The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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Several years ago, I went scuba diving with my sons. Although it was not the first time we’d dived together, and it certainly would not be the last, this particular trip was special, because it was the trip in which Joshua, my younger son, earned his certification as a scuba diver. His older brother, Harden, and I were already certified, and we accompanied Josh on one of his first open-water dives, which are part of the certification process. On this particular open-water dive, we were in the Ba...
As the new year begins, so does a Presidential election year. For several decades, in fact for most of the twentieth century, Alabamians were more interested in state and local politics than presidential politics. In fact, from 1901 through the 1950’s there were more people voting in a Democratic Primary for Governor than in a presidential General Election. The interest in national politics is a fairly new occurrence for Alabamians, and it seems to have been in correlation to the party change i...
I read about an enlisted soldier who was walking along a Bavarian road. World War I was over. Germany was defeated and devastated. The land around him was scorched by the destruction of war. This little fellow decided to end it all. With the Fatherland finished, what was the point of living? He came to a river, and he looked over a bridge railing to the icy waters down below. He decided to jump. He looked around again, and saw people aimlessly wandering about trying to find what was left of...
We are less than three months away from the election for our number two U.S. Senate Seat. The winner of the Republican Primary on March 3, 2020 will be our next U.S. Senator. Winning the GOP Primary for any statewide office in a presidential year is tantamount to election in the Heart of Dixie. Jeff Sessions is the prohibitive favorite to win back his seat he held for 20 years. He probably regretted from day one leaving a safe U.S. Senate Seat with 20 years of seniority and four-years left on...
By Brian Grossman Food Plots are Typically Small Most deer hunters don’t have the time or resources to plant more than a few acres of food plots every year. And while even a small plot can serve as a place to ambush a deer, it won’t improve the overall health of your deer herd. Even if 10 percent of your overall acreage is planted to food plots, if that’s all you’re focused on, then 90 percent of your property is likely not reaching its full potential. Food Plots are Expensive to Plant and Mai...
I really need Christmas this year! Let’s face it! There is a lot of division and mistrust in our culture, in our communities and in our country right now. On the political front, we are so divided! More divided than I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. We negatively label each other as Democrats, Republicans, Socialists or Libertarians. We are stereotyped as liberals or conservatives or moderates. It seems we have a hard time having civil conversations about things that matter deeply to us. T...
Recently an organization was formed with the name, “Poarch Creek Accountability Now.” This nonprofit group is headed by former 40-year veteran State Senator Gerald Dial, who retired from the Alabama Senate in 2018. The stated goal of this nonprofit group is to spread the true and accurate information about the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and their gaming revenue and expenditures. Dial says it is time to point out the unfairness of their operation. “They make billions upon billions in this...
Free For All is the name of a new book I have written set to be released this December! The subtitle is 4 Things God’s Amazing Grace Can Do For You. In this book, we will explore four different ways we can experience God’s grace. God’s grace is truly free for all. The following is an excerpt from Free For All set to be released this December on Amazon. We find this SCUBA story in the chapter of the book where we explore God’s prevenient grace and the fact that it goes before us and surroun...
Even though qualifying does not begin until October 8, 2019, the field is probably set for the GOP Primary in March to unseat the anomaly Democrat, Doug Jones, who is sitting in Alabama’s Republican U.S. Senate Seat. First District Congressman Bradley Bryne and Secretary of State John Merrill may be the favorites to lead the field and square off in a runoff. Either of the two will probably win by a 60-40 margin over Jones in November. The wild card in the race is the iconic character, Roy M...
New research out of the University of Georgia Deer Lab is providing unique insight into the rate at which white-tailed deer process visual images and how they perceive their environment. It appears that deer actually receive visual information at a much faster rate than we do, making them more sensitive to movement. Any movement to them will appear to be in slow motion, which, of course, allows them to react more quickly. And, while this finding is true at all times of the day, it is at sunrise...
We all need to be encouraged, inspired and challenged, right? One of the ways I do that is by reading quotes. So, I often search for and screenshot quotes I like and keep them on my iPhone for future reference. Here are a few of my favorite quotes: “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa “Stand for what is right even if you stand alone.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter....
Governor Kay Ivey has had a very successful first year as governor. One of the coups she pulled off was getting the legislature to pass legislation granting the governor the power to appoint the Board of Pardons and Paroles. The new law will give her all the new appointments to the Parole Board. Previously, the three-member Board picked the director. The new law went into effect on September 1, 2019 and Gov. Ivey wasted no time selecting the new director. She appointed longtime political...
White-tailed deer are the most important game species in North America. More hunters pursue whitetails than any other species, and whitetail hunters contribute more financially than any other hunter segment. Collectively speaking, whitetails are the foundation of the entire hunting industry. That’s why each year QDMA gathers data from state and provincial wildlife agencies, the nation’s leading deer researchers, and other sources to provide the only “State of the Whitetail” available: our Whi...
Part Two This month we continue exploring the seasons of the great life of King David with Part Two in our series. Last month we covered the first two seasons: The Season of Bethlehem and the Season of Gibeah. This month we will look at the last three. Have you ever considered that your life is a journey through different seasons? Your life is not just a meaningless series of ups and downs but rather an evolution of you becoming all you were designed and meant to be! Of course, when it comes to...
Governor Kay Ivey’s first legislative session of the quadrennium was very successful. Her prowess at getting things accomplished with this Legislature has been remarkable. She knows what she is doing. It should not be surprising given her background and experience. Kay Ivey has been around state government for most of her adult life. She has dealt with the Legislature for over four decades. Her adroitness in the passage of the Infrastructure package was similar to the legislative success e...
Part One Have you ever considered that your life is a journey through different seasons? Your life is not just a meaningless series of ups and downs but rather an evolution of you becoming all you were designed and meant to be! Of course, when it comes to the seasons of life, one can evolve into a wiser person who grows closer and closer to their creator through each season or one can chose to waste each season and keep repeating the same bad habits and learn nothing. One path leads to a more in...
The 2019 Legislative Session was one of the most controversial yet productive sessions in memory. Governor Kay Ivey’s first Session of the Quadrennial was a roaring success. It’s hard to remember a governor getting everything they wanted since the George Wallace heydays. Wallace in his prime simply controlled the legislature. It was more like an appendage of the governor’s office. Kay Ivey has apparently taken a page from the old Wallace playbook. By the way, that is probably apropos as Kay c...
Conservation. It's a word with a whole lot of different meanings to different people. While the general idea might be the same, it's a distant after thought for many Americans. To those of us in the outdoors, hunting, fishing, hiking or camping, conservation is a constant effort to maintain the precious resources we have. As a member of QDMA, conservation is one of my primary goals. After all, you can't go deer hunting if there aren't any deer left! The amount of research and education we...
“Don’t Worry. Be Happy!” Remember that song? It was written and sung by Bobby McFerrin and was a huge hit in 1988! It is still a popular song at parties, bars and football games. It sounds so easy. Just don’t worry and you will be happy. But the truth is there are a lot of unhappy people, aren’t there? I do think most folks really want to be happy, but many just don’t know how. Happiness, many believe, is related to luck or a positive attitude or providence. But I believe happiness is very sim...
Over 20 years ago when I was a legislator the State Trooper assigned to my county asked if he could come visit with me. “Of course,” I said. When he came he had a somber look on his face. I thought maybe he had a serious personal problem or had lost a loved one. He began, “This may not sound like a major highway problem, but one of the things that causes a good many accidents and incidents on our roads is people driving slow in the left lane and not moving over.” I never pursued legisla...
Conservation. It's a word with a whole lot of different meanings to different people. While the general idea might be the same, it's a distant after thought for many Americans. To those of us in the outdoors, hunting, fishing, hiking or camping, conservation is a constant effort to maintain the precious resources we have. As a member of QDMA, conservation is one of my primary goals. After all, you can't go deer hunting if there aren't any deer left! The amount of research and education we...
Who was the greatest leader who ever lived? Before you answer, let me give you a definition of leadership. John Maxwell defines leadership this way: “Leadership is influence. Nothing more and nothing less.” So, to put the question another way, who has been the most influential person in history? It’s not a trick question. You may be thinking like the little boy when the preacher was doing a Children’s Moment one Sunday morning. The Preacher asked the kids, “what is brown, furry, climbs tr...
Folks, taking care of prisoners is not a popular political issue. However, every so often Alabama politicians pragmatically have to acquiesce to the mandates of federal judges and grant our transgressing citizens their rights as determined by the courts. Federal Courts have determined that our felons deserve the rights to adequate imprisonment. You just cannot log them in, lock them up, and give them a basic bunk and rations three times a day. Courts want them to have sufficient space and...
Since the dust has settled from this turkey season, I want to tell the amazing story of an accomplished young turkey hunter. Her name is Mari Grace Brooks from Grady Alabama, and she is 13 years old. Mari Grace successfully completed the double Grand Slam in a single season. This is totally unheard of and possibly the first 13-year-old female ever do such an unimaginable task in one year. Honestly, I know only a handful of grown men that it took a life time of hunting to accomplish one Grand...
The construction of the beautiful Gothic Cathedral, Notre Dame, “The Cathedral of Paris”, began during the reign of King Louis VII in 1163 AD and was completed in 1345 AD. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a worldwide Parisian icon. It was the location of some of the most important moments in the history of France and survived many wars including WWI and WWII. It has inspired the architecture and construction of many Catholic and Protestant Churches around the world. Notre Dame is the off...
