January 11, 2005
Let me tell you, my friends, our
new U.S. Senator from Georgia, Johnny
Isakson, is a class act all the way!
Voters thought so, too, as they
elected him with 57.9% of the vote last
November. His swearing-in ceremonies on
January 3-4, 2005 in Washington, D.C. were
extremely well-received by the approximately
700 folks from Georgia who attended them and
“a good time was had by all,” as my
husband’s grandmother was fond of saying.
Johnny must have had one of the largest
contingents from his home state to attend
the festivities because his overflow crowd
for the actual swearing-in was packed into
the Senate Caucus Room in the Russell Senate
Office Building where folks could view the
proceedings on a huge wide screen. That was
the largest assembly room and it was
standing room only. The Coca-Cola Company
sponsored that party.
Johnny's party on January 3rd,
pre-swearing-in on the 4th, was
generously sponsored by AFLAC; Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Georgia; Cox Enterprises,
Inc.; Dow, Lohnes & Albertson, PLLC;
Home Depot; Lockheed Martin; Southern
Company; UPS; and Wachovia. This 2005
Georgia Gala honoring the 109th
Congress at The Kennedy Center featured
entertainment by Banks and Shane. Banks
Burgess said getting to do this for
Senator Isakson was a highlight of their
35-year music career. Paul Shane said
they thought if they played long enough they
might get lucky and wind up at The Kennedy
Center. Well, they did that and their
concert was fabulous.
Johnny's evening reception
following his official swearing in as our
U.S. Senator was an exquisite piece of
culture and good taste. It was held at the
Folger Shakespeare Library on East Capitol
Street, which was established in 1932 by Henry
Clay Folger and his wife, Emily Jordan
Folger, as a gift to the American
people. The Folger is home to the world’s
largest collection of Shakespeare’s
printed works, as well as magnificent
collections of other rare Renaissance books
and manuscripts. It is privately endowed and
is administered by the Trustees of Amherst
College. An ensemble offered from the
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra provided music
throughout the evening from a balcony above
the assembled crowd from Georgia. The Host
Committee for this elegant party included
BellSouth; Equifax; Georgia-Pacific
Corporation; Georgia’s Electric Membership
Corporations; Gold Kist; Holland &
Knight, LLP; Home Depot; King &
Spalding; Lockheed Martin; McKenna Long
Aldridge; Post Properties; Sun Trust; and
UST Public Affairs, Inc. Republicans know
how to do Camelot, too!
* * *
While in Washington, we heard
television reports about the murdered Buford
preschool teacher Jennifer Corbin. Everybody
listening was hoping this tragedy would not
turn into the media circus that the Laci
Peterson murder trial did in California.
Let those media mavens choose another case,
please. We want to call attention to Georgia
for positive reasons, not pond scum.
* * *
Some second graders at Pinckneyville
Middle School in Peachtree Corners have put
their efforts into world community service.
Their teacher wanted each student to
personally do something to help the victims
of the devastating tsunami. My little
neighbor made 50 bead bracelets, which she
sold to friends and family for $2 each. Of
course, I bought some of them. Her mother
told me yesterday that her daughter raised
$207 for the American Red Cross, where their
tsunami collections will go. She estimated
that this one class will be sending over
$1,000 to the Red Cross.
* * *
Well, it didn’t take long for
newly-elected Gwinnett County Commission
Chairman Charles Bannister's friend
Billy McKinney to make the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution's Gwinnett News,
did it? Look on the front page of the
January 14th edition for the
article about McKinney attempting to throw
his weight around in county matters. Having
received a nasty e-mail myself from Bill
McKinney after our District 2 Commissioner Bert
Nasuti was sworn into office two
years ago, I am acquainted with
McKinney's rude tactics.
Congressman Bob Barr had
phoned to say he was on his way to
Nasuti's swearing-in ceremonies, so
courtesy demanded that the proceedings wait
until the Congressman arrived. Afterwards, I
took a photo of the Nasuti family with
Congressman Barr. The photography god smiled
on that photo because it was really good of
everybody. Nasuti's mother, Geraldine
Nasuti, was a big fan of Bob Barr and
she was in the photo, so I published it in
this column. Nearly immediately, I received
an e-mail from Billy McKinney demanding that
I remove that photo. McKinney, you may
remember, was working with the John
Linder campaign. I did not answer his
e-mail, simply forwarded it to Bert Nasuti,
who told me to leave the photo where it was.
We have a small, but strident,
abrasive element in this county, people who
attack by insult and use scare tactics to
force their agenda for government issues on
others. I am sorry and saddened whenever I
see reports of these folks in the popular
press because they feed mightily on their
publicity. They have gotten away with so
much bad behavior in the past that they view
themselves as untouchable and unaccountable.
It would seem to me that legitimate and
reasonable politicians would have the sense
to steer clear of these folks because of the
clear and present danger of their taint, but
that never seems to be the case. Perhaps it
is a case of keeping your friends close, but
your enemies closer.
Hope all is well. Thanks for reading.
011405
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