“If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.” – Rita Mae Brown It only began about three-and-a-half months ago, but this year’s state legislative session drew to a close last Wednesday. The session almost ended without passing one of the bills declared as a priority for Gov. Kay Ivey and the leaders… Read more

“Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.” – Sophia Loren Ideas like House Bill 386 have been floating around Montgomery during legislative sessions for way over a decade. The concept is one of the rare state policy topics that has managed not to fade away over the years while still never quite achieving a clear… Read more

“I told the judge right to his face we didn’t like to see this place. We’re in the jailhouse now.” – traditional song adapted by Jimmie Rodgers For me the most interesting part of studying government is when there is conflict among the branches of government. We are seeing it on a large scale with… Read more

“The Auditors fluttered anxiously. And, as always happens in their species when something goes radically wrong and needs fixing instantly, they settled down to try to work out who to blame.” – from Terry Pratchett’s “Hogfather” We Alabamians rarely mind moving at a slower pace than other parts in the world. I am not knocking… Read more

“I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.” – Marc Antony in William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” The most high-profile issue hanging over the heads of state legislators during the two-and-a-half years of their terms has been the topic of gambling and a state lottery. It may not be the most important topic the legislature… Read more

“April is the cruellest month.” – T.S. Eliot After a particularly brutal football loss by his beloved Georgia Bulldogs to rival squad Georgia Tech, legendary Atlanta-Journal Constitution columnist Lewis Grizzard once wrote, “Frankly, I don’t want to talk about it,” and left the remainder of his allotted column space blank in that day’s paper. That… Read more

“She goes running for the shelter of her mother’s little helper, and it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day.” – Mick Jagger and Keith Richards I found an interesting article from a couple of years ago on Slate.com that discussed the growth in use of marijuana among empty-nest mothers. The… Read more

“I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical from Marathon to Waterloo in order categorical.” – from W.S. Gilbert’s and Arthur Sullivan’s musical “The Pirates of Penzance” Our U.S. armed forces have been involved in battles that have echoed throughout world history. A quick glance through your high school history book… Read more

“Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act, falls the shadow.” – T.S. Eliot Last week was a big week if you are a conspiracy theory guy or gal. After a delay of a few weeks, President Donald Trump’s executive order to declassify any government documents relating to the 1963 assassination… Read more

“The life you save may be your own.” – Flannery O’Connor The Alabama Legislature looks like it is on the verge of passing a good law to empower state law enforcement to investigate and prosecute people in possession of a device involved in some of the state’s deadliest shootings over the last couple of years.… Read more