Sorted by date Results 376 - 400 of 730
Does anyone think the phony Native American Senator Elizabeth Warren is smarter than our founding fathers? For that matter, does anyone think any politicians living today are smarter or have more integrity than the brilliant minds that drafted our Constitution?! A literal phenomenon, the United States of America is indisputably the most equitable, free, and prosperous nation in all of human history. This great enduring republic is proof of our founders’ genius, so why does anyone give credence to the partisan hacks peddling electoral bedlam? Th...
Is the Alabama Legislature ready to allow Alabama voters another opportunity to vote on a lottery bill? I wouldn't count on it but the timing seems right and I like the concept State Sen. Jim McClendon is proposing a bill that would split the lottery proceeds between the Education Trust Fund and the General Fund. Currently Alabama is one of six states that do not have a lottery. It will soon become one of five states that don't have a lottery because the Mississippi Legislature has already...
Saturday morning we were at the Flomaton Speedway to cover multiple fire departments cutting up old school buses. It wasn't play time, it was time to teach and train firemen how to react in the event we have a major school bus crash with children trapped inside. Ben Roe, who serves as the Barnett Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department chief and also works as a state trooper, said what he's said before – It's not if, but when we will see a school bus crash in this area. We hope Roe is wrong in his choice of 'if' and 'when' in terms of a school b...
Last week, I was honored to host some of our local mayors, city councilmembers, and city officials from Southwest Alabama in Washington to hear about what they do every day for our communities. I am a firm believer that the best people to run our towns and our communities are not the bureaucrats in Washington or the federal government. The best people to do that are the people who live, work, and play in the same place as their neighbors they represent. That is why I come home to Southwest Alabama every weekend, to be in touch with the people...
Last week we talked about the importance that roads are to the economic development of our state. We spoke about urban growth and expansion, especially the needs for highways in Huntsville and the improvement of the Port in Mobile. Well, I overlooked the needs and importance of our rural roads. Make no doubt about it, our rural roads need fixing too. A good many of the rural bridges in the state have been condemned and are hazardous for heavy trucks and school buses to travel. Many folks figure it would be cheaper to pay more for gasoline than...
The world was stunned by the savage senseless attacks on two Mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. With over 50 slaughtered and scores wounded, the cruel carnage shocked average people around the planet who were repulsed by the violence and deeply saddened by the incredible loss of innocent lives. In times of catastrophe, affiliation matters not. The victims were children, the elderly, families; they were human beings cut down by a mad man. This is when our humanity should transcend any differences for God created everyone. We can disagree on p...
As we talked with Flomaton High School Principal Scott Hammond and Flomaton Elementary School Principal George Brown about student absences the discussion was a little bit disturbing. As we enter the final few weeks of the school year both principals talked about how important it was for students to be in school. We talked about school report cards and how having too many students who missed 15 or more days could deduct points and possibly turn an A school into a B school simply because of excessive absences. We were a little shocked that both...
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” This question is probably the single most-asked question of any child throughout the world. Here in the United States, many children are able to achieve their dreams through hard work, dedication, and a quality education. But, for some here in our own country, hard work and dedication are not enough when it comes to circumstances out of their control like where they live or how much their family makes. Too many students find themselves stuck in failing schools. Every child has boundless individual pot...
Gov. Kay Ivey made infrastructure improvement in the state her cornerstone issue for this year, and more importantly for her term as governor. Within less than three months in office she and the Legislature have successfully accomplished this mission. Last Friday the Alabama House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed monumental legislation on an 84-20 vote. It was a remarkable victory for the Governor and the House leadership. It was a bipartisan coalition of support. Only 18 of the 77 Republicans voted against the bills and only 2 of the...
Newly elected freshman Democrats in the House of Representatives are causing substantial consternation for the Democrat Party particularly the leadership. Drifting left for decades, Democrats lurched left under President Obama, but following the lead of an unlikely barmaid from the Bronx, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, they have dropped all pretenses. The Democrat Party has become a radical hard left movement; they are now unabashed avowed socialists. While liberals and particularly millennials believe socialism has finally become f...
I applaud the Flomaton Town Council for agreeing to spend about $3,000 to have John Robert Smith spend a day in Flomaton to discuss the possibility of the town adopting a Form Based Code that could help the town attract new businesses. Flomaton Mayor Dewey Bondurant Jr., met Smith at an economic development workshop in Atmore. That two-day workshop wasn't free. The City of Atmore paid to have Smith and some of his employees with T 4 America come to Atmore to make a presentation to help that...
Do you have earthquake coverage in your homeowners policy? It's a question that's really never answered until an earthquake hits close to home. Our bet is most people in California have earthquake insurance. We remember back in 1997 when there was an earthquake in the Little Rock community in Escambia County, Ala., that shook houses for miles and miles. Some of those houses suffered damage and several driveways were cracked. Most homeowners who had cracks in the walls of their home assumed it would be covered but they found out otherwise. We...
The Governor has been inaugurated and the Legislature has had its organizational session. The quadrennium has begun. Therefore, it is time for our state officials to get to work. Among the three branches of government, Legislative, Executive and Judicial, our 1901 Alabama Constitution renders our Legislative Branch as the most powerful. Some of you who witnessed the Wallace Era may disagree and point to the Executive Branch. That was a unique Era. Wallace had basically become “King” of Alabama politics from 1963 through 1986 with a couple of in...
Democrats, liberals, progressives, or however one characterizes leftists have been flirting if not having a downright love affair with socialism for more than a century. Until recently, socialism was generally considered taboo in America. We are a free nation of fiercely independent people who intensely cherish their liberty. So the thought of dependence on anyone was repulsive. Americans traditionally claimed the absolute right to work and worship as they choose. Perhaps not so much anymore. It has been building the past few decades, but s...
This past week, Democrats in Congress again launched an attack on our Constitution and the rights we cherish as Americans. This time, they came after the Second Amendment and our right to bear arms. H.R. 8, the latest Democrat-led gun control bill does absolutely nothing to prevent criminals or violent persons from getting their hands on firearms. What H.R. 8 does do is violate the Constitutional rights of millions of Americans, ignores the mental health crisis behind actions of mass violence, and limits the Constitutional rights of millions...
When I first read the grand jury report about the town of Century, I thought 'Ouch', thinking it was a major slap in the face of the entire town. I read it again. It still stings. But the one thing that stood out to me was the statement the grand jury made in its report that said “Based upon our review we have determined that criminal charges re not apporopriate and therefore return a no true bill. That's where the rubber meets the road at this point. The next sentence said “We are, however, dee...
Like most of us, we were watching and listening Sunday afternoon as storms roared through our area. If you were attempting to watch TV you got interrupted. This area dodged a bullet; but we can't say the same for the people in Lee County who got slammed with a tornado that claimed as many as 23 lives. The storm left total devastation in its path taking no prisoners. It left those who survived scrambling to not only put their lives back together but to simply survive. We reached out to see what people could do to help the people in Lee County...
If you've read this column over the years, you know I like to listen to public radio as I ride up and down the road. I like it because I feel I get a very unbiased account on many of issues. They do a great job of presenting something and then getting people on opposing sides an opportunity to respond without the host interjecting his or her opinion. It's been interesting the past few weeks as we grow closer and closer to the 2020 elections and Democrats and Republicans begin drawing lines in...
Over the past 20 or so years we've seen the town of Flomaton attempt to implement zoning within the town limits only to see those efforts die. We've long advocated that zoning was needed to attract businesses and we know we've lost potential businesses due to the lack of zoning. Mayor Dewey Bondurant Jr., told us this week that he has had as many as five businesses over the past 16 years that wanted to come to Flomaton, but refused because of the lack of zoning. He said one of those happened about a month ago. We understand the 'Z' word scares...
Growing up, my parents taught me the basic values of fairness and following the rules. I think these values were common in households all across our state and country. In today’s society, those two basic values need to be applied to the ongoing debate about illegal immigration. In terms of fairness, we have people who are going through the legal process to enter our country, which takes time and effort, only to have people skip that entire process and just walk across our border illegally. That goes against the basic value of fairness. Also, w...
A lot has happened politically in the first quarter of 2019. The governor and all of our constitutional officials have been sworn in and have begun their four-year terms in office with Kay Ivey as Governor, Will Ainsworth as Lt. Governor, John Merrill as Secretary of State, John McMillan as State Treasurer, Rick Pate as Agriculture Commissioner, and Jim Ziegler begins his second term as State Auditor. More importantly, the State Legislature has organized and the Regular Session begins next week. They will be dealing with a myriad of major...
Americans are fiercely independent and will fight to preserve our cherished freedoms, but they are also the kindest most generous and genuine people on the planet. We constantly send private and public aid to people of every ethnic and racial background in every corner of the world. Every natural disaster or war, Americans are there to provide comfort, food, or protection. We never pause to wonder who, but only rush to help anyone in need. Racism certainly exists; it always has and always will. America has had dark regrettable chapters in our...
Before the new Congress began at the start of this year, I made a prediction: with the new Democrat majority, we could expect crazy season from the left, with Democrat members taking every chance they could to undermine President Trump. I don’t claim to have a crystal ball, but I think I hit the nail on the head in this case. So far in just the first month and a half of the 116th Congress, the Democrat Party has become the Obstructionist Party: they have stood in the way of strong national security measures, our American values, and P...
There has been a lot of talk about the advancement of women in politics over the past year. It has been suggested that more progressive states have led the way with this change. Alabama can very well make the case that we lead the nation in women taking leadership roles in our state. It is very doubtful that any state in the nation can claim a female governor and a female chief executive of their states leading business organization. Kay Ivey became Governor on January 14, after having been elected to her own four-year term in November. Kay had...
Sedition is a somewhat esoteric word. Seldom used, it means “conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state.” Depending on what side you are, you could be considered a patriot or a villain. Rebels like Ho Chi Minh, Mao, and Pol Pot were considered villains. Those who rebelled against King George III and King Louis XVI were considered patriots. The rabid “resistance” to President Trump also bizarrely consider themselves patriots, so they applaud acts of sedition as justified. Hoping to curry favor with the resistance...
