The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 1894
A feature-length animated interpretation of George Orwell's novella, "Animal Farm", is being released this weekend in movie theaters nationwide. Yet, the cartoon-like movie is receiving some criticism for being more of a modern day somewhat crassy spoof of Orwell's political satire rather than a serious take on the storyline. With George Orwell's novella typically interpreted as one that reveals how quickly absolute power rewrites what is considered by society to be the truth. The animated film...
There is a campaign video circulating in our state right now. A candidate for one of the highest offices in the land takes a piece of paper with a corporation's name on it, throws it in the air, and shoots it with a gun. He calls it campaign content. He posts it for applause. I will not name him. This is not about one man. This is about a sickness in our politics that has gotten worse every year, and if we do not say something about it now, it is going to get someone killed. In December of...
There was a time when late-night television served as a pressure valve for the country, a place where Americans of all stripes could laugh at the absurdities of politics and culture without feeling like they were being lectured, divided, or openly mocked for who they are and what they believe. That time is long gone, and no better late night host represents that decline than Jimmy Kimmel. What once passed for humor has curdled into something far more corrosive, a steady drip of partisan...
Miles Dewey Davis III was born 100 years ago in Alton, Illinois. Alongside Louis Armstrong, he is remembered as one of the most influential figures in the history of jazz. Yet unlike Armstrong and, contrary to popular narratives about great artists overcoming extreme poverty, Davis had a starkly different upbringing. His early life was marked by relative comfort and privilege. This shaped both his confidence and his artistic trajectory in ways that would later distinguish him from his peers....
You don’t know what you don’t know, and for many in Alabama, generational poverty is driven by limited access, exposure, and opportunity over time. This reality makes it critical to connect people to real pathways toward stability and upward mobility. The good news is Alabama’s economy continues to grow. We have diverse industries. The challenge is ensuring that every Alabamian, from the high school student to the veteran, has a clear path to a good-paying job. That requires meeting people where...
THE ULTIMATE END GAME FOR THEM IS ALL RED, ALL 67 COUNTRIES, ALL 7 CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS FOR WHICH WE MUST ULTIMATELY BRACE FOR NOW OR IN 2030. Much has been said regarding the Supreme Court Ruling and outright gutting of the 1965 Voting Rights act, in particular, what will happen to our representation in the UNITED STATES CONGRESS WHETHER THIS STATE WILL ULTIMATELY BECOME BLOOD RED 7-0 or 6-1 with Terri Sewell being spared. I OFFER THIS COMMENTARY. They have never been like us, not even when...
It is the time of year to pick out a lovely greeting card and order some pretty flowers, for Mother's Day is this Sunday, May 10th, 2026. It is a day that was first promoted by the West Virginia native, Anna Jarvis. With Jarvis campaigning for a day to commemorate all mothers after her own mother passed away. For her mother had frequently expressed a desire to have a day that commended mothers and the "matchless service" they render to humanity. President Woodrow Wilson agreed. With Wilson...
Legitimacy and credibility are required inputs for successful leadership; little worth to those who subjugate others in a kleptocracy. This explains much occurring at AU according to productive (non-parasitic) faculty who have contacted me after recent columns. AU's BoT installed Vini Nathan as provost in May 2023 after the original job posting stated the interim provost would be ineligible for the permanent position. Dr. Nathan was the interim provost. The Board gave her the job anyway. The...
High above hostile ground in the mountains of Iran, with enemy forces closing in and no margin for error, an American officer made a decision that defines not only his character, but the very essence of who we are as a nation. After ejecting from his aircraft into enemy territory, injured, isolated, and hunted, he did not wait for rescue to begin fighting for his survival; instead, he moved with purpose, climbing more than seven thousand feet through unforgiving terrain, knowing that every step...
There are moments in public life when the issue before us is so clear, so urgent, and so morally unambiguous that hesitation itself becomes a failure of leadership. House Bill 347 is one of those moments. The Alabama Legislature now stands at a crossroads, not between competing political ideologies, but between action and inaction in the face of a rapidly evolving threat to our children. The weaponization of artificial intelligence to produce and distribute sexually explicit imagery, including c...
April 2, 2026 - AUBURN, Ala. - Dismissal proceedings are underway at AU against a high-profile Professor who has publicly criticized and disciplined administrator malfeasance. The charge is reportedly "repeated acts of insubordination" - i.e., this professor voiced inconvenient things effectively enough to disturb power brokers [grubbers] enjoying substantive wealth redistributions. Proceedings were initiated by Vini (Interim-to-Permanent) Nathan, an illegitimately serving Provost whose installa...
"Defend the Guard" is proposed State-level legislation prohibiting overseas deployment of National Guardsmen to combat operations without formal congressional declaration of war. Authority to declare war is specifically assigned to Congress according to Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution. Since unconstitutional creation of the National Guard (further decaying State sovereignty) the federal government has wrongfully mobilized National Guard personnel without war declarations....
I would like to say there are zero legal issues associated with Resurrection Sunday, popularly called Easter but unfortunately there are issues. Even with the innocent secular emblems of Christmas there are issues. It makes me think about a friend who is a local professional artist. He had painted several Santa Clause images which by the way were very good. But he needed them protected as intellectual property so that some other individual could not legally use his now copyrighted images in a...
Every now and again a ewe (a female sheep) will give birth to a baby lamb and immediately reject that lamb. In fact, she'll kick it away. Many times, the shepherd will try to reintroduce the lamb to her. If she continues to reject the little lamb, then the shepherd has to intervene. They call these baby lambs “bummer lambs’. If the shepherd doesn't intervene, that little one will die…not of hunger, but of a broken spirit. So the shepherd takes the lamb into his home. He'll keep it warm by the f...
There comes a moment in every Congress when talk has to end and governing has to begin. This is that moment. President Donald J. Trump has made the stakes unmistakably clear when it comes to election integrity: “We must have secure elections. Without secure elections, we don’t have a country.” That is not rhetoric. That is reality. Republicans were not elected to clutch their pearls and seat on their hands. They were not sent to Washington to complain about the filibuster, hold press confe...
Seven years ago, I wrote the following Robservation. Not surprisingly, it is just as relevant today as it was in 2019. Only certain names have changed. In Christianity, Easter is the arguably the day of days. Some will argue for the birth of Christ which is indeed a valid argument. Others will vote for the day Christ defeated death and rose from the grave. Our faith depends upon the latter day. The Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:14, “and if Christ has not been raised, then our p...
April 1, 2026 - HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Huntsville is my hometown and a place defined by its contribution to one of the greatest achievements in human history—putting a man on the Moon. In Huntsville and north Alabama, brilliant minds developed the foundation for the Apollo program, advanced the United States' recognition as a superpower with the Saturn V rocket, and was home to a generation of engineers and scientists who helped turn an ambitious vision into reality. Memories earlier in my c...
Alabama State Representatives and Senators closed out the legislative session for the year last week. Unless Governor Kay Ivey calls them back into special session, they are done again until 2027. Budgets Top Priority On the final day of Alabama lawmakers convened in their regular 2026 session in Montgomery, Governor Kay Ivey signed into law the two state budgets. Legislators appropriated some $10 billion to the Education Trust Fund, those monies for public education, including k-12 schools,...
Longtime readers may now look forward to seeing YellaGrubber don his white shoes and shake his ample 'junk in the trunk' to the "Chewacla Two-Step" in the ballroom of the new $350 million annex to Jordan-Hare Stadium. An AU BoT agenda item for this Friday [4-17-26] convening at the AU and Dixon Conference Center Hotel is rubber-stamping the "North Endzone Multipurpose Events Center Addition" according to administrator nomenclature. Seven stories. Roughly 300,000 square feet. A ballroom. Premium...
Alabama’s workforce participation challenge stems primarily from a disconnect between individuals and available employment opportunities. Too many able-bodied, working-age adults remain outside the labor force. We need to examine the structural barriers, misaligned incentives, and limited access points that keep them on the sidelines. If our state is serious about long-term economic growth, collectively we must focus less on job creation alone and more on bringing able-bodied people back into t...
During my tenure as a hospital administrator, I learned that health care doesn't stand still. Costs keep rising while patient needs keep evolving and workforce issues keep shifting. If the policies that support the system don't keep pace with these changes, then providers, patients, and families feel the impact quickly. That's why I've been paying close attention to the latest developments out of Washington regarding Medicare Advantage. Earlier this year, there was real concern about where...
Look forward to this year's Scholarship Banquet at the Marriott Grand National in Opelika [https://southernprepacademy.org/scholarship-banquet/] Friday [4-24-26] to showcase The Southern's recent accomplishments and prepare for next year's cohort designed to support promising students preparing for their future. Please also mark your calendar for the following day; Saturday, April 25, 2026 for this year's RangerFest [https://southernprepacademy.org/rangerfest/] at Southern Preparatory Academy...
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 plan...
In an earlier writing, I suggested that the President as commander-in-chief of the armed forces has authority to engage in limited military action without a congressional declaration of war, and that a preemptive strike can be justified when the threat is instant and overwhelming and when waiting could make self-defense difficult or impossible. Trump’s deep-bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025 was justifiable on constitutional, legal, and moral grounds. But the latest strike on Ira...
In the summer of 2016, retired Alabama state trooper Joe W. Champion decided he needed a level spot to park on his steep property on Lake Jordan in Elmore County. He ordered a 12 yard truckload of unsorted road gravel from a pit near the River Parkway Toll Bridge near Prattville to fill it in. As he spread it out, he looked through the gravels for interesting rocks, like agates and chunks of petrified wood. Every once in a while since then, he gave his new gravel addditional searches. About the...
