“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

“When the historians find us, we’ll be in our homes plugged into our hubs, skin and bones. A frozen smile on every face as the stories replay – this must have been a wonderful place.” – Father John Misty Many of you reading this can probably remember hollering at your kids to turn off the… Read more

“Discretion is the better part of valor.” – proverb often attributed to William Shakespeare Alabama has been no stranger to taking some big steps in education policy in the last few years. The Alabama Literacy Act and last year’s CHOOSE Act that allowed parents to access some public funding toward private or homeschool education are… Read more

“So let it be written. So let it be done.” – Yul Brynner as Ramses II in the film “The Ten Commandments” Sometimes I struggle to come up with something to write for this column. Other times the idea will fall at my feet like manna from heaven. This column arrived to me after getting… Read more