Full issues

NEW for 9/8: On choices, candidates and economic disaster

September 8, 2020 6:40 am·

GwinnettForum  |  Number 20.64  |  Sept. 8, 2020

CLEANING THE CHATTAHOOCHEE: Emily Rogers, a third-year student in the University of Georgia’s College of Environment and Design, volunteered her time to assist with a project on a tributary of the Chattahoochee River, Crayfish Creek. Her work aims to restore the eroded creek, located just south of Buford Dam, to improve it for habitat and future recreational use. For more on this story, see Notable below.

IN THIS EDITION

TODAY’S FOCUS: Choices, choices, choices …violence or non-violence? 
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Study this list of 21 Candidates for Senate to pick your preference
ANOTHER VIEW: Trump and the Republican Senate make economic disaster for USA
SPOTLIGHT: Gateway85 Gwinnett 
FEEDBACK: Help George Puicar become write-in candidate for school board
UPCOMING: Census nearing deadline; afterward census workers will knock on doors 
NOTABLE: Local artist adds colorful art to manhole covers on two Norcross trails
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Oglethorpe repels the Spanish on the south at battle of Bloody Marsh
MYSTERY PHOTO: Lovely area seems like good place to visit
CALENDAR: Remembrance Program about 9/11 is Friday in Peachtree Corners

TODAY’S FOCUS

Choices, choices, choices …violence or non-violence?

By Ashley Herndon

OCEANSIDE, Calif.  |  Choices, choices, choices …violence or non-violence?

Hmmm?

Herndon

Even though non violence was practiced throughout the ages, it was not introduced into modern society until Mahatma Gandhi introduced it in the early 20th Century, first in South Africa then British-controlled India. Non violence, Soul Force, Satyagraha is a proven and ancient way of dealing with conflict. It brought down the British Empire and is scaring today’s brokers.  The story of humanity is the story of the resolution of conflict. Just in case you have a disagreement with that, read the Torah, the New Testament, and the Quran for starters.

Today we (our country) are in the hands of powerful people and powerbrokers who through multinationals have taken power-sharing overseas.  They try to keep non violence out of sight—conflict sells arms and other commodities. The brokers play the three monkeys,  except they do see, hear, and speak. They know evil pays, and is proven to increase stock value. Powerful people today are not imitating the non violent principles of Gandhi or of the Parks-King movement…they are pushing violence, then complaining when it backfires, hiding behind conspiracies to keep believers under control and attempt to intimidate ‘the others.’

Gandhi tried to pull much of history together as proof.  Like a certain man from Nazareth, he taught us that we must first change ourselves in action before going to the wider community.  This partially means, do not just act out emotions, but act out knowledge and commitment…spiritually driven.  Then we can move to the wider communities, one at a time ever expanding.

The year 2020 is the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment’s passing.  It took decades.

It should have been in the Constitution, but at that time there were no examples of women’s rights, much less women voting. Women were not full partners in life, and in many cases were chattel or treated as such. We cannot hold that against our founders. It was not an issue on the table. 

Freedom in those days did not include the freedom to think about “the others”…females, black and brown skins, yellow skin and working masses or indigenous people everywhere. Freedom was for the landed and powerful. Many good and great men, some responding to prodding from their female companions and spouses, finally carried the day.  But that too is another story.

The year 2020 is also the 65th anniversary of the non violence movement in America, originating in Montgomery and other southeastern states (note, not in the North nor Midwest nor West).  The movement lasted only 20 years, waning after Dr. King’s murder.   

The powerful retook some of the stage. The power brokers regained control and made the fight for freedom into something requiring legislation, not natural rights. Then it became less personal and more political. If the current administration has proven nothing else, it has proven it is a good time to resurrect the “power of the locals.”  

Remember the book, All Politics is Local?  Former Speaker of the House Thomas Phillip “Tip” O’Neill Jr. was pointing us at the future.

EEB PERSPECTIVE

Study this list of 21 Senate candidates to pick your preference

By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum

SEPT. 8, 2020  |  There are 21 Georgians competing independently for the Senate seat vacated by former Senator Johnny Isakson to fill the two years left on his term. The seat is presently held by Kelly Loeffler, appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp. The 21 candidates will all run in a Special Election, which people are calling a “jungle election,” since anyone can run who qualified without being nominated by a party.  

With so many candidates, it’s nearly impossible for a candidate to win on the first ballot. The result will likely be a runoff on January 5, 2021.  

Who’s running. Candidates are not identified by party. However, Wikipedia identifies the 21 candidates by party. 

Republicans, listed alphabetically:  

Democrats: 

(Note: the Georgia Secretary of State’s website lists no information on Jamesia James and Joy Felicia Slade.)

Libertarian Party

  • Brian Slowinski of White Plains, a candidate in 2014 for the Republican nomination in Georgia’s 10th congressional district, who is retired. 

Green Party

  • John “Green” Fortuin of Athens, a property manager.

Independents

Now, your job, voters, is simply pick the best person you think would serve Georgia as the next U.S. Senator, and if the winner, who will most likely qualify to stand a full six year term for the Senate beginning on January 1, 2023.

Right now from what we have observed, many Republicans will support either Collins or Loeffler, and one of them may have enough votes to get into a runoff.

Among the Democrats, the strongest among the eight candidates are Warnock, Lieberman and Tarver. If one of them gets the majority of the vote of Democrats, he could be in the runoff.

And among the rest, Allen Buckley is best known and has run for key offices before, while Libertarian Brian Slowinski’s affiliation with his party may run stronger than the others. However, the probability of either of these two candidates gaining enough for a runoff is far-fetched now.

Take this list and keep studying it, to figure out your pick in what is a wide open Senate race.

GwinnettForum brings you this list exclusively. You haven’t seen it anywhere else.

ANOTHER VIEW

Trump, Republican Senate make economic disaster for USA

By George Wilson, contributing columnist

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga.  |  “Given the right conditions, any society can turn against democracy,” by Anne Applebaum from her book, Twilight of Democracy.

Roughly 30 million Americans saw their incomes plunge dramatically on Friday, July 31st, worsening a COVID-19 induced recession that has already led to the steepest drop in economic output on record. In addition, at least 4 million private-sector workers have had their pay cut during the pandemic, according to data by economists who worked on a labor market analysis for the University of Chicago’s Becker Friedman Institute.

Meanwhile, going back, the sins of the Republican senate started early in 2009 as Obama and Biden struggled to right the economy and they refused to go along with more needed spending. Subsequently, of course, this delayed and stretched out the recovery. When the economy continued its movement upwards, Trump took full credit. Consequently, instead of waiting for a “rainy day” Republicans passed a massive tax cut that primarily benefited the wealthy like our two Republican senators. 

Consequently, once the downward spiral starts — more job losses lead to less consumer spending leading to more business closures leading to more job losses — it can lead to an even deeper downturn that permanently damages the economy for years to come. Economists say the United States is not spiraling yet, but the nation is at an inflection point. The slight increase in joblessness reported in August is tempered when the following facts are considered. 

  • First 236,000 workers were hired for the census which will end soon. 
  • Secondly, closed child care facilities are a major impediment to women returning to work and in addition, some schools are still closed. 
  • Thirdly, private-sector jobs added early were the low hanging fruit. 
  • Fourth, states and cities are in serious fiscal trouble; local government payrolls are down by 1.1 million people.

Further, in June about 12 million people couldn’t pay their rent and eviction notices started to go out as the moratorium ended on rent payments. Fortunately, some of the expected 12 million evictions expected by October were postponed by executive order until the end of the year. However, like most Trump efforts this order is confusing, bureaucratic and not well thought out and will help few renters. At which time it ends and the renters will now own the accumulated backlog of rent. 

The Democratic-controlled passed another round of relief in May, but the Republican-controlled Senate has not moved.

Finally, we have all the elements for massive social disruptions to start around election time. All we can do is keep our heads down and vote to correct this massive disaster and the return of rational debate, reason, and compromise. The United States should not meet the fate of all the other Trump bankruptcies.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Gateway85 Gwinnett 

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Gateway85 Gwinnett and is a self-taxing community improvement district that includes just over 800 commercial property owners with a property value of over $1 billion. Gateway85 includes the southwestern part of Gwinnett County including properties along Jimmy Carter Boulevard, Buford Highway, Indian Trail Road, and Beaver Ruin Road. Gateway 85 is one of six CIDs to be created in Gwinnett County and is the largest of all CIDs in the state. The community is an economic powerhouse that helps fuel the regional economy. More than 3,000 businesses (employing roughly 34,000 people) call Gateway85 home. The jobs in the district account for almost 12 percent of Gwinnett County’s total employment and support $2 billion in annual payroll. Gateway85’s mission is to improve property values through increased security, decreased traffic congestion, and general improvements to the curb appeal of the area. The CID moved their offices to 1770 Indian Trail-Lilburn Road, Norcross and recently rebranded to reflect the strong future of this area.  It was previously known as Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District. For more information visit  https://www.gateway85.com/ or call 770-449-6542. 

  • For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.

FEEDBACK

Help Puicar become write-in candidate for school board

Editor, the Forum:  

I keep wondering how long it’s going to be before churches wake up to the evil that is at our door. Watchmen on the wall are warning the enemy is not only coming, they are here and already in our midst, but this hasn’t seemed to make a difference yet. 

I guess when the Gwinnett School Board is controlled by new members (all Democrats) and radical changes are implemented in what is now an excellent school system, pastors will say “What happened?” 

It will be too late!

Parents of school age children will be stuck! All will not be able to escape Gwinnett to a county with a still conservative approach to education. 

The three Democratic candidates for School Board Districts 1,3 and 5 can taste victory. 

The only thing which stands in their way is an uprising of parents and pastors willing to go to work to keep Gwinnett Schools operating in a business-like, conservative manner.

In Districts 1 and 3, assist Carole Boyce and Mary Kay Murphy with contributions and time persuading your neighbors. In District 5, I understand that George Puicar, a parent of three young children, will be a write-in candidate. Help this a miraculous write-in effort with contributions and time. Don’t accept Democrat  Tarece Johnson as the automatic winner! Learn how to write in to help save our schools.

If you know of parents with school age children in these three districts and pastors who will be willing to alert their congregations of the evil at our doorstep, then you alert them. And also, send me the names of like-minded people in these districts willing to join the fight!

It’s not too late but there is no time to waste. Send information to me at pat@vaildunlap.com for getting more good, conservative and fair-minded people involved in this worthwhile effort.

— Ralph Patrick (Pat) Quigley, Peachtree Corners

14th district candidate is not future of the Republican Party

Editor, the Forum:

Margaret Greene, the Republican nominee for Congress from Georgia’s 14th District,  is not the future of the GOP in Georgia.

She is, instead, the future of the district that she is in.  Chattanooga is GOP all the way, really right wing. Where she lives does not get most of their news from Atlanta but, instead, she gets it from the Chattanooga Times-FreePress, if she knows how to read, or from the several television stations in Tennessee.  The area has been a right wing congressional district almost the whole time I have lived in Georgia, and that’s a long time.

Larry McDonald, before they changed the congressional districts around, was their representative in the U.S. House. (He only had a right side of his body.)  Tom Graves most recently represented the area, but decided not to run, so that Greene could get in.  Graves was a T-Party man, and was so right wing that it was horrible.

— Raleigh Perry, Buford

Loved recommendation,  re-reading To Kill a Mockingbird

Editor, the Forum:

It was enjoyable to read Susan McBrayer’s review of To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee’s novel is a classic for a reason. As Ms. McBrayer noted, the book is much more than a courtroom trial and racism. 

Young Scout gives us an honest look at her south Alabama town and those who live there. Many are good and decent. Some aren’t. 

I first read this book in my 20s. I have re-read it every decade, and with each reading discover new insights. I look forward to next year when I’m 70, when I will read and enjoy again. 

         —  Billy Chism, Toccoa

9th district candidate not painted in right light

Editor, the Forum:

Let me take issue with Jack Bernhard’s slandering of Congressional candidate Marjorie Greene as a “racist” without proof or reference but rather dogpiling on other false assertions and bad reporting.  Even USA News August 11 reporting of her could not find a single example where she voiced a racist sentiment or policy, or even  a direct website quote to support their linking of the ‘QAnon’ blogger as a racist, but rather had an expert summarize his interpretation. 

We learned from the explosion of fake news in the 2016 elections the techniques where some obscure media outlet publishes a salacious headline with an unchecked story that a thousand others link to in order to push a narrative and sway opinion.  I do not frequent “4han” or follow “QAnon,” but what I do see along with the usual loonies is a lot of pretty smart professionals discussing a variety of topics but doing so anonymously to avoid the ire of  political activists who would seek to get them fired or blocked from political office.  Candidates should win or lose on the merits of their accomplishments and their ideas; not the unfounded slander of those with a political agenda. 

— Joe Briggs, Suwanee

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

UPCOMING

Census nearing deadline; then workers will knock on doors 

The self-response deadline for the 2020 Census is less than one month away! Help us make sure “EveryOneCounts.” September 30, 2020 is the last day that residents can respond to the 2020 Census and help each community get the funding and representation it deserves. As of September 1, more than 68 percent of Gwinnett’s households have responded, higher than the state and national rate. However, others need to respond to ensure that every resident is counted.

Completing the census takes less than 10 minutes and can be done online, by phone, or by mail.

For those who have not been counted yet, census takers may soon knock on your door to collect data from your household.  Filling out the census is required by law. Data from the census shapes all communities, such as it determines how billions of dollars in federal funding flow into states and communities. The results determine also how many seats in Congress each state gets.

On a local level, the data is used to determine where and how large to build essential community resources like fire stations, senior centers, roads, schools, and hospitals. Participating in the census helps local leaders make these important decisions. It also helps businesses decide where to open new locations.

If you’re interested in playing a role in the 2020 Census, you are invited to apply for a position as a field representative for the U.S. Census Bureau. Currently, positions pay from $14.95 to $22.92 per hour, in addition to  57 cents per mile driven while on duty.

NOTABLE

Artist adds color to manhole covers on 2 Norcross trails

Have you noticed something new on Norcross’ nature walks – besides the natural beauty?  A local artist, Angelika Domschke, has painted the concrete manhole covers on Hunter Walker Trail and the Johnson Dean Forest Park with colorful, symbolic images.

Angelike Domschke with one of her painted concrete manhole covers.

Norcross is known as Bee City; pollinator flowers and beehives aptly adorn the previously unsightly concrete structures on Hunter Walker Trail. A frog and a salamander images are happily residing beside the creek in Johnson Dean Forest Park.  The work was commissioned by Norcross Special Project Manager Sonya Isaac. Ms. Domschke has turned bland cement into artist’s canvases with her joyful paintings. Many people stopped to watch the work in progress and voiced their approval. 

Domschke has a doctorate in chemistry and is a skilled sculptor as well as a painter.  She was chosen from among Norcross Gallery and Studios (formerly Kudzu Art Zone) artists to complete the beautification of these trails. She has created custom 3D and bas relief sculptures as well as paintings for many clients in her native Germany, Switzerland and United States. Samples of her work can be seen at her website:  www.angelikart.com and in her studio at Norcross Gallery and Studios on Carlyle Street in downtown Norcross.

Norcross Gallery and Studios is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is necessary to make an appointment to visit at this time. The address is 116 Carlyle Street in Norcross and the phone is 770-840-9844. 

Suwanee medical student to sit on national research board

Pruitt

PCOM Georgia student-doctor Christian Pruitt (DO ’22) of Atlanta was recently appointed to the executive board of the Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents as the national research representative. He says: “I am dedicated to advancing osteopathic student research at both the lab bench and the patient bedside. My mission is to promote and advocate for osteopathic student research,” he said, “as well as to provide guidance and resources that facilitate creative, original and impactful medical research.” Pruitt earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in biological sciences from Georgia State University in Atlanta where he also taught applied medical physiology to pre-medical students. His research experience has focused on orthopedic trauma, as well as on using nanotechnology and microfluidics to target therapeutic delivery across the blood brain barrier.

Jackson EMC Foundation awards $15,000 to 2 area charities

The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $67,400 in grants during its August meeting, including $15,000 to organizations serving Gwinnett County. They include:

  • $10,000 to Adventure Bags, an Auburn-based nonprofit that creates comfort bags and distributes them to displaced children through local DFCS offices, domestic violence shelters, fire departments, group homes and children’s shelters.
  • $5,000 to the Burn Foundation of America, to provide financial assistance with purchasing specialized pressure garments and distraction therapy supplies, which assist in healing and help reduce stress during procedures, for burn patients and their families in all Jackson EMC counties.

Group cleans Chattahoochee River trout spawning area

Despite soggy conditions caused by thunderstorms, a hardy group of volunteers arrived early on a recent Saturday to help clean up Crayfish Creek. Rallied by the Chattahoochee Riverkeepers’ annual “Sweep the Hooch” event, their focus was on one of 40 impacted sites along a 100-mile stretch of the river and its tributaries. At Crayfish Creek alone, volunteers collected over 500 pounds of trash, removed a 200 foot barbed wire fence and worked on removing the carpet of invasive stilt grass. 

Danny Jackson, president of Trout Unlimited’s Oconee River Chapter, noted that the event also helped clear the canvas for a significant stream bank restoration project along the creek. According to Jackson, the confluence of Crayfish Creek and the Chattahoochee River impacts a nearby spawning area for wild trout. Severely degraded by nearby development, restoration involves addressing extensive erosion caused by storm runoff, and reducing the resulting sediment that threatens the trouts’ spawning area. The Gwinnett Soil and Water Conservation District is an ongoing partner in this effort, anticipating a focus on fundraising, public outreach and youth education. 

RECOMMENDED

GwinnettForum needs more recommendations. Scratch your head and remember what you have enjoyed lately. Other people can also enjoy it when you tell them what you have been reading and seeing. We’re out of good recommendations, so get ‘cracking and let us enjoy your thoughts. 

  • An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (150 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next.  Send to: elliott@brack.net 

GEORGIA TIDBIT

Oglethorpe repels the Spanish at battle of Bloody Marsh

Gen. James Oglethorpe attempted to extend his coastal defenses well south of Georgia’s official boundary, stipulated in the colonial charter as “the most southern stream” of the Altamaha River. In 1736 he even began construction of a fort on St. Georges Island at the mouth of the St. Johns River, barely 35 miles from the Spanish stronghold of St. Augustine, Florida. 

Spanish anger over this intrusion ultimately forced the abandonment of Fort St. George, but Oglethorpe continued pressing to expand southward. Some scholars suspect that he may even have attempted to redraw versions of early Georgia maps to show fictive branches of the Altamaha River connecting to the St. Johns, thus implicitly redrawing the colony’s southern border. His ambitions, thwarted at St. George’s Island, paid off in 1738, when he persuaded the British Parliament to send a regiment of nearly 700 soldiers to the colony. The majority of these men were stationed at Fort Frederica, but Oglethorpe also posted 200 men farther south at Fort St. Andrews and a smaller company of perhaps 50 or 60 men on the southern end of Cumberland Island.

The first real test of Oglethorpe’s coastal defenses came with the War of Jenkins’ Ear. After an unsuccessful siege of St. Augustine in 1740, Georgians retreated into their fortifications to await the inevitable Spanish retaliation. Finally, in 1742, led by the Spanish governor Manuel De Montiano, 36 naval vessels carrying 2,000 infantrymen appeared off the Georgia coast. The first alarm was raised by the garrison at Fort William, which successfully kept several Spanish galleons from entering the inland waterway. 

Forewarned of the invasion, Oglethorpe mounted a spirited defense of his main base at Fort Frederica, culminating in the famous Battle of Bloody Marsh on St. Simons Island, in which his forces soundly defeated the Spanish. While retreating toward St. Augustine, however, Montiano drew level with Fort William on Cumberland Island and launched a massive assault on the tiny garrison, commanded by Lieutenant Alexander Stewart. Once again Georgia’s defenses held firm, and the Spaniards were compelled to withdraw.

The end of King George’s War in 1748 brought a downsizing of Georgia’s defenses. With the disbanding of the regiment in 1749, the southern portions of the colony, once the focus of Oglethorpe’s ambitious energies, entered a prolonged period of neglect and inactivity. 

Small garrisons continued to be posted for some time at Fort Frederica and Fort William, but Fort St. Andrews, Fort St. Simon, and the Amelia scout station rapidly fell into disuse. Probably by 1758 even Fort Frederica had been abandoned. During the American Revolution, British and American forces moved back and forth across the region repeatedly, attempting on several occasions to reoccupy Fort William on Cumberland Island. Such efforts, however, were brief and inconsequential. By the 1780s the coastal defense system pioneered by Oglethorpe fifty years earlier had been all but forgotten. It had served its purpose.

MYSTERY PHOTO

Lovely spot seems like a good place to visit

Today’s Mystery Photo is a beautiful area, and no doubt a great place to visit. Some of you have been to this place, but may not recognize the place from this angle. Put your photo-head on, and come up with your answer to this mystery. Send your answer to elliott@brack.net, including your hometown. 

Last week a person from away was the only one to recognize a local scene, that of the Sugar Hill Community Garden. The photo came from Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill. 

The venerable sleuth, George Graf of Palmyra, Va. clued out the spot, telling us: “The Sugar Hill Community Garden, located at Gary Pirkle Park, is a project that involves the citizens of the community in a quite unique way. Citizens can now garden and grow different crops and vegetables for their personal usage and to give to friends in this convivial place.” 

CALENDAR

Remembrance Program on the anniversary of 9/11, will be at 11 a.m. at the Peachtree Corners Veterans Monument on the Town Green.  There will be a moment of silence for the victims, prayer and words of remembrance. Afterward the group will adjourn to Fire and Stone Pizza Kitchen, for lunch specials and a free lunch for first responders.  If you are interested in volunteering to help with this event, should email erica@mccurdysolutions.com.

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© 2020, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA.

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Author: GwinnettForum.com is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA. We encourage your opinions. Send Feedback to: elliott@brack.net.
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