PUBLIC SAFETY NIGHT: The Snellville Police Department will be out in force, hosting its annual Public Safety Night June 5. The free event, also sponsored by the Snellville Citizens’ Police Academy Alumni Association, will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on the Towne Green in front of City Hall. The event will feature police vehicles with anti-crime accessories, tactical equipment and weapons and the Special Response Team. County fire equipment and personnel, emergency medical service members and first responders will be on hand offering information. Area mascots and activities will be onsite to entertain children and there will be door prizes. Snellville Officer Russ Mayfield sat smiling Landon and Chase Thompson on his motorcycle at the event last year.
IN THIS EDITIONTODAY’S FOCUS: Cites Quotations from President Donald Trump about Women
EEB PERSPECTIVE: High Level Discussion About Death Is Beautifully Beneficial
SPOTLIGHT: Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
FEEDBACK: Suggests Placing Mental Health Centers on School Campuses
McLEMORE’S WORLD: No Emails
UPCOMING: Here’s List of Candidates To Be Voted on in the July 24 Runoff
NOTABLE: Duluth Cycling Clinic Focuses on Disease Prevention and Health
RECOMMENDED: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Savannah River Ecology Research Site Among Best Understood in World
MYSTERY PHOTO: Here Are Results from Two Mysteries
CALENDAR: Duluth’s 10th Annual Fine Arts Gala Coming June 2
TODAY’S FOCUSCites quotations from President Donald Trump about women
By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
MAY 29, 2018 | Quotations from President Donald Trump tell of his support for women.
“Nobody respects women more than I do.”
Our President has also stated: “I will be phenomenal to the women. I mean, I want to help women.” According to polls, 35 to 40 percent of American women must believe Trump in that they support him. I have gathered a few quotes from a wide variety of sources to examine the veracity of Trump’s assertions:
“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them. You can do anything.”
“Certain guys tell me they want women of substance, not beautiful models. It just means they can’t get beautiful models.”
Once the president was asked: “Do you believe in punishment for abortion – yes or no – as a principle?”
Trump: “The answer is there has to be some form of punishment.”
“For the woman?”
Trump: “Yeah, there has to be some form.”
When he said: “Nobody respects women more than me,” three minutes later in that third Presidential debate he uttered: “Such a nasty woman.”
“She does have a very nice figure… If [Ivanka] weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”
“A person who is very flat chested is very hard to be a 10.”
Trump regarding Republican Presidential Candidate Carly Fiorina: “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president? I mean, she’s a woman… and I’m not supposed to say bad things. But really, folks, come on. Are we serious?”
“I like kids. I mean, I won’t do anything to take care of them. I’ll supply funds. And she’ll take care of the kids.”
“If I were running ‘The View,’ I’d fire Rosie [O’Donnell]. I mean, I’d look her right in that fat, ugly face of hers, I’d say, ‘Rosie, you’re fired.’”
“Women: You have to treat them like (expletive).”
“I wouldn’t say I’m a feminist. I think that would be, maybe, going too far.’’
Yes, Mr. President. On that one point, we do agree.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
High-level discussion about death is beautifully beneficial
By Elliott Brack
Editor and publisher, GwinnettForum
MAY 29, 2018 | “DNR” is an abbreviation that means Department of Natural Resources to some.
But is can also mean “Do Not Resuscitate” to those who want no extended medical procedures or apparatus hooked to their body in case of a serious illness.
The author Barbara Ehrenreich has jumped into this arena with her new book, Natural Causes. She argues that: “Being old enough to die is an achievement, not a defeat, and the freedom it brings is worth celebrating.”
To those of us of a certain age, she brings a refreshingly pleasant look to the dying process, accepting it as natural, and argues forcefully against a body accepting modern medical efforts to keep the body going, as unnatural.
Essentially, she asks us: who is in charge?
Ehrenreich
Are we going to allow others, our family, our doctor, even strangers, to make this determination? Shouldn’t this be something that the living being of ourselves should make that decision?
She asked: “We seek control over our bodies, our minds and our lives. But who or what will be doing the controlling?”
Ms. Ehrenreich, now age 76, was born in Butte, Montana. For years she did as most of us do, almost blindly accepting the advice and diagnosis of medical professionals as something like the Holy Grail. The former Guggenheim Fellow had check ups, procedures, and found herself often put off by these standard procedures. Eventually, she began to question whether her dentist really needed another X-ray, or even whether she should be going through regular check-ups.
She brings us up to date of the history of physical exams: “The annual physical exam can be seen as a ritual. Introduced in the 1920s, and recommended by the American Medical Association about a decade later, the actual physical loomed as a high street hurdle in the life of any health-conscious medical consumer, a trial, so to speak, to determine innocence (health) or guilt (disease).”
Such exams, with their various tests, can give a doctor a number, or an inkling of what is happening to the body. But all too often, this merely results in more tests, “to make sure,” and the body is probed, x-rayed, and studied. All this in the name of what the medical community contends as good health, but what cannot always be confirmed to work that way.
What most of us hope for in death is that we do not have a long, agonizing stretch of time on the death bed, but go out comfortably, even in our sleep, or just by collapsing. (That’s one place the “DNR” comes in.)
One way to die without extreme procedures is to make sure that it is us, the person death is confronting, who is in charge, not the medical profession. Extending our life does not always make it better.
The author suggests that we should insist on “a non medical death, without the torment of heroic interventions to prolong life by a few hours or days. Furthermore we now potentially have the means to make the end of life more comfortable, if not actually pleasant, hospices, painkillers and psychedelics even, in some places, laws permitting assisted suicide.”
Barbara Ehrenreich has done mankind a service by entering into this discussion.
Her other works include Nickel and Dimed, On (Not) Getting By in America (2001); Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream (2005); and Bright-sided (2009), on the dangers of ‘positive thinking’ at the expense of, among other things, adequate healthcare.
May we all live a good life, even with death.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
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 Chamber of Commerce. The Gwinnett Chamber is the forum for business, government, education, healthcare, arts/culture/entertainment, and philanthropic and public-service communities to come together to advance our region’s economy and enrich Gwinnett’s quality of life. The Gwinnett Chamber strengthens existing businesses, facilitates the growth of quality job opportunities and ensures success continues to live here.
- For more details, go to gwinnettchamber.org.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
Suggests placing mental health centers on school campuses
Editor, the Forum:
As a former teacher, counselor, and a private practice psychologist I believe schools should each have a mental health center on campus. Good teachers and attentive counselors aided by mental health professionals would, I believe, be able to identify and treat those troubled young people before they become school shooters.
Right now schools have counselors on staff. They have concerned teachers who know which students need help. All we need then is to fund mental health centers within our schools. This would be a better solution to make our schools safer than arming teachers.
— Alan Schneiberg, Buford
Random short thoughts about results of recent primary
Editor, the Forum:
Hillary took all of the counties close in to Atlanta. Signage in Gwinnett was way down. I saw mostly judge signs. Dems are more motivated. Republicans have to campaign like Trump, who did not win here.
— Byron Gilbert, 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
McLEMORE’S WORLDNo emails
- For more of Bill McLemore’s cartoons, see his page on Facebook.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Here’s a list of candidates to be voted on in the July 24 runoff
There’s still work to be done by the voters in the 2018 Georgia primary election. Voters must return to the polls on July 24 for the runoff primary, to determine which of the top two candidates will win the nomination.
Republican voters will find six races on the runoff ballot, while Democratic votes have only one race to decide, that of the nominee for the 7th District Congress seat.
Voters must vote for the same party in the runoff that they voted for in the May 22 primary.
Here is the list of people facing the ballot on that date in the various races:
For Governor (GOP): Casey Cagle vs. Brian Kemp.
Lieutenant Governor (GOP): David Shafer vs. Geoff Duncan.
Secretary of State (GOP): Brad Raffensperger vs. David Belle Isle.
U.S. Representative, 7th District (Demo.): David Kim vs. Carolyn Bourdeaux.
State Representative, District 97 (GOP): Bonnie Rich vs. Kipper Tabb.
State Representative, District 102 (GOP): Paula Hastings vs. Zack Procter.
State Representative, District 105 (GOP): Donna Sheldon vs. Robin Mauck.
Judge of Superior Court (Davis Seat) (Non-partisan): Tracey Mason vs. Veronica Cope.
Those winning the runoff will be nominees for the November 6 General Election. However, the winner of the non partisan race for Superior Judge will be elected in the runoff race.
Norcross market teams with Boston firm to present cooking classes
Norcross Community Market, in partnership with Summerour Middle School and Boston-based food and nutrition nonprofit Oldways, is bringing “A Taste of African Heritage” community cooking classes to Norcross this summer. The six-class series will take place from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays from June 4 through July 16, excluding July 2, at Summerour Middle School, 321 Price Place, in Norcross.
The free, hands-on classes aim to address health disparities frequently reported in African-American communities by teaching participants to adopt healthy eating habits based on traditional African foods. Participants learn about spices and herbs, greens, grains, beans, tubers, fruits, and vegetables that have sustained Africans and their descendants for generations.
Johnisha Levi, Oldways’ African Heritage and Health program manager, says: “Participating in ‘A Taste of African Heritage’ is a hands-on way to learn about and honor African food heritage, as well as to reflect on participants’ own unique family traditions.”
The program has served more than 6,500 people since 2012. Participants have reported losing weight, reducing blood pressure, and sustaining positive lifestyle changes taught in the class, such as eating more plant-based foods and cooking at home.
- For more information, visit the Oldways website at oldwayspt.org. Register for classes by email to norcrosscommunitymarket@gmail.com. Spaces are limited.
Duluth cycling clinic focuses on disease prevention and health
A Duluth boutique cycling studio is focusing its business on disease prevention and health promotion.
Seday
Dynamic Cycle Studio is the first boutique style cycle studio in Gwinnett, which opened in June 2017. The owner, Dr. Jay Seday is a clinical researcher who primarily focuses on obesity, as well as having 10 years work experience in a cardiology practice. With her background, Dr. Seday decided to focus on disease prevention and health promotion. At Dynamic Cycle Studio, her customers experience great workouts as well as have a one-on-one consultation for their health and fitness goals.
Her studio is located at Suite 103, 2400 Satellite Boulevard in Duluth.
Dr. Seday grew up in Pensacola, Fla. She has been a clinical researcher at Emory University since 2008, and has lived in Gwinnett for 13 years. She is a bachelor’s degree in nursing, a master’s in public health and a M.D. degree, all from the University of South Alabama.
Why cycling? She explains: “I stepped into an indoor cycling class for the first time about 11 years ago…there was something about that experience I will never forget. It was fun and at the same time a great workout. To me, a cycle class is more than just being on the bike to pedal, push and repeat. Not only do I get physical benefits, but it has been my refuge from a stressful job and life which is therapeutic and soul cleansing.
“Teaching cycling now for 10 years, I can say I found my passion in life. I love motivating and encouraging people to reach their fitness goals. With my training in the medical field as well as doing extensive research work on obesity related studies, I feel this gives me that unique advantage to explain the effects and mechanism of exercise on the body to my student. I’m able to create a workout program and provide a nutritional guidance tailored to each individual. My goal is to provide an amazing and dynamic experience in each and every class where my students are motivated, entertained but most importantly educated to pursue a healthy lifestyle.”
She also points out that Cycling is a low impact exercise, and easier on the joints. A person can burn up to 900 calories in 45 minutes, while improving their cardiovascular health, lower their blood pressure and cholesterol, while building endurance and muscle strength.
Nutritional tips are given at the end of each class. Cost: $10 per class. There is no membership fee.
McDaniel Farm Park near Gwinnett Place reflects 1930s life
Gwinnett County’s McDaniel Farm Park is a 134-acre tract of farmland that reflects 1930s agrarian life in the county. The park offers historic farm buildings as well as a patchwork of forest, pasture, and cultivated fields.
The property, near Gwinnett Place Mall off McDaniel Farm Road, includes a late 19th century farmhouse, an early 20th century barn, a sharecropper’s cabin, a carriage house, and several other outbuildings. The land is relatively unchanged since the 1820 land lottery. In 1859, Eli McDaniel bought it for $450.
The farm was handed down through generations, and was part of the early-1900s cotton boom until the boll weevil decimated the industry just before the 1920s. The McDaniels worked with tenant families until World War II. While new technology eliminated tenant farming, McDaniel Farm remained a working farm through 1999, even as urban and suburban development sprang up on all sides.
The County acquired the land, located near Duluth, for a park in 2000. The property now has a farm-themed playground, a dog park, a pavilion, trails, and other facilities. Tours are available, and it is the location for several events.
RECOMMENDEDAn American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Reviewed by Karen Harris, Stone Mountain: Newlyweds Roy and Celestial seem primed for a wonderful life. He is up and coming executive and she is an accomplished artist. They live in Atlanta.. During a trip to visit her parents in Louisiana, Roy is picked up and charged with a heinous crime which he did not commit. Sentenced to 12 years, Roy’s hope slowly erodes when it appears like he will not get an appeal. Celestial is devastated by this turn of events and leans upon an old family friend with whom she becomes involved after two years. When Roy is suddenly released after five years, the past and present collide, and these characters must discern what the future will hold. An American Marriage handles several themes beautifully with characters that are at once likeable and despicable at the same time. A sobering but hopeful ending makes this a story not to be missed.
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
GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA TIDBITSavannah River ecology research site among best understood in world
In 1951 Eugene Odum, a professor at the University of Georgia, contracted with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to conduct ecological research on the Savannah River Site, a 300-square-mile nuclear production facility located in Aiken, S.C., just over the Georgia border (approximately 20 miles from Augusta). Odum and his students studied the ecosystems of the Savannah River Site and in the process set the stage for the establishment of a permanent on-site laboratory in 1961—the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.
The lab
Because ecological research at the laboratory has been funded continuously since the 1950s, the Savannah River Site is one of the best-understood land areas in the world. Hundreds of graduate theses, thousands of scientific papers, and numerous books have been published as a result of this work. Students have come from all 50 states and abroad to study at the laboratory. About 150 people are employed at the lab, which has a total annual budget of more than $8 million.
Work at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory has focused on the ecological effects of nuclear production activities as well as the basic ecology of the site. Early studies were conducted on the effects of radiation on ecosystems and on movement of radioisotopes in these systems.
A dominant research theme of the 1970s and 1980s was “thermal ecology,” the study of the ecological affects of hot water effluents from nuclear reactors. Later studies have focused on biogeochemical ecology and restoration of contaminated sites. The studies that have been concerned with basic ecology have tended to focus on the field biology of individual plant and animal species and on old-field succession (the establishment of plants on abandoned cropland). Organisms from the microfauna of grassland and forest soils to bobcats and feral hogs have undergone close scrutiny. The successional studies are unusual because they have been carried out in the same area for half a century. These long-term studies have revealed that there is considerable temporal variation in ecosystems.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Here are the results from two mysteries
For today’s Mystery Photo, check out who this statue represents, and of course, where it is. This could prove to be a relatively easy Mystery Photo. Send your thoughts to ebrack2@gmail.com and include your home town.
Because of a recent email problem, today’s let’s give the results of the prior Mystery Photo of May 22: Two people recognized the Frank Kellert photo: Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill and Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. Allan wrote: “The photo is showing the Jan Hus Memorial in the Old Town Square in Prague, Czech Republic. The huge monument depicts Jan Hus and his victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants. Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Hus believed that mass should be given in the local language, rather than in Latin. Hus was ultimately condemned by the Council of Constance and burned at the stake in 1415. This led to the Hussite Wars.”
George Graf of Palmyra, Va. wrote of this Mystery: “John Hus was a religious thinker and reformer, born in Southern Bohemia in 1369. He initiated a reform movement based on the ideas of John Wycliffe. His followers became known as Hussites. The Catholic Church did not condone such uprisings, and Hus was excommunicated in 1411 and burned at the stake in Constance on July 6, 1415, having been condemned by the Council of Constance, in an unfair trial.
Now the most recent Mystery Photo actually came from George Graf. Only Allan Peel recognized it:
He writes: “”This week’s mystery photo is the Frick House in Pittsburgh, Pa. It is the former residence of Henry Clay Frick and his family. Today, this historical house is maintained by the Frick Art and Historical Center which provides daily tours. Henry Clay Frick is one of the early Pittsburgh industrialist who made his original fortune by producing coke used in the steel industry. He was well known for his anti-union sentiments and the controversial confrontation with workers at the site of the Homestead works of the Carnegie Steel Company.
The Frick house was originally built in the 1860s. It was purchased by the Fricks shortly after their marriage in the 1880s. The house was located in what was formerly called millionaires row, but today has transitioned into a more modest neighborhood. The house was the primary residence of the Fricks up through 1905, and after that the family moved to New York. The Fricks never sold the home and it remained an intermittent part of their family life over the years. In 1981, their daughter Helen Clay Frick returned to the house to live full time, and stayed there until her death in 1984. She left provisions for the family home to be restored and opened to the public.
“Her wishes were carried out in 1990. Today, the home provides visitors with an intimate glimpse into the life of the Frick family more than a century ago and insight into late-nineteenth-century life in general.”
CALENDAR
10th Annual Gala of the Duluth Fine Arts League will be June 2 at 7 p.m. on the Duluth Town Green. The casual event will include a Live Auction, Proof of the Pudding dinner, lawn games, a DJ, jewelry raffles, and other activities. The proceeds go to the Duluth High School Arts Scholarships Program and for a future art piece in Duluth.
Generations Expo for 50+boomers and seniors will be at the Infinite Energy Center in Duluth on Saturday, June 2 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Adults over 50 or those planning for a loved one, or looking to their future, will find a world of Generations E-information, advice and opportunity at the fourth annual event, presented by Gwinnett Medical Center and the Gwinnett Daily Post.
The Peachtree Corners Festival will be on June 9-10 and seeks volunteers to help make the magic happen. Volunteer opportunities, as short as two hours, are available for assisting exhibitors with setting up booths, as well as support during the festival for hydration and rest breaks. The car show will also need people to direct cars and help drivers, while the dining area will need to be kept clean for guests, and the hospitality suite will need to be manned. Visit PeachtreeCornersFestival.org and click Volunteers to get started. Every volunteer receives the exclusive 2018 Peachtree Corners Festival t-shirt. Teens and groups are welcome.
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