allowed to own any US Land. Foreign Companies would be able to lease US Land and Buildings from US Companies headquartered in the US.

     Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

 

Federal Government Shutdown Averted 12-22-24

A much reduced Continuing Resolution passed the House to fund the Federal Government through March 2025. 

What federal agencies are affected by shutdown?

There are nine federal departments affected by the Trump Shutdown: Homeland Security, Treasury, Agriculture, Interior, HUD, Justice, Commerce, Transportation, and State. In addition, numerous critical smaller independent agencies, including EPA, the Small Business Administration, and NASA, are affected. Most of the employees in these Agencies continue to work except for National Parks and Museums. They are closed.

Employees in these Agencies are paid for the time lost in the shutdown after the shutdown is over. It’s a paid vacation that is paid retroactively.

Who is exempt from government shutdown?

Who are “exempt” employees? In the context of shutdown furloughs, the term “excepted” is used broadly to refer to employees whose work is funded through annual appropriations but who are not furloughed because they are performing tasks that, by law, are allowed to continue during a lapse in appropriations. Many of these employees are in the nine Federal Agencies affected, but continue to work and are paid.

Congress needs to end this practice and replace it with a Law that continues to fund all agency employees at current levels with no increases in cost and no openings for additions to costs. The current “shutdown rule” needs to end.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

 

 

DEFUND the UN 12-22-24

The Abraham Accords model should replace the UN. It encourages countries with similar cultures to band together and solve their own problems. The UN wants to become our global government and that should not be allowed to happen. Citizens of all countries need to be in charge of their own economies. They need to produce what they consume and increase their household incomes. Developing countries need a chance to develop. Developed countries need to create technology to support development and improve the standard of living in all countries.

I received the following post from the American Policy Center.

 

View this email in your browser (https://mailchi.mp/americanpolicy/i-promised-rep-chip-roy-no-turning-back?e=5f675b1de6)

https://americanpolicy.org/?mc_cid=8c9a9f95fd&mc_eid=UNIQID

 

I just returned from fulfilling a vital mission on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.

Last month I asked American Policy Center supporters to sign and return to me a petition addressed to Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas). 

That’s because these two Members of Congress took courageous action in the current 118th Congress by introducing the DEFUND Act.

DEFUND stands for Disengaging Entirely From the United Nations Debacle!

The Bill calls for:

* Termination of U.S. membership in the UN and all affiliated bodies, conventions, and agreements.

* Stops all funds to any UN body.

* Prohibits U.S. participation in UN peacekeeping operations.

* Throws the UN headquarters out of the U.S.

* And ends U.S. membership in the World Health Organization!

This is one of the most powerful anti-UN bills ever introduced in Congress.

The United Nations is the center of the globalist agenda to eliminate national sovereignty and control the world’s economy. For almost 40 years APC has been fighting this agenda, beginning with Agenda 21, then Agenda 2030, to the Green New Deal, and now the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset. Global dictatorship and tyranny are the goals.

If the United States would exit the United Nations, it would collapse almost instantly. Many other nations would leave it with us. And you would see the World Economic Forum, the World Health Organization and the nearly 20,000 Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs), that help to enforce the agenda, would also collapse as the money, political power, and fear they create would dry up.

But the sad thing is the DEFUND Act will never be passed in the 118th Congress under the control of the radical Leftist Democrats under the likes of Shumer and Pelosi.

That’s why I created the APC petition as an “Appeal to Reintroduce the DEFUND Act in 2025” – the upcoming 119th Congress. The petition asked Senator Lee and Rep. Roy to reintroduce their bill. I just delivered several thousand signed petitions to Rep. Roy’s office. They were gratefully accepted by his Staff Assistant, Cade Doerfler.

As I met with Mr. Doerfler, I related a story to him about APC’s long dedication to getting the U.S. out of the United Nations. I told him how APC had worked closely with former Congressman Ron Paul when he introduced a similar anti-UN bill back in 2000.

Back then, APC gathered over 350,000 signed petitions for Rep. Paul’s bill. Then we sponsored a national news conference calling for the U.S. to leave the United Nations. I shared some photos of the huge pile of boxes of those petitions that APC delivered to Congress.

And I promised Mr. Doerfler that APC would do this again if Rep. Roy and Senator Lee would reintroduce the DEFUND Act. And I told him to call on APC for any other help he needed to build support for the bill.

The fact is, due to the massive change that is taking place in our federal government right now, as President Trump prepares to take command, I believe we have never had a stronger opportunity to make Exiting the UN a reality.

We have the opportunity – but it will take major dedication and work to make it a reality. The future of human freedom depends on what you and I do now with this opportunity. It won’t happen on its own!

Will you help me keep that promise to Congressman Roy to build support for his DEFUND Act?

As you may remember, this past October I called for organizing an EXIT UN Day. Many activists liked that idea and are ready to help organize such protests throughout the year. APC needs to lead that effort.

APC also needs to create a steady flow of pressure to Congress to pass the DEFUND Act. We can’t just take action once and go home. We need to keep building support. That will take more petitions; perhaps a telephone call-in to Congress to keep their office phones ringing; and above all, leadership and training for local activists.

This is what APC is prepared to do. But I can’t do it without your financial support. Please help me prepare for this upcoming fight today with your gift to APC for at least $25, or more if you can.  Just click here to make your donation. (https://americanpolicy.org/donate/?mc_cid=8c9a9f95fd&mc_eid=UNIQID) Or if you want to send a check, the APC address is 53 Main Street, #3640, Warrenton, VA, 20188-3640.

If we stand firm now and take strong action, I fully believe we have our greatest opportunity to finally crush the tyrannical global agenda and restore our Founding Fathers’ dream of freedom.

Comments

The UN does more harm than good.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

 

Trump Picks 12-21-24

Trump has nominated his picks for Cabinet Positions and large agencies include:

Senator Marco Rubio (FL) for Secretary of State

Tulsi Gabbard Director National Intelligence (DNI)

John Ratcliffe Director CIA

Gov. Kristi Noem (SD) for Secretary of Homeland Security,

Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense (DOD)

Pam Bondi (FL) for Attorney General (DOJ)

Todd Blanche Deputy Attorney General (DOJ)

Rep. Robert F Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Gov. Doug Burgum (ND) for Secretary of the Interior

Lee Zeldin EPA Director

Doug Collins (GA) for Veteran’s Administration

Sean Duffy (MI) for Transportation Secretary

Howard Lutnick (NY) for Commerce Secretary

Dr Oz (PA) for Medicare Medicaid

Linda McMahon for Education Secretary

Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary

Lori Chavez DeRemer Labor Secretary

Dr Marty Makary FDA Commissioner

Scott Turner HUD Secretary

Brooke Rollins Agriculture Secretary

Dr Dave Weldon CDC

Dr Jay Bhattacharvia Director NIH

Jim O’Neill Deputy Secretary HHS

Kash Patel FBI Director

Peter Navarro Sr Council Trade & Mfg

Gail Slater Asst Attorney General

Jared Isaacman will lead NASA

Kelly Loeffler SBA

Paul Atkins SEC

Caleb Vitello ICE Director

Rodney Scott Customs and Border Protection

Christopher Landau Deputy Secretary of State.

Michael Anton Policy Planning Director State Departmenr

Michael Needham Counselor to State Department

Billy Long IRS Commissioner

Andrew Ferguson FTC Chair

Mark Meador FTC Commissioner

Jacob Helberg Top State Department Economic Policy Official

Tony Salisbury to be Deputy Homeland Security Advisor (White House Homeland Security Council).

Todd Blanche Deputy Attorney General (DOJ) 

40

Withdrawals: Chad Chronister DEA Administrator Nominee Withdraws

Matt Gaetz Attorney General Nominee Withdraws

Note: Tulsi Gabbard for DNI and John Ratcliffe for CIA reporting to Gabbard.

Trump’s Whitehouse Staff appointments that do not require Senate Confirmation include:

Suzie Wiles for Chief of Staff

Steven Miller for Asst Chief of Staff Homeland Security Advisor

Dean John Sauer for Solicitor General

Jay Clayton US Attorney for Southern District NY

Emil Bove for Principle Associate Deputy Attorney General

Sergio Gor for Presidential Personnel Office

Dan Scarvino for Deputy Chief of Staff

James Blair for Deputy Chief of Staff

Taylor Budowich for Deputy Chief of Staff

Willian McGinley for White House Counsel

Steven Witkoff  for Special Envoy for the Middle East

Elise Stefanic for UN Ambassador

Mike Huckabee for Ambassador to Israel

Tom Homan for Border Patrol Leader

Rep Mike Waltz (FL) for National Security Advisor

Matthew Whitiker for Ambassador to NATO

Russ Vougt for Director OMB

Margarie Taylor Green for House Chair for DOGE

Dr Janette Nesheiwat for Surgeon General

Vince Haley for Dom Policy Council Director

Kevin Hassett for Natl Economic Council

John Phelan for Navy Secretary

Jamieson Greer for US Trade Rep

Charles Kushner for Ambassador to France

Lt Gen Keith Kellog for Special Envoy Ukraine War

Sebastian Gorka for Counterterrorism Dir

Warren Stephens for Ambassador to UK

Massad Boulos for Senior Advisor on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs

Adam Boehler for special envoy for hostage affairs

Jared Isaacman will lead NASA

Daniel Driscoll for Army Secretary

David Warrington for Chief Whitehouse Counsel

Monica Crawley for Asst Sec State for Communications and Protocol

Michael Faulkender for Deputy Secretary Treasury

David Sacks for AI and Crypto Czar

David Perdue for Ambassador to China

Frank Bisignano for Social Security Administration commissioner

Alina Habba for Counselor To The President

Kimberly Guilfoyle for Ambassador to Greece

Tom Barrack for Ambassador to Turkey

Ronald D Johnson for Ambassador to Mexico

Devin Nunez for Intelligence Advisory Board

Ric Grenel for Intelligence Advisory Board

Kari Lake for Voice of America

44

Trumps Transition Team is joined by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy in the DOGE Government Efficiency Team to streamline government agencies to support Trump’s Agenda and reduce costs by $2 trillion per year and update government to support current priorities.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/11/14/trumps-cabinet-here-are-his-picks-for-key-roles-rfk-jr-doug-burgum-matt-gaetz-and-more/

Republicans hold majorities in the House and Senate. John Thune was elected by Senate Republicans to be the Majority Leader.

Senate Confirmations for all positions will be scheduled.

The Department of Education is expected to be eliminated from the Cabinet and responsibility for education returned to the States under the 10^th Amendment.

Comments

All appointees are committed to Trump’s Agenda and have backgrounds that match the current needs of their appointments.

It is likely that Congress will change the priorities of the US Federal Reserve to get control of money printing to eliminate Inflation. The Inflation Target should be Zero and interest rates should be set by the market based on supply and demand.  

It is also likely that Congress will pass a law to require all Voters to hold US Citizenship for all elections and end Birther Baby, Lottery and Chain Migration Citizenship.

The Agency jobs expanded in 2009 are listed in the posting below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_positions_filled_by_presidential_appointment_with_Senate_confirmation

The Law in the Appointments Clause is mushy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appointments_Clause

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

 

Kari Lake to lead Voice of America 12-21-24

Kari Lake Halperin (born1969) is an American political figure and former television news anchor. Beginning her media career in the early 1990s, Lake was the anchor for the Phoenix television station KSAZ-TV from 1999 to 2021. She was the Republican Party's nominee in Arizona's 2022 gubernatorial and 2024 United States Senate elections.

 

Kari Lake was born in 1969, in Rock Island, Illinois, to Larry and Sheila Lake, who were natives of the Wisconsin communities of Richland and Appleton. Larry taught social studies and was a basketball and football coach at North Scott High School, while Sheila was a nurse. She is the youngest of nine children.

Lake grew up in Iowa. She graduated from North Scott Senior High School in Eldridge, Iowa, and then received a Bachelor of Arts in communications and journalism from the University of Iowa.

In May 1991, Lake began working as an intern at KWQC-TV in Davenport, Iowa, while attending the University of Iowa. She later became production assistant before joining WHBF-TV in Rock Island to be a daily reporter and weekend weathercaster in 1992. In August 1994, Lake was hired by KPNX in Phoenix, Arizona, to be the weekend weather anchor. She later became evening anchor at KPNX before relocating to work for WNYT in Albany, New York in the summer of 1998 when she replaced Chris Kapostasy.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader