The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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Prof. Thornton's recent book, The Skyscraper Curse offers sound perspective on booms and busts in our economy making business cycle theory accessible to the current, 21st-century audience. Long time readers will appreciate how this higher stationed colleague (I'm only an Instructor) is a kindred Spirit in efforts to educate up and coming generations. Seems most of the math/quant jocks on Wall Street, at the Fed, etc. barely remember the 2008 Crash and what triggered it, much less the 1987 Crash...
Ah, yes. In the immortal words of Yoda, well not really Yoda but. . . , “The stupid is strong with this one.” And yes, it is on display in full regalia these days. Just a couple of examples for you today. 1. Bettie Scott Cook: Have any of you ever heard of this political hack? I had not. This Democrat (imagine that) happens to be a Black woman running for a state seat in Michigan when she recently referred to her Asian rival as a “Ching Chong.” No, you really cannot make this stuff up. Accordi...
The beginning of summer is approaching and we are nearing my favorite time of the year. Summer in the south brings with it vacations, weekends spent outside, outdoor activities, and a multitude of other opportunities. It is a great chance to get out and enjoy our wonderful state parks. I am certainly biased to Alabama but some of the world’s most beautiful natural sites can be found within our state and many of those are at Alabama state parks. Alabama is home to 22 state parks, each having a...
Alabama Power is and has always been a force in Alabama politics. Some entities may have influence in the Legislature, but the power company has the ear of folks in all three branches of State government: Legislative, Executive and Judicial. If you sat down with all 35 state senators, especially the veterans who know the ropes and the system, and you had an extensive off-the-record private conversation with each of them, and you asked them if you had to have one special interest group in your...
Unfortunately in my work I run across situations where there is a not a good understanding of the implications of a real property deed not having an up to date deed. One thing that happens at times, more so in rural areas is on the death of someone, their estate is not probated and their real property is inhabited by one or more heirs. The heir or heirs continue to pay real property taxes and even insurance when the property contains insurable structures. The problem is that as time goes on...
The name of Patrick Henry comes to mind when we think of the American Revolutionary period. Every American over 50 has heard of his memorable words, "Is life so dear or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" Recent generations in government schools have been deprived of true history and with that, we have lost much of the Liberty for which Patrick Henry gave his life. There is no doubt that Patrick Henry was the most distinguished orator of the colonial South....
A little over five years ago, prior to the Alabama charter school bill passing out of the State Legislature and becoming law, I wrote about the choices that exist everywhere in our culture except in public education. Not only do abundant choices exist in almost every realm of consumerism, Americans demand those choices. But when it comes to public education, for some reason we tend to accept the status quo, and I think that some of that acceptance is the result of the difficulty and hard work...
Just about every American will agree that our country is the greatest in the world. In many ways, it is just that. But in others, we have grave shortcomings. One of these is the way we operate our correctional facilities. Law enforcement that is intended to keep dangerous people off the streets and rehabilitate them has in many ways done just the opposite and has actually exacerbated criminal activities. America has 330 million people—less than 5 percent of the world’s population. But we hav...
Never in my forty years of doing pre-season projections on how the top college football teams will finish their regular season, have I seen how the scene looks this year. Seven teams have a good chance to finish undefeated. As far as I can remember this has never happened and it is not really expected in 2018. Some of these teams will have a bad game and drop out of the undefeated category. Clemson has the best avenue to an undefeated season because of their schedule. The Tigers play at Texas...
Plenty of rain, plenty of heat, plenty of humidity, and plenty of reasons to love the other seasons in Alabama; Summer is here and in full swing. Aside from endless grass cutting and edging, there's some good fishing to be had this time of year, as well as the usual road trips and beach stays. That's fine and all, but I'm still ready for the cooler months to get here, because that's when hunting starts to really kick back into gear. And maybe football. A lot of football. Of course, Deer Season...
During his lifetime your humble scribe has traveled throughout most of the United States, Europe, and into the South Pacific. Residence has been in a variety of setting, many more than once, but none have been as satisfactory as the present abode: “Elmcroft of Halcyon,” an assisted living facility located next to the ballpark off Taylor Hill Road. It is a splendid facility that accommodates a variety of senior living needs. The staff at Elmcroft is headed by Executive Director Tammy Grant, who...
I just read an article where a food writer discovered the Peanut Butter and Mayonnaise Sandwich! This writer must not read my article nor get around much. Even Garden and Gun has featured this sandwich, with the history of the sandwich dating back to the 1930's. The writer had a picture showing the ingredients: organic peanut butter and Hellmann's mayonnaise. Then commented, "To my surprise---it wasn't awful". If the sandwich is made with Duke's mayonnaise and Smucker's Natural Creamy peanut...
Jesus talked a lot about forgiveness! As I mentioned last month in the Alabama Gazette, forgiveness isn't optional. If you know anything about Jesus' teachings, you will know that he ties our forgiveness to how we forgive others. In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, "forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us." "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your...
Senior Fishing Rodeo Sheriff Derrick Cunningham and the staff of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office will host our annual Senior Citizen's fishing rodeo on Tuesday, September 11th from 6:00 a.m.-12:00 noon. We invite you to share this flier with Senior Citizen's in your family, church, community and other seniors residing in Montgomery County. This free event provides a good social outing for our seniors, who give so much of themselves to help others. For more information, please contact...
"Fill the Patrol Car" The Autauga County Sheriff's Office held a "Fill the Patrol Car" with school supplies campaign during the month of July. They set up at participating Dollar Generals in Autauga County collecting supplies and donations. All the supplies were divided between the rural schools and the donations were used to purchase missing items and additional supplies to make each delivery equal. After school started the Sheriff visited each school and delivered the school supplies. Each...
We build houses like we will be here forever, but it is all very temporary. “Fleeting,” I think is what the Bible says, “The twinkling of an eye.” We are given, on average – if we are lucky – about 78 years. This average of course is not always accurate. You can’t depend on it. It is more unpredictable than Alabama weather or hormonal women. Nobody gets promised any tomorrows. There will come a day for each of us when there will be no next week. It is all a balance between the uncertainty of tim...
God has put dreams and desires in your heart…things that you are hoping for, praying about, and believing in. Habakkuk 2:3 says, “The vision is for an appointed time. Though it tarry, wait earnestly for it, for it will surely come.” When you have a dream from God in your heart, you don’t have to struggle and try to force it to happen. You don’t have to be worried or frustrated….wondering if it will ever come to pass. When you have God’s promises deep in your heart, you will enter in to a place...
Where has the summer gone. Seem like it was just yesterday that we were getting ready for Memorial Day, flying flags, putting up red, white and blue bunting and watching parades on television. Now it is Labor Day with the summer days winding down to fall. I will have to note that this summer is the wettest one in recent history. Surely the drought is over, and our ground water filled to the brim. Garden chores are not as intense this time of year as in the early spring, especially if you have...
Social Security and Medicare have a few things in common. Both programs help safeguard millions of Americans as well as improve the quality of life for our family and friends. Although both programs are household names, many people may not be familiar with the details of Medicare. Medicare is our country’s health insurance program for people age 65 or older. The program helps with the cost of health care, but it doesn’t cover all medical expenses or the cost of most long-term care. You have cho...
Perry Hooper Jr....