The people's voice of reason

Opinion


Sorted by date  Results 626 - 650 of 1547

Page Up

  • Straight-Ticket Defiers

    John Sophocleus|Nov 1, 2022

    To those who don’t want to be a part of the Bloods or Crips political gang…. https://www.alabamagazette.com/story/2018/12/01/opinion/the-scourge-of-straight-ticketers/1518.html Straight-ticket voting enables a voter to cast all their votes for one party with a single mark at the top of the ballot. This duopoly party enhancing practice finally died in most States. Little surprise it remains in uncompetitive/ballot access blocked Alabama which is among the last with six other States still sufferin...

  • The Libertarian Alternative

    John Martin|Nov 1, 2022

    On the 8th of this month, we will be going to the polls to vote for and against various candidates in this year's mid-term general election. For some offices, we won't have much of a choice-the lesser of two evils-typically a lack luster Republican against an even more lackluster, if not tyrannical, Democrat. That is the routine of many elections, and this year is no exception. Nearly all of our really fine candidates met defeat in the Republican primary. These include our brightest star, Mo...

  • Tears & Laughter: It's Carnival Season

    Amanda Walker|Nov 1, 2022

    I bought a purse last week I will probably never use. It is small. A simple zippered change pouch. I don’t need it, and it doesn’t particularly suit my taste. It is not my shade of pink. Typically, I think it might would appeal to someone much younger, but I touched it. I felt the texture of the beadwork…and it reminded me of a similar beaded change purse I had when I was a kid. The church my family attended would have an annual Family Day. Or at least that is what we called it. It was meant...

  • Gratitude Changes Everything

    Trisston Wright Burrows|Nov 1, 2022

    Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and so I’ve been thinking about gratitude a lot lately. What is it? When should we show it? What does God say about it? 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tell us, “Give thanks in all circumstances”. This verse doesn’t command us to feel thankful in all circumstances. Instead, it says we should “give thanks in all circumstances.” When I begin to praise God in a difficult situation, even if I don’t feel like it, many times the scales fall from my eyes and I begin to se...

  • WHAT ARE SOME OF THE RULES OF A DUI OFFENSE?

    Ron Holtsford|Oct 1, 2022

    A driving under the influence (DUI) offense carries serious fines and jail time especially if the same individual is arrested multiple times for a DUI. In 2017, Alabama was 5th in drunk driving related deaths.There are some special rules that apply. Interestingly the special rules apply to whether (1) the individual is driving a school bus/ day care vehicle, or (2) it is a commercial vehicle, or (3) the individual is under the age of 21, or (4) the individual does not fall into any of the above...

  • Alabama State Board of Education

    Steve Flowers|Oct 1, 2022

    School board members are some of the most selfless public servants in Alabama. This accolade goes to the Alabama State Board of Education, and more specifically local school board members. These members are tasked with a very important mission but receive very little compensation for their time and efforts. They are indeed public servants. The Alabama State Board of Education is a nine member body that sets public education policy for K-12 schools. The governor is an ex-officio member of the...

  • AND YET WE ARE THE NIHILISTS!

    Robert Tate|Oct 1, 2022

    NIHILISM: The rejection of all religious and moral principles, in the belief that life is meaningless. A viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless. Extreme skepticism maintaining that nothing in the world has a real existence. A doctrine or belief that conditions in the social organization are so bad as to make destruction desirable for its own sake independent of any constructive program or possibility. It is also a political belief...

  • Five Hundred Years of Global Trade

    Justice Will Sellers|Oct 1, 2022

    With supersonic air travel, it takes less than three days to travel around the world. Five hundred years ago, it took three years. When Ferdinand Magellan left Spain in 1519, he embarked on an adventure that was rife with danger and uncertainty. His flagship, if you can call it that, was a mere 75 feet long and had room for just over 60 people. He had no map and would be guided primarily by a crude form of celestial navigation. In reality, his destination was undetermined. But, his ultimate...

  • Electing Lobbyists: Streamlining Political Theft in Alabama

    John Sophocleus|Oct 1, 2022

    Bill Britt (4/18/18 Alabama Political Reporter) stated current and former BCA [Business Council of Alabama] members thought the board’s vote demanding Bill Canary’s resignation was good news for our State’s future. Some were angry BCA Chairman Perry Hand wanted to keep Canary until fall. APR’s sources said Hand’s timing was designed for BCA to further influence election outcomes; control campaign donations and win enough races to rally a comeback. Hand seemed willing to risk everythin...

  • Biden's Amazing Inflation Machine

    John Martin|Oct 1, 2022

    From 2017 through 2021, under the Donald Trump administration, America’s inflation rate remained steady at about two percent annually, a rate that will underwrite a strong, robust economy. But after the beginning of Joe Biden’s regime, reckless government spending and meddling cranked it up to 7% in 2021 and 8.5% so far into 2022. Why did it happen? The handwriting is right there on the wall. Joe Biden’s ruthless and abusive tampering with our petroleum industries produced the expected short...

  • The False Demonization of Nathan Bedford Forrest

    John M Taylor|Oct 1, 2022

    Just mentioning the name Nathan Bedford Forrest stirs many emotions. As Abe Lincoln has been falsely deified, Forrest has been falsely demonized. Remember, the winner writes the history and they have done a massive disservice to the legacy of Forrest. Nathan Bedford Forrest was born in Chapel Hill, Tennessee, and moved with his family to Salem, Mississippi, in 1834. Often characterized as “Scots-Irish”, Forrest had a Norman French surname and considerable English lineage (his Mother was a Bec...

  • Labor Day Reflections on Quiet Quitting

    Daniel Sutter|Oct 1, 2022

    Labor Day was established in 1894 to honor America’s workers. “Quiet quitting” refers to working no more than necessary to keep your job and then bragging about it on Tik Tok. Does quiet quitting disrespect Labor Day? Each Labor Day we should celebrate the labor market. The labor market is part of the market economy, an economic system based entirely on voluntary participation and the freely given consent of all parties. The labor market is a foundation of personal freedom. By contrast, throu...

  • Tears & Laughter - Rx: Laugher – take as needed, endless refills, no expiration

    Amanda Walker|Oct 1, 2022

    Remember how legendary columnist Lewis Grizzard used to write about how he could hardly wait for Cathy Rigby to go through menopause so she wouldn’t be in commercials advertising feminine care products anymore? He said he didn’t care if it absorbed the entire Atlantic Ocean, he didn’t want to sit in his den and hear about it on television. There wasn’t much that was off limits for Lewis. He wrote unapologetically from his perspective as a man who had been raised in a small Georgia town. He cont...

  • "Let Go & Let God"

    Trisston Wright Burrows|Oct 1, 2022

    I love fall!! The color change, the weather change, the smell change...it’s about change. I see it happening right now. Leaves falling. What was once a tree deep in rich green, then a tree with vibrant shades of red and orange, now is soon becoming a tree that will be empty. Nothing left but the branches. We wish the color stayed. We think the only thing that makes the tree beautiful is the colorful leaves. We may ask, “why does it have to be so bare?” Isaiah 43:18-19 “Remember not the former...

  • Alabama is a Big Front Porch

    Steve Flowers|Sep 1, 2022

    This is the final version of a three week series of stories that illustrate that Alabama is a Big Front Porch. James E. “Big Jim” Folsom was one of our few two-term governors. In the old days, governors could not succeed themselves. Therefore, Big Jim was first governor in 1946-1950. He waited out four years and came back and won a second term in 1954, and stayed through 1958. Big Jim was still a young man when he was first elected in 1948. He and his wife, Jamelle, had their firstborn chi...

  • NATO's Newest Member

    Justice Will Sellers|Sep 1, 2022

    Prior to the American Revolution and more than a decade before the French Revolution, there was the Swedish Revolution, which marks its 250th anniversary this month. While often out of the orbit of discussions of western civilization, Sweden was and continues to be a repository of enlightened democratic values. With a remarkable history of military conquest and constitutional government, the semiquincentennial of the Swedish Revolution is worth noting. Sweden is known for having divided...

  • JUST ASKING

    Robert Tate|Sep 1, 2022

    In the news everyday now, we are hearing about the 87,000 new IRS agents being hired by the federal government. At base level, this seems to be a bit egregious and threatening. Let’s be honest, there has never been a human being in the history of this country who has received a letter from the IRS and looked at that envelope and smiled. Never. Although some good news may be hidden within, it always seems to portend the end of someone’s financial world. Time, money, audits, you name it. It is...

  • Stealing Elections in Alabama: Next Step, Close Primaries

    John Sophocleus|Sep 1, 2022

    Champions of political competition often cite Alabama with the most restrictive ballot access laws in 50 States. Any non-duopoly political party wanting access/inclusion on the upcoming Nov. 8th general election ballot printing was required to submit over 51,000 verified signatures. Given the history of being blocked from ballots, debates, media coverage, etc. the LPA [Libertarian Party of Alabama] submitted almost 80,000 signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office reducing ‘wiggle roo...

  • WHEN DO YOU REALLY NEED A WILL?

    Ron Holtsford|Sep 1, 2022

    There are a few ways to approach your estate planning and even if you don’t think you have anything you most likely have more than you think. Some people however, do literally have nothing and live month to month and have more debt than assets, but most people do have enough to where they should at least talk to a lawyer. But let’s say you live month to month and have next to nothing in the bank. Let’s also say you have a car payment, you rent a place to live and maybe credit card debt where...

  • The Demise of the Butterflies

    John Martin|Sep 1, 2022

    What has happened to our butterflies? Have many people even bothered to notice? On a typical summer day, how many do you see? Up until about 1980, anybody could step outside in most places and spot a dozen or more in a few minutes. Since then, gradually at first, their numbers have diminished, and the decline has continued every year. When we passed Y2K, it began to accelerate. Finally, in mid-summer 2021, the remaining 10% of our butterflies suddenly almost completely disappeared, even in...

  • Tears & Laughter: The IRS may hire 87,000 new agents, but do not worry

    Amanda Walker|Sep 1, 2022

    In Camden…poor little small Camden, we have limited restaurants of any kind. Fried chicken is widely available. There are more places to buy fried chicken than there are gas stations or red lights, but still the number is limited. Add to that the fact that Wilcox County has never not had the highest unemployment in the state. So there are people who evidently need jobs, but restaurants here are never fully staffed. They are always hiring. The staff shortage is so severe that it is no longer u...

  • "Be Strong and Courageous"

    Trisston Wright Burrows|Sep 1, 2022

    It’s natural to have some fear or apprehension at the beginning of a new task. We may ask ourselves questions like “What if I don’t know what to do?” or “What if I’m not good enough?” I am sure at some point in life, all of us have had questions like these have come to mind followed by feelings of fear and doubt. I know I sure have. Joshua 1:9 reminds us, “Be Strong and of Good Courage. Life can be full of challenges, sorrows, and tough decisions. But even amidst hardship, the Lord counsels us t...

  • BITS AND PIECES #15: WAKE UP AMERICA!

    Robert Tate|Aug 1, 2022

    As I sit here today, I have to continuously shake my head. I have to ask myself, “What in the heck is going through the minds of so many Americans?” As a society, it seems as though we have lost our collective minds. I hate to say this, really I don’t, but so many of our citizens are just plain stupid, ignorant, evil, complacent or a combination of all. So here we go. 1. Illegals in Alabama. yellowhammernews.com/late-night-southern-border-flights-make-landing-in-alabama-cities/ According to Ye...

  • January Sixth Twenty Twenty-one: A Date Which Will Live in Stupidity

    John Sophocleus|Aug 1, 2022

    I can almost hear FDR’s shrill voice enunciating these words in my “mind’s ear.” The nation’s capitol was fatuously and ignorantly attacked… Apropos to evoke FDR as a traditional, big govt. New York Republican turned Democrat that drove the last nails in the Party of Jefferson coffin. TJ championed the long road to freedom and independence which morphed into the hegemonic coalition we observe today after the success of the newly formed Republican Party four score after Jefferson penned our...

  • THE FIST BUMP THAT WAS SEEN 'ROUND THE WORLD

    Perry O Hooper Jr|Aug 1, 2022

    On his 4-day trip to the Middle East, Joe Biden gave a new definition to Barack Obama’s foreign policy of “Leading from Behind,” and it is not good. “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” refers to the opening gun shoot in April 1775 in the opening battle in our War of Independence from the tyranny of King George and the British Empire. Americans were seeking their God giving rights of independence. The fist bump seen round the world will be forever remembered as the greeting that Joe Biden gave Saud...

Page Down