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I drive by the sign every time I head south on Hwy. 21 to the interstate. The sign says William C. Holman Correctional Facility. Most of the time the gate is raised, the road is open to driving past the prison and the area is quiet. On rare days the gate is down, the traffic increases and armed agents from the State Department of Corrections are on duty. This signifies execution day at Holman. As a longtime member of the Alabama Press Corp, I went to witness the execution of Christopher Lee Price. I witnessed an execution in the late 70s when...
War-time letters throughout our nation’s history can offer us a window into the personal sacrifices of our fighting men and women. Perhaps one of the most famous was by Major Sullivan Ballou of the Second Rhode Island Infantry, written just before the First Battle of Manassas in the Civil War. In it, he talks of his love for his wife, Sarah, and his deep devotion to the cause for which he is fighting. He also expresses his worries and fears over the coming engagement and his sorrow that, were he not to return home, he will miss his sons growing...
A good many people wonder why simple, straightforward, no nonsense, good- government legislation fails to pass even though it appears to have universal and overwhelming support and appeal for many voters and legislators. You will recall old sayings that you heard from your elders when you were young. Old bits of wisdom spouted from the lips of your grandparents and older folks, which went in one ear and out the other. Sayings like, “If you’ve got your health you’ve got everything” and “If it ain’t broke then don’t fix it”; and, if you are a go...
The past few years “Fake News” real and imagined has become so prevalent that almost every news item is treated with distinct suspicion. Various polls show about 60-70% of the public considers the media highly biased or particularly untrustworthy. Some reports like much of the Russia hoax reporting are downright false, but most of the problem is intense bias where so called journalists simply present the facts in misleading context. To illustrate: if President Trump walked across the Potomac River, the mainstream media headlines would be “Tr...
Here we go again. Unless a miracle occurs the voters in Alabama will not have an opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment to decide if we want a lottery or not. State Sen. Greg Albritton's 'clean lottery' bill that limited the lottery to what you see in Florida with paper tickets and scratch-off tickets passed the Senate by one vote. It got derailed in the House of Representatives. Some in the House said they were simply against gambling and didn't think Alabama needed to turn to...
Next Thursday will be a very important day for the future of Flomaton. At 1 p.m. at town hall, the citizens of Flomaton are asked to show up for a question and answer period with John Robert Smith about the possibility of implementing a Form Based Code for the town. From what we've read and what we've heard, it seems like a good plan to help improve Flomaton's economy for years down the road. But like you, we really don't know and won't know unless we attend that meeting and ask Smith some pointed questions. Over the past 20 or so years...
Last week I had the great experience to join my colleagues in a little friendly competition at the Congressional Clays Competition hosted by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus. It was great to express our Second Amendment rights with some healthy rivalry, but it reminded me of those in this country who cannot express this right freely. Our Founding Fathers enshrined the right to keep and bear arms in our nation’s Constitution. Throughout our history, we have seen the importance of the Second Amendment for people to make a living, to pro...
Over 20 years ago when I was a legislator the State Trooper assigned to my county asked if he could come visit with me. “Of course,” I said. When he came he had a somber look on his face. I thought maybe he had a serious personal problem or had lost a loved one. He began, “This may not sound like a major highway problem, but one of the things that causes a good many accidents and incidents on our roads is people driving slow in the left lane and not moving over.” I never pursued legislation to this effect. However, he made me aware of the nee...
Our brilliant Constitution is the foundation of our beloved republic. Its poetic preamble lays out the reasons for our noble purpose. Although this seminal document is integral and vital to our very freedom, we tend to take it for granted and seldom ponder its incredible significance and serious obligations for every citizen. Our politicians are charged to uphold the Constitution, but thankfully our military service members take the charge to protect our Constitution “against all enemies foreign and domestic” as a solemn life or death dut...
Social media can be a great tool, but it can also be a Devil in disguise. I'm not a big social media person because I don't know if what I'm reading is factual or some of that 'fake news' President Trump keeps talking about. Social media went wild Saturday in the aftermath of the shooting at the old Escambia County Middle School building where one person was killed and eight others shot. I read posts about it being a graduation party for seniors at Escambia County High School; I read posts...
For many people, this will be a long weekend with Monday off to celebrate Memorial Day. There will be family gatherings, there will be trips to be the beach or to the river and Monday night Flomaton Speedway will put on a fireworks show. We just hope people will pause this weekend to remember why we celebrate Memorial Day; celebrate is probably not the correct word, because what we are actually doing is paying tribute to the many men and women who have died fighting to give us the freedom to go to the beach, have cookouts with our families or w...
I echo Flomaton Mayor Dewey Bondurant's statement that he wants a huge crowd to show up June 6 when John Robert Smith comes to Flomaton to hold a series of workshops to explain how Smart Growth America's Form Based Code program works. Mayor Bondurant has said many times that several businesses have looked at coming to Flomaton but took the town off its list because the town has no zoning. He said one of the most recent was a motel that was seriously considering building in Flomaton. Since I've...
For most Flomaton High School fans, Dec. 6, 2018 will be etched in their minds forever. That's the date the Hurricanes captured the school's first state football championship with a 23-12 win over Piedmont at Jordan-Hare Stadium on the campus of Auburn University. There was a long period of celebration by the Flomaton faithful, but like other high schools across the state preparations immediately began for the 2019 season. We doubt Flomaton had the 24-hour rule most college coaches talk about in terms of celebrating a victory to getting ready...
Since Democrats took control of the House of Representatives, they have turned a blind eye to infanticide, promoted overregulation of American businesses, and sought socialist measures in the United States, oftentimes at the expense of the taxpayer. They have also made it clear that they stand for open borders by ignoring the ongoing crisis at the southern border. In the past five months, we have read story after story of illegal immigrants taking advantage of our weakened border and broken immigration system to commit horrendous, preventable...
The five day Special Legislative Session that addressed the increase in the gas tax to fund an Infrastructure Rebuilding Program for the state was a remarkable success. I still marvel at the adroitness, efficiency and expediency in which the governor accomplished this monumental initiative. She called for a Special Session on the night of her State of the State address and within one week it was signed, sealed, and delivered. I have seen some successful special sessions in my lifetime of watching Alabama politics. However, I have never seen...
With constant encroachments on our liberty and privacy for security and persistent prosecutorial misconduct, concerns about a coming police state are quite valid. However, the greater growing threat is the tech state because it’s incremental, stealthy, and it’s already here! High tech has produced many wonderful conveniences and innovations, but totally dominated by a few monopolies high tech has garnered almost unlimited power to place whatever limits it likes on its customers. Amazon, Google, and Facebook have become so dominant in their sph...
Write what you know. A long time ago my Mama told me to do that. Fast forward a few years, and my husband told me the same thing. Write what you know. Its simple words, but how do you write when you realize that you don’t know anything. Well, here’s what I know. Our country has changed. For the better or worse remains to be seen, but it has changed. Whether or not you voted for him, President Trump has changed our country. There is an underlining current that is gaining momentum and truth be...
Last week, I was honored to address a group of newly naturalized citizens of the United States. It was an experience that gave me the opportunity to reflect on a question as old as our nation itself: “What does it mean to be an American?” In the United States, we don’t define citizenship as being part of the dominant ethnic group. And we do not define citizenship as being part of the dominant religion or hound out those with whom we disagree. Nor are we defined as the subjects of a monarch or strongman dictator. Indeed, we Americans belie...
Our Senior U.S. Senator, Richard Shelby, turns 85 this week. In March he reached another milestone – he surpassed Senator John Sparkman as the longest serving U.S. Senator in Alabama history. Shelby has been our senator for 32 plus years. Alabama has a treasure in Richard Shelby. He is not only the longest serving U.S. Senator in Alabama history, he is also the most successful U.S. Senator in Alabama history. During his illustrious tenure, Senator Shelby has chaired the Senate Banking Committee, Intelligence Committee and Rules Committee. H...
Willie Nelson warned Mamas to not let their babies grow to be cowboys because it was a hard lonely life. Alabama Representative John Rogers (D-Birmingham) tells Mama’s to not let their babies grow up at all or more precisely don’t let them even be born because life without nanny state government benefits isn’t worth living. Rogers shocked the nation when he said “kill them now or kill them later!” Rogers made his incredibly callous comments in a floor debate to oppose the current abortion ban bill now passed by the Alabama House and referred...
We have many laws on the books that are not only designed to protect us, but are also designed to help other people. But there are loop holes in some laws, closed holes in others and sometimes it comes down to personal responsibility. The recent outbreak of measles in the United States, which now has more than 700 confirmed cases and at least one case in Alabama, is a big, big red flag. Measles was once declared eradicated from the United States much like Polio has been eradicated from the...
As we've done in the past, we covered two trials last week where seniors from high schools across Escambia County (Ala.) made up the jury pool to decide the fate of two suspects charged with real crimes. Sponsored by the Escambia County Bar Association, the Law Day experience has not only won the bar association multiple national awards, it provides a great learning experience for our students. These are not mock trials. The 12 high school seniors who make up the jury have the responsibility to listen to the evidence, deliberate and return a...
A handful of stories in Washington generally get about 90 percent of the media’s attention. Don’t get me wrong, many of those stories are important, but much of my time in Washington is also focused on getting things done for Alabama that don’t make the front page. This week we got a big win on just one of those many issues. Over the last ten years, Alabama has seen a string of hospitals close. Today, 88 percent of our rural Alabama hospitals are operating in the red. This is unsustainable and represents a major challenge. When a rural hospi...
Folks, taking care of prisoners is not a popular political issue. However, every so often Alabama politicians pragmatically have to acquiesce to the mandates of federal judges and grant our transgressing citizens their rights as determined by the courts. Federal Courts have determined that our felons deserve the rights to adequate imprisonment. You just cannot log them in, lock them up, and give them a basic bunk and rations three times a day. Courts want them to have sufficient space and access to mental health care. Some state prison systems...
Already flailing about wildly for months, Democrats are frantically grasping at anything and everything to find a winning message for 2020. The only Democrat common denominator is abject rabid hatred for President Trump. They desperately want to believe destroying Trump is all they need to win the White House, but enough of them have an eerie notion that the media echo chamber cheering them on may not actually be based in reality. Despite relentless smears, ceaseless false accusations, and even attempts to remove him, Trump remains popular and...
