The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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The 2014 General Election is Tuesday. It is set to be uneventful. I predicted over a year ago that this election year was going to be dull and, folks, my prognostication has come to fruition. This year has been a yawner from the get go. Even the GOP and Democratic primaries in June were void of any drama. As the results trickled in from the summer primaries, there were absolutely no surprises or upsets. Even in the face of historic low voter turnout, every favorite or incumbent prevailed and...
This is probably my last article I will write for the Gazette. By the time this issue is published the election for Montgomery County Sheriff will be decided and I will be ending my 36 year career in law enforcement, 20 years at the Montgomery Police Department and 16 years as your Sheriff. I announced last summer that I was retiring and I was supporting Chief Deputy Derrick Cunningham as the next Sheriff of Montgomery County. I have known Derrick since he worked for me investigating violent...
There is a line from my favorite WWII movie, 12 O’clock High, where newly promoted LTC Harvey Stovall, played by Dean Jagger, is sitting in the office with Gregory Peck’s character, General Savage, and two other officers. The 918th Bomb Group had just completed their most challenging mission to date and was scheduled to fly a mission against the same target the following day. As the men are discussing the day’s events, Stovall, quite drunk, stands up and interrupts the conversation, “I am conf...
Fall is without a doubt my preferred season and November is definitely one of my favorite months, primarily because it seems that people exhibit far more of an attitude of thankfulness than during any other time of the year. Along with my absolute gratitude for all that God has provided, I venture to guess that some of us are more than a little thankful that another election season of road signs, phone polling, and negative advertising is ending. We’ll soon learn if those who are either r...
Well folks, it's finally November, which is when gun season for deer hunting kicks off! With both Northern and Southern zones starting on the 22nd of November, all of us are dusting off those orange caps and vests, sighting in the old rifle, and scouting around for the best spot to bring home a buck. You've got muzzleloader season starting on the 17th, and youth seasons starts on the 14th! In the Southern Zone, there's also a period from December 1st through 10th where gun hunting is out, and...
In the spring of 1955, a new high school was being born on Ann Street in what was then East Montgomery. At the time, Sidney Lanier High School, which had been an intellectual bastion of excellence and an athletic power in the state of Alabama, was bulging at the seams, with over 2,000 students. This was somewhat confusing news to nineteen Lanier football players that would be eligible to transfer to the new school, which would be named Robert E. Lee High School. We had all grown up hoping to...
Everyone is probably aware of the strong ties that exist between law and economics. Both law and economics are social systems. Every member of society necessarily participates in both systems. It might be more accurate to say that both law and economics are sub-systems within the total framework of society. The two systems - law and economics – are supported by differing motivational forces, and to some extent, exist independently of each other as systems. Human motivation is always complex. A...
It was Christmas Eve morning, 1980, in a small quaint college town – Montevallo. Within a few hours most everyone had heard the gruesome news. A long-time 86 year-old distinguished widow of the former Dean of the Alabama College (now the University of Montevallo) Mrs. Orr, had been found brutally raped and murdered in her home. I grew up in this quiet, relatively safe town where I began the first grade, graduated from Montevallo High School and, literally across the Oak Street, I earned several...
The 17th Annual "Battles for the Armory" War Between the States Reenactment will be held November 7th, 8th and 9th at Gibson's View Plantation in Tallassee. The event commemorates the 1864 Battles of Chehaw Station and Franklin which saved Tallassee's Confederate Armory from destruction by Union Army raiders. Heralding this year's event as the 150th anniversary of the battles, the Alabama Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans wisely selected this reenactment as the State Division's...
Last month, the Alabama State Bar celebrated Pro Bono Month. Pro Bono in this context is the offering of free legal services to low income individuals. October was filled with events on almost every day, which included workshops for the elderly, homeless, clinics for legal issues sometimes encountered by low-income individuals such as eviction and domestic issues and even guidance for individuals that might represent themselves in District Court. These events were available all over the State....
“The Bible itself, particularly the Geneva edition of 1560 and the Authorized Version of 1611, is the single most important primary source for the intellectual history of colonial America.” (Lawrence Cremin) “It has been estimated that over 40 per cent of the books printed in England between 1480 and 1640 were religious in theme, as were some 50 per cent of those printed by the American press between 1639 and 1689. Bibles, service books, and systematic theological treatises accounted for a goo...
Alabama's senior legislators concluded their three-day session on October 22, in the old House of Representatives Chamber in the Alabama Capitol building. During their session they studied 58 resolutions submitted by the various members and selected 10 to submit to the Governor and the Legislature for their consideration and possible action. The ten resolutions that had a direct impact on the State's senior population, in order of popularity, were: Legislation to provide funding formobile...
November is Family Stories Month. Every family has stories—stories are a great way to carry on family legacies, pass lessons on to future generations, and share what is important to your family with the rest of the world. Your family stories may include ones about the birth of a child, serving in war, helping people in need, or the deaths of loved ones. We’d like to share some stories about what it means to receive disability benefits from Social Security. And we have a website that does just th...
What’s the first thing which comes to mind when you think of November? For me, it’s Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is filled with grand memories of family together and fabulous meals. As I have come to look at life from a longer perspective, it seems that it was easier to celebrate Thanksgiving than to be truly thankful. Thanksgiving was never intended to be a one-day holiday, but rather, a pause from life to express together thanks for the blessings which are ours throughout the year. As peo...
Writing about such a broad topic as Southern Cuisine sends my mind in so many directions. In my last article, I introduced a part of my childhood and memories of spending time with my grandmother and recipes that have been pasted on. My picture in the last issue was an old picture taken when I won my first SPAMERICA'S CUP. I have updated my picture from a cook that experimented with a fusion of techniques and flavors to a chef that likes to cook foods the way they used to be prepared. Simple ing...
Everyone loves a holiday, and in the south, we do love holidays that have a close association with food. And Thanksgiving is a prime example. People plan their menus weeks in advance and have family and friends over for a meal which is really a feast. The sideboard groans with casseroles, turkey either roasted or fried, dressings with who know what all has been added, and the desserts which would win first place in many county fairs. But the real meaning of Thanksgiving is just that-we as a...
The groundhog, or woodchuck, is one of 14 species of marmots. These rodents live a feast-or-famine lifestyle and gorge themselves all summer to build up plentiful reserves of fat. After the first frost, they retreat to their underground burrows and snooze until spring, drawing their sustenance from body fat. While hibernating, the animal's heart rate plunges, and its body temperature is not much warmer than the temperature inside its burrow. Groundhog hibernation gave rise to the popular...
Sometimes it’s hard to believe in the goodness of God. For many, holidays like Thanksgiving are not a time of truly giving thanks, but a painful reminder of what is not. Families aren’t always the safe place they were created to be. Maybe someone is sick or maybe someone is missing. Maybe the economic crisis has hit close to home. The chaos of the holiday season officially kicks off, adding even more stress. There are countless reasons why this “bountiful feast” can feel more like an “unbear...