The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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Richard Shelby’s last week as our United States Senator was poetically amazing. The nation watched as he gave his farewell address to the Senate. His speech was followed by a tribute from his longtime friend Senator Patrick Leahey. Senator Shelby and Senator Leahey from Vermont are best friends and co-chaired the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee together for their final six-year terms, which ended January 3, 2023. They walked out together after a lasting three decade partnership. The n...
Richard Shelby walked out of the U.S. Senate this week after 36 years. Walking out with him is almost all of Alabama's seniority and power in Washington. Seniority equates into power in the Halls of Congress, especially in the Senate. National publications have illustrated the fact that Alabama has benefited more than all 50 states from federal earmarked funds due to one man, Richard Shelby. It will be impossible to replace Shelby. His legacy will last for generations, especially in Huntsville,...
Marcus Luttrell, a former Navy Seal, wrote a book about the deadliest day in Navy Seal history. The book was entitled Lone Survivor and was later made into a very successful movie starring Matt Wahlberg as Marcus Luttrell. Marcus and three other Navy Seals were sent on a secret mission into the mountains of Afghanistan in 2005 to attack top Taliban leaders who were gathering in a small village for a high level meeting. It was supposed to be a quick in and out mission. But things went south...
Governor Kay Ivey’s 2022 reelection victory run has been very impressive. Some of you may be wondering how quickly I have been able to resolve that she has indeed culminated her victorious run when the General Election was held Tuesday and my column’s published date is Wednesday. It is simply as I have told you numerous times over the past two decades, winning the Republican Primary for governor in the Heart of Dixie is tantamount to election. The General Election is Alabama is an afterthought....
In his book, The Purpose of Christmas, Rick Warren states, “Regardless of your background, religion, problems or circumstances, Christmas really is the best news you could get. Beneath all the visible sights and sounds of Christmas are some simple yet profound truths that can transform your life for the better here on earth and for forever in eternity.” Pastor Rick is exactly right! Here are three simple reasons why we should celebrate Christmas and why it can have a profound impact on our liv...
This 2022 Election Year in Alabama has been monumental and memorable. Any gubernatorial year is big in the state. It is the brass ring of Alabama politics to be governor. However, the race to succeed our Senior Senator Richard Shelby has been the marquee contest. This year will be the last hurrah for our two leading political figures in the state. Senator Richard Shelby is retiring after 36 years in the U.S. Senate at age 88. Governor Kay Ivey will be elected to her final term as Governor at...
Several years ago, I took my daughter on a medical mission trip to southern Zimbabwe. Ciara had just graduated from high school and was about to begin nursing school. We were working with our ministry partners there, Saving Safaris; while I helped with drilling wells and renovating schools, Ciara worked in medical clinics fitting people with glasses and volunteering at Mutare Provincial, a Methodist mission hospital that has been around for decades. It was a wonderful time with my girl, who seal...
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...
In my life journey, I have discovered that attitudes and opportunities go hand in hand! We must seek to keep a good attitude in the midst of life’s ups and downs so that we can actually recognize opportunities when they appear. I like the attitude of the young lieutenant in this story: After World War II, a general and his young lieutenant boarded a train in England. The only seats left were across from a beautiful young lady and her grandmother. The general and the lieutenant sat facing the w...
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...
I think one of my favorite U.S. Presidents would have to be Teddy Roosevelt. He was so full of life and accomplished a great deal. “The Man in the Arena” is also one of my favorite quotes: It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again a...
The two biggest land deals in U.S. history almost never happened and many critics thought at the time that they were two of the worst mistakes in American history. How wrong the critics were…. The real estate industry may see some large land deals these days such as the $2 billion Antilla building in Mumbai or the 105,000 square foot mega mansion in Los Angeles known as “The One” which recently listed for $295 million and is the most expensive listing in the U.S. right now. But these pale in co...
During the waning days of the campaigns for Governor and U.S. Senator, I received an inordinate amount of correspondence lamenting the outrageous, demagogic, disingenuous, negative ads, especially on television. The frustration can best be summed up by a thoughtful writer’s comments, “Steve, it is sad with all the issues we need to face in Alabama (health, education, infrastructure) we continue to dumb down our elections. I found the Kay Ivey ads revolting and racist.” The writer went on to sa...
When I was in seminary I served as the Volunteers in Mission Coordinator for all the United Methodist volunteer mission teams that came to serve with the Methodist Church of Mexico. I served directly under Methodist Bishop Alejandro Ruiz who was the Bishop of the Central Conference of the Methodist Church of Mexico. My territory included all of central and southern Mexico so I traveled with teams extensively in this region of this beautiful country. On one my journeys I went to visit the...
The governor’s races of bygone years were a lot more fun and colorful than todays. We would have 10 to 15 candidates. There would be three or four favorites, but we would have 10 others that would make an effort to crisscross the state and have fun and cut up a little bit to garner publicity. The “also rans” could not afford the expensive country music stars from Nashville like the George Wallace, Big Jim Folsom, Jimmy Faulkner frontrunners could to draw a crowd. This year’s guberna...
Here are three of my favorite reflections taken from my book: Perceptions, Collection of Favorites, Volume 2. Complain, Complain A certain monastery enforced a vow of silence. Each monk could utter only two words every five years, and those two words had to be spoken in the presence of the abbot. One of the monks, when given his opportunity to speak, said, "Bad food!" Five years later, his two words were, "Bed hard!" When given his third opportunity to speak five years later, he said, "I quit!"...
For several years leading up to the 2010 Census count, the national projections were that Alabama would lose one of our seven congressional districts and drop to six. When the count was taken, we surprised ourselves and the nation and kept our seven seats in the United States Congress. Therefore, the legislature’s task in drawing our seven congressional districts was relatively easy. Except for some tweaking here and there due to growth in Madison, Limestone, Lee, Shelby and especially B...
John Wesley, who founded the Methodist movement back in the 1700s, impacted the world and the church in ways that many people, even Christians, don’t really understand. Most haven’t a clue who John Wesley was, and many Christians have no idea the influence that his teachings, his thoughts, and his writings still have upon the church today. The Methodist movement later became the Methodist church and the Wesleyan churches around the world, but Wesley’s influence was far greater than just the M...
Incumbency is a potent, powerful, inherent advantage in politics. That fact is playing out to the nines in this year’s Alabama secondary constitutional and down ballot races. Several of the constitutional office incumbents do not have Republican or Democratic opposition. Of course, having a Democratic opponent is the same as not having an opponent in a statewide race in Alabama. A Democrat cannot win in a statewide contest in the Heart of Dixie. Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth will be elected to a...
Courage is defined as “the ability to control fear and to be willing to deal with and face something that is dangerous, difficult or unpleasant.” Another source defines courage as “the quality of being brave: the ability to face danger, difficulty, uncertainty, or pain without being overcome by fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action.” This certainly describes Jesus Christ, especially during Holy Week as he faced the brutality of the Roman form of execution on a wooden cross....
Allow me to deviate from politics to discuss an important event for our state. The World Games 2022 will place Birmingham and the entire state of Alabama squarely in the global spotlight. Believe it or not, this once-in-a-lifetime event is only a few months away with approximately 3,600 athletes from more than 100 countries and up to 500,000 visitors expected to flood Birmingham for one of the world’s largest athletic competitions. Folks, there are many questions about the World Games 2022. Is i...
1. Speak to people. There is nothing as nice as a cheerful word or greeting. 2. Smile at people. It takes seventy-two muscles to frown, only fourteen to smile. 3. Call people by name. The sweetest music to anyone’s ears is the sound of his or her own name. 4. Be friendly and helpful. 5. Be cordial. Let’s speak and act as though we are grateful people. 6. Be genuinely interested in people. If we try, we can like almost everyone. 7. Be generous with praise – cautious with criticism. 8. Be consi...
As the final regular legislative session of the quadrennium evolves, it is apparent that the legislature will not touch any substantive or controversial issues, but simply pass the budgets and go home to campaign. It is election year in the Heart of Dixie. If legislators are listening to their constituents, they are hearing one thing – Alabamians want their legislators to allow them the right to vote on receiving their fair share of the money from gambling in Alabama. They are simply sick and t...
On January 10, 2022, Georgia finally won the NCAA College Football Playoff by beating the University of Alabama in the National College Football Championship game. They are now the undisputed National Champions. Stetson Bennett, the Georgia Quarterback, was named the Offensive MVP of the Championship Game. Bennett is 23 years old and was a walk-on to the Georgia Football Team in 2017. He is 5-foot 11˝˙'´, 175 pounds. Not very big for an SEC QB. But he had had a dream since he was a kid. He dr...
[The year ] 2022 was anticipated to be an exciting competitive election year. However, it is going to be a yawn of a political year. If you thought there was no competition for the constitutional offices and the House of Representatives’ seats in next year’s elections, then you have not seen anything like the lack of turnover in the Alabama State Senate. Incumbency will prevail. In fact, the power of incumbency in the Alabama State Senate is on par with the incumbent return percentage for Con...
