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TODAY'S ISSUE
Council for Quality Growth marks 20th anniversary soon
By Michael E. Paris
President and CEO, Council for Quality Growth
Special to GwinnettForum.com

APRIL 8, 2005 -- It was a time of crisis in Gwinnett in 1985 when the Council for Quality Growth came into being. Gwinnett was being forced to address head-on tough challenges, as we approached long-awaited economic development, yet was coping with infrastructure shortfalls and rapidly changing public attitude as Gwinnett began to grow at an unparalleled rate.

Gwinnett was faced with its first moratorium on construction. Champions were needed for major capital improvements, and there was help needed with a comprehensive road and transit study.

Local business and economic development leaders knew there had to be a better way to share ideas and have their voice be heard. Developers, builders, bankers, architects, engineers and others who were providing the spark for Gwinnett's economic engine responded by forming the Council for Quality Growth. While different in their perspectives, they united. They shared a common commitment ---- to promote continued, balanced and responsible growth in Gwinnett County.

Immediately the Council gained credibility and became known as "the" organization that was the catalyst for consensus building when it came to growth issues. The Council provided solid information, and offered successful forums for discussion of responsible development and brought experts to the table that enabled sound, well-founded policy decisions.

A perfect example of this is that Gwinnett's sewer moratorium was only in place for six months, thanks to the Council offering viable alternatives. The work of the Council in the early years was sometimes considered as reactionary. Today, we like to be known as the organization to seek out when long-rang planning is required. We are the organization that seeks out best practices around the globe and stimulates innovate thinking.

Together, the Council and its members have made significant contributions to the infrastructure and regulatory environment of Gwinnett. The private sector expertise of our members has represented the Council at many tables in critical public sector policy debates. The Council has been at the center of the issues during a time of enviable growth, aggressive long-term planning and unprecedented public and private sector commitment to Gwinnett's quality of life and future.

As the Council has grown, so has its reach. A 2002 membership survey revealed that 80 percent of our members had development interests outside of Gwinnett and across multiple jurisdictions. Responding, in January 2003, the Board of Directors voted to expand the Council's focus to include the entire Metro Atlanta region to better serve its membership. Undoubtedly, the Council's mission, to promote balanced and responsible growth, has taken a more elevated platform representing the interests of the growth industry on local, regional and statewide initiatives.

We invite the community to come celebrate Gwinnett's prosperity and share in the Council's 20th anniversary celebration to be held on April 14, 2005, at the Gwinnett Center. Governor Sonny Perdue will be our honored guest speaker.

We will recognize founding members, past presidents, past board members and directors, sustaining members and others. Those interested in attending this event should call the Council at 770-813-3370. Reservations must be made in advance Reservations should be made by Monday, April 11th.

ELLIOTT BRACK
Government-funded propaganda against American tradition
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

No doubt many of your have strong feelings about some of these and other public topics facing us today.

Now the question: should tax money be spent to try to influence you and the public, one way or the other, on these topics?

Essentially, that's what our Federal Government is doing these days And you are paying for it, even though you may not agree with the stance that the government is taking.

It's not exactly like paying for vital public services, such as health care, or public safety, or educating our children, is it? Most Americans agree that government should operate these basic governmental services. They understand the need for funding these vital services.

We're not talking about elected public officials having views on public topics. That's normal. What we are concerned about is an agency of government promoting an issue with taxpayer money.

The revelations about government promoting issues has come to light recently, during the Bush Administration. Yet this could have happened in other previous administrations, with the process not being uncovered. We say that since we suspect that for such practices to be going on, it would take the cooperation of what you could call "governmental bureaucrats" to bolster such efforts. We suspect such career bureaucrats sometimes have axes to grind, and would jump at the chance to influence public policy at taxpayer expense.

This influence has come in the form of governmental agencies sending out pre-packaged television segments, to be broadcast as real news. But no: they have been nothing more but the views that agency, such as the Department of Agriculture or the Transportation Security Administration, taped as if the stories were coming from professional news organizations.

In a related field, there have been revelations recently that the Bush Administration has also used public funds in another way that many would consider preposterous: paying newsmen to promote certain topics. In a gross violation of the ethics of journalism, still some journalists took the money and callously promoted the viewpoint of government. It sickens the heart to hear that professional journalists would stoop to such shenanigans.

And then came revelations that fake reporters are being planted in White House briefings. You wonder what type of aroma will turn up next.

There's another way to look at these machinations: they all are basically governmental propaganda. That's right, the government seeking to influence the people through slanting stories and ideas.

Americans get a bitter taste in their mouths when you speak of public-generated propaganda. Many remember that before World War II, the Nazis of Germany were stymieing ideas by burning books, demonizing the Jews, and in general, seeking to channel the thinking of Germans toward the ideals of the Third Reich.

A free people won't put up with government taking their tax monies and seeking to mold the people to a government-imposed norm. It is playing with fire. It is no way to run a free country. Eventually the people will turn against those who seek to mold public policy in such a way.

It's not the American way. And we suspect, it's not what any people, in any free land, would want of their government.

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is the Gwinnett Philharmonic, celebrating its 10th Anniversary Season in 2005. The Gwinnett Philharmonic offers great music to the community through concerts by the full orchestra and also by chamber ensembles. The next concert is May 16 at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center, featuring The Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta. Keiko Yamashita and William Ransom will play Brahms: Hungarian Dances for piano, four-hands; Daniel Cole will sing Brahms; and the Blair String Quartet with Mr. Ransom will perform the amazing Dohnanyi Quintet for piano and strings. For tickets call Ticketmaster at 404-249-6400 or visit the Web site for more information: www.gwinnettphilharmonic.org.

I have enjoyed reading you on-line Forum. The piece by James J. Murtagh, M.D was great.

For two years I, too, had sleep apnea. I had gone to a sleep disorder clinic in Redmond, Wash. They prescribed a machine for me to wear at night that would help me. I did not ever pick it up.

One year later my executive director had a minor stroke and told us about her problem with sleep apnea. The next day I called the sleep disorder clinic and they sent out a breathing machine. I have used it ever since and am a new person. I have 10 times more energy and now realize that I was a walking zombie for about a year before I started using this simple mask. I will gladly write to any one personally if they need encouragement to seek help with this needless ailment.

The legal and political battle over Terri Schiavo has exposed the Religious Right's radical agenda and its extraordinary power in Washington, D.C. Now Americans should expect that influence to be aimed at the nation's judiciary.

Religious Right forces used Mrs. Schiavo as a symbol in their drive to make government apply their fundamentalist beliefs to everyone. Congress and President Bush intervened in a personal family matter. They failed, and now Religious Right leaders will step up their assault on our nation's courts.

Fundamentalist activists will demand that the Senate confirm judges who will advance their agenda, which includes repealing church-state separation, overturning reproductive rights, blocking stem-cell research and rolling back civil rights protections.

The Schiavo tragedy was seized upon by fundamentalists and their political allies in a bid to force their narrow moral code on everyone. They harbor great contempt for the nation's judiciary and the constitutional concept of separation of powers.

You started off your article for this week with: "What can we learn from the 2005 session of the Georgia Legislature? Mainly one lesson: there is not much difference in parties, no matter who is in power."

This lesson is very true, but you missed one additional point about how true it is: a not insignificant number of Republicans in this session of the Legislature were Democrats during the last session. Not much difference indeed.

Purafil, Inc. of Doraville has been chosen to receive a 2004 Clean Air Excellence Award for its Enersave Program and OnGuard Monitors from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Purafil receives recognition in the "Clean Air Technology" category, which acknowledges technological developments that reduce air pollution from either stationary, mobile or area sources.

EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson states in giving the Fifth Annual Clean Air Excellence Awards: "Your innovative projects and creative programs demonstrate our national resolve for cleaner air and a healthier America. These unique contributions are an important part of air quality improvement across our nation. Thank you for your outstanding work and dedication."

Enersave is an energy-savings program that reduces the need for outside air by as much as 75 percent in commercial buildings offering significant savings on energy and operational costs. Purafil's OnGuard monitors are the world's first and only instruments capable of providing continuous, real-time measurements of airborne corrosion levels.

Purafil, Inc., is a leading manufacturer of gas-phase air purification systems designed to provide clean environments for a variety of applications in the commercial, industrial, museum, semiconductor and water-wastewater treatment industries. Purafil is supported by a global network of manufacturers' representatives and maintains over 20,000 installations in over 50 countries.

Library Friends of the Foundation will be having their first fundraiser with guest speaker, André Dubus III, author of House of Sand and Fog on April 16, 2005 at the Gwinnett Center. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. with Mr. Dubus meeting and greeting guests. He will have a presentation, followed by a book signing.

House of Sand and Fog was an Oprah Pick and released as a motion picture in 2003. Proof of the Pudding will serve heavy hors d'oeuvres. There will be a silent auction featuring original art, vacation getaways, rare books, and gift certificates.

André Dubus III has written a book that speeds along with all the force of an out-of-control train, yet he has drawn characters that are rich and complex. His characters are deeply flawed and almost heartbreakingly human in their failure to make the decisions that will set their lives back on course, characters who in turn inspire in the reader deep frustration, anger and understanding. The author, son of the acclaimed short story master Andre Dubus, elegantly examines the complexities of love, justice and the search for the American dream.

All proceeds from the Dubus appearance benefit the Library's Endowment Account at the Community Foundation of Norhteast Georgia. Tickets are priced at $50 per person. For information or tickets call 770-978-5154 or email nskellam@gwinnettpl.org

Congressman John Linder is planning a series of town hall meetings in the district in coming weeks.

He will be at North Gwinnett High School on Saturday, April 16, from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. the meeting will be in the Commons Area.

He is also scheduling meetings on April 16 from 9-10 a.m. a the Cherokee County Justice Center, and on April 23 in Bartow and Paulding Counties.

"I am currently reading Kingdom Assignment and in a word, it's awesome! Written by Denny and Leesa Bellesi of California, it is sure to change your life and your heart as you are exposed to the awesome adventure of making a difference with your life! Very encouraging, very exciting! It will be sure to have more people serving and helping in their community and sphere of influence.

ENCYCLOPEDIA TIDBIT
4/8: Henry Ellis brings stability, order to colony of Georgia

In 1752 a committee of Parliament called the Board of Trade acquired the authority to nominate colonial officials. George Montagu-Dunk, Lord Halifax, the board's president, intended Georgia's charter to be a model for other American colonies.

John Reynolds, the first royal governor of Georgia, proved ineffective and was recalled at the end of 1756. The second royal governor, Henry Ellis, established a sound foundation for government during his four-year administration. Henry Ellis was a member of the Irish Protestant landed gentry. He might have been named the first royal governor of Georgia except that in 1754 he was out to sea as captain of his vessel, Earl of Halifax. Ellis disembarked in Charleston, S.C., on January 26, 1757, and proceeded to Savannah.

Ellis deserves to be remembered as the second founder of Georgia, after General James Oglethorpe. Ellis taught Georgians the art of self-government. He explained the need for a budget and for raising taxes to support expenditures; he quieted factionalism; and he proposed necessary legislation establishing public credit, regulating Indian trade, clarifying land titles, and defending the province by forts, including one around Savannah.

Mindful of his orders to establish counties, in 1758 Ellis proposed the establishment of eight electoral districts called parishes. The legislation wisely refrained from imposing the established church upon such dissenters as the Lutheran Salzburgers at Ebenezer. Ellis tried to abolish slavery by proposing legislation to free mulattoes, thereby creating a class between white and black members of society, and freeing all slaves when they reached the age of 30. In that effort he failed.

Ellis is best remembered for his skill in dealing with Indians on a personal basis. He arranged a settlement of the troublesome Bosomworth claims, winning the gratitude of the influential Mary Musgrove Bosomworth. He managed to retain the friendship of the Creek Nation even while the Cherokees conducted raids throughout backcountry South Carolina and Georgia in 1760. He asserted Georgia's right to control the Indian trade west of the Savannah River and refused to recognize South Carolina's claim to military jurisdiction over Georgia. In short, he found Georgia in an unformed-almost chaotic-condition and left it as a functioning enterprise with the tools necessary for survival.

Poor health forced Ellis to leave Georgia in 1760. A grateful Lord Halifax appointed him governor of Nova Scotia. Ellis never went to his new post, however, because, as an expert in American affairs, his advice was useful to the new secretary of state, Charles Wyndham, Lord Egremont. Ellis thus returned to England.

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