Every general election, voters decide ballot initiatives on social and economic policy. These often produce inconsistent results. Last November, Californians voted in favor of economic freedom while Florida voters increased the state’s minimum wage.

California consistently sits near the bottom of the Fraser Institute’s state economic freedom rankings (47th in 2020). Its economic policies have been driving out-migration. Land use and zoning restrictions render housing construction very difficult in California’s most popular cities, resulting in sky-high rents and home prices. According to Business Insider, average monthly rent for one-bedroom apartments in 2019 was $2,400 per month in Los Angeles and $3,600 in San Francisco. (more…)

As we close the book on 2020, we will close the door on national politics and get back to the basics: good old Alabama politics. That’s my game. It is what I know and like to write and talk about. Some say my prognostications and observations on Alabama politics are sometimes accurate. However, not so much so on the national level.

About a decade ago, there was an open presidential race and a spirited Republican battle for the nomination had begun. One of the entrants stood out to me. U.S. Senator Fred Thompson from Tennessee looked like the real thing to me. He was tall, tough, articulate, a movie star and a major player in the Watergate hearings. He looked like a president. He had a deep authoritative voice and gravitas and he had done a good job as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee. He actually had been born in Alabama.

So, I wrote a glowing column about how he looked like presidential timber. I went out on a limb and boldly predicted that he was going to win the Republican nomination and would go on to win the presidency. My profuseness was so pronounced that soon after the column was printed it was picked up by his campaign and his wife called me from Nashville and thanked me for my comments. A week later, Thompson dropped out of the race. So much for my presidential prognostications. (more…)

Now that there have been two vaccines approved for emergency use in the United States to protect against the coronavirus by the Federal Drug Administration, all eyes will be on the states as to how they will distribute the drugs.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided guidelines, it is up to each state. The Alabama Department of Public Health has issued the order of priority of those who will receive the injections.

Frontline health care workers and those who live in nursing homes and long-term care care facilities have been the first phase of allocation. The next phase will include seniors above age 75 and those essential workers who are at the highest risk, but after that is when questions have arisen about who would go next. (more…)

Heading into the new year, the foundation that has promoted the conservation of unique habitats in Baldwin County has broadened its scope with its vision and a name change. What once was the Weeks Bay Reserve Foundation, which has been in existence for 30 years, is now the South Alabama Land Trust (SALT).

Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) Commissioner Chris Blankenship is thankful for the work of the group, past, present and future.

“The Weeks Bay Reserve is managed by the ADCNR State Lands Division,” Commissioner Blankenship said. “The Weeks Bay Reserve Foundation, now SALT, has been a great partner to assist us with the acquisition and preservation of properties within the Weeks Bay Reserve boundary and in the watershed overall. I am glad to see them expand their scope to do good work in other areas of Coastal Alabama. I know they will continue to provide support services to protect and enhance the mission of not only the Weeks Bay Reserve but for coastal conservation overall.”

Ellis Allen, SALT’s Chairman of the Board, said the name change was appropriate for the group’s future. (more…)

As is my annual ritual, my yearend column pays tribute to Alabama political legends who have passed away during the year.

Sonny Cauthen passed away in Montgomery at age 70. He was the ultimate inside man in Alabama politics.  Sonny was a lobbyist before lobbying was a business.  He kept his cards close to his vest and you never knew what he was doing. Sonny was the ultimate optimist who knew what needed to be achieved and found like-minded allies with whom to work.  When he had something to get done, he bulldozed ahead and achieved his mission. Sonny was a yellow dog Democrat who believed in equal treatment and rewarding hard work. He was an avid outdoorsman and hunter and mentored a good many young men in Montgomery.

Another Montgomerian who will never be forgotten was Representative Alvin Holmes, who passed away at 81.  Like Sonny, Alvin was born and raised and lived his entire life in his hometown of Montgomery.  He, too, was a real Democrat and an icon in Alabama politics.  Alvin represented the people of Montgomery for 44-years in the Alabama House of Representatives.  He was one of the most dynamic and outspoken legislators in Alabama history, as well as one of the longest serving members.

I had the opportunity to serve with Alvin for close to two decades in the legislature.  We shared a common interest in Alabama political history.  In fact, Alvin taught history at Alabama State University for a long time.  He was always mindful of the needs of his district, as well as black citizens throughout the state.  Alvin was one of the first Civil Rights leaders in Montgomery and Alabama.  He helped organize the Alabama Democratic Conference and was Joe Reed’s chief lieutenant for years. (more…)

This is my last weekly report as your congressman. Serving you in Washington these last seven years has been a great honor, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity you have given me. I never once walked out on the floor of the House of Representatives when I wasn’t in awe that I was there to speak and vote for you.

I leave Congress with hope and optimism about our country and our part of the country.

American elites, who control most of our news and entertainment outlets, would have you believe that America is a weakening, evil nation. Nothing could be further from the truth. I’d not traveled abroad much before coming to Congress but, particularly given my work on the Armed Services Committee, I’ve traveled a lot more these last seven years. No matter where I went American power was evident and I heard from allies and adversaries a clear expectation that we are the world’s leader in nearly every way that matters. (more…)

As this 2020 Presidential election year comes to a close, allow me to share some final thoughts on the results with you.

As you might expect, with this being the year of one of the worst pandemic viruses in human history, it would have an effect on politics. Surprisingly, given the fact that people were told to not go out and be around others, you had a massive turnout nationwide. In Alabama, the voter turnout was unprecedented and record breaking, especially among Republican voters. Donald Trump’s popularity in the state drove the turnout. He eclipsed his 62% landslide against Hillary Clinton. He garnered 63% of the amazing vote and provided coattails for Republican Tommy Tuberville and allowed the Coach to annihilate Democrat Doug Jones by a whopping 60 to 40 margin.

This year’s vote confirms the fact that a Democrat cannot win a statewide race in the Heart of Dixie. If Democrat Doug Jones can outspend Republican Tuberville $25 million to $7 million, a 4 to 1 advantage, but only manage to get 40% of the vote, that ought to tell you something. Forty percent appears to be the maximum threshold for a well-financed, articulate Democrat in the state.  Currently we have 38 elected statewide officeholders in Alabama and all 38 are Republicans. Therefore, winning the Republican nomination for a statewide office in Alabama is tantamount to election. (more…)

The late great U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia often told the story of his oral exam at Georgetown University. To graduate as a history major, he was required to answer questions from the faculty to demonstrate the sufficiency of his education and entitlement to a diploma.

Asked to cite the most significant event in history, he thought it was a softball question and picked an event he considered important. Wrong! His inquisitor corrected him and disapprovingly stated: “No, Mr. Scalia; it was the Incarnation,” which means the birth of Christ, the Son of God as both fully divine and fully human.

So it is that this time of year the seminal event on the Christian calendar is celebrated by the faithful and unfaithful alike. Some merely acknowledge it in their actions and time off, while others take the religious significance to heart and fully participate in the seasonal countdown of Advent. (more…)

At the Birmingham Museum of Art, in the back and around a corner, is a painting that few care to look at for too long. It’s small, roughly the size of a piece of printer paper. The background is a golden sunset, rolling hills and tall lanky trees that, every time I look at it, make me think of Italy.

In the foreground of the painting is a church, and on the steps of that church is a man, alone and with his head in his hands. Weeping, presumably.

The title of the painting?  The End of a Misspent Life.

Every time I go to the museum, I look at this painting for a few minutes. I think about this man who, in my imagination, is mourning both the life of a loved one and his own ill-used life. A man who realized too late that how he had lived was, in the end, a waste. (more…)

Writing this holiday column reminds me our nation is nearing the end of one of the most trying and unpredictable years in American history.

Divisions in the political realm and disagreements as to the most effective manner by which to deal with the coronavirus pandemic have served to breed animosity one toward another in ways I cannot recall. Toss in the inexcusable death of George Floyd earlier in the year and the social unrest which followed only adding fuel to an already roaring fire.

Our nation has witnessed the death of approximately 300,000 as a result of the pandemic with millions more facing near-death experiences in our hospitals as many others suffer with the virus at home. We have watched our healthcare workers toil through one step and patient at a time in possibly the worst healthcare crisis our country has experienced while dealing with anger and tears, as our law enforcement community has continued to come under attack. (more…)

It’s Christmas week, so let’s talk about some Christmas miracles. No, I’m not talking about that monster hit John Metchie put on Florida’s Trey Dean in the SEC Championship game Saturday. We’ve come to expect plays like that from the Alabama football team this year.

I’m talking about some truly surprising big deal things.

First, look at the very good news on Alabama’s unemployment rate. At the end of November, it was 4.4%, down from 5.7% in October and from the COVID shutdown high of nearly 14% in April. We’re not fully recovered yet, but the quick turnaround we’ve already experienced is phenomenal. Chalk it up to the stimulus and PPP money Congress approved in the spring and summer, Governor Ivey’s prudent decision making in dealing with the pandemic and heroic acts by business owners large and small around the state to stay open. (more…)

Governments across the country have imposed numerous public health policies to control COVID-19. A prominent one has been requiring the wearing of masks in public; Alabama has been under a mask order since July. Americans have largely embraced masks. A recent Harris poll found that 93% of respondents at least sometimes (always) wore masks.

Nonetheless, Dr. Don Williamson of the Alabama Hospital Association recently expressed frustration over some Alabamians’ unwillingness to wear masks. He observed, “The election’s over. It should no longer be political.” Mask mandates apply the coercive power of government and politics consists of peoples’ actions to control government. Consequently, public health mandates are political.

The pandemic could have been addressed non-politically through voluntary responses. Consideration of this alternative highlights some effects of government mandates. (more…)

As 2020 comes to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on challenges that were unimaginable just twelve months ago. Yet during the Christmas season, we are filled with spiritual contemplation and profound gratitude. God has blessed Alabama with so many unselfish individuals, turning what could have been a year of regret into one of inspiration.

We saw it from those on the front line of every Alabama healthcare facility, individuals of courage who fought through fatigue to confront with nearly infinite energy an enemy previously unimaginable. This also includes paramedics, ambulance operators, and fire departments, who often are the first on the scene in an emergency.

We witnessed our heroic police officers turn divisive rhetoric into an opportunity for healing, going beyond the call of duty to ensure the safety of our communities. From Decatur to Eufaula to Pritchard, they also have helped organize food drives to help local residents who could not afford groceries. (more…)

With the end of the year right around the corner, Congress is working to address some of the most urgent issues facing hard-working families across America before they leave Washington for the holidays. While the bulk of their efforts so far have understandably been focused on providing COVID-19 relief for struggling Americans, there are a number of additional pressing matters they will need to address in order to ensure that their work on the pandemic is as effective as it needs to be.

Among these matters is the 2020 United States Census. While it may be easy to think that Census workers’ task ended once response collection concluded in October, there is a comprehensive verification process that must be carried out in order to guarantee that the Census findings are accurate. (more…)

Editor’s note: The following is an open letter from the Birmingham-area hospitals to all citizens of Alabama. 

Birmingham area hospitals applaud Governor Ivey’s recent extension of the statewide mask order. We also encourage residents of Jefferson County and all across Alabama to continue their vigilance in taking every precaution possible to minimize the spread of COVID.

The initial COVID surge during the summer months stressed our health care system, but the drastic increase in confirmed COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths over the last few weeks is significantly more concerning. Currently, more than 600 COVID patients are being cared for in area hospitals, which is a 50% increase over the maximum number of patients we saw over the summer. And the numbers continue to rise. We are just starting to see the effects of the Thanksgiving holiday and are concerned about the coming holidays, where people are more likely to gather indoors. (more…)

When the members of the Constitutional Convention in 1787 debated how to pick the executive, several options were considered. Some wanted the people to directly elect the president, while others distrusted the people to know enough about the candidates to make that important decision on their own. After all, the election would be held across the entire nation, and with the problems of communication in 18th century America, it would be difficult for individual citizens to know enough to make an informed decision about candidates who lived nowhere near them.

But the Framers wanted the voters to play a role, and they compromised by giving the decision to electors equaling the number of representatives and senators for each state and empowering the legislatures of the states, whose members were and are popularly elected, to select the manner of appointing those electors. So you and I don’t vote for the president directly. Our state’s electors do. While early on several state legislatures opted to pick the electors themselves, in modern times all state legislatures have voted to have their electors chosen by popular vote. (more…)

Vaccines from Moderna and BioNTech/Pfizer are nearing approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Politicians will now decide who will get vaccinated first. The Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has prioritized vaccination of medical personnel and nursing home residents. The rest of us will have to wait. Prices offer an alternative to political determination of access.

However distributed, ramping up vaccine production presents an enormous challenge. The BioNTech and Moderna vaccines both require two doses, so vaccinating all Americans would require over 600 million doses. Production must go from zero to tens of millions of doses per month while maintaining quality. The capacity constraint means that everyone cannot be vaccinated immediately. (more…)

Presidential historians and most astute national political observers and chroniclers have concluded that the most profound legacy a president can achieve is the appointment of United States Supreme Court Justices. Presidents serve four-year terms. Justices serve for a lifetime.

The Supreme Court of the United States is the ultimate final word on law and public policy in the United States. After they are appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, they are impregnable to political whims or influence. They are sovereign and omnipotent. They are treated royally and usually serve on the high tribunal for over two decades or more.

Therefore, whether you like Donald J. Trump or not, he has a legacy. Most presidents are fortunate if they are able to name one justice to the court. Trump, over his four-year term appointed and had confirmed three. If you are a conservative Republican, this feat by President Trump makes him one of the most bulwark conservative presidents in history. He has cemented his legacy forever and changed the judicial philosophy of the court for the next generation. (more…)

Last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly jobs report covering November. It contained some good news, some bad news and some downright ugly news.

First, let’s look at the good news. The economy added 245,000 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate dropped to 6.7% from a high of 14.7% in April. We have gained back 12.3 million jobs since the shutdowns of last spring, and the unemployment rate is less than half what it had risen to at that time. Over half of all black people who lost their jobs have gone back to work as have two thirds of Hispanics. The greatest gains have come in the leisure and hospitality industry and in retail businesses, the hardest hit by the shutdowns.

To put this into perspective, the unemployment rate is now lower than at any point in President Obama’s first term and the gains made in the last seven months are greater than in the first four years of the recovery from the Great Recession of 2008-2009 (more…)

My pastor recently quipped that it felt like we are in the fifth year of 2020. True that. But in the midst of that sentiment, the question on many minds right now is “how long will the 2020 elections go on?” Aren’t we supposed to have an “election day?” Like, just one day? The short answer is yes. But the reality is that there are laws on the books that firmly establish that the court systems of this country are as much a part of the election cycles as the polls.

It’s not always a question of fraud or deceit. Sometimes human nature, mistakes or oversight create a situation that any elected official or voter should have the right to speak into. I’ve seen it firsthand. Suck it up, bite your tongue, and wait it out for a bit.

And here’s a gob smacker for you: If you see an injustice, or you’ve been aggrieved or disenfranchised of your rights of any type, and you don’t address it through the means established for you to do so, then you are just as much a part of the problem. (more…)

Two vaccines appear highly effective against SARS-CoV-2, and remdesivir is helping doctors treat severe COVID cases. These products raise challenging questions regarding patents and government funding of research. If taxpayers fund a medical breakthrough, should we then have to pay for the medicine?

Consider Gilead Science’s remdesivir, which effectively treated COVID in a clinical trial. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Defense Department funded the drug’s development. Public Citizen estimates that public funding totals at least $70 million. They argue that remdesivir should be priced at cost because taxpayers “should not have to pay twice” for it.

Before addressing this question, let’s consider the rationale for patents. Patents help ensure the funding of research producing knowledge. Medicines and vaccines are ultimately knowledge that a given combination of chemicals keeps us from getting sick or restores our health.

Research must be performed to generate new knowledge and is highly uncertain; experiments do not always yield breakthroughs. The prices of successful medicines and vaccines must cover the cost of all this research. (more…)

While the holiday season brings family and friends together, it serves as a time to remember our military families and troops overseas. This year especially brings new challenges as we continue to navigate the holidays during a global pandemic. Data from the Alabama Department of Health shows that numbers are sharply rising across the state, and we are setting consecutive new records for daily number of new cases of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The virus may alter how we spend this Christmas season, as well as the direct and indirect effects for our men and women in uniform serving around the world.

Each year, Members of Congress participate in the American Red Cross’ Holiday for Heroes program. This annual event provides an opportunity to express our gratitude and pass along holiday greetings and wishes to servicemembers, their families, and veterans. Like many other events this year, we were unable to gather and convey our appreciation in writing. (more…)

Most people think the rutting activity of white-tailed deer in Alabama occurs mostly in January and into February. However, if you’re willing to travel, hunters can take advantage of the rut in the state from mid-November through early February.

Plus, you can hunt the rut during that lengthy period on public land, according to Chris Smith of the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division.

Early in the 20th century, Alabama’s deer herd was extremely limited because of unregulated harvest. Most of the animals were in southwest Alabama, with isolated pockets throughout the state. Extensive restocking efforts were conducted, which included trapping and relocating deer from southwest Alabama, mainly from the Clarke County area, as well as bringing in deer from other parts of the United States. Deer were transported from Arkansas, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin.

For the most part, the transplanted deer maintained their native rutting activity, which is why Smith, Assistant Chief in the WFF’s Wildlife Section, said hunters can find rutting activity in Alabama for most of deer season. (more…)

When people ask how to bring business and jobs to our state, particularly in disadvantaged rural areas, I readily quip…broadband and bamboo.

My partners and I co-founded Resource Fiber, LLC nine years ago and we are the only American company bringing bamboo growing and manufacturing – a $60 billion industry dominated by China – to the U.S., beginning in the state of Alabama. We’re generating high-wage jobs in low-income communities. We manufacture high-value industrial products and we are introducing a high-dollar cash crop to local areas suffering from high poverty rates, stagnant wages and out-migration.

During this time, I’ve seen how underserved areas like Alabama’s historic Black Belt is in desperate need of high-speed broadband. Just as rural electrification, telephone service, and the interstate highways were indispensable infrastructure decades ago, it is imperative to have reliable high-speed internet for inclusion in the 21^st Century economy.

To achieve universal broadband access and adoption, we need smart policies: encouraging the best broadband providers to participate, focusing public funds on unserved and underserved areas, while clearing barriers to building networks and promoting digital literacy. (more…)