The World Around You

The ABC-affiliate based in Pennsacola, Florida also serves much of South Alabama and is among the affiliates that have been ordered not to air tonight’s Nightline program. Howard Johnson Sr. of Mobile had some words about that,

The father of a soldier from Mobile who was killed in Iraq said he believes the program should be televised in every city. “I think those heroes gave their lives in such valiant effort for such a good cause, and the world should know who they are,” said Howard Johnson Sr., whose 21-year-old son — Army Pfc. Howard Johnson II — was killed in March 2003 when his convoy was ambushed in southern Iraq.

Johnson said the broadcast would inform viewers that “this is not a cheap war.”

“There is no way you can begin to put a dollar value on the lives that have been given for this,” he said. The TV program “will give everybody an opportunity to at least see the young men and women who gave their lives in order for America to continue to be the free country that we proclaim her to be.”

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Roy Moore visted Capitol Hill yesterday. Ah, to be a Democrat on the Hill yesterday, watching those Republicans kiss the Former Chief Justice’s butt, just hoping and praying some of the good will for him would rub off on them. He did accomplish his purpose as well, getting yet another public forum for him to express his wrong-headed view of the Constitution,

Aderholt, a Haleyville Republican, was in a meeting with Moore and House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc., who committed to giving the bill a hearing. No date was set.

“(The American people) don’t want to establish a religion but certainly they don’t think it was the intention of our founding fathers that we couldn’t even acknowledge God,” Aderholt said.

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Hoover City Schools is allowing all of the students who tried out for cheerleading at Hoover High School to participate after accusations of bias. The accusations had to do with the fact that several of the judges were affiliated with gyms where some of the girls were members. I could see how that might be a problem. Cheerleading can be so cut-throat.

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Unbelievable! Kelly McGinley rises again! She’s back on the ballot thanks to the vague rules on party loyalty that have been adopted by Alabama Republicans. Note to Marty Connors: Get on that!

So, the campaign is back on. Visit Kelly McGinley’s website to see what kind of person could now end up serving on the State Board of Education.

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In my opinion, Dr. Harvey Jackson is being too kind to the Christian Coalition in giving them a very timely suggestion about the next big issue they should tackle, the obesity epidemic.

But let’s start with the ministers, since studies show that when you break down the population into religious groups, evangelical Christians come out the heaviest. (Southern Baptists top the list so those ministers should readily rally to the cause. Why in 2002 the top medical claims paid by that denomination’s employee health insurance program were for bad backs and high blood pressure — conditions associated with being overweight. So they could save their church some money as well.)

And how will the CCA and the ministers set this example?

By getting on board the Christian weight loss program that has been around for years and which Alabama evangelicals have generally ignored.

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People in certain circles continue to argue that the President’s opponents have no plan, that all they can do is nitpick what the President has done. Nick Kristof has some excellent suggestions on what could be done differently starting today:

• Deploy 25,000 additional troops in Iraq for at least a few months to try to achieve a secure transition.

• Stick to the June 30 transition and give the Iraqis full sovereignty. The administration’s plan to convey only what it calls “limited sovereignty” is a mistake, for it risks inflaming Iraqi nationalism. The only hope of getting Iraqis to behave responsibly is to give them responsibility.

• Count to one googolplex before rushing into Falluja and Najaf to wipe out the resistance. Most Iraqis know that Moktada al-Sadr is a hotheaded blowhard. But nationalism leads Iraqis to rally around anyone we go after. We have already made Mr. Sadr a hero by closing his newspaper, and our best hope for destroying him is to leave him alone, let Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani discredit him and let the shadowy Thulfiqar Army carve up his Mahdi militia.

• Dump Ahmad Chalabi and other carpetbaggers. They are American stooges who undermine the legitimacy of any government they are in. The Dawa and Sciri religious parties may agree with us less, but they have genuine support and can be the building blocks of a transitional Iraqi government. If we give them real authority, there will be a convergence of interest: Dawa and Sciri want a stable Iraq even more than we do.

• Disentangle ourselves from Ariel Sharon, that bloodstained figure embraced by President Bush as “a man of peace.” By assassinating Hamas leaders and threatening to do the same to Yasir Arafat, Mr. Sharon is undermining our efforts in Iraq. Mr. Bush squandered our legitimacy in Iraq when he and Mr. Sharon chummily gave away Palestinian rights this month.

• Bring back the most professional and least political Baathist generals. Iraq’s most desperate need now is for security, and we need them.

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I appreciate DA David Whetstone’s efforts in this case, but he is being much too overzealous in charging this truck driver with DUI. Yes, he should lose his commercial driver’s license under the law, but no one is going to assert that a 0.01 blood alcohol level is legally impaired. There may be other explanations for why the driver appeared to be impaired and the prosecutors would be wise to examine those other explanations.

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This way of distributing coupon books for Alabama produce seems to be much more complicated than was necessary, but who am I to judge?

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The Legislature is extremely proud of the budget it passed yesterday, cutting money from worthy non-state agencies to allow for them to have some money in their own pockets to distribute when they go home. It must be great to be able to vote for this knowing there will be no reprecussions.

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Eleanor Roosevelt said, �One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes … and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.� I have had this truth reinforced in many different ways over the past few weeks and it is an important thought to reflect on every now and again.

The choices we make begin from the moment we wake up in the morning until the moment we drift off to sleep at night. Do I go to work today? Do I take a shower? Do I eat breakfast at home or pick something up on the way to work? Which route do I take to work? What do I do for lunch? Do I return those phone messages today? Do I finish up that big project or let it drag on another day? What�s for dinner?

Choice after choice confronts us and Mrs. Roosevelt was right, those choices make up who we are. Choices can be big and small. One of the biggest decisions of my life was the choice to move to Alabama. I am a Yankee and freely admit it, but I am married to a good southern woman. I made a choice four years ago to move to Alabama and marry my wonderful wife. For me that happened to be a very easy choice. That choice obviously altered my future dramatically.

A choice that was not quite so life altering was my choice of breakfast this morning. Maybe I decided to have a bowl of cereal at home, or maybe I chose to grab something at one of the local restaurants. Now, this decision may not seem like it has life altering consequences, but it could. You never know what might happen at that restaurant or what might happen at home that is different because of the choice I made. Each of us makes decisions and choices every day which alter our path from that moment forward. Are we truly aware of the power we have over our own lives?

I hear people everyday bemoan their circumstances and the things they have to tend to daily. Those are all choices. Yes, each of us has responsibilities, but each action we take because of a feeling of responsibility is also a choice. We have gotten very good at going through the motions without thinking about our options and choices. There are always alternatives; being conscious of those alternatives allows us to make the best choices for ourselves. So much of what we do not like about our lives comes about because of choices we have made.

I don�t mean to get overly philosophical in this space, but at a time when there seems to be so much negative around us, we can choose to be positive. As many choices as we face, it still boils down to that simple of an idea. Denis Waitley said it very well when he said, �There are two primary choices in life; to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.�

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I’m a little disturbed at Governor Riley’s statements yesterday during Confederate Memorial Day festivities, but not surprised. He has crossed this rather vocal constitutency and it was make-up time. But to give people comfort in asserting that the Civil War was not about slavery, alienates a large segment of the population of Alabama as well, and I’m not just talking about the African-American population. Personally, I feel that if you want to honor those who fought on the wrong side of the cause you can do it just as well on the national Memorial Day and there is no reason for a separate holiday, but that’s just me.

Special acknowledgement to John Davis for getting the other side of the argument, after listening to those who attended the festivities,

Although Vaupel and many others at Monday’s celebration cheered when speakers referred to states’ rights as the No. 1 issue of the Civil War, Auburn University history professor Wayne Flynt disagrees, saying slavery, not state sovereignty, was the primary cause of the war and was recognized as the principal dispute that divided the nation.

“Virtually no historians, South or North, believe that anymore,” he said of the states’ rights argument. “It’s a wonderful myth rooted in Southern tradition.”

Flynt says documents of the time show that Deep South states repeatedly cited the preservation of slavery as their key argument for leaving the Union.

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The Birmingham News editorial page does an excellent job of skewering the legislature for what it has not accomplished in this legislative session. House Speaker Seth Hammett (D) actually had the gall to say that accountability is in the eye of the beholder. The News responds,

If the eye of the beholder belongs to an Alabama taxpayer, it ought to be near-blind with rage. There has been no real accountability this legislative session, nor will there be. For that, lawmakers must be held accountable.

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The Biscuits found a way to win in Mobile yesterday. This is what they haven’t been able to do so far this season. The runs were scored on a passed ball, a bloop single and a solo homerun. These are the kinds of wins you need to be able to grind out on a day-to-day basis to be successful. Hopefully, the role can continue as the Biscuits return home later in the week.

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Shelby County School officials are treating the arrest of a 10 year old for marijuana possession as an “isolated incident”. Though the County Sheriff goes to great pains in the article to complement the school system for not putting their heads in the sand, I fear from the tone of the rest of the article that they are.

As much as they want to believe this is an isolated incident, I can assure them that it is not and if they do not use this arrest as a teachable moment for other students and their parents they are missing a golden opportunity. One of the easiest responses for parents is “not my child”. Well, that 10 year old was someone’s child and you can be assured he was not the only one. Alabama statistics indicate that the age of initiation for drug us is continuing to drop and that many kids have used before their parents or school officials feel the need to intervene.

I am particularly disappointed in Ken Mobley and other school officials for passing this off in the manner they are. I understand that they don’t want to tarnish the image of their schools, but it’s not about the schools. This child wasn’t just carrying marijuana around at school and leaving it there, he brought it in from his home and the community. This should have been an outstanding opportunity to educate the public about the extent of the drug problem in Shelby County and what people can do to help. Instead, it’s being brushed under the rug yet again.

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Happy one year anniversary to me.
Happy one year anniversary to me.
Happy one year anniversary dear TWAY.
Happy one year anniversary to me.

Thank you all for continuing to read and support this site.
I hope to be around for a long time to come.

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The Biscuits got a write up in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that also ran in today’s Chicago Tribune. The ending is the part I really love,

But dissenters remain.

“I still hate that name,” said Kenny Mendelsohn, a Montgomery lawyer, who attended the home opener with his wife, Tracey. “It makes it sound like all we do in Alabama is sit around and eat biscuits and sop syrup. It’s going to be hard to stand up and yell, `Go Biscuits!”‘

Tracey laughed and tossed out another objection. “We’ve been trying to go low-carb, and here they give us the Biscuits.”

So why were the Mendelsohns standing in line to buy four caps and a T-shirt at the Biscuit Basket gift shop?

“Our son loves the name,” Kenny said. “What can I say? Go Biscuits.”

BUTTER, JAM!
SAUSAGE, HAM!
GO BISCUITS!

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Michael asked me to comment on this news, so I will. I don’t know anything about Robert Woodson Sr., but I certainly offer praise to those who work in the rural, poverty-stricken counties of Alabama. If you have PAX television, you can check out the telecast Saturday night at 5pm CDT.

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In honor of my one year anniversary on Sunday, April 25th, I am re-christening myself (for purposes of this blog), Iker Furmaniak. Where does this name come from you may ask? That is a very good question. It comes from the baseball game I attended last evening. The Mobile Baybears have a player named J.J. Furmaniak, and I thought to myself, what a cool last name. The Biscuits have a catcher named Iker Franco. Wow, what a cool first name. Why not put them together to make my blogging alter ego? So, I have. Please welcome IKER FURMANIAK!

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The Montgomery planning commission approved a plan to rezone land off I-85 in Montgomery for the city’s third Wal-Mart Supercenter. I am definitely of two minds on this plan. If I had a vote, I would certainly have approved the plan, but as a citizen I am concerned about the way Wal-Mart has treated Montgomery in the past. I believe that this new construction will be a shot in the arm for that area of the city and improve economic development there. However, the Wal-Mart has left two abandoned facilities in the past, and there is no guarantee that one of the three Wal-Mart Supercenters will not be abandoned as well.

Overall, this is a positive development for Montgomery, with the potential to turn into a negative.

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Well, I am officially converted, at least in the world of women’s college basketball. I now have split allegiances. I will still root for the Purdue Boilermaker ladies as hard as ever, but the Auburn Tigers will also be receiving my strong support. The leadership at Auburn made a very smart decision in hiring Nell Fortner as their new women’s basketball coach. I plan to be in attendance at some of the Auburn games this fall, my baby daughter in tow. She is a great coach and a wonderful person, she will bring a spirit to that program that they haven’t had, and just as important, an exciting brand of basketball. If you are not a women’s basketball fan, but have always been curious, turn out on Auburn’s campus for a game next season and I guarantee you will be impressed with what you see.

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I was fortunate to be in attendance at Riverwalk Stadium last night and see the Biscuits break their losing skid in dramatic fashion. The Biscuits took a one run lead into the top of the 9th, when Baybear Ben Johnson hit a home run to tie the score at three. Biscuit Robinson Cancel then came up in the bottom of the 11th with two on and hit the first pitch over the left-center field wall for a walk-off three-run homerun. Unfortunately, much of the announced crowd packed it in after nine innings and missed the excitement, but those that remained made a lot of noise during the Biscuits half of extra innings.

It was an exciting night and I hope it will serve as the catalyst to put the team on a winning streak.

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The newspapers obviously think its a good idea to emphasize the positives in the general fund budget passed in the House on Thursday. The truth is that the cuts enacted on agencies that have already taken significant hits are not a positive development. The legislature is doing its job by passing these budgets, but patting themselves on the back should be the furthest thing from their minds. These budgets are an outrage for the lack of services being provided to Alabama citizens. Someone needs to stand up and tell the people that this is wrong. Unfortunately, that leadership appears to be non-existent.

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Governor Riley should be known as “Taskforce” Riley, every problem can be addressed with a taskforce. The Blue Ribbon Task Force on Healthcare began its deliberations yesterday with a comment from the chairman that increasing revenue is not on their agenda. This taskforce will be strictly addressing how to control the cost of educator and state employees’s insurance. This is a difficult task and just because it comes out of this taskforce does not mean the legislature will accept it. However, this time there are three state senators and two state representatives included on the taskforce. This does give reason for hope. I don’t know what the solution is, but the solution has to be multi-faceted, it cannot simply be reducing or capping the amount of money given to the insurance boards.

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Manager Charlie Montoyo had the Biscuits taking batting practice after the loss yesterday. This is becoming a death spiral and its the manager’s job to do something to pull them out of it. The pitching hasn’t been horrendous over this stretch (save Sunday afternoon), but the bats have been extremely cold. These players are capable of hitting much better. Maybe they can get a fire lit under them tonight.

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The innovations of the Legislature have given Harvey Jackson some ideas of his own, like “Puttin’ and Poutin’”, which sounds like a great idea to me. There’s no place like Alabama.

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It sounds as if the Montgomery City Council meeting was quite a show last night. It’s sad for the citizens of Montgomery that even a basic level of civility has been lost between the Mayor and the council,

The furor that arose at Tuesday night’s council meeting was over some council members’ disagreements with the mayor that the nine-member body should be able to hire its own legal counsel to represent them in court. The council voted 5-4 to obtain an attorney, but only after Head paused and thought deeply before casting the key vote.

“There was a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo that was being said,” Head said afterward. “And I had to sit back and try to make sense of all it.” Head said he wants to be represented by a third party because the mayor hires department heads who, by human nature, will be biased.

During the meeting, Bright warned the council against independently retaining an attorney. He said he believed “it’s a slap in the face” to the people and City Attorney Walter Byars.

“You’re opening the door to potential abuse,” he said.

Council President Pro Tem James Nuckles said the council is entitled to legal representation and “That’s the bottom line.”

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Forget the state whiskey, duct tape should be the official state solution of Alabama. The legislature is so proud of themselves for finding another way of robbing Peter to pay Paul so they don’t have to make the difficult decisions for another year. The lack of leadership right now is astounding. The Governor is being ignored and the legislature is just trying to get by with their hides intact. I don’t know how we bring an end to this stupidity, but I know it must end.

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It’s frustrating to watch the state legislature wind its way to the end of another regular session, having accomplished so little. Most of the members of the legislature understand that reform and more revenue are both necessary, but there seems to be no common understanding of what either reform or revenue means.

Some legislators believe that “controlling costs” is real reform. It is not. Some legislators believe that reducing the size and scope of government is the reform that Alabama citizens truly desire. I do not know that to be true. Still others think that people want the legislature more involved in how state agencies spend appropriated dollars. I think most citizens find that to be a frightening proposition. Finally, there are some individuals who believe the current system functions just fine and all we need to do is to find the funds to get through one more year. These individuals should have their heads examined.

All of these disparate views, none having been able to gain consensus support, are resulting in a virtual stalemate on Goat Hill. No real reform measures have been passed. No revenue measures seem likely to pass. We face the real possibility that thousands of state employees will be laid off before the end of the year and all Alabamians will lose necessary services.

I know that people are tired of this gloom and doom broken record. I’m personally disgusted and sickened by it. It does not have to be this way. A new path can be taken if the political will can be created to make it happen.

Bringing change to Montgomery will not be an easy process, but it needs to be just that, a process. Regardless of what many of our politicians tell you, I do not hear a broad-based call for a dramatic shift from the people. The people are pulling in many more different directions than the legislators. Until consensus builds around a core set of principles and a vision, the tug-of-war will continue.

The partisan bickering, the finger pointing and the empty words get us nowhere; a collective choice must be made to end it now. This is not about one budget; it is not about one shortfall. This is about a shortsightedness that must end today. This state has lacked strategic planning for so long that I’m not even sure there is anyone in the government that can do it, but it is the only way to ultimately draw us out of this mess. What are our priorities and how do we propose to fund them?

The days of piecing things together to get through one more year must end. The people of Alabama deserve better, we deserve a vision for the future that is not bleak, but full of promise. We deserve a plan for change for all of Alabama’s citizens, not just those who are currently engaged in the process. I fear we will never attain this great goal, but I am certainly ready to do my part to make it happen.

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I received confirmation of this happening on Thursday of last week. The Alabama Department of Children’s Affairs appears to be no more. It’s duties will be folded into the Department of Human Resources and the Children’s Trust Fund. The agency had a lot of potential, but was never brought to that level and has floundered throughout the Riley administration. I hope the good work of the employees in that department will continue with their new agencies. The Children’s Policy Councils in particular have been one of the best things to happen in the state over the last ten years.

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Even with a major league starter on the mound, the Biscuits were not able to hold on for a victory at Riverwalk Stadium last night. Biscuits manager Charlie Montoyo has it right, “We’re just finding ways to lose,” Montoyo said. “You feel that with Hines and Nunez out there, that should be it.” And poor Robinson Cancel, he missed out on the $1,000 reward from the Mayor of Montgomery because his homerun apparently went over the train in left field, instead of hitting it.

NOTE: The Biscuits don’t know who received the home run ball from the train conductor on Sunday April 18th. It was the first homerun hit in Riverwalk Stadium and I’m sure the team would be willing to make an offer to the lucky holder. I saw the kid it was given to, but he was too far away to identify in a line-up.

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Today is the five year anniversary of the terrible events at Columbine High School. Margaret McKenna addresses the lessons left behind in today’s Washington Post. I don’t agree with the argument made here, but she certainly makes it in a powerful way,

Performing well on math and literacy tests is not the only predictor of how one will perform as a member of the society. The likelihood that a large proportion of the nation’s schools will be labeled “underperforming” by the NCLB’s narrow measures will raise the stakes even more. Teachers will be pressured to concentrate still more of their efforts on drills and tests rather than on developing broadly educated students who will become responsible and engaged citizens.

The danger is not just that the lessons of Columbine are being lost because of No Child Left Behind but that they may have to be taught to us again — at painful cost.

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