The people's voice of reason

Articles from the May 1, 2026 edition


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  • INVOKE THE 25TH AMENDMENT! – WHY?

    Col. John Eidsmoe|May 1, 2026

    In the history of the United States, and possibly in the history of the entire world, the radical Left has never hated anyone as intensely as they hate Donald Trump. The reason is obvious: he has stood as a colossus, almost singlehandedly thwarting their plans to convert our constitutional republic into a secular socialist society. Having lost at the polls and having lost in the courts, the Left now cries in desperation, “Invoke the 25th Amendment!” How would you respond? That’s pretty hard...

  • I HEARD ABOUT AN INDIVIDUAL THAT WAS BADLY INJURED BY A ROBBER IN A STORE WHEN HE TRIED TO INTEREVENE AND PROTECT AN EMPLOYEE FROM POTENTIAL HARM. HE SUED THE STORE CHAIN FOR DAMAGES AND RECEIVED NOTHING? HOW CAN THAT BE?

    Ron Holtsford|May 1, 2026

    I am not a litigator and will have to think back to law school and look at statutes but I think I may have an answer. First let’s explore the danger and whether the individual (presumably a customer) had a duty to act. Then let’s look at the possibility that the individual may have contributed to his injuries through his own negligence. I applaud the gentleman that sought to protect the employee. All I know is that the customer that sought to intervene was injured whether through assault by a w...

  • Very Few Open or Contested State House Races

    Steve Flowers|May 1, 2026

    Like the Alabama State Senate, the State House of Representatives will have very little turnover. Our state legislative seats are becoming analogous to congressional seats when it comes to incumbency. Over 80% of the legislature is unopposed. The partisanship makeup and faces will be pretty much unchanged. The House will have a supermajority Republican complexion. It will remain 75% Republican. There will be a strong continuity of leadership in the House of Representatives between this...

  • The Unsung Heroes of Alabama's Fiscal Accountability

    Perry O Hooper Jr|May 1, 2026

    There was a time in Alabama when one word dominated every budget discussion: proration. Year after year, state government faced the prospect of across-the-board cuts as revenues failed to meet expectations. But “proration” was never just a budget term—it was a warning sign of failure, and its consequences were felt far beyond the halls of the State House. Schools did not simply “adjust.” They cut teachers, increased class sizes, and delayed essential materials. Administrators were forced to...

  • Is Iran's Past Prologue to Its Future?

    Justice Will Sellers|May 1, 2026

    One hundred years ago, in April of 1926, Reza Khan Pahlavi was crowned Shah of Iran. His coronation marked one of the most significant turning points in the country’s modern history. It symbolized far more than a change of monarch: it represented the end of the declining Qajar dynasty, the birth of the Pahlavi regime, and the beginning of a sweeping program of modernization and centralization that would fundamentally reshape Iran. The centenary of Reza Pahlavi’s coronation reaches beyond a mer...

  • Monkey Business in Monkeytown

    John Martin|May 1, 2026

    Exactly when Montgomery, Alabama got its nickname “Monkeytown” might be lost in unrecorded history. Some people claim it started perhaps in the 1930’s or ‘40’s, when a single monkey escaped from the Oak Park Zoo’s Monkey Island and caused considerable mischief all over the local area. In the 1960’s and ‘70’s, when every trucker had a CB radio to keep in touch with the other truckers, they kept themselves informed about everything from good places to eat to the locations of the local speed traps...

  • The Just War Theory

    John M Taylor|May 1, 2026

    “War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.” U.S. Marine Corps Major General Smedley Darlington Butler The present Iranian conflict has rekindled discussions of the Just War Theory, which can be traced at least back to Cicero, the Roman orator who lived before the birth of Jesus Christ. Chr...

  • Macon County Cancer Metastasizing

    John Sophocleus|May 1, 2026

    Macon County has espoused indefensible interpretations of administrative, legal, and environmental laws. “Without accountability, their arrogance festers like cancer,” wrote Frank Dillman, a long-term county resident, watchdog, and now independent candidate for Macon County District 4 Commissioner, recently qualified for the November 3, 2026 election. The legislature, molded and fed by the ACCA [Association of County Commissioners of Alabama] fails to provide a resource for citizens to reg...

  • Not Iran Again!

    Robert Tate|May 1, 2026

    Well, here we are. By the time this edition of the Gazette hits the streets, we will already be in May. Time flies for sure. For me, it has been a slightly challenging 2026 thus far but I can definitely see light at the end of the tunnel and it does not appear to be a train headed in my direction. In my very first Robservation way back in 2010, I wrote an entire column on the potential of war with Iran. In all, this is my fourth Robservation on the topic. 16 years after my first, here we are; at...

  • "The Pretty Garden"

    Trisston Wright Burrows|May 1, 2026

    I recently came across a quote that says, “The prettier the garden, the dirtier are the hands of the gardener.” It got me to thinking. Everyone admires a healthy marriage from the outside…the smiles, the connection, the stability. But what people don't see is the work that goes on behind it. You see, marriage is like the garden. And the people in it are like the gardeners. Love isn't automatic, it's maintained. Let's be honest, real love is messy. It means confronting your own flaws, your partn...

  • Who are we without our mothers?

    Sarah Ross|May 1, 2026

    Who are we without our mothers? Our very basis for existence on this planet is ushered in by the person who probably receives the least amount of credit, the mother. Despite their foundational role, we formally celebrate them only one day out of the year. What we call Mother’s Day could just as easily be “Mother’s Month,” as a longer reflection on the people who quite literally shape our lives. While a single essay cannot capture a lifetime of impact, it can begin to explore how mothers profoundly influence both our health and society. From th...

  • Southern Gardening Potpourri for May

    Judge Peggy Givhan|May 1, 2026

    We have always heard that April showers bring May flowers. I remember a few years ago, I had some of the grandchildren to spend a weekend at the farm. So I constructed a May Pole with a long iron pipe secured in the middle of a tire with cement. Make sure the cement is allowed to dry. Then I bought all different colors of ribbon in various widths which I secured at the top with super glue. I also painted the pole white. It turned out to be a thing of beauty and the children were ecstatic. May is...

  • "THE TUG"

    Gary Miller|May 1, 2026

    There’s nothing like barreling down the lake in the spring or summer at 5:00 in the morning. The cool mist will wake up anyone. But it’s not really the air that is alarming, it’s the possibility of a big bass that is ready for breakfast – buzz bait style. To see the calm water come to life with a massive explosion is fishing at its finest. There is, however, a technique for this type of fishing. Most people set the hook when they see the bass strike. That is a big mistake. You just missed anothe...