“Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, ‘Why me?’ Then a voice answers, ‘Nothing personal. Your name just happened to come up.’” – Charlie Brown, as written by Charles Shulz As I was sitting down to peck out this week’s column, I heard my daughter remark from another room, “Charlie Brown must not… Read more

“I’m stuck in Folsom Prison, and time keeps draggin’ on.” – Johnny Cash It’s tough to spend taxpayer money on prisons. Politically, it’s a thankless task. People from one end of the political spectrum believe we should not have prisons at all. People on the other end believe making the prison experience as miserable as… Read more

“We only propose that, when one man gets more than he and his children and children’s children can spend or use in their lifetimes, that then we shall say that such person has his share. That means that a few million dollars is the limit to what any one man can own.” – Huey Long… Read more

“But you were born under a bad sign with a blue moon in your eyes.” – Rob Spragg from the band Alabama 3 Sports curses have always seemed to be more at home in the world of baseball. You have the curse of the Bambino when it took the Boston Red Sox 84 years to… Read more

“Astra inclinant; sed non obligant” – Latin proverb meaning “The stars incline us; they do not bind us.” A few months ago I wondered aloud what kind of ideas and policies a Tommy Tuberville-led state government would bring into play. After all, with no one having any name identification stepping onto the field to challenge… Read more

“That useful alterations will be suggested by experience, could not but be foreseen. It was requisite, therefore, that a mode of introducing them should be provided.” – James Madison on amending the Constitution Last month we celebrated Constitution Day. The U.S. Constitution is an incredible – almost miraculous – document that created a new form… Read more

“You are without doubt the worst pirate I’ve ever heard of.” – Lt. Norrington played by Jack Davenport “But you have heard of me.” – Captain Jack Sparrow played by Johnny Depp from the film “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” There is an old adage in show business saying, “There… Read more

“That government is best which governs least.” – often attributed to Henry David Thoreau, yet its origin is unclear You may have heard the federal government is shut down. At least it was when I wrote this. Of course this means your social media timeline is going to have a few obligatory jokes about how… Read more

“Inconceivable!” – Wallace Shawn as Vizzini the Sicilian in the film “The Princess Bride” The two prominent collegiate football squads of our college football-crazy state both squared off against top-10-ranked opponents last weekend. I would have never thought any news story outside of nuclear war breaking out – and even the article on the impending… Read more

“Darkness washed over the Dude. Darker than a black steer’s tookus on a moonless prairie night.” – Sam Elliott as the narrator in the film “The Big Lebowski.” The political race shaping up to be the spiciest one on next year’s Republican primary ballot surprisingly appears to be the contest to decide who will be… Read more