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
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: Anniston Star – Alabama needs its rebirth The Christian promise of Easter centers on resurrection, of hope overcoming despair. It says nothing of politics or ideological differences. It says everything about a new beginning for followers of Jesus Christ. That Easter weekend is closing out one of modern-day Alabama’s toughest weeks is impossible to ignore. Those who care about our state are worried about its future. Count us among the gravely concerned. There is so much our state must do better in education, equality, corrections and poverty, for instance. None of that addresses the ominous cloud lingering over the state’s head — House Speaker Mike Hubbard, who’s still in office despite his overwhelming legal troubles related to charges of corruption and abuse of power. But it is Robert Bentley, Alabama’s 73-year-old governor, whose alleged affair with his top female adviser is bringing Montgomery lewdness to a very tawdry, uncomfortable place. The entire state has heard the tape-recorded phone conversations between the governor and Rebekah Mason. We’re not sure what’s worse: the political shock or the human ickiness. Nevertheless, it is Easter weekend, a time of peace and joy and rebirth, especially for the state’s majority of Christian residents. Yet, we don’t know what will happen next week. Birmingham News – Hear more ‘sexy’ excerpts from Governor Robert Bentley’s phone calls Here’s the tale of the tape. Oops. I mean the tale of the digital recording. How many times did Gov. Robert Bentley say I love you in 45 minutes of recorded conversations with political advisor Rebekah Caldwell Mason? 14 “Well, I love you, I do. And ah, you know I just — I worry sometimes I love so you much. I worry about loving you so much.” He used the word “love” another seven times, in reference to things he loved about Mason, or things he loved to do. Bentley calls her “baby” 12 times and “sweetheart” twice. He talks of kissing four times, including a “left ear,” a “sweet ear” and a “plain old ear.” Decatur Daily – Alabama’s humiliation continues Republicans stormed Montgomery in 2010, and it seemed an overdue siege. Democrats had held legislative power for 136 years, and the lack of relevant opposition had left them more accountable to special interests and old money than to the people. It was billed as more than just a partisan shift. Item 1 on the agenda was ethics reform. This new breed of politicians wasn’t just about family values, but about transparency and rigorous financial honesty. These were idealists, convinced that lean, accountable government would make Alabama a model for the nation’s conservative revolution. By retaining the governorship and taking the Legislature, the GOP would be unimpeded by Democrats who had become synonymous with back-room deals and moral failings that increasingly brought embarrassment to Alabamians. Even skeptics figured the GOP couldn’t do worse. But in just seven years, the GOP leaders have managed to confound both their fans and their skeptics. Dothan Eagle – A strange week in Montgomery Gov. Robert Bentley, whose package of tax hikes to address a gaping shortfall in the General Fund was largely disregarded by the legislature last year, told lawmakers this year that Medicaid needed an additional $100 million to maintain services. Any budget without that would be vetoed, he vowed. On Thursday, the Legislature passed a General Fund budget with a $15 million increase for Medicaid — $85 million below the line the governor drew in the sand. Bentley, as promised, said he planned to veto the budget. That may be too little, too late. Bentley earlier rejected a federal expansion of Medicaid that would have meant additional federal funding over the next several years and would have meant extending health care services to thousands of uninsured Alabamians. The Legislature’s failure to authorize a $100 million increase for the program could trigger the loss of additional federal funds. Bentley’s veto could force lawmakers to revisit the budget. However, bizarre things have happened this week that are sure to undermine the governor’s authority at best, and could lead to his downfall at worst. Enterprise Ledger – A little spring sports cleaning Here’s a little spring cleaning for tidbits around my desk: The NCAA Tournament is as exciting as ever, what with Wisconsin’s Bronson Koenig and his heroics beating Xavier and Notre Dame escaping Stephen F. Austin taking backseats to a comeback for the ages by Texas A&M against Northern Iowa – down 12 with about 36 seconds remaining in regulation only to win in double-overtime. All this after a half-court game-winner had Northern Iowa beating Texas in the first round. The Notre Dame win was questionable as officials seemed to have a case of “Fighting Irish” in their whistles in the closing minute. But, I can’t remember the last NCAA Tournament that did not have some kind of controversy. Too bad, but at least we don’t have to worry about any team from this state getting the short end of a call during March Madness. There’s no drama whatsoever with my bracket, which lost two of my Final Four selections by the second round – Michigan State in Round One and Kentucky in Round Two. I do have Kansas winning it all and A&M reaching Houston, but following Sunday’s action I am only in 510,082nd place on the CBS Sports bracket challenge, and that’s far better than the 10,730,404th place I currently stand on the ESPN bracket. TimesDaily – Annual training class for teachers is inappropriate solution A bill that would require Alabama teachers to take an hourlong training class on inappropriate interactions with students has cleared a Senate committee. And the sponsor of SB274, Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, is pushing for a floor vote before this week is over. Hopefully, Ward’s fellow senators won’t be swayed by the recent rash of teacher-student sex cases to vote for such foolish legislation. “The whole thing is absurd,” said Sen. Dick Brewbaker, who chairs the Education Policy Committee that cleared the
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: Anniston Star – Alabama and its potholes If they dare, homeowners can put off maintenance projects as long as they want. They can leave the gutters clogged, the AC on the fritz, the septic tank full and the roofing job ignored. It’s their house, their choice. But they know how it’ll turn out. The house will deteriorate. Small ailments will become big problems. And what used to be an attractive, middle-class two-story will become another person’s fixer-upper — or worse. That’s where Alabama’s infrastructure is today. It’s the house that needs a paint job and a new roof. But that takes money, which is one of the mains reasons why so many of the state’s roads and bridges are in disrepair. The state has put off the inevitable. It’s thrown pennies at transportation repairs that no longer can wait. Birmingham News – Bunny sex was original March madness Now that our clocks have sprung forward, the cherries and redbuds are in bloom, and I’m greeted by a melodious chorus of bird song each morning when I take out the dogs, it is unofficially spring. Official spring arrives at 11:30 tonight (Saturday, March 19th) when the earth’s orbit places the sun directly above the equator. That is pretty much the only straightforward and rational thing I can think of about this season. Certainly the cardinal that has been flinging himself against my bedroom window every morning for the last couple of weeks isn’t rational. My guess is that he thinks he is defending his territory by attacking that bold intruder which is actually his reflection in the window. But after a couple of weeks of hitting the same glass many times every day instead of another cardinal, you’d think he would get the message. Testosterone dementia, I call it. Decatur Daily – Republicans’ dangerous obstructionism The stubborn refusal of Senate Republicans to consider any Supreme Court nominee offered by President Barack Obama would be outrageous, regardless of whom the president selected to succeed Justice Antonin Scalia. But Obama’s announcement Wednesday that he will nominate Merrick Garland, a moderate federal appeals court judge who has won bipartisan praise during a long and distinguished legal career, puts the Republicans’ irresponsibility and cheap partisanship in even starker relief. Garland, 63, is the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, on which he served with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who once said that “any time Judge Garland disagrees, you know you’re in a difficult area.” Incredibly, Obama and Garland barely had finished a Rose Garden news conference before prominent Republicans reiterated they would refuse to give Garland fair consideration. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., dusted off the specious argument that because Obama is in his final year as president, his exercise of his appointment power must be held hostage to the results of the November election. “Give the people a voice in the filling of this vacancy,” McConnell pleaded. This is a preposterous argument, and a cynical one to boot. The relevant vote of “the people” in this situation is their decision to support Barack Obama for president in 2008 and again in 2012. Perhaps sensing that his assertion was unconvincing, McConnell also cited a non-existent “Biden Rule,” which supposedly holds the Senate shouldn’t vote on Supreme Court nominations in a presidential election year. Dothan Eagle – Pay hikes insult voters – again In 2008, Alabama lawmakers passed a joint House-Senate resolution to increase their pay by a whopping 60 percent, including a provision that provides that their $3,850 monthly expense check be adjusted annually, based on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index.. The move was widely criticized, and rightly so, particularly considering that pay increases for state employees, teachers and school support personnel are often politicized, and that the state is continually fighting budget battles. This year, the same sort of fast-and-loose salary machinations are taking place in the executive branch, and some lawmakers are having none of it. Last year, lawmakers passed a measure that abolished outdated salary caps on cabinet member compensation, and Gov. Robert Bentley took advantage of the change to put raises for cabinet members in the budget. Four members of his cabinet – Commissioners of Insurance and Revenue, the director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, and the administrator of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board – would each receive pay increases of about $70,000 per year, from $91.014 to about $164,000 annually. Enterprise Ledger – Trust me, DO NOT pay attention to this column Fortunately, I haven’t had my judgment day just yet, because if Saint Peter had seen my tournament brackets of years past, he would just shake his head and send me to the basketball purgatory… you know, right alongside the programs at Alabama and Auburn. While they seem to have the right people leading their respective programs at the moment, the Tide and Tigers have only heard of this March Madness thing for much of the 21st century. This year will be no different. By the end of this weekend, I will be telling the last soul that will listen to me that I almost took so-and-so in an upset over so-and-so, and had scratched Team A off at the last minute to replace with Team B, only to realize that Team A was playing its non-scholarship water boy in the final minutes of a lopsided victory. I was 10-6 on Thursday, and that included picking 11th seed Wichita State to beat 6th-seeded Arizona, which it did. Turns out, that was my par for the course as I went 10-6 again on Friday, and it also included picking an 11th seed, Northern Iowa, over Texas. There must be something about filling out a bracket because even non-sports fans get involved in the tournament and many don’t know the difference between the Green Bay Phoenix, which met Texas A&M in the first round, and the University
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: Anniston Star – Lawmakers who avoid the truth The only legitimate reason the Alabama Legislature has for not reforming payday lending laws is because lawmakers think it’s OK for lenders to stick it to customers with exorbitant, if not inhuman, interest rates. It can’t be because lawmakers are not aware of the problem. And it can’t be because they think the problem is blown out of proportion by do-gooders and overzealous critics. What other excuse could legislators have for not increasing regulations on a legal industry that has proven it has no problem taking advantage of thousands of low-income Alabamians? The hope in Montgomery this spring has been that the annual debate over predatory lending in Alabama would finally force the Legislature to act. It’s not as if the problem has diminished. Birmingham News – Fairfield is doomed; should Birmingham save it? Fairfield is done. Face it. The council meetings are the kind of things you see on news reports from the Eastern Bloc, where Roberts Rules of Order is overruled by those with the loudest voices. Or the strongest right hook. It is dead. Face it. Gone the way of U.S. Steel and of Larry Langford. Of the bingo halls that used to fill its coffers. Killed by time, and change, and ineptitude. And dependence on Walmart. Fairfield is in the death throes today. The city council held an emergency meeting to lay off the entire police department because, since the closing of U.S. Steel’s Fairfield Works and Walmart, the city is broker than a seven-dollar hooker. Decatur Daily – Shelby hearings a good sign When asked last month when he would break the logjam of banking nominees awaiting hearings before the Senate Banking Committee, its chairman was unusually candid. “My primary is Tuesday!” said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa. “We can talk about this later!” While Shelby’s power in Washington, D.C., had much to do with his overwhelming victory in the March 1 primary, he had used that power to obstruct efficient government as chairman of the banking committee. The committee had the dubious distinction of being the only Senate committee that had not acted on a single nominee in this Congress. Shelby’s refusal to even hold hearings on 16 nominees critical to the imposition of economic sanctions and to the work of the Federal Reserve and the Export-Import Bank may have been politically expedient, but it was harmful to the nation. In endorsing Shelby in the Republican primary, The Decatur Daily expressed hope the 81-year-old senator would embrace the freedom of what almost certainly will be his final term in office by ending his pandering to a base that still views President Barack Obama as an Africa-born Muslim, and instead applying his skills to the betterment of the state and nation. Dothan Eagle – States’ rights and refugees Last fall, President Barack Obama outlined a goal to welcome 10,000 Syrian refugees to the United States, where about 2,200 have been placed in the last four years. Members of Congress, including many Democrats, quickly moved to do whatever they could to create impediments to the plan. While Obama urged compassion for the fleeing Syrians, Congress acted in accordance with the feelings of their constituents who feared an influx of refugees from a Muslim country could harbor radicals intent on doing harm to our nation and way of life. In short order, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley announced that the state would not accept Syrian refugees, despite a missive from the White House saying states did not have that option, and that failure to accept refugees would violate the Civil Rights Act of 1965, and that there would be repercussions for states refusing refugees. However, it appears that’s not the only law that could come into play in the matter. In January, Bentley filed suit against the federal government on behalf of Alabama, saying the federal government had not complied with the Refugee Act of 1980, which “specifically requires the federal government to consult with the state regarding the placement of refugees before those refugees are placed within its borders.” “That consultation with Alabama has not occurred,” Bentley stated. Enterprise Ledger – Are the Eighties really over for good? Nancy Reagan’s death on Sunday had me reminiscing about the Eighties all day, I guess because that’s when her husband, Ronald, was leading the country, and for all practical purposes, the world – “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Yes, we had the space shuttle “Challenger” disaster, the worst recession since the Great Depression, and a handful of scandals during his time in office, but he also knocked “the evil empire” Soviet Union to its knees during his time at the Oval Office. All in all, he was among the most popular presidents in the 20th century. Originally a Democrat, Reagan eventually registered as a Republican (1962) although he had voted for Republican Dwight Eisenhower as president a decade earlier. Elected as U.S. President in November 1980, Reagan booted Jimmy Carter back to Plains, Georgia, following his four-year term. Ronald’s wife, Nancy, seemed to be a first-class First Lady until we learned that she was an avid Horoscope follower and often made decisions based on such readings. That brought a collective, “hmmm,” from most of us. TimesDaily – Lawmakers meddling in education again Stumped on how to manage their core responsibilities with a General Fund that is inadequate to maintain even minimal services, Alabama legislators increasingly are figuring out novel ways to spend money from the Education Trust Fund. Years ago they exceeded all reasonable limits on how to apply ETF money to expenditures only tangentially related to education, so now they are focusing their efforts on revamping the state’s education system. They may have the power to impose education policy, but they lack the training. And it’s not as if the state has a shortage of people with such experience. In addition to an elected state Board of Education, there is a fully staffed state education department, including
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: Anniston Star – An Alabama court that can’t stop itself The events Friday at the Alabama Supreme Court illustrate the twists and turns that legal opponents of same-sex marriage too often make. First, though, a reminder: This is the court that stopped same-sex marriages in Alabama last year. And the court led by Chief Justice Roy Moore, who has urged county probate judges to defy a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and refuse to issue licenses to same-sex couples. So Friday, the state Supreme Court ruled appropriately by dismissing motions and petitions in a lawsuit that would stop gay marriage in Alabama. Given the U.S. Supreme Court ruling of last summer, it was the Alabama court’s smart and obvious play. But our state Supreme Court is overwhelmingly conservative, Republican and anti-gay marriage. So, instead of issuing its ruling Friday with an appropriate response, the court filed 170 pages of opinion that said (a.) the motions and petitions were denied and (b.) the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which removed bans on same-sex unions throughout the United States, remained a blight on our nation. Birmingham News – Our national security depends on energy independence After decades of effort, American energy independence is finally within our reach. But President Obama is doing everything he can to make sure we remain dependent on foreign oil and gas. Thanks to an increase in domestic production, especially here in Alabama, foreign energy imports have declined dramatically in recent years. This reduction has helped increase U.S. energy security for three straight years, according to a new report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Yet the Obama administration just imposed rules limiting domestic energy development on federal lands. And in February, the president called for a new tax on oil. Already, the oil and natural gas industry faces an uphill battle to maintain these security gains in a market awash with cheap energy. The White House’s plans jeopardize America’s progress towards energy independence — and hurt Alabama’s economy in the process. The Chamber’s report evaluates energy security by assessing 37 different metrics. These range from oil price volatility to energy efficiency to the amount of money spent on energy-related research and development. After pooling all this data, the Chamber comes up with a figure called the “Energy Security Risk Index.” The lower the number, the safer the United States. Decatur Daily – Americans now must show wisdom The establishment is a hated and feared entity in America. While different people define it in different ways, most Americans conceive of “the establishment” as a political structure that deprives the people of their ability to control their own government. Their fear is not irrational. Corporate interests, both acknowledged and anonymous, pour billions of dollars into the U.S. political system each election cycle. They have immense control over the actions of successful candidates. Maybe more pernicious is the control they exert through the parties in limiting the choice of candidates. The result has been a deep cynicism among the American people. Those who are most in need of a candidate who can effect change are also those who are convinced that their voice no longer matters. Like a boxer who punches a brick wall to test his strength, Americans simultaneously are demonstrating their influence and damaging themselves. The news from Super Tuesday was both good and bad. Good because the people proved corporate interests have not completely corrupted the system. The establishment did not win Tuesday. Dothan Eagle – Ballot mystery muddies DA’s race When voters in the Republican primary in Henry and Houston counties looked to their ballots to select a new district attorney on Tuesday, they found four names from which to choose: Patrick Jones, Gary Maxwell, Will Matthews, and Arthur Medley. However, only Jones, Maxwell, and Medley were candidates; Matthews qualified to run on Nov. 5, but soon changed his mind; on Nov. 23, he announced he was dropping out of the race, more than three months before the March 1 primary. Before the primary, election officials suggested the presence of Matthews’ name on the ballot was irrelevant, that any votes he drew in the election wouldn’t count. As the dust settles, it seems that’s not exactly true. It’s likely that the 1,061 voters who cast a ballot for Matthews would have voted for one of the other three had his name not appeared. And that could have altered the outcome of the contest. There was no clear winner in Tuesday’s race. Jones led opponents by a long shot, but even with 8,233 votes – 37.4 percent — didn’t cross the threshold of victory. Even if he had pulled all the votes that went to Matthews, Jones would still face one of the others in a runoff, and that’s where the “what ifs” really begin. Enterprise Ledger – Train ride to Elba, now that was cool We were discussing “cool” a week ago but didn’t even mention what prompted the topic: a half-full bottle of English Leather aftershave lotion. Since “cool” descended on the House of Adams circa 1962, there’s been a bottle of English Leather in stock; the first bottle held cologne, not aftershave. Both varieties came from the store in wooden boxes from, we sorta believed, well, England. Long before aftershave replaced cologne, other Britishcoolities had come our way. Chief among them was James Bond, Ian Fleming’s creation, who brought to our attention how cool a dude could be wearing a trench coat, carrying a black umbrella and, presumably, leaving a trail of English Leather or British Sterling smell-goods as he moved hither and yon. It quickly came to our attention the fact any double-naught spy caught wearing any glorified raincoat not carrying the London Fog label was anything but cool. TimesDaily – Voters has shown their power, now it’s time to show wisdom The establishment is a hated and feared entity in America. While different people define it in different ways, most Americans conceive of “the establishment” as
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: Anniston Star – Keeping track of our data online In the summer of 2013, a statement from an associate dean at the University of Wisconsin highlighted the epidemic of cyber attacks at U.S. colleges and universities. “We get 90,000 to 100,000 attempts per day, from China alone, to penetrate our system,” Wisconsin’s Bill Mellon told The New York Times. Three years later, reports of nearly 100,000 attempts per day — at a single university — remain an unimaginable statistic. They also make this week’s breach of Jacksonville State University’s computer system seem small in comparison. But make no mistake: the theft of student and faculty information from JSU computers is no small-time crime. The university, local law enforcement and the FBI are right to treat this case with the seriousness it deserves. The situation at Jacksonville brings home a terrible lesson about the depths computer hosts — businesses, schools, government agencies, banks, hospitals, etc. — must endure to ward off hackers. A 17-year-old student has been arrested for the JSU hack, and from the hacker’s apparent online postings, the intent seems to be more about proving the weakness of JSU’s network security than anything else. If that proves to be the case, JSU and its students are truly fortunate. Birmingham News – Rep. Mo Brooks: Ted Cruz has the best plan for economic growth Many candidates have made their mark focusing on the Obama administration’s past mistakes, and there are a lot of them. But now it’s time to look to the future. As this campaign goes on, voters will begin to focus on who has the best plan for dramatic economic growth. It’s clear that Ted Cruz’s pro-growth policies are the best to increase employment and wages for Americans. The Obama administration likes to tout an unemployment rate hovering above 5 percent, but this ignores the startling 94 million Americans who are out of the workforce. People in this group who have stopped looking for work don’t get counted by the government as “unemployed,” so the very real peril of unemployment gets ignored. This only hurts regular Americans. But better paying jobs don’t just appear because a billionaire commands them to. They’re created when the economy grows. And the economy grows when the government stops overtaxing individuals and businesses, overregulating industry, and stops enabling foreign labor to take American jobs. Out of all the candidates, Ted Cruz solves every side of this problem. Decatur Daily – Shelby, Crumpton best options for US Senate The Issue Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby’s clout in Congress often has helped Alabama, and losing his seniority would be a blow to the state. Neither Democratic candidate has the experience needed to be an effective senator, but Ron Crumpton has at least dabbled in state legislative issues. The rhetoric of U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, the 81-year-old incumbent fending off several Republican challengers in Tuesday’s primary, often is disturbing. In his ubiquitous campaign ads, he panders to our least-rational fears. He recognizes our trepidation about people who look or sound different than us, and he plays it to maximum political advantage. The Republican from Tuscaloosa fights President Barack Obama — who has been made the icon of our xenophobia — “every hour of every day,” according to a commercial he is running with some of his millions in campaign contributions. And there’s some truth to that. On issues where the Obama administration has stated a position, according to a recent study by Congressional Quarterly, Shelby voted against the White House 63.9 percent of the time. He leads the Senate in that statistic. His opposition to a U.S. Supreme Court nominee that Obama has not even selected is a recent example of his blind opposition to the president. It may be a politically savvy strategy, but it interferes with the efficient workings of government. Dothan Eagle – Hug a utility worker Stormy weather that rolled through the Wiregrass area late Tuesday and early Wednesday left scattered damage affecting several homes and knocked down many trees, utility poles and signs. There were fatalities in other parts of the South, but in our corner of the world, the storm brought some structural damage and a whole lot of inconvenience. In Dothan, about 3,000 utility customers lost power, and it wasn’t until Thursday afternoon that electricity was restored everywhere. While it surely caused problems for those left in the dark for more than 24 hours, something unexpected happened on social media, where people are often quick to complain about virtually anything. Instead of diatribes, posts about the power outage took a more insightful view, as commenters – plugged in via smart phone, apparently, at least as long as the batteries hold – spoke of the unexpected value of blackout with regard to quality time with the family. That’s refreshing, particularly considering the plight of scores of utility workers, who have put in long hours in adverse conditions for the last couple of days to ensure that customers’ utility service was restored as quickly as possible. As we enjoy our restored electricity, along with our televisions, refrigerators and freezers, and heating and cooling (and we need both this time of year), it’s important that we remember that the service didn’t magically heal itself. Enterprise Ledger – Betters ways people could have passed the time My good friend and scribe associate, Ricky Adams, called last week all distraught over what was taking up all of the once precious airspace on his television set. It was not over a political agenda, he quickly noted, rather the agenda all of the talking heads/pundits were discussing. “I’ll leave the political writing to you,” Adams said, wisely choosing to stay out of that crossfire. “But, what gets me is what would these people be doing if Justice (Antonin) Scalia hadn’t died? What would they be talking about? And, couldn’t they wait until the coroner has pronounced him dead before making his death such a talking point. I just hope all
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: Anniston Star – Nelle Harper Lee, 1926-2016 “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” — “Before I can live with other folks, I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.” — “Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” — “Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than the whisky bottle in the hand of (another) … There are just some kind of men who — who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one.” — “I think there’s one kind of folks. Folks.” Birmingham News – I can’t believe I’m actually sticking up for Donald Trump It’s not often I can side with Donald Trump. Frankly, most of his conduct disgusts me and his proposal to deport 12 million illegal immigrants would be absurdly impossible to execute. It’s equally unusual for me to criticize Pope Francis. As a life-long Catholic, I believe he is one of the best and most effective popes God has ever blessed us with since Jesus Himself walked this earth. Yet, in a classic “man bites dog” scenario, the Holy Father apparently hasn’t thought through his comment this week about Trump’s proposed wall to keep illegal immigrants from crossing our southern border. After visiting the U.S.-Mexican border, Pope Francis said this about Trump: “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not of building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel.” Decatur Daily – GOP misguided on Scalia replacement The Issue The prevailing GOP position on the replacement of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is a reminder that opposition to President Barack Obama is blind, not reasoned. It also suggests GOP politicians are so obsessed with short-term political goals that they are making unwise strategic decisions. In 2009, fresh off the new president’s overwhelming victory, Rush Limbaugh famously proclaimed, “I hope Obama fails.” His comment set the tone for the seven years that have followed. A Republican Party that once prided itself on having well-reasoned theories for effective governance has in the last seven years devolved into a party that only consistently stands for one thing: opposing Obama. This strategy of blind opposition has not been effective in strengthening the Republican Party. Obama won again in 2012. A party once known for the inspirational rhetoric and grand ideas of Ronald Reagan and even Abraham Lincoln, GOP politicians increasingly are recognized by the public as obstructionists. By defining itself as “the party of no,” the GOP has cobbled together a constituency that has little in common but for opposition to a single president. Dothan Eagle – Location information enhances police response A standoff between federal law enforcement officials and Apple CEO Tim Cook emerged this week after the feds asked the tech giant to develop software that would essentially create a bypass to the iPhone’s touted privacy features. Left with a locked iPhone belonging to one of the gunmen in December’s San Bernardino terrorist shootings, the government asked the company to help breach a function that would erase all data from the device following a number of unsuccessful attempts to log in. Cook and Apple have taken the stance that to create such software would be detrimental to the privacy and security of millions of American iPhone users, and millions more worldwide. As technological advances emerge, there will likely be more clashes between privacy advocates and law enforcement. However, police have also benefitted from new technology in other ways that will vastly improve service to the public. Enterprise Ledger – It’s February, but SEC jabs still connecting The jabs never cease. A recent phone conversation with a “friend” went as follows: “Hey Luke. What’s up?” “Just trying to make it home through these 162 national championship banners Alabama is now claiming.” “Oh really, well come down for a few days and we’ll talk about it, or we can talk about Auburn football over a cup of coffee.” My cousin is an avid LSU fan, growing up smack dab in the middle of Duck Dynasty territory. Each fall I get under his skin with another remark about an LSU fall out. And by each year, I mean every year since most of us could pronounce “underachievement.” But I digress. TimesDaily – Ambitious sentencing reform was needed The Issue In Alabama, we’re torn between the desire to be tough on crime and the reluctance to pay the price for an adequate corrections system. Sentencing reform legislation that took effect recently was an implicit recognition the state can’t afford the penalties it wants to impose. On Jan. 30, major sentencing reform legislation took effect in the state. It was one of the most ambitious laws passed by the state Legislature in recent years, and its passage may have owed much to its complexity. The public did not understand the law well enough to oppose it. The law’s net effect, and its goal, was to ease the penalties on nonviolent crimes. Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, shepherded the legislation through the Statehouse, and he’s taking a beating now that district attorneys and the public understand what it does. While the Legislature may need to tweak the law, Ward should not be painted as a villain. What he accomplished was long overdue. Gadsden Times – Socialism sounds good, but isn’t sustainable A lot has been written about socialism with the emergence of Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., as a serious candidate for president. Socialism has a nice ring to it and many people think it simply means taking care of all the needs of the population by the federal government. But socialism by definition is the theory or system of ownership of the means of
