The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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In November 2022, The University of Dayton student newspaper ran an article about Al Arnold and his 2015 book, Robert E. Lee’s Orderly: A Modern Black Man’s Confederate Journey. Arnold, a devout Christian descended from a Black Confederate Veteran, has likely relied on his faith to shield himself from the backlash caused by deviating from the “government-approved narrative.” In reality, Black loyalty to the South was critical, as they ran or helped run small and large farms and plantat...
Imagine if you will two women driving down the Florida Highway. My friend Shirley and I had spent a few leisurely hours spinning the reels at WindCreek before buying a few chances on the Mega Millions at “The Goose” and taking backroads home. We had also went through the Arby’s drive-thru and taken advantage of their four for ten dollar roast beef deal and everything was going along exceedingly well, until it wasn’t. Initially we thought it was the road surface. We were traveling smoothl...
There really isn’t any other day on earth like it. If you just look at Valentine’s Day by the numbers, it boggles the brain a bit: ♥ $130.97 – The average estimated amount an individual will spend on Valentine’s Day. ♥ $224 million – The estimated number of roses grown for Valentine’s Day. ♥ $18.6 billion – The projected total amount Americans will spend for Valentine’s Day. ♥ $1.6 billion – The amount people will spend on candy. ♥ $1.9 billion – The amount people will spend on flowers. ♥ $4.4...
Richard Shelby walked out of the U.S. Senate this week after 36 years. Walking out with him is almost all of Alabama's seniority and power in Washington. Seniority equates into power in the Halls of Congress, especially in the Senate. National publications have illustrated the fact that Alabama has benefited more than all 50 states from federal earmarked funds due to one man, Richard Shelby. It will be impossible to replace Shelby. His legacy will last for generations, especially in Huntsville,...
One hundred years ago this month, delegates from various parts of the old Russian Empire met in Moscow to create the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The world would never be the same. Prior to this declaration, an internal conflict pitted a variety of groups with differing political ideologies against each other. At the cost of more than 10 million dead, the communists emerged as the victor. Under Vladimir Lenin, they consolidated power to create the first communist state; an experiment tha...
When the Brittney Griner trade with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout was announced, there was a legitimate flurry of conversations both positive and negative. Like most, I have my opinion about the deal. If someone asks me, I have no problem saying that I disagree with the deal, as it played out, for several reasons. A basketball player for an arms dealer, I do not think so. And although both people arguably hate America equally, the decision to go ahead with the trade, while leaving former...
Without specifics about yourself I’ll make this answer generic in a personal and in a business sense. I presume you looked at your financial estate planning (401k, mutual funds, stocks and bonds, life insurance, etc) which is important as there are some changes such as to an inherited IRA. Ask your investment professional. You should also think about your legal estate planning. After all you are a year older; you may have gotten married, had a new child, had a child reach the age of majority (...
Feedback from last month's postscript compels writing more on Kat Privett-Duren who was the first courageous soul at AU to stand against the malicious administrator recently disciplined in federal court by upholding Professor Stern's First Amendment civil right. How little local Lee County media covered this unlikely victory against such abusive power is revealing. Helps one understand how wrongdoing of this sort in our city/county government, hospitals, school systems, etc. continues...
After a disputed, bitter, (and in several cases possibly fraudulent) general election this past November, let’s take a look at what we might expect for the next two years. We could ask ourselves, “What happened to the expected red wave? Why did so many Democrats win elections that had been in Republican strongholds?” The clear evidence points directly to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe vs Wade combined with large numbers of extreme social hard-liners in many states recently pushing for dr...
It is difficult to monitor the level of awareness of the effort to destroy the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. Moses Ezekiel, a Jewish Confederate Veteran, who created this work of art, is buried below the monument along with three other veterans. This hate-filled and apparently anti-Semitic agenda, pushed by Ty Seidule, is not unique in American history. The story of Arlington Cemetery reveals another unsavory episode—one involving Robert E. Lee, George Washington, and t...
Thirty-two years ago, I lived in Montgomery. I was freshly enrolled as a full-time student at AUM, and a part-time waitress at Country’s Barbecue. I was 18. Barbara, who was 45 at the time, was originally from where I had just left – having graduated from Chilton County High School in May of 1990 – and that commonality is what helped pave the way that allowed me to live with her briefly when I first moved to Montgomery. The agreement was $100 a month and a list of things she did not want me do...
Happy New Year! As one year draws to a close and a new year begins, Numbers 6:24-26 is on my mind and heart. It says, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.” Considered to be one of the most beautiful blessings in the Bible, and perhaps the most widely used benediction, this verse is found tucked away in a book of the Bible that many believers may not actually be too familiar with. The...
Governor Kay Ivey’s 2022 reelection victory run has been very impressive. Some of you may be wondering how quickly I have been able to resolve that she has indeed culminated her victorious run when the General Election was held Tuesday and my column’s published date is Wednesday. It is simply as I have told you numerous times over the past two decades, winning the Republican Primary for governor in the Heart of Dixie is tantamount to election. The General Election is Alabama is an afterthought....
Yes, the United States Supreme Court heard the below case in December 2021 and issued the opinion in June 2022. The majority opinion was written by Chief Justice John Roberts. The other five mostly conservative justices concurred in the opinion and the more liberal leaning three justices during that Court’s term dissented. The Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution is found in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights and states in part, “Congress shall make no law res...
After the most recent election, Mrs. Grant gave me a call and told me she was pretty much sick of politics and asked if I would like to write something about Maxwell AFB. Definitely nothing about Gislene Maxwell. That is for another day. Since Maxwell AFB is, and has been such an integral part of the city of Montgomery, I said I would love to. Personally, I would love to see even more interactions between the city, definitely this newspaper and the Maxwell/Gunter AFB family. My first exposure...
Canada’s Fraser Institute just released the 2022 Economic Freedom of North America (EFNA) index. The good news: Alabama’s economic freedom increased slightly. The bad news: we still trail three neighboring states. Economic freedom refers to freedoms to buy, sell, work, and start businesses. A free economy relies on “personal choice and markets to answer basic economic questions such as what is to be produced, how it is to be produced, how much is produced, and for whom is production inten...
The Pilgrims’ first Christmas in the new world was remarkable, but not for the reasons you’d think. On December 25, 1621, William Bradford, the governor of the Plymouth Colony, prohibited the celebration of Christmas. But he wasn’t a Scrooge or a Grinch; he was simply following his religious conviction. He believed that Sunday was the only day for celebration and time off from work. While the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving was like our celebration, their first Christmas bore no resembl...
Straight-ticket voting AND the most restrictive ballot access laws in the nation; which will once again block political competition in Alabama. Most notable, even with mass straight-ticket and ‘write-in’ gubernatorial race votes (trumping up signature requirements to impede competition) was Dr. James ‘Jimmy’ Blake’s 3% result. This would suffice for ballot retention in most States. Some voters, who actually take voting seriously (didn’t mindlessly bubble-mark the Blue or Red socialist p...
For the past several decades, the news media and others have reported dire warnings about what we must do to protect the world we live in. Today, the big claimed bugaboo is “climate change.” Politicians worldwide claim that our consumption of fossil fuels (petroleum and coal) is destroying our planet with “greenhouse gases.” Their proposed “solution” is to force all of us to switch to “sustainable” sources of energy and implement a “carbon tax” to enforce it. Climate change is real. That’s natur...
Every year I claim to myself that I am going to write an official Christmas column. A column good enough to run every Christmas when the days just prior become so rushed and busy. Something classic and timeless and wonderful. Something that everyone can enjoy year after year. Words that fill hearts with the spirit and cheer of Christmas. A thought provoking piece that reminds all minds the real reason. I still haven’t written it. At least not yet. When I do though, it would have to include s...
Merry Christmas, my friends! In our Christmas card this year, my husband, Brian, and I chose the verse Romans 15:13. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 Paul's prayer for the Christians in Rome found in this verse is often used in churches today as a closing benediction. It is a powerful statement about what God can do in the heart and mind of every Christian. Paul makes this r...
This 2022 Election Year in Alabama has been monumental and memorable. Any gubernatorial year is big in the state. It is the brass ring of Alabama politics to be governor. However, the race to succeed our Senior Senator Richard Shelby has been the marquee contest. This year will be the last hurrah for our two leading political figures in the state. Senator Richard Shelby is retiring after 36 years in the U.S. Senate at age 88. Governor Kay Ivey will be elected to her final term as Governor at...
One hundred two souls left England in 1620 to land in Virginia where they were to receive land through contract by the Virginia Company. The Virginia Company was chartered by King James I to set up English colonies in Virginia. Yes, it’s the same King James that commissioned that version of the Bible. We often think of the Mayflower as a ship of Pilgrims but only forty-one were on that voyage to separate themselves from the Church of England. The others, whom the Pilgrims referred to as s...
FECKLESS: lacking initiative or strength of character; irresponsible, useless, worthless, incompetent, inefficient, inept, good-for-nothing, idle, slothful, indolent, shiftless, spiritless, apathetic, aimless, unambitious. At 2128 local time, on the night of 16/17 May 1943, the first of 19 British Royal Air Force (RAF) Lancaster bombers took off on OPERATION CHASTISE: The raid to attack German dams in the Ruhr. In arguably the most perfect example of a center of gravity analysis turned...
One hundred years ago this month, Italy succumbed to a new political order that would ignite a worldwide struggle for freedom. Completely abandoning its rightful claim as the birthplace of republican self-government, Italy embraced the fanatical politics of Benito Mussolini and embarked on a sad journey of prioritizing rhetoric over reason and ideology over experience. The permanent scaring and disability of the veterans who suffered the horrors of trench warfare were a constant reminder of the...
