The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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Many Americans have serious concerns about the vulnerability of our unsecured southern border and the danger it presents in allowing easy access to those who are determined to bring destruction on our nation. But while our attention is focused primarily on that southern border, little notice is paid to a federal program that may well be allowing those with evil intent into our country via legal and taxpayer-funded means. The Refugee Resettlement/Asylum Program has existed with relatively little...
A recent opinion piece from James Spann, Chief Meteorologist for ABC 33/40 in Birmingham regarding severe weather explored the various reasons that Alabamians fail to heed the warnings of approaching dangerous storms. Based on meteorologists’ collaboration with social scientists studying why there was such a tremendous loss of life from the April 27, 2011 tornadoes despite the timely warnings of that day, Spann relates that he learned many things. Given that my interest leans towards all t...
Sen. Ted Cruz announcement of his bid for President of the United States wasn’t surprising news, nor were the long knives from critics on the left and the establishment right that were immediately drawn for him. Because I assumed that a Cruz presidential campaign was simply a matter of time, I didn’t watch his speech at Liberty University until later that day, and frankly, it was the social media furor on Twitter that prompted me to take the time to watch it without interruption. I have no int...
As I have increased my participation in the political process over the last six years, the realization of just how little our citizenry knows or even cares about our system of government is probably the most frustrating, and at times, the most discouraging aspect of politics. My discouragement has little to do with the lack of involvement in party politics but rather in the basic knowledge and understanding of the system of checks and balances at the federal level envisioned by our Founders...
Along with millions of Americans, my husband and I recently viewed the movie “American Sniper” which portrays the four deployments of U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. As many have expressed on various social media sites, we also left the theatre in silence as we struggled to express the impact of the film and the ugly reality in which our men and women in uniform, along with their families, live their lives in service to our nation. Whether you agree or disagree with our overseas military strategy mat...
2 trillion dollars. That’s the amount Congress approved in appropriation funding to keep our government operating, including the pork required to pass it. If you wonder how we have reached a level of government requiring such an astronomical level of funding, retiring U.S. Senator Tom Coburn’s farewell address explained it best. In his remarks, Sen. Coburn read the oath all members of Congress take when being sworn into office as he believes the failure to comprehend that oath is part of the...
The mid-term elections are finally over and the holiday season is in retail overdrive wherever we turn. We’ve already felt the cold of the approaching winter, bringing delight to hunters across the state. While our sportsmen (and women) take to the woods of Alabama to fill their freezers with venison, there are far more dangerous animals for which we have little to no control – lame duck members of Congress and a lame duck president. Lame duck sessions occur after each November mid-term ele...
Fall is without a doubt my preferred season and November is definitely one of my favorite months, primarily because it seems that people exhibit far more of an attitude of thankfulness than during any other time of the year. Along with my absolute gratitude for all that God has provided, I venture to guess that some of us are more than a little thankful that another election season of road signs, phone polling, and negative advertising is ending. We’ll soon learn if those who are either r...
The month of October brings cooler temperatures and a multitude of activities to our already busy personal lives: football games, fall festivals, upcoming holiday plans, and the flurry of related shopping and spending. It also heralds the beginning of new fiscal budget spending at the federal, state, and local levels. Last month, I shared that policy will impact your life whether you love or hate politics, Fiscal policy at all levels of government plays the largest role in determining your own...
“I hate politics”. I often hear that comment, especially in today’s divisive political environment and after yet another ugly primary season. And it is apparent from the disparity in the number of “likes” I receive on my political Facebook posts as compared to my “happy” personal posts, most people would be content to never see anything pertaining to the world of political issues. Perhaps you also think that “social” media isn’t the place for political posts. That’s fine, but please remember t...
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?...
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...
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...
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...
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...
In an increasingly polarized America where little consensus is found, it is somewhat interesting to find that there are people on the right and the left who may be sharing a bit of mutual agreement on at least two hotbed issues. Contrary to most news coverage in Alabama on the issue of Common Core, a.k.a. Alabama College and Career Ready Standards, “right-wing extremist groups” are not the only ones opposed to the Common Core. A simple Internet search for Russell Winn from Huntsville, AL (ww...
Are there areas in your life that are not “kept” because you are taking care of everyone else? If you are always on the go, constantly working and never taking time for yourself, you will end up stressed out and overwhelmed. You won’t be able to enjoy life the way that God intended. Living a balanced life brings peace, joy, and health. “….they have made me a keeper of vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept.” Song of Solomon 1:6 The person speaking in Song of Solomon was good at taking c...
“I've got a pen, and I’ve got a phone. And I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions that move the ball forward." Do you fully understand what your president just told you? Regardless of your political ideology, these words uttered by any elected official, and especially by a president of these United States of America, should send a chill down your spine and sound danger sirens across this nation. For those not sharing my conservative phi...
While my son was a student at the University of Alabama, and a few years before I became politically aware and active, I met a man who mentored a group of young men at the University, including my son. This gentleman was a student of history, a UA graduate, and loved the University dearly. But he was increasingly critical of what he was watching unfold in Tuscaloosa as well as on other campuses across the country. He referred to the “Saturday circus” and the gathering of the masses to watch the...
Several years ago, I was introduced to former Mobile Press Register reporter Eddie Curran, author of The Governor of Goat Hill, and after purchasing his book, I’ve been eagerly waiting for Curran to sink his teeth into another investigative journey regarding Alabama politics. For those unacquainted with Curran’s book, it’s the compilation of his years covering the corruption involving former Gov. Don Siegelman, but also a virtual encyclopedia of political players associated with state gover...
Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor recently bemoaned the "alarming degree of public ignorance" regarding civics and it was never more apparent as during the recent partial (17%) government shutdown. I'm increasingly of the opinion that this ignorance is achieved by design so that the political elites, particularly those on the left, can manipulate public opinion and voters to their benefit. I keep hearing, "You lost the election so get over it." Well, yes and no. Conservatives...
The world may well be upside down because I think I might actually see a bit of truth in Hillary Clinton’s now infamous line. “What difference does it make?” Except that I’m not talking about Ms. Clinton’s shocking and disturbing comment delivered during the Congressional committee hearing regarding Benghazi and the four murdered Americans, or the potential cover-up of what actually happened and went horribly wrong. I’m talking about the big government Democrats versus the big government...
In less than a week, I’ve encountered an identical phrase from two separate sources that I believe defines the unfortunate condition of where we are as a nation. People control. For some reason, this simple expression has completely escaped me when trying to explain to people why I believe in the conservative message. Too many of us become so absorbed in the minutiae of each political issue in order to intelligently debate those from the liberal side of the spectrum that we fail to recognize the simplest explanation of all. Liberals and s...
