The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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Labor Day…The last 3-day weekend of the summer. It’s usually filled with people camping, biking, picnics, barbeques, or just hanging out. It’s the last official holiday of the summer. It usually is the beginning of college football (My hubby, Brian, says Roll Tide and I say War Eagle). So, what is labor day? It was first celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City and became a federal holiday in 1894. It all started because a number of workers were killed at the hands of U.S. Military and U...
In the past several columns we have discussed problems with the criminal justice system and incarceration. Our exploration of problems concerning the corrections system concluded with a discussion of the fact that 400 years of slavery and segregation created a cultural system that understandably put distance between itself and the legal system. We pointed out that a self-help system evolved and that street justice in a self-help cultural system may be one of the causes for disproportionate...
To her credit, First Lady Michelle Obama has raised awareness regarding our dietary habits and suggested that Americans should stop “super-sizing” their food portions to solve our nation’s obesity and health problems. Unfortunately, few in Washington D.C. have any similar determination to stop “super-sizing” our government to save our liberties. We understand the overreach of government threatens our individual liberties, but could it possibly be a reason for a diminished love for America?...
The other day, my wife and I were minding our own business taking down wallpaper in our kitchen when we heard on Fox News that a Malaysian Airlines 777 had just been shot down in the Ukraine. A couple of hours later we heard of the Israeli ground offensive into Gaza. What a day! Days like this are exactly why our pastor reminded us last week that if we dwell on the world news instead of looking to God as our source, one can go mad through depression, worry and anger. MALAYSIA FLIGHT 17 Didn't...
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...
Did you know that God wants to poor out His blessings on you? Psalms 84:11 tells us, “…the Lord bestows favor and honor, no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” What an awesome promise! God wants to pour His abundant victory and favor in your life! Psalms 8:5 reminds us that God has crowned us with glory and honor. Another word for honor is favor. In other words, God has crowned us with His favor! He wants you to thrive and excel in life. You are a child of the Almig...
In last month’s column we discussed how cultural differences impact the criminal justice system. Four hundred years of slavery and segregation created a cultural system in our black communities. That system did not disappear just because the legal system was finally corrected to treat all persons equally. The cultural system that evolved appears to still have notable influence in many areas. As we pointed out, its “self-help” enforcement system is a factor in the higher rate of incar...
It is difficult at times to determine which crisis du jour warrants the bulk of our concern, and in our attention-deficit disorder world, Americans are increasingly challenged to focus on one problem before being distracted with yet another headline-grabbing issue or scandal. I have to wonder if this isn’t all by design. The Friday afternoon news dumps of late certainly appear to confirm my suspicions, and there are times I question just how many Americans even care. In the midst of new i...
Forrest Gump said, “I am not a smart man, but I know what love is.” In that vein I say, “I don’t fancy myself a super smart man, but I know idiocy when I see it.” Oh my, what in the heck is going on in this country and with this administration? Every day now it seems as though they are embroiled in yet another scandal. From Lois Lerner and the IRS, the sudden surge of illegal immigrants (undocumented Democrats), to the meltdown in the Middle East, I have to shake my head in disgust almost every...
Upon receipt of very delayed primary election numbers from Clarion Hotel voting machines providing noticeably skewed tallies (two to one margins where other boxes in the district were close) Speaker Hubbard tweeted, “I am deeply grateful that the GOP voters of my district have put their faith in me once again.” Shortly thereafter, one of my most astute colleagues (James Hines from Mobile) sent me the following, “Are a majority of Republicans in Auburn really that stupid? ...or does Hubba...
In the past couple of articles we have discussed the alarming increase in the rate of incarceration. We have pointed to the fact that an increase in the rate of incarceration signifies that criminal law is not working very well. Ironically, the criminal justice system seems to take pride in the number of cases processed, and the number of convictions. But law works well when people obey the law. Now we turn to an alarming demographic fact about incarceration in these United States. The rate of...
Much has been written, discussed, and debated regarding the promise of our current administration of “fundamentally transforming the United States of America.” But while most discussion centers on the increasing size of government and the dependency on it, there is another segment this transformation that I believe is just as dangerous. We’re bombarded daily with news designed to divide us. Ideological debate and differences of opinion are increasingly personalized and demonized, and there are t...
As I reviewed the published article in THE ALABAMA GAZETTE from May 2014, I had the realization that another front has been used to attack Christianity; the movies. From about the time that Clark Gable uttered his “d” word in Gone With the Wind, producers and directors have pushed the envelope with “mild” profanity to non-stop profanity, sexual innuendo to outright nudity and sex on the silver screen. This includes the gross violence on the screen. When I was a kid most of the movies were family...
I just recently finished a month of training in Atlanta learning to fly a new airplane. For the last 12 years or so, I have been flying the Boeing 757 and 767 but now I will be flying the Boeing 717. A lot of folks had been following me on Facebook and saw pictures I posted of me and my copilot "enjoying" the training program. But as long and painful as the training may have been, there was a definite reason for it. The reason U.S. airlines remain the best and safest in the world is because of...
I remain a steadfast advocate of ABOLISHING the waste of our taxpayer dollars on all primary elections and the further waste from any absurd run-offs which may follow. Time for parties to pay for their OWN primaries instead of using them as yet another money mill for the political duopoly reaffirmed by this corrupt political process every election cycle; obviously this will not change under our current politburo result. With all the discussion of campaign finance reform (oft used for incumbency...
Have you ever noticed when you step out to do something for God the enemy will send challenges and distractions to knock you off course? I sure have. How reassuring it is to know that God is working behind the scenes for you and for me. Romans 8:31 says in part, “… If God be for us, who will be against us” Isn’t it amazing what God will do in your life when you face your challenges and hold on to the promises found in His Word? When you take a stand, you make a declaration of your faith in God...
In past articles we have discussed the breakdown of the family and the impact of family breakdown on moral formation. We suggested that inadequate moral formation is the root cause of crime. We suggested the possibility that the breakdown of the family and damage to its role in moral formation has contributed to the escalating rate of incarceration. We have also discussed the important role that the peer group plays in moral formation and the fact that usually the “peer group” is found in church...
Another primary season is wrapping up and numerous questions are circulating in my brain as my email and mailbox are daily filled with campaign literature. So should any candidate happen to read this piece, here are but a few of those random thoughts and if you are a voter, perhaps they will encourage you to take time to ask questions of your own before June 3rd. If you are a candidate running as a Republican, I already know that you are a “conservative, Christian, love President Reagan and t...
I see the headlines that you see and certainly there are groups that object to Christianity. It seems that more of the objections come from secular groups than religions having differing view points. Perusing the news today I see the following all by Todd Starnes posted on the internet: Atheists Strong Arm Wrestling Team over Bible Verse Air Force Academy Orders Cadet to Remove Bible Verse Teacher Faces Possible Firing for Sharing Bible Verse Mandrallius Robinson of The Greenville (SC) News...
My wife, her sister and I just came back from a 10-day trip to Germany. Her niece and their family are stationed in the same place my wife and I were stationed from 1987-1993. You know, there is a saying that "you can never go back." Well actually you can, just be prepared for all the changes. Before we left, I told my niece that I was "easy" and would do anything they had planned. I only had two real requests. First, I wanted to get into the AWACS simulator and fly. I had not flown that...
Henry Ford, founder of the Ford empire, was a hard-working, simple man. At his 50th wedding anniversary, he was asked by a reporter, "How do you account for your happy marriage?" Henry did not hesitate for a moment before he replied, "By sticking to the first model!" When God brought Eve to Adam to be his wife, He declared, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh," Genesis 2:24. The Hebrew word for "leave" means "to relinquish...
After my short hiatus (1 month) from Robservations, a lot has happened. We’ve had a Russian invasion, a missing Boeing 777, a pretty boring Olympics, a Jay Leno departure, idiotic lawmakers saying some pretty idiotic stuff and of course the return of the Walking Dead. As is sometimes customary with my Robservations, instead of writing about just one issue, I like to cover several topics in one column. So here is Bits and Pieces. Malaysian Flight 370 You know, I don’t even know where to beg...
Living in Alabama, we are accustomed to the severe weather that can impact our state and are not surprised by the accompanying loss of electrical power. But imagine for a moment that a temporary power outage continued for weeks, months, or even a year or longer, and that outage affected not only the state of Alabama, but also the vast majority of America. End-of-the-world Hollywood thrillers have always captured the imaginations of movie fans, but the dangers surrounding an electromagnetic...
HIPAA is the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act. Congress passed the law in 1996, but the Privacy and Security portions were not signed into law until 2003. For purposes of this answer I am going to cover the Privacy and Security laws forward. In 2009 the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) was enacted to make the sharing of electronic medical records (EMR) or electronic health records (EHR) to be more efficient which includes...
In the two preceding articles we pointed out that the principle cause of crime is inadequate moral formation, and that spending money on law enforcement and penitentiaries does not solve the basic problem. In this column we will explore social dynamics that underscore these two points. Let’s start by saying that crime in general is not the product of brilliant minds. A great contest between extremely intelligent criminals and equally intelligent law enforcement officers makes good movies, but w...
