The Alabama Forestry Association (AFA) on Monday announced its endorsement of three Republican nominees seeking election to the legislature’s upper chamber.

Lance Bell (R) — Senate District 11

Bell, whose district covers St. Clair, Talladega and Shelby Counties, practices law with a focus on plaintiff and civil defense matters. He has served as chairman of the St. Clair Republican Party executive committee for six years. Presently, the GOP nominee is chairman of the Alabama Republican Party’s third congressional district executive committee.

In a statement touting AFA’s endorsement of his candidacy, Bell expressed his intentions of working alongside the association in his capacities as state senator.

“I am humbled to receive the endorsement of the Alabama Forestry Association, they are a great group of hard working individuals and I look forward to working with them in the future,” said Bell.

Jay Hovey (R) — Senate District 27

Hovey, who emerged victorious in the Auburn area district’s heavily contested Senate race, began his career as a firefighter. He is a mortgage loan originator for AuburnBank and has served as a member of the Auburn City Council for four years. The Republican Senate hopeful sits on the lieutenant governor’s Small Business Advisory Committee.

The candidate conveyed his appreciation to AFA over its support of his bid for the Alabama Senate.

“I am incredibly honored to receive the endorsement of the Alabama Forestry Association,” stated Hovey. “I very much appreciate their active conservative voice across our state. Timber and forest products are very important to District 27. AFA’s support for landowner’s rights and small business interests are paramount to continued success.”

Pete Riehm (R) — Senate District 33

Riehm, who served 21 years in the U.S. Navy, is seeking election to to serve portions of Mobile and Baldwin Counties in the upper chamber. During his military service, Riehm was deployed overseas to serve the United States in the Cold War and Desert Storm. He is an active member of the Mobile Bay Area Veterans Day Commission.

The candidate serves as a commercial real estate broker with CRE Mobile and is the current land commissioner for the Mobile County Probate Court.

Riehm heaped praise upon AFA for its advocacy of the state’s robust timber industry.

“Timberland is one of Alabama’s most precious resources and forestry products are integral to Alabama’s economy, so it is vitally important that we advance our forestry industries and protect their interests for posterity,” advised Riehm. “The AFA is a tremendous advocate for our forestry community and I appreciate their relentless efforts, so I am humbled and honored to earn their very important endorsement to serve as Senator for District 33.”

The candidates will appear on the ballot for the November 8 general election.

Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

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 lost the convictions of their principles of democracy and freedom, have grown lazy and weak, and again deluded themselves into thinking evil may not exist. Western leaders erroneously believe they can accommodate, control, or negotiate with evil. And that’s exactly where evil wants you when evil pounces.

Europeans have had little control of their destiny since WWII without American leadership and strength, so when the United States left the world stage with a corrupt decrepit president that has been clueless and gutless for half a century, evil actors around the globe knew their opportunity had come. Everyone knows Biden’s corruption, indecisiveness, and weakness invited Putin’s current depredation and emboldened China, but that’s where we are, and we can’t change that embarrassment anytime soon. So, what can, or should we do now?

First, we must assess what we know. Vladimir Putin is a dictator, murderer, and thug, and now he is a certifiable war criminal attacking a peaceful neighbor without cause and indiscriminately slaughtering civilians in his pure lust for power. Putin has made no secret of his goal to restore the Russian empire. He cheated and murdered his way into power and installed himself as dictator for life. We should have recognized his evil designs when he would not leave power and as he gobbled up Georgia and Crimea. Proving again he is ruthless by indiscriminately targeting Ukrainian civilians and trying to assassinate Ukrainian President Zelensky, no one should be surprised.

There are no easy answers after the United States has so grossly misplayed its hand and thrown away too many cards, but there is a shameful hypocrisy for the U.S. to just watch Ukraine cruelly slowly beaten into submission. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine had the third-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons. In 1994, Ukraine agreed to nuclear disarmament because the United States guaranteed that it would assure their sovereignty and defend an independent Ukraine. Twenty-eight years later, Ukraine is begging for help and realizing aid may be too late if it even comes at all. We were probably stupid for making that promise, but we should be ashamed for not keeping it in the face of such a senseless vicious attack.

Putin is certainly evil, and he may be an evil genius. He is calculating the west lacks resolve in the face of naked aggression. Contrast Iraq’s 1991 invasion of Kuwait with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both countries are arguably inconsequential to vital American interests, but both unprovoked invasions destabilize their regions and naked aggression left unchecked only invites more naked aggression. President Bush the elder assembled an international coalition to oust Saddam Hussein and did so in short order. Why is not a similar response galvanizing for Ukraine? The short answer is Russia has nuclear weapons.

Putin has insinuated he will resort to nuclear weapons if the west intervenes, so we cannot ignore that grave threat and that only emphasizes the importance of strong policies to preempt this almost impossible situation. But it also illustrates that diplomacy will not resolve this crisis. Russia can only be stopped militarily and maybe economically if Ukraine can hang on for weeks, but economic sanctions probably need months to have an effect.

At this point, economic sanctions are the only tool on the table, so it’s imperative we get serious immediately and stop the flow of Russian oil. As long as we buy Russian oil, we are financing their military operations in Ukraine. Biden’s dithering on sanctions is cowardly and unconscionable. Until we cut off Putin’s oil money, there’s no reason to take us seriously.
Russia must and should be isolated, but the international community must also call out China for supporting Putin and his military adventurism in Ukraine. They are buying Russian coal and other goods and helping Russia move money since international banks are locking them out. China is watching closely and calculating its designs on Taiwan by how the world handles Ukraine. China must be put on notice and held accountable for complicity.

Russia surely thought they could conquer Ukraine in days, but they are stumbling, and Ukrainian resistance is much stiffer than anticipated. While the Russians are still quite dangerous, we are learning the Russian bear is not as capable as we or they thought. Again, Putin only responds to military strength, so NATO must put some teeth into their demands. NATO does not have to engage, but they can arm Ukraine and provide them with military intelligence now. And to really get Putin’s attention, NATO should mobilize now and show they are absolutely serious about containing this catastrophe and that his aggression is intolerable.

NATO understandably wants to avoid a nuclear confrontation, but NATO must understand that Putin will not stop in Ukraine. It may take a while, but Putin will not be satisfied and will come for more. Until someone puts a dagger to Putin’s throat, he will not relent. There is hope if Putin is thwarted in Ukraine, the Russian threat will be neutered for at least a generation.

Ukraine has been a den of corruption and therefore a dilemma, but Putin is the embodiment of evil – he must be challenged. These are all very difficult decisions, but WWII taught us that if we don’t confront evil early, the price later will be exorbitantly high and sooner or later we will have to pay a price to defeat evil. With the knowledge of WWII, would the world have moved to stop Hitler in 1936 when he took Austria or 1938 when he invaded Czechoslovakia? We are facing the same situation again, so there is no time for inaction or tepid action. The world must act boldly to face down evil, or it will continue to advance.

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” James 4:17

Pete Riehm is the host of Common Sense Radio heard 8pm every Thursday on FMTalk106.5 or streaming at fmtalk1065.com. Email him at peteriehm@bellsouth.net or on MEWE @PeteRiehm or read all his columns at http://www.renewamerica.com/.kraien

Riehm is also a Republican hopeful for Alabama Senate District 33

The Prichard Water Board in Mobile County is at the center of a corruption investigation after the late February arrest of former board manager Nia Bradley.

Bradley faces the charges of aggravated theft by deception and theft of property in the first degree after it was found that she racked up excessive charges on a board-issued credit card. The investigation comes after an audit showed nearly $4 million in questionable charges and authorities conducting a raid on Bradley’s home.

WKRG News 5 reports that Bradley’s purchases included high-end luxury brands such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton.

Pete Riehm, Republican hopeful for Alabama Senate District 33, condemned the alleged corruption and made note of the “exorbitant” water bills he said customers have been subjected to.

“The reported embezzlement of some $4 million at the Prichard Water Board is shocking and unconscionable,” declared Riehm. “The reported extraordinary expenses for luxury items are an insult to the citizens of Prichard and especially the board’s poorest customers. The alleged malfeasance is compounded by the fact the Prichard Water Board has abused the citizens of Prichard for years and particularly those on fixed incomes with exorbitant water bills. And when questioned, they only offered to put their victims on a payment plan.”

Riehm called for the Alabama Legislature to conduct an investigation into the matter and to take necessary action to prevent similar abuses from occurring in the future.

“There must be a full investigation and those culpable should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Riehm added. “Further, there should be a full investigation into how this egregious situation was allowed to develop and persist for so long. The Prichard Water Board must undergo extensive reforms to ensure adequate oversight to prevent this from ever happening again. The Alabama legislature should also investigate and determine if any legislative actions or reforms should be implemented to protect the good people of Prichard from any further abuses.”

Riehm is vying to unseat longtime State Sen. Vivian Figures (D-Mobile), who has served in the legislature’s upper chamber since 1997. Last month, Riehm raised $23,740 in the historically Democrat majority district.

Publicly available campaign finance data shows that Figures has not filed a monthly report this year. Candidates must file a monthly report if their campaign raises or spends more than $1,000. Failure to file a monthly report after reaching the threshold is a violation of the Fair Campaign Practices Act, according to the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office.

Figures did not immediately respond to Yellowhammer News’ request for comment.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL