The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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Author John Taylor [fellow Alabama Gazette columnist introduced last edition] provided some quotes from his Union at All Costs book to help illustrate ‘Judas rhetoric’ to cloak avarice for revenue: Lincoln delivered his First Inaugural Address on March 4, 1861. He made several interesting comments regarding slavery: “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no in...
Besides appreciating where I came from, my love for the South and its traditions originated with my late mother, Mary Alford Taylor. She was very easy going; however, if anybody talked badly about the South, she would become instantly defiant. It was ingrained in me from day one that Southern people are special and have been wrongly ridiculed by outsiders. As a youth in the 1960s, I remember listening to WBAM (The Big Bam 740 in Montgomery) and WVOK (The Mighty 690 in Birmingham). Living in Alexander City, I could pick up both stations...
Experts in public health and epidemiology have driven policy making during the COVID-19 pandemic. How much should we trust experts? Critics dismiss Republicans who voice distrust of experts as anti-science. Yet even experts know very little about complex economies and societies. Frustration with experts does cross party lines. New York’s Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo recently remarked of experts’ forecasts of hospital usage, “They were all wrong.” The “Wisdom of Crowds” argument, wonderfully...
A police officer has the often-thankless job of seeing to it that we all abide by the law. From armed robbery to running a stop sign, it’s all against the law. This job is not high paying, requires long hours, is personally challenging, and very frustrating. However, unlike must jobs, it is a calling. Most police officers love their job and bend over backwards to do it right, even under the worst circumstances. Chief Finley and Sheriff Cunningham and their officers do an outstanding job here i...
There are two types of writers in the world: those who can write…and those who want to be able to write. Proofreading is just part of the process. If the deadline allows, it is best to have a little space between finishing writing and proofing, but I don’t do that so much anymore…even as Southern as I am. That is no longer the point of proofing. People who can’t write seem to find great joy in pointing out simple sins in the words of those who can. But it is easy to use the wrong form of a wo...
Uncertainty. Just that word can make our stomachs churn, our hearts pound faster, and our minds race. Everyone is dealing with uncertainty right now due to the upheaval of the Coronavirus … your travel, work, schedule, group meetings, church, school, childcare, etc. It all boils down to our plan becoming uncertain. We are used to booking our schedules weeks or months in advance, always having what we need (or want) in the stores, and rarely inconvenienced in a way that technology or a little w...
Not only can the State of Alabama, through the Attorney General, sue the city of Birmingham, but also they have. The 2017 Alabama Preservation Memorial Act was used when its former mayor had plywood sheets placed around the monument. The mayor said that the $25,000 fine was less than the price of civil unrest. But now with the killing of George Floyd, splinter groups of ANTIFA and anarchists have wrongfully attached themselves to disrupt the rightful and peaceful protestors that want their voice...
Hard times create strong men Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men Weak men create hard times. – Unknown How true. And by the way, we are currently cruising full speed in the fourth zone right now; a world run by weak, self-serving, socialist/communist/fascist charlatans hell-bent on dismantling our great republic. Anybody who thinks ANTIFA is actually “anti-fascist,” go take a history class at your local college and get back to me. By now, everybody reading this Robse...
My father, W.O. Giles, Sr., taught my brothers, sister and I a famous slogan we can all recite, even today. He would say: "There is your side, their side, find what is right and do not move." This notion has served me well over the years, because I can hear my father's voice when he would say, "Don't Move," which enables one to face turbulent winds when standing alone. It is my motivation in this article to help you find what is right, and "Don't Move." Coach Tuberville has gained some momentum...
One of America’s greatest tragedies was what many of us call the “Civil War,” also known as “The War Between the States,” “The Great Rebellion,” “The War of Northern Oppression,” and “The War for Southern Independence.” It was the bloodiest war ever fought on American soil by more than an order of magnitude. We suffered an estimated 620,000 to 750,000 (revised) casualties from combat, starvation, disease, and injuries. In many ways, this war was like the American Revolution—a war of independence...
In his prayer for the Ephesians, Paul doesn’t want them to be afraid, deterred or faint by the tribulations he is enduring. My paternal grandmother lived in Ephesus until forcibly removed at the Burning of Smyrna; tribulation is a common happenstance in our human, yet not so humane travails through history. The cause/reason (two most used words I’ve found) Paul knelt unto the Heavenly Father of his Lord, Jesus Christ, was to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit, which is anchored in God’s Truth...
The killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin ignited nationwide protests. While we advise jurors to withhold judgment until presentation of all the evidence, video of the incident seems definitive. Mr. Floyd joins a much-too-long list of minority victims of police violence. Justice may be served in Minneapolis. The four officers involved were fired the next day, and Mr. Chauvin charged with second-degree murder. Does this render the protests moot? Not necessarily. Mr....
I feel like I am in the middle of a bad dream. Across our great country, spineless elected officials are turning our streets and neighborhoods over to angry mobs of looters and thieves. At this writing, in Seattle, unbelievably led by members of the City Council, 6 city blocks, including a police precinct, have been turned over to armed members of the anarchist group Antifa. Exact statistics are unknown, but there currently seems to be between 300-400 full-time squatters who have taken up...
The Alabama Gazette welcomes its newest contributor: John M. Taylor: Married (Susan) with two sons and two grandchildren, most know me by my nickname “Johnny.” After graduating from Benjamin Russell High School in Alexander City and then attending Central Alabama Community College, I earned a B.S. in Transportation from Auburn University. During most of my college years, I worked at Russell Corporation then upon graduation, the majority of my career was spent there in various management posit...
The Gospel is about walking in freedom. That’s why, early in His ministry, Jesus quoted Isaiah’s Old Testament prophecy that He had been sent to “set free those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18). Jesus made clear that this freedom begins with our relationship with Him. Many Believers (and non-Believers) quote Jesus as saying, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” But we can forget that there was a condition to this freedom. Jesus said this only is available to those who ...
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...
