Some lawmakers in the Alabama Legislature are again showing that their “law and order” campaign promises do not necessarily match their actions in the state capitol. This past week, a bill being pushed by Alabama Appleseed that would weaken the state’s ability to suspend driver’s licenses for those who do not pay their traffic tickets […]

French economist and journalist Frederic Bastiat wrote, “When goods don’t cross borders, soldiers will.” That international trade contributes to peace is a tenet of classical liberal and contemporary libertarian thought. How might trade accomplish this, and what does the evidence show? Trade reduces conflict in two ways. First, war disrupts trade; goods are unlikely to […]

Being an incumbent state senator in Alabama is like owning that seat. The level of reelectability odds is probably better than that of an incumbent congressman, which is about the same as being elected to a seat in the Russian Communist Politburo. Being a freshman state senator in Alabama is a more powerful position than […]

Alabama lawmakers are considering legislation that would compromise patient safety by allowing non-physicians to perform surgeries on one of the body’s most complex and delicate organs – the eye. As a medical doctor and surgeon, I urge state legislators to vote down this reckless Senate Bill 120 and preserve the physician lead team-based approach to […]

What a rollercoaster the last two years have been! The Alabama Department of Labor, along with the rest of the country, has certainly experienced this period of historical significance, and we are hopeful to be finally emerging on brighter days. I’m proud of this recovery. It took a lot of hard work on the part […]

Alabama’s efforts to expand rural broadband in the last five years have given us a head start on bringing additional households online supported by $276 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars that the state legislature appropriated in January. Representative Randall Shedd (R-Cullman) and I chair both the Rural Broadband Oversight Committee and […]

March Madness is in full swing in Washington with power-mad Democrats oblivious to the multiple crises plaguing Americans on their watch. How oblivious? This week, while Rome burns, fiddle virtuoso Nancy Pelosi is bringing to the House floor the CROWN Act – a bill to prohibit discrimination on the basis of hair texture or hair […]

March is National Women’s Month, so it is fitting that the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame (AWHOF) held its annual induction ceremony this month. Housed at the University of West Alabama, each year the hall “selects up to two women for induction who have made significant contributions on a state, national, or international level . […]

Several times in the past few months, I’ve written about the House of Representatives keeps failing to do its basic duties because Democrats have backwards priorities. One of our most important duties is passing an appropriations bill each fiscal year to keep the federal government funded and running. This is important for so many reasons, […]

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted life in many ways. Governments across America assumed new powers without explicit authorization. But laws restricting businesses were also suspended. As the pandemic ebbs, we should evaluate this deregulation experiment and consider permanent changes. Americans for Tax Reform counted 846 suspended federal and state rules. Some were narrow matters, like allowing […]

I was nine years old when I first met my father, Leldon Ball. He was standing in the middle of a small gaggle of relatives gathered at the airport in Birmingham to welcome my older sister and me to our new home in Alabama. Nine years earlier, I was an unborn child when my mother […]

Incumbency is a potent, powerful, inherent advantage in politics. That fact is playing out to the nines in this year’s Alabama secondary constitutional and down ballot races. Several of the constitutional office incumbents do not have Republican or Democratic opposition. Of course, having a Democratic opponent is the same as not having an opponent in […]

The harm to our economy caused by Joe Biden’s socialist wish list is growing worse every day. Self-inflicted crises have dominated the first 15 months of the Biden administration. From inflation skyrocketing to a 40-year high, to violent crime running rampant through major cities, to soaring gas prices, to a wide-open lawless border letting millions […]

The COVID-19 pandemic hammered workforce participation, and it’s still recovering—especially with women. According to recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, men have recovered their labor force losses since February 2020, while in January 2022, over 1 million fewer women were in the labor force as compared to February 2020. The contrast between […]

I‘ve been clear on the record: Joe Biden disappoints me every day when he wakes up in the morning. Last week during his first State of the Union address, President Biden reaffirmed to the American people that he is delusional. Like the career politician that he is, Biden took credit in spite of the results […]

Americans witnessed an economic boom unlike any other in our nation’s history under President Donald Trump, whose presidency was marked by record low unemployment rates and robust job creation, massive deregulations for American businesses and workers, historic trade deals that put America first, prioritization of energy independence, a secured southern border, modernization of the military […]

As the world watches the slow moving brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine in abject horror, people around the world are repulsed and stunned, but as the arbitrary carnage against innocent civilians unfolds, that disgust and shock harden into anger and resentment. Many are asking how this could happen. The short answer is western nations have […]

Had she lived, the Queen of Soul would have been 80-years-old this month. For at least 60 of her 76 years, Aretha Franklin shared her vocal gift all over the world. In addition to bringing her both critical and commercial success, her voice became a symbol for a new generation of Americans. Older generations rooted […]

Americans across the country are frustrated and disappointed with President Biden’s performance for the past year, so it’s not surprising his approval ratings are at historic lows. Last week, President Biden gave his State of the Union Address, where he struck an optimistic tone and claimed numerous so-called “victories” he has scored during his first […]

Last week, the Alabama House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution condemning Russia for invading Ukraine. The resolution declared support for Ukraine, its government, its democracy and its people. Russia’s military crossed Ukraine’s border on Feb. 24 and invaded its country misplacing thousands of people. It’s estimated that 4 million Ukrainians will eventually leave their […]

It’s time for a new leader in Alabama — a new leader who does not do things the way they have always been done because they have always been done that way. Our state and our nation are at a crossroads. As we face rising inflation and energy costs, borders wide open, election fraud and […]

The United States and Europe imposed economic sanctions on Russia for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. I will let others debate the sufficiency of this response and consider the economics and effectiveness of sanctions. Economists have analyzed sanctions both theoretically and empirically. Theory helps us identify differences between observed outcomes and the unobserved alternative without […]

Usually in a gubernatorial year, the governor’s race grabs the spotlight. However, with our open Senate seat with the avalanche of Washington dollars flooding into the Heart of Dixie, the governor’s race has become overshadowed. It is also an obvious fact of political life that an open Senate seat is certain to be more competitive […]

Alabama has changed dramatically over the last decade, and the greatest indication of that transformation is the state’s financial footing. When Republicans took majority control of the state legislature in 2011, the state’s financial status reversed course. Prior to 2011, there were continual gaps in the budgets of numerous agencies, and every attempt at estimating […]