The people's voice of reason
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Prime Burglary season will soon be here again as the summer days approach. It is time to assess our homes and businesses to make sure that we are secure and we have a record of our belongings. It is also time to consider joining a Neighbor Watch program. Neighborhood watch, block watch, town watch, whatever the title, initiatives are one of the better ways to prevent crime, attend to home and personal security, address the safety of our children as well as reduce fear and isolation. Civic...
In the past couple of articles we have discussed the alarming increase in the rate of incarceration. We have pointed to the fact that an increase in the rate of incarceration signifies that criminal law is not working very well. Ironically, the criminal justice system seems to take pride in the number of cases processed, and the number of convictions. But law works well when people obey the law. Now we turn to an alarming demographic fact about incarceration in these United States. The rate of...
You know the results of Tuesday’s primary elections. However, my column had to go to press prior to Tuesday’s vote. Therefore, we will discuss and analyze the outcome next week. It is doubtful that there were any surprises. Gov. Robert Bentley more than likely waltzed to the GOP nomination. He will probably face Parker Griffith in this fall’s General Election. Ironically, both Griffith and Bentley are 72-year-old retired physicians. It is not likely that matchup has ever occurred in an Alaba...
Much has been written, discussed, and debated regarding the promise of our current administration of “fundamentally transforming the United States of America.” But while most discussion centers on the increasing size of government and the dependency on it, there is another segment this transformation that I believe is just as dangerous. We’re bombarded daily with news designed to divide us. Ideological debate and differences of opinion are increasingly personalized and demonized, and there are t...
With June comes hot weather, but the fishing can be just as hot. Bluegill will bed around the full moon of this month, which falls on the 13th, and the bass are in a feeding mood following the spawn. Last month, we shared some tips on how to improve your bream fishing. In this month's article, we will look at some tactics that should help you put more bass in the boat. As we move into June and the water warms, the bass gradually shift to deeper water and by the end of the month they will occupy...
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” (Proverbs 17:17). When I was a young boy, I always wanted a brother, but, it was not to be. One day in the eighth grade at Capitol Heights Junior High School, my life changed in a way that I could not have predicted. My blue and white bicycle with the fenders off, and blue and white stripes on the wheels, was my only means of transportation at the time. One of the members of the football team had a Florida drivers license, which...
As I reviewed the published article in THE ALABAMA GAZETTE from May 2014, I had the realization that another front has been used to attack Christianity; the movies. From about the time that Clark Gable uttered his “d” word in Gone With the Wind, producers and directors have pushed the envelope with “mild” profanity to non-stop profanity, sexual innuendo to outright nudity and sex on the silver screen. This includes the gross violence on the screen. When I was a kid most of the movies were family...
I just recently finished a month of training in Atlanta learning to fly a new airplane. For the last 12 years or so, I have been flying the Boeing 757 and 767 but now I will be flying the Boeing 717. A lot of folks had been following me on Facebook and saw pictures I posted of me and my copilot "enjoying" the training program. But as long and painful as the training may have been, there was a definite reason for it. The reason U.S. airlines remain the best and safest in the world is because of...
This story of Patriotism begins in the life of a nine year old boy, standing on the deck that would bring his parents, his sister, and Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, up the Delaware River, to dock at the port of Philadelphia. Suddenly, the outline of the city, the largest city in the New World was visible, the church steeples, the tall buildings. Soon his feet would touch the ground of the United States of America, where he was coming to live. Emanuel Leutze was born March 24, 1816, in Gmund,...
I remain a steadfast advocate of ABOLISHING the waste of our taxpayer dollars on all primary elections and the further waste from any absurd run-offs which may follow. Time for parties to pay for their OWN primaries instead of using them as yet another money mill for the political duopoly reaffirmed by this corrupt political process every election cycle; obviously this will not change under our current politburo result. With all the discussion of campaign finance reform (oft used for incumbency...
As I was busy hoeing out the pink and white buttercups or Oenothera, which proliferates like mice, someone tapped me on the back and wanted to dig out the rest to replant in their garden. the first question I asked, was why? They responded that it is so delicate and beautiful appearing so easy to grow. They wanted to relocate it before it turned to seed so they would have more next year. And I said," it is ok with me, just know that they can get away from you, quickly". Which brought up the...
If you’re crazy about juggling, there’s a holiday just for you: Juggling Day on June 17. The International Juggling Association created this holiday in 1947, earmarking a day for everyone from juggling junkies to inexperienced novices to try their hand at juggling. These days, with busy schedules and constant multi-tasking, it seems the most common kind of juggling for people is managing the multiple chores and obligations of everyday life. That’s why Social Security created a suite of online se...
Recently the heading of a short article caught my eye. It read, “Discipleship, Whose Responsibility?” Certainly as a Pastor the subject of “Discipleship” grabbed my attention. After all, that’s part of my job along with other ministers, isn’t it? That was just the point in asking the question. Is it really the church’s job or the home? I am reminded of a supposed event for one preacher. He was new in the small church and was asked to substitute in a boy’s class since the teacher was out one Sun...
This year's session of the Alabama Silver-Haired Legislature will be significant to your corespondent, and some others, for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that we will meet in the old House Chamber of the Alabama State Capitol building from October 20 through 23. It served as the State's fifth capitol, having been so designated in 1846; and was also the first capitol of the Confederacy for a short time, and it was at its steps that the historic Selma to Montgomery March...
Have you ever noticed when you step out to do something for God the enemy will send challenges and distractions to knock you off course? I sure have. How reassuring it is to know that God is working behind the scenes for you and for me. Romans 8:31 says in part, “… If God be for us, who will be against us” Isn’t it amazing what God will do in your life when you face your challenges and hold on to the promises found in His Word? When you take a stand, you make a declaration of your faith in God...