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Issue 10.52 | Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010 TODAY'S FOCUS ELLIOTT BRACK'S PERSPECTIVE FEEDBACK UPCOMING NOTABLE ALSO INSIDE _:: IN THE
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TODAY'S FOCUS
BUFORD, Ga., Sept. 28, 2010 -- I am running for Georgia's lieutenant governor for the Libertarian party.
What I stand for, and what the Libertarian party stands for, is urgent! We represent a new moral code - one that was inadvertently left out when we wrote our laws - one that includes and protects the "free market." We are now paying the price for that error. Because
of this fact, our government has become a kind of business. Instead of
an agent which protects the market, government now is the market. It is
a business that profits directly from destroying the free market, destroying
the machine that produces abundance in our country, the abundance that
drives prices down, the competitive spirit that spends most of our profit
on research and development of new ways to create abundance and new solutions
to every problem on this planet. If we cannot see through the rhetoric
against the free market to the truth about the morality of it, we all
lose. Are we done repeating the same mistakes yet? November 2, your vote will determine the answer to this important question. Are we done yet? Are you? As a legitimate business man for the past 16 years, and the proud parent of two great children who are successfully becoming productive adults, I know how a legitimate business operates. I know what the philosophy behind legitimacy is - what is moral and what is not. There is no conflict between a moral business and a moral life. Legitimacy means what is right, or moral. And until we correct our thinking just a bit about that, we can never recover. Our markets are dying and with them, our opportunities and choices. Interestingly enough, no government power can fix this, no matter how much power they ask for, and we surrender to them. No government has ever been able to do a better job of creating jobs, creating wealth than the free market does. I am a champion for the free market. All of our problems can be solved by the competitive nature of the market. The market offers incentives to become better, more productive people. The more productive we can be, the more the supply goes up, the more the prices go down. Lower prices help everyone equally. This is economics 101. As the Constitution unravels, and as our elected leaders break its laws, we can watch the gap between rich and poor grow larger. All the ladders for the poor to climb are being pulled up. The free market builds those ladders every day, and because it hasn't been accepted to be the moral standard, it is going away. Vote for
Dan Barber --
the champion of the free market. EEB PERSPECTIVE SEPT. 28, 2010 -- One group and one individual are probably wishing that an earlier event this year had turned out differently.
We're thinking of the Georgia Republican Party, and of Ray Boyd. You remember Ray: he's the guy who refused to sign the GOP Loyalty Oath, and therefore, was not allowed to run for governor on the Republican ticket. He later mulled a drive to become an independent candidate, for which apparently he could afford to pay. He realized what a daunting challenge it would be to get the signatures required statewide, and decided against a run for the state's top office. We bet many Republicans now look upon his previous efforts a little differently, and maybe even wish the state GOP had been a little more lenient on his efforts to become a Republican candidate. For although some maintain that the GOP candidate, Nathan Deal, has the lead over former Gov. Roy Barnes for governor, there continue new allegations and speculation about the Deal candidacy. And the bad part is that the Republicans are stuck with Deal, since a replacement is not possible under Georgia law within 60 days of the election. After all, with early voting, some have already made their choices about this election. In earlier anticipation of being a candidate for governor, Ray Boyd brought no experience with him in planning to seek the office. He did bring with him a pot full of money. And no doubt many members of the Grand Old Party would have welcomed his face, and would have been pleased that he brought no political baggage to the race, as did some of their other candidates. These days, it is the political and financial baggage that Nathan Deal brings to the race that is frustrating the faithful Republicans. They realize that their party needs to pull from many independent voters, and even from Democrats who sometimes vote Republican, to win the office of governor. And they are wondering if there is too much baggage to turn the race to their advantage. Meanwhile, Roy Barnes sits by, rather quietly, much like Br'er Rabbit, biding his time. Given recent allegations of possible wrong-doing by Mr. Deal, that's Barnes' best position right now. * * * * * Did it bug you to see government giving itself another black eye last week. No other than Georgia's governor, the Republican Sonny Perdue, was the culprit. He and the Georgia Transportation Board failed to lift the expiring toll on Georgia Highway 400, as promised when it was instituted years ago. It is action like this, a sacred agreement between the toll payers and the State of Georgia, that makes people distrust government. Transportation Board member Bobby Parham of Milledgeville was the lone vote against the measure. Three members, David Doss of Rome, Jay Shaw of Lakeland and Sam Wellborn of Columbus, did not vote on the proposal. Sure, we
know: the governor says that continued paying of the toll will provide
funds for major improvements needed in the Georgia 400 corridor. We hear
that. ABOUT OUR SPONSORS
FEEDBACK Editor, the Forum: After the
Tri-State Crematory incident revealed the lack of any regulations requiring
crematories to be licensed and inspected, one might expect Georgia to
now have some of the strictest laws on the books. Conversely, it is business
as usual 'round here: lax regulations, lax enforcement. Begs the question:
Who is watching the only entities legally authorized to incinerate human
bodies?
Remembers forgotten history: Pigeons at Gwinnett Courthouse Editor, the Forum: The aerial photo of the Gwinnett County courthouse, when it was painted white, brought back old memories. Was it painted white by the pigeons roosting in, on, or around it? (Know what I mean?) One almost had to walk under an open umbrella for protection to get in and out without suffering from strategic and close aerial support bombardment from the feathered enemy. There was an annual pigeon-shoot to thin out the ranks. To see those gunners surrounding the square, shotguns in hand, was like seeing a who's who of social and political prominence. Many were in fact the lawyers whose offices encircled the square. I guess this was to help insure there would be no lawsuits from collateral damage to the surrounding buildings from missed shots and flying and falling shot and birds. It appeared to be a major social event, by invitation only. Did the pigeons move away or were they eradicated? Did we grow into being more sophisticated so that it became politically incorrect to try to slaughter them? Did the pigeons retain one or more rogue lawyers to represent them or did it just stop? I demand to know the answers! Another forgotten piece of Gwinnett is Great history.
UPCOMING Gardening enthusiasts will want to flock to Gwinnett Technical College on Friday, October 15. Gwinnett Technical College is hosting several gardening and horticulture events. Among them:
Those interested in attending the book signing for Dooley or the gardening classes must register by visiting www.GwinnettTech.edu/ce and selecting the Hobbies and Personal Enrichment class schedule, or by calling 770-995-9697. Dooley's speaking engagement and book signing are free. The registration fee for the workshops is $10 per session. County plans to extend transportation system for seniors A new transportation system will help Gwinnett seniors and residents with disabilities get around, thanks to funds from the New Freedom Act Grant administered through the Atlanta Regional Commission and MARTA.
Linda Bailey, Gwinnett County Senior Services manager, says: "This grant will allow us to set up a voucher system which will help seniors and persons with disabilities arrange transportation at their convenience. We hope to be able to offer these transportation vouchers to our seniors within six months. Gwinnett County Senior Services operates three active senior centers in Lawrenceville, Norcross and Buford. Services for the older population are offered in the comfort of their homes such as meals delivery, respite care and homemaking duties. For more information, visit the Web site, www.gwinnettseniorservices.com or call the Senior Helpline at 678-377-4150. NOTABLE Emory Eastside
Medical Center is pleased to recognize the winners of the HCA Innovator's
Award. This award is designed to help connect employees to the greater
organization and reward them for innovative ideas.
City of Snellville names new economic development manager The city Snellville announces the appointment of Eric Van Otteren to the position of economic development manager for the city. He previously was with the City of Brunswick, Ga. as economic and community development director. He holds an undergraduate degree in landscape architecture and Master's Degree in city and regional planning from the Ohio State University. Georgia doctors protest governor's joining Care Act lawsuit Georgia Doctors for America members have released a letter expressing outrage at Governor Perdue for joining a 20 state lawsuit to block implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). More that 100 physicians and medical students in Georgia signed a letter stating the lawsuit will harm their patients by delaying Medicaid funding and slowing the implementation of the PPACA in their state. Dr. Vivek Murthy, president of Doctors for America, says: "The lawsuits are a distraction from the real work ahead of us to make sure all of our patients have access to affordable, quality health care. Instead of wasting taxpayer money on politically tainted lawsuits, we need our elected leaders to focus on implementing health reform to ensure our patients get the care they need when they need it." There are over 1.6 million uninsured in Georgia. The new law will finally put health coverage within reach for these Georgia families by prohibiting denial or higher premiums for those with pre-existing conditions, providing subsidies to families and small businesses to purchase insurance, and creating competitive state exchanges where consumers are in control of their health coverage - not insurance companies. Dr. Gayathri Suresh, Doctors for America Georgia State Director, says: "As doctors, we see many patients every day who are sick and unable to receive the care that they deserve. Providing health insurance to people will ensure that many of these patients will have easier access to quality care, feel at greater ease to be able to focus on improving their health."
GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA
(Continued from previous edition) A public foundation is a nongovernmental public charity with the primary purpose of making grants to unrelated organizations or individuals. Community foundations, the best-known category of public foundation, usually qualify as public charities under the Internal Revenue Code because their funding is from multiple sources. Their endowments typically are composed of a number of individual funds. The community foundation's board (or a distributions committee) oversees the grantmaking. Although grants are usually limited to nonprofit organizations within the foundation's geographically defined area, community foundations may manage funds intended to benefit other geographic areas, including those outside the United States. Although 661 community funds made up just 1 percent of all foundations in the United States in 2002, they accounted for more than 8 percent of the grant dollars awarded that year. Ten of those community foundations were located in Georgia and held $519.5 million in assets. Their giving in 2002 amounted to $53.7 million. Although Georgia's largest and oldest community foundation, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, received $27.6 million in gifts in 2002, most of Georgia's community foundations give in the $1-3 million range annually. Other examples of Georgia's community foundations include the North Georgia Community Foundation and the Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area. Other public
foundations include an assortment of grantmaking public charities that
raise and distribute money around a particular topic or population group.
Some focus on specific populations, such as women or children, and others
concentrate on specific fields, such as health, arts, or social change.
Their fund-raising and grant making may be local, regional, national,
or international. Between 1992 and 2002 the number of foundations in Georgia increased dramatically, growing from 636 in 1992 to 1,263 in 2002. The largest increase was in the formation of community foundations, which increased by 233 percent. The dramatic increase in Georgia's foundation assets and giving can be attributed to the formation of large new foundations and an increase in corporate activity in the state, as well as important additions to the endowments of several established foundations. CREDITS GwinnettForum is provided to you at no charge every Tuesday and Friday. If you would like to serve as an underwriter, click here to learn more. Send
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Vince
Dooley Book Signing
- Gwinnett Tech and the Gwinnett County Public Library System will host
Vince Dooley for a book signing at The Busbee Center, Building 700,
on Gwinnett Tech's campus at 10 a.m. Dooley is an avid gardener and
will be discussing and signing his new book, Vince Dooley's Garden:
A Horticultural Journey of a Football Coach.
The
Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners accepted the $84,745 grant recently.
The County will provide $39,731 in matching funds from money previously
allocated to its transportation contract with the state. Currently, limited
transportation assistance is offered to Gwinnett seniors to attend medical
appointments; however, there is a current waiting list of 80 seniors and
arrangements must be made in advance to participate.
