HELPING A VETERAN: Peach State Federal Credit Union of Lawrenceville led the effort to help restore the home of Vietnam Veteran Bernard Hinck and his wife, Lori, at left, in Lawrenceville recently. The credit union teamed up with Purple Heart Homes, Home Depot, several contractors, and a team of volunteers who worked together to complete renovations on the home. For more, see Notable below.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Had Clinton Won Florida and Wisconsin, She Would Be President-Elect
EEB PERSPECTIVE: He’s Our Nation’s New President; We Wish Donald Trump Solid Success
ANOTHER VIEW: Trump Has No Mandate; United States Remains a Divided Country
SPOTLIGHT: Georgia Gwinnett College
FEEDBACK: Likes Forum Vetting Candidates and Giving Readers’ Recommendations
UPCOMING: Celebrate America Recycles Day at Coolray Field on November 19
NOTABLE: Gwinnett Parks Wins State’s Top Award Among Big Counties
RECOMMENDED: White Trash: by Nancy Isenberg
GEORGIA TIDBIT: With Talmadge Looming, Senator George Decided Against Candidacy
TODAY’S QUOTE: About Hate and the People We Don’t Know
MYSTERY PHOTO: Two or Three Dead Giveaway Clues in This Mystery Photo
LAGNIAPPE: Canadian Consul General Visits Georgia Gwinnett Campus
Had Clinton Won Florida and Wisconsin, she would be president-elect
By Andy Brack, Charleston, S.C. | Wasn’t the presidential election supposed to be rigged?
Had Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who garnered just over 350,000 votes more than the GOP’s Donald Trump out of 120 million cast across the country, won the electoral college, we wouldn’t hear the end of the election being rigged.
Talking heads keep pointing fingers at angry white blue-collar males as being a big key to Trump’s victory. Maybe they were, as typically blue states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin narrowly went for Trump. But things easily could have turned out differently. Had Clinton garnered about 150,000 more votes in just two states, Wisconsin and Florida, she’d be president-elect. And Fox News would be apoplectic.
The anger in America that Trump used and fomented is temporarily at bay as his supporters are giddy at the prospect of controlling all levels of the federal government. Democrats, going through all seven stages of grief, need to confront a reality that most people aren’t facing: Trump didn’t so much win as Clinton lost.
It was a numbers game, as one Facebook friend pointed out. Trump got about one million votes less than GOP nominee Mitt Romney did in 2012. Clinton? She got about 5.6 million fewer votes than President Barack Obama four years ago.
In short, lots of Democrats stayed home. Over the long term, the numbers game favors them as the contingent of angry white men won’t increase. As places like Georgia, now just 56 percent white, get browner, Democrats will start winning national elections again. (Trump won Georgia by just 200,000 votes out of almost 4 million cast.)
2016 presidential election results with numbers reflecting the electoral votes for each state. Source: Wikipedia.
But that’s in the future. What has people like me worried is what happens now as Trump, who has never held an elected office, prepares to take the highest office in the land.
I worry that millions of Americans, particularly those who are poor, neglected and disadvantaged, will be hurt in new ways as Trump tries to push through tax cuts for the rich and slash programs that help those who need it most.
I worry that Trump doesn’t have the savvy to deal with the nuclear codes and may make rash, impetuous decisions that impact my daughters.
I worry that those who have been angry will become angrier when they realize the system isn’t going to put more money in their pockets because Trump and the Republican Congress will tinker around the edges of the old trickle-down economics, but will do little that’s innovative.
I worry that Democrats will become so disenchanted that more won’t participate when, in fact, now is the time to get more active to combat changes that will hurt the nation.
I worry that America, particularly in rust-belt states, has forgotten the Greatest Generation notion of common good – to work together to improve the country – and have supplanted it with individual good, also known as greed.
America has gambled on Donald Trump. But he has not been elected king. He’s accountable now to all of the American people, despite bluster, bravado, a great number of flaws and a record of making intolerant, racist, and misogynic comments to inflame people. Let’s hope he’s successful in moving America forward and isn’t the biggest con man of them all.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report, a South Carolina legislative and policy forecast. Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
He’s our nation’s new president; We wish Donald Trump solid success
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | An out of state reader prompted today’s entry when he asked a question about the election.
What really concerns me seriously are the protests and riots by the young. It is obvious that they do not know the mechanics of government, and I suspect this comes from more than a generation not studying the basics of civics.
Most of the United States recognizes that you win some and you lose some. But once an election is over, you are either smiling or you form the loyal opposition. It’s simple as that. We keep our mouths shut–except for comment when things go astray—-and you wait another four or eight years.
It appear to me that Mr. Trump won because he stayed on message. His handlers kept pleading with him to stop the Twitters, keep to the script that they had written. But no, he either cannot or did not do that, but was his own man and followed his gut in saying what he wanted to. That resonated with his people, and they stayed behind him all the way.
Whether he can do all that he talked about…….gutting Medicare, bomb Isis, not pay attention to the generals…..that is behind him now. He can “reconsider” (as he already is about Medicare as shown on 60 Minutes)…..and take the route he wants.
Trump may have been a pragmatist during the run up for the presidency in doing his own thing. Now he can, if he wants, shift gears and go into a new direction…..and come up with some reason for doing it.
All those people who say that they want government to be run more like a business disregard one thing: the Constitution of the United States. You just cannot always apply the rules of business to the business of government. And Mr. Trump, if he does not recognize that already, will soon learn that. And the sooner, the better.
Trump
Where Mr. Trump will get some of his early opposition, we feel, is from the Congress, and its Republican leaders. They won’t go along with some of his ideas. If he is smart, he will try to work with them and keep them on his side. If he does not, he may be doomed as a president, and doomed not necessarily from the Democrats, but from the people in leadership in his own party.
If this happens, Mr. Trump may feel the frustration that many presidents have felt. From what we have seen of his personality, he may not react as others……..and we can see him resigning, and letting others have all those problems.
For a person as old as he is (71), this could bring on a quicker negative response.
We hope not. We hope Mr. Trump finds his pace as a president, and actually makes some of the improvements in our system that it is obvious we need. If he can somehow get changes in the tax code, get better results from the IRS and the Veterans/ Administration, somehow get improvements in Medicare that we all can live with and cover many more Americans, his administration will be a success.
Yet it is all so complex. Adding on the burden of international diplomacy, agreements on trade, our national defense, and all the many ramifications of government…….is a daunting task. Mr. Trump may ask himself later on, “Why did I get myself in this mess?”
No doubt other presidents have wondered that. We’ll see.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Trump has no mandate; United States remains a divided country
By George Wilson, contributing columnist | Like a former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and the Brexit crowd, Donald Trump tapped into a large number of people who are legitimately upset over the failure of status quo governments to deal with the economic fallout from the loss of jobs to the second and third world countries.
The shift to a more knowledge-based economy has not brought jobs to replace those lost by the middle class/blue collar crowd. In addition, automation of U.S. factories is a much bigger factor than foreign trade in the loss of jobs. Trade accounted for just 13 percent of America’s lost factory jobs.
They are understandably fearful of the future for themselves and their families. As Bernie Sanders says: “they are tired of having chief executives make 300 times what they do, while 52 percent of all new income goes to the top one percent. Many of their once beautiful rural towns have depopulated, their downtown stores are shuttered, and their kids are leaving home because there are no jobs — all while corporations suck the wealth out of their communities and stuff them into offshore accounts.”
The Democrats did not address this in any substantive way other than platitudes. It will be interesting to see what Trump does because the cause is not simply trade agreements and immigrants. While Trump’s racism and misogyny garnered him support from many people, the fear and anger of the more mainstream ones was strong enough that it outweighed any distaste for the disgraceful Trump.
Like Rob Ford and Brexit voters, some of the so-called silent majority would not admit to who they supported and the pollsters were misled.
More fundamentally frightening than Trump himself are two things – the inherent level of racism that made Obama’s attempt to govern almost impossible, and the level of bias against women, and strong women in particular.
And lastly, maybe most frightening of all, the fact that Republicans got full control of both the House and Senate and will soon have a majority on the Supreme Court. There will be none of the “checks and balances” that we Americans always boast about in defending the Constitution over parliamentary democracy. Contrary to their pronouncements, Republicans didn’t get a majority vote and don’t have any kind of mandate. We remain a divided country.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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Likes Forum’s vetting of candidates and giving recommendations
Editor, the Forum:
Let me thank you guys for sending out such a quality publication as the GwinnettForum. I especially appreciate your vetting candidates and giving your recommendations. I am not very political and depend on someone whom I trust their opinion to give me their take on who will be the best for the position.
Learning about what’s going on in other Gwinnett cities makes me feel proud about where I live. I read every Forum and look forward to the next publication. Keep up the good work everyone. You are appreciated.
— Kitty Pinson, Lilburn
Dear Kitty: Gee, you make our day! We were somewhat surprised and pleased that in our endorsements, Gwinnett voters thought as we did in 13 of 20 races and questions. That’s good for us. Big thanks to you for sending this in. –eeb
Send us your thoughts: We encourage you to send us your letters and thoughts on issues raised in GwinnettForum. Please limit comments to 300 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send feedback and letters to: elliott@brack.net
Celebrate America Recycles Day at Coolray Field on Nov. 19
Celebrate America Recycles Day in several ways, including free paint recycling, at Coolray Field on Saturday, November 19. The Gwinnett Braves joins Global Paint for Charity for solid waste and recovered materials recycling between 9 a.m. and noon for this event to help protect the environment. The location is 2500 Buford Highway in Lawrenceville.
This event will feature paint collection (no paint thinners, stains, spackle, oil paint cans, rusted paint cans, or dried-up paint); free paper shredding (limit five copier paper boxes); electronics recycling ($10 cash fee per television and monitor; $5 cash fee per printers;) old sneakers recycling; tire recycling (limit eight tires per vehicle; no dealer tires); toner/printer cartridge collection and more.
The event, America Recycles Day, is a nationally-recognized initiative dedicated to encouraging local businesses and individuals to recycle more to protect the environment.
Among items being accepted are latex paint, interior and exterior latex paint, water based paint, flat, gloss, semi-gloss latex products. Oil paint must be in new, unopened containers, both interior and exterior.
Not acceptable are paint thinners, stains, dry paint, spackle, or opened oil paint cans, or rusted cans with less than 25 percent wet paint.
- For suggestions for your Oil Paint Recycling and Rusted Cans Disposal visit our website at http://globalpaints.org/suggestions.php.
Gwinnett Parks wins state’s top award among big counties
The Gwinnett Parks and Recreation system is the best in Georgia among counties of 150,000 people. That’s the conclusion of the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, as it singled out Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation (GCPR) during the group’s annual conference recently in Athens.
Gwinnett has risen to the challenge of serving a growing community and one that is becoming increasingly diverse through public-private partnerships, alternative funding mechanisms, creative planning, design and development and resident input. This award demonstrates excellence in citizen involvement and support systems, long-range planning, fiscal resource management, environmental stewardship, historic preservation, technological integration, program planning and assessment.
GCPR took home two other awards that highlight the importance of community partnerships and volunteer service. The State Volunteer Award was presented to Hi-Hope Service Center as one of GCPR’s community partners. Hi-Hope Service Center is a non-profit organization that supports adults with developmental disabilities. These volunteers have provided over 600 hours per year for the last 11 years to GCPR totaling more than 6600 hours of service.
Tina Fleming, Gwinnett County Department of Community Services Director said “…these terrific individuals bring value and enrichment to the community and the lives of those around them through their service to parks and recreation.”
Another valuable volunteer was also recognized for the Athletic Network. Doris Warpole was recognized for her service to Gwinnett Senior Softball League for the past 14 years and more recently the Gwinnett Senior Golden Games. Doris has assisted in providing services that increased socialization, physical activity and mental health of over 550 seniors in Gwinnett County by having a place to play.
Volunteer labor is a mainstay for GCPR, enabling the sustainability of current services and expanding both the quantity and diversity of services without exhausting the agency’s budget.
Firm seeking durable medical equipment donations on Saturday
FODAC staffer Pam Holley shows DeKalb Interim CEO Lee May the inventory of pediatric wheelchairs, many collected through equipment drives like the one being held by EACU.
Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC) has announced that Emory Alliance Credit Union (EACU) has scheduled a durable medical equipment (DME) collection drive to benefit FODAC. The event is scheduled for Saturday, November 19 from 9 a.m. to noon, at the EACU branch located at 1237 Clairmont Road in Decatur.
FODAC supplies over $10 million dollars in refurbished DME annually to the disabled and their caregivers at little or no cost to the recipient. The majority of FODAC’s DME inventory comes from donations, much of it collected through events held by civic and community organizations like EACU. Examples of DME needed for reuse are: manual and electric wheelchairs, standers, corner chairs, canes, crutches, forearm crutches, braces, scooters, bath seats and shower benches, walkers and gait trainers. By refurbishing and reissuing DME, FODAC keeps almost 300 tons of material out of local landfills, and can fill over 500 DME requests per month.
EACU will also be accepting new and gently used household goods during its DME drive; those goods will be sold in the FODAC Thrift Store located at 4900 Lewis Road in Stone Mountain. (EACU and FODAC cannot accept for donation regular mattresses, console TVs, CRT monitors, and non-working electronics.) For more information, contact Suzanne Girone at 770-491-9014 or SuzanneGirone@fodac.org.
Credit Union teams with others to renovate veteran’s home
Peach State Federal Credit Union of Lawrenceville has teamed up with Purple Heart Homes, Home Depot, several contractors, and a team of volunteers who worked together to complete renovations on the home of a local veteran. This was all part of Purple Heart Homes Operation: Veteran Home Renovation program.
Operation: Veteran Home Renovation was established to raise awareness about the housing challenges faced by older service-connected disabled veterans. Purple Heart Homes partnered with local credit unions to identify older veterans who needed renovations to their home in order to safely age in place.
Peach State regularly works with Purple Heart homes to help veterans secure financing for mortgages, so participating in this program was a natural extension of those efforts. Because many veterans may live on fixed incomes and have service-connected disabilities, maintenance on their homes can sometimes prove challenging.
Vietnam Veteran Bernard Hinck was nominated for the program by a neighbor. Mr. Hinck was a Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force when he sustained back injuries and was honorably discharged. As a result of his service-connected disability, he has limited mobility. Interior and exterior improvements were planned following an evaluation of his needs. Skilled contractors were engaged and volunteers were secured to complete the home improvements, which took place over the course of several weeks.
Contractor Steve Ball, and his company, Atlanta Intown Renovation, focused on making improvements to the master bathroom so it will be safer for Mr. Hinck. Bob Cooper’s B&D Landscaping spent several days working on the yard, and pressure-washed the driveway and house so the exterior of the home could be repainted. Credit union staff volunteered to assist with general landscaping, and Home Depot provided a team of volunteers to construct a new fence in the backyard.
Peach State President/CEO, Marshall Boutwell says: “Having served during the war in Vietnam, I feel a special connection to Bernie and all veterans. That, along with Peach State’s commitment to the communities within our footprint, is why Peach State participated in Purple Heart Homes Operation: Veteran Home Renovation project.”
The renovations to the bathroom have been a relief to the Hincks. “I don’t have to worry about getting in and out of the shower safely anymore,” says Mr. Hinck. “It’s so much easier.” “We’re so proud of our home now,” adds his wife, Lori.
New financial firm seeks goal of giving away $1 million annually
U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall, Shawn and David Cross, and County Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash at the U.S. Asset Management ribbon cutting.
A Gwinnett asset management firm is now open with the goal of making a $1 million annual charitable gift before its leaders become age 60.
U.S. Asset Management opened its offices in Duluth last week when the Gwinnett Chamber hosted its grand opening and ribbon cutting.
The firm’s owners, Shawn and David Cross, credited their friendship with Sandra and Clyde Strickland of Lawrenceville as being the key inspiration in anticipation of reaching their future gifting goal. The company seeks clients, both individual, corporations and charities, for its comprehensive investment and financial planning solutions. David Cross has over 25 years of investment experience.
The company’s credo, posted on its front door, reads: “We are measured in life by the good that we do for others. It is a privilege to serve the lives that we touch. Going above and beyond is both a pleasure and a call of duty to our clients and friends we value trust, simplicity, fair cost and frequent communications.”
The company’s address is 1960 Satellite Blvd, One Sugarloaf Centre, Suite 2200, in Duluth.
White Trash
By Nancy Isenberg
Reviewed by Karen Harris, Stone Mountain | ‘White Trash’ is a term I remember hearing frequently while growing up in the 1960s, but believed it was simply a derogatory statement that was part of racial unrest. In fact is an actual term used by the British to describe the ‘waste people’ shipped to the New World to work the land. These were the people that did not have ownership of home and were determined to be ‘shiftless’ and worthless by the elite. Nancy Isenberg has brilliantly uncovered the unseen underbelly of our country by documenting the history of the lost class of whites. She turns on its heals the idea that hard work would lead to success for all in what was termed a class-free society. She documents how poor whites were essential to the rise of Lincoln’s Republican Party, and uncovers Eugenics movement, embraced by Theodore Roosevelt that targeted poor whites for sterilization. The full title is White Trash. The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America.
An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (100 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. –eeb
With Talmadge looming, George decided against candidacy
(Continued from previous edition)
With the emergence of the cold war during the late 1940s and 1950s, George continued to support America’s foreign policy, especially under Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, a close friend of George’s. In 1955 George proposed a summit meeting of the United States and its allies with the Soviet Union, which would have been the first since the end of World War II. Although the meeting never took place, George’s bipartisan support won him much acclaim from his fellow congressmen.
George
On the domestic front, George and his fellow southern congressmen staunchly opposed civil rights. George’s office became a meeting place for southern senators to plot opposition strategy to the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, which declared the segregation of schools to be unconstitutional. Even though he strongly opposed integration, George was less vocal about it than Senator Russell or his brash young opponent in the 1956 election, Herman Talmadge.
Talmadge had the state political machinery built by his father, Eugene Talmadge, firmly behind him, and despite his seniority and leadership in the Senate (he served as president pro tempore in 1955 and 1956), George realized he was not likely to withstand the Talmadge challenge and declined to run for reelection. George’s service to the country was not completely done; he served President Eisenhower as a special foreign policy advisor and was appointed U.S. ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a position he held only briefly before dying of heart problems on August 4, 1957. He was buried in Vienna.
Lake Walter F. George, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lake near Fort Gaines, is named in his honor. In 1947 Mercer University named its law school the Walter F. George School of Law to honor their noted alumnus, and created a foundation in his name that helps fund students dedicated to careers in public service.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/walter-f-george-1878-1957
Two or three dead giveaway clues in this Mystery Photo
Two or three features of this Mystery Photo almost give it away. Perhaps you can tell us where the photo was taken. Scratch your noggin, or your computer, and give us an answer. Send your thoughts to elliott@brack.net and be sure to include your hometown.
The old reliable, George Graf of Palmyra, Va., was the only person to recognize the latest Mystery Photo. It was sent in by Lou Camerio of Lilburn and was really not as hard as it might seem. Graf says: “That’s the Winged Victory 1st Army Division Monument and Old Executive Office Building in Presidents Park, Washington D.C. The 1st Infantry Division is a combined arms division of the United States Army, and is the oldest continuously serving in the Regular Army. It has seen service since its organization in 1917 during World War I. It was officially nicknamed “The Big Red One.” In July 2006 the division was withdrawn from Germany back to Fort Riley, Kan., leaving only 2nd (Dagger) Brigade in Schweinfurt, Germany until 2008 when the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division reflagged as the 2nd Brigade.”
Consul General of Canada visits Georgia Gwinnett College Campus
Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) student Myra Beamon (left) “got up close and personal” with GGC’s special guest, Canada’s Consul General Louise Blais, last week. Beamon is a member of the GGC Four Pillars Society and was among a group of about 75 students who had an opportunity to hear Blais speak. Blais shared a great deal of information about her career and her role as Canada’s Consul General. She also talked with the students about trade between the U.S. and Canada as well as the nations’ cultural differences. She also entertained a robust question and answer session with the students.
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