GwinnettForum | Number 20.67 | Sept. 18, 2020
DONATIONS OF NON-PERISHABLE FOOD ITEMS from the members and staff at Peach State Federal Credit Union have been delivered to Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church’s Community Resource Center. The credit union collects donations in each of their 25 branch locations and delivers the items to a food bank or pantry in their service area once a quarter. From left are Jackie Garrett, a volunteer at the Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church Community Resource Center in Norcross, with Deborah Fancher, Business Development Representative for Peach State FCU. Edith Reynolds, coordinator for the church’s Community Resource Center, says that because of the pandemic, “…..more people in our community are experiencing food insecurity. So, we’re so grateful for this contribution from Peach State and their members.” To learn more about the Community Resource Center at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church visit https://www.hmbchurch.net/.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Recognize governmental overspending is inflation, not bankruptcy
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Thoughts of forest fires and raking leaves for fire prevention
ANOTHER VIEW: Many acts of kindness seen even during coronavirus pandemic
SPOTLIGHT: The Gwinnett Stripers
FEEDBACK: Here come hair appointments to enter into the political world
UPCOMING: County seeks input on possible McGinnis Ferry Road interchange
NOTABLE: Fred Dawkins heads Gwinnett Transit Education Forum
RECOMMENDED: The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Patrick Hues Mell was influential educator, minister and chancellor
MYSTERY PHOTO: You may have to research 50 or 51 sites to ID this Mystery Photo
CALENDAR: PCOM Plans Wellness Festival on September 26
Governmental overspending is inflation, not bankruptcy
“It ain’t what you know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” –Mark Twain.
By George Wilson, contributing columnist
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. | Whenever a policy subject comes up in Congress like Social Security, putting more money in education, or expanding health care, some start to discuss that everything must be “paid for” to avoid adding to the federal deficit.
But have you ever noticed the deficit never seems to be a problem when bailing out banks, giving huge tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans, fighting endless futile wars, and a mind-boggling bloated military, when all of these significantly raise the deficit.
Spending or not is a political decision. Spending should not be constrained by arbitrary budget targets or a blind allegiance to so-called balanced budgets.
In her new book, The Deficit Myth, Economist Stephanie Kelton spells out and explores what she calls “Modern Monetary Theory.” They include:
- Myth 1: The Federal government should budget like a household. The truth is, the Federal government is nothing like a household or a private business or even state governments who must balance their budgets .This is because Uncle Sam has something we don’t have: the power to issue U.S. dollars.
- Myth 2: Deficits are evidence of overspending.
- Myth 3: Deficits will burden future generations.
- Myth 4: Deficits are harmful because they crowd out private investments and undermine long-term growth. Fiscal deficits actually increase private savings-and can easily crowd-in private investment.
- Myth 5: Politicians, especially conservative Republicans, propagate these myths because they need an excuse to ignore social programs in desperate need of funding.
- Myth 6: Entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare should always be there for future generations without any cuts. We must work to manage real resources and address changing demographics and the impacts of climate change.
Because it will come up: Italy and Spain and Greece got in trouble because they gave up creating their own money and adopted the European currency. (See Myth 1.)
Moreover, some deficits do matter to a country and here are some real deficits.
- 21 percent of all children in the United States live in poverty.
- Our infrastructure is graded at D +.
- The typical American worker has seen no real wage growth since the 1970s.
- Forty -four million Americans are saddled with 1.7 trillion in student loan debt.
- Millions still don’t have health insurance.
Politicians of both parties should stop using the deficit as a guide to public policy. Instead, they should be advancing legislation aimed at raising living standards and delivering the public investments in education, technology and infrastructure that are critical for long-term prosperity.
In summary, recognize that the risk of overspending is inflation, not bankruptcy, and that we can control inflation.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Thoughts of forest fires and raking leaves for fire prevention
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
SEPT. 18, 2020 | It’s best for me to ignore many of the pronouncements coming from Donald Trump. As for his tweets, I don’t get them, though occasionally one is so outrageous that it pops out at me in news stories.
So, in general, I try to let the people who enjoy the president and his antics read and pass them on to their cohorts, and let me get on with other matters.
Yet this week, when the president was in California campaigning, then visited McClellan Park—the former Air Force base north of Sacramento—and talked about the fires, it got to me. (You note that the president did not actually get off his airplane and come to the fire sites, other than being at the airport near the capital city.)
The president told us that the way to fight the big fires was to use fire prevention. He also told frustrated California officials that not to worry, for “It will start getting cooler. Just you watch.” In reality, facts tell us that it’s been getting hotter with rising summer temperatures in California in the last few years.
Yes, that’s what he said. I heard that on the radio. It seemed a little late to introduce prevention to the infernos that were burning out of control not only in California, but also in Oregon and Washington.
Furthermore, our president told us he realized that these trees have a lot of leaves, and fall to the ground, get dry, catch fire, and help spread the fire once it gets started. Then he reasoned that if we swept up the leaves off the forest floor, that would provide less fuel when a fire started.
Now we know that President Trump is a privileged person, and never had physical jobs (other than playing golf). We wonder if he has ever raked leaves, or used a powered blower to blow leaves. The average homeowner with any trees in their yard has probably been much more experienced in leaf raking or blowing than the president. Actually, I suspect the president has neither raked nor blown the first leaf.
And while talking about California trees, much of the Western forest is composed mostly of pine-type trees, and tend to have more needles than leaves. Of course, the needles are just as prone to catching fire as leaves.
While we in Georgia are subject to forest fires, and have had some large (for us) ones in recent years, Georgia does not compare to California in forest acreage. The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources tells us that there are 33 million acres of forest in California, and that the national Bureau of Land Management and National Parks own and manage 19 million acres, or 57 percent. State and local governments control only three percent, while the rest is private. Georgia has 22 million acres, with 40.62 percent of the state forested.
All told, more than three million acres have burned in California, representing three percent of the state’s total landmass. In terms of acreage, 2020 is already the worst wildfire season in modern history in California.
The president’s comments when in California may not make much difference in whether people will vote for him in November. Though I know very little about California wildfires, I know something about raking and blowing leaves. And I know that federal wildlife and land people employ the most modern methods to manage our forests.
To say that President Trump’s comments were insensitive is redundant, since so many of his pronouncements are. It is, as the president might say, “Sad.”
Local Weather Note: In the 24 hour period ending at 1 p.m. Thursday, at our home in Norcross, the tropical storm rain measured 5.7 inches.
Many acts of kindness seen even during pandemic
By Andy Brack
Publisher, Charleston (S.C.) City Paper
CHARLESTON, S.C. | America is coarser these days thanks, in part, to the politics of vitriol, greed to make a fast buck and the often self-absorbed bubble of the internet. But have you noticed an increase in kindness, too? Especially since the coronavirus pandemic upended lives across the world?
“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” –– Dalai Lama
A few days ago, a longtime friend in Florida with a growing lump on his neck from throat cancer put out a plea for help. No job. No health care. In desperate need of radiation, chemotherapy and an expensive test. It’s been, as he wrote on GoFundMe.com, a dumpster fire of a year.
“Without a job and without health insurance, I’ve found that it’s more than a bit difficult to get treated for cancer. The local hospital has a ‘charitable’ arm — which I pursued to exhaustion — but being male, breathing and still young enough to be productive, there was no charity available for me to get treatment.”
At first, he set a goal of $5,000 to pull together enough money for the test. Friends posted it on their social media outlets. Money started flowing. A Charleston man read a post, contacted me, asked a couple of questions and said he was going to donate $3,000, which would put my friend well over his goal. Why contribute to someone he didn’t even know? “God’s been too generous with us and (we’re) happy to share.”
So far, my friend’s campaign has raised $7,600, which has lifted a huge burden he’s been carrying. He’s energized and more positive than in awhile. Because of a huge act of kindness from a man he doesn’t even know.
“I can’t begin to tell you what a blessing this has been and how much it will help me get started on treatment,” my friend said.
“The best portion of a good man’s life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.” — William Wordsworth
Founded in 2010, GoFundMe has helped more than 70 million donors distribute $5 billion to projects around the world. In recent days, donors have contributed more than $12,000 to an aid campaign for the family of an upstate New York man killed Aug. 31 when a car struck his bike on U.S. Highway 17 south of Charleston. His dog, Ava, was in a trailer being pulled by the bike. She almost died, but got emergency care through the Charleston Animal Society.
“Her jaw is broken in two places,” said the organization’s Kay Hyman. “She has lacerations, wounds that are stapled to help them heal. Her brain was swelling from trauma, but she is alive. Ava is one resilient dog and should make a full recovery, with intensive care and time, from her horrific accident. Emotionally, she obviously misses her dad and watches intently when a bicycle crosses her path.”
Again, help poured in. Last week, the man’s ashes and Ava are expected to be returned to upstate New York in a private jet offered by a venture capitalist. More kindness.
“One who knows how to show and to accept kindness will be a friend better than any possession.” — Sophocles
Since the pandemic, lawyers and law students have been giving back across the Lowcountry as people struggle to cope with everything from health care to the possibility of being evicted.
One example: A landlord quietly worked with a tenant to make sure a single mother with twins could stay in her home, said Alissa Lietzow, executive director of Charleston Pro Bono Legal Services. Another:
“One attorney, a private practice civil attorney for over 25 years, has been dedicating his efforts for the housing court program on a monthly basis during the pandemic,” she said. “He has helped multiple tenants prevent evictions, secure agreed-upon move-out dates and avoid evictions on their records, which can hurt their prospects of finding new housing.
“The work of pro bono housing attorneys is paramount to avert a homelessness crisis in our community that could escalate COVID cases.”
More kindness. As politics ratchets up in nastiness in the weeks ahead, let’s remember we’re all in this together. Practice random acts of kindness. Pay it forward.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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Here come hair appointments to enter political world
Editor, the Forum:
My mother would have been one of those ladies who would have violated the rules to get her hair done no matter what the circumstance was, pandemic, out and out war, or the apocalypse. Every Friday she had a standing appointment in the morning to have her hair wash, dried, and set/styled.
I don’t think she would have worn a mask either, unless the beautician threatened not to lacquer her hair with hairspray once she was coiffed. She did this for over 60 years.
The lady in California who set Nancy Pelosi up to embarrass her should be ashamed of herself. Nancy is one of those ladies of a certain age who just have to have her hair done come Hell or high water.
And don’t feel too sorry for the lady either because she shut down her salon. She has a GoFundMe page where contributors have made her very well off to start a salon somewhere else, presumably a right-wing friendly area of this country. (I just hope she shared some of that money with the employees laid off because she shut her salon down.)
— Sara Rawlins, Lawrenceville
Colleges, universities take advantage of student and finances
Editor, the Forum:
It is appalling the financial abuse that students face at the hands of colleges, universities, trade
schools, and the government, concerning student loans. Besides a way-too-high interest rate, there is no oversight on how the money gets spent. Many students use funds for inappropriate things, from personal expenses to the purchase of furniture, television sets and other electronics.
Student loan money should only be spent on tuition and fees charged by schools. The current system is a setup for failure. I applaud Senate Candidate Wayne Johnson for taking a stand, but it is more than an uphill battle if that is the main focus of his campaign. Regardless of the election outcome I hope Mr. Johnson continues to champion this cause.
— Jim Savadelis, Duluth
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
County seeks input on McGinnis Ferry Road interchange
Gwinnett County and the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) are considering adding a full interchange at McGinnis Ferry Road and Interstate 85.
Gwinnett County and GDOT are seeking feedback on the project, which would be constructed in two phases. Phase 1 would construct the south-facing ramps from McGinnis Ferry Road to I-85 to create a half-diamond interchange. McGinnis Ferry Road would be widened on both sides approaching the bridge, and the sidewalk and the shared use path would be replaced after widening. The existing bridge would remain with median modifications. Phase 2 would construct the north-facing ramps from McGinnis Ferry Road to I-85 to complete the full-diamond interchange.
The online materials for this project will be accessible from today through Oct. 8, 2020. After that, feedback will be assessed and revisions may occur to the proposed plan initially brought to the public. If major changes occur to what was previously shown to the community, additional public outreach would occur. This project is in the preliminary engineering phase.
Funding for this project comes from the Gwinnett County’s SPLOST program, the state of Georgia and the federal government.
Gwinnett Rotarians plan “Day of Peace” on Sept. 21
Georgia Rotarians are gathering at Rotary Peace Poles across the state on September 21, to recognize the International Day of Peace.
Rotary club members in Gwinnett will gather at the Rotary International Peace Pole in Lawrenceville at 10 a.m. on Monday, September 21 on the Lawrenceville Lawn. This is located at the corner of Jackson and Luckie Streets. The Gwinnett clubs include those named Gwinnett County, Braselton, Lawrenceville, Duluth, Sugarloaf, Mosaic, Peachtree Corners, eClub of the South and Gwinnett Sunrise.
Rotarians will come together to promote peace and social justice using the Peace Pole and the Four Way Test of the things Rotarians think, say or do:
- Is it the TRUTH;
- Is it FAIR to all concerned;
- Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS; and
- Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
A Peace Pole is an internationally recognized symbol of the hopes and dreams of the human family, standing vigil in silent prayer for peace on earth. Each Peace Pole bears the message May Peace Prevail on Earth in different languages on each of its four sides. The four languages on the Gwinnett County Peace Pole include English, Spanish, Korean, and Vietnamese. These four languages represent the prevalent languages spoken in Gwinnett County.
This event will be held both in person and virtually, and will feature speakers including Poet Laureate Hank Stewart, the Rev. Marlon Allen, and Dr. Jann Joseph, president of Georgia Gwinnett College.
Dawkins heads Gwinnett Transit Education Forum
The Gwinnett Transit Education Forum, Inc. (GTEF) recently formed to educate citizens about the County’s transit referendum on the November 3, 2020 ballot. The organization, which is comprised of Gwinnett County community and business leaders, includes the following executive committee members:
- Fred Dawkins, Frederick C. Dawkins, Esq., P.C., chairman;
- Mike Levengood, Law Office of J. Michael Levengood, LLC, vice chairman;
- Michael Sullivan, ACEC Georgia, treasurer;
- Jordan Hall, Statewide Independent Living Council of Georgia, member; and
- Michael Park, The Whitlock Group, secretary.
GTEF plans to educate voters on the referendum project list, the transit service providers, and the latest statistics on Gwinnett County’s transit system. GTEF’s tagline is “Transit Education: Choose Your Direction.”
Fosque to be on national transit/rail task force
Fosque
Gwinnett County District 4 Commissioner Marlene Fosque has been named vice chair to the National Association of Counties’ Transit/Rail subcommittee’s International Economic Development Task Force.
The Transit/Rail subcommittee develops NACo policy on matters pertaining to federal transportation legislation, funding and regulation and its impacts on county government. The Transportation Committee also studies and makes recommendations on highway and bridge development, finance and safety, transportation planning, airport development and service, passenger and freight railroads, ports and waterways, freight movement, and research and development of new modes of transportation.
This Large Urban Counties Caucus is the premier forum for urban county leaders and is the voice for America’s metropolitan counties before Congress and the Administration. Made up of county executives, governing board members and other senior elected officials, LUCC members focus on urban challenges and solutions, engage in peer-to-peer information exchanges, and inform national policy discussions.
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd
From Karen Harris, Stone Mountain: This book is a meticulously researched account of an imagined life of Jesus Christ focusing on what might have been had he been married. It also shows what that life might have been like with Ana, a spirited woman out of place during the times when women were silenced and relegated to background roles in life. The humanity of Jesus is beautifully and tenderly rendered and includes familiars in his life, Simon, Judas, Mary, Mary of Bethany, Lazarus and others. This story could almost be two novels masterfully blended into the story of the coming of the Kingdom and the political dynamic in Rome and Jerusalem, and the story of female power that would not be silenced despite horrific conditions and life-threatening encounters. The story is mesmerizing and unforgettable. It’s for Sue Monk Kidd fans and those new to her novels.
An invitation: what b ooks, 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
Mell was influential educator, minister and chancellor
Patrick Hues Mell was one of the most influential educators and ministers in 19th-century Georgia. For almost 50 years he served as professor of ancient languages and chief administrator at Mercer University and the University of Georgia, and he also held leadership roles in the Southern Baptist and Georgia Baptist conventions. His greatest influence as a moderator of numerous religious and educational assemblies earned him the designation “prince of parliamentarians.”
Mell
Born in Liberty County on July 19, 1814, Mell received his education from local academies until his entrance into Amherst College in Massachusetts in 1833. He left Amherst two years later and served as teacher and administrator in various schools in the North before arriving at Emory College (later Emory University), in Oxford, Georgia. In 1841 Mell joined the faculty at Mercer University in Penfield as professor of ancient languages. In 1856 he took a similar position at the University of Georgia in Athens, becoming that school’s vice chancellor in 1860. From 1878 to 1888 he was the chancellor of the university.
A lay leader of Georgia Baptists, Mell dominated all aspects of his denomination. As a parliamentarian he was the moderator of the Georgia Baptist Association (1855-87), president of the Georgia Baptist Convention (1857-87), and president of the Southern Baptist Convention (1863-71, 1880-87). As pastor he served the Baptist church at Greensboro for ten years and led the congregations at Bairdstown (in Greene County) and Antioch (in Oglethorpe County) for 30 and 26 years respectively. As an author Mell published the following books: Baptism in Its Mode and Subjects (1853), Corrective Church Discipline (1860), A Manual of Parliamentary Practice (1867), and The Doctrine of Prayer (1876). He also wrote articles and tracts on the subjects of slavery, Calvinism, and predestination.
Mell provided brave leadership for the University of Georgia during the Civil War (1861-65) and Sherman’s March to the Sea. In 1861 a group of volunteers organized a company known as the Mell Riflemen or Mell Volunteers, and Governor Joseph E. Brown appointed Mell as the unit’s captain. The death of his wife that same year, however, left Mell with eight young children, and he was unable to leave Athens. In 1863 he became colonel of a command to defend northern Georgia, frequently visiting camps in Savannah and Rome.
Because of the size of his family and his dedication to his country churches, Mell declined several opportunities to leave the university. He and his first wife, Lurene Howard Cooper of Montgomery County, had five sons and three daughters. He and his second wife, Eliza Elizabeth Cooper of Screven County, had four sons and two daughters. Mell resigned from the Antioch and Bairdstown churches in 1878, when he became chancellor of the university, but his influence continued. For years the Baptists from Greene and surrounding counties labeled their district “Mell’s Kingdom.”
Mell died on January 26, 1888, after months of failing health.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to http://georgiaencyclopedia.org
You may research 50 or 51 sites to ID this Mystery Photo
You could have to go to 50 or 51 different places to make sure what you think you see is really what you see in today’s Mystery Photo. Be careful. Many buildings look alike. Tell us where it’s located by sending to elliott@brack.net, including your hometown.
There’s more to today’s Mystery Photo answer than you might expect. Several people correctly identified the mystery as a memorial monument to Button Gwinnett at the colonial Park Cemetery in Savannah. The photo came to us from Buck Lindsay of Duluth. This identification takes on added interest when we look into it.
First, Sara Rawlins of Lawrenceville wrote: “This was kind of an easy one. It’s Button Gwinnett’s Memorial in Colonial Park Cemetery in Savannah. It’s off East Oglethorpe Avenue (for those who don’t like to roam around in large cemeteries) for easy access to the monument. It was funded by the State of Georgia, City of Savannah, and the SAR, DAR, Society of Colonial Wars, and the Colonial Dames. What struck me, on the memorial, are the words: ‘President of Georgia.’ I didn’t know Georgia had its own president. I knew about Button Gwinnett’s signing the Declaration Of Independence and his duel that left him dead three days later from gangrene, but President of Georgia?” (Sara: the term ‘president’ and ‘governor’ were used similarly in those days.)
Others recognizing the photo were Gloria James, Lawrenceville; Virginia Klaer, Duluth; Kay Everett, Lawrenceville; Lou Camerio, Lilburn; David E. Tyre of Jesup; Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. and George Graf of Palmyra, Va.
Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill: “According to the marker, Gwinnett’s remains ‘are believed to lie entombed hereunder.’ It’s possible that the bones buried beneath this marker may not be those of Button Gwinnett. After nearly 200 years, nobody seemed to know where Gwinnett was buried and, eventually, Arthur Funk, a retired Savannah high school principal, researched the matter and discovered Gwinnett’s bones may have been buried unmarked in the Colonial Cemetery in Savannah. At the approximate location, bones were exhumed and sent to the Smithsonian Institution which said they were not Gwinnett’s bones. A state commission in Georgia eventually declared them to be Gwinnett’s bones, thus kicking off a dispute over who had the rights to the bones and where they should end up. Eventually, the bones in question were buried where they were originally found in Colonial Cemetery.”
Hold on: Well, the story doesn’t end here. On July 4, 1848, in Augusta, a 50 foot obelisk was raised in that city’s downtown to serve as the final resting place of the Georgia signers of the Declaration of Independence. The bones of George Walton and Lyman Hall were transferred to that site. But the story goes that when searchers dug up what was thought to be Button Gwinnett bones at St. Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, the leg bone was not shattered, as would be the case if it was Gwinnett. The monument still stands in front of Augusta’s City Hall today. Note that our sources say Gwinnett was interred at St. Bonaventure Cemetery, a difference from other information.
With the conflicting stories, no one knows for sure where Button Gwinnett is buried.
Wellness Fest: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, with two Georgia campuses in Suwanee and Moultrie, is hosting a virtual Wellness Fest on Saturday, September 26, 2020 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Gwinnett citizens are invited to drop in for an afternoon of free, interactive edu-tainment featuring health and wellness speakers, fitness classes, cooking demonstrations and more! For more information and to register, visit pcom.edu/news/events/wellness-fest.html.
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