The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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Campaigns based on punishing public employees for their thoughts inevitably run up a tab taxpayers must bear. Coach Tommy (TuberGrubber) Tuberville built his post‐football fortune on an AU paycheck for not coaching. His social media feed is now busy building another paycheck for not teaching. Long time readers may recall Auburn's politburo does not pay these tabs; productive (non‐parasitic) Alabama taxpayers pay them. Little wonder why last year's $228 million in college coach buyouts is att...
Since 1952, the first Thursday of May has been designated by the U.S. Congress as The National Day Of Prayer. It is a day when people are asked to turn to God in prayer and the President of The United States of America is required by law to sign a proclamation each year with the hopes of encouraging everybody to pray on The National Day of Prayer. Specifically, 36 U.S. Code § 119 states that, "The President shall issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a...
MONTGOMERY – Governor Kay Ivey on Friday reminded Alabamians of the state grocery tax holiday for the months of May and June. Earlier this month, Governor Ivey signed legislation providing this tax relief. Rep. James Lomax and Sen. Arthur Orr carried the bill. The governor issued the following comment: "When we can cut taxes in Alabama and provide some relief to the hardworking people of this state, I am all for it. With the Legislature, we have worked to pull back the state's portion of the g...
May 1, 2026 - MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama League of Municipalities (ALM) on Thursday elected Rusty Jessup, mayor of Riverside, as its new president and Jason Reeves, mayor of Troy, as its new vice president during the business session of the League's annual convention at the Montgomery Performing Arts Centre. Over 1,200 municipal officials, strategic partners and exhibitors attended this three-day convention to discuss legislative issues, hear from state leaders, share resources and conduct o...
Just in time for Mother's Day, Fathom entertainment is re-releasing the 1991 film, "Fried Green Tomatoes" in movie theaters nationwide on May 10th. It is the 35th anniversary of the motion picture that is based off of the novel by Fannie Flagg, "Fried Green tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café". With Flagg being a native of Birmingham, Alabama. Fannie Flagg helped adapt her novel into the script for the film for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for the best screenplay adaptation. The...
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Redistricting Foundation (NRF) is calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to deny what it describes as Alabama's "desperate and hypocritical" attempt to fast‑track a challenge to the state's congressional map in Caster v. Allen, warning that the move threatens to disrupt an election already in progress. In a legal brief filed Thursday, the NRF argued that Alabama's request to expedite its appeal-coming just 19 days before the state's primary and after early voting h...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
“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 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...
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...
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? 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...
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...
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...
May 1, 2026 - MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall spent the week pressing forward on multiple fronts in his campaign for the U.S. Senate, responding to a major Supreme Court ruling, unveiling new advertising, and emphasizing his record on crime victims' rights. The week's developments came as the Supreme Court issued its decision in Louisiana v. Callais, a ruling with significant implications for redistricting nationwide. Marshall quickly filed emergency motions asking...
GLP-1 side effects: What 400,000 patient reports reveal GLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) have become some of the most prescribed medications in the country. Millions of people take them for Type 2 diabetes and weight management, and for good reason — the clinical results are striking. But new research suggests that what patients are actually experiencing day to day may go beyond what the official trial data captures. A study p...
"Following the successful 2020 census, Alabama maintained our representation in Congress, and I called a special session to redraw our maps. Since then, we have been battling federal courts and activist groups who think they know Alabama better than Alabama. "Earlier this week, however, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a positive decision in the Louisiana v. Callais case, which I said was encouraging for our own pending litigation. I also acknowledged that Alabama's redistricting battle is not...
May 1, 2026 - BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Alabama Republican Party Chairman State Representative Scott Stadthagen (Hartselle) is applauding Governor Kay Ivey's (R) decision to call lawmakers into a special legislative session following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, a decision that has prompted swift action from state leaders on redistricting. Governor Ivey announced Thursday that she will reconvene the Alabama Legislature to address next steps in light of the Court's opinion,...
Marleen Eidsmoe, age 79, passed away on April 24, 2026, after a long battle with cancer. She was born September 2, 1946, in Valley City, North Dakota, and spent her life devoted to Christian education, children's ministry, and supporting her husband, John Eidsmoe, through his Air Force, legal, and pastoral career. John is a longtime law professor at Faukner School of Law and a popular columnist at the Alabama Gazette. She taught in multiple states, helped found Montgomery Christian School, and...
April 29, 2026 - MONTGOMERY, Ala - Today, the United States Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the controversial Voting Rights Act of 1965, making it unlikely for civil rights groups to carve out Black majority districts across the country subverting the state legislatures' constitutional authority. While the decision applied to Louisiana where the NAACP and the Democratic Party were trying to use the courts to strongarm the state into creating a second majority minority congressional...
