The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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Submitted by John J. Davis – Special Guest Columnist Assistant Attorney General, Appellate Division, Office of the Attorney General, State of Alabama I got to know Bob Lieberman almost 30 years ago when I worked with his oldest son, Bruce, on the staff of then Attorney General Jimmy Evans. Bob immediately impressed me as a man of great wisdom and with an understated sense of humor. He had already retired from his job at the Environmental Protection Agency and was still working part-time for it. I knew that he had served in the Army during World...
The Two Sides of Education in Alabama I sometimes talk – half in jest – about this book I am going to write one day called, “The Two Sides of Camden.” I would call it that because there are two sides of Camden. And the two sides each have two sides as well. These two sides tend to spill out all over the county. They cross the river and seep into the surrounding counties of the Black Belt on all sides. I see it and recognize it here, but it is everywhere across the state. I suppose to some ex...
Happy New Year! Whew! We made it! Thank you, Jesus!! What a wild ride 2020 was…from the COCID-19 Pandemic to civil unrest to the Presidential election. Recently, I was reminded of a beautiful song that is often sung around the holidays, you’ve heard it…”Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me.” Have you ever taken the time to figure out what that really means? Sounds like such a simple concept. I think it means finding peace and joy within ourselves and then sharing that peace and j...
On the morning of the momentous November 3 Presidential Election Day, I began my day on my hometown radio station, WTBF in Troy, which has been my tradition for election days for over 30 years. As the polls began to open around 7 a.m., we began getting calls that the people were lined up for almost a mile outside of the two most populous voting locations in Pike County. Then, I started getting texts that a good many of the Republican boxes in major North Alabama cities had people waiting in...
Around Labor Day when this year’s presidential campaign was beginning to heat up, I wrote a column about the classic 1960 presidential contest between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon. This pivotal presidential race marked the beginning of television as the premier political medium. The first televised presidential debate that year was the turning point of that campaign. Kennedy won the Whitehouse with his performance or as some would say, Nixon lost by his appearance on TV that fateful night i...
Little has changed since earlier appellate cases and one will note slight subjective language in the subsequent decisions. These cases have arisen using the Establishment Clause of the Constitution of the United States to back up the adverse claims of individuals or groups in what they perceive as being unconstitutional. The Establishment Clause is a part of the First Amendment and reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” followed by the Free Exercise C...
I have to admit one thing. As I look back at my Air Force career, I have had the honor and pleasure working with some of the most honorable, intelligent and patriotic men and women you can imagine. I will tell anyone that if I could handpick my team of 10 veterans and debate just about any other group of equal numbers in areas of national security, military necessity, homeland security and the like, we would crush all challengers. I honestly believe this. I say this because the group of men and...
Having studied Southern History for the last thirty plus years, I understand why certain types of people dislike Robert Edward Lee. Lee represented the best of American society. He was a devout Christian (Episcopalian) American patriot with an incredible family history; he loved his kinsmen and friends and constantly referenced duty as the most sublime word in the English language. One of Lee’s contemporaries was John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, aka Lord Acton, of English and German l...
Four years ago, in November 2016, we Americans elected a president who has out-performed all others within the last 50 years. Donald John Trump has fought the deep state like no other in recent history. But fighting it has taken a terrible toll. The Deep-Staters have imposed numerous roadblocks, including frivolous impeachment proceedings, to block his efforts to drain their swamp. There is no argument that they passionately hate him and are willing to take any desperate measures imaginable to...
Doubtful I’m alone considering 2020 one of the worst years endured in recent memory. I type this year’s Alabama Gazette Christmas column with very heavy hands knowing it will be the first without William “Bill” Grant in the mix; an integral part of establishing this wonderful paper 21 years ago. Those who recall past Christmas writings know I consider the Grants a “Bailey Family” in Montgomery similar to the classic story and Spirit of Bedford Falls. Jimmy Stewart (George Bailey) and Donna R...
“The grass fades and the flower withers, but the word of our God stands forever.” During the Ten Commandments battle here in Alabama, this was one of my favorite scriptures to publicly quote as we struggled to keep the monument in the Alabama Judicial Building. The U.S. Constitution is not even a hint equal to the Bible, but, the founding fathers in their immeasurable wisdom, had full intent for the constitution to be strong as titanium standing against every passing fad, whim, wind and doc...
Joe Biden has won the presidential election, although President Trump alleges fraud. Mr. Trump, however, has not yet offered credible evidence of fraud. The current controversy involves “vote harvesting” and raises questions about the effect of selling votes. Vote harvesting involves individuals collecting mail-in ballots from voters. Clearly persons with limited mobility should receive assistance in voting, which relatives, legal guardians, and election officials can generally provide. Harvesti...
With so much news to absorb in recent months, it has been easy to overlook the continuing small business crisis in our state. While we have been preoccupied by the mounting Coronavirus cases and deaths, soaring unemployment, unprecedented political turmoil, thousands of Alabama small businesses have been teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. This is not their fault. They were ordered to close their doors. These businesses employ more than half of all Alabamians and are major drivers of our...
I grew up in the 1970s and 80s, and it was not a time when self-esteem was widely recognized as being terribly important. We did not all get trophies. We were not all winners. I don’t remember any standout losers either. Some of us tried harder and some of us were more talented or had more ability, some of us practiced more and improved out skills, some people could have cared less. We had one ole boy in high school that could sing pretty good, and we had another that went on to play s...
Merry Christmas, Everyone! Remember the song “O Holy Night” – A thrill of hope; the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Does Christmas thrill you? Children get excited at the coming of the season and often we might feel a bit of a charge through experiencing their amazement. However, planning the party, trimming the tree, maxing out the credit card, wrapping, shipping, traveling can often rob us from knowing the wonder for ourselves. And that's assuming we aren'...
Editor’s Note: Steve Flowers wrote this anticipating the 2020 election results. How did he do? Is Alabama still showing red? Our 2020 Election was November 3rd. The Presidential race was the center of all interest. You know the results, unfortunately, my column for today had to go to press before voting began. As you are absorbing the results, allow me to remind you that we do not elect our president by popular vote but by an Electoral College system whereby the electoral winner of each state ev...
You will recall a prior Supreme Court challenge where the individual mandate was held to be a tax and as such a Constitutional law. Surprisingly, Chief Justice Roberts who was considered a more conservative thinker sided with the more liberal justices in the assessment as a tax. With the death of Justice Ginsburg, the 5-4 generally more conservative leaning becomes 5-3 and if Judge Barrett is added, presumably will be more of a 6-3 conservative leaning. A case before the United States Supreme...
In December 2014, I wrote the Robservation below. [Keep in mind who was President at the time] That’s six years ago. It is amazing that in the span of six years, things in this country have actually gotten worse regarding attitudes of race and adult responsibility. Rioting in the streets has become more prevalent, the pace of killing police officers has increased seemingly exponentially and organizations like BLM and ANTIFA make the Occupy Wallstreet gang look like a kindergarten class taking t...
After Alabama became a State on December 14, 1819, plans were initiated to establish a State University. Tuscaloosa, the State Capitol (1826-1846), was chosen. Architect William Nichols patterned the layout of the University of Alabama (UA) after the University of Virginia, designed by Thomas Jefferson. On April 18, 1831, UA opened its doors, with Reverend Alva Woods serving as President. UA was initially a civilian institution with many students coming from well-to-do families. These sometimes pampered and undisciplined teenaged students,...
After eight months of abusive, criminal, and unconstitutional Coronavirus-related lockdowns, curfews, shutdowns, travel restrictions, social distancing, and mask mandates, the United States is showing very little progress in returning the people back to normal lifestyles. Our governor, Kay Ivey, continues to extend her oppressions, time after time after time on the eves of their expirations. Governors in other states have done even worse, especially Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, who...
Revealing how many found my last column (and FB post) too harsh on an impenitent Michael Gregory Hubbard serving his “indeed justly” earned prison sentence. One journalist stipulated Felon Hubbard’s wrongdoing but asserted himself as more sage than a Lee County jury along with the accomplished, well recognized Jurist, Jacob Walker. Last month’s Alabama Gazette included discussion on how well incumbent Mayors fared across the State being reelected. One of the most revealing observations was fro...
As we turn 3rd base, heading for home during this 2020 election cycle, I am grappling about what to discuss in this article, because there is a trojan horse, multi-layered choreographed theatre unleashed on America. It is like lighting the fuse on a pack of firecrackers and all at once there are these uncontrollable, loud, disruptive, unsettling and untraceable mental gymnastics dizzily swirling. All of this is sourced back to the Democrats. I have entitled this article, The Robe and Short...
COVID-19 has killed over 200,000 Americans while policies to stem the virus’ spread have caused enormous economic and societal harm. Any comparison must use a common metric, and economics uses dollars, even for human lives. No one can avoid placing a dollar value on saving lives; always choosing safety just places an infinite dollar value on life. Our only option is whether to evaluate tradeoffs. Economists use the value of a statistical life (VSL) for policies regulating risk. The method u...
Eighty years ago this week, hurricane season ended when the Royal Air Force won the Battle of Britain by stopping the Nazi war machine at the edge of the English Channel. Before the summer of 1940, Hitler had derided Great Britain as a nation of shopkeepers. Göring’s seemingly superior Luftwaffe pilots were outdone by the young British RAF, aided by friendly forces—not the least of which was a squadron of Polish pilots. They had shown the world that the Nazi juggernaut could be countered through...
I’m not saying we should go all the way back to Luckenbach, Texas…but honky-tonks may need to make a quick comeback because cow hugging has become one of the latest wellness trends. I don’t think that there is anything CBD Oil can do for you if you cuddle the wrong cow. The trend started in the Netherlands years ago after a Dutch farmer claimed cows to be very relaxed animals that do not fight or get into trouble. They are described as being patient and sweet. So naturally, it gravitated to th...
