The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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November 25, 2015: Last week I gave you an alphabetical list of the 18 potential horses in the 2018 Alabama Gubernatorial Derby. We will begin this week handicapping them in descending order. The Number 18 horse is current Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard. We will know whether the beleaguered Speaker of the House will remain in the derby by next March. He is on trial in Lee County. A grand jury indicted him over a year ago on 23 felony counts of ethics law violations. If he is convicted on any...
As I type up this article, we're counting down the days, hours, and minutes till the start of gun season! With bow and muzzleloader seasons underway, there's already been plenty of action for the avid outdoorsman, and the best part is still yet to come! I've had a few folks hunting with me during muzzleloader season, and they're seeing deer everywhere! Average field count is almost 40 deer a hunt! Between the cold weather, the lack of pressure, and a great crop of acorns this year, we should hav...
November 4, 2015: The 2016 Presidential election has not only begun, it is well under way. It is now a lengthy process that spans the entire four-year presidential term. The race essentially begins the day a president is sworn into office. Aspirants begin jockeying for the brass ring of American politics the next day and the marathon begins. It becomes exponentially more intriguing when there is no incumbent in the fray as will be the case in 2016. We have an Electoral College system that makes...
You know, it's getting later and later in the year, but that doesn't mean the fishing has let up any. In fact, right now is the perfect time to get out there and do some in-shore fishing for Speckle Trout, White Trout, and the big old Bull Reds! Just this last Thursday, myself, along with Bruce Lieberman and AB Smith, loaded up and made the 3 hour drive down to the Fowl River Bridge for a full day of fishing with Captain Chad Palmer. The Captain is a former blimp pilot who decided that life on...
It's that time of year when the weather's finally cooled off a little, the leaves are making a mess of the yard, and deer season has started again. On October 15th, the Northern Zone of Alabama began its bow season. And on the 25th, the Southern Zone, including Montgomery County, will start its bow season. As I've mentioned before, there's more than a few changes that have been made for deer season this year. Obviously, we've got the change in starting date between zones. Another big change is...
October 7, 2015: In 1986 Richard Shelby was a 50-year-old congressman from Tuscaloosa. He was elected to congress eight years earlier, after two successful four-year terms in the Alabama State Senate. However, Shelby was ready to move up again. He was planning to run for the United States Senate. Shelby had never lost a political race. He was six for six in races to represent his beloved Tuscaloosa and the people of West Alabama. He was a conservative Democrat, who had a stellar conservative...
For far longer than we've been around, man and dog have been a team in hunting as well as life itself. The bond of loyalty and trust between the two is a privilege and a joy that only those who raise a dog can know. Dogs are beyond clever and loyal when brought up with good hand, and their skills are definitely on display when hunting. For starters, there are a whole lot of ways to go hunting with dogs. Be it duck hunting, squirrel hunting, raccoon hunting, hog hunting, deer hunting, rabbit...
September 2, 2015: It is common knowledge that the Indian casinos in Alabama and throughout the country are granted federal sovereignty and are not subject to state intervention and authority. Several years ago state attorney general Luther Strange filed a hail Mary frivolous lawsuit against PCI Gaming Authority for political posturing purposes. The federal district court in Montgomery took about three weeks to rule against the state. It was ludicrous that it was filed. Federal District Judge...
Yes, it’s July, but that’s all the more reason to start getting ready for the hunt. And by getting ready, I’m talking about pre-season scouting, and I don’t mean just waiting till one week before the season gets started! Pre-season scouting, of course, is how you figure out where the best places to hunt ought to be. Remembering where signs were through-out the various hunts from last season, seeing different things while turkey hunting, or even just passing by and seeing the deer out feeding...
July 29, 2015: During the press conference three weeks ago announcing the historic BP settlement and windfall for the state, Gov. Bentley repeatedly said, “The $55 million a year to the General Fund is fantastic but it will not solve the state’s long term financial woes. It only accomplishes about 12 percent of what we need. We’re still going to have a Special Session to address the need for new revenue and we will call it for late summer.” Bentley and the Legislature were unable to agree o...
Last week’s verdict that VictoryLand be allowed to reopen is justice served. The people of Macon County voted for a constitutional amendment to allow for electronic bingo. The issue of pari-mutuel style casino betting and the closing of the ultra-modern and successful luxury gaming resort in Macon County has been laid to rest. There have been extensive studies and articles that crystallize several obvious observations. First of all, gambling or gaming is an extremely profitable venture and it i...
Summer's rolling along, and the weather's been plenty hot! True to Alabama, we can count on plenty of heat and humidity in the coming days, as it's always been. But this year, one thing that will be different is gator hunting. Now, the alligator hunting permit registration permit began June 2nd, and will run all the way through July 14th. Now, you get to put in for the lottery for permits for each zone at http://outdooralabama.com/registration-instructions, just like always. However, instead of...
Now that we're in the last few days of spring, we've had a few great days for weather, and a few days with some heavy rain. But the days I've found a chance to slip out and fish have been the best of the bunch, and with any luck, we'll have more good weather ahead of us, as we're steadily getting into proper fishing season. Just about everybody knows I enjoy catching some bream, as they're easy and fun to fish for. And sure enough, in the many lakes and ponds in our state, we have plenty of plac...
This has been an eventful year. Thousands of tourists have flocked to Alabama to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March for Civil and Voting Rights. The events that happened in Alabama spurred the enactment of the landmark acts that broke down the legal barriers prohibiting African Americans from voting in the South. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it unlawful to discriminate based on race. It was followed up the next year with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that...
May 6, 2015: There is an ominous cloud hanging over this legislative session. Last year the U.S. Supreme Court surprisingly agreed to hear a Hail Mary complaint filed by the black legislative caucus over the 2014 redistricting plan. In an even more surprising opinion, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the complainants and remanded the case back to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals instructing the lower court to tell the legislature to try again. The super majority Republican legislature fully...
For many hunters in Alabama, it's been a great few weeks of turkey hunting! The season has just ended, and hopefully everybody had a good, safe time. For many folks that enjoy spending their time in the outdoors, camping, fishing, and boating are some of the things they get to look forward to this time of year. But don't put those shells down just yet; there's still another sport to look forward to. Trap shooting is the most popular shotgun shooting sport in the US, with a vast following. Trap...
April 1, 2015: In recent years, the Republican Party has taken control of the legislatures in all of the southern states. Alabama’s legislature is overwhelmingly Republican. The GOP holds a 25 to 9 majority in the State Senate and an equally dominating 72 to 33 majority in the House of Representatives. Our supermajority GOP legislative body appeared to take on every conceivable ultraconservative reactionary issue during their first four year reign from 2011 to 2014. However, they forgot one. C...
Our great state of Alabama is loaded with all types of hunting and fishing opportunities that we all can truly appreciate. Right now we have turkey season in full swing with birds strutting and gobbling and the action is wide open. There is no doubt this is my favorite time of the year when it comes to the hunting action. There is one downside to being a dedicated turkey hunter - you miss the best time to wet a hook. Alabama has water in every direction that you can travel. Lakes, ponds, rivers...
March 18, 2015: Alabama may be in the lower tier of the country in some categories but not when it comes to providing health insurance for children. In that one category we excel. Brian Lyman with the Montgomery Advertiser provided an excellent study revealing that Alabama leads the south in taking care of its young people when it comes to giving them health coverage. A recent Georgetown University study showed that Alabama leads the south when it comes to healthcare for children. Remarkably we...
Now, if you've been listening to me for any bit of time, you've probably guessed what my favorite hunting season is; turkey hunting! Starting March 14th for everyone, and March 7th and 8th for youth season, turkey season is just around the corner. This year, the season's starting a bit earlier than we're used to, but that suits me just fine! Since we're pretty darned close to the start of the season, make sure your shotgun or bow is in great working condition. Keep up with your ammo, gear, and...
February 18, 2015: The legislature and the governor are preparing for the first Regular Session of the quadrennium. The Session will begin March 3. Legislators need to arrive in Montgomery with their lunch pails and sleeves rolled up ready to go to work because the proverbial chickens have come home to roost. They are facing a gargantuan budget crisis in the State General Fund. They cannot spend this four years cussing Obama Care and passing unconstitutional and meaningless bills dealing with...
Ladies and gents, the end of deer season is nigh upon us. We're in the home stretch of what's been an up and down season, with weather changing nearly every day. I've seen just about every season of weather Alabama's got in the past couple of months, and let me tell you, we've had a feast or famine hunting season to go with it. But don't you worry about the end of deer season, for our friends in the northern zone. While the rest of us lucky sons of guns in the southern zone get our 10 day...
During the 2010 Governor’s Race, I continuously made the statement that whomever won the 2010 Governor’s Race would be a one-term governor. My prophecy was based on the fact that the state was flat broke and it would take a lot of tough decisions and probably tax increases to fix the mess. Former Gov. Bob Riley was not helping his successor any either in a concerted mission to spend every cent in an already barren cupboard. There was nothing in the state rainy day funds and all the federal stimu...
I was recently reading an article in the advertiser one morning and came upon some very interesting information that shows that we Alabamians are very giving. The article stated that Alabamians donate a larger slice of their income than those in almost any other state and the typical Alabama donation is bigger. Alabama ranks number 3 in highest percentage of donated income the study found. Only Mississippi and Utah ranked ahead of us. The National Financial Advisory site WalletHub.com also...
Mike Hubbard is the political story of the year because our 2014 state elections were so mundane. The October indictment of the Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives overshadows all other political events in the state, even the reelection of Gov. Robert Bentley, which was a foregone conclusion. In fact, if Hubbard had not been indicted, it would have been the political story of the year. Speculation had been rampant for well over a year that the very powerful leader of the House would...
