Alabama editorial roundup: Feb. 10, 2019 edition
Recent editorials from Alabama newspapers: ____ Feb. 9 The Dothan Eagle on the recent execution in Alabama: The State of Alabama put a man to death Thursday. He was the 217th person to die under the state’s death penalty – the 64th execution since a moratorium on executions in Alabama was lifted in 1983. Dominique Ray’s execution is troubling. Not because there was any question about his guilt. Debates about the moral failings of the death penalty aside, there was no reason why Ray should not see the sentence imposed on him for the murder of 15-year-old Tiffany Harville almost 25 years ago carried out at long last. What’s troubling about Ray’s execution is the constitutional question it raises. Ray, who embraced Islam while incarcerated, wanted an imam present with him in the death chamber. Prison officials refused, saying they could provide a Christian prison chaplain. Ray’s attorneys sued, and a stay of execution was issued to sort it all out. Prison officials argue that only corrections system employees are allowed in the execution chamber as a matter of security, which is reasonable. In an earlier editorial, we suggested the prison system work to create a pool of spiritual leaders from other faiths, and vet them accordingly. That seems reasonable as well. However, Ray’s position was that he was receiving unequal treatment because he, a Muslim, did not have the same opportunity in the execution chamber as a Christian prisoner would. And he’s right – the constitutional religious protections suggest that a condemned inmate of any stripe should have the same access to a representative of their chosen faith. Read the rest online: dothaneagle.com ______ Feb. 10 The Gadsden Times on the U.S. cancelling nuclear weapons treaty with Russia: Tangible is defined by “Webster’s New World Dictionary” as 1. corporeal and able to be appraised for value; 2. can be understood; definite; objective. Those are simple definitions for a wonderful word, which is just the opposite of innuendo and gossip. I prefer to deal in tangibles, but sometimes let tradition and “it has always been that way” overcome my thought process. A good example is the Russian/United States Strategic Arms Limitation Talks signed in 1972. The agreement was intended to restrain the arms race in strategic ballistic missiles armed with nuclear weapons. SALT I was followed by SALT II, which basically never took effect. Both sides have indicated nullification of the first accord. At first blush, I thought the consequences of calling a halt to the treaty could be disastrous for the populations of the U.S. and Russia. However, I came to the conclusion that the U.S. cancelling the treaty is essential to maintaining substantial military superiority over not only Russia, but our No. 1 adversary, China. While we have been limited in developing and modernizing the U.S. military by the SALT agreement with Russia, the Chinese government has been modernizing and expanding its military exponentially. The SALT agreement was an excellent deterrent to nuclear war between the then-Soviets and the U.S., but the agreement allowed China to develop a formidable nuclear military, one that has become a threat to U.S. global dominance. Read the rest online: Gadsdentimes.com _____ Feb. 9 Anniston Star on the relationship between journalists and law enforcement: An article in Friday’s Anniston Star drew the ire of the Anniston Police Department and its supporters on social media. The article reported on statistics provided by city officials detailing the frequency of police stops and arrests, breaking those numbers down according to race — black, white and other. Facebook commenters describe the article as a hit piece, fake news and an obvious attempt to attack police and sell newspapers. To the contrary, The Anniston Star works closely with Anniston PD and applauds its efforts to address crime through community policing, including the creation of a community-based committee tasked with following up on complaints from residents. No, we’re not out to get the police. Here’s what actually happened. A week ago, the NAACP held a meeting at the Anniston City Meeting Center where residents accused APD of disproportionately making traffic stops on African-Americans. Their evidence, however, was all anecdotal. Coverage of that story also provided the response from city officials and police denying any notion of racial profiling. As journalists, our aim is always to pursue truth, and collecting and reporting actual numbers is a non biased way to do that. It’s what we did when Councilman Ben Little claimed that his district’s requests for work orders consistently failed to get response from the city. An examination of the work orders, however, showed that Ward 3 actually had almost twice as many completed work orders as any of the other wards. Read the rest online: annistonstar.com ____ Feb. 8 Montgomery Advertiser on poverty It was cruel to force unemployment upon millions of Americans over a political dispute borne of a foolish promise that has nothing to do with them. It is shameful that the president showed little if any empathy for these citizens — many of whom supported him — and acquiesced via his silence to assessments made by his economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, and billionaire Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Hassett said that furloughed federal workers are “better off” because “they have the vacation but they don’t have to use their vacation days.” Ross said there is no “good excuse why there … should be a liquidity crisis” and that he didn’t “understand why” federal employees with no income were going to food banks and homeless shelters. Ross incredibly advised those employees — already indebted beyond their ability to pay — to get a bank loan to cover expenses. Notwithstanding these contemporary echoes of “let them eat cake,” the previous, (un)presidential shutdown of the federal government — and the one that may reoccur next week — may force us to rethink some common misunderstandings. This third and final edition of my “start-at-the-beginning series” focuses on poverty. Next to race relations, poverty is the longest rhetorical highway along which people begin their expository
Alabama editorial roundup: Oct. 4, 2018 edition
Recent editorials from Alabama newspapers: ___ Sept. 28 The Cullman Times on upcoming elections for state offices: The long political year in Alabama will come to a conclusion when voters go to the polls Nov. 6. … And everyone should be interested in the major state offices on the ballot. The governor’s race, with Republican Kay Ivey as the incumbent against Democrat Walt Maddox, who has served as Tuscaloosa mayor, features two candidates who bring different messages to the campaign. Ivey is running on her long years of services in various state offices and Alabama’s solid run of job growth. Maddox’s reputation became known across the state as he effectively led Tuscaloosa through the tragedy and rebuilding from a destructive tornado in 2011. He is challenging certain aspects of Ivey’s campaign, saying that education, health care, and the wages workers are paid all need improving. The themes of this race with a seasoned politician facing a new, young candidate give Alabamians plenty to consider on election day. Offices such as secretary of state, attorney general, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and two Public Service Commission seats all carry importance for citizens across the state. But to make a difference, every eligible voter needs to be registered and then go to the polls. A record number of Alabamians have been registered to vote in recent years, but often the turnout is thin. For those who are looking to the future, there is still plenty of time to register to vote. The deadline is Oct. 22. Requesting an absentee ballot is open until Nov. 1. Alabama has many crucial issues awaiting the next group of officeholders. Workforce training, better paying jobs, Medicaid expansion, access to health care, internet service for rural areas, and improving roads are among some of the topics that need to be addressed. Candidates will have plenty to say between now and Nov. 1. A lot of them will be making stops in this community and points across the state. Take the time to listen and ask questions when the opportunity arises. Alabama will reach its potential when citizens speak up. And the first step to be being heard is to vote. Online: http://www.cullmantimes.com/ ___ Sept. 27 Decatur Daily on national violent crime rates: Having spent the past year and a half claiming America was in the midst of a rising tide of crime, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has suddenly changed his forecast. According to FBI statistics, both violent crimes and property crimes decreased slightly nationwide last year, after two years of slight increases. At the time of the slight upticks in crime in 2015 and 2016, informed observers cautioned there was no cause yet for alarm because they might be simply statistical blips and crime levels nationwide remained close to 30-year lows. Others, however, including some hoping to stifle bipartisan criminal justice reform efforts in Congress and in many states, seized upon the uptick as evidence being “soft on crime” was resulting in more crime. They pointed in particular to increased violent crime in Baltimore and Chicago, while ignoring New York City, which continued to see declines in crime rates even as the police there were ordered to abandon their controversial “stop and frisk” policy. Honest observers recanted their doom-and-gloom predictions about New York. As National Review’s Kyle Smith wrote, “The statistics are clear: Crime is lower than ever. It’s possible that crime would be even lower had stop-and-frisk been retained, but that’s moving the goal posts. I and others argued that crime would rise. Instead, it fell. We were wrong.” Now crime has again ticked downward nationwide, and just as the two years of slight increases were no cause for alarm, one downward year doesn’t guarantee everything is all blue skies and sunshine ahead. It does mean, however, that the 30-year trend of historically low rates of violent crime still holds, and it’s the long-run trends, the ones that reveal patterns and smooth out statistical bumps in the road, that are important. And being at a 30-year low is cause for some celebration. Moreover, crime in the nation’s 30 largest cities is down, according to an analysis of the FBI data conducted by the Brennan Center for Justice, which found “that across the cities where data is available, the overall murder and crime rates are projected to decline in 2018, continuing similar decreases from the previous year.” The Brennan Center analysis continues: “Especially sharp declines appear in San Francisco (-35.0 percent), Chicago (-23.2 percent), and Baltimore (-20.9 percent). These estimates are based on preliminary data, but if they hold, the number of murders in Chicago could fall by year’s end to the lowest since 2015. In Baltimore, homicides could drop to the lowest since 2014. While the city’s murder rate remains high, this would mark a significant reversal of the past two years’ increases.” Sessions was quick to take credit. “And I am announcing today the FBI will release its annual Uniform Crime Report, which will show that violent crime and murder have stopped rising and actually declined in 2017,” Sessions said in a speech to law enforcement in Alabama. “. Those are the kind of results you get when you support law enforcement. Those are the kind of results we get when we work together.” By work together, however, Sessions means ending federal oversight of local police departments that have violated the civil rights of the people they’re supposed to protect. Ames Grawert, senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, told Reason.com it was “galling to see” Sessions cite national crime data to support his position on policing: “Ascribing credit of any crime increase or decrease to a single year and a half of federal policy is just beyond belief, but here we are.” Sessions first exaggerated the scope of the problem and now is exaggerating the supposed effects of his policy changes, all in an effort to derail criminal justice reform. “The reality is, data-driven prison and sentencing reforms, like those
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
From views on President Donald Trump’s CIA nominee to a controversial statue on the state capitol grounds — here’s your roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers Anniston Star – Senate should reject Trump’s CIA pick U.S. Sens. Doug Jones and Richard Shelby have a major decision ahead of them: whether to confirm Gina Haspel as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Both are still undecided on the nomination, in which the votes likely will end up falling mostly along partisan lines. Only three senators have broken party ranks so far. Dothan Eagle – Lawmakers must derail jail food gravy train Last year, Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin’s tax forms from 2015 and 2016 showed he had made a profit from the kitchen of the county jail, which houses roughly 900 inmates. One might praise the sheriff for his stewardship, if the savings benefitted the taxpayers of Etowah County. But that’s not the case. Because of a 1939 Alabama law that allows sheriffs to keep unspent jail food funds, Entrekin pocketed $672,392 during that two-year period. Dothan Eagle – Not a wise way to make money at home I met my friend, Jay, for lunch during my recent trip to my daughter’s Masters’ graduation some 750 miles from here. Jay had already read the book, “New Set of Downs,” regarding Elba native Johnny Dyess, therefore he was aware Johnny had played for “Bear” Bryant at Alabama. Jay has been in Little Rock, Arkansas practically his entire life, save for some college years and maybe another handful working elsewhere. He shared with me his first experience watching Alabama, a 24-9 victory for the Crimson Tide in the 1980 Sugar Bowl over Jay’s beloved Arkansas Razorbacks. TimesDaily – A symbolic stance against hate, indifference The announcement last week that the Florence City Council had approved a resolution condemning hate crimes may have left some wondering why such an action was necessary. You could argue that most citizens would strongly object to hate crimes even without a city-approved resolution. But the symbolic significance of the action shouldn’t be overlooked. Gadsden Times – Local candidates back in running for superintendent Excuse us, Steven Sondheim, for borrowing (and manipulating) your musical’s title, but “a funny thing happened on the way to the Gadsden City Board of Education picking a new superintendent.” The board had narrowed the list of candidates provided by an Alabama Association of School Boards search team down to two, Dr. Gary Gibson of Georgia and Dr. Regina Thompson of South Carolina. AL.com – America’s real crisis If you polled Americans concerning the greatest threat to our nation, you’d likely get a myriad of answers about nuclear weapons, terrorism, foreign meddling in our democratic process or illegal immigration. And while external threats are very real, our greatest weakness and vulnerability lies within. We’ve forgotten how to tell the truth. Anniston Star — The stench of this statue at the Alabama Capitol J. Marion Sims may have been a product of his time, a white man who devalued people of color, but that doesn’t absolve him of his awfulness. He turned enslaved black women into laboratory mice, performing untested gynecological techniques and surgeries on them without their consent and without anesthesia. Slaves, of course, couldn’t give consent. Human property didn’t control their own bodies. He is considered the father of modern gynecology, a 19th-century scientific legend. Statues and buildings across the United States carry his name and likeness. Books and medical-journal entries have been written about his advancement of this critical field.
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
From a country song for every so-called scandal to what would you do if a 32-year-old man wanted to date your teenage daughter, and so much more — here’s your roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: Anniston Star – What’s a war medal mean? In theory, there’s nothing objectionable to permitting the Alabama National Guard to award the state’s Cold War veterans with a service medal. Home and abroad, they performed vital military roles during one of our nation’s longest and most worrisome periods. That’s what State Sen. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, wants rectified. His bill in the Alabama Legislature would create a “Cold War Victory Medal” for Guard or active-duty Alabamians who served between September 1945 and December 1991, as long as they were state residents when they joined. The idea is simple enough. Still, there is no national Cold War Victory Medal. Only three states — Texas, Alaska and Louisiana — issue such a medal, though lawmakers in other states, like Alabama, either have or are considering it. And that hints at the underbelly of this debate, which isn’t really a debate about the worthiness of a medal. Instead, it’s about the definition of war. Decatur Daily – City makes paving a priority The Issue: The Decatur City Council seems prepared to prioritize street paving. While not the sexiest kind of government spending, making sure the city’s existing streets are in good condition is one way to ensure Decatur doesn’t make a bad first impression on prospective residents. So, President Donald Trump has landed in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. A city can make a first impression in many ways. Sometimes, it’s not what a person sees or hears, or even smells, that leaves the most lasting mark. Sometimes it comes down to how a city feels. For example, if a city feels like the thud, thud, thud of potholes, chip seal and cracked pavement, that says something about it. To newcomers who may come to Decatur looking for a place to live, work and raise a family, it says this is a city that isn’t taking care of the bare basics. So, as Decatur prepares to attract new residents who will be moving to north Alabama to work at the new Toyota-Mazda automotive plant in Limestone County, it’s vital the city provide a smoother ride for anyone driving through town to look at prospective neighborhoods and schools. Dothan Eagle – There’s a country song for every so-called scandal Driving along recently, I had a heretical thought: A person could get more sensible advice about men and women from the country oldies station than The New York Times. Or from The Washington Post, The New Republic, National Review or any publication devoted to nonstop analysis of metropolitan sexual angst written by 20-something Women’s Studies majors from expensive liberal arts colleges. See, I’d been thinking about ‘’Grace,’’ the anonymous protagonist of a kiss-and-tell narrative in something called Babe. Of course there was a lot more than kissing in Grace’s graphic account of a one-night-stand gone wrong with a public figure, comedian Aziz Ansari. So anyway, on the car radio came Travis Tritt’s classic country hit ‘’Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares).’’ Enterprise Ledger – Mayo on fries? That’s as wacky as anything Pelosi Informed of protesters wishing to have mayonnaise pacts included with orders of French fries, I thought, now that’s something for which I’d sit down. Lower unemployment figures, higher wages, the military, and the mentioning of God are reasons we should stand up and cheer. By refusing to stand and sitting on their keisters, Democrats at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address may have actually displayed their collective derrieres like never before. Shameful? No, I thought it was sad had it not been so funny watching Nancy Pelosi chew her cud while the last ounce of respect anyone with American pride could have possibly had in her and others left the room and slammed the door on its way out. TimesDaily – Church daycare inspection bill is needed The Alabama House of Representatives has passed a bill that would place a few paltry regulations on child daycare centers operated by churches. Under current state law, churches are exempt from inspections and from meeting minimum regulations, such as criminal background checks for employees, as required of commercial daycare centers. Gadsden Times – Joining selfie crowd will speed up tax refund Some people look down on folks who take selfies, whether it’s a simple mug shot for social media purposes or proof that someone actually was somewhere. (We’ve “nay-sayed” a few times when that somewhere was inappropriate for levity, like the Alabama teenager who four years ago took a selfie at the Auschwitz concentration camp.) Will they change their minds and start snapping away now that a selfie could (a.) ensure their Alabama income tax return will be more secure; and (b.) speed up any refund they’re due? AL.com – Undefeated UCF declares itself Super Bowl champions After finishing the season with a perfect 13-0 record and no losses to the New England Patriots or the Philadelphia Eagles, The University of Central Florida’s football team has declared itself champions of the National Football League. Blaming a flawed playoff system that excludes undefeated college football teams from inferior conferences, a spokesperson for UCF announced earlier today that the results of tonight’s Super Bowl would be meaningless, as an exact replica of the Lombardi Trophy would soon be sitting in their trophy case. “We’ve already cleared off space next to the 2012 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl trophy we earned after a flawless victory against the mighty Cardinals of Ball State,” announced Andrew Stamp, a spokesperson for the Knights. “If this keeps up, we’ll need to upgrade to IKEA’s medium-sized trophy case.” Montgomery Advertiser – What would you do if a 32-year-old man wanted to date your teenage daughter? Please forget political differences for a moment. What we are facing as an American society with how women too often
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
From free speech on campus to whether or not the new special elections bill is just a bunch of sour grapes, and so much more — here’s your roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: Anniston Star – Free speech on campus The controversy over free speech on college campuses should be a teachable moment for institutions of higher learning, an opportunity to emphasize the value of the civil exchange of ideas. One of the First Amendment’s highest aims is the protection of speech that offends or irritates. Of course, there are some limits, including not inciting a riot or the proverbial matter of yelling “fire” in a crowded theater. That noted, the answer to offensive speech is more speech, not muzzling the speaker. Those ideals have been tested in recent years. Well-known provocateurs who thrive on shock value have made their way onto college campuses. In one instance in 2017, an appearance by extremist commentator Milo Yiannopoulos at the University of California at Berkeley set off rioting. Closer to home, a speech in Auburn by white supremacist Richard Spencer spurred fighting and arrests on campus. Decatur Daily – Trump takes ‘America First’ abroad The Issue: President Donald Trump has always sought to join elite company, before turning against it when denied entrance. Now he is among the global elite in Davos, Switzerland, and the fate of American trade policy and prosperity may hinge on how well Trump thinks he was received. So, President Donald Trump has landed in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. At first glance, Trump seems out of his element: the man who brought the pre-World War II slogan “America First” back into the popular lexicon at a gathering of world leaders, corporate titans and public intellectuals dedicated, broadly speaking, to the freer movement of goods, people and capital — what some on the far left sneeringly deride as “neoliberalism.” Yet this is exactly the sort of place Trump, the self-styled populist, loves to be. His decades-long career in real estate and other businesses shows a pattern: He wants to belong among the elite. His father was content to develop Queens, but Trump was determined to take Manhattan. One can debate the true scale of Trump’s financial success, but he succeeded on his own terms. The name “Trump” now glitters among the Manhattan skyline. Dothan Eagle – Reconsidering the death penalty In April of 1985, Mobile police corporal Julius Schulte was on duty performing protection detail for a young woman while her former boyfriend was to be moving out of the home they shared. The former boyfriend, 34-year-old Vernon Madison, pretended to leave the house, then crept up on the officer’s vehicle and shot Schulte twice in the head, then proceeded to shoot his ex-girlfriend. Madison was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. His execution was to have been carried out on Thursday, more than 32 years after he was first sentenced to the death chamber. But a half-hour before he was to receive the lethal injection, the U.S. Supreme Court gave Madison a temporary reprieve so the case could be revisited. Enterprise Ledger – Some things, and people, just need to go When I first heard NFL fans griping over officiating in the New England game, I instantly thought, here we go, more conspiracy theories and blaming everyone but Jacksonville for allowing Tom Terrific (Brady) to work his magic in the comeback. BUT… the fact that the Patriots were whistled for one penalty – 1 – in the game and several videos show officials going out of their way to congratulate New England players after the game is at the very least a terrible look for the NFL. Those men in stripes should never work in the league again. TimesDaily – Special elections bill a case of sour grapes There’s nothing like a lost election, it seems, to inspire some political adjustments. Democrat Doug Jones defeated former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore in a special election in December to fill the seat of U.S. Sen Jeff Sessions. President Donald Trump appointed Sessions to be Attorney General in 2017. His term did not expire until January 2021. Sessions resigned in February 2017 to take the appointment. In the interim, then-Gov. Robert Bentley appointed state Attorney General Luther Strange, a fellow Republican, to fill the opening. It was an appointment fraught with trouble. Bentley was under investigation for using his office to cover an alleged affair with an assistant. Bentley resigned shortly after appointing Strange, who was investigating the matter. Gadsden Times – Tide Pod Challenge isn’t fun, it’s idiocy In the 1920s, people (mainly college students) with (a.) nothing better to do and (b.) the urge to show off took to swallowing live goldfish. The fish probably were a bit cold, slimy and wriggly headed down the gullet, but as sushi fans would note, eating REALLY raw fish isn’t likely to kill you. (Well, there is fugu, the sushi made from blowfish, which if improperly prepared could contain a toxin whose fatal dose is tinier than a pin’s head and there’s no antidote. That’s a whole ’nother level of showing off.) In the 1950s, folks with the same demographics and motivations took to cramming multiple bodies into telephone booths. (Remember those?) There was some risk of injury or asphyxiation — and woe be unto anyone caught in the middle of the scrum who suddenly had a claustrophobic moment. Still, it generally was a harmless fad that later expanded to old outhouses, photo booths and vehicles. AL.com –Ostrich: Baptists upset Pentecostals in weekly race to Cracker Barrel The Baptists staged a stunning upset on Sunday, fending off the Pentecostals to be the first denomination at the Cracker Barrel after church. Thanks to an unusually short sermon and an altar call that failed to extend beyond the second verse of “Wherever He Leads I’ll Go,” the congregation at Dripping Springs First Baptist tasted sweet victory with a side of hashbrown casserole for the first time since
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: The Anniston Star: Corporate lessons for Alabama Two big decisions from large corporations this month offer lessons for Alabama and its dreams of expanding our economy. In the first, Alabama is already the big winner. The Huntsville area will be the site of a $1.6-billion Toyota-Mazda auto-manufacturing facility. The announcement came earlier this month. The plant’s placement will deliver an estimated 4,000 jobs to the region. When that happens, the $900 million incentives plan offered by the state and local governments will be well worth it. We can’t ignore that cooperation among local governments across three counties — Madison, Limestone and Morgan — appears to have been a difference-maker, as well. “We worked together as a metropolitan community to attract business and I think that is something that very few communities can offer. So it sends a very clear message to those companies, that we’re open to business, that we’re willing to do business, and that we’re going to do it right,” Huntsville City Councilwoman Jennie Robinson told a local TV station. Decatur Daily: Stock Market booming, government crashing, blue wave coming Democrats dream in blue. They dream of a blue wave coming. They envision the possibility and increasing probability that a November wave will restore them to power in Washington in at least one chamber of Congress, the House, and maybe even the Senate. Gains thought out of reach even a few months ago are looking achievable as Republicans fight among themselves and watch voters ebb away. In every election over the last year, Republicans have under-performed while Democrats have over-performed. A special election to fill a state Senate seat in Wisconsin last week continued the pattern with Democrat Patty Schachtner winning in a solidly Republican district. The Enterprise-Ledger: No to snakes, yes to ‘Trash Pandas’ and stay off the ice On this cold and earlier-than-usual press day, I figured I’d stay in the warmth of the office and clean out the email. Of course, when you get hundreds per day — in the words of former football coach Houston Nutt describing a team’s scoring at will against his team, “They come at you so fast, it just messes you up.” It was one of the few times that Nutt’s analysis was spot on. Let’s see, for the fifth consecutive year I have been invited to the Opp Rattlesnake Rodeo. NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE… A THOUSAND TIMES NOPE! While I’m sure there are nice people at he Rodeo, hanging out with snakes of any kind is not my cup of tea, particularly those with fangs and bad intentions. I’d much rather hang out with mad bulls fenced in behind an arena. I’ve yet to see one of them crawl under the gates and sink their bites into a calf muscle, although choosing to ride one whose main purpose is to not let you ride it is beyond my comprehension. I attended a PBR event in Chicago once and decided right then and there that professional bull riders have either an “one” or “ome” problem — too much testosterone or too few chromosomes. Times Daily: An archaic system that needs a change An important part of being a sheriff that few people see is the feeding of inmates in the county jail. They are, under state law, personally responsible for providing at least two meals a day. The state “helps” with this by providing sheriffs $1.75 per day for each inmate. If that falls short of the amount necessary to provide food, sheriffs must dig into their pockets and make up the deficit. That might have been effective in the early 20th century, but it is as archaic a system as can be imagined today. There is concern some sheriffs might not be supplying inmates with adequate food. Two groups have filed suit, demanding to see sheriffs’ records to find out more. AL.com: Go ahead, Alabama Senate, separate church and state I get it, Sen. Greg Albritton. You’re so offended by the notion of two dudes saying “I do” that you want to scream “I don’t.” You’re so offended, so worried some probate judge will abhor the law he or she was sworn to uphold that you’d divorce the whole institution of marriage from government. No more marriage licenses. Just contracts. No need for a best man. Just the best Manila folder you can find. Montgomery Advertiser: Turning away of refugees shows US hasn’t learned from its mistakes: Letters to the editor On Jan. 11, I spoke to an audience of 70 persons at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center at Skokie, Illinois. My topic was the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first black pilots in American military service. Before I spoke, I toured the museum, a very powerful tool for telling the story of the worst genocide in history. One of the messages was that even while Jews in Germany and other parts of German occupied Europe were being persecuted, confined to ghettoes and eventually placed in concentration and extermination camps, many nations all over the world refused to accept Jewish refugees. OANow: Our Alabama lawmakers should consider lobbyist role to get CHIP help The 2018 Alabama legislative session began last Tuesday with the normal full slate of needs awaiting action. No doubt the halls and offices of the Statehouse already are filled with lobbyists pushing their agendas, but perhaps one of the Legislature’s first priorities should be to do a bit of lobbying itself. Congress has yet to provide definitive action on restoring funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. If it fails to do so, much of the burden will fall to the state. Tens of thousands of Alabama children have their health care depending on what Congress and ultimately the Alabama Legislature do. Dothan Eagle: Crying ‘wolf’ in Hawaii Imagine for a moment how many of us feel when we hear the Houston County weather sirens. If it’s noon on the second Wednesday of the
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: Anniston Star – The human toll of guns in children’s hands The ideological gap between gun-safety advocates and gun-rights groups isn’t measured in inches. It’s measured in blood. In gun-speak, that’s a harsh word — blood — but in this case, it’s accurate. This illustration will prove why. In 2015, 278 unintentional shootings were committed by teenagers and young children, according to The New York Times. At least 30 people died in accidental shootings in which the shooter was 5 or younger, The Times reported. A majority of those were by children who gained access to a family member or friend’s handgun that wasn’t properly stored. And in one particularly tragic week last month, four toddlers shot and killed themselves in just that manner. Children, guns, accidents, deaths. In Kansas City, a 2-year-old found a 9-millimeter handgun under her father’s pillow. She accidentally shot herself in the head. In Dallas, Ga., a 3-year-old found a .380-caliber pistol in his father’s backpack. It went off. In Indianapolis, a 2-year-old playing with his mother’s purse found a .380-caliber pistol. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. And in Natchitoches, La., a 3-year-old found a gun owned by his mother’s boyfriend. The boy accidentally shot himself in the head. Birmingham News – Roy Moore, Robert Bentley, Mike Hubbard and the Alabamafication of America Dear America, Here’s where Alabama currently stands: Our governor is under investigation. Our House speaker is under indictment. Our chief justice is suspended from duty and awaiting trial, again. We’re one of the poorest states in the country, living off the federal dole, and we sit at or near the bottom of most empirical rankings of quality of life. Our leadership is non-existent and our government is on the brink of collapse. But don’t think for a minute that you’re better than us. Donald Trump is the Republican presumptive presidential nominee, and you put him there. You’re closer to Alabama than you care to think. Maybe you still think this Trump thing is a joke. I am here to assure you it is not. Decatur Daily – Fund drug agencies so interdiction efforts can continue It was bound to happen, and it has been happening more than law enforcement officers know, but marijuana grown in Colorado and other states where it is legal is making its way to the Southeast, into Alabama and into our region. Since 2012 when recreational manufacturing and selling of marijuana became legal in Colorado, authorities there have been seeing an increase in “drug tourism.” It’s not the tourism they wanted to see. Dothan Eagle – It’s time for a new tradition in the state house Alabama lawmakers have a number of traditions employed with every legislative session. They traditionally override a resolution meant to ensure that budget legislation takes priority over other measures. They’ll employ an unrecorded verbal vote to afford plausible deniability on controversial measures. And when all is said and done, they choose one failed measure to receive the Shroud Award for the session’s “deadest” bill. That’s been tough in recent years, as so many bills that would have had a positive effect on issues in our state never made headway in legislative sessions that have been overshadowed by distracting matters such as the effort to impeach the governor, the impending trial of the House Speaker on corruption charges, and, of course, the evergreen gambling arguments. Enterprise Ledger – When a community becomes just another town I made my twice-a-year visit to my sad home town of Marion in even more sad Perry County last weekend for the annual Perry County High School Reunion and Fish Fry. The 2×4 business appears to be the only thing booming by the looks of the store fronts. By the time I came along PCHS had turned into Francis Marion High. I attend the reunion in honor of my father, who ventured into Marion from the even more rural community of Heiberger. And only recently did my brother discover that our father was technically from the Heiberger suburb of Jericho, which we believe is a small area right about where he’s buried today after passing away on Christmas Eve in 1987. I make it mandatory to drive around the town and the countryside in which I roamed freely in the 60’s and 70’s. Marion Institute still stands proud with its remarkable heritage. For such a tiny town, there’s also another college, the all-women Judson College. TimesDaily – Petting zoo incident spurs review of business licensing requirements Mayor Mickey Haddock was disturbed enough about a weekend child abuse arrest to initiate a call for city officials to review the current requirements to obtain a business license in Florence. Police Chief Ron Tyler’s department arrested Daryl V. Raymond, 48, of Stockholm, Maine, after several parents came forth to report alleged incidences of inappropriate touching of their children. The incidences reportedly occurred Thursday and Friday at a shopping center parking lot where a traveling petting zoo had set up. Raymond was an employee of Jungle Safari of Chiefland, Florida, which operated the petting zoo. Investigators said Raymond was working the pony ride at the time of the reported incidences. Fortunately, the police department acted quickly on Saturday to arrest Raymond before the petting zoo could pull up stakes and get out of town. Equally important was a conversation that same day between Tyler and Haddock. Tyler made a courtesy call to the mayor to inform him of the arrest. Gadsden Times – At 10, Gadsden City High School has to be considered a success Not everyone was cheering on Aug. 5, 2003, when the Gadsden City Board of Education voted unanimously to consolidate the system’s three existing high schools into one. There were plenty of consolidation supporters, but opponents feared the prospect, physically and demographically, of a school with a four-figure enrollment. People who had pride in Gadsden, Emma Sansom and Litchfield high schools instilled in them literally from toddler days were afraid
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: Anniston Star – It’s time for Alabamians to save state parks Those who say they are deeply in love with Alabama State Parks will have a chance this fall to prove their dedication. It’s about time. Parks such as the one atop Mount Cheaha are among the state’s true treasures, yet they remain embroiled in Alabama’s ever-present financial difficulties. It’s the cross virtually anything that receives state funds must carry. Last year, cuts to the Alabama Department of Conservation’s funding forced officials to close five parks. Others were threatened. Outdoors-loving Alabamians rose in protest, but they couldn’t force the parks to reopen or guarantee that more closures wouldn’t occur. This spring, a bill — SB260 — passed through the state House and Senate that is designed to protect state parks’ future funding. The Senate OK’ed it March. The House passed it last week. So, voters in November will see a constitutional amendment on the ballot that, if approved, would prohibit the use of money designated for the state parks system for any other use. (State parks funding couldn’t be used to shore up another state department, in other words.) The amendment would include a $50 million cap on annual revenue for state parks. Birmingham News – Robert Bentley impeachment must break Montgomery’s no-snitching culture On a Sunday afternoon in March 2013, as many as 800 people gathered in Birmingham’s Railroad Park when gunfire erupted. When it stopped, 15-year-old Jarmaine Walton lay dead after taking a bullet to the head. Sure, not everybody in the park that day would have been looking in the same direction. When guns go off, crowds panic. People run. It’s understandable that not everyone would have seen the shooter. But when the shooter did go on trial, there was one witness. Just one. Out of eight hundred. No one else came forward. No one else wanted to get involved. Decatur Daily – Hits and misses DU accelerates bike trail repairs Kudos to Decatur Utilities, which has completed repairs of most of the Bill Sims Bicycle Trail after having excavated parts of it for sewer installation. The number of complaints while the trail was interrupted is a reminder of how valuable it is to the community. DU had to remove parts of the trail during the winter as part of a $7 million installation of two force mains and 32,400 feet of sewer pipe that will stretch from Stratford Road Southeast through Old Decatur to Wilson Street Northwest. While the many users of the trail were understandably impatient, the DU contractor had reasons for delaying trail repairs. The sewer pipe had to be covered with rock, which had to settle before asphalt could be laid. DU last month said the repairs would not be complete until sometime this summer. The earlier repairs are important to the many people who use the trail, which is especially popular in the spring. DU officials recognized this was a high priority, and they acted appropriately. Dothan Eagle – Clearing hurdles for research Alabama lawmakers passed a measure this week that would have a great impact for some families wrestling with particular difficult-to-treat medical conditions. The bill to decriminalize a cannabis derivative passed both houses with overwhelming support, and goes to Gov. Robert Bentley to be signed into law. The measure overcame the misperception associating cannbidiol with marijuana, the plant from which it is derived. Cannabidiol is marijuana oil containing minute amounts of the active ingredient of marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The amount of THC in marijuana oil doesn’t trigger the reaction that marijuana does; however, it does provide relief for some patients suffering from seizures. Some Alabama residents with children whose medical conditions are drastically improved by CBD oil have moved to other states so that the oil can be legally procured. The Alabama bill clears the way for CBD oil containing up to 0.3 percent THC. Enterprise Ledger – Seven things I learned last weekend from the links When I was fit (yes, there was a time), I loved going out for a round of golf. The key word there is “a” as even in the best of times playing two rounds – 36 holes – just seemed ridiculous. I played 36 holes Saturday with an old friend, his son and his son’s friend while they were vacationing at the coast. Here are seven things I learned: TimesDaily – Reflecting on past can produce new life for old church The community of Muscle Shoals has a unique opportunity in the months ahead to breathe some life into an 156-year-old church that stands largely unused today. In the coming months, an advisory team of 15 residents will be formed to set in motion an effort to find new uses for the St. John’s Episcopal Church. The effort will benefit from the technical expertise of representatives from Partners for Sacred Places, a Philadelphia agency that works with communities to identify creative ways to help bring historic churches back into active use. St. John’s, which was first used in October 1852, was a religious cornerstone for the Muscle Shoals community until regular services ceased in 1955. But each year the church’s doors open in November for an All Saints’ Day service. Tom Osborne and Ninon Parker believe the church is a community asset that is just not being utilized. Gadsden Times – Don’t panic when bees swarm, we need them Bees are fascinating creatures. Google the phrase “interesting facts about bees,” and you’ll come back with a plethora of links offering an equally plentiful assortment of tidbits. (The sheer number is why we’re not listing any.) Bees are important creatures. If not for their work as pollinators, humans and animals would be awfully hungry. According to Michigan State University’s website, bees are responsible for 1 of every 3 bites of our food. Pollination is essential to the growth of fruits and vegetables, hay, nut trees and fiber plants like cotton, increasing U.S. crop values by $15 billion annually according to
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: Anniston Star – Quintard Mall’s tough future in Oxford The Midas touch of retail development that often reigns in Oxford isn’t infallible, it just seems that way. In size and scope, Calhoun County’s top spot for shopping is unmatched by its local peers. But it’s surprising nonetheless when a prominent Oxford retailer closes because it happens so rarely. Sears has long been one of the anchor stores at Quintard Mall. On its website, the company says the Oxford store will close in July. That will leave the mall with a gaping empty space and renew questions about its long-term viability in an ever-changing retail market. Never far from conversations about Calhoun County’s only enclosed mall is what a spokesman at the mall’s Fort Worth, Texas-based owner called “the new thousand-pound gorilla in the market.” That gorilla — Oxford Exchange — is no longer new, but its lineup of stores, restaurants and services increases each year. Another expansion is underway this spring. The city of Oxford’s opening of Choccolocco Park near the Exchange has only heightened the allure that location has for people in Calhoun and surrounding counties. Birmingham News – Alabama politicians: If it ain’t broke, break it It’s like the state motto of Alabama has become… If it’s broke, don’t fix it. And if it ain’t broke, break it. It’s hard, sometimes, to believe what they do to us in Montgomery is accidental. This kind of ridiculousness has to be on purpose. Decatur Daily – Decatur needs candidates with ideas Decatur would benefit if all incumbents faced challengers in the Aug. 23 election. This is a truism that says nothing about the quality of representation the city receives from its mayor and councilmen. The incumbents have strengths and weaknesses, and it may be that no successful challengers would improve city government. But election campaigns improve government. So far, few citizens have announced their willingness to enter the race. Three candidates have said they plan to qualify for the mayoral race, challenging incumbent Don Kyle. One challenger has emerged for the District 1 seat, held by Billy Jackson. Two candidates have announced their plans to run for the District 2 seat, which incumbent Roger Anders has said he will vacate. There’s still time before the July 5-19 qualifying period, but serious candidates will need to announce soon. Dothan Eagle – A proactive step for public safety A small sign went up in the parking lot of the Dothan Police Department this week that will bring a tremendous sense of relief to those who look for a good deal. “Internet Purchase Exchange Location,” reads the sign. Right in front of the police station. It’s a brilliant move, and here’s why: You’re looking for a used item like a camera or musical instrument, and you search the online classifieds and find that someone in the area has just what you want at a price you’re willing to pay. You contact them through the site, and don’t know anything about them. You agree to purchase the item, and arrange for the exchange. This is the tricky part. Buyers shouldn’t be so quick to go to a stranger’s home, or to invite the stranger to theirs. However, many have done so, or met in other out-of-the-way places, and found themselves in trouble. Enterprise Ledger – Stop the madness now with tougher laws… now Forget Take Back Enterprise, or whatever the group calls itself now. How about Take Cover Enterprise? What is with all the shootings? This is not Kabul! This is not Chicago! This is not even Montgomery! While our government in D.C. seems to be more concerned about men identifying as women getting to use the bathroom of their choice, the whole country is going mad. Enterprise, aka the City of Progress, has become progressively dangerous with misfits running amok in and around Boll Weevil Circle. And speaking of careless, some people have even blamed our police and city government for the latest outburst. I guess they are supposed to know when every citizen and visitor to Enterprise is going to snap. Shame on them for not having ESP. TimesDaily – City takes proactive step to control its medical costs The city of Florence has taken the first step toward the creation of a wellness clinic for its 815 city workers and their families. City council members voted unanimously Wednesday to go ahead with the $235,000 purchase of a West College Street building to house the clinic. The purchase price is significantly higher than the $155,500 appraisal by the Lauderdale County Revenue Commissioner’s Office, but conveniently matched the city’s own $235,000 appraisal. We have our reservations about the ability of the city to run a medical clinic better than the private sector can, and that makes us wonder if a partnership might have been the better option than another layer of government expansion. City taxpayers can’t, however, fault their elected leaders for doing what they can to lower the ever-increasing health care costs that governments and individuals are facing. And that’s the real impetus behind this decision. Gadsden Times – ETF budget a win; strife may not be over We’ve documented — many times — the issues with Alabama’s General Fund budget. It’s in place for the next fiscal year after the Legislature overrode Gov. Robert Bentley’s veto, although the governor is threatening to call a special session to deal with Medicaid funding. So there’s the possibility of more strife, in between the latest revelations in the scandal surrounding Bentley. (We’re not going there again, except for a grimace and head shake at the governor’s choice of date for a White House banquet in February.). However, it’s only fair that we acknowledge a rare peaceful moment in Montgomery — the unanimous approval of an Education Trust Fund budget that is going to benefit the state’s public schools, and the near-unanimous passage of a bill helping the personnel who make them function. Huntsville Times – Alabama news quiz: Do you
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: Anniston Star – Planning for the new Anniston Nearly 50 years ago, Chattanooga’s outlook lay — figuratively, if not literally — in ruins. Pollution was out of control. The city’s air quality was horrendous. City officials seemed wholly unprepared to offer solutions. It got so bad that in 1969 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named Chattanooga the most polluted city in America. But look at Chattanooga today. That city on the Tennessee River is now hailed as a one of the nation’s top civic reclamation projects. Pollutants no longer foul Chattanooga’s air and water at record levels. Economic development there is the envy of other like-sized Southern cities. The decisions Chattanooga’s civic leaders made after the EPA’s announcement turned a disaster into one of the South’s more attractive destinations. In a sense, that is Anniston’s path today. Birmingham News – Implore our legislature to stop cuts to Alabama Medicaid If we expect our state to cultivate a legacy of goodwill, care for those most in need, and protect economic growth, we owe it to ourselves to implore our legislature to stop cuts to Alabama Medicaid. We Alabamians have a proud heritage of expressing goodwill. We were the first state to extend married property acts to women, and we were the birthplace of Helen Keller, who cultivated minds and hearts through kind instruction and advocacy. We contributed to trips to the moon and birthed playwrights and songwriters the world over. Our history is littered with examples of such generousness and good intention. If our recent history has revealed anything, however, it is that our government is acting to disavow this heritage entirely by proposing draconian cuts to one of the few services that actually benefits working-class Alabamians, Alabama Medicaid. In a perversity of epidemic proportions, our legislature, and now our governor, are mulling cuts to Medicaid that are both fiscally and pragmatically unsound while they pass bills to pay millions for new prisons. As a perverse corollary, it may be that some of them hope to kill two birds with one stone since under their leadership many within our intellectually disabled population have been erroneously sent to those locations anyway. Erin Edgemon, As Alabama psychiatric hospitals close, county jails struggle to house mentally ill, disabled inmates, AL.com, July 30, 2014, http://www.al.com/news/montgomery/index.ssf/2014/07/as_alabama_psychiatric_hospita.html . These proposed cuts fail economic common sense too. Studies have repeatedly shown that Medicaid benefits actually stimulate economic growth. If Medicaid were revoked, the families of the disabled, seniors, and children receiving benefits (and the businesses that employ these families) would be on the hook, then, for the $6.4 billion in medical care that these persons currently require. Additionally, the loss of even a portion of this money can also affect the availability of medical care to all Alabamians since rural healthcare providers depend on Medicaid funding for a good portion of their revenue, making the economic impact of their cuts even worse for the vast majority of Alabamians. Decatur Daily – Be cautious driving in work zones A accident Thursday that resulted in the death of one Alabama Department of Transportation worker and injuries to another should come as a grim reminder to area drivers. The accident occurred in a work zone on the Interstate 65 bridge near Priceville. Two northbound vehicles collided, slamming into a parked ALDOT vehicle and the workers, both pedestrians. While details are sketchy, it’s an accident that should not have happened. Orange cones, construction signs and ALDOT trucks made it abundantly clear workers were in the area. The Decatur area is overwhelmed with such work zones. They’re on Wilson Street Northeast, the U.S. 31 bridge, all over downtown and on many other streets. Drivers tend to curse them as they desperately seek to make it to work or the next appointment. The frustration too often contributes to aggressive driving. But as Thursday’s accident made clear, no appointment is so urgent it justifies driving recklessly through work zones. Dothan Eagle – Teachers deserve a vote of confidence In an April 14 Eagle article, Montana Magnet School teacher Dawn Davis spoke about how she enjoys teaching math, and how her students respond to her methods of making instruction come alive. Recently, she gave the students a math problem dealing with area and perimeter around their homes. “I love bringing the real world into math,” she said. Marsh is a contender for Alabama Teacher of the Year, the third consecutive Dothan educator to vie for the state’s top teaching honor. It’s a validation of her abilities, and the consistent placement of Dothan teachers in the competition over the years speaks volumes about the dedication and invention of our entire local cadre of educators. Teacher of the Year competition aside, it’s embarrassing that such dedication isn’t adequately rewarded. Neither Davis nor any other public school teacher in Alabama has seen a real pay raise in eight years; a 2 percent pay hike in 2013 came with an increase in benefit costs. Enterprise Ledger – Continuous train wreck leads to inevitable It was bound to happen sooner than later. Thanks to continuous errors in judgment by the Alabama Republican Party, it has now become a national joke (see HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver). Gov. Robert Bentley’s inappropriate behavior has led to talks of possible impeachment proceedings, which must be presented by the Speaker of the House, who is none other than the same guy, Mike Hubbard, who is facing 23 felony counts and has destroyed careers of some (among those are former Representative Greg Wren) with ties to him and almost did likewise to others, including this area’s Representative, Barry Moore. If an impeachment trial begins it will be presided over, as Oliver notes, by Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was once removed from office for ethics violations. Moore is the cleanest of this trio, which shows just how bad things are in Alabama politics at the moment. And Oliver didn’t even touch on the fact that Attorney General Luther Strange’s office
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: Anniston Star – A vital task for JSU John Beehler, Jacksonville State University’s president, says setting tuition is “a balancing act,” which is true. But that doesn’t make the financial give-and-take between school and student a balanced relationship. Universities hold most, if not all, of the power. Their boards of trustees set the tuition rates. Many students have options — a multitude of potential scholarships, federal grants and bank loans. But those who don’t qualify academically for scholarships and don’t want to trade debt for a degree have few options. They can’t raise or lower their costs. They have no vote on the trustee board. Tuition is like buying a new dishwasher: You can either afford it, or you can’t. It’s through this lens that we’re viewing a new committee — a tuition evaluation task force — at JSU whose job is to recommend the price of tuition for the next academic year. Faculty, staff and students are on the board. A Star reporter tried to interview Ashok Roy, JSU’s vice president for administrative and business affairs who created the task force, about this process. Roy didn’t respond to The Star’s multiple interview requests and sent only a statement through university channels. Oddly, that statement said the task force was designed for “transparency and campus-wide participation,” though the university official who created the committee wouldn’t talk to the newspaper about it. That’s an unusual display of transparency, to say the least. Birmingham News – Al Gore’s climate gestapo seeks to punish political dissent AG’s United for Clean Power should embrace the more appropriate moniker, “Climate Gestapo.” The coalition assembled by former Vice President Al Gore and 17 state attorneys general appears set to punish companies, think tanks and other climate change “heretics” to the fullest extent of the law. But that’s just it. Rather than actually enforcing the laws of their respective states, the group is embarking on a political witch-hunt designed to intimidate their opposition. The global climate is indeed changing. We can measure transformations like sea level rise as they happen, and the general scientific consensus accepts that humans have a meaningful impact on the environment. For those who share the perspective of Gore and AGs United for Clean Power, that consensus requires strong, immediate political action. Decatur Daily – Boycott punishes wrong people The Decatur City Council stirred up a hornet’s nest when it implemented a tax on the police jurisdiction, which took effect April 1. The slogan “taxation without representation” is thrown around a lot, but it is accurate when it comes to police jurisdictions. The police jurisdiction is an area that extends from Decatur’s city limits to a point 3 miles beyond those limits. Because it does not extend into other municipalities and does not go into Lawrence County, the actual area within the police jurisdiction generally is less than 3 miles. Residents outside Decatur’s borders long have been frustrated with the police jurisdiction. Indeed, its creation in the 1970s sparked protests that led to the incorporation of Priceville. That frustration became more vocal when the City Council in January passed a sales and use tax which will affect businesses and industries in the police jurisdiction. The city points out, with some validity, the tax merely reimburses it for some of the costs of supplying police and fire services to the police jurisdiction. Opponents complain they never requested Decatur provide such services. Their most poignant complaint, however, is the council’s action amounts to taxation without representation. The accuracy of this complaint is obvious. It is almost inconceivable the City Council would have raised taxes within the city limits, especially with elections coming in August. It took minimal political courage to raise taxes in the police jurisdiction precisely because those affected by the tax do not vote in city elections. Dothan Eagle – Alabama’s bingo conundrum The state’s aggressive campaign against electronic bingo began in late 2009 when former Gov. Bob Riley appointed former Mobile prosecutor John Tyson Jr. to head a special task force to ferret out illegal gambling. It wouldn’t take much ferreting to find the gambling Riley had in his cross-hairs – electronic bingo games were in operation at VictoryLand in Macon County, and in other parts of the state. And here in Houston County, developer Ronnie Gilley was quite vocal about the imminent opening of Country Crossing, a multimillion-dollar music-themed complex crowned by an electronic bingo casino. The trouble, as would soon become apparent, was that the legality of the games was a matter of opinion. Riley, et al. saw the games as slot machines prohibited by the state constitution. Casino operators saw them as bingo games, allowed in various counties by constitutional amendment. The matter was further complicated by tribal casinos operating the same games in the state, although tribal gambling is regulated by federal law, not state law. Fast-forward to today, and the question remains: Are electronic bingo games legal, or illegal? There have been several contradictory court rulings, a blueprint from the Alabama Supreme Court, raids, seizures, and crippling of businesses operating electronic bingo machines. Enterprise Ledger – So long Daddy Jack, and thanks for the message Merle Haggard passed away Wednesday on his 79th birthday. On Thursday, Samson’s Jack Jones passed away just a little more than a month after turning 109. I’ve written often about the man affectionately known by so many as “Daddy Jack,” the last time at how he recalled in better detail events from 80 years ago better than I can tell you which club I hit deep into the pine trees during my last round of golf day before yesterday. I was obviously saddened by the news I received of his passing. However, I found it odd that I was smiling as I put down the phone and headed to the office. Why was I smiling? A guy I had grown to truly care about since returning to the state in 2013 had just passed. I shouldn’t be
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: Anniston Star – We’re still arguing Roe v. Wade During a 2012 Republican presidential debate, ABC News moderator George Stephanopoulos posed a question: “Gov. [Mitt] Romney, do you believe that states have the right to ban contraception? Or is that trumped by a constitutional right to privacy?” As Romney hemmed and hawed over his answer, Republicans in the audience began to boo. Afterward, conservatives carped that the question wasn’t relevant. After all, the Supreme Court in 1965 took away the ability of a state to broadly regulate contraception. Today, the question over the legality of contraception seems more relevant than ever. In this decade, the Supreme Court has heard two cases on the topic — Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores in 2014 and this year’s pending Little Sisters of the Poor v. Burwell, which was recently argued before the high court. The Hobby Lobby case allowed small, privately held corporations to opt out of the birth-control mandate under Obamacare. So, yes, the legality of birth control and other matters of reproduction are apparently still a topic up for debate. Confirmation came last week at the Alabama Legislature. The House Health Committee heard from supporters of a “personhood amendment.” The proposal is a sop to opponents of abortion rights who hope to see the amendment make its way to a Supreme Court that would be willing to undo Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case legalizing abortion in most cases. Birmingham News – You are 1 of 7 billion. Aren’t you special. Election season got you down? Fretting about the economy? Terrorism? Global warming? Your children’s future? Your own future? Time to put you – and your problems — in perspective. You are only one of more than 7 billion people on this planet. While that is an easy number to write – 7,000,000,000 – neither you nor I can grasp it easily. Our brains evolved to deal with small numbers to solve immediate problems. How many lions were in that group that was stalking me? How many mouths do I have to feed tomorrow? Is my clan bigger than my neighbor’s? Questions like these can be answered by grasping numbers not much bigger than you can count on your fingers and toes. We need help to grasp bigger numbers. Decatur Daily – State AG hiding info from public You can’t handle the truth!” It’s the memorable line by Jack Nicholson in “A Few Good Men.” Playing a colonel whose certainty that his value to the public is so great that it merits cover-ups and deception, he yells it at a defense attorney. Attorney General Luther Strange was less theatrical, but he said basically the same thing when The Decatur Daily submitted a public records request for documents that would identify the defendant in a case for which Strange hired outside counsel. The hit to taxpayers on the legal contract is $195 per hour, up to $990,000. Instead of revealing the name of the defendant whose prosecution merits $1 million in outside legal fees, the attorney general carefully blacked out references to the defendant or the judge in the documents it produced. Dothan Eagle – Gaining ground in the War on Drugs Recently, Harper’s Magazine published a 22-year-old interview with John Ehrlichman, one of Richard Nixon’s top advisors and a pivotal figure in the Watergate scandal. In the interview, Ehrlichman made a show-stopping admission about the beginnings of an initiative that continues to this day – the War on Drugs: “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people,” Ehrlichman said. “You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin. And then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders. Raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.” Ehrlichman died 17 years ago, and obviously cannot illuminate remarks from 22 years back, and his children have taken issue with the information, saying they don’t remember their father ever making derogatory racial remarks. Enterprise Ledger – Fact aside, here’s Pt. 1 of my spring training report Boy howdy, when Enterprise Ledger editor G. Kyle Mooty hands out assignments, he hands them out! When the one-time, Pulitzer-nominated Mooty asked R. Adams, along with Charlie Abernathy, to travel to Central Florida to watch the Atlanta Braves play St. Louis, Houston and Miami on consecutive days and write up a scouting report, we quickly agreed. Little did we know what else Kyle had cooked up for us, but we began finding out mid-afternoon Tuesday, March 15, after we arrived at the motel where he’d reserved commodious digs for us. We found a sealed packet, opened it, then stood quietly a few seconds before realizing we were holding press credentials and a parking pass for that evening’s media event at the Arnold Palmer Invitational sponsored by Master Card at Bay Hill, not three miles from our motel. We quickly got ready and headed for what proved to be quite a night! TimesDaily – Small gains in employment drive home need for continued diligence The latest employment statistics for the Shoals Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) show 576 more people were working in February than the same period a year ago. The jobless rate for the Shoals remains the highest of all of Alabama’s metropolitan statistical areas. In February, unemployment locally stood at 7.4 percent — up slightly from the 7.3 percent reported in January by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Alabama Department of Labor. The local rate was significantly higher than the state’s overall unemployment rate of 6.2 percent. Thankfully, the trend in Lauderdale and Colbert counties is positive, but realistically it’s a small consolation for an area hit hard
