The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
Sorted by date Results 376 - 400 of 486
Congressional shooter James T. Hodgkinson most reproduced quote (linked to a Change.org petition) asserted, “Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It's Time to Destroy Trump & Co.” Fascinating how many this past decade sincerely asserted Obama and now Trump have somehow single-handedly accomplished such great damage. Extremists of this sort refuse to understand we were not designed to be a democracy; those who’ve shilled loudest for democracy have ‘progressed’ us into oligarchy...
What has happened to journalism over the past half century? When your humble scribe first chose to be a news person there were iron clad rules to which persons practicing this craft had to abide. Today, as one partakes of journalistic outpourings there seems to be virtually no rules scribes must follow; which is sad. Virtually every standard a news writer had to follow has, by now, been scrapped. Who is to blame? It's hard to point an accurate finger, unless one points an accusing finger at a...
Right now, in the United States Senate, the Sword of Damocles is hanging right over our heads. Keep an eye on it. Don’t let it drop and chop our heads off. It is Senate Bill 1134, labeled as the “Back the Blue Act of 2017.” It was introduced by Texas Senator John Cornyn and co-sponsored by our newly appointed Senator Luther Strange. This is a frightening piece of legislation that gives police and all other “first responders” near absolute immunity against legal action for almost any wrongdoin...
“Brother against brother” oft conjures remembrance of how a voluntary coalition of States morphed onto the forced coalition of states result observed these past several score. Mr. Trump swore his oath of office hand on the Lincoln bible to then speak of another FDR (increasing debt per capital twelve fold) type federal spending model in his inaugural address. President Trump recently asserted war between the States could’ve been avoided. Accomplished with compromise [lowering] tariffs to atten...
If we were looking for a definition of the adjective indivisible we would learn that it means “unable to be divided or separated.” Now that's relatively straightforward and simple. It means that something that is indivisible is something that is a tight, complete entity that can't be chopped up into bits and pieces, into smaller portions that can be dealt with and employed according to one's individual wishes. Such as “One nation indivisible,” as the U.S.A. is supposed to be. Unfortu...
DID YOU KNOW that right here in America, “The Land of the Free,” we have FIVE TIMES the percentage of our population in prison than the rest of the world? Of every 100,000 of our people, we have 756 locked up behind bars. This is a sharp contrast to the world average, which is only 158. And of our 50 states, Alabama has the third highest incarceration rate [after Louisiana (1) and Mississippi (2)]. Yes, the Gulag Archipelago is right here in our own back yard. Since 1977, our prison pop...
Putting ‘Dr. Gov. StrangeLuv’ embarrassment in our rear view mirror, WSFA (4/12/17) reported replacement Gov. Kay Ivey’s second day in office jettisoned more of the former corrupt governor's ‘work.’ Ivey abolished Bentley’s Office of Rural Development created in 2011 under the umbrella of ADECA (Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs) ostensibly to improve and advance education, healthcare, and economic development in rural parts of the State. "Rural Alabama is near and dear to...
Capital punishment is a topic that many people want to avoid discussing. Opinions about it are all over the map—from people who are totally opposed to the ones who would like to round up huge numbers of criminals and “fry ‘em till their eyeballs pop out.” Arguments about the right thing to do for various crimes have persisted for many decades and will likely continue through the foreseeable future. The death penalty dates far back before the dawn of written history, and multitudes of differe...
The antics of former National Security Adviser Susan Rice suggest that what a good many of those in our government employ have learned; especially as it relates to doing well in government employ. Today's post presidential election nonsense suggests that while most Americans don't feed at the public trough, some do it with a vengeance. It's difficult for the “old-timer” faction in America to come to grips with the absolute iodicy that has been taking place in the U.S., especially as it rel...
I recently witnessed the installation ceremony of Steven ‘Crash’ Leath as AU’s 19th President at the University Ballroom March 20th; with considerably less ‘pomp & circumstance’ and significantly more transparency I participated in the election of Josh Tuttle as Chair of Alabama’s LP February 25th. AU’s BoT unanimously selected Leath after a six-month national ‘search’ which provided little on how it was conducted. Last year our Lee County Commission Chair correctly misspoke affirming somethi...
In 1966, Ray McKinley Dunwoody Jr. was a USAF chief master sergeant stationed in Roswell, New Mexico. During this time a friend of his, a retiring master sergeant, held a small party with a number of his friends and associates, including Ray. During a casual conversation, Ray mentioned chess. His friend eagerly announced that he was a member of the local chess club and held a high ranking. He then asked Ray about his chess experience. Ray told him that he only played once in a while, was just...
By the time our readers peruse this item, downtown Montgomery's famous Chris' Hot Dogs will have celebrated its 100th year of serving its famous hot dogs. For many of us who earned our salaries working in the area, Chris' Hot Dogs was often a lunchtime destination. Last month, a group of seniors from Elmcroft of Halcyon assisted living facility focused their monthly dining out session on Montgomery's famous Chris', located on Montgomery's famous Dexter Avenue. On hand for the memorable visit...
Some readers may recall past columns covering John Rice's efforts to weaken the grip 'double-dark money' has on our State. Sad so few understood what this former State legislator (a rare champion of liberty and unflappable small government conservative) was trying to accomplish on OUR behalf - i.e., those interested in promoting the general welfare for ourselves and our posterity over special interests. After calling them out into the light and connecting the dots to expose what these...
One of your writer's most enjoyable and invigorating experiences happened during the years spent as a member of the Alabama Silver-Haired Legislature. We operated much the same as the Sate's House of Representatives, in that each of us prepared and submitted resolutions that urged legislation the regular legislature should enact. They addressed matters that were of particular concern to the State's senior citizens. Each representative researched and wrote legislative proposals that addressed...
Alabama native son John M. Taylor (Alexander City) has penned a ‘must read’ for all who want to advance their understanding of our morphing from a voluntary collation of sovereign States to the forced consolidation imposed via war 1861-5 and tyrannical years of ‘reconstruction’ to follow. A well seasoned backlog of Taylor’s short articles dating back to the early 1990’s, were the starting point of the project. I was delighted Johnny asked my input over the years and truly honored when asked...
In addition to repealing the catastrophic Obamacare health care plan, one of President Donald Trump’s absolute top priorities must be to resist the military industrial complex and put an immediate end to the carnage and destruction our nation has been spreading all over the Middle East under the guise of saving the local people from their leaders and civil unrest. For the past 50 years and more—from Vietnam to the Middle East—our involvement has produced no benefits whatsoever. The result has b...
“We just ain't got no couth no more.” Those of us who are stumbling into our Golden Years, and are watching national events on television are frequently reminded of two behaviors we learned in our youth; two behaviors that we seldom witness any more. These are manners and decorum. We grew up being constantly reminded of our manners, and frequently punished should we stray from either. We were constantly being reminded of our manners by our elders, and straying from the principle of manners wou...
Jim Little's Opelika-Auburn News [11/21/16] article entitled, Judge declares signature requirement unconstitutional for short special elections asserted, "Future Alabama special elections will have to take into account a recent federal court ruling to allow third-party or independent candidates time to collect signatures to get on the ballot." Judge Myron Thompson (no champion of citizens' and voters' civil rights) September 30 federal court ruling determined Alabama's signature requirement for...
At last, the reign of the Great Traitor is coming to an end. And his hoped for successor, the Hildabeast, is also passing into the pages of history, squelching his dream of becoming a corrupt Supreme Court Justice. Right now, they are both whining about voter fraud and accusing the Russians of rigging the election. Nevertheless, much damage has been done during these past eight years, especially during 2009 and 2010, when this despot had a filibuster-proof majority in both houses. The task of...
Forty-three years ago Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. published a book entitled “The Imperial Presidency,” in which he outlined how our presidents have managed to exceed the powers granted to that office by our Constitution. And they've done it with impunity, especially over the last 43 years. Since George Washington assumed the office in 1789, our nation has been led by a variety of presidents, some exceptional, and some we would just as soon forget, and the latest incumbent is considered by man...
No doubt my most read text from years of writing for the Alabama Gazette is “Ten Years After” (Jan. 2011 column) explaining how Texas Gov. George W. Bush became the 43rd US president although VP Al Gore received more votes in the general election. Some readers have asked for similar analysis on the recent result where Mr. Trump won the Electoral College with a much greater electoral vote margin yet STILL lost the popular vote by 668,483 (according to AP reports) or even more according to oth...
It's that time of the year when the thoughts of most of us turn to the celebration of Christmas. It's also the time of the year when the squirrels come out of the woodwork and we're inundated with more nonsense than we want to endure as it relates to the holiday: it's principal characters, and its celebration. From this person's viewpoint there are two tales that best represent Christmas and all it stands for; these being: O. Henry's The gift of the Magi, and Charles dickens' A Christmas Carol....
The term “good old days” has been around for many years. Older people have and still do like to sometimes reflect on how much better their lives were at various times in the past than they are now. The subjects are varied. They range from how much less things cost back then to how much less crime we had. For the most part, these things are true, but most of these people have not been able to comprehend the fundamental reason why few things have turned to the better and most have gone the oth...
Special election Candidate “Fireman Joe” Lovvorn was installed into our Alabama House of Representatives without an election via Secretary of State John Merrill’s discretion last month. After hearing the news we (me and my eldest Godson Peter) went to the good Secretary’s office who kindly met without an appointment. Lovvorn avoided a Party primary runoff, exceeding the 50% threshold by 13 votes via another low turnout House District 79 poll result. A dismal 12% of voters participated in this...
We should take exception to the use of the term: Attention Deficit Disorder,especially so, those of us who have been blessed with it. The noun attention is acceptable since a major portion of this psychological difference does tend to focus on the concentration of mental powers. The phrase: Short attention span, was much more accurate and had less of a negative connotation about it. But the education community does like to invent new titles for things. Now the word deficit presents a lot of...
