The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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The governor’s races of bygone years were a lot more fun and colorful than todays. We would have 10 to 15 candidates. There would be three or four favorites, but we would have 10 others that would make an effort to crisscross the state and have fun and cut up a little bit to garner publicity. The “also rans” could not afford the expensive country music stars from Nashville like the George Wallace, Big Jim Folsom, Jimmy Faulkner frontrunners could to draw a crowd. This year’s guberna...
Here are three of my favorite reflections taken from my book: Perceptions, Collection of Favorites, Volume 2. Complain, Complain A certain monastery enforced a vow of silence. Each monk could utter only two words every five years, and those two words had to be spoken in the presence of the abbot. One of the monks, when given his opportunity to speak, said, "Bad food!" Five years later, his two words were, "Bed hard!" When given his third opportunity to speak five years later, he said, "I quit!"...
For several years leading up to the 2010 Census count, the national projections were that Alabama would lose one of our seven congressional districts and drop to six. When the count was taken, we surprised ourselves and the nation and kept our seven seats in the United States Congress. Therefore, the legislature’s task in drawing our seven congressional districts was relatively easy. Except for some tweaking here and there due to growth in Madison, Limestone, Lee, Shelby and especially B...
John Wesley, who founded the Methodist movement back in the 1700s, impacted the world and the church in ways that many people, even Christians, don’t really understand. Most haven’t a clue who John Wesley was, and many Christians have no idea the influence that his teachings, his thoughts, and his writings still have upon the church today. The Methodist movement later became the Methodist church and the Wesleyan churches around the world, but Wesley’s influence was far greater than just the M...
Incumbency is a potent, powerful, inherent advantage in politics. That fact is playing out to the nines in this year’s Alabama secondary constitutional and down ballot races. Several of the constitutional office incumbents do not have Republican or Democratic opposition. Of course, having a Democratic opponent is the same as not having an opponent in a statewide race in Alabama. A Democrat cannot win in a statewide contest in the Heart of Dixie. Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth will be elected to a...
Courage is defined as “the ability to control fear and to be willing to deal with and face something that is dangerous, difficult or unpleasant.” Another source defines courage as “the quality of being brave: the ability to face danger, difficulty, uncertainty, or pain without being overcome by fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action.” This certainly describes Jesus Christ, especially during Holy Week as he faced the brutality of the Roman form of execution on a wooden cross....
Allow me to deviate from politics to discuss an important event for our state. The World Games 2022 will place Birmingham and the entire state of Alabama squarely in the global spotlight. Believe it or not, this once-in-a-lifetime event is only a few months away with approximately 3,600 athletes from more than 100 countries and up to 500,000 visitors expected to flood Birmingham for one of the world’s largest athletic competitions. Folks, there are many questions about the World Games 2022. Is i...
1. Speak to people. There is nothing as nice as a cheerful word or greeting. 2. Smile at people. It takes seventy-two muscles to frown, only fourteen to smile. 3. Call people by name. The sweetest music to anyone’s ears is the sound of his or her own name. 4. Be friendly and helpful. 5. Be cordial. Let’s speak and act as though we are grateful people. 6. Be genuinely interested in people. If we try, we can like almost everyone. 7. Be generous with praise – cautious with criticism. 8. Be consi...
As the final regular legislative session of the quadrennium evolves, it is apparent that the legislature will not touch any substantive or controversial issues, but simply pass the budgets and go home to campaign. It is election year in the Heart of Dixie. If legislators are listening to their constituents, they are hearing one thing – Alabamians want their legislators to allow them the right to vote on receiving their fair share of the money from gambling in Alabama. They are simply sick and t...
On January 10, 2022, Georgia finally won the NCAA College Football Playoff by beating the University of Alabama in the National College Football Championship game. They are now the undisputed National Champions. Stetson Bennett, the Georgia Quarterback, was named the Offensive MVP of the Championship Game. Bennett is 23 years old and was a walk-on to the Georgia Football Team in 2017. He is 5-foot 11˝˙'´, 175 pounds. Not very big for an SEC QB. But he had had a dream since he was a kid. He dr...
[The year ] 2022 was anticipated to be an exciting competitive election year. However, it is going to be a yawn of a political year. If you thought there was no competition for the constitutional offices and the House of Representatives’ seats in next year’s elections, then you have not seen anything like the lack of turnover in the Alabama State Senate. Incumbency will prevail. In fact, the power of incumbency in the Alabama State Senate is on par with the incumbent return percentage for Con...
Get Outside I recently read that the average person spends 93% of their life indoors! Wow! That is unbelievable. And sad. That means that if you live to be 100 years old, you will have spent 93 of those years indoors and only 7 years in God’s amazing and beautiful creation. God created us to be outside and to enjoy His creation. Our souls need it. Our bodies need it. Our minds need it. In the 23rd Psalm we witness one of the most important ways God soothes our souls, “He makes me lie down in...
The new lines are finally drawn for next year’s state legislative and congressional elections. They have just made it under the wire for the late January qualifying deadline and the May 24, 2022 primary elections. The legislature should not be blamed for the late formulation of the lines because the U.S. Census Bureau did not produce the final detail figures until September 30, 2021. Therefore, the state legislature did a Herculean job by getting the lines drawn so quickly. They went into specia...
John’s version of the Christmas story begins like this: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that was made. ... The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” – John 1:1-3, 14 The Word, as referred to here, in the Greek language is Logos. The Logos is the Word, reason or plan. In Ancient Greek philosophy and early Christian theology the Logos is the...
Every 10 years the nation has a census count. There is a reason for that dissemination of our population. The United States and concurrently the Alabama Constitution require a census to determine how many Congressional Seats each state will have. Then you also have to determine how those districts are designed to reflect that each congressional district is properly and equally apportioned. On the state level the legislative districts have to be dealt with the same way. The state legislature of...
“The wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark.” Ecclesiastes 2:14 “For the evil person has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.” Proverbs 24:20 In his bestselling book, Necessary Endings, Dr Henry Cloud explains to us that there are three kinds of people: the wise, the foolish and the evil. One of the most memorable talks I have ever heard and actually remembered was Dr Clouds talk on this same subject. I have found this to be some of the most helpful advice...
Our senior senator, Richard Shelby, has left an indelible legacy and imprint on our state. Every corner of the state has been the recipient of his prowess at bringing home the bacon to the Heart of Dixie. Every university has enjoyed a largesse of federal dollars. He has made the Huntsville Redstone Arsenal one of the most renowned high technology regions in the nation, not to mention placing the FBI’s second home in Huntsville. Shelby’s accomplishments for Alabama would take a book to enu...
A young boy was the key witness in an important lawsuit. The attorney had put the boy through a rigorous cross-examination and had been unable to shake his concise, damaging testimony. He had given clear answers to all questions. In a stern voice, the attorney asked, “Your father has been telling you how to testify, hasn’t he?” “Yes,” said the boy. “Now,” said the attorney with smug satisfaction, “just tell us what your father told you to say.” “Well,” replied the boy, “My father told me that th...
Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day? Were you in the yard with your wife and children Or working on some stage in L.A.? Did you stand there in shock At the sight of that black smoke Risin’ against that blue sky? Did you shout out in anger In fear for your neighbor Or did you just sit down and cry? Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones Pray for the ones who don’t know? Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble And sob for the...
Former President Donald Trump paid a visit to the Heart of Dixie last [month]. Obviously, this is Trump country. Alabama was one of Trump’s best states in the 2020 Election. He got an amazing 65% of the vote in our state. If the turnout for his August 21 rally in rural Cullman County is any indication, he would get that same margin of victory this year if the election were held again. Many of those in attendance were insistent that Trump won last year’s presidential contest and that it was sto...
Most states have one General Fund Budget. We are only one of five states that have two. Some of you have asked why we have two budgets – one for the General Fund and one for Education. Here is why. During the era of the Great Depression and even afterwards, education in Alabama was woefully underfunded and that is really being generous to simply say underfunded. Our schools were similar to a third world country. We had two separate systems, one for white students and one for black students. M...
There were two major issues not resolved during the just completed regular legislative session. Gambling and prisons were left on the table and up in the air. It is foolish to not address a resolution to get some revenues for the state from gambling, which currently exists in Alabama. However, it is not imperative that the problem be solved. The prison problem is another question. It has to be addressed. The federal courts will take over Alabama’s prisons and tell the governor and legislature w...
Only four people ever successfully escaped to freedom from the federal prison on Alcatraz Island. The following story is an excerpt from my book, Free For All, which explores the different ways we can experience God’s amazing grace. It is only by God’s grace that we can be truly free! Alcatraz Island sits in the middle of San Francisco Bay, surrounded by almost two miles of turbulent and treacherous water. For nearly one hundred years, the island housed a prison, and the place earned the nic...
When Senator Richard Shelby announced he would not run for reelection to a sixth six-year term in 2022, speculation immediately began as to who would run for our iconic senior senator’s seat. Numerous names were floated as to who might lineup for the coveted seat. It is expected to be a fairly large field. The winner of next year’s May Republican primary and ultimately the summer GOP runoff will be our next junior senator. Winning the GOP Primary is tantamount to election in the Heart of Dix...
Can you name the person that Life magazine named the number one man of the past millennium? He had over 1,000 inventions and held more patents than any other person in the world – at least one every year for 65 consecutive years. Are any lights coming on? You guessed it – his name is Thomas Edison. We should give thanks for his genius every time we turn on a light or listen to recorded music! Thomas Edison also said some remarkable things: “Genius,” he declared, “is 99% perspiration and 1% in...
