Tax & Spend ? Vote Wisely!

Tax and Spend

By J. J. Ray

The national trend is to give the liberal Democrats their walking papers. That is great in Washington but what about Montgomery? We have one of the highest tax bases in the US, 19th in energy cost, and tax on groceries. If it can be taxed, Alabama will tax it. Twenty-five percent of the gambling revenue from neighboring states comes from the citizens of Alabama. Maybe they can find a way to penalize that. Add one of the highest corruption rates in the country and there you have it, the Democrats in power.

Oddly, we keep sending the same politicians back to Montgomery to continue pillaging our meager incomes. The tax, tax and spend Democrats have been in power for over 160 years. When will we learn our lesson? When will good-ole-boy politics end? We have a slight chance this election to tell Montgomery no more taxes and we want some prosperity. Our unemployment rate is one of the highest. All of those plants that the politicians said would never leave are gone.

Yet the same Democrats are in power. When will our elected Democrats do something for Northwest Alabama besides our billion dollar white elephant in Barton? The TV is full of lip service but no action. The Birmingham, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa and Huntsville areas do get new industry. We get white elephants and golf courses.

Is it not time to tell these hypocritical Democrats enough is enough? We need some real leadership here in the Shoals and all of Northwest Alabama. On the other hand, are we destined to stay the red-headed stepchild who occasionally gets a few scraps thrown at us?

How can the rest of the country tell the Democrats we are mad as hell and we are not going to take this anymore? Yet we sit on our duffs and say go-ahead break it off in us some more. Go to Montgomery and pass another big pay increase we do not mind the scraps and poverty.

For the first time we have a slim chance of moving into the twenty-first century. When you go to vote on Tuesday the second, remember we have a duty to not only our children but also our grandchildren and ourselves. Are we going to leave them more of the same?

On the other hand, are we going to give them a future of a realistic life or just a meager existence? Vote wisely.

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An October Lauderdale County Grand Jury failed to indict Chasity Shook in the June shooting death of her husband Scott. The fact that Chasity's attorney allowed her to testify on her own behalf speaks volumes concerning her innocence.


Did you know? Over 50% of all adults in the United States did not have the right to vote until 1920?

Shoalanda

Murder (Crepe That Is)

June was certainly a month for murder--none being so obvious as the ones many lacking gardening expertise inflicted on their hapless crepe myrtles. Southern Living has an excellent article all crepe myrtle owners should read: link.

For an example of some beautiful crepe myrtles, as well as other shrubbery and landscaping, visit Phillip Oliver's Dirt Therapy. Photos of Florence's annual beautification awards are breathtaking.

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Returning to the more malevolent form of the crime, sources say the preliminary autopsy on Randall Scott Shook proved he had been shot three times. Shook's wife Chasity was initially charged with manslaughter, but the next grand jury could up those charges to felony murder.

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Family of Justin "Bo" Cummings are adamant that he never threatened the lives of any police officers, as was initially reported. Unless such a threat can be proved, charges of making terrorist threats will have to be dropped.

The Cummings case is not the first one from Russellville where official statements from the police department have been challenged. We have contacts in all area police departments, and Russellville's Police Chief Chris Hargett seems to be the most universally disliked. The area's favorite? Rick Singleton of Florence. We're proud that a man of his moral fiber leads law enforcement in our home town.

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Know any Colbert County Deputies on Facebook? Sources say at least two of them give new meaning to the term "gun play" in their photo albums.


Shoalanda

Case & Logan Don't Know?

Those who have been following the ongoing alcohol fueled antics of Tuscumbia Police Chief Tony Logan are aware that the long-time officer has asked for a trial in Lauderdale County Circuit Court to determine guilt or innocence in his DUI arrest. Unfortunately, the Chief and his defense attorney Tim Case don't seem to know as much as the lay people keeping tabs on the situation. Quoted in Today's TimesDaily, Case offered these words in Judge Gil Self's courtroom:

Defense attorney Tim Case declined to enter a plea for Logan during an arraignment hearing Tuesday, arguing the charges against the police chief are vague. “We don’t know what we are charged with at this time,” Case said.

Sad, isn't it, when a veteran law enforcement officer and a juris doctor can't fathom simple DUI charges. Perhaps Case's strategy may get Logan off, but this prolonged theatre of the absurd isn't garnering any respect for Tony Logan. If Logan should win his case, just imagine the resulting chaos in Florence Municipal Court for all future DUI trials.

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Sources tell us that Randall Scott Shook was a second cousin to Kenny Strickland, convicted murderer of Rusty Earnest. According to other sources, Shook had approximately 15 felony convictions, as well as an extensive juvenile record. He was also awaiting trial for a recent assault conviction.

We suspect, like Tony Logan, Scott Shook had a serious problem with alcohol. While we have heard rumors that responsible drinkers are out there, they don't seem to live in the Shoals.

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Apparently, the e-mail sent to Colbert County Bar Association members concerning Tim Milam's move back to Mississippi was all in fun. Milam has a new Facebook page where he touts his expertise. A reader tells us one post on DUI defense was hastily removed.

See the last statement in the Scott Shook update...

Shoalanda

All Shook Up?

On June 20, 2010, Chasity Shook, 22, shot and killed her husband Randall Scott Shook, a man with a lengthy assault record. Scott, the son of Gregory Scott and Blanche Annette Shook of Killen, also had a history of domestic violence.The shooting occurred after a night of drinking in celebration of Scott's 27th birthday.

What, besides alcohol, brought this marriage to such a violent end? According to family sources, Scott had recently told Chasity he was again to become a father--with a single woman he knew from work. After weeks of arguing, Chasity had decided to forgive her roving man and planned a romantic outing for his birthday.

However, once at the bar, the evening began to prove a little too romantic, when Scott ran into still another girlfriend. Already inebriated, Scott made no attempt to hide his interest in this old flame, and Chasity demanded the evening be cut short.

Once home, Scott berated his young wife for spoiling his birthday celebration, picked up a rifle, and walked towards her. Unfortunately for Scott, the alcohol had taken a toll on his balance, and he tripped, dropping the gun in the process. Chasity retrieved the weapon and pointed it at her wayward husband, who then lunged. Firing once, Chasity struck Scott in the torso--a wound that would prove fatal.

Now, Chasity Shook is charged with manslaughter, and her children are without a father. Judging from Randall Scott Shook's track record, they may be better off.


For the one reader who asked, yes, we're supporting England in the World Cup. Does that make us unpatriotic? No, that just means it doesn't matter since few in the Shoals know a WAG from a wag.

Shoalanda