The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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There seems to be a recurring subject in the headlines from various news outlets over the last few weeks concerning the American dream. Evidently it is out of reach, not available to everyone, and otherwise unattainable. I had to look it up to see what is has even become. I feel like it keeps changing. Growing up I didn’t have a dream. Mine was more of a goal. I wanted out. I marked the last 5 months of my senior year of high school off the calendar like a prisoner. I walked on the stage and g...
Hi Friends! I hope this second month of the new year is finding you well. As a rule (my own rule), I tend to not share deeply personal stuff publicly. At the beginning of the year, God laid on my heart to share a post on social media about challenges that my husband, Brian, and I have been and are currently facing. I feel as if these words flowed straight through me. I just had to keep up with typing! Isn’t God awesome?!?! Although, no details are shared, I feel that many people can relate to t...
Back on 6 December, a Marine F-18 Hornet collided with a Marine KC-130 aerial refueling tanker about 200 miles off the coast of Japan. Of course, my prayers go out to the all the families impacted. Almost immediately, the Marines identified one of the two F-18 crewmembers. One survived and the other’s body was recovered the next day. It took close to a week before they identified the 5 crewmembers on the KC-130 but as no surprise, each of those men died that night. What we know for sure is t...
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to." Alice and The Cheshire Cat, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. During this Thanksgiving/Christmas I donned the best mask I could muster to hide thoughts on this 20th Anniversary of being made homeless by our federal government in symphony with some of our most corrupt State politburo members. The M-14 episode twenty years ago provided more evidence of the calculated m...
Eminent Domain is defined as the power of government to condemn private property for public use—provided that “just compensation” is provided to the owners as payment for suitable and fair replacements. In our nation’s history, seizures were often done for needed public projects. Compensation normally covered more than a property’s market value; it also had to include all other expenses suffered by the owners. An owner’s losses must be fully compensated and restored before a settlement can be co...
I stopped listening to R. Kelly’s music a few years ago after being introduced to his monstrousness when the abuse at his Atlanta-maximum-security-McMansion first made headlines; I simply didn’t know and hadn't bothered to learn about the shade around him until then, despite its ubiquity in the popular consciousness (highlighted by the famous Chappelle Show sketch). What the new 6-part docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly”—produced by Lifetime and over a year in the making before premiering its first...
Another New Year lies ahead, and while each day is always new with possibilities for individual growth and change, there’s something about our culture that hones in on New Year resolutions with the hope of a clean slate for the coming year. An early December Bible study message regarding the book of Haggai was especially timely for me as I reflected on 2018 and the year to come, and the key Scripture remained with me throughout the Christmas season. As our political system and culture continues...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report last month announcing that for the third consecutive year the life expectancy of Americans is dropping. Another statistic that emerged from the report was the fact that more Americans died last year than any other year since such findings started being counted – over a hundred years ago. That alone is disturbing, but if you consider why this is happening it becomes even more concerning. The reason so many of us are dying and the r...
WOW! Can you believe another twelve months have come and gone? Happy New Year! In December 2017, my husband, Brian, and I had the awesome opportunity to attend a leadership conference at our church. Dr. John Maxwell was the speaker. During the course of his talk, Dr. Maxwell made mention of his end of year and beginning of year routine…. instead of making New Year’s resolutions, he picks just one word. “Oh that my ways would be established on order to keep you word.” Psalm 119:5 Brian and I thou...
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...
Hey, folks. Here we go again with another edition of "Bits and Pieces." There is so much going on right now that I would like to address just a few of them now and then perhaps expand upon some of them at a later date. Here we go! 1. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: The woman is living, breathing proof that one can make it into politics with absolutely ZERO common sense. Before anyone goes Democrat on me, NO I am not slamming all politicians. Not even close. All I am saying is that she continually...
We would like to enjoy the world after you’re gone, please. And spare me the “well, it’s cold right here, right now, so it couldn’t possibly be warming in general” spiel. (By the way, this is the exact same argument that leads to people continuing to spank their children despite literally every single medical, psychological, and children’s group that has studied it saying it is terrible. The planet is getting hotter, and we are the cause. In the words of the report commissioned by the United...
It was Tuesday evening, one week prior to the November mid-term elections, and I was in attendance at the annual His Vessel Ministries Celebration Dinner listening to the featured speaker, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Admittedly, I wasn’t a supporter of Gov. Huckabee during his most recent presidential campaign, my lack of enthusiasm due largely to how he had embraced the Common Core State Standards Initiative back in 2013 while numerous conservatives were fighting tooth and nail to stop...
In the 1920’s and ‘30’s, we the people of the United States still retained vivid memories of the horrors of World War I—“The War to End all Wars.” Two decades later, when WWII erupted in Europe, we held a strict non-interventionist attitude to getting entangled into another one. A Gallup poll revealed that 88 percent were solidly against it. In a 1940 election year speech, our notorious President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced a campaign promise, “I have said this before, but I shall say i...
Straight-ticket voting enables a voter to cast all their votes for one party with a single mark at the top of the ballot. This duopoly party enhancing practice finally died in most States. Little surprise it remains in uncompetitive/ballot access blocked Alabama which will be among the last of seven States still suffering this practice when Texas (increasingly more a ‘battleground’ State) abolishes it for the 2020 election cycle. Texas will become the 15th State since 1994 to end this scourge, r...
I cracked-up in the middle of a root canal a few days ago. I didn’t just giggle. No. I went all out. I laughed until the dental assistant, the dentist, and an assistant in training who was just observing this fine spectacle all laughed too. This of course from my perspective and angle – at that moment – was hilarious. Things have sure changed. When I was a kid, my mom came home from work one day and announced that there was a new dentist in Grove Hill and she had made us appointments. My broth...
With the most popular holiday just around the corner, it seems like everyone is trying to get into the Christmas spirit. Stores are lining their aisles with Christmas goodies and decor, TV shows have switched to the theme of giving and love, and Santas are starting to float about. And why shouldn't they, after all it is that time, the meaning of the season, right? Yet, the very first Christmas seemed to do without all of these. The very first Christmas somehow started a frenzy without the power...
Commentaries printed in the Alabama Gazette are never presented to offend American Citizens and Legal Residents who originally hail from outside of the United States, as all legal immigrants are a vital part of this country's continued prosperity. Their talents are much needed and appreciated. It is only illegal immigration which poses a threat to American prosperity and is of serious concern to all Americans who value fairness and the rule of law for both their country and fellow citizens. Los...
Guest editorial by Bob Lonsberry © 2018 The Hondurans in the caravan, the 7,000 people walking north to America, where do they go to the bathroom, eat and sleep and store their clothes? How is it that after a week on the road they are clean and their hair and clothes are well kept? How is any of this possible? And why do these people, supposedly fleeing intolerable conditions in their homeland, carry little flags from their homeland and break into its national anthem when the TV cameras show...
Based on your question and if nothing is done to change the designation prior to divorce, no, you will not continue to be the beneficiary. In years past if a spouse remained on a life insurance policy, then the ex spouse remained as the beneficiary even if the owner remarried. I was always careful to counsel estate planning clients concerning this. It is still a counselable issue for my clients. In the Code of Alabama, 1975, §30-4-17 (2016 law) the opposite effect occurred in that there is a...
While my skepticism regarding all things political seems to increase with each passing day, there is one element that keeps me engaged: elections matter, and this November mid-term is no exception. Elections, specifically this mid-term, matter because of the pure ugliness of the Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation process. What started as a three-ring circus of protests ended with Americans more divided than ever, and in my mind, was the result of calculated political maneuvering to influence...
In recent years, self-sufficiency and living off the land is becoming more and more popular. Now that relatively inexpensive photoelectric cells, wind generators, and composting toilets are becoming more readily available to people of modest incomes, it is becoming a lifestyle for increasing numbers of people. In America, independence has been a treasured objective since its beginning. We fought two wars to become independent from Britain. We fought for individual liberty. And we fought to...
How do you make $14 million as the first Gig City in Alabama? Spend about $60 million... Some readers may recall last November's piece entitled, "Giggin' for Dollars in Opelika: Scent of a Birmingham Sewer?" Few columns have generated more nastygrams from politburo types and other lotharios of leviathan in Alabama. The Hubbard 'spin machine' is in overdrive with the 'fire sale' of Fuller's Folly as one of our most notable local corruption fighters dubbed the endeavour. Inveigled as a tremendous...
As I write this, there are people in the southeast corner of the state who are still cleaning up downed trees and are without power. There are farmers in the wiregrass region who have suffered extensive losses. Our hearts go out to all of them, and to our neighbors in Georgia and the Florida panhandle who were in the direct path of Hurricane Michael. Floridian columnist and author, Carl Hiaasen, has long confessed that a huge portion of his work has been inspired by actual headlines out of his h...
I recently came across a cute story that I’d like to share with you… “A Sunday School teacher began her class by stating that everyone has been blessed and should be thankful. Then she asked one little boy for what he was especially thankful. “My glasses,” he replied. That seemed strange. So she asked him to explain. He said, “They keep the boys from hitting me and the girls from kissing me.” In time, I suspect he will out grow the latter reason for his thankfulness. Don’t you agree?!?! That...
