The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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Most “senior citizens” who populate various types of government-supported living facilities are beginning to spend a major part of their time contemplating on their future—however long that may be. Eighty five years ago most of them were toddlers; Mahatma Gandhi was making his Salt March, and the Planet Pluto had just been discovered. Most of them, your writer included, weren't aware that we were entering into what became known as “The Great Depression,” because the news focused more on Gangst...
As our Declaration of Independence carefully and specifically enumerated well-reasoned grievances for seceding from the British Empire, the cycle of tyranny which results from any command economy is once again upon us. One of the most active political operatives in Alabama working to reverse our corrupt path to tyranny recently reminded me of the power a well organized ‘militia’ can muster. Showing significant numbers at the right time can make a great difference in our long-run course of hum...
They landed at Normandy, were shot at by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, endured the Inchon landing, sweated it out in the jungles of Vietnam, lived day after day in the expectation of a Russian invasion of Western Germany, or fought in Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern theaters--in defense of their country. Most of them endured the Great Depression, where the minimum wage for those who were lucky enough to have jobs was 25 cents an hour; only to see their country morph into a wartime environme...
Alabama Foundation for Limited Government (AFLG) President John Rice launched another campaign last month in opposition of Speaker Mike Hubbard’s (facing 23 felony indictments) plans to raise taxes on Alabamians and further promote Poarch Creek Indians’ gambling monopoly power. For those who may not know, Mr. Rice is a former State Representative and Senator with a long established record of opposing unnecessary tax increases to support deleterious government expansion. Many consider Rice the...
Each year our colleges and universities spew forth an avalanche of graduates, many with their heads packed with new information; but few with any regard to knowledge that emerged in centuries past. The world might be better served today if more students of every nation were to have been brought to their attention four century-old literary advice from the pen of William Shakespeare, for example: In Act 1 of Scene 3, Hamlet's chief counselor advises his son Laertes some pearls of wisdom that...
In our current episode 'as the corruption churns' in the Heart of Dixie, Big Daddy Bob and step-child Mike Boulevard are having a spat over inability to pay future legal bills without Daddy's help. Seems as serial felony indictments proceed through the process, Mr. Boulevard is having trouble acquiring more unsecured loans and contributions as more political hacks discount the probability he can retain his ‘Spender of the House’ position as auctioneer of future theft from taxpayers. Sad to wit...
Emily Post passed away before cell phones became popular; but she was the ultimate expert on etiquette. She would most likely have been mortified had she been alive to witness today's epitome of bad manners: cell phone usage. Marching under her banner, modern day experts on good manners have posted a list of ten rules for good cell phone manners, a list that has apparently been kept under wraps, for there's little evidence of it having ever been read by the multitude of cell phone users....
For obvious reasons, this will be my last War Between the States sesquicentennial column given Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. The only one penned with greater despair was four years ago on First Blood and Treason in Baltimore. Massachusetts troops shown themselves eager to assemble in the sovereign State of Maryland (still in the voluntary Union at the time) uninvited by the Governor and/or Legislature of that State to kill and wound persons of Maryland. This made painfully clear...
The word is unique, in that it has two spellings—both of which are correct—and both express the same feeling. Whether the last syllable begins with an a or an e, is relatively immaterial, since the meaning is the same: a special atmosphere, mood, or feeling that is created by a particular entity. After a dozen years of searching for a place in which to live out the remaining years of existence on this planet, the realization emerges that what was being sought was: “A special atmosphere or mood...
I applaud our Alabama counties refusing to issue govt. licenses to marry. I implore other counties to follow this course to get out of the marriage license business. True Christians do NOT look to government for definition, permission and validity to affirm and proclaim God’s blessings. Sad so many seem compelled to side with one of two flawed arguments as the next round of Roy Moore v. Myron Thompson, et al "Duel of Wits Between Two Unarmed Opponents" unfolds... just as BOTH sides were wrong a...
Travel with me into an imaginary world of the future. Imagine if you will the Bizarro world of “Obamaball.” Come with me as we arrive at a fictional ball game in Fantasyland. We're in the top of the ninth inning and the score is tied. A relatively unknown batter strides to the plate. A hush descends over the field; the batter nervously adjusts his ill-fitting cap, smiles at the crowd and notices that the umpire is frantically trying to inform him that he's facing in the wrong direction. Und...
As I’d like to make this an uncharacteristically short column, I’ll not address all the flawed reasoning from extremist who’ve successfully imposed the unconstitutional result we observe today. All FEDERAL gun laws are prohibited as guaranteed by our 2nd Amendment civil right. Republicans giving us the first unconstitutional gun laws in their successful effort to assert federal hegemony and set us on our soviet path are generally accepted by Lincoln apologists to be defended at all cost by pr...
Over the years most of us have had to endure more than one windy speaker. Unfortunately, what most speakers don't realize was that a good speech doesn't have to be a long speech. Fifteen minutes should be the limit for an effective speech. Beyond that we get into boredom. A two minute speech can accomplish as much or more than a two-hour presentation. A case in point is the two-minute presentation given by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Mr....
Former long tenured aide and campaign manager Chip Hill exclaims we’re “Killing Atticus Finch!” (a.k.a. his old boss Don Siegelman) in the video shilling for ‘kickstarter’ contributions to continue showcasing this embarrassment to our State. This recent iteration of political campaigning in our Montgomery federal court claimed 138 backers pledging $10,725 of the $125,000 goal as of Mr. Siegelman’s December 15 court appearance before Judge Clay Land of Georgia. I couldn’t find the donor list - pe...
What should Santa Claus have brought us for Christmas this year? How about a healthy dose of Laissez-faire? And just what is Laisssez-faire, you may ask? One could say that it was one of the founding principles of our nation. Many residents of the colonies, as this country was commonly referred to back then, grew tired of bowing to the crown, and letting the King of England tell them how to live their lives. Some of the stalwarts of the idea had read the works of 18th Century Scottish...
As children Christmas specials became less mesmerizing and parental expectations pressed to show awareness and understanding of maturing into an adult orthodox Christian, this phrase shepherded my attention toward thinking; what really was the reason? Clearly it was not Charlie Brown, a drummer boy, Frosty, Rudolph, et al anymore than "Santa" or Christmas trees, lights and presents. Given my namesake, Saint John the Theologian (orthodox Christians have trouble identifying with naming children af...
Over the last nearly three and a half centuries, we learn from searching the Internet, that 10 significant events have taken place on Christmas day, beginning with the birth of Isaac Newton, the British scientist who first put his finger on just what gravity was. He was born on Christmas Day in 1642. The next significant Christmas Day event occurred 134 years later, when George Washington crossed the Delaware River in 1776. Nothing significant happened again on Christmas Day for another 142 year...
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...
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...
Just as the Republicans $1.2 billion Amendment One (2003) proposal of significant increases for individual income tax payers, the sales tax, property tax, cigarette tax, corporate income tax, etc. FAILED 2 to 1 (defeating ‘Spender of House’ Mike Hubbard’s full court press) on a GENERAL election ballot... the FIRST time this recently passed Lee County sales tax increase was voted upon it also met sound defeat of over 2 to 1. The O/A News reported 68.5% against with 13,000 votes cast on the Novemb...
When Alabama's senior legislature begins its three-day session on October 20, it will have the unique opportunity to convene in the old House of Representatives Chamber in the Alabama Capitol building. Normally the ASHL meets in the House Chamber located in the State Office Building, but that venue is temporarily closed. For some of the delegates this will be like a homecoming, since a good many of them had close relationships of a variety of sorts with this venue. For you humble scribe, it...
Fifty years prior to the War of 1812, our so-called “French & Indian War” settled the trade dispute between New France and New England in North America where the European ebb and flow of empire simply had more territory in the mix. Following their newly established trade dominance in the region, England slowly increased mercantilist policies to favour specific business interests over promoting competition and the general welfare of her subjects. The stage for our First War for Independence was...
Speaking of the U.S. as being a “Nation of Laws,” is good, so long as these laws are designed for our benefit, and we know them and that we fully understand them; such is the case with the fledgling Elder Abuse Law. Barely two years old, the new piece of legislation concerns itself with the fact that there are in the neighborhood of 700,000 Alabamians age 65 and older, whose wellbeing is a major concern of the Alabama Department of Senior Services. Also, many of those covered exist on a lim...
On the third Monday of most months a group of proud Americans meet at the Crump Center in Montgomery, stand and face our nation's banner and pledge their allegiance to a nation that many of them defended, but now can hardly recognize. “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands,” they proudly proclaim, “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” And so begins the monthly AARP meeting. As youngsters they re...
With another $3 million spent on our 2014 primary run-offs last month, I remain a steadfast advocate of abolishing further waste of our taxpayer dollars on all primary elections. Political parties can pay for their own primaries which have evolved into another money mill for the Republocrat duopoly as they continue to ‘progress’ into increasingly extremist results. Until poor jurists like Myron Thompson are finally out of the mix or we elect more legislators who support Sen. Cam Newton’s legisla...
