The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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As is my annual ritual, my year-end column pays tribute to Alabama political legends who have passed away during the year. Sonny Cauthen passed away in Montgomery at age 70. He was the ultimate inside man in Alabama politics. Sonny was a lobbyist before lobbying was a business. He kept his cards close to his vest and you never knew what he was doing. Sonny was the ultimate optimist who knew what needed to be achieved and found like-minded allies with whom to work. When he had something to get...
As we close the book on 2020, we will close the door on national politics and get back to the basics, good old Alabama politics. That's my game. It is what I know and like to write and talk about. Some say my prognostications and observations on Alabama politics are sometimes accurate. However, not so much so on the national level. About a decade ago there was an open presidential race and a spirited Republican battle for the nomination had begun. One of the entrants stood out to me. U.S. Senato...
Without specifics about yourself, I’ll make this answer generic in a personal and in a business sense. I presume you looked at your financial estate planning (401K, mutual funds, stocks and bonds, life insurance, etc) and as you do you also think about your legal estate planning. After all you are a year older; you may have gotten married, had a new child, had a child reach the age of majority (19 years), gotten divorced or suffered the death of a spouse or even a child. You may have a child g...
Hey, aren’t there supposed to be four? Yup, but right now I am not talking about the Apocalypse. I am going to write about something I never write about. In the ten-plus years of Robservations, I honestly cannot think of a time I have written an entire piece about sports. A little here and there but never the whole kit-and-caboodle. It is not because I don’t like sports. I love sports and played them for the better part of my life. It is just that getting wrapped up in debates about guys and...
This is an open message to all archaeologists in and around Alabama, and especially those who work or are interested in southwest Alabama. Because of COVID-19 and intense campaigning in our last presidential and congressional elections, almost nobody noticed that an important historical milestone is about to arrive: From this past October 18, we now have less than 20 years to prepare for the 500th anniversary of one of Alabama’s greatest historical events—Hernando de Soto’s great battle at Ma...
I grow weary of so much self-adulation of the forthcoming transfer of executive power to install Biden after four years of suffering similarly poor ‘public servant’ Trump. The world observed ‘peaceful’ transfers of power from Augustus to Tiberius, Herod ‘the Great’ to Antipas, etc. under Roman despotism and hegemony – is this really anything new under our earth’s sun or Son of God these past two millennia? Trump’s 306-232 Electoral College (57%/43%) 2016 installment over Clinton’s 62,972,...
It was President Harry Truman who said, “The only thing new in the world is the history you do not know,” and King Solomon, perhaps the wisest man ever, stated pretty much the same thing a few millennia ago when he recorded in Ecclesiastes 1:9 that “there is nothing new under the sun.” Recent studies have shown the people look fondly upon the era that was one to two decades prior of their birth as the “good old days,” but few take time to really examine what made those days so seemingly g...
Governments across the country have imposed numerous public health policies to control COVID-19. A prominent one has been requiring the wearing of masks in public; Alabama has been under a mask order since July. Americans have largely embraced masks. A recent Harris poll found that 93% of respondents at least sometimes (72% always) wore masks. Nonetheless, Dr. Don Williamson of the Alabama Hospital Association recently expressed frustration over some Alabamians’ unwillingness to wear masks. H...
The run-off Senate elections in Georgia are the most consequential elections in American history. If the Democrats sweep these two elections, there will be no checks against a Biden Administration fully implementing its high tax, high regulation, globalist agenda. If the Republicans hold on to one of these seats, The Senate will have the ability to “throttle” the Democrat Agenda. Close to home, Alabama Senator Richard Shelby is the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. This makes him...
“If any State in the Union will declare that it prefers ‘separation’ over ‘union,’ “I have no hesitation in saying, ‘let us separate.’” – Thomas Jefferson In 2010 Russian Professor Igor Panarin, former KGB analyst, lecturer, and writer tied to Russia’s Foreign Ministry, predicted the economic and moral collapse of these United States, leading to eventual civil war and breakup. His predictions appeared in The Wall Street Journal and other publications. With the 2020 election controversie...
The green-eyed jealousy over Trump’s historic popularity among Republican and Democrat office holders, including the liberal media has been obviously visible and immeasurably coveted. In a recent Gallup Poll, Trump surpassed Obama in 2020 as the most admired man in America. Michelle Obama polled as the 2020 most admired woman in America. Imagine that, according to this poll, the former President and First Lady, both black are considered among the most admired Americans, and we are accused of i...
Submitted by John J. Davis – Special Guest Columnist Assistant Attorney General, Appellate Division, Office of the Attorney General, State of Alabama I got to know Bob Lieberman almost 30 years ago when I worked with his oldest son, Bruce, on the staff of then Attorney General Jimmy Evans. Bob immediately impressed me as a man of great wisdom and with an understated sense of humor. He had already retired from his job at the Environmental Protection Agency and was still working part-time for it. I knew that he had served in the Army during World...
The Two Sides of Education in Alabama I sometimes talk – half in jest – about this book I am going to write one day called, “The Two Sides of Camden.” I would call it that because there are two sides of Camden. And the two sides each have two sides as well. These two sides tend to spill out all over the county. They cross the river and seep into the surrounding counties of the Black Belt on all sides. I see it and recognize it here, but it is everywhere across the state. I suppose to some ex...
Happy New Year! Whew! We made it! Thank you, Jesus!! What a wild ride 2020 was…from the COCID-19 Pandemic to civil unrest to the Presidential election. Recently, I was reminded of a beautiful song that is often sung around the holidays, you’ve heard it…”Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me.” Have you ever taken the time to figure out what that really means? Sounds like such a simple concept. I think it means finding peace and joy within ourselves and then sharing that peace and j...
On the morning of the momentous November 3 Presidential Election Day, I began my day on my hometown radio station, WTBF in Troy, which has been my tradition for election days for over 30 years. As the polls began to open around 7 a.m., we began getting calls that the people were lined up for almost a mile outside of the two most populous voting locations in Pike County. Then, I started getting texts that a good many of the Republican boxes in major North Alabama cities had people waiting in...
Around Labor Day when this year’s presidential campaign was beginning to heat up, I wrote a column about the classic 1960 presidential contest between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon. This pivotal presidential race marked the beginning of television as the premier political medium. The first televised presidential debate that year was the turning point of that campaign. Kennedy won the Whitehouse with his performance or as some would say, Nixon lost by his appearance on TV that fateful night i...
Little has changed since earlier appellate cases and one will note slight subjective language in the subsequent decisions. These cases have arisen using the Establishment Clause of the Constitution of the United States to back up the adverse claims of individuals or groups in what they perceive as being unconstitutional. The Establishment Clause is a part of the First Amendment and reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” followed by the Free Exercise C...
I have to admit one thing. As I look back at my Air Force career, I have had the honor and pleasure working with some of the most honorable, intelligent and patriotic men and women you can imagine. I will tell anyone that if I could handpick my team of 10 veterans and debate just about any other group of equal numbers in areas of national security, military necessity, homeland security and the like, we would crush all challengers. I honestly believe this. I say this because the group of men and...
Having studied Southern History for the last thirty plus years, I understand why certain types of people dislike Robert Edward Lee. Lee represented the best of American society. He was a devout Christian (Episcopalian) American patriot with an incredible family history; he loved his kinsmen and friends and constantly referenced duty as the most sublime word in the English language. One of Lee’s contemporaries was John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, aka Lord Acton, of English and German l...
Four years ago, in November 2016, we Americans elected a president who has out-performed all others within the last 50 years. Donald John Trump has fought the deep state like no other in recent history. But fighting it has taken a terrible toll. The Deep-Staters have imposed numerous roadblocks, including frivolous impeachment proceedings, to block his efforts to drain their swamp. There is no argument that they passionately hate him and are willing to take any desperate measures imaginable to...
Doubtful I’m alone considering 2020 one of the worst years endured in recent memory. I type this year’s Alabama Gazette Christmas column with very heavy hands knowing it will be the first without William “Bill” Grant in the mix; an integral part of establishing this wonderful paper 21 years ago. Those who recall past Christmas writings know I consider the Grants a “Bailey Family” in Montgomery similar to the classic story and Spirit of Bedford Falls. Jimmy Stewart (George Bailey) and Donna R...
“The grass fades and the flower withers, but the word of our God stands forever.” During the Ten Commandments battle here in Alabama, this was one of my favorite scriptures to publicly quote as we struggled to keep the monument in the Alabama Judicial Building. The U.S. Constitution is not even a hint equal to the Bible, but, the founding fathers in their immeasurable wisdom, had full intent for the constitution to be strong as titanium standing against every passing fad, whim, wind and doc...
Joe Biden has won the presidential election, although President Trump alleges fraud. Mr. Trump, however, has not yet offered credible evidence of fraud. The current controversy involves “vote harvesting” and raises questions about the effect of selling votes. Vote harvesting involves individuals collecting mail-in ballots from voters. Clearly persons with limited mobility should receive assistance in voting, which relatives, legal guardians, and election officials can generally provide. Harvesti...
With so much news to absorb in recent months, it has been easy to overlook the continuing small business crisis in our state. While we have been preoccupied by the mounting Coronavirus cases and deaths, soaring unemployment, unprecedented political turmoil, thousands of Alabama small businesses have been teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. This is not their fault. They were ordered to close their doors. These businesses employ more than half of all Alabamians and are major drivers of our...
The Enduring Legacy of Margaret Thatcher Thirty years ago, [the week of November 23rd], the longest serving British prime minister of the 20th century resigned. Margaret Thatcher, having governed since 1979, saw her leadership challenged, but rather than continue to fight, she was gaslighted into believing she was losing her grip on her party and would lose her office in an embarrassing vote. None of that was true. In fact, the very men who rode to leadership positions on her coattails and hid...
