Happy Halloween 2018!

First a Halloween message from our J. Redmon:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, everyone! 👻 Please exercise additional caution this afternoon and evening while driving. We all want our little 'ghouls and goblins' to enjoy themselves!

Now a few words from our very first Halloween blog:

While many aspects of our Halloween holiday are pagan in origin, contrary to many recent reports, Samhain was not the Celtic god of the dead. The Celts did worship many gods, including a god of the dead/underworld; however, Samhain was a season of change and prelude to winter and the new year.

So, for all of us Celts (Irish/Scots/Welsh), today marks the end of an old year. In fact, for many centuries the Gaelic word for the eleventh month has been Samhain. Have a safe, happy, and prosperous Celtic New Year!

Mo Brooks or Peter Joffrion? Yes, it's a foregone conclusion that Brooks will sail to an easy victory. We personally will be voting for Joffrion.

For those who choose to vote for Brooks, we ask one thing. As you cast your ballot, think of our stately representative running up a flight of steps in order to avoid reporters on the Roy Moore/Doug Jones election. If he can't look anyone in the face and answer such a simple question as his election choice, how can he look any of us in the face as to how he votes on bills important to our well being?

Tomorrow: More endorsements and a look at the Lauderdale County School Board!

Dolan or Pettus?/Melson or Self?

How tight is the Alabama House District 1 race? We don't know, but we are hearing a lot of buzz for Independent James Dolan. We're also seeing a plethora of ads online for Phillip Pettus. For many this election isn't going to be a vote for anyone, but a vote against someone.

Pettus refused to act on assisting RegionalCare when he was first elected. What he did act on was attempting to disenfranchise Florence in the Lauderdale County superintendent's race. We endorse Dolan as an up and coming candidate who is dedicated to help the citizens of Lauderdale County.

What if Pettus wins? We'll see another term of drowning in useless rhetoric. We sincerely hope that if Dolan is defeated he will continue to be active in local and state politics.

Many individuals oppose Tim Melson due to his stance on promoting the Ag Center. We've looked at the figures and projections and feel it could go either way. If we absolutely had to guess, we would predict a moderate to huge failure for this miniature DreamVision project.

Yet we believe Melson believes in this project and wants only the best for the Shoals. Caroline Self? She's an unknown quantity in the political arena. We've heard from Melson once or twice about various projects. We've never received a communication from Self. She's relatively young and inexperienced in state politics.

We're endorsing Tim Melson for a second term in the state senate. If we had any advice for Sen. Melson, it's simply to be a little less autocratic when announcing his positions. We have spoken. (In case any missed it, that was humor.)

He's a Big Rock Singer/How's It Goin', Sunshine?

He's a big rock singer;
He's got golden fingers;
And he's loved everywhere he goes.



Apologies to the late Shel Silverstein for paraphrasing one of his best known works. We simply felt it best presented a simple fact of life...

"Hello, sir. No need to stand in line. Come sit in the lobby and we'll get your ticket and bring it to you."

"Good evening, sir. We have you a table away from the kitchen traffic and I've told the chef to see if he has any of your favorite quiche."

"Well, this is fantastic to meet you. Just slow it down a little, will you, sir? And could I possibly have your autograph for the boys back at the station?"

Now did this "big rock singer" refuse any of these kind offers that were presented to him because of who he is? You have only two choices. It shouldn't be hard to pick the correct one.

But when this big rock singer mucks up his life, loses his place in the band, and winds up in jail more times than he can count, he and his friends don't think his crimes should be published simply because of who he is. 

Please 'splain that to us.

(In case anyone missed it, Gary Nichols is back in jail through every fault of his own...as we would be if we did what he did. Gary Nichols)

Now that brings us to something extremely interesting. Regular readers may remember a few years ago when we had constant reports of Jerry Don Crowden, convicted sex offender and escape artist, being in possession of a cell phone at a South Alabama prison. We think our informant finally gave up on the DOC ever doing anything about the situation. Crowden is now at the Limestone Correctional Facility where security is tighter, so let's hope Jerry Don's social networking days are over.

The career felon's phone and daily pontificating were brought to us by, we're guessing, several people. One was a woman he called "Sunshine." Everyone knew who Sunshine was, and we heard several people question her sanity for being involved with a high school drop-out serving a 20 year prison sentence. If Jerry Don doesn't make parole, and we doubt that he will, he will be incarcerated until 2033.

What brings Sunshine to mind now? We saw her earlier this evening critiquing the article on Gary Nichols that appeared in PNS. It would seem she thinks reporting on crimes of "big rock singers" is absolutely horrible. Funny...many people think providing a cell phone for the likes of Jerry Don Crowden in order to carry on a romantic relationship is pretty horrible as well, not to mention illegal.

Marshall or Siegelman/R.E. Thompson School

Some are calling appointed attorney general Steve Marshall a Republican in name only. Whether that's true or not, what is true is that there's an investigation into PAC to PAC transfers to Marshall's campaign coffers. No investigation will be complete until after the election, so Alabama may be stuck with another appointed attorney general at some point within the next year.

Now enter Caleb Moore (yes, ol' Roy's son) and Roy Moore's attorney Melissa Isaak who have held a press conference asking the public to vote for Siegelman. We sincerely hope that no one cares what Caleb Moore thinks. As for Ms. Isaak, she is a card carrying Republican who is asking us to vote Democratic in this race. We agree.

Steve Marshall will not represent the best interests of Alabamians. He was placed in his current position as a lap dog for then Gov. Robert Bentley. Most men would have withdrawn from the race if their wives had committed suicide during the campaign. Not Marshall. What does that tell you?

Do we have any readers with children enrolled at R.E. Thompson Elementary School in Tuscumbia? Are they happy? No names will be used and only discrete comments will be published.

Toeing the Party Line & Endorsements

Political parties? This country would be so much better off if everyone ran on their own merit and eschewed political parties. Unfortunately, we're currently stuck with the party system.

That means Adolph Hitler could somehow secure the Republican (or Democratic) nomination for office and many would vote for him...even if he ran against St. Francis. We would endorse Kay Ivey here and now if she hadn't toed the party line in connection with Roy Moore. Now we're waiting a few more days to see if any (toeless?) shoes drop.

Now a movie break: It's a courtroom in an Alabama backwater...

ADA Joe Banal: Tell us, Bulldog, on the fifth of April last year, did you or did you not take an Uzi into the Last National Bank of Frog Pond with the intention of robbing the establishment?

Bulldog: I don't have to answer that. You're a Democrat, so that makes you a baby killer. Right, Judge?

Does anyone think Bulldog came out the winner in that courtroom scene?

That brings us to the race for lieutenant governor. Running are Republican Will Ainsworth and local Democrat Will Boyd. Why is this race important?

Assuming that Gov. Ivey wins her race, there is always a chance that for whatever reason she may not be able to finish her term. Then we might have Gov. Ainsworth. Say it ain't so.

We believe that Ainsworth will win without any substantial problems, but we will be voting for Mr. Boyd. Actually, it's more of voting against Ainsworth. Why?

When Sen. Doug Jones attempted to have an intelligent dialogue with Ainsworth on school safety, Will Ainsworth brushed him off by calling him a "baby killer." Did we miss a day in high school debate class? Is this now considered relative, polite, or conducive to anything positive?

Or is this merely how a tiger thief behaves?

A Child Has Died - Part II - Should We Prosecute Gun Crimes?

Some time ago a friend told us a story of an event where she worked. One "mean widdle kid" began repeatedly to swing on a door. She said several times in a loud voice, "Don't do that, Sweetie, you'll get hurt." The mother didn't even look up. Finally she said, "Don't do that, Kiddo. That door is new; your mother will have to pay for any damages." What do you think happened then? Yes, the mother made the child sit down and behave. Sad, isn't it?

A regular reader didn't like our bringing up older child deaths. We used no names; we merely wished to point out how easy it is for a child to die if a parent or guardian ignores basic safety rules. We also wished to point out how the law is applied differently to parents than it is to others who may be in temporary charge of a child. What lesson does that present to the general public?

We'll look at only one gun crime today - the shooting death of the 10 year old Loretto girl. First, some thoughts.

Yes, we own a hand gun which we keep in our bedroom. It's loaded and stored in an unlocked drawer. That is fine for us since no children live in our home. The gun was a gift from a friend and he stressed the importance of making sure there was no round in the chamber when handling the gun. If he hadn't told us about this aspect of gun ownership, countless movies would have...or any gun safety course.

Yet we have a father, apparently an "experienced" gun owner, who doesn't check this when he places an "unloaded gun" in an unsecured location in his vehicle. He's also said to have instructed both his children in gun safety, but hasn't told them not to point the weapon at each other? Now his daughter is dead.

Let's all double check any firearms we think are unloaded, shall we? Better yet, let's keep them locked if children are present. How hard is that?

A Child Has Died - Part I - Should We Prosecute?

Today we're going to look briefly at non-gun deaths of area children. A large number of these deaths occur in ATV and UTV accidents. Did we say accidents? 

When you place a child on an ATV designed for one adult passenger and one adult only, you are significantly increasing the odds of a rollover. How is it an accident if you've been told by the manufacturer not to do it, but do it anyway?

Adults may do what they wish, but children usually do what they're told. They are our responsibility and should be treated as priceless objects, not a sack of potatoes.

Some years ago, a man in a neighboring county held an illegal neighborhood fireworks show. His son died. Oh, the man had done everything he thought that he needed to do to protect the two children present, but Murphy was also in attendance.

The tragic event took place on the same street where the town's mayor lived. The mayor said the man wouldn't be prosecuted since he'd lost his son. Yet it wasn't long until the man's marriage fell apart. Is that common? We've read several articles and seen statistics as low as 16% and as high as 80%. It shouldn't be anything anyone would want first hand experience with.

On a brighter note, the family of a girl killed a few years ago in Florence had better luck coping. We'd just read of the child's death when we were contacted by a local attorney. He'd spoken with the district attorney's office and discovered there would be no charges brought against the mother whose negligence was responsible for the death.

The attorney wanted us to do a blog on the subject and encourage the district attorney to change his mind. We demurred. Why?

Our friend felt that if either of us had been babysitting the young girl, we would have been charged with Involuntary Manslaughter, but we felt a kinship with the child's mother. That's a prime example of why those commenting on a recent death in Lawrence County are totally lacking in objectivity. They're friends of the man involved. While we feel sympathy for the father, we don't feel the kinship that we felt with the Florence mother. 

Tomorrow we'll look at child gun deaths and some of the comments they're produced.

Erica Fox Claiming Abuse

Erica Fox's murder trial is underway in Colbert County. Just as we had been told earlier, Fox is claiming abuse at the hands of the husband she helped kill. We didn't believe that story when we first heard it and we don't believe it now.

We believe Fox was disappointed that life wasn't a Regency ball every day; that she had to budget money; that she had to cook and clean. In short, life disappointed Fox and she sought the easy way out...by killing her husband Jason for the insurance money.

Let's hope the jury isn't easily swayed by her tears.

Some months ago we published censored versions of photos Fox sent to one of her many boyfriends. We did so after speaking with a family member of the victim and with the intent to prove that Fox's abuse story, should she really decide to use it, was totally bogus.

Our blog drew some stern criticism from another Shoals blogger. Perhaps now he sees why publishing the photos was in the best interest of justice?

The Twilight Zone Meets the Lauderdale County BOE

Now for your consideration, a tale designed to strike fear into Waterloosians and others of that ilk...

We trust you remember the Lauderdale Ag Center, that mythical structure competing with Inspiration Landing for fable of the year. What if it does come to pass? The Ag Center will then receive the TVA in lieu of tax dollars payment in Lauderdale County. That means Lauderdale County schools won't be receiving that money.

Does the Lauderdale County Board of Education have its own version of the Trojan Trio? Will Rusty T. Pipe do a benefit on this side of the river? 

Perhaps, but we hear the BOE has another plan in the works. Yes, the dreaded school consolidation monster may be breaking down the door to Alabama's most northwest county shortly. How will it work?

In the west, Waterloo High School will close. In the east, Rogers and Lauderdale County High will shutter their doors. The trade school? That could go several ways, but a new building might be built adjacent to the Ag Center. Will there be new buildings to replace Brooks and Central completely? Indeed, it looks like it.

Is this a done deal? No. A great deal depends on the final approval/construction of the Ag Center. And the board? We hear the board is on board, so to speak. And the public? We doubt that we hear any salient comments from most of the public who will be in denial for quite some time...

When All Heck Broke Loose (Or No One Thought to Tell Sheffield?)

For those in Colbert County who may not be aware, 2018 is the City of Florence's bicentennial. Saturday afternoon/evening saw a celebratory event called Reunion at the River hosted in McFarland Park. J. Redmon seems not to have thought too much of it...

All heck broke loose at 8 last night, I first thought the North Koreans had launched a preemptive strike. Then, when I realized it was fireworks, I wondered who was celebrating, and why? Was it a delayed celebration of Alabama's latest win? Had Hillary finally been arrested?

Sadly, it was nothing of the sort. It was merely the City of Florence celebrating its bi-centennial. Unfortunately, someone forgot to inform anyone on the South side of the river.

So, while residents in Sheffield, Tuscumbia, and most of northern Colbert County prepared for the 'End Days', and Colbert 911 was swamped with inquiries, and Sheffield PD wasted valuable resources searching for the unseen culprit, Florence partied.

Now a word about Shaun Shapley. PNS tells us that the murdering piece of rapist scum has been transferred to the infirm facility in Hamilton:

Shaun Shapley

He'll be up for parole in five years, or even sooner if his demented wife has her say. Even if he's denied in 2023, he'll have another chance in 2028. What can you do to prevent this?

You may have no promise of tomorrow, but you can act now. If you don't want to write a letter, simply print out our Shoals Crime blog on Shapley, note your name and address on the sheet of paper and plainly state that you oppose his parole. This communication will always remain in his file at the Board of Pardons and Paroles. 

Murder in Lexington

Alabama Board of Pardons & Paroles
Re: Shaun Shapley AIS 263566
Post Office Box 302405
Montgomery, AL 36130-2405
Fax: 334-353-9400

Coming soon: A few words sure to make our friends at Waterloo High School extremely happy. (Sorry, Waterloo, that was sarcasm.)

Dimwits v. Rethugs (Or After All, None of Us is Human)

Many, many voters, and non-voters, are confused about how government works. We recently published a blog about some of these issues, but one area we didn't touch was the federal v. state government issue. While our state lawmakers may have some input on how federal funding given the state is meted out, they have NO input on federal laws. Hint: Federal law always trumps state law.

That's basically why the term Republican and Democrat mean so little at the state level. You have conservatives and liberals in both parties. You also have complete idiots in both parties. And crooks? Certainly you have some extremely dishonest pols in both parties.

We're encouraging all voters to look at the candidates individually. The Republican Party hasn't proved any different than the Democratic in our state. Neither has been a savior to our people. Choose the person - not the party.

A few of our readers failed to grasp that we are indeed endorsing Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow for State Senate District 6. Is he perfect? No. Is he a better person than Sen. Larry Stutts? Definitely!

Rep. Morrow has served the people of his district well for many, many years. His door is always open to constituents, and he sincerely wants to make Northwest Alabama a better place...not line his pockets.

We're predicting a close race. We encourage all our readers to look at both candidates and vote for the better individual - Johnny Mack Morrow!

We also had some readers ask "What's wrong with the lottery?" No, we don't consider it a tax on the poor. It is money that is not honorably obtained. Only money acquired by work or gift is honorable. Before any of you can claim that lottery winnings are a gift, just how many do you think purchase lottery tickets while muttering under their breath "I hope some poor person with ten kids wins the grand prize?" 

We're pretty sure the answer to that question is zero. So, no, lottery winnings are not a gift from the lottery commission. They are a prize that one receives after paying to play. In other words, gambling.

Is the lottery coming to Alabama? Sadly, we feel that it is. If it is, we should have a plan for the state's share in order to prevent the unscrupulous from steering it to their political hobby horses and away from education. Rep. Morrow has such a plan. Let's give him a chance to implement it.

We're Ten Years Old!

Yes, it was ten years ago that Shoalanda Speaks made an appearance on the Shoals scene. It's been a fun ride on the editorial broomstick so far. 

What will the next ten years bring? You know the line about "Fasten your seat belts?" Let's all resolve to make a positive difference in the next decade.

Smokin' & Saggin' in Sheffield

Basically, after a town meeting on the Sheffield smoking ordinance, nothing has been decided. We have three questions.

1. There's currently an ordinance in Sheffield concerning sagging trousers. Is it being enforced? What's the fine? What if someone smokes while wearing sagging pants? Perhaps they'll do this while jaywalking - a trifecta if you will.

2. The organization Smoke Free Shoals says the anti-smoking ordinance will bring in the tourists. How much time to achieve this goal?

3. Speaking of tourists, how will visitors to Inspiration Landing react to this? Oh, wait. Silly question. Nine weeks left in the year; anyone seeing any work on that amphitheatre?

National Association for Gun Rights Compared to Westboro Baptist Church

If you live in certain areas of Northwest Alabama, you've just received an advertising card from state senator Larry Stutts. The advertising material was paid for by the National Association for Gun Rights. We'd never heard of it, but some of the rhetoric on the card made us suspect it was hardly a legitimate group. This is where Google is our friend.

According to many sources, the NAGR is a "scam." The group wants money and little else. We noticed they even have their own store in which you can purchase overpriced merchandise. 

One criticism of the NAGR is that is spends an inordinate amount of money to send out literature attacking the NRA rather than supporting legitimate gun causes. Our favorite article called the NAGR the Westboro Baptist Church of gun advocates. My, my...and they support Doc Larry?

We have an idea that they support any Republican incumbent - even one voted the state Scumbag of the Year a few years ago. Feel free to do your own homework on the NAGR; the amount of conservative opposition to this group is a real eye opener.

That brings us to the mid-term election. Doc Larry or Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow? Who has supported both NWSCC and Bevill State? Hint: It wasn't Larry Stutts. Who has listened to Shoals citizens? Do we have to answer that? While we don't personally support a lottery, Rep. Morrow has an actual plan to aid education with funding from the lottery if one should materialize. 

No, you don't have to take our word about the two candidates any more than you have to on the NAGR. Simply Google. If you don't decide to vote for Rep. Morrow after that, you don't really care what happens to the Shoals and surrounding areas.

Endorsing a man who makes a thousand Larry Stuttses - Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow is the better choice for state senator.

"I Was Only Trying to Keep Her from Using the Gun on Herself"

"Yes, officer, I was only trying to keep her from using the gun on herself when it went off." 

How many times have we heard that? Remember Shaun Shapley of Lexington who murdered his stepdaughter? Murder in Lexington

Or how about Tommy Wallis? Would-Be Wife Killer?

Now we're hearing that from Bradley Nathan Parker who was released from the Madison County Jail earlier today. Is there anything wrong with this picture? Let's look at a few salient points.

1. When was the last time that you read of a probable cause hearing that didn't hold the defendant over? We infer the judge knew that only one pulled the trigger, and forensics indicated it was Aleisha Danielle Parker.

2. Why were both arrested initially? They lied to the investigators. The Madison County Sheriff's Office said they had their first story down pat when he arrived. So your child has just been shot dead and you take the time to make sure your stories match? Nice couple.

3. The detective said that they then turned on each other. We're guessing the Madison County District Attorney still wants to indict Bradley Parker, so he's open to evidence. Will there be some new facts forthcoming?

4. Bradley may have told investigators that he was trying to prevent Aleisha from harming herself, but her co-workers at the Muscle Shoals Walmart have told us a very different story. It shouldn't be hard for Aleisha's defense attorney to find witnesses to her black eyes and other facial bruises while she lived in the Shoals. 

In the mean time, neither parent looks entirely innocent, and Dante Parker is still dead.

A Mississippi High School Gone Wrong

A Mississippi High School Gone Wrong

  

By:  The Midnight Rider  

I was sitting here eating breakfast the other morning when my son, Circuit Rider, came into the kitchen and told me that I needed to check out the news story playing on Fox News.  Circuit Rider, he’s all about current news stories and Fox News.  So I walked into the living room where the TV was.  Ole Festus, the dog, was stretched out in front of the TV, with his feet in the air.  I had to tell him to move because he was blocking the TV.

Anyway, I digress.  On TV, there was a news story about a High School Band in Mississippi that performed a skit at a football game in Brookhaven, MS, that depicted Doctors and Nurses holding rifles on downed police officers.  This comes shortly after 2 police officers were killed in Brookhaven.

Sitting back, I stroked my unshaven chin.  What has this world came to, I thought.  It appears that someone had their Cranium stuck up there Rectal Opening.    Who would have approved something like this?  Does today’s Society have no compassion anymore?  This is unspeakable.
 
Back in the day when I was going to the County School here, if we had pulled a stunt like this, our Principal as well as probably our Parents would have left the stands and beat us all the way to the car.  Common courtesy dictates that a stupid act like this should or wouldn’t have happened.  What were they thinking?   That’s just it, they were not thinking.  As well as the Band Director who sanctioned this.
 
As far as I know, the Band Director has been suspended.  Circuit Rider told me that this incident was all over Facebook and people were pissed about it.  As well they should be.  This makes everyone in the South look bad.  Should the Band Director be fired?  Yes.  Should the kids be punished?  If they willingly took place in this, yes.  These kids are old enough to say “hey, this is a really bad idea.”
 
My whole family to include my Dad, the Ghost Rider, is Pro-Police.  Our Police Officers do not get enough pay for what they do.  Who are you going to call if someone is breaking in your house?  The Police.  Who are you going to call if someone is threatening you?  The Police.  If Society today keeps attacking Police Officers verbally, mentally and physically, what are we going to do when no one wants to be a Police Officer?    Anarchy will reign.

This has left a very sour taste in my mouth.  Here is the article that Circuit Rider printed for me off the Fox News Website:

A Mississippi school district has apologized and a high school band director has been suspended after the band staged a halftime skit that depicted police being held at gunpoint.

The controversial skit came as the Forest Hill High School band from Jackson performed Friday during a football game against Brookhaven High School to the south. It shocked many at the game in Brookhaven, where just six days earlier two police officers were killed in a shootout with a suspect.

“I was sad because of what happened last weekend, and it felt like they were making fun of it,” Sarah McDonald, a Brookhaven High School student, told CNN affiliate WJTV.

A woman who said she was a graduate of Brookhaven High School found the performance insensitive.

“I was shocked by the halftime performance just because of everything that our community is going through,” the woman told CNN affiliate WLBT. “No disrespect to Forest Hill, when they decided to do a performance, they should’ve taken that into consideration that we were already going through a lot at this time. We are still trying to figure out what needs to be done about the situation.”

The episode outraged people around the state and has drawn criticism from Mississippi’s governor, who called it “unacceptable.”

The halftime skit...

In the skit, a handful of students dressed as doctors and nurses pointed fake AR-15-style rifles at other students dressed as SWAT team members. A school official offered “deep and sincere apologies” for it.

“(Jackson Public Schools) has a great deal of respect and appreciation for our law enforcement partners,” Superintendent Errick L. Greene said in a statement. “The band’s performance does not depict the values and people in our community, and was incredibly insensitive to the students, families, law enforcement officials and the entire Brookhaven community. For this we sincerely apologize to all, and we pledge to do better in the future.”

The superintendent said the district had taken “some initial actions” regarding the skit.

“You have my commitment that we will investigate it fully and take additional appropriate action with respect to procedures and personnel,” Greene said.

The Forest Hill High School marching band’s director, Demetri Jones, has been placed on administrative leave, WLBT reported.

The reaction...

Brookhaven High School has filed a formal complaint with the Mississippi High School Activities Association. CNN reached out to the association for comment and is waiting to hear back.

The Brookhaven School District also put out a statement, affirming its support for local law enforcement.

“The halftime show performed by the visiting band during (Friday) night’s game was an unfortunate issue that our district had no prior knowledge of and does not condone,” the district said. “Our main focus remains, as always, on the safety of our students and the student-athletes performing on our fields. We appreciate our community’s support as we continue working to ensure a positive environment of sportsmanship for our student-athletes and those visiting Brookhaven.”

Walter Armstrong, president of the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police, called the skit “deplorable, disgusting, and outrageous.”

“It is never okay for students to participate in something that defiles and desecrates a law enforcement officer,” Armstrong said in a statement. “The adults in charge here should know better.”

The Facebook page of Forest Hill High School has been flooded with angry comments. Even Mississippi’s governor went to Twitter to express his disgust.

“This is unacceptable in a civilized society,” Gov. Phil Bryant tweeted. “Someone should be held accountable.”

I cannot believe that I had to write this story.  I state again, what were you thinking?

Many people have read my article I did last week about the smoking ban in Sheffield, AL.  It is my understanding that there will be a portion of the City Council Meeting Monday Night where citizens can sound off about it.  It should be a barn burning.  Think I will bring some popcorn.

I am and always will be, the Midnight Rider...

Too Many Pettuses?

From a reader:

We have to vote him out! There were 4 Pettuses on the June ballot alone and there’s 5 or 6 in our local government. There’s just something wrong with that. We are not North Korea where one family controls the government. Men and women have fought and died to keep our country a democracy. Pettus tried to stifle your vote in 2015, he is using censorship on his political Facebook page (see Bob Van West’s page) and that’s illegal and he tried to blackmail the person running against him, and that’s a felony. Come on people there’s just something wrong here! We are better than this. Our town, our county is just better than this. I’m embarrassed that I’m just now waking up to what’s going on around here. I am a Republican but I will be voting for an Independent for the first time in my life come November. I don’t care if you’re a Republican or Democrat, we all need to be better represented. No straight tickets this time folks please. You got to go down and vote for the people on the ballot. I will be voting for Dolan because I’m impressed with his ideas and because I’m embarrassed we elected 4 years ago a man rated the least effective representative, #105 out of 105 (dead last) by Alabama businesses.

Does our reader have a point? We have no idea how the Pettuses in Lauderdale County government are related. We do know that it's not uncommon for certain family names in the Greenhill/Lexington area to be plentiful. It simply means that they came 200 years ago and they stayed (that's almost seven generations for the mathematically challenged). 

We did see where a county citizen agreed with Phillip Pettus on disenfranchising the citizens of Florence in the county school superintendent's race. She felt she had no say-so in Florence's superintendent, stating she paid city taxes. Does she?

First, the Florence superintendent is appointed, not elected. Second, county tax dollars are not given to Florence. Third, while state and federal tax dollars (to which this woman would have contributed) are given to all school districts in random ways, this woman might as well seek to vote in Mobile's school races as she had in Florence's.

We have noticed that Phillip Pettus was not as vocal on the subject during his second legislative session as he was his first. Hard lesson learned, perhaps?

How Should We Feel About Scott Morris?

If you missed the TimesDaily article about former editor Scott Morris being fired at our local university, it's not surprising. The story was captioned: Censorship not behind changes in Student Media, UNA officials say

Morris makes number three in this past summer's purge. His termination came shortly after that of Greg Gaston and David Shields. You can read about it here:

The Firing of Scott Morris

Do we feel sympathy for him? Yes and no. 

We don't believe Mr. Morris took the job at the TimesDaily because he had to. We're pretty sure he could have remained in Decatur if he had so wished. We're also pretty sure that Shelton Publishing could have kept T. Wayne Mitchell at the helm here in Florence. You might want to ask yourselves just what the Sheltons wanted from our one-time local paper that Mr. Mitchell couldn't or wouldn't give. Was it more than loyalty?

No matter the reason Scott Morris had for taking Mr. Mitchell's job, he remained at the TD for only five years before departing without an official word. Five more years and UNA is kicking him out just as the Sheltons did Mr. Mitchell.

So do we feel sorry for him? There he is...too old for a paper route and too young for social security... Isn't that just like Mr. Mitchell ten years ago?

Citizens Rebel...Twice in One Week!

Just how far should the government intrude into your life? One hasn't been able to purchase Sudafed over the counter without a signature for years. Why? Because other people commit crimes with the sinus medicine. So honest citizens pay for the crimes of others? In a word, yes. 

Now we have a controversy over selling CBD oil. Yes, that's selling - not using! Feel free to use, but you have to go outside the Shoals to purchase it or order from out of state. Does this make sense to anyone?

If it doesn't, you may wish to join a public rally this Monday at 4:00 p.m. at the Lauderdale County courthouse. Make your voice heard and be sure to mention that four-letter word "vote" while there.

Live in Sheffield? On Thursday at 5:00 p.m. you have a chance to voice complaints over the new smoking ordinance. The meeting will be held at the Municipal Building and last until all complaints are heard. Wow! That could go on until dawn.

If any of our readers attend either of these meetings, be sure to send us details on how it went. We've long advocated for more citizen input into local events, especially animal ordinances and welfare laws. It seems the public may finally be willing to let our elected officials know how they feel.

They Don't Have Even "Walking Around Sense"

A recent event has prompted us to broach a subject we've long considered. Our series on Fourth Amendment rights will continue later.

Computers...are they the great equalizer? No, sorry. Just being able to type one's opinion doesn't make it valid. Here are some of the most asinine comments we see on a regular basis.

1. He/She needs to have more time added to the sentence. Sorry, it doesn't work that way even if she helped her boyfriend kill her child or whatever. If there's no new crime, there can be no new sentence. It's called double jeopardy.

2. He/She should fry for the murder. Sorry again. If a person isn't charged with Capital Murder, there can be no death penalty meted out. Life with chance of parole is the greatest sentence that can be handed down.

3. We need these five crimes added to the capital list...and this was from a state legislator. If you could read, you'd know that four are already capital crimes. Why aren't you trying to balance the budget or perform some other task that would actually benefit the state?

4. That's "fake news." Sorry once again. Fake news isn't reporting that a person has been arrested on certain charges. The person may be innocent, but the arrest is quite real. Oh, your loved one's court appointed attorney will sue? Good luck with that also. Public information is just that. 

5. It's illegal to report which jail/mental hospital a felon is in. See above comment on public information. It's public for a very good reason, and you just make yourself look very foolish if you don't understand that.

6. That's libel! Please look up the definition of libel in this state. Refer again to public information.

Perhaps we should go on with this long list, but our main thrust of today's blog is to ask why anyone would post/share a February article on a fairly standard event? The article is ten months old. If you didn't read it in February, you were either in a coma or just didn't care about any news that didn't involve the Kardashians. 

We've seen several reasons given for individuals posting this article now. The most egregious is that "he ruined my husband's/son's/boyfriend's life." No! We've pretty sure this man fought for either freedom or a lighter sentence for your loved one. The person who ruined his life is the person himself. 

No one makes anyone kill, rob, rape, or commit arson. It's a free choice the felon made. You should be thanking your lucky stars that someone took the case to defend your relative. Us? We'd have just laughed at you!

Say Goodbye to the Fourth Amendment? - Part II

Years ago we were stopped in a small town for doing six miles over the speed limit. Since we had been going down an incline, but the town was rumored to be a speed trap, we were unsure what to expect. No, we weren't given a ticket, but after we told the story to our attorney friend we added that we would have been happy to have had the officer look inside the vehicle.

Our friend was aghast. No! Never volunteer that. If they ask, say no! As he pointed out, while we may have absolutely nothing to hide, we have no idea what the officer might decide to plant in the car. Do many officers do that? We hope not.

We were reminded of that while watching a murder mystery a few weeks ago. The older detective told the younger that it was their job to suspect everyone was guilty and to try to prove it. It was the suspects' "job" to prove that they were innocent. Sad, but probably true.

Now a word about attorneys. If you have legal problems, please don't try to represent yourself based on what you've seen on television or what you've gleaned from the Internet. We recently asked how our readers "felt" about the Fourth Amendment and "unreasonable" searches. As one friend pointed out, it's what the law says about it that counts. 

Quite true, but who interprets the current state of the law in an appeal? You may be surprised at just how little freedom those ultra-conservative judges think you deserve.