Email Insights: Ted Cruz names ALGOP’s Troy Towns as part of leadership team
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz has announced that Troy Towns has joined his campaign’s leadership team as the state leader for his African American Conservatives coalition. Towns currently serves as the Senior Vice Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party. Prior to his election to this post in February, Towns served as the Director of Minority Outreach for the party appointed by then chairman Bill Armisted. Towns joins a state leadership team announced in August that includes Ann Eubank, Co-Chair of the Rainy Day Patriot Tea Party, U.S. congressional candidate and Watumpka Tea Party Founder Becky Gerritson, and former candidate for congress Dr. Chad Mathis. Below is the email announcement that the Cruz team released: AFRICAN AMERICAN CONSERVATIVES UNITE BEHIND SEN. TED CRUZ FOR PRESIDENT HOUSTON, Texas – Presidential Candidate U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today announced statewide leaders for the Cruz for President African-American coalition, including Elbert Guillory, Robin Armstrong, and Bishop Robert Smith as National Co-Chairs. “Today I’m pleased to announce a strong group of men and women from diverse backgrounds to lead our African-American coalition,” said Sen. Cruz. “These individuals are leaders in the areas of education, healthcare, faith, and governance, and can speak to how the policies of the current Administration disproportionately harm minorities in this country. Rather than politicizing race as this President has done, we seek to unify Americans around our common values of liberty, equality, and opportunity.” Elbert Guillory represents District 24 of the Louisiana State Senate. Guillory spent 43 years as a criminal defense lawyer, and served in the Louisiana House of Representatives and the Louisiana Senate. He was “Legislator of the Year” twice in his first six years and was elected to the Louisiana Justice Hall of Fame for his work in law and government. Robin Armstrong is a physician practicing medicine in Texas. He is also the former Vice Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, serving from 2006 to 2010, and is currently a Republican national Committeeman. Robin has worked as an election judge, precinct chairman, city chair, Senatorial District Convention Chair, and delegate to the 2008 and 2012Republican National Convention. He has served as a member of the State Republican Executive Committee. He has served locally in youth and inner city missions and is active with charitable organizations nationally and overseas. Bishop Robert Smith is the Founder of Total Outreach for Christ Ministries, Inc. and Word of Outreach Christian Center and Academy, which is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. He has released multiple books on Evangelical Outreach and Faith and has served as a guest speaker for many college seminary courses. The African American Coalition has nine State Level Leaders across the country as well: Glen Robinson, SC Glen is a Pastor and Christian television show host. Nse Ekpo, SC Nse serves as the 2nd Vice Chairman of the South Carolina GOP. Darrell C. Porter, NV Darrell Porter is a non-denominational, full gospel evangelist. He is the Founder and Director of the Ichthus Institute for Enrichment & Christian Development and pastors the New Covenant International Ministries as he continues to work with local, national and international Bible-based, Christ-centered ministries in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Troy Towns, AL Troy is the Senior Vice Chairman of the Alabama GOP. Troy is a small businessman and often speaks at churches, civic meetings and political events. Calvin Morrow, MO Morrow is a homeschool father and the President of the Lebanon Area Homeschoolers. He is the founder of Christians Uniting for Political Action, mobilizing Christians to re-engage in the political process. Zina Hackworth, MO Zina is a member of L.E.A.R.N, the nation’s largest black Pro-Life organization. She is also a member of The National Black Pro-Life Coalition. In 2006, Zina founded This Race Will Self-Destruct and More Rebellious Members, a Pro-Life outreach to black pastors. Henry Childs, TX Henry is the elected State Republican Executive Committeeman for Texas Senate District 19. Childs serves as the Texas Surrogate for the RNC African American Strategic Initiatives Director. He is the Founder/Chairman of the Association of Conservative Texans Brenda Battle Jordan, MI Brenda is an active member of the Genesee County Tea Party and Genesse County Republican Executive Committee. She also serves on The Resolutions and Bylaws Committee Of The Michigan Association of School Board of Director’s and is a Westwood Heights school board trustee. She has been on multiple talk shows and spoken at multiple county Tea Party events. Ken Jordan, MI Ken is a long time Genesse County Republican Executive Committee member. ###
Speaker Mike Hubbard’s appointments include 14 people to 7 boards
Alabama Today regularly reports appointments made by Governor Robert Bentley, today is the first in our series of legislative appointments. The appointments below are Speaker Mike Hubbard‘s appointments in the last 60-days. According to the Speaker’s office, “The Speaker’s Office follows the same protocol for each of the more than 300 appointments it makes every year. Recommendations are collected based on the specific requirements for the position, and an appointment is made based on the individuals’ experience and expertise relating to the duties of the board, committee, or commission.” We have asked for more specific information on how the public can know when appointments are available and who the contact for their office is for application. We will update this post when they provide more information and will continue to cover appointments in the future. A list of vacant board positions can be found on the Boards and Commissions webpage. State Personnel Board Myron Penn One Call Notification System Study Commission Dywane Griner Billy Pickard Alabama Commission on Higher Ed Charles Buntin Digital Depository Commission Lisa Silver Mack Butler Alabama Trust Fund Board Sandra Sims-deGraffenreid Digital Learning Study Commission Oliver Robinson Donnie Chesteen Dr. Janet Womack Alicia Simmons John Hudson Christine Garner Prison Reform Task Force Juandalynn Givan
Campaign finance reports offer indication of easy path to reelection for Alabama delegation
If the latest round of campaign finance reports are any indication, the incumbent Alabama delegation will be smooth sailing toward victory next November. While most of the races in the Yellowhammer remain unchallenged, a federal reporting deadline Thursday night shows Alabama politicians’ campaign coffers are filling up and they’re faring well on the fundraising front in their reelection efforts. Officially filed with the Federal Election Commission the reports disclose funds raised during third fundraising quarter, which ran from July 1 through September 30. Here’s how the Alabama delegation stacks up: U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions: won re-election in 2014. U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby: not yet filed at the time this was published. Challenger: Ron Crumpton (D) Cash on hand: $39 U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne (AL-01) cash on hand: $449,621. U.S. Rep. Martha Roby (AL-02) cash on hand: $733,545. Challenger: Becky Gerritson (R) Challenger: Robert E. John, Jr (I) U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (AL-03) cash on hand: $466,022. U.S. Robert Aderholt (AL-04): not yet filed at the time this was published. Challenger: Phillip Norris (R) Cash on hand: $95 U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (AL-05) cash on hand: $976,718. Challenger: Willie Boyd, Jr. (D) Cash on hand: $819 U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (AL-06) cash on hand: $711,196. Challenger: David Putnam (D) Cash on hand: $4,753 Debt: $5,325 U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) cash on hand: $476,588
Presidential TV ad roundup: Oct. 16 edition
Unprecedented. That’s what we’ve been told to expect when it comes to TV ad spending figures this presidential cycle. In August, Borrell Associates projected each presidential candidate’s campaign will spend an average of $36 million on advertising. That’s in 2015 alone. And certainly unprecedented. While a lot of new ads have not been released by the candidates this week, check out the this week’s presidential TV ad roundup from the campaigns this past week: Jeb Bush Title: Hillary Clinton on Iran: Weak, Wrong, and Rewriting her Record Published: October , 2015 Tone: Critical Rand Paul Title: #CutTheirCard | Example #1: Japanese Quails and Cocaine Published: October 9, 2015 Tone: Playful Hillary Clinton Title: Sick of it Published: October 15, 2015 Tone: Aggravated
Jeb Bush, Ben Carson lead GOP presidential fundraising
Jeb Bush raised $13.4 million this past summer for his Republican presidential bid — more than almost any other primary competitor, but far less than political newcomer Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon who collected about $20 million during the same period. Meanwhile, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bernie Sanders, the two leading Democrats in the 2016 race, each raised more than any of the Republicans who have said what donors gave them between July 1 and Sept. 30. Among those who have yet to share their fundraising information is GOP front-runner Donald Trump, the rich real-estate dealmaker whose mild forays into fundraising include selling his trademark “Make America Great Again” hats. “I thought I’d have spent about $20, $25 million dollars up until this point. You know what I’ve spent? Like nothing,” Trump said Wednesday, crediting media coverage for negating the need to spend on paid ads. With fundraising reports due to federal regulators by midnight Thursday, here’s a look at what we know so far about the state of presidential campaign finance in the third quarter, and what we expect to learn when the candidates’ official reports are filed with the Federal Election Commission. ___ CLINTON, SANDERS RAISE ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT — IN DIFFERENT WAYS Clinton’s campaign said it raised $28 million in the three months ending Sept. 30. That’s less than what she raised in the early months of her campaign, but more than any previous non-incumbent Democratic presidential primary contestant in the third quarter of the year before Election Day. Most of the money came in through dozens of traditional fundraising events, where the price of entry was often the legal maximum donation of $2,700. Sanders brought in about $26 million, but did so largely through small contributions collected online. He continues to show off his fundraising prowess, harvesting about $2 million in new contributions in the hours that followed Tuesday night’s Democratic debate. “We are doing it the old-fashioned way: 650,000 individual contributions,” Sanders said in his closing statement of that appearance, adding: “We are averaging 30 bucks apiece. We would appreciate your help.” ___ CARSON THE EARLY LEADER IN GOP CONTEST Lots of Republican voters sent a message this summer in preference polls that they want an outsider as their nominee. That’s reflected in how they’re giving to the candidates, too. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson appears likely to post the best haul of the dozen-plus candidates in the GOP field, with about $20 million. But his campaign also spent heavily, burning through $14 million over the same time period. Carson spent most of that money raising money, according to figures the campaign provided to The Associated Press. Still, Carson had about $11 million in available cash as of Sept. 30. One of Carson’s closest fundraising competitors is Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, whose campaign raised $12.2 million in the third quarter and ended the month with $13.5 million in the bank. Although he has been a senator since 2012, he also is running as an outsider, with a focus on the many times he has broken with Senate Republican leadership over issues such as shutting down the government to defund implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Former technology executive Carly Fiorina, who has never held elected office, raised $6.8 million for her campaign — four times as much as she collected at the start of her campaign. Her boost came after strong debate performances that also led to a rise in some national preference polls. ___ LOWER FIGURES FOR OTHERS IN GOP Others in the Republican race found the summer months a tough slog for fundraising. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul raised $2.5 million and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio about $6 million. Paul recently devoted time to a separate bid to keep his Senate seat, leading some to question if he’s still in the White House race. “I wouldn’t be doing this dumb-ass livestreaming if I weren’t,” Paul said in a recent Internet video. “So, yes, I still am running for president. So get over it.” In a memo to supporters on Thursday, the Paul campaign continued to provide assurance that it is “here to stay.” The candidate raised almost $1 million in the 12 days after the September debate, the memo says. Rubio’s campaign argues that it can make its money go the distance because of its extreme frugality. The campaign told top donors that it began October with $11 million socked away. As evidence of its tight ship, Rubio’s campaign manager Terry Sullivan has said he must personally approve all expenses over $500. But Rubio is also getting a boost from a nonprofit group that doesn’t disclose its donors. While the campaign hasn’t purchased any television commercials, the group Conservative Solutions Project has already spent millions of dollars on ads. Weighing on these lower-raising candidates are the fates of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Both dropped out of the 2016 Republican nominating contest for lack of funds. Federal reports filed Thursday show Perry raised less than $300,000 between July 1 and Sept. 11, when he ended his campaign. It had about $45,000 left in the bank at the end of last month, FEC documents show. And Walker, despite having raised $7.4 million in the summer months, quickly burned through the money and dropped out 10 days after Perry. He closed September with less than $1 million in available cash — not enough to cover the nearly 100 employees on his payroll. ___ HOTLY ANTICIPATED REPORTS New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich both entered the Republican entered the race later than the other candidates, meaning Thursday provides the first look at their fundraising. Ahead of Thursday’s filing, Christie’s spokeswoman said the campaign had raised $4.2 million in recent months and had $1.4 million cash on hand at the end of September. Although the haul puts him in the lower tier of Republican fundraisers, Christie played down the importance of money. “We’re doing fine,” Christie recently said
Thank you to Jessica Garrison for Marie Claire interview
Jessica Garrison has told her remarkable story of taking on Alabama blogger Roger Shuler (who we will not link to) to nationally recognized magazine Marie Claire. As of our posting of this story, Garrison’s account has received more than 1,200 shares. After detailing the series of rumors and multiple posts Shuler wrote, including an accusation about her son’s paternity, she says, “I decided I had nothing more to lose – so I rolled up my sleeves and fought back.” In a world and especially a career field where women frequently don’t stand up for themselves, I thank Jessica Garrison for her courage and tenacity. It may not stop Shuler from continuing to post about women, but maybe it will inspire more women to recognize they don’t have to just take the abuse.
Jeff Sessions comes out against prison sentencing reform proposals
In the midst of a national movement among several high-profile liberals and moderates around the cause of reducing sentences for non-violent drug offenders, Sen. Jeff Sessions took to the floor of the U.S. Senate this week, declaring you can count him out. In a speech he called “Don’t Weaken Criminal Law in the Middle of a Crime Wave,” Alabama’s senior senator said with crime rates on the rise, now is no time to reduce criminal sentences. “It’s just tragic to me that we’re making the same mistakes we made in the ’60s and ’70s,” Sessions said. “Crime was increasing at double digits per year in the ’60s and ’70s. A nationwide crime wave ensued. It was a revolving door …” Sessions cited statistics that indicated crime – and not just the U.S. prison population – was increasing. “Crime is already rising at an alarming rate. So much so that it prompted an emergency meeting of the Major Cities Chiefs of Police Association in August,” said Sessions. “The New York Times recently reported that murders have increased sharply in many cities across the country since last year, including: Atlanta, up 32%; Baltimore, up 56%; Chicago, up 20%; Houston, up 44%; Los Angeles, up 11%; New York, up 9%; Milwaukee, up 76%; Minneapolis, up 50%; New Orleans, up 22%; Philadelphia, up 4%; Dallas, up 17%; and Washington, D.C, up 47%.” He also cited the testimony of a recent witness who came before the Senate Judiciary Committee, professor Matt DeLisi. DeLisi, a criminologist at Iowa State University, testified that “releasing 1 percent of the current [federal prison] population would result in approximately 32,850 additional murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, thefts, auto thefts, and incidents of arson,” according to Sessions. The move comes as crime rates are reportedly up over 2013, according to recent statistics released by the the Federal Bureau of Investigations. “Before we rush to judgment about undoing federal sentencing laws, we must consider the results of history, and the reduction in crime we’ve accomplished in the past,” Sessions said. “We have a responsibility to the public to examine every aspect of the legislation that may be coming forward which could greatly impact the everyday lives of Americans for years to come. We need to study what experts have told us, what history tells us about crime.”
Alabama unemployment rate drops to 6%
Alabama’s unemployment rate has dropped to 6 percent. The governor’s office said Friday the seasonally adjusted jobless rate for September was 6 percent, down from the August rate of 6.2 percent. The number is a slight improvement from the same time last year, when Alabama’s unemployment rate was 6.3 percent. However, Alabama is still well above the U.S. unemployment rate of 5.1 percent. Unemployment is lowest in Shelby County, which had a September jobless rate of 4.1 percent. Wilcox County has the highest unemployment rate of 15 percent. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Records show Republican Jeb Bush healthy, wealthy
Jeb Bush appears to be healthy and wealthy, based on a batch of records released by the Republican presidential candidate Thursday. As for wise? Voters have time. Bush also listed each of the people, called bundlers, who have helped raise campaign dollars in groups of contributors. The 62-year-old former governor of Florida is “in excellent physical and mental condition and able to serve” as president, Bush’s doctor wrote in an affidavit. Bush takes cholesterol medication, but his weight and blood pressure have dropped due to dieting and exercise, Dr. Alberto A. Mitrani of Coral Gables, Florida, wrote. Bush earned $8.4 million in 2014, according to the tax records he released. It was his best year ever, bringing in $1 million more than he earned in 2013, largely the result of his business consulting and public speaking firm. Bush took in $7.1 million from Jeb Bush & Associates. He gave $309,000 to charity in 2014. The $3.3 million in federal taxes Bush paid, an effective rate of nearly 40 percent, provides a window into how the tax law changes he has proposed would benefit him. If Bush’s proposal to cut the top bracket from 39.5 percent to 28 percent were in place, Bush would have paid about $800,000 less in federal taxes. Other aspects of Bush’s proposal would have eliminated deductions that would have raised portions of his tax bill, but nowhere near the amount trimmed. Bush has made a point of proclaiming transparency in his campaign: an indirect jab at Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, who remains the subject of an investigation about the private email server she used as secretary of state. “This far exceeds the level of transparency offered by other candidates in the field,” campaign spokeswoman Allie Brandenburger said, “above and beyond the disclosure requirements.” Bush released the names of 341 bundlers who have each raised at least $17,600 for his presidential campaign. But the list did little to identify the major heavyweights backing his bid for office. The release listed bundlers’ names and hometowns, but not the amounts they raised. By listing everyone who had raised at least $17,600, Bush essentially treated all 341 names equally, instead of distinguishing larger bundlers from those who raised the minimum. “Today, he’s going above and beyond the existing campaign finance disclosure requirements, which only require disclosure of federally registered lobbyists who have raised a minimum of $17,600 during a covered period,” Bush’s campaign noted on its website Thursday. The list shows many lobbyists, from Florida and Washington, D.C., among his supporters, along with corporate executives and elected officials. A sizable portion of the fundraisers come from Bush’s home state of Florida: More than one in five people on the list are from the Sunshine State. The corporate heavyweights on the list include New York Jets owner Woody Johnson and Trevor Fetter, CEO of Tenet Healthcare, where Bush served on the board of directors until last year. Also listed are longtime business allies Bill Becker, a politically active Florida agribusiness executive; developers Mark Guzzetta and Sergio Pino; health care executive Mike Fernandez; Dallas education executive Randy Best; and Eric Silagy of Florida Power and Light. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Daniel Sutter: Innovation and new football jobs
With football season in full swing, we should recognize some new ways that people can earn a living from football. The new jobs are made possible by the tens of millions of Americans who enjoy college and pro football, and the jobs do not require the athletic ability to play the game. Passionate college football fans like to follow their favorite teams year-round. Recruiting high school players is integral to the success of college teams, and highly ranked recruiting classes often predict future victories. Consequently hard core fans will want news about top high school players, their campus visits, and where they might go. Several national services have emerged to supply this news, both directly to fans and through partnerships with sports networks. The best known services are Rivals.com and Scout.com, which each operate networks of around 300 recruiting experts across the country. Rivals was established in 1998 and sold to Yahoo in 2007 for an estimated $100 million, indicating the profitability of recruiting news. Fantasy football allows NFL fans to enjoy the game even more. Over forty million Americans play, most in leagues with friends or coworkers. Many take the competition seriously enough to pay for analysis and advice. The Fantasy Sports Trade Association estimates that fantasy football products had $1.67 billion in sales in 2012. This allows fantasy experts to sell their services, either directly to players, or by providing content for websites hosting leagues. One day leagues offered by websites like FanDuel and DraftKings provide a new dimension. These tournaments involve play for cash among players who do not know each other. Scaling up participation allows for top prizes of $1 million or more each week. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 classified fantasy sports as games of skill and thus legal, allowing this business to take off. Cash play further increases demand for experts’ knowledge and allows use of this expertise for large pay days. FanDuel and DraftKings have been caught up in “insider trading” allegations in the past several weeks, which may or may not slow their rapid growth. Technology and economics have enabled these new opportunities. The most significant has been the internet. College football magazines pre-date the internet, but today we have access to more information, more quickly, and at a lower cost. Experts’ websites allow them to aggregate modest amounts of money and attention (which translates into advertising revenue) from hundreds of people to earn a living. Websites able to host leagues have tremendously reduced the cost to friends of organizing a league, which previously involved recording statistics and making calculations by hand. The emergence of hundreds of TV channels with cable and satellite has led to narrowcasting and specialty networks. The first and most famous sports network is ESPN, but college conferences like the SEC and Big Ten now have their own networks. Specialized networks increase the audience for detailed recruiting news. NFL Sunday Ticket allows fantasy players to watch their NFL players in action. Sports radio allows experts to showcase their knowledge and direct listeners to their websites. Podcasts and YouTube allow experts to broadcast content to potential customers. A rising standard of living helps fans and fantasy players, many of whom are upper middle class, pay for specialized information. They will pay a $50 annual subscription fee to dominate their league or be the first to know that their alma mater just landed a star recruit. A prosperous economy also helps stake the experts in business. Providing information about a game might strike some people as frivolous and economically insignificant. Yet all goods and services have value because people are willing to exchange their money for them. Most value in our economy comes from activities which enrich and not just sustain our lives, so the value creation here is real. Jobs like college football recruiting guru or fantasy football advisor allowing die-hard fans to earn a living from their obsession might seem too good to be true. Americans have been enjoying football for decades, with top players earning millions. Innovation continues to grow this enjoyment, and now people who could not even play in high school can earn a living from football. 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.
Ronda M. Walker: Breast cancer awareness and the fight of my life
A friend suggested I write an article on breast cancer awareness for the month of October. That made sense to me and seemed simple enough since I am in the midst of the fight of my life against stage 3-breast cancer. I grabbed my laptop and pounded out paragraph after paragraph only to delete them all. I have learned so much this past year about breast cancer, my mind is full, but for some reason the article would not come together. The problem: the misnomer of awareness. October became breast cancer awareness month in 1985 – thirty years ago – so it stands to reason we should all know a lot about the disease, right? Wrong! Wearing pink doesn’t make you aware of the reality of breast cancer any more than wearing a jersey makes you a football player. As I sit here in the midst of my breast cancer fight, I am astounded at all I did not know about breast cancer this time last year. By mid-October last year I was tired of seeing all of the pink, I was tired of hearing about mammograms, I was ready to move on to November. Little did I know at the time breast cancer was growing like wildfire in my body, spreading into my lymphatic system, ready to kill me. I was 42 years old when I was diagnosed and in spite of the thirty yearlong awareness push I actually knew very little about breast cancer. From someone who has been in the game – who had her butt singed by the fires of hell and lived to tell about it – please let me make you a little more aware about breast cancer. First, a lot of women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, roughly 1 in 8. That means many of you reading this article will one day be told you have the disease or your wife, sister, mother, or daughter will get the dreaded news. Also, this is not a disease that just hits older women. I was forty-two when I was diagnosed and I can name a dozen women in my circle of friends who were younger than me when they were diagnosed. Early detection of the disease can make the difference between life and death, so if you value your life do not put off your annual mammogram and do some self-checking between doctor visits. About 40,000 women in American will die from breast cancer this year, and mammograms and early detection are critical. Mammograms will not prevent cancer, but early detection can mean the different between life and death. Next, be aware that all breast cancer is not created equal. There are many different types of breast cancer, some much worse than others. And as with any cancer, there are several different stages at which breast cancer might be identified. So when someone tries to encourage me by saying, “I am a 20 year breast cancer survivor.” My first question to them is, “Tell me about your diagnosis.” If you find your breast cancer early and it is small and contained your chances at a long, healthy life are very good. However, if you are diagnosed, like I was, with a later stage cancer the prognosis is not always as cheery. Moreover, there are terms associated with breast cancer that perhaps you have never heard like triple negative, inflammatory, and estrogen receptor that change your course of treatment as well as your long-term prognosis. So please be aware that while all breast cancer is scary to deal with, all breast cancer is definitely not created equal. Yesterday I saw an old friend and she said to me, “So, all your cancer is gone now, that is wonderful!” And I have to admit that is what most people think, that doctors can make all the cancer go away with aggressive treatment. Please be aware – doctors can NEVER tell you that you are CANCER FREE! That is a pie in the sky myth that might help some people move on with their lives but it just ain’t true. Once you have endured cancer treatment a positron emission tomography (PET) scan will be done to determine if there is any apparent cancer remaining in your body. Please note the word apparent – no scan can see one single cancer cell lurking in the deepest recesses of your body. While you might not have any apparent cancer, you might very well have one little cancer cell hanging out, waiting to meet up with some friends and form a nice, big malignant tumor. So when your friend announces they are finished with treatment and received a good report from the PET scan that does not mean they are literally cancer free. It is not over for them, ever. Of course since all cancer is not created equal, if they just had a small, contained tumor the odds that they no longer have any cancer cells in their body are good. But even if they experience the best possible results from treatment, the reality is cancer could return any minute – and that is the terrifying reality they have to live with the rest of their lives. One person said to me, “If you have to have cancer, breast cancer is the best one to get.” Seriously? It is the second leading cancer killer in women behind lung cancer. If you are fortunate enough to survive the disease, you get to spend the rest of your life disfigured. In my case badly disfigured. Some people seem to think breasts are disposable since they serve no life-sustaining function like our heart, lungs, or kidneys. Please, be aware that having your breasts amputated brings with it a lifetime of physical and emotional pain that eclipses in one day the level of pain most people experience in the course of their entire lives. Don’t let the cheery pink commercialized month of October fool you; breast cancer is a harsh, debilitating killer.
Governor, lawmakers clash over future budget process
In the wake of a messy conflict between the executive and legislative branches over state spending, Sen. Paul Bussman of Cullman on Tuesday called for a hearing where all state department heads would testify during a “open communications meeting” regarding future budgets. But presumably prompted by the office of Gov. Robert Bentley, state Acting Finance Director Bill Newton issued a memo Thursday telling Bussman “Thanks, but no thanks,” claiming such a hearing would interfere with the annual formal budget process. “Each of you was invited to attend an open communications on future budget meeting on October 21,” wrote Newton. “I have been asked by the Governor to instruct you to not attend the meeting on October 21. The reason for this decision is the Budget Management Act.” “You and your staff are familiar with this 40 year old law that defines in detail our State’s budget process. This law clearly sets out the responsibilities of all parties involved in this process including the Legislature. The legislative branch is to consider the Governor’s budget proposal and evaluate alternatives. At this point in the budget process, the Governor has not sent his FY 17 proposal to the Legislature for their consideration,” explained Newton. State Auditor Jim Zeigler, however, thinks a hearing along the lines Bussman has suggest would not circumvent the formal budget process, and in fact “could greatly help that process.” Zeigler called Bentley’s decision to prevent department heads for testifying next week – which are by and large appointed by the governor – a “boycott.” “This is a strange application of the rules and procedures,” said Zeigler, saying more scrutiny would help the cause of an effective budget process. “One problem this year was the governor was chronically late in getting proposals and bills to the legislature. He promised a special session on a date certain with plenty of time for preparation, but he pulled a surprise and called the session for the very next Monday,” said Zeigler, who plans to attend the hearing despite Bentley’s protestations. “The early open communications meeting can be a great idea. It does not violate the procedures for the governor’s budget,” Zeigler said Thursday. The disagreement could set up a massive clash over spending and budget authority between the governor and the Legislature – and if Zeigler’s actions are a harbinger of the future, perhaps the governor and his own Cabinet. Zeigler’s state auditor post is a statewide elected position not appointed by Bentley. Sen. Bussman’s hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m. on October 21, in the Joint Briefing Room of the Alabama State House in Montgomery.
