The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
Sorted by date Results 682 - 706 of 1292
Even before daybreak, you can hear them singing their happy songs from inside their swinging gourds: the purple martin song. It is their season. They return every year from their winter homes in South America to raise their young. They fly the same instinctual path across the Gulf of Mexico, arriving in the South in early February. There are two types of people—those who don’t know or notice, and those who have proclaimed themselves to be landlords of the purple martin. It is a tradition bet...
By Beth Thomas, Alabama Gazette Summer Intern As I sat with my friends in the campus library in mid-March at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, we heard a rumor that changed the rest of our semester: school was closing, and we were all going home. Of course, it was a rumor, and we immediately began asking professors if they had heard anything. They gave similar answers: “I heard something about it, but nothing is confirmed. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.” Then, within a blink of an...
I decided to look at the Alabama Supreme Court website for recent slip opinions. A slip opinion is basically the first draft majority opinion of an appellate court before its publication in various case reporters. Looking at the opinions, I noted a couple of things. In addition to the opinions of the Alabama Supreme Court on various cases, there exist several approvals or denials on Writ of Certiorari or Writ of Mandamus. A Writ of Mandamus is used when a higher court orders a lower court or gov...
It is amazing to me that so many people have had such a hard time during the lockdown. I am not talking about the financial issues that are affecting most people because those issues are real and agonizing for many. Never underestimate the stresses that others are undergoing. What I am talking about, however, are the people that are becoming increasingly restive to the point of violence because of sheer boredom. People are getting angry and irritated about some pretty stupid, meaningless stuff....
Falsehoods and myths attacking my friend, Jeff Sessions, need to be dispelled. I have known and worked with Jeff for 27 years. Loyal Trump supporters in Alabama have been torn for 3 years over his verbal assaults over the Jeff Sessions recusal from the Russian investigation into the 2016 election. Yesterday, Senator Sessions set the record straight and wrote an open letter to the people of Alabama, making a compelling heart-felt argument, detailing why he recused himself. I encourage all GOP...
As I am writing this (mid-May, 2020), the American people are still suffering from the sanctions that our governors, mayors and other authorities have imposed onto them and the U. S. economy. Unfortunately, most of us are still ignorant of the catastrophic, long-term consequences. At this time, it is impossible to calculate the final cost. But people who are knowledgeable about economics can understand that this three-month shutdown of much of our business will total in the trillions of...
The struggle from DC on down to my Lee County commissioners (along with politburo mayors) in the effort toward our next distorted result is full steam ahead. Gamblers on Wall Street – investors is poor nomenclature where market forces no longer drive results – reveal they’re betting that ‘whatever can be bailed-out WILL be bailed-out’ remains Trumpocrat policy as Dow, NASDAQ and S&P exchange indices return to “bubble, bubble toil and trouble” results. The recent $3 trillion air patch (more t...
Our Federal and state governments implemented unprecedented measures beginning in March to stem the spread of COVID-19. Informed consent provides a foundation of medical ethics. Did our elected officials and public health experts get our informed consent for policies that have put 30 million Americans out of work? Medical experiments have often been performed on unsuspecting subjects, like the infamous Tuskegee Experiment. The U.S. Public Health Service in 1932 began studying the health effects...
There are many unsung heroes in Alabama’s fight against the Wuhan novel Coronavirus-19. 175 of them are working tirelessly in the Unified Command center, a “war room” set up by the Governor to lead Alabama’s 24/7 response to the pandemic. Located in the RSA Tower in downtown Montgomery, Alabama’s Unified Command for COVID-19 Response is a team comprised of four state agencies – the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), Alabama Emergency Management Agency (AEMA), Alabama National Gu...
Have you ever felt that nothing is going your way? It may be at work, or family, or everyday problems. What is your typical reaction? Do you move toward feelings of “why me?” or “grrrr…not again”? Or do you pause and think “what is my life trying to tell me right now?” Friends…let me tell you, that is the question. How you respond to the difficult things that happen to you can mean a difference in a life of anger or joy, a life of despair or hope. I once heard a wise person say “Life is an adven...
Last week I mentioned in this space how we eat a lot of greens down here in the Black Belt. I am sure other people in other places also eat a variety of greens. There are even people up north who try and serve greens. I doubt they cook them right, and their family probably won’t eat them, but they try. I was bragging about how I was taught how to cook turnips by one of the best cooks in Possum Bend, and much to my surprise I received an email asking for the recipe. That is when I realized I d...
Those words from the song “Dust in the Wind” (1977) sung by the rock group Kansas are roughly based on some verses from the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 1: 12-14 says (NIV) I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. (12) I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! (13) I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the win...
In times of crisis every day Americans become heroes. They put their talents to work to serve their neighbors. They truly become their brother’s keepers. A Brooklyn Physician in the Epicenter of the virus in New York may have said it best. She served her mandatory quarantine period after being exposed to the virus and told Time magazine: “I am a mother of three children. I have an 11-year-old, an 8-year-old, and a 5-year-old. I chose medicine to really help people. My husband, my parents, my...
As we move into our second month of in-home lockdown, people around the country are beginning to get upset with the slowness of the pace of knocking the Wuhan (I mean COVID-19) out. I watch way too many YouTube videos or Facebook posts of bored people doing some pretty interesting and funny stuff along with a bunch of incredibly stupid things. People are beginning to get cabin fever and want to get out. I understand on one level but at the same time I really don’t feel like dying simply b...
I was recently awakened early one morning at 4:00 am with a horrific dream about America. When we were having coffee, I told my wife about the dream, which shook me to the core. The first thing that came to her mind was the New Testament scripture found in Acts 2:17 – “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” I gue...
Toward the end of last year (2019), a new strain of flu erupted in Wuhan, China, spread very rapidly, and soon began killing people. Rumors circulated that it escaped from Wuhan’s level-4 bioweapons research laboratory. Other sources suggested it came from unsanitary preparation of meat from dogs, cats, bats, and pangolins at Wuhan’s world-famous Huanan seafood market—a “wet market” where live animals are bought and sold. The pangolin is an anteater-like creature prized for its scales and Chine...
Columnist John Sophocleus learned of his earthly father's passing while writing his piece for this month’s issue. Adamant about his submission these past ten plus years, he requested The Alabama Gazette reprint “Blessed with Many Fathers” under the circumstances. We hope you find it a worthy (re)read. Editor’s Note: Our prayers & sympathies are extended to John & his family at this time. Empty screen before me now, heavy hands upon the keyboard, I struggle to type this month’s column… informed h...
America needs billions of masks to protect against the Coronavirus, particularly high-grade N95 masks for healthcare workers. Nonetheless, fear of litigation delayed delivery of millions of construction masks to healthcare workers. Should the law be slowing our emergency response? America’s largest mask producer, 3M, will soon be producing 100 million a month. The company normally produces more construction than medical masks; while similarly effective, the medical masks must meet more stringent...
Hi friends! I pray you are doing well during these challenging times. Even in the midst of uncertainty, I personally have seen God working in awesome ways! “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 Anything can be a blessing, an opportunity, if you choose to see it that way. When you see life through a lens of hope, everything can change. This can be a challenging concept to practice when you are...
I read articles about the Black Belt sometimes that make me feel like we should all immediately pack up and leave. I don’t know where we should go, but we may not make it if we stay. I read one yesterday that was really playing us up. It said we are poor, dumb, and tend to have a life expectancy that is nine years shorter than the rest of Alabamians. I knew we were poor and dumb, but I was surprised about those nine years…because we eat a lot of greens down here. I cook a mean pot of greens mys...
I think it important first if I may to express my inward thoughts. Besides my beautiful wife, I have my seven-year-old son. I’ve thought on how to address this pandemic with my family. My almost 89 year old Dad said to me that besides the fear that the Germans might march in during World War II he has never seen this affect on America. I see this as a time when our children and grandchildren see if we really walk the walk. To this I have said plainly that God is in control. Regardless of what ha...
Wednesday on the steps of the Supreme Court Democrat Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer threatened Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. Schumer said the following: “I want to tell you, Gorsuch. I want to tell you, Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price...You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.” Sounds like Michael Corleone in the Godfather, not the Leader of the Democratic Party in the Senate. He didn...
Trumps ability to fill stadiums and maintain an unshakable base of support is defined by his adversarial opponents as a cult. To the contrary, in the face of a daily tsunami of hostile incoming artillery, Trump has stared them down and marched full speed ahead championing an over achievement in his delivery of campaign promises. In my lifetime, since working the grass roots in 1980 for Reagan, we have never seen ANY elected official deliver beyond expectations surpassing campaign promises like...
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders contends we should not allow billionaires. His view produced interesting debate exchanges with Michael Bloomberg, who has a net worth of $53 billion. Are billionaires good for America? A first consideration is the source of the riches. Were they earned from a successful business, or by stealing from or swindling others? Bank robbers and con artists do not benefit our economy. For those who inherited their wealth, we should consider the original...
If you have been reading my column long enough, I am sure you already know one thing for sure; I love WWII history. Whether talking to folks at Orange Theory, meeting a new First Officer or basically most people I come into contact with, they quickly realize this. Give me WWII, airplanes, German Luftwaffe, British Royal Air Force, or the USAAF and I am happy as can be. With that love of history, unfortunately often comes disappointment. Something or someone I may have held in high esteem,...
