A mountain of debt at the voting rights organization of Stacey Abrams has resuIted in dozens of layoffs as the former Democratic gubernatorial candidate and election denier struggles to keep her pet project afloat. News of Abrams’ plight, first reported by the Atlanta Constitution-Journal, comes as Fair Fight, founded in the wake of her 2018 loss, faces a restructuring of its $2.5 million in debt. Finance records indicate Fair Fight has just $1.9 million in cash on hand.
Lauren Groh-Wargo, a top aide to Abrams during her second run for governor in 2021, said in an interview she will be returning to manage the cuts, which amount to between 25 and 75 percent of all staff.
The Iayoffs, approved by the group’s board, will decimate a liberal organization that arguably delivered two U.S. Senate seats for Democrats and helped President Joe Biden narrowly win Georgia in 2020. Fair Fight has raised more than $100 million since its inception.
Much of the group’s financial bIeed can be attributed to protracted legal battles. After True the Vote, a conservative voter organization, attempted in 2020 to throw out 250,000 voter registrations, Fair Fight pursued a court battle for more than three years.
Last week a federal court ruled against Fair Fight. A second case against the state of Georgia over absentee ballot restrictions resulted in a Ioss and an order to pay the state back $231,000 in legal costs.
Arrogant Homeowners Wouldn’t Pay My Plumber Father, They Thought They Outsmarted Him, but He Got the Final Chuckle
An entitled couple learned a hard lesson when they tried to cheat my dad, a hardworking plumber, out of his payment. Here’s how he turned the tables on them. I’m Phoebe, but you can call me Pippi, just like my dad does. My dad, Pete, is a 55-year-old plumber with a rugged look and hands that show years of hard work.
He treats every job like it’s his own home, and his dedication often gets him taken for granted. A few months ago, I visited my dad at his place, where I found him on the patio, enjoying a cigar and laughing heartily. I asked what was so funny, and he began to tell me about the Carlyles, a couple who wanted an extravagant bathroom remodel.
They picked every detail, from the tiles to the toilet paper holder, and at first, it seemed like a dream job. But on the last day, just as my dad finished the grouting, the Carlyles sat on their couch, ready to pull a fast one. Mrs. Carlyle claimed the tiles were wrong, despite having chosen them herself. To my dad’s shock, they only wanted to pay him half of what they owed.
Frustrated but clever, my dad decided to teach them a lesson. Instead of using water in the grout, he mixed it with sugar and honey, packed up his tools, and left with half the payment. He knew the couple wouldn’t notice anything wrong immediately; the grout looked fine when it dried.
Weeks later, Mrs. Carlyle took a shower and found ants crawling along the grout lines. The next day brought cockroaches, and soon enough, all sorts of bugs showed up. My dad had a friend, Johnny, who lived next door and kept him updated on the couple’s pest problems.
The Carlyles tried everything to get rid of the bugs, spending a fortune on pest control, but nothing worked. They even blamed the pest sprays for ruining the grout, not realizing that the sugar residue was the source of their problems.
My dad told me the couple ended up redoing their entire bathroom a year later, but the sugar was still lurking underneath, keeping the bugs coming back. They were clueless, still planning to remodel again.
I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for them. My dad explained that their actions insulted his work and pride. He needed to protect his reputation in the plumbing business, and if he let them cheat him, others might try to do the same.
The stories continued. Johnny shared how Mrs. Carlyle had a fancy dinner party and screamed when she found a cockroach in the bathroom. Mr. Carlyle attempted to fix the problem himself, only to create a chemical factory smell without solving anything.
Over a year later, the couple was at their wits’ end and even considered selling their house. My dad chuckled, noting that perhaps his revenge lasted longer than intended, but he felt it was a deserved lesson.
As we sat watching the sunset, I couldn’t help but appreciate the cleverness of my dad’s actions. He taught them a lesson they wouldn’t forget, and I laughed at the thought of the Carlyles’ continued struggles. I promised him that if I ever needed plumbing work done, I would pay him in full upfront. It was a fitting reminder that sometimes, karma comes with unexpected consequences.
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