When that Thanksgiving turkey has been reduced to a discarded carcass, it’s time to break out those wild game and fish recipes to enjoy the feast Alabama’s outdoors offers. With Alabama’s white-tailed deer season in full swing, it’s probably time to clean out last year’s harvest to make room for fresh venison. Waxing nostalgic, our […]

Four hundred years ago this month, a group of just over 100 people arrived off the shores of Cape Cod after a two-month sail from England. They were dissenters from the Church of England like the Puritans but went further by formally separating from the established church they considered to be corrupt beyond repair. We […]

Thirty years ago, this week, the longest serving British prime minister of the 20th-century resigned. Margaret Thatcher, having governed since 1979, saw her leadership challenged, but rather than continue to fight, she was gaslighted into believing she was losing her grip on her party and would lose her office in an embarrassing vote. None of […]

This Thanksgiving will be different from any other we have had in our lifetimes. This past year has been a struggle, as every single one of us has had their normal lives disrupted. Many of us have also lost friends and family as the coronavirus has swept through our communities. To say 2020 has been […]

Thanksgiving is a special holiday because it provides us an entire day each year to pause and give thanks for the many blessings we have received. Particularly amid a global pandemic, the stress and craziness of life often make it easy to lose sight of just how much we have to be thankful for. Although […]

Emblazoned above the doors of the Alabama State House is a Latin phrase that is translated “We Dare Defend Our Rights.” It is a symbol of the determination to ensure that the government does not forget that its people are imbued with certain inalienable rights. Not mere privileges – but rights. In this age of […]

Congress returns to Washington this week after a six-week hiatus for the election. Since the end of July, we have only met for a few weeks, and the work we need to complete has piled up. This Congress ends at noon on Sunday, January 3 when the new Congress will be sworn in and start […]

Without a doubt, the coronavirus is taking a toll on Alabama’s small businesses. Governor Ivey has gradually eased many of the restrictions put in place to keep customers and employees safe, but small business owners say it may be months or even years before the local economy fully recovers from the pandemic. That’s why it’s […]

As the nation watches the news unfold about allegations of fraud and irregularities in some battleground states, Election Day in Alabama appeared to generally run smoothly. Yet, while Alabama has better election laws than most of the states embroiled in controversy now, there is still room to improve the current rules on the books. The […]

Former Vice President Joe Biden has won a narrow victory in the presidential election. President Trump, however, claims the election was stolen through fraud. In 2016, Hillary Clinton blamed her loss on Russian interference. The lack of legitimacy accorded to these election winners raises a question: Do Americans still want to be part of the […]

Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away, which means the Christmas holiday season will be here before we know it. The holidays bring many exciting opportunities to gather and celebrate with family and friends, and this holiday season, it’s important to remember that the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to progress across our communities. The United States […]

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year 1918, the armistice ending World War I was signed. Originally known as Armistice Day, Congress later passed a resolution signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower which officially designated November 11 as Veterans Day. Americans now pause on this special day […]

Election Day has come and gone. Despite the fact that multiple national news sites have “called” the presidential election, court cases and recounts are going forward in several states where the margin is less than 1%, and we don’t yet “know” who was elected president. By federal law, all election disputes must be resolved by […]

The specter of dimpled chads has emerged to haunt American politics. Twenty years after the contested presidential election of George W. Bush against Al Gore made punch lines out of certain ambiguous ballots in Florida, allegations of election irregularities again are causing worry that the Supreme Court of the United States might select the next […]

After wrestling with a public health emergency over the past months, Alabama consumers and businesses have learned that good, high quality and fast broadband internet is a necessity, not a luxury. The need for a comprehensive statewide plan to provide high-speed, fiber-fed broadband internet connectivity to every Alabamian has never been more evident. As hundreds […]

As the nation watches the aftermath of the presidential election unfold, the other unfinished business is what happens in the United States Senate. Based on the latest ballot tabulations, it looks like the Republicans are on track to keep the majority in the upper body of Congress, however, two more races in Alabama’s neighboring state […]

Governments have used nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPI), or lockdowns, to contain COVID-19. But do NPI protect public health overall? A group of medical experts recently put forth “The Great Barrington Declaration” (named for the town where they met) advocating an end to society-wide lockdowns. Over 40,000 public health and medical professionals have signed onto the Declaration. […]

I came of age politically with the 1968 presidential election. Alabama Governor George Wallace was running as an independent against Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. My parents were Nixon supporters, and I, their five-year-old son, hopped on the Nixon bandwagon with gusto. The dinnertime conversations in the month preceding the election were all about whether […]

I have the honor of leading the Alabama Policy Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit educational and research institution which has championed free markets, limited government and strong families for over 30 years. When you look back at our state’s major policy discussions, you will most likely find that API was right there in the midst of […]

I’ll never forget sitting in the U.S. House Chamber in January of 2017 watching the counting of the Electoral College votes from the 2016 presidential election. Under the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, the sitting vice president opens and counts the votes as submitted and certified by the electors chosen from each state, and the […]

Growing up off Dauphin Island Parkway in Mobile, love and support were in large supply for Jaysum Hunter even if money was not. But at age 6, he received a bicycle as a surprise gift, and it was memorable. “That bike gave me a sense of freedom and purpose,” Hunter said. His grandmother played a major […]

Election Day is here, and it’s safe to say that this year’s election looks quite different than those of the past. As we continue to navigate the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, several protocols have been put in place nationwide to create cautious and healthy environments for in-person voting. A record-breaking number of Americans have already […]

Baldwin County voters will head to the polls in just a matter of days to cast their vote on a full ballot, including several local amendments which will influence various aspects of residents’ everyday living. Of the four local amendments on this year’s ballot is Local Amendment 2, which I co-authored, and which proposes the […]

Energy is a resource that we cannot ignore. It is a crucial part of our everyday lives in America. When we flip the lights on in our homes, we do not worry about them working, we expect them to work. That is called “Reliability” in the utility world. Well, that is no longer the case […]