11/27: On Southern white men; Amazon, football, Little Free Libraries

NEW OFFICE: Moving their business, CIC Floors, across Interstate 85 to their new location at 5260  Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Peachtree Corners, are Clara and Cesar Olquin, second and fourth from the left. They are shown with  Karen Malaga and Antonio Bario from ACE at the opening of the new location recently. The company has been in business for 16 years, and offers a full range of flooring services, from design to final installation.

TODAY’S FOCUS: Southern White Men and Their Manipulation of the GOP Elite

EEB PERSPECTIVE: The Amazon Location, Georgia Football and Little Free Libraries

SPOTLIGHT: Renasant Bank

FEEDBACK: Why Make Discussion of Anti-Semitism A Political Discussion?

UPCOMING: New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball To Fund Local Charities

NOTABLE: Wreaths Across America at Andersonville National Cemetery on Dec. 15

RECOMMENDED: American Business History and the People Who Made It By H.W. Brands

GEORGIA TIDBIT: Altamaha River Basin Stretches from Gwinnett to the Atlantic

MYSTERY PHOTO: Today’s Mystery May Prove To Be a Difficult Puzzle

LAGNIAPPE:  Christmas Courthouse

CALENDAR: Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Yule Program Will Be December 10

Southern white men and their manipulation of the GOP elite

By George Wilson, contributing columnist

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga.  |  W.J. Cash’s The Mind of the South, first published in 1941, is a brilliant examination of how the Southern elite, even with slavery no longer possible, managed to extend the same economic and political philosophy and system to their own benefit for 100 years, using Jim Crow.

When I see the Confederate flags waved today, I always think about the social unfairness that existed in the South during the Civil War. Here are a few examples.

• The food riots by starving people, in Atlanta, Richmond, Columbus, Macon, Augusta and other cities because the planter class refused to grow food crops, but persisted in growing cash crops, cotton and tobacco;
• The Confederate Congress amending the draft law to exempt anyone who owned 20 or more slaves;
• Above all, Southerners were about split between those who favored secession and those who wanted to stay with the Union. David William’s book, A People’s History of the Civil War, is a good place to learn how the only state to hold a secession referendum was Texas. The vote was 2-1 to stay in the Union. Secession conventions in the other states were won by the planter class largely through vote fraud, violence and threats of violence against anti-secessionists.

It would be hard for rich slave owners to get the non-slave owners to fight, hence they would wrap it in pretty words like “Weapons of Mass Destruction.” I mean, “Slave Rights or States Rights.”

Today, I’m always interested in the political chicanery that Republicans and moneyed elites commonly implore to maintain control in the South. For example, same sex marriage, welfare, guns, and abortion are used to play the same old shell game on the gullible. The latest is the so called freedom of religion, a non issue.

Finally, when the Georgia legislature meets in January, you can depend on these continual diversions from the real problems. Raising the minimum wage, extending Medicaid to everyone, making it easier to vote, solving transportation problems and addressing educational inequality, are examples of issues that could assist ALL Southern men—and women, regardless of race.

• Have a comment? Send to:  elliott@brack.net

The Amazon location, Georgia football and Little Free Libraries

By Elliott Brack
Editor and publisher

NOV. 27, 2018  |  Hope your Thanksgiving was a good one!  Today let’s throw out a few random thoughts of the last few days.

SOMETIMES WHAT YOU DON’T HEAR is an important as what you might have heard.

We didn’t hear much anguish from Gwinnett promoters over Atlanta and Gwinnett County not being chosen as the location of the second Amazon headquarters. While we had heard that Metro Washington was possibly a favorite for the new headquarters, there was little scuttlebutt that part of New York City would be an Amazon choice.

Had Amazon chosen the suggested Gwinnett location, the center of the county near the Infinite Energy Center, Gwinnett would have seen monumental growth on top of already healthy growth. The addition of bringing 50,000 people to this county would, in my opinion, been too much of a good thing.

Gwinnett continues to add a robust growth each year…at least 15,000 people most years, and the county has amazingly absorbed this growth much of the time. But think of the frenzy the county would have been in as new commercial buildings would be arising, new homes would be built, the job market would tighten…..all at a much more rapid pace than we have felt recently.

Gwinnett being chosen as the Amazon site would be a case of too much of a good thing.

So, congratulations, Arlington, Va. and the Queens, N.Y. on being chosen as the site of the eastern headquarters for Amazon.  And good luck to you. We suspect you’ll need it.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S second season is about to begin, with playoff leading toward bowl games.

For three major football teams in Georgia, it’s been a good year. Georgia plays for the SEC crown this weekend (and possibly much more); Georgia Tech, though humbled by the Bulldogs, had a successful year; and Georgia Southern awaits a bowl bid.  Not too bad. But tough luck, Georgia State.

We have particularly enjoyed watching our favorite college team, Georgia Tech, run their option offense, which can at any time spring a player for long gains if the defense misses only one block. It’s great fun to watch.

Though the Tech team sputtered several times this season and seemed inept at times, they have an overall winning season (7-5), despite being 1-3 at one time. And they had the most potent ground game in the nation, ranking number one.

Auburn’s Little Free Library

That option offense, if you have the personnel to run it, can explode at any time. But it takes an exceptional quarterback to pull it off, and Tech had two of these players this year. Compare that to the Navy football team (which we watched against Tulane last week), who run the same offense. The Navy quarterback seldom pitched to the trailing back, but kept it himself over and over, for not much gain. Navy had to even resort to passing to stay in the game.

So Saturday Georgia and Alabama clash in Atlanta. It should be a classic game, and lead to greater heights for the winner.

WE MOURN THE PASSING of Todd Bol, 62, of Oakdale, Minn. who most of you have never heard of. He was the person who thought up the idea of the Little Free Libraries in 2009, which you see around Gwinnett…and the world. There are 75,000 such libraries in 88 countries. He showed what a difference a single person can make for the world!

• Have a comment? Send to:  elliott@brack.net]

Renasant Bank

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers.  Today’s sponsor is Renasant Bank, which  has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Miss. bakery. Since then, it has grown to become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions with approximately $12.7 billion in assets, approximately 2,500 associates, and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of our banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people the bank serves. At Renasant Bank, we understand you because we work and live alongside you every day. For more, go to https://www.renasantbank.com. For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.

Why make discussion of Anti-Semitism a political discussion?

Editor, the Forum:

I read, with interest, the recent article by Jack Bernard in the GwinnettForum.  I agree that Anti-Semitism must be resisted; as should anti – gay, Christian, black, brown, white, Muslim, etc.  I think you may get my point.

My question is about your “drop-in” reference that Anti-Semitism has “…generally not been a point of contention….until the Trump era.” It appears you are blaming Trump’s rhetoric on nationalism as the cause. Are you intimating it to be a “dog whistle”?  Would you have blamed President Obama’s rhetoric and criticism for the increased deadly attacks on law enforcement officers during his administration?

Your article addresses an important subject.  But, why make it political?   I believe good people would agree on resisting Anti-whatever. If your point is to attack a belief in nationalism, then that may be a good subject for your next offering.

— Dan Bieller, Dacula

Divisive politics continues to be par for the course in Georgia

Editor, the Forum:                                                                                                   

Actually I found some of the charges made by Ms. Abrams against Mr. Kemp disturbing; however after reading an article in the Wall Street Journal (“Democracy Succeeds in Georgia”, November 19th) it appears that Ms. Abrams is being disingenuous. More divisive politics I guess. Par for the course today.

— Ed Orr, Peachtree Corners, Georgia

Change of address prior to elections is easy; Not so day of

Editor, the Forum:

Maybe our high schools should start giving our youth citizenship courses that include issues about voter registration and maintenance of it.

The young lady in front of me had moved and did not update her voter registration, so she had problems.  She was sent to the county to resolve the situation. We all have the responsibility to maintain our voter registration.  In Georgia, the county Elections Department runs the elections.  I had to update my registration two years ago, when I moved.  I did it when I set up my utilities online.  Easy as pie. But day of voting? Another thing.

— Byron Gilbert, Duluth

Looking back years to continuing problem of Anti-Semitism

Editor, the Forum:

It didn’t take Jack Bernard’s column on Anti-Semitism to alert me to this increasing problem in our country (up 57 percent in 2017).

I was raised in the Squirrel Hill community of Pittsburgh, less than a mile from the synagogue, where 11 worshippers were murdered by a hateful white, misguided gunman.

My story is not unique.  Squirrel Hill was known as a heavily populated Jewish community. I recall as a teenager…a speeding car coming to an abrupt halt in our business section one night and out jumped a young man, who hurled a beer bottle at us, yelling, “ Christ killer!”

In high school as a member of the basketball team, we once exited a game with the high school fans surrounding us and my Italian Catholic friend accosted by a girl, who jabbed him in the back with an umbrella calling him somewhat pathetically, “A kosher pickle.”

In college a fraternity mate after a drunken night simply called me, “A dirty Jew.” My fraternity life ended when an older alum penned a letter after we pledged a black freshman. It said, “I was shocked to see a dark face in the photo of your pledges…it was bad enough when we brought Jews in.”

Closer to Gwinnett, not too long ago at a local eatery, an employee I knew told me she and her husband had bought property in the North Carolina mountains. She praised the price he received by saying, “Yep, he’s got a lot of Jew in him.” When I told her I was Jewish and how offensive that was, she simply said, “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Anti-Semitism and hate have largely been in the shadows…now unleashed by a President, who encourages violence in his words and actions. And Congress and his advisers sit quietly by…watching this happen.

— Howard Hoffman, Peachtree Corners

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

New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball to fund local charities

Psi Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and Georgia Pearls of Service Foundation will host the second annual “A Kaptivating Affair.”  This is a New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball in support of service to all mankind. This second signature fundraising event will be from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m.

The aim of this masquerade ball is service to the community.  Proceeds will fund community service projects, outreach programs, and college scholarships as Psi Omega Omega Chapter and Georgia Pearls of Service Foundation work.

Guests can expect a traditional evening inclusive of the whimsical sounds of William Green and The Magic Dream Band, a traditional New Year’s meal, a count down and champagne toast at the stroke of midnight, with the purpose of masquerading in support of a programmatic thrust designed to enhance the social, economic, and educational well-being of the local, national and international communities.

Community support is needed to make the second annual “A Kaptivating Affair” New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball a success. Proceeds from the inaugural masquerade ball were donated to The Robert Fowler YMCA, National Association of Mental Illness (NAMI), The Peachtree Corners Veterans Monument, and funded the Ora B. Douglass Scholarship and community service programs in the Peachtree Corners geographic area.

• Tickets are $85 per person and attire is formal. For tickets, click here.

Wreaths Across America at Andersonville National Cemetery on Dec. 15

Andersonville National Historic Site invites you to remember and honor America’s military veterans during this winter season by participating in our Wreaths Across America event on Saturday, December 15, 2018.

At noon, the Civil Air Patrol will conduct a brief ceremony honoring America’s armed forces in the Andersonville National Cemetery. This ceremony is open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to bring a wreath for placement on a veteran’s grave. After the ceremony, attendees can help remember our fallen veterans by placing wreaths sponsored through Wreaths Across America on graves in the national cemetery.

Wreaths Across America is a national program that encourages individuals, community groups, and families to sponsor wreaths for placement in national cemeteries throughout the United States. These wreaths may be placed on specific graves, or left undesignated to place on one of thousands of unvisited graves. Each year 500-3,000 wreaths are donated through this program for placement at Andersonville National Cemetery. The park is asking for your help in placing wreaths this year.

The goal is to ensure that each of the more than 20,000 gravesites in the cemetery are decorated with a wreath. To accomplish this, undesignated wreaths are placed sequentially and rotated from one cemetery section to the next each year. For 2018, undesignated wreaths will be placed in Section F, Civil War Section F, Civil War Section K, and the Memorial Section.

Beginning December 1, 2018, wreaths no larger than 20 inches and floral blankets no larger than 2×3 feet are permitted in the cemetery. Wreaths should be brought in person, or delivered by a florist, directly to the gravesite. To find the location of a specific grave, visit http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov or stop at the National Prisoner of War Museum for assistance.

Park Superintendent Charles Sellars says: “During the rush of the holiday season, the annual Wreaths Across America event offers a moment to pause and reflect on the sacrifices made by our fallen military. For some, it is an occasion to cherish the memory of a loved one or an ancestor buried here at Andersonville National Cemetery. For others, it is a way to honor a fallen soldier who may no longer be visited by anyone. We encourage everyone to come out and be a part of this special observance in honor of the military men and women who are buried in our cemetery.”

Andersonville National Historic Site is located 10 miles south of Oglethorpe, Ga. and 10 miles northeast of Americus, Ga. on Georgia Highway 49. The national park features the National Prisoner of War Museum, Andersonville National Cemetery and the site of the historic Civil War prison, Camp Sumter. ­Andersonville National Historic Site is the only national park within the National Park System to serve as a memorial to all American prisoners of war. Park grounds are open from 8:00 a.m. until 5 p.m. The National Prisoner of War Museum is open 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., daily. Admission is free. For more information on the park, call 229 924-0343, or visit www.nps.gov/ande/.

The Masters of Enterprise: American Business History and the People Who Made It By H.W. Brands

From Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill  |  If you had told me a few years I would enjoy listening to a talk about American business history, I would have said, ‘No way!’ ‘The Great Courses series’ changed my mind. Each ‘great course’ is about a different subject and, in this one, Historian H. W. Brands gives an overview of American business history. He simply tells interesting stories in a conversational way – stories about individual entrepreneurs, how they got started and how their big ideas changed American culture. He starts with John Jacob Astor and ends with Bill Gates. Sound dry? I would have thought so, too, but no. Once you pass the introduction, the professor brings these very human tales to life. I’m not interested in business, but I am interested in people and in history, and I thoroughly enjoyed this seven-disc audio set I got from the library. For more information, check your library or https://www.thegreatcourses.com.

• 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.  Send to:  elliott@brack.net

Altamaha River basin stretches from Gwinnett to the Atlantic

The Altamaha River at Darien, Ga.

The headwaters of the Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers originate in the foothills of the Appalachians and meet to form the Altamaha River in the Upper Coastal Plain. The Yellow River in Gwinnett County forms the headwaters of the Ocmulgee. [More on Georgia’s river basins.]

Atlanta and Macon are major metropolitan areas along the Ocmulgee River. Along the Oconee River, Athens is located in the headwater region, and Milledgeville and Dublin are located in the middle and southern reaches of the river. Farther downstream of the confluence between the Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers, the Ohoopee River, a blackwater tributary, joins the Altamaha.

A major continental divide occurring between the Ocmulgee and Flint rivers causes the Altamaha River basin to drain into the Atlantic Ocean. The Altamaha River basin is the largest watershed in the state of Georgia and the third largest in the United States draining into the Atlantic Ocean.

Altamaha River basin

Three distinct groundwater aquifers influence the Altamaha River basin. In the northern headwaters of the Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers, crystalline-rock aquifers dominate. In the lower reaches of these rivers, cretaceous aquifer systems lie beneath the surface. The Altamaha River is part of the large Floridan aquifer system. Groundwater aquifers that occur near the fall line are exposed or close to the surface. South of the fall line, which includes the Altamaha River, the majority of domestic water supplies comes from groundwater sources.

A total of 137 river miles marks the distance between the convergence of the Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers and the entry of the Altamaha into the Atlantic Ocean near Darien. The tidal estuary at the mouth of the Altamaha functions as a linkage between the freshwater habitats of the river basin with the saltwater system of the Atlantic Ocean. During the 1800s the Altamaha River was a major route for shipping to the Georgia coast.

Agriculture dominates the landscape of the Ocmulgee, Oconee, and Altamaha basins and has a direct impact on the health of the watershed. Downstream the Ocmulgee’s watershed is dominated by agriculture and forested areas. The Oconee River headwaters arise in a highly forested region, but the presence of agriculture increases as the Oconee flows southeastward toward the Altamaha River. The 90-mile coastal flood plain of the Altamaha River is covered with dense timber and underbrush.

The upper reaches of both the Oconee and Ocmulgee watersheds have been particularly affected by a combination of pollutants from urban runoff, storm sewers, municipal point sources, and combined sewer outflows. In the Altamaha River watershed, nonpoint source pollution contributes to organic enrichment, metals contamination, and fish consumption advisories in the Altamaha and its tidal estuarine system.

The National Dam Inventory documents 276 dams in the upper Oconee River watershed, while a detailed scale analysis found more than 5,400 impoundments in the watershed. These figures demonstrate that the majority of the reservoirs in this watershed are unaccounted for and that their environmental impacts can be underestimated. Two large dams (greater than 25-feet high) were built along the mainstem of the Oconee River, creating Lake Sinclair and Lake Oconee. Neither the Ocmulgee River nor the Altamaha River has large dams built along its mainstem.

More than 100 rare and endangered aquatic species are found in the Altamaha. The watershed provides habitats for nesting and breeding migratory birds as well as for common game species. In 1991 the Nature Conservancy initiated an ecological survey to assess the biological resources and potential threats to the integrity of freshwater species diversity in the Altamaha River. This fragile watershed sustains several imperiled pearly mussel species, some of which are found nowhere else in the world.

• To view the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org

Today’s Mystery may prove to be a difficult puzzle

Today’s Mystery Photo you may either know, or have no idea about it.  There are few clues, so those who know the correct answer here will have to be commended. Send your answers and your hometown to elliott@brack.net.

That giant spider in the Mystery Photo in the last edition found lots of people knowing where it was, and giving readers great insight into the subject.  The photo came from Donnie Loeber of Norcross, who is now traveling in Spain.

Ann Serrie of Lawrenceville wrote: “My first thought was of ‘War of the Worlds.’ But I think this massive spider is at the Guggenheim Art Museum in Bilbao Spain. The artist is Louise Bourgeois. Thank you for the challenges with the photos each issue.”

Then came several more correct answers. From Ross Lenhart of Pawley’s Island, S.C.: “That spider can be found at the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain. That museum is a favorite of ours.”

Bob Foreman of Grayson reports: “The spider sculpture is by artist Louise Bourgeois. The Bridge is the Puente de la Salv Bridge. The weird building on the other side of the bridge is the Guggenheim Art Museum, designed by architect Frank Gehry. The location is Bilbao, Spain.”

Also recognizing it were Mary Hester of Duluth; Virginia Klaer of Duluth; and Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill: “This is the Maman spider sculpture by French artist Louise Bourgeois. It’s been traveling around the world and has also appeared in at least 18 countries. The sculpture was created in 1999 and is made of bronze, stainless steel and includes a sac containing 32 marble eggs. It is more than 30 feet high and more than 33 feet wide.”

The fact that the sculpture had traveled would account for the answer from Sara Rawlins of Lawrenceville, who says it was once at the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Ark.”

George Graf of Palmyra, Va. saw the statue in another location:  “I saw her version of this sculpture at the National Gallery of Art – Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C. a couple years ago.   ‘Everything I do,’ Louise Bourgeois said, “was inspired by my early life.’ Born in 1911, the French-American sculptor grew up in Choisy-le-Roi, just outside Paris. At age 11, Bourgeois witnessed her father’s affair with their live-in English tutor. These combined events left the artist with life-long psychological scars, memories that forged Bourgeois’ unique and disturbing oeuvre of giant spider sculptures and poured-plastic body parts. A self-revealing, self-lacerating artist, Bourgeois took ‘fantastic pleasure in breaking everything,’ continually probing the themes of loneliness, jealousy, anger, and fear throughout her career. Acknowledging the past as a precondition of her present, the intensely autobiographical artist poured her demons into her work.”

Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. added this: “Under the main body, there is a sac containing 32 marble eggs and its abdomen and thorax are made of ribbed bronze. The title of the sculpture ‘Maman’ is the familiar French word for Mother (akin to Mummy). The spider with its egg sac was intended to represent the strength of Bourgeois’ mother, who was a woman who repaired tapestries in her father’s textile restoration workshop in Paris. The spider structure offered the perfect metaphors of spinning, weaving, nurture and protection to reflect her mother’s trade and character strengths. When Louise Bourgeois was 21, she lost her mother to an unknown illness. A few days after her mother’s passing, in front of her father (who did not seem to take his daughter’s despair seriously), Louise threw herself into the Bièvre River in France and her father swam to her rescue. After this, Bourgeois was inspired to become an artist.”

THE HISTORIC COURTHOUSE in Lawrenceville is all decorated for Christmas, as Roving Photographer Frank Sharp shows in this photo taken recently on the lawn. Old Saint Nick is present, and the giant Christmas tree is abloom with ornaments. And though it is still November, there are only 27 more shopping days until Christmas, which falls on Tuesday this year.

FIRESIDE CHAT with Dr. Mark Bouzyk, co-founder and chief scientific officer for AKESOgen will be November 29 at 9:30 a.m. at Gwinnett Technical College, in the Life Science Building 900. Cost is $10. Learn how your family history impacts your DNA; learn the difference in genetics and genomics; and join the discussion of having a choice in healthcare.

FREE NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP at the Gwinnett Library Suwanee Branch, 361 Main Street in Suwanee, on November 30, at 2 p.m. Join the Georgia Nature Photographers Association for this informal talk and Q&A nature photography workshop.  They will provide information about cameras, editing software, and tips for getting better photographs with the equipment you already have.

CHRISTMAS PERFORMANCE of the Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra and Chorus will be December 10 at 7 p.m. at the Infinite Energy Theater in Duluth. Tickets are from $13 to $25.  For more, visit this site.

NORTH ATLANTA Metro Area Realtors (NAMAR) is holding its annual EXPO on January 17, 2019, at the Infinite Energy Center, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Nearly 150 exhibitor booths will be in attendance.

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• Managing editor: Betsy Brack
• Roving photographer: Frank Sharp
• Contributing columnist: Jack Bernard
• Contributing columnist: Debra Houston
• Contributing columnist: George Wilson

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