Take a look at the photo. Where you and I see a dilapidated pile of crap the Montgomery Architectural Review Board sees an historic building that preserves the charming character of the Cottage Hill Historic District. The former Stern Brothers office furniture building is not an architectura…
The Alabama Democratic Party (ADP) hasn’t played a significant role in state politics for most of the last decade, but it wasn’t until this past weekend that they put the final nail in the coffin and a graveside service was held. All thanks to Joe Reed and his effort to maintain complete con…
We have a serious drug problem in Alabama. True the problem is not limited to Alabama and is not as severe, in terms of the number of deaths, in Alabama as in some other states. But nonetheless death from overdose is serious. The drug problem in Alabama is serious. But it seems to me that ou…
I might be fishing for answers, but the questions must be asked. Who do our elected officials represent? Their constituents or the corporate machines filling their campaign coffers with cash?
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When people say they want more prayer in school, what they really mean is they want more compulsory prayer in school. I am all for students organizing non-disruptive religious observances, including prayer, even at public schools. But clearly to have a public school sponsor or endorse a reli…
“No additional information is available;” typically the last sentence in most reports from the media after a shooting occurs. The truth is, there’s usually plenty of information available, but the police aren’t forthcoming with it. When an arrest is made, they love to roll out the “perp walk…
Most of the world has never heard of Chat GPT. It won’t be that way for long. There is a big race right now between tech companies, Microsoft and Google are the ones putting the most money behind their respective projects at the moment, for Artificial General Intelligence or AGI.
Dear Editor:
Trading in commodities, which are ingredients or components of finished goods, is the focus of global commerce. Information about commodities, their availability, and the impact of events that create scarcity, affects both current and future prices.
Five months ago I wrote a column about my daughter, Olivia, how fast she was growing up, and that it was the cause of some anxiety. Last month we celebrated her sweet sixteen, often described as a coming of age celebration recognizing the moment girls assume adult responsibilities such as dr…
We have had several people reach out to us about the column I wrote two weeks ago regarding gunfire at the Blue-Gray Tennis Tournament. I am happy to report that it seems the gunfire did not chase away the team from Tulsa, though a team from Tulane did leave the tournament early for an as ye…
The desire for freedom and liberty is universal, but achieving it can take the effort of a lifetime.
The release of a three-year old profanity laden rant by Mayor Steven Reed that made the news last week did have all the hallmarks of someone manuring the ground for a challenge in the municipal elections coming up this Summer. The recording was three years old and edited so as to present Ree…
On the evening of November 4th 1980, I sat in front of the family typewriter and pecked out a letter to President Jimmy Carter as election returns were indicating a shellacking by Ronald Reagan, who was about to send the one-term President back home to Georgia. I was 13.
The world Nicholas Copernicus was born into was wrong.
It was not my intention to write a follow-up to last week’s column, but then again, I wasn’t expecting a couple more gang-style slayings in Montgomery over the last two days.
While I commend the Montgomery Police Department for quickly arresting the individual alleged to be responsible for the murder of Stephanie Stone in the Hillwood subdivision last week, the speedy resolve doesn’t bring the 64-year-old Montgomery resident described as friendly and welcoming by…
I recently caught a video on YouTube of a purportedly Russian “expert” who offered seven tips for spotting liars. The Russian in this case looked like the Russian oligarch from the Direct TV commercials with the golden sofa and absurdly miniature giraffe on a pillow. The video was very funny…
It’s safe to predict that the Alabama Legislature will not resemble the recent congressional spectacle of choosing a Speaker as they gather for the organizational session this week in Montgomery.
In March, the Martin family celebrated 25 years of publishing since purchasing The Montgomery Independent in 1997. This week The Independent turns 60, providing a weekly mix of local news, opinion, sports, a touch of society. And Lord don’t let me forget to mention the Crossword and Sudoku.
James Carville in a despicable, but hilarious, slander of President Bill Clinton’s accusers said “You drag $100 bills through trailer parks -- there's no tellin' what you’ll find. I know these people.” Someone is dragging money through the Montgomery County government. But it is not just a $…
I attended the funeral of a close friend’s father this week. Army Ranger Gabriel Kinney would have turned 102 in February. Gabe is survived by his wife Elena, four of their six children and countless grandchildren, great grandchildren and a great-great grandchild. Gabe joined the United Stat…
This weekend I will begin my 47th orbit around the Sun. I like the Sun. It is not fun to stare at it. But it is a wonder to behold. When you finally come to the realization that your entire existence, not to mention all your food, is due to your particular proximity to a eight octillion ton,…
In recent months, there have been two failed attempts at lethal injections. I applaud Governor Kay Ivey for putting the brakes on executions and calling for a more thorough review of the process. But what other common sense acts are on the horizon for a governor who has four more years to go…
It may sound hokey to say that you should be thankful year-round and not just at Thanksgiving, but I thank my wife pretty much everyday for not killing me while I sleep. For those of you out there looking for the “perfect” mate, my advice is to find someone you trust around kitchen knives an…
My little girl isn’t so little anymore. 'Little' might not be the appropriate adjective, Olivia has been the tallest member of the family for awhile now and has never been considered small by her basketball teammates, but you know what I mean. She's almost sixteen, working part-time and will…
Tuesday is election day.
Tuesday is Election Day. On the ballot will be a U.S. Senate race, most statewide offices, all 140 legislative seats - including a tight one in Montgomery, and some local county races. Voters will also decide on 10 proposed statewide amendments to the state’s Constitution. Two local amendmen…
You’ve heard it said before, "Some people just aren’t born with a lick of sense.” And while it remains debatable on whether common sense can be learned, life skills can be. I’m of the opinion that such a class should be mandatory to graduate high school.
One hundred years ago this month, Italy succumbed to a new political order that would ignite a worldwide struggle for freedom.
For good or ill, politics has become a species of serial television in a drought of decent fictional programming. You could say that politics, especially national politics, is like a TV drama with bad writing. But that would be redundant as so much of the writing in TV dramas has become infa…
I’ve mentioned before how I enjoy browsing my Facebook Memories each morning for a stroll down memory lane. But nothing replaces rummaging through family treasures and coming across generations-old newspaper clippings mixed with others as recent as last basketball season.
My apologies for being MIA the last couple of weeks. A few days after a fun trip to Huntsville to catch back-to-back concerts and visit some old college friends, Betsy woke me up one morning with the news she had just tested positive for COVID. Days later I saw the double lines too and spent…
I have not seen The Woman King yet. I’m not sure I want to, but it has nothing to do with the contrived controversy about the movie’s historical inaccuracy. I suspect that some of the shade thrown on the film actually comes from its marketers and producers as controversy is one of the best w…
President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program will forgive $10,000 in federal student debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 per year, or $250,000 for married couples filing together. It also cancels up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients, as long as the student loans are hel…
I am not what most people would call a “sports fan.” This stems chiefly from a narrow view of what we define as “sports" and my disinterest in most of the rectangular sports that revolve around the mindnumbing ways a competitor or team of competitors attempt to move a ball back and forth on …
In a recent friendly debate with a friend and colleague the following proposal was suggested: “The government should not spend money on the arts.” Now I consider myself a staunch capitalist and a libertarian down to the core. Thus I hold generally to the proposition that the government, espe…
What is the allure of a man with no moral compass or loyalty? During his presidency he made 30,573 false or misleading claims. I doubt he could quote a Bible verse or has ever attended a child’s ballgame or recital. Not a redeeming quality about him comes to mind.
Whether you fancy yourself a Republican or a Democrat you have already declared this much, that you are a partisan. Self described political realists will tell you that not declaring for one party or the other means you are politically ineffective. Maybe so. But when you are honest with your…
So many people today are hurting, misguided, looking for answers, and feeling totally inadequate and broken. Many of them go for help in places that falsely lead to greater brokenness.
The 1962 Governor’s Race was between George Wallace, James “Big Jim” Folsom, and newcomer Ryan DeGraffenreid, a state senator from Tuscaloosa. Television had become the new medium. Therefore, Wallace, Folsom, and DeGraffenreid had all bought 30-minute, live television shows the night before …
I had never heard the name Yolanda Flowers until a few weeks ago. I doubt most of the 50,000 Alabamians who voted for her knew much more than I did when they cast their ballots. In spite of not really campaigning, Flowers has emerged as the Democrats’ nominee for governor. The five opponents…
When you are a baseball pitcher, there are a lot of different ways to get your name in the headlines. You can pitch a no-hitter, have a perfect game, strike out a lot of people, have an enviable win/loss record, have the best fastball or curve—those are headliners. A few years ago, there wer…
For most of my life, John McDonogh was a hero. During the 13 school years between 1954 and 1967, from kindergarten through twelfth grade, I attended New Orleans public schools: Stuart R. Bradley Elementary School, P. A. Capdau Junior High School, and John McDonogh Senior High School. John …
