Woke corporations have been getting away with silencing conservative voices and values for a long time, and I have had enough. Recently, Google Maps temporarily removed Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center from their map and instead suggested two different locations: A pro-life pregnancy center a state away, and a local Planned Parenthood Center in Washington, D.C. 

Having the pregnancy center’s location removed from Google Maps is a threat to women’s and children’s health. It’s even worse to re-direct someone to the location of a clinic performing abortions. Google has been accused of numerous incidents of suppressing or censoring pro-life and conservative viewpoints and content in the past, and this is yet another example of Google pushing its own pro-abortion agenda and promoting the view of left-leaning organizations. 

Although the clinic is now back on the map, I sent a letter to Mr. Pichai, the CEO of Google, to express my concerns as to why the listing was removed in the first place and if there are other similar situations that have not yet been brought to light. Pro-life clinics should be listed on Google Maps without being removed under any circumstance, as women’s health and protecting the lives of the unborn is incredibly important to millions of Americans.

I have always been 100% pro-life, and since day one in office, I have been a fighter for life. I have even been given the score of A+ by the Susan B. Anthony Foundation for my staunch pro-life values being reflected in my voting history.

I am a proud supporter of several pieces of pro-life legislation. These bills prohibit taxpayer dollars being used to fund abortions or fund Planned Parenthood, while promoting national awareness of adoption.

Whether its holding Big Tech accountable for censoring pro-life voices or ensuring taxpayer dollars are not used to fund the radical left’s pro-abortion agenda, I will always fight for life and do all I can to promote a culture in Washington that respects life the way we do in Alabama.

Jerry Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. He lives in Mobile with his wife Tina.

On December 6, the eyes of the Republican Party, the national news media, and voters across the country will tune in to see prospective GOP presidential nominees take the stage at the University of Alabama’s Moody Music Hall.

With the first primaries of the 2024 election season quickly approaching, the debate at the Capstone promises to be historically significant, but it also represents something that goes to the core of our nation’s foundational principles – the free and open exchange of ideas.

Decades ago, college campuses were known as places where ideas spanning the entirety of the political spectrum could be discussed, expressed, and debated without repercussion. Students and professors alike were exposed to new thoughts and ideas that often changed, shaped, and molded the way they viewed the world around them.

Civil debate was considered healthy and the thought of students being “triggered” or threatened by ideas with which they disagreed was laughable, but on many campuses today, discourse and discussion has been replaced with dogmatism and intolerance of anything considered conservative thought.

When conservative author Ann Coulter presented a lecture on the same Berkeley campus where free speech was once celebrated, students rioted at her presence and multiple arrests were made. Violence, riots, and arrests have also greeted campus appearances by conservative radio host Ben Shapiro, political commentator Candace Owens, and others.

Conservative outbursts against liberal speakers, on the other hand, are as rare as Big Foot sightings.

The recent attacks by Hamas terrorists in Palestine and the military reaction by Israeli forces have inflamed passions on many campuses even more. Rather than rationally debating the various positions on the conflict, too many on the pro-Hamas side have wrongly chosen to target Jewish students with threats and violence that should never be tolerated.

Fortunately, the hue and cry and violent disturbances that have become so commonplace on campuses in other states have been markedly absent from the colleges and universities located in Alabama.

The University of Alabama has been particularly notable in promoting and welcoming appearances by internationally known political figures from both the right and left without suffering the uprisings witnessed elsewhere.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, an Obama appointee who is known for her unabashedly liberal views and opinions, lectured the students and faculty of the University of Alabama Law School on a variety of topics, including the justices’ ability to vehemently disagree on constitutional and political principles without adversely affecting their working relationships.

Citing the famously close friendship between conservative Justice Antonin Scalia and liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sotomayor suggested, “The partisanship that has racked our country shows the need for the Court to set an example of how people can disagree passionately but still agreeably.”

On the opposite side of the aisle, the University of Alabama also hosted former Vice President Mike Pence, who addressed hundreds of students, faculty, staff, and Tuscaloosa residents without incident. Pence spoke candidly on a number of issues that are prominent in today’s social discussions including abortion and Second Amendment rights.

In contrast to the University of Alabama is Harvard University, which scored a zero out of 100 in a study by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Among the many transgressions that landed Harvard at the bottom of the college free speech rankings was sanctioning or firing multiple professors who expressed conservative ideas, disinviting a speaker who held traditional conservative views on transgender issues, and allowing students to disrupt a lecture by occupying the stage and refusing to leave. 

I am convinced beyond measure that the University of Alabama’s long history of welcoming personalities on both the right and left and encouraging discussion of ideas that are popular, unpopular, and in-between resulted in its selection as the host site for a prestigious presidential debate.

When the Republican candidates take the stage on the UA campus, they will find themselves standing within a beacon of free speech and honest debate, and they will enjoy a world class experience mixed with traditional southern hospitality as the nation watches. 

Scott Stadthagen is the state representative for House District 9, which encompasses portions of Morgan County, and serves as majority leader of the 75-member Alabama House Republican Caucus.

When James Monroe addressed Congress 200 years ago, many assumed his annual message would be limited to legislative initiatives. Since he had no spin doctors to help him explain his position, clarify its broad impact, or narrate its context, it was left to him to simply announce the Monroe Doctrine and let others decide its ramifications.

Two centuries ago, the New World was shedding Old World political connections as new nation states were emerging after achieving independence. President Monroe clearly understood the general feelings of his fellow countrymen and realized that the unique American experience provided him a forum to declare his nation’s place in the World Order.

The Monroe Doctrine is remembered primarily for its bold limitation on European influence and colonization in the Western Hemisphere, but other parts of the doctrine were of equal importance and expressed American sentiments about the rest of the world. Specifically, the doctrine stated that America had no interest in conflicts in Europe but would respect the existing order in the New World.

When viewed in hindsight, the doctrine was in many ways a concise statement of how America viewed the world and coupled its role with a tinge of isolationism. President Monroe told the entire World that the Western Hemisphere was off limits to European powers. It was a bold move for a nation that was not yet 50 years old and had no military to enforce the policy, but the policy was supported by George Washington admonition that America not involve itself in foreign wars.

The American Revolution changed the dynamics of foreign policy, foreign trade, and foreign investment. Once the revolution ended, wars in Europe waxed and waned with alliances that switched and boundaries that moved so frequently it was hard to keep an accurate tally. Monroe understood that America had no interest in these changing relationships and was ill suited to fully appreciate the dynamics of European diplomatic intrigues.

Monroe’s main interest was preserving a sphere of influence with America as the dominant power. There was no need to allow this continent to become a proxy for the varied changes in European politics and reconquest of former colonies. Keeping America stable and secure with its energies devoted toward territorial growth and trade was the president’s ultimate goal.

He knew from experience that wars were expensive and diverted time and talent away from domestic improvement. Thus, it was easy for him to disclaim any involvement in Europe, its political theories, and various continental wars, but it was another thing to make a bold statement that European powers were not welcomed to assert control over liberated ex-colonies. Even bolder was the assertion that any such involvement by another country, would be considered a hostile act against the United States.

This provision of the doctrine might be viewed as a NATO-like pledge that any attack by a foreign power against a territory in the Western Hemisphere would be met with force of arms from the United States. Since the United States had a very limited navy and no standing army of any measure, this statement had no enforcement mechanism. If a foreign power tried to invade another country, the U.S. would have been helpless to take effective action, but the Monroe Doctrine had a silent guarantor in the form of the British Empire, which had plenty of ships and troops to enforce the policy. The British acquiesced to the Monroe Doctrine because limiting other countries’ involvement in the New World was advantageous to its long-term interest.

It is not a stretch to say that the Monroe Doctrine cemented the Anglo-American relationship while ensuring American and British interests would never again be so adversarial as to incubate hostilities. From this point forward, the two nations would be joined together in almost a common enterprise of trade and international stability.

Without having to fight wars, the United States could focus on opening and subduing the rest of its territory. For at least some period of time, the expansion of the country created such opportunities that any foreign influence was not occasioned by military invasion, but by swarms of immigrants leaving the old world behind to seek fortune and opportunity in a new place with little historical memory to retard its progress.

Rather than being innovative, the Monroe Doctrine sought to express the consensus of American sentiment about its view of its place in the world. The influx of immigrants would also support this idea that once their home country was on the distant horizon, they were liberated from the politics of the Old World that limited freedom and advancement. Immigrants coming to the United States would gladly agree that they, too, had no desire to involve themselves in the politics of a country they had left. So, while Americans wanted limited involvement with the politics and factious belligerence of Europe, they did not want foreign influence in the New World. Americans would be motivated to apply force only if European countries attempted to assert themselves in our sphere of influence.

This was true even in the last century. During World War I, most Americans had no desire to send troops to Europe, but sentiment changed only after a secret German diplomatic initiative was uncovered promising Texas, Arizona and New Mexico to Mexico if it would ally with the Kaiser. Ending any thought of European influence in our country’s affairs proved a strong motivator.

Likewise, in World War II, Franklin Roosevelt was unable to arouse American interest in defeating the Nazis, but once Hitler’s secret plan to divide Latin America into Nazi-controlled vassal states was exposed, the average citizen began to sense the Nazi threat.

For 200 years, the Monroe Doctrine has been a centerpiece of American foreign policy. Its broad provisions continue to affirm a commitment to regional independence and put other nations on notice that the Western Hemisphere is a self-determination zone with no tolerance for foreign influence or territorial threat.

Perhaps President Xi needs a refresher course?

Will Sellers is a graduate of Hillsdale College and an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of Alabama. He is best reached at jws@willsellers.com.

In recent years, candidates for political office have lambasted, run against and proclaimed that they were not career politicians.  Every television ad for someone who has never held office has proudly stated that they are not career politicians.

That all sounds good, but is it really good? In my lifetime, the word politician has become synonymous with someone sinister and untrustworthy. In fact, politics has become something that the brightest and best people have come to avoid.  

That was not the case when I was a boy growing up in Alabama. The most outstanding young men in the state chose to go into public service. Having roots in the state was important toward success for the men who rose to public office.

The great Alabama storyteller, Katherine Tucker Windham, would say, “Alabama is a big front porch.” Boys would grow up with aspirations of being governor, United States senators or congressmen. People in their hometowns would identify young men who were talented and groom them to be a future governor or congressman.

A study of Alabama political history will reveal that Alabama has done pretty well over the years in the halls of the United States Congress by electing homegrown boys to be their representatives in Washington. These gentlemen of bygone years were born, trained and ready to be the most powerful, erudite and respected men in Washington. Their paths were laid out to be career politicians.

A look back to 60 years ago in Alabama politics reveals that we had the greatest statesmen in our state’s history representing us in Congress. They all amazingly took the same path.  Their career path to Congress was textbook. They grew up in their hometown, went to the University of Alabama, further continued and went to the University of Alabama School of Law, came back home and practiced law for a short time. They then went to Congress and started building seniority and power in Washington.

In 1963, 60 years ago, we had the greatest tandem in history as our two U.S. senators, Lister Hill and John Sparkman. Sen. Hill grew up in Montgomery, graduated from the University of Alabama and then the University of Alabama School of Law. He served the old second district in Congress a decade and then was elected to the Senate where he served 30 years.  

Sen. John Sparkman was born in rural Morgan County, graduated from the University of Alabama and then the University of Alabama School of Law, practiced law a few years in Huntsville before being elected to the U.S. Senate where he served 32 years.

The man who took Sparkman’s Tennessee Valley congressional seat in 1946 was the great Bob Jones. Congressman Jones was from Scottsboro and was one of the state’s greatest congressmen and a savior for the Tennessee Valley. He was a graduate of the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama School of Law.

Carl Elliott was in that 1963 class. He was a giant in Washington. Congressman Elliott was born in Red Bay, but practiced law in Jasper and called Walker County home. He was a graduate of the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama School of Law.

George Andrews was a great congressman for the old Third District. He served a decade with extreme effectiveness and distinction. Fort Rucker would not be the mainstay of the Wiregrass if it were not for George Andrews. He was a graduate of the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama School of Law. He was born and raised in the Third District.  

Congressman George Grant served the old Second District with distinction for 28 years. He followed Lister Hill in this seat. He was born and raised in the district and practiced law in Troy before going to Congress. He was a product of the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama School of Law.

Albert Rains represented the Gadsden area for decades in Congress. He was a power. He was successful in business and banking concurrently with his congressional career. He graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law.

George Huddleston Jr. represented the Birmingham area with distinction during this era.  He had a law degree from the University of Alabama and was a prominent lawyer before going to Congress.

The great Black Belt Congressman, Armistead Selden, was a freshman in that 1963 group.  He was a graduate of Sewanee and the University of Alabama School of Law.

These men, who made up the congressional delegation representing us in Washington in 1963, will be remembered in the annals of Alabama history as some of Alabama’s greatest and most powerful public servants. Their game plan was to be a public servant. Therefore, you might say they were pretty good career politicians.

See you next week.

Steve Flowers’ weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state Legislature and may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.

From the moment we wake up in the morning until we go to sleep at night, the federal government under the Biden administration seeks to regulate every possible facet of our lives.

The government wants to mandate that the light bulb we turn on when waking must be LED rather than incandescent.

The government wants to mandate that we cannot cook our breakfasts on gas stoves.

Similarly, the government wants to mandate that the cars we drive back and forth to work must eventually run on electricity rather than gasoline.

Every job, industry, and occupation in which we work is subjected to an avalanche of government regulations and decrees.

The family farmers who grow the food we eat for dinner operate under unnecessary environmental regulations that drive many of them out of business after generations of tradition.

Even the alarm clocks we set and the mattresses and pillows we sleep upon at night are regulated by the federal government.

Morning, noon, and night, we live as puppets of government regulation.

The vast majority of these burdensome regulations are never voted upon by the citizens or even Congress, but, instead, are imposed by government agencies in the executive branch that control our lives without ever answering to the electorate.

And students of the U.S. Constitution recognize that these regulatory powers are often not granted by our nation’s foundational document but are simply claimed by an all-consuming, all-powerful, and ever-expanding federal government.

Recognizing the stifling impact that government mandates have on the economy, the free market, and our natural, God-given rights as Americans, President Donald Trump signed an executive order known as the “Regulatory Bill of Rights” that sought to lessen the power of bureaucrats to enforce government regulations without due process.

His order received virtually no press coverage but was one of the greatest victories for civil liberties in modern U.S. history.

Under the executive order, for example, the federal government must carry the burden of proving a violation of the law. We all know that in a criminal court the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, but until President Trump’s order, governmental agencies could accuse private citizens of violating rules without ever having to prove their case.

Defending oneself against an agency accusation was a losing battle that could result in mountains of fines and legal bills, even where the citizen was innocent.

One event that prompted the Regulatory Bill of Rights involved a Wyoming farmer who built a small pond on his family’s livestock farm – an example that hits particularly close to home since I was raised and worked on my parents’ cattle operation in Beatrice, Alabama.

Upon learning of the pond’s existence, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered its removal and imposed a fine of $37,500 for each day it remained. Refusing to offer the farmer a hearing in which to make his case or any avenue for appeal, the EPA decreed that water from the pond would somehow end up contaminating a larger body of water located hundreds of miles away.

With the help of conservative legal organizations, the farmer filed suit in federal court, where it was discovered that the EPA blatantly misread Google Maps and wrongly imposed the penalties.

The agency settled with the farmer, but only after subjecting him to years of stress and harassment and threatening fines that totaled roughly $20 million.

As I can attest, farming is more than just a profession – it is a family’s heritage and their home – and federal overreach, like the example above, is a constant and terrifying threat to farmers and small business owners throughout America without the protections of the Regulatory Bill of Rights.

In addition to making an agency prove its accusations, the Regulatory Bill of Rights required agencies to actually present evidence to those accused of regulatory violations, provide the accused with an adequate opportunity to respond, and ensure any penalties were fair and free of coercion.

Each of those requirements is firmly rooted in common sense and should be guaranteed in a nation that was founded upon the basic principles of due process under the law, but rather than embracing these much-needed reforms and providing individuals and businesses alike with a more level playing field against federal regulation, Joe Biden chose to rescind the Regulatory Bill of Rights roughly one month after taking office.

In the official White House statement announcing the action, Biden’s administration said a desire to “ease numerous burdens upon federal agencies” prompted his rescission. That’s right – the Biden administration cares more about easing the burden of its henchmen enforcing its agenda than easing the burdens on your businesses, wallets, and farms.

If you want an example of the liberal extremist, big government mindset and the disdain with which bureaucrats view property rights and individual freedoms, this decision by Joe Biden offers a solid case in point.

As a member of Congress, I pledge to take President Trump’s “Regulatory Bill of Rights” executive order a step further and will introduce legislation codifying it into law, which would prevent D.C. bureaucrats and liberal activists from loading the dice in favor of federal agencies and denying simple fairness to individuals and businesses.

In announcing my candidacy for Alabama’s Second Congressional District seat, I promised that “our families, our farms, and our faith” would serve as the touchstones of my campaign, and passage of this legislation would provide essential protections for all three.

I invite you to join me in our effort to take back power from the federal government and give Washington, D.C. a good dose of our conservative, Alabama values.

A Montgomery real estate attorney who was raised on her family’s cattle farm in Monroe County, Caroleene Dobson is a Republican candidate for Alabama’s Second Congressional District seat. 

While I spend much of my time meeting with constituents, working on legislation, and voting for you in Washington, my office and I are also here to serve you by working on your behalf with federal agencies.

This is one of the most important parts of my job as your representative, and I have found many people don’t realize some of the different ways my office can help constituents. 

With Christmas approaching and so many folks getting ready to travel, I’ve had a lot of calls lately from constituents realizing they have an expired passport. If your passport expires soon and you plan to travel internationally this year, now is a good time to book an appointment to renew. If you have any trouble at all getting an appointment booked, my office will gladly help you speed up this process. 

Since I took office, my office has solved over 2,000 constituent service cases, including over a hundred cases recovering taxpayer money from the IRS, nominating young people to attend one of our nation’s service academies, assisting small businesses administration cases, helping countless folks with FEMA relief, expediting numerous passport renewals, and over 100 cases with the Department of Veterans Affairs ensuring our veterans are getting the full benefits they deserve.

Recently, I had the opportunity to present Sgt. Charles Wilson with a Bronze Star Medal that he earned over 50 years ago in Vietnam and never received. His family reached out to my staff, and we were able to locate the award and get it to him. It’s people like him that have built this country, that have protected this country, and it’s an honor to be able to give him credit for his service.

These are just a few different ways my office can work on your behalf with a federal agency, and we’ve got a great team of folks who are always ready to help where we can. Serving the people of south Alabama is the honor of a lifetime, and my staff and I work tirelessly to ensure the government works for you, instead of the other way around. 

If we can ever be of service to you, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. You can do this either by visiting my website and selecting from the drop-down menu titled “Services,” or you can call my office during normal business hours at 202-225-4931.

Jerry Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. He lives in Mobile with his wife Tina.

Under the 50-year guidance of Dr. David Bronner, The Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA) has grown its total assets to $40.3 Billion, as of the latest 2022 annual report, with the 2023 report due out soon. 

Early on in his tenure, Dr. Bronner and his investment team were largely restricted by statute to investing in cash, cash equivalents and fixed income instruments. Luckily, and as Bronner took the responsibility of investing the System’s funds, the restricted investment policy coincided with a strong, long-running bull market in the bond market. And so, RSA grew its assets in impressive fashion.

However, Dr. Bronner recognized that the long-term health of the System couldn’t be sustained without some major reforms. Bronner and his team asked the Legislature to allow RSA to invest in other forms of assets as well. At Bronner’s urging and given his team’s investment successes, the Legislature wisely opened up RSA to be able to invest in a wider mix of assets classifications, including equities and real estate.  

With the statutory limitations relaxed, RSA determined it should enforce investment discipline through internal policy. RSA adopted an investment policy for guiding the allocation of portfolio assets between: Cash, Fixed Income, Equities, Real Estate and ‘alternative investments’. The Real Estate allocation was originally capped at 15%; today, I believe the cap is set at 10%.

Without the previous prohibitions, Bronner and RSA moved boldly to acquire significant real estate holdings. Currently, the real estate holdings of RSA include:

• A collection of Class A office buildings (lovingly referred to as the ‘green top buildings’) in Montgomery and Mobile, Alabama.
• The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail – 26 courses over 11 sites throughout Alabama encompassing 468 holes covering 100 miles of championship golf;
• PCH Hotels & Resorts, eight celebrated Alabama resorts flying Marriott and Renaissance flags, featuring meeting and convention facilities, exceptional regional dining, and renowned spa services.
• 55 Water Street Office Building

I list 55 Water last, but it is easily the most significant real estate holding.

In 1993, Dr. Bronner and RSA made a spectacular play to purchase the Class A office building for $202 million.

This investment was significant for many reasons; not the least of which was that the System had never owned and managed real estate outside of our State. Now in the 30th year since that acquisition, the 55 Water ‘crown jewel’ shines bright.

55 Water is the largest office building in New York City at nearly four million square feet and boasts a 95% occupancy rate. Not only is 55 Water the largest office building in the Big Apple but also it is the second largest privately-owned office building in the United States.  

Twenty years after RSA bought 55 Water for $202 million, the market value had grown to almost $1.6 Billion. Today, after 30 years, it’s valuation exceeds $2.1 Billion – a ten-fold increase.

As we all hopefully enjoy the holiday season, I am thankful for many things, including excellent stewards of public funds and for investment home-runs, such as 55 Water. I only wish I had a few of these in my personal portfolio. Oh well.  

Steve French is a former member of the Alabama State Senate, representing the 15th District from 1998-2010. 

We cut our Christmas tree today. 

Denise, my bride of 41 years, and I made our annual pilgrimage to the Springfields’ Christmas Tree farm. Even when we lived in Atlanta, we always made the trip back to Springfield’s to cut our tree. I always let our two children ride in the back of my old red Chevy, Fred. That was the only time they were allowed to ride on the tailgate and dangle their feet as I drove. 

Now, I’m not saying that I actually tried to throw them off, but at least once someone did in fact fall from the tailgate. When I was a kid, it was a rite of passage. Today it may be considered child endangerment. I think my father killed me a couple of times, but I’m not sure.

This time the trip was different. The trip was quiet. For the first time in 38 years, we cut the tree alone. It sounds odd to say we were alone, but together. 

That is how it felt. For the first time we had neither children nor grandchildren to share the experience. A few years ago, we had the whole family together for the annual event and even had pictures taken. I wonder if that will ever happen again.

Sometimes we take little things for granted until they are gone. Then we realize they were not little at all. Those little things were actually big things. Cutting the tree was a big thing to me back then. Maybe it is even bigger today.  

Denae, our daughter has left her raising and has an artificial tree. Pray for her.  \Jordan, our son, will probably roam the farm and find a sturdy cedar tree to cut. It is time for new traditions to begin. Those are big things.

The Christmas season is in full swing now.

Shopping centers have parking lots filled with cars. The checkout lines are all open taking people’s money as fast at they can hand it over. Radio stations are playing the sounds of Christmas.

Church choirs are rehearsing for the biggest show of the year. Children practice their parts as Mary, Joseph, or maybe an angel or wise man. Soon all these children will don bathrobes for tunics and towels for turbans and recite well memorized lines from Scripture. All these are big things.    

At Christmas we celebrate the biggest thing in history. I believe that an infinitely great and powerful God, the uncreated One, humbled Himself, and punctuated history by becoming a human. Not a powerful man of great stature; but a baby, born in the humblest of circumstances. That was a big thing.

Right now, Denise is doing one of the things she does best. She is making the home explode with Christmas. Before dark, every corner will proclaim the glory of the Christmas season. That is a big thing.

Statistics inform us that during the Holiday season the number of suicides increase. It is easy to see why. Each year we mark another year has passed and we are a year older. 

Each year brings the loss of some we love and new additions that we have come to love.  Christmas and New Year’s is a way of measuring the change that has taken place over the year. But the very message of Christmas is one of hope. That is a big thing.

My hope for you this Christmas season is that you enjoy the little things because they will soon be big; and that in the midst of the commercial Christmas you find the hope of the real Christmas. 

 That is the biggest thing.

Aaron Johnson is a contributing writer for Yellowhammer News. He is pastor of Christ Redeemer Church in Guntersville.

The assassination of John F. Kennedy happened 60 years ago this week. It occurred to me that a good many of you may be too young to remember that horribly sad day of Nov. 22, 1963.

Anyone living on that day can tell you exactly where they were when President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed by an assassin in Dallas, Texas. It was a perfect fall day in the Lone Star State.

Lyndon Johnson was Vice President and he and Kennedy disliked each other immensely. The Kennedys had put Johnson on the ticket as vice president in 1960 to ensure the Democrats carried Texas in the 1960 general election, not because they liked him. It was totally a political marriage. 

They not only did not like Johnson, they did not trust him.

It was a Friday afternoon. The last high school games of the year were to be played that night. High school football was big in Alabama. By the way, it was also big in Texas, thus the movie “Friday Night Lights.”

I was in the seventh grade. It was just after lunch. My homeroom teacher at Troy Junior High School was Mrs. Elaine Dodson. All of a sudden, the music teacher for our schools, Jerry Spann, came into our room and announced that the president had been shot.  Everyone was traumatized. The president died about an hour later at a Dallas hospital.

The next three days all of America watched on television the funeral preparations and the Monday funeral. It was an unbelievably sad event.

The scene of the riderless white horse brought tears to your eyes. If that did not, the scene where little John John Kennedy, a precious precocious two-year-old boy who gave a salute to his father was one of the most heart wrenching, tear jerking moments I have ever witnessed in my life.

It still brings tears to my eyes 60 years later as I write this column.

John John grew to be a very handsome young man like his father. He, like his father, died an early untimely death. Even though he did not have political aspirations, I believe that “John John,” John Kennedy Jr., would have been president.

I am not a conspiracy theorist but allow me to illuminate some facts. Lyndon Johnson was the most ruthless, morally bankrupt, and crudest man to ever sit in the White House.

Johnson was the ultimate political animal. He lived by the rule that whatever it took to win and grab control of power is what you did. If you doubt that, read Robert Caro’s books on LBJ, or better yet ask any historian about his years as U.S. Senate Majority Leader.

In recent years, the Secret Service has released files that reveal the following facts. First, Johnson insisted that Kennedy go to Dallas and campaign. The Secret Service asked Kennedy not to go because the Civil Rights issue was boiling in Texas. At Johnson’s urging, Kennedy agreed to go. 

Second, the Secret Service came to Kennedy and said, “Mr. President, if you go, you cannot use the main artery boulevard in your entourage. We cannot protect you.” Kennedy agreed. When Johnson heard of this, he told Kennedy he had to go down that boulevard because, “It is a Texas tradition,” said Johnson. 

Kennedy agreed at Johnson’s insistence.  

Finally, the Secret Service, in exasperation, told Kennedy, “Mr. President we asked you not to go to Dallas. We also asked you not to go down that boulevard because we cannot protect you from all the high building windows. To a sharpshooter you will be a sitting duck. If you go to Dallas and go down that thoroughfare, we must insist, you let us put up a protective bubble to protect you.” 

Kennedy agreed. 

Johnson heard of the bubble and insisted to Kennedy he could not do that because he would appear distant, detached, aloof and arrogant to Texans. President Kennedy, once again, acquiesced to Johnson’s pleas. The rest is history.

The horrific, tragic scenes of Jackie Kennedy’s blood-stained pink dress, a little two-year-old boy’s goodbye salute to his father, and the riderless white horse are indelibly planted in my memory 60 years later. The 1960s were a very tumultuous and memorable time to come of age in America and Nov. 22, 1963, is etched in a lot of our generation’s minds.

See you next week.

Steve Flowers’ weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state Legislature and can be reached at steveflowers.us.

Saturday will be the 88th playing of the Auburn vs. Alabama football game. The stakes may not be as high this year with Alabama having already secured a berth in the conference title game and Auburn laying a foundation for the future. Regardless, there will absolutely be no shortage of passion for either team.

This is the 52nd anniversary of my first Iron Bowl, and I’ve attended more than half the games during that period in three different venues, Birmingham, Auburn, and Tuscaloosa. 

Why is it called the Iron Bowl, who named it that, and why? In 1964, Auburn’s Coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan said the “Iron Bowl against Alabama would be Auburn’s bowl game,” and the moniker has stuck tightly ever since. But why?

First of all, it was played at the time in Birmingham’s Legion Field, the “Football Capital of the South,” until Auburn moved their alternating home game to campus in 1989 and Alabama later followed suit; and secondly, Birmingham is well known for her iron pipe industry.

In fact, soon after the War Between the States, the Magic City grew like magic from deposits of iron ore, coal, and limestone in the area and resultant rapid rise of a massive iron and steel industry. Birmingham was soon known as “the Pittsburgh of the South.”

All three producers of ductile iron pipe, the primary material for our nation’s public water supply systems, have operations in Birmingham, and the area around the site of the annual Iron Bowl is the Ductile Iron Pipe Capital of America. 

The primary reason the Iron Bowl is so appropriately named is that it’s a tough game, played by tough men, fighting with toughness and resilience for their teams and universities, and their fans care perhaps even more.

Tough, hard-hitting, durable, resilient. All describe both the players in the Iron Bowl and the performance of ductile iron pipe. 

What’s not as well known is that today’s modern ductile iron pipe is made of recycled iron and steel, requires less energy to pump water through, has a long and dependable service life, and is recyclable if retired from service.

Iron pipe is good for the environment, good for public health and fire protection, and good for a water utility’s long-term financial strength. Iron pipe was sustainable long before sustainability was a thing.

Iron pipe has been proven by more than a century of service to be safe and effective for public health. Many seemingly miraculous pipe materials such as lead and asbestos have come and gone from industry, yet iron pipe continues to perform and safely serve decade after decade. More recent newcomer materials to the market such as plastic remain unproven.

So when you tune in to Saturday’s Iron Bowl on CBS at 2:30 Central, you can be the most clever one in the room and speak to the origin of the name as well as the attributes of ductile iron pipe from Birmingham, Alabama. Iron Pipe. It’s what America is built on.

 Maury D. Gaston is a member of the Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association Technical Committee, Vice Chair of the American Water Works Association A21 Standards Committee, Chairman of the Alabama Iron and Steel Council, Director and past Chair of the state of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame, and an Auburn University mechanical engineering graduate.  Members of the Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association are AMERICAN Cast Iron Pipe, McWane, United States Pipe and Foundry, and Canada Pipe.

As we give thanks for our many blessings this week, I am thinking of the 240 hostages taken by Hamas, and their families praying for them to be released. Those hostages include 33 children and at least nine Americans. The prospect of celebrating holidays without knowing if your loved one is safe is devastating, and it’s disappointing that this horror is partially a product of Biden’s foreign policy failure. 

The Biden Administration has fully abandoned President Trump’s maximum pressure policy on Iran in favor of a weak, dangerous strategy that allows Iran to degrade America’s interests. This plan began when Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline, killing American jobs and enabling Iran to sell illicit oil for even higher prices. 

In early 2021, Biden announced his intent to restart nuclear negotiations with Iran. Around the same time, he also removed all travel restrictions against Iranian “diplomats” and canceled United Nations sanctions against Iran. This gave Iran the ability to legally buy and sell weaponry across the globe without concessions. 

Later that year, Biden’s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal turned the country over to the Taliban, who sold U.S. weapons over the border into Iran. And on the eve of Putin’s Ukraine invasion in 2022, Biden permitted a $10 billion nuclear deal between Iran and Russia. His weakness only continued in March of that year, when he lifted terror sanctions from Iran’s Central Bank and its oil export industries. This led to Iran having enriched uranium up to 83.7 percent purity for a nuclear weapon in January 2023. 

In March 2023, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revealed that Iranian-backed proxies have attacked U.S. forces 83 times since Biden took office. The U.S. has only responded four times. Biden’s weakness continued later in the year when his officials admitted to letting Iran export oil to China without sanctions and paid $6 billion for the release of five U.S. hostages, rewarding Hamas hostage-taking. 

Just last week, Biden agreed to release another $10 billion to Iran – the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the entire world. The likelihood that this money will be used to enrich uranium for a nuclear warhead or commit more terrorism against Israel and others is high. Biden’s weak leadership is a slap in the face to all Americans and our allies, especially those in the military who have sacrificed greatly in the war on terror, and a welcomed gift to adversaries. 

Heather and I are praying for the hostages, Israeli Defense Forces, and the innocent civilians affected by the barbarism of Hamas. I am proud to stand with Israel and condemn Biden’s incompetence. 

If you need help from my office with the VA, IRS, or another federal agency, or if we can help you with a government service like processing a passport request, I hope you will reach out to us. We’ve resolved over 3,700 cases since I took office in 2021. Visit one of my offices in Wetumpka, Dothan, Andalusia, Troy, or Washington, call us at 334-478- 6330, or visit barrymoore.house.gov to learn how we can help.

Congressman Barry Moore represents Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District.

Is the economy booming? 

Economist Alan Blinder recently argued that the economy is strong despite many Americans’ claims to be struggling. 

Paul Krugman believes that claims of malaise reflect Republican hostility to President Biden, not reality. Do the numbers validate the lived experience of struggling Americans?

Statistics, at best, reflect averages across the economy. Life was not bad for my grandmother during the Great Depression as my grandfather was a captain in the Dearborn Fire Department and never lost his job. Businesses can fail as the economy booms.

Surveys reflect many Americans’ struggles. Lending Tree found 64% of respondents living paycheck to paycheck. Another survey reported 70% of respondents being worse off now than at the start of Biden’s term. The 60-day delinquency rate on auto loans is at an all-time high and the 90-day credit card delinquency rate is up 50%. But are these families just living beyond their means?

Polls also find that many more Republicans than Democrats believe the economy is struggling. Perhaps Republicans believe the economy is bad because Fox News says so. I believe in an objective reality, so let’s look.

Some statistics signal strength. Although up slightly, unemployment remains below 4% nationally, a historically low rate. Inflation has fallen from 9% in 2022 to 3.2%. And real (meaning inflation-adjusted) GDP is holding steady. We may tame inflation without a recession.

But not all statistics are rosy. Low unemployment reflects in part a decline in the percentage of adults looking for work. Inflation remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Interest rates are up sharply; the 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 7.7% versus 3% when President Biden took office. Higher interest rates make homes and cars more expensive.

Wages have risen but not enough to keep up with inflation. Real income began falling in early 2021 after nine years of growth and fell over 2% in 2022 after growing nearly 3% in 2018 and 2019.

Some stats suggest that some Americans are struggling even more.  Food and energy prices have increased 20 and 35% since January 2021, versus 17% for the overall Consumer Price Index. Lower income households spend a higher percentage of income on these items, so their effective inflation rate exceeds the national rate.

Analysis by the St. Louis Fed finds that about a quarter of households experienced no increase (or even decreases) in their nominal wages in 2022. These individuals suffered a substantial decline in real income, even before adjusting for effective inflation due to energy and food prices.

The past two years have seemingly continued the divergence of the COVID lockdowns.  “Zoom Class” professionals never lost their jobs and saved commuting time working from home. Service industry workers either lost their jobs or suffered the risks and inconveniences.

The Biden Administration claims credit for recovery from the COVID recession, but we did not experience a typical recession. A strong economy was shut down in March 2020, like a resort community during the offseason. Reopening was all we needed for recovery. $5 trillion in federal COVID spending and its monetization by the Federal Reserve drove the inflation requiring today’s painful high interest rates.

Traditional economic statistics may now less accurately reflect “typical” conditions. Consider real per capita GDP and real median personal income. Real GDP per capita is economists’ preferred measure of prosperity, as the good things in life correlate strongly with GDP. Across time and countries, differences in real GDP per capita yield noticeable differences in living standards.

In 1974, median income was 95% of per capita GDP. Median income increased 50% by 2022, a definite improvement, but GDP per capita simultaneously increased 130%. A 14% decline in average household size explains some, but not all, of this divergence. At least recently in the U.S., GDP correlates less with average living standards.

The American economy is not broken. Averages always conceal considerable variation. Statistics, however, suggest that the economic pain many Americans feel is real and not just perceived.

Daniel Sutter is the Charles G. Koch Professor of Economics with the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy at Troy University and host of Econversations on TrojanVision. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Troy University.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Thanksgiving is a special day when we get to come together to give thanks for all the good things in our lives. It’s a time to appreciate our families, friends, and the values that make our country great. 

For me, I’m thankful to live in a country where the people control the government, and not the other way around.

I’m thankful for our military men and women who have dedicated their lives to protecting the freedoms we hold dear.

I’m thankful for our law enforcement officers and first responders who help keep our communities safe. After some of the events of the past week, we should all be thankful for police officers as they put their lives on the line every day.

I’m thankful for my wife, Tina, and our kids who bring so much joy to my life. I’m also blessed to be a grandparent and to experience all the joys that come with it. 

I am thankful to live in a part of the country that is unlike any other. From our beautiful environment to the incredibly warm and hospitable people who call it home, there is something truly special about Alabama’s First.

Most importantly, I am thankful to belong to an all-loving God, who is responsible for each of the blessings in my life. As it is written in 1 Chronicles 16:34, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

I encourage you to take time this week to slow down and reflect on how blessed we all are. Let’s enjoy this day with our loved ones and remember the things that bring us closer as Americans.

Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

Jerry Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. He lives in Mobile with his wife Tina.

Over the years, many of you have lamented to me and said, “I am so tired of seeing all negative ads with candidates lambasting each other in political campaigns. Why don’t candidates say what they are going to do when they are elected, rather than bashing their opponent mercilessly?”   

People also suggest that campaigns are more negative today than in bygone years.  Allow me to answer the question in the reverse order.  

Criticizing and slandering your opponent is not new. It was actually more vicious and incendiary in earlier American political life, and much more personal. 

First of all, there were no television cameras or hidden studios where third party political ad gurus brewed disingenuous ads. Folks in the old days would have to meet their opponents face-to-face at political forums, rallies, and debates. They would trade barbs and insults right in the face of each other. 

In early American political history, there were instances of fisticuffs and even a duel where opponents were shot. Nothing was off limits, not even peoples’ wives and children. What they did to Andrew Jackson’s wife Rachel was so bad that it eventually caused the poor lady to withdraw and die from depression.

At least today, it seems inappropriate and out of bounds to attack peoples’ family members. Also, in the old days it seemed you could say things about your opponent without there being any semblance of truth to the accusations. Today there are laws requiring that any attack on the opposition must have a semblance or scintilla of truth. Therefore, it was worse in past decades than today, if you can believe that.

To the main point asked, why do these campaign media gurus use negative ads? It is a simple answer, they work. If they did not work, they would not use them. 

Polling reveals that negative ads change the trajectory and standing of candidates dramatically and instantaneously. There is a direct correlation to a candidate’s polling numbers before and after being hit by a negative ad. Much more so than a soft, pretty ad advocating that you vote for someone because they are a competent person that would be the ideal elected public servant. 

These gurus know this fact because today’s polling is very accurate, and they can read the polls and they react, and design ads based on polling.

In Alabama political history, the most brilliant and unquestionably accomplished politician was one George C. Wallace. In Wallace’s early years of “politiken” for his first terms as governor, polling was in its infancy and was not as scientifically accurate. However, Wallace was born to be a political genius and a political animal. He had a God-given ability to remember names and he knew what people wanted to hear. He inherently could read the political tea leaves. He did not need polling.

I would visit often with Wallace in his last term. I was a freshman legislator and actually represented his home county of Barbour.He would call me down from the House floor to visit with him in the Governor’s Office. He would reminisce about past political forays and governor’s races. He would tell me a lot of inside stories that I will probably never share. However, allow me to share this sage political admonition he imparted to me one day.  

He looked me squarely in the eyes and told me that more people vote against someone than for someone. He further elaborated, “you have got to find a boogeyman to run against.” 

He lived and breathed this belief and strategy. He ran on the race issue and segregation for decades. He rode that horse as long as he could. 

However, when Black Alabamians were given the right to vote in 1965 and soon after constituted 25% of the Democratic Primary electorate, Wallace instantly changed his stripes and went down Dexter Avenue to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s church and had a conversion experience and begged forgiveness for exploiting the race issue. The Black voters forgave Wallace and elected him governor that last term in 1982. 

I never said Wallace was a statesman. He was a true, natural politician, and, yes, a demagogue. Whatever it took to get elected was Wallace’s modus operandi.

These political gurus of today know the George Wallace adage of finding a boogeyman to run against remains true. In this upcoming election year, that is why you will see countless negative ads on television, because they work.

See you next week.

Steve Flowers’ weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state Legislature and may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.

One of my favorite things about Alabama’s First Congressional District is the opportunities and resources we have because of the Gulf of Mexico. So many of us from around the state (and plenty of neighboring states) have all enjoyed recreating in Alabama’s waters, and we all benefit from the commercial activity at the Port of Mobile.

The Port impacts hundreds of thousands of Alabama jobs every single day, and so much of the growth all around Alabama is happening because of the import/export capabilities of the Port of Mobile. We also have huge oil reserves in our Gulf, and Alabama benefits from millions of dollars in royalties each year from drilling off our coast. 

Unfortunately, President Biden and his army of environmental terrorists are working around the clock to fundamentally change our way of life and slow down or stop all of this. It started with President Biden refusing to hold oil and gas lease sales, which we have been fighting back against since he first took office.

Now, activists are abusing the Endangered Species Act in a ridiculous attempt to limit vessel speeds all over the Gulf of Mexico to protect a whale they think they might have heard in the region. 

These activists want to impose a 10-knot speed limit in the Gulf and restrict travel at night, so boats don’t accidentally hit a whale that nobody has actually seen. If this sounds crazy, it’s because it is. If we were to let them get away with this, it would impact commercial and recreational fishing, significantly restrict activity at the Port of Mobile, and effectively shut down oil and gas drilling in the Gulf.  

This is completely unacceptable, and I won’t allow them to get away with it. 

The first thing I did was join House Natural Resources Chairman Rep. Bruce Westerman and several colleagues on a letter to the Biden administration expressing our issues with this unconstitutional decision and demanding answers to assist with the House Natural Resources Committee’s oversight activities. We will not let the Biden administration continue abusing their power and imposing ridiculous regulations on our oil and gas industry.

Additionally, I’ve been using the Appropriations process and every tool at my disposal to make sure not a single taxpayer dollar can be used to enforce this rule. I successfully got language in the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill to ensure the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) doesn’t get any funding to enforce this unconstitutional mandate. This Administration can create rules all day long if they want to, but we hold the checkbook. 

I recently joined Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Rep. Dan Newhouse recently on his podcast, “A Voice for Rural America,” to talk about our fight against this Rice’s Whale nonsense and the need to reform the Endangered Species Act.

I grew up in the outdoors and raised my kids to do the same, and you won’t find anyone who cares more about conservation than my family and me. But, when someone can abuse a law to shut down the livelihoods of entire families and industries, there needs to be reform. 

This fight is far from over, and I am not giving up anytime soon because the federal government should work for us, not against us.

Jerry Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. He lives in Mobile with his wife Tina.

Folks don’t look now, but our 2024 election year is upon us.  Next year is a major year in politics nationwide.  Not only does the nation elect a president, most states also elect their governors and legislators for four year terms in presidential years.

We, in Alabama, and in most southern states elect our governors and legislators in nonpresidential years.  Those of us who study and talk about Alabama politics refer to these years as gubernatorial years.  We elected our governor and legislature last year in 2022.  Historically, presidential years have been very dull and unexciting years for Alabama politics.  There are very few statewide contests and those that happen will be decided on March 5.  Since we are such an overwhelmingly Republican state, the only way to be elected statewide in the Heart of Dixie is as a Republican.  There are 29 statewide elected offices in Alabama and all 29 are held by a Republican.

There are four seats up for election on our Alabama Supreme Court.  Justices Jay Mitchell, Tommy Bryan and Will Sellers are up for reelection to another six year term on the high tribunal.  Justice Sarah Stewart’s seat is up for reelection.  However, Sarah has opted to move to the open Chief Justice position being vacated by the retirement of Chief Justice Tom Parker.  Justice Sarah Stewart is a good choice for Chief Justice.  She was a Circuit Judge in Mobile County for 14 years before she was elected to the Supreme Court six years ago.  

The Chief Justice is the administrator of the entire state judicial system.  Sarah Stewart’s experience as a circuit judge is invaluable and she also has the respect and support of most of the circuit judges around the state.  Circuit judges are very respected in their counties and communities throughout the state.  Sarah Stewart has been campaigning extensively and effectively all over Alabama during 2023.  She has let no grass grow under her feet.  

Speaking of working hard, the judge who will move up to take Sarah Stewart’s seat on the Supreme Court will be Criminal Court of Appeals Judge Chris McCool. Judge McCool is one of the most proven ardent campaigners I have seen in recent years.  I said when he announced a year ago that he would not be outworked, and he has proven me right.  He has traversed the state from one end to the other putting over 60,000 miles on his vehicle.  

Chris McCool will make a great justice and is the perfect representative on the court from the rural area of the state. He hails from rural Pickens County near Gordo and close to the Tuscaloosa County Line.  His family have very deep roots in that area.  The McCool’s settled there over 180 years ago prior to the Civil War.  They have farmed the land the entire time.  Chris lives in the same place his ancestors lived six generations ago.

Chris McCool borders on folk legend for an Alabama judge.  He has three fulltime professions.  He was a lawyer with impeccable credentials.  He graduated from the University of Alabama, undergraduate and law school.  Practiced law in Gordo before being elected District Attorney of the Pickens, Lamar, and Fayette Circuit at age 30.  He served as DA for 18 years and was elected to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals six years ago.  He is a minister.  He pastors the Zion Primitive Baptist Church near his home.  His family founded the church, and his great, great, great, grandfather was the first pastor.  He is also a farmer.

Judge McCool’s seat on the Court of Criminal Appeals will be filled by one of two assistant attorney generals. Rich Anderson and Thomas Govan both of Montgomery are vying for McCool’s seat on the Court of Criminal Appeals. Both are well qualified and would do a good.

Justices Chad Hansen and Christy Edwards are up for reelection to the Court of Civil Appeals. They are doing a good job. Justices Bill Cole and Richard Minor are up for reelection on the Court of Criminal Appeals. They both are doing an excellent job. This court has a very heavy caseload.

Twinkle Cavanaugh will be elected to her fourth term as President of the Alabama Public Service Commission next year.  Twinkle is becoming legendary as a public servant in our state.  Although still young, she has built a stellar reputation for honesty, integrity and conservatism.  The former Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party is the best retail politician in Alabama today.  She has crisscrossed the state campaigning in 2023 in preparation for 2024.  Even though she will more than likely not have an opponent, she is running scared and not taking anything for granted.

See you next week.

Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist.  His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers.  He served 16 years in the state legislature.  Steve may be reached at:  www.steveflowers.us.

Tomorrow is November 11, the anniversary of the end of World War I. Today we know it as Veterans Day. Veterans Day is a time to honor everyone who has worn the uniform of the United States.

Alabama is proud that the Veterans Day tradition started in Birmingham, in the aftermath of World War II when a local veteran named Raymond Weeks recognized the need for a day honoring all veterans. In 1947, Raymond Weeks petitioned the Army Chief of Staff, a General named Dwight Eisenhower, for a national Veterans Day.

Seven years later, General Eisenhower was President and signed it into law. Alabama is proud of Raymond Weeks, and we’re proud to be home to nearly 400,000 veterans, like Lieutenant Colonel Ron Skoneki from Montgomery, Alabama.

The son of Polish immigrants, he enlisted in the Air Force about as soon as he could—right after graduating from high school.

He served in Thailand during the Vietnam War, using his skills to repair and maintain aircraft for a strong defense. After 33 years of service, Lieutenant Colonel Skoneki retired.

He wanted to continue to serve, so he joined Alabama’s wing of the Civil Air Patrol in Montgomery, serving another 16 years helping to support the U.S. Air Force in a civilian capacity. Now, at 87 years old, he is just as proud of his time wearing the uniform as ever.

The same can be said of Command Sergeant Major Joe Godwin of Mobile. He says he first felt the call to serve when he was only 14 years old. By the time he was 17, he couldn’t wait anymore, so he got his dad’s permission to join the Army. Sergeant Major Joe Godwin went on to serve in three wars—World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. He helped guard and transport the Nazi prisoners during the Nuremberg trials.

Today, Joe is 94 years old. When people tell him he’s a hero, he humbly says, the real heroes are the ones who didn’t make it back.

But he too is a hero, like everyone else who served. And we ought to thank them today, tomorrow, and every day.

Sergeant David Henry of Warrior, Alabama, reminds us that veterans’ families make sacrifices too. He served as a firefighter and a paramedic at the Warrior Fire Department before joining the army because of a pact made with his best friend.

He used these skills to serve as an Army Combat Medic during deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. His first deployment came when his son was only six months old. Sergeant Henry deployed again to the Middle East when his son was three.

He had to sacrifice being an ocean away from his family. He had to explain to a three-year-old why Dad was going to be gone—and he didn’t know when he was coming back. A lot of families know what that’s like. And so, on Veterans Day we ought to thank their families too. They’re also making a sacrifice.

Today, Sergeant Henry is back in Sweet Home Alabama. We are deeply grateful for his service to Alabama and to America.

Colonel Skoneki, Sergeant Major Godwin, and Sergeant Henry, are just three examples of the 400,000 heroes who call Alabama their home. The writer G.K. Chesterton once said, “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”

You can see that in the lives of these Alabamians.

Our veterans fought because they believe in the United States of America. They believed America was worth fighting for and even dying for. They lay down their lives for the people of this country—for millions of people they don’t even know.

Everything we have in this country depends on our military.

Our economy, our security, and our way of life are all dependent on the military. President Ronald Reagan summed it up best when he said, “Veterans know better than anyone else the price of freedom, for they have suffered the scars of war. We can offer them no better tribute than to protect what they have won for us.”

This Veterans Day weekend, I hope we will remember the price of freedom and those who have paid it. And so, to all of our veterans: ‘thank you’ for your service, thank you for your sacrifice to ensure America remains a country of freedom and opportunity for generations to come.

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville is the senior senator from Alabama and a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committees.

In 2022, when I held fifteen town halls across my district, I expected to hear about the cost of gas and groceries or our open southern border (and I certainly did!), but the number one concern I heard was the weaponization of our government against its own citizens. 

This week, I held a telephone-town hall on government  weaponization with special guest Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan where I heard many of the same concerns. In fact, when I asked which of these agencies were the most weaponized – the DOJ, FBI, IRS or CIA – 77 percent chose “All of the above.” Americans saw the government use COVID-19 as an excuse to take over our lives, from vaccination cards to mask mandates to forced church  closures – but it didn’t stop when the pandemic was over.  

In February 2021, the FBI paid Twitter more than $3 million to squash the Hunter Biden laptop story and $1 million to Christopher Steele to verify his dossier accusing President Trump of Russian collusion. When I asked FBI Director Christopher Wray why this happened, his only excuse was that he was not the director during the time the payment was provided. 

Biden’s Department of Homeland Security created a “Disinformation Governance Board” in April 2022, claiming it would protect against disinformation flowing in from other countries. However, whistleblower documents obtained by  Senators Hawley and Grassley found that the board planned on partnering with Twitter and other social media websites to  suppress American speech. Thanks to their exposure of the board’s true purpose, the board was disbanded.  

Before losing control of the House, Democrats made it their mission to supercharge the IRS budget from $12 billion to $80 billion to make way for the hiring of 87,000 agents to weaponize against the American people. House Republicans attempted to add language to protect lower- and middle-income Americans from facing more audits as a result of this rule, but Democrats rejected this.  

Biden’s Department of Justice has indicted President Trump  twice: once for questioning the election results, and again for mishandling of classified documents. Never mind that authorities  found multiple classified documents in Biden’s unlocked Delaware garage.  

Last month, I asked Attorney General Merrick Garland if questioning an election is now a crime in America. It took him awhile to formulate an answer, but he finally admitted it is not a crime. I guess that only applies if your name isn’t Trump. On the other hand, the DOJ is working hard to ensure Hunter Biden’s tax and gun charges result in no jail time.  

House Republican investigations through the Judiciary, Oversight, Ways and Means, Weaponization, and Coronavirus Pandemic committees are uncovering more ways the government has lied to  and weaponized against Americans. For instance, Dr. Fauci  famously told us COVID-19 was not created in a lab. The Select Committee on the Coronavirus Pandemic recently found that as he CIA was investigating the true origins of COVID-19, Dr. Fauci was escorted to their offices for a secret meeting during which he  attempted to influence their investigation. So not only was the government using the pandemic to control us, they were also lying about it.  

Americans should be able to trust their government, and they should never have to fear retaliation from our bloated bureaucracy for exercising their constitutional rights. I am proud to fight alongside House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, who  has led the charge against government weaponization in this 

Congress, and I will continue to battle the Deep State on behalf of the Americans I represent in Congress.

Congressman Barry Moore represents Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District.

Alabama’s forest products industry is growing. Our state boasts more than 23 million acres of  forests, which enables Alabamians to produce $12.5 billion in forest products every year. That makes forest products manufacturing one of the top industries in our state.  

This industry has not only added jobs to Alabama’s workforce but has also provided a  sustainable means of managing forests, stimulating rural economies, and contributing  significantly to the state’s overall economic growth. 

While pulp and paper, lumber, and other solid wood products have been a mainstay in the forest  products industry for decades, a newer industry is opening up markets for Alabama’s timber industry—sustainably-sourced wood pellets.  

Wood pellets are used as a source of biomass energy, with applications in both residential  heating, industrial processes, and even electric generation.  

Wood pellets are generally produced from lower-quality, smaller timber which allows wood pellet mills to create additional market demand for this lower value timber, benefiting both loggers and  landowners.  

Forests need periodic timber harvest to remain healthy. Crowded timber stands can stress trees  and promote disease and pest infestations, including attacks from the southern pine beetle, which can ravage pine stands. By providing additional markets, the wood pellet industry enables  loggers to thin out some of these crowded timber stands that might not otherwise be harvested. This creates healthier forests for both large and small landowners.  

Also, contrary to the misconceptions surrounding the industry, responsible sourcing practices have evolved over the years to prioritize forest health and conservation. Today’s forest industry operates with stringent regulations and self-imposed guidelines that ensure the balance between economic gain and environmental sustainability. Properly managed logging operations ensure that forests are thinned in a way that promotes growth and improves forest health, reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires and disease outbreaks. These practices are often backed by reforestation efforts that guarantee the replenishment of harvested trees –  safeguarding Alabama’s forests for generations to come.  

The wood products sector has also created a spectrum of jobs that cater to a wide range of  skills and qualifications. These jobs, often found in rural areas where employment opportunities might be scarce, have not only helped families put food on the table but have also fostered a sense of community pride and belonging. 

Many of these regions face unique challenges, including limited employment opportunities and  younger workers seeking better prospects elsewhere. For decades, the wood products industry has provided well-paying, stable jobs in nearby communities. With the addition of each new mill, more jobs are created and more communities benefit.  

Healthy forests need healthy timber markets. By investing in innovative wood pellet facilities, Alabama’s forest products industry is bringing much-needed jobs to rural Alabama and creating more healthy and sustainable forests in the process.  

Chris Isaacson, a Registered Forester and Certified Wildlife Biologist, is president  and CEO of the Alabama Forestry Association.

The latest batch of College Football Playoff rankings dropped on Tuesday night, and the top eight remained completely unchanged, with the Alabama Crimson Tide still coming in ranked 8th, even after the big win over the LSU Tigers this past weekend.

ESPN’s Greg McElroy had some thoughts on the matter.

With everyone ahead of Alabama winning their games — albeit unconvincingly — it was a tough argument to make that the Tide should have moved up. But it’s the “inconsistency” from the committee in having Oregon (#6) over both Texas (#7) and Alabama, with both the Longhorns and the Tide arguably having better resumes than the Ducks:

Does Oregon deserve to be the highest-ranked one-loss team? pic.twitter.com/vpX2x9lXM5

— Always College Football (@AlwaysCFB) November 8, 2023

In the clip, McElroy is comparing the resumes of the top three one-loss teams, and says that the strengths of record “are not comparable.”

“This committee is irritating me, why are we using resumes to define Ohio State as number one, Why are we using résumé to define Ohio State as No. 1? We’re using eye test to define Georgia and Michigan as No. 2 and No. 3, we’re using résumé plus eye test to find Florida State at No. 4, and then we like Washington, but, there’s no consistency,” McElroy argued.

“The conversation between 6, 7, and 8 needs to be a real one because Oregon is getting propped up right now by a big win against a very average Utah team.”

McElroy makes a fair case about Oregon’s résumé. Currently, the Ducks boast the 63rd ranked strength of schedule with just one ranked win compared to Alabama’s 8th ranked SOS and three ranked wins.

Clearly, there is still a lot to be worked out as we head down the stretch of the college football season.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP

One hundred fifty years ago, the largest political corruption trial in history ended with the conviction of one William M. “Boss” Tweed, whose vice was so vast and comprehensive that no one is quite sure of how much money he actually stole.

Estimates range on the low side of $50 million to the high side of $200 million, which, when converted from 1873 dollars, amounts to roughly $1.5-$3.7 billion today.

Tweed’s conviction makes the comparison with other cases of political corruption seem to be mere misdemeanors or foot faults. But, his ability to marshal votes is still the envy of political leaders. In fact, he was the first community organizer who realized that there was strength in numbers and votes in political patronage.

The son of tough Scotsmen, Tweed emerged as a leader who could motive people and capture their imagination by providing for their creature comforts. As a leader for a volunteer fire department, he eventually became a New York City alderman and continued his political climb by serving in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Unlike New York City politics, he was merely one of a large number of legislators in Washington, so he quickly tired of his lack of influence and realized that the Big Apple was the place he would rather be. After only one term in Congress, Tweed headed home and thus began his rise as the unofficial mayor of New York City and shadow governor.

Early in life, Tweed showed an interest in accounting and learned very quickly how numbers and dollar signs worked together. He realized, too, that with the jobs created by the industrial revolution, there was strength and votes in the numbers of workers. He also recognized that by pandering to the Irish immigrants flooding New York, he would make friends who would blindly follow him into the voting booths.

Tweed’s sharp elbows landed him in a leadership role in the political machine of all machines: Tammany Hall. Originally organized as a social club for well-heeled New Yorkers, it developed into a well-oiled party machine that controlled votes and public patronage jobs. When Tweed arrived on the scene, Tammany was the de facto New York City Democratic Party.

Although he would never be elected to office again, Tweed would create an organization that exercised almost absolute control over politics in New York State, and while he was truly a problem solver with great political instincts, instead of using these skills to foster good government, he became ostentatiously corrupt, eventually inviting enemies.

His first real start in local politics came during the Civil War with the draft riots in New York City. President Abraham Lincoln imposed a draft that provided an “exemption” for people who provided a substitute, but the idea of paying for a substitute benefited only the wealthy to the exclusion of the more numerous working class who rioted at being pressed into service.

Tweed realized that catering to the working class was good for them, but even better for himself. So, he established true exemptions for police and firemen while also utilizing a slush fund to help working class men pay for substitutes. This pressure release cured further riots and fostered peaceful streets.

This achievement was remarkable for ending the riots while creating a block of voters who could be counted on to vote at Tweed’s direction. Using this block, he prevailed upon officials in Albany to change the law to allow New York City to have more local control so that contracts for city services would escape the scrutiny of state lawmakers.

This was Tweed’s most selfish act as he realized that by securing home rule and using his position at Tammany, he could direct contracts and receive a commission for his work. Initially, this “commission” didn’t benefit him exclusively but was partially used to provide social services to the working classes. He helped build churches, schools and hospitals. In doing so, he added to his loyal following.

Tweed became a sort of Robin Hood, taking money from city vendors and helping the poor. He would argue that this was “honest” graft, which justified corruption because others benefited. But, while others did benefit and the services provided were real and significant, Tweed was not a distant beneficiary.

From almost every city contract, Tweed profited. He did share the wealth, but the wealth he shared was a fraction of the graft he kept for himself. As dealing with Tweed became part of the cost of doing business in New York, he emerged as the father of all patronage, doling out jobs and favors to his constituents.

Tweed was all three branches of government rolled into one person; nothing escaped his influences. Judges and courts were in his employ, legislators owed him their livelihood, and mayors and governors depended on his block votes for election.

But, as his power grew and he flaunted his wealth, he developed enemies and alienated friends who became focused on ending his influence.

Two isolated incidents started his downfall. First, he would tangle with the governor over something as insignificant as the Orange Day parade. Much like the draft riots, the parade by Scotch-Irish Protestants enflamed the Irish Catholics, and Tweed lost control of the streets of New York when more than 125 people died.

Then, at about the same time, a former friend who had been rejected for political patronage, secretly smuggled Tweed’s accounting records detailing his corruption. This road map was turned over to a reporter for a fledging newspaper, The New York Times, and it began publishing the breadth of Tweed’s larceny. While the writing was incriminating enough, Tweed feared the political cartoons more than anything as even illiterate New Yorkers could understand the magnitude of his graft, kickbacks, and malfeasance.

Tweed was tried, convicted and sentenced to jail, but his influence was still great, and he was allowed to leave his jail cell for temporary visits home. On one of these visits, he fled the country but would be caught in Spain, extradited to New York, and later die in prison.

Tweed’s legacy of political organizing, influence peddling, and overall corruption remains unsurpassed.

Will Sellers is a graduate of Hillsdale College and an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of Alabama. He is best reached at jws@willsellers.com

One of the biggest reasons why I ran for Congress was so I could do more to help our veterans, reservists, and active duty service members.

Veterans Day is a time to appreciate and honor the sacrifices made by those who have served our great nation and protected the freedoms and liberties that are the foundation of our country.

As we approach Veterans Day this year, I want to highlight the results House Republicans have delivered to our Veterans in the 118th Congress.

We passed the Fiscal Year 2024 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill, which fully funds veterans’ health care programs, benefits, and other Department of Veterans Affairs programs. This bill was also an increase of more than $16 billion compared to the previous year, all while ensuring we are cutting wasteful spending and tackling our nation’s growing debt problem.

 We’ve passed several other important bills to ensure our veterans get the assistance they need. The Wounded Warrior Access Act modernizes the Department of Veterans Affairs by making it easier for veterans to access their claims file electronically. The RELIEVE Act closes a loophole that left certain veterans uninsured for emergency treatment. 

Finally, we passed a bill that eliminates an outdated rule regarding reimbursements to veterans and allows 25,000 servicemembers and veterans to receive the Montgomery GI Bill reimbursements they are entitled to.

I hope you will join me in taking a minute to honor our veterans for their patriotism and sacrifices to keep our nation safe. Without them, we would not be able to enjoy the freedoms we so often take for granted. South Alabama is home to thousands of veterans, and I’ve enjoyed meeting many of them and learning their stories. 

To all the veterans, active and reserve members of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard, it’s the honor of a lifetime to serve you. If I or my office can ever be of service to you or your family, please do not hesitate to contact us online at Carl.House.Gov or by calling my office at 202-225-4931

Jerry Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. He lives in Mobile with his wife Tina.

The freedoms to speak and criticize public officials are crucial to ensuring that government serves the people. But must this include the freedom to propound evil, hateful beliefs?  Free speech has always faced criticism but has recently come under considerable scholarly attack.

Let’s consider difficult cases for free speech absolutism, starting with the Nazis. Nazi antisemitism did not materialize out of thin air; numerous learned voices articulated antisemitism for decades. These writings shaped Hitler’s views and prepared the ground for his hate, contributing to the Holocaust.

Another example is the Human Extinction Movement, the belief that humanity should exterminate itself for the good of the Earth. Some advocates add “voluntary” to its title, but nonetheless believe that humans should not exist.

Must a commitment to free speech and free dialogue embrace such views? John Stuart Mill offered a classic defense of free speech, free dialogue, and a marketplace of ideas in On Liberty. We can distinguish three arguments for free speech.

First, discovering truth requires freedom of speech and expression in both public and scholarly discourse. Identifying truth requires the freedom to challenge current beliefs and theories, as challenges identify errors and inconsistencies. Validating knowledge necessarily has a social element; we know that two plus two equals four because no one has demonstrated otherwise.

Second, suppressing ideas is often ineffective. People infer that a speaker ignoring his critics cannot answer them, or that only truthful ideas are dangerous enough to be suppressed. Ideas can never be completely erased.

Finally, governments will censor to benefit themselves. Criticism is crucial in making governments serve the people. Even if suppressing certain ideas at certain times could improve public discourse, censorial powers will not be used for this. This potential for misuse is sometimes called a public choice problem.

Suppressing arguments also disrespects our fellow citizens. Consider criminalizing Holocaust denial. Those who believe that the Holocaust cannot be reasonably denied have examined the evidence and reached their own conclusion. Criminalizing Holocaust denial prevents other citizens from hearing – and evaluating – this argument themselves.

Let’s apply these arguments to human extinction. Further debate and discussion are unnecessary to establish truth. My standard of value is human life; human extinction seeks to destroy the source of value. I cannot imagine any argument or evidence overturning this conclusion.

Might suppression further spread this view? Perhaps, but I suspect that very few people will find the self-hating idea of eliminating humanity attractive. But considerable space exists between total suppression and full tolerance. We can let people post evil manifestos on the internet without legitimating and promoting their views with university professorships.

Finally, can we not instruct government to only censor the human extinction movement and not political opponents? This seems simple when we can point out the individuals and arguments to suppress. Yet Racketeer Influenced, Corrupt Organization (RICO) laws introduced to fight organized crime are being used against the Trump campaign.

How does this happen? A law (or constitutional amendment) must detail what government can do and to whom. A list of individuals, views, and organizations to silence could easily be evaded. Human extinction could relabel itself and new organizations replace the banned ones.

Alternatively, we could try to define who can be censored. Our definition might inadvertently include people we do not want censored or be stretched by judges looking to silence opponents. A government official empowered to declare a rebranded group part of the human extinction movement could lump MAGA Republicans as well.

The public choice problem is never easily resolved!

Eventually we must consider costs and benefits. John Milton wrote that “truth was never put to the worse in a free and open encounter” with falsehood. This suggests small benefits from suppressing ideas we are 100 percent sure are false and evil. The cost of a government silencing its opponents is enormous. Even if some ideas might usefully be suppressed, the consequences of misuse of censorship are too enormous to risk.

Daniel Sutter is the Charles G. Koch Professor of Economics with the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy at Troy University and host of Econversations on TrojanVision. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Troy University.

In recent years, healthcare has eclipsed agriculture as Dothan’s major industry. Dothan is the medical mecca for the entire Wiregrass, as well as rural northwest Florida and southwest Georgia.

It has premier medical professionals only matched by Birmingham in the state of Alabama. Dothan doctors dominate the economy in the world’s largest peanut-producing locale.

One of the pioneers of this medical revolution was Dothan’s Dr. Furnie Johnston, who passed away a few weeks ago at 94 years old. Dr. Johnston brought specialized medicine to Dothan. He had just finished his residency at UAB and was practicing in Birmingham when the legendary Dr. Paul Flowers called Furnie to come home to the Wiregrass and practice with him. Furnie came home and became the first orthopedic surgeon in Dothan.  

Furnie Johnston was born and raised in Brundidge in Pike County, a few miles north of Dothan. His father was the town pharmacist and a successful businessman. Coincidentally, in the neighboring Wiregrass City of Ozark, the most prominent pharmacist in the city had a beautiful daughter by the name of Jo Kirkland. Furnie of Brundidge and Jo of Ozark became sweethearts and married.  They married and remained sweethearts for life. At the time of Furnie’s death on Oct. 9, they had been married for 75 years.

In September, Furnie knew he was close to passing away. He had gone to the hospital with terminal problems. He told the attending physician that he wanted to go home to be with his sweetheart.

Furnie and Jo Johnston had five children – two sons and three daughters. One of their sons, Jim, died in an automobile accident as a college student. His other son, David Johnston, is a prominent attorney in Dothan. David is generally considered the premier tax attorney in South Alabama. David and his father, Furnie, were very close. They each considered the other to be their best friend besides being father and son. David, like his father, married an Ozark girl, Maurine Matthews.

The three daughters, Carole, Linda, and Laura, are all beautiful and successful with children and grandchildren. All three girls were with Furnie when he passed away peacefully at home. They all called him “Papa.” His family affectionally referred to him as “the great white bear.” He loved his family fiercely and was a devout Christian father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

Little did his family in Brundidge know that when Furnie was born in their small town on June 17, 1929, in the heart of the Depression, that he would help transform medicine in their Wiregrass region. At that time, southeast Alabama was totally a peanut growing agricultural area.

Dr. Furnie Johnston, being a child of the Depression, was empathetic toward the life of rural Wiregrass folks. He began his practice before Medicare and Medicaid. Doctors were often not paid for their care and services. It was not unusual for Alabama doctors to be paid with vegetables from farmer’s gardens or chickens.

However, the Wiregrass people have always been known as hard working and very honest and believed in paying their debts. So Furnie might find vegetables left on his doorstep for years on end by a farm family paying off Furnie for fixing their broken arm.

He treated many a Wiregrass family without charge. He was especially generous and benevolent toward his native Pike County patients.

Everyone from Ozark, Brundidge, and Troy, who had a fractured leg, arm, or hip, would journey down Highway 231 to Dothan to see Dr. Furnie Johnston. They would arrive with their broken limb and say, “I’m here to see Furnie Jr.” Furnie’s father was also named Furnie. So, the Brundidge patients would simply say, “I’m here to see Furnie Jr.,” while the Dothan patients would say, “I’m here to see Dr. Johnston.”  Therefore, when the office manager heard, “Furnie Jr.,” they would say, “You are from Pike County, aren’t you?”  The patient would nod and they would go on back to see the regions bone specialist. 

Furnie would generally know their family and their roots. He instinctively knew whether they could pay and he would simply and quietly let his nurse know that they were not to be charged for their treatment. He treated all of his patients the same.

The passing of Dr. Furnie Johnston at age 94, marks the passing of an era. The days of two neighboring Wiregrass town pharmacists’ son and daughter marrying and having a large and prosperous family may be of a past era. However, the legacy of Dr. Furnie Johnston, as the first orthopedic surgeon in Dothan, remains.

He will be remembered as the pioneer, who transformed Dothan from a peanut city to a medical city.

See you next week.

Steve Flowers’ weekly column appears in more than 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the Legislature and may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.