Opinion & Policy

  This session is likely to be a sensitive one for most legislators. For at least 23 of them, it is their last session, and for the rest, it is an election year. One must wonder what the legislators spending their last session will place their priorities on. The ones up for election must be…

Dear Editor, Alabamians have celebrated Robert E. Lee Holiday in January for more than 120 years, the oldest Alabama holiday named for a famous historical figure. Shamefully, last Legislative Session, Republican senators Tom Whatley, Randy Price and Will Barfoot joined with the left-wing Democrats to sponsor Senate Bill 300, which would have abolished General Lee’s holiday…

  It seems like that instead of this being 2022, that we find ourselves practically in George Orwell’s “1984”! Inflation has been rising all over the world because of a combination of excessive monetary policy and supply chain challenges brought by the lockdowns. The large stimulus plans have only devalued the dollar. Labor shortages. Energy…

  So as we start the new year, of course the pandemic will continue to dominate the news. Yet, the other underlying story that does not appear to be going away is the spike in crime across the nation. A combination of soft-on-crime lawmakers, prosecutors and judges in some parts of the United States has…

  I hope everyone survived the holidays and are now getting back into the swing of “normal” life – like we really even know what THAT is anymore! We are starting a third year with the threats of mask mandates, schools closing/distance learning and businesses closing because of COVID-19 related issues. We are getting to…

  “If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made.” That is a quote too often used and attributed to Otto von Bismarck: In other words, the legislative process, though messy and oftentimes unappetizing to some, can produce palatable results for all. Regardless of which political flavor you prefer, the…

  Here we are on the last day of 2021. Tomorrow we start a fresh year, and, I’m guessing, we are all hoping for some much needed changes and improvements. Unfortunately, the horizon is not looking all that good again this year. We are facing the third year of uncertainty on many fronts – mandates,…

  New Year’s resolutions originated more than 4,000 years ago with the ancient Babylonians. They had the first documented New Year’s celebrations. During Akitu, a vast 12-day religious festival, in mid-March, the Babylonians crowned a new king and/or recommitted their allegiance to the existing king. Their celebration included making promises to “the gods” to return…