#1 Muscle Shoals is receiving some much deserved recognition through a documentary of the same name being featured at the Sundance Film Festival. The documentary highlights the amazing history of the small northwest Alabama town as a giant in American music recording history. Alabama has a rich musical history. What or who is your favorite musician with ties to Alabama? Or, where is your favorite live music venue in Alabama?
#2 Shelby County, Alabama, is in the national news this week, its petition to challenge the Voting Rights Act of 1965 being argued before the U. S. Supreme Court. (Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder). The Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires, among other things, that states which have exhibited discriminatory voting practices obtain prior approval from the U. S. Department of Justice before making any changes that might affect voters rights. Do you think the Voting Rights Act has had a positive or negative effect on the country? Do you think it is still needed? Do you think it should be done away with, or perhaps do you think it should be applied to the entire country rather than limited places?
#3 Sequestration. Just say what you feel.
#4 A brouhaha broke out in the Alabama State Senate today. There was cursing and shouting and accusations of sleaziness. Basically the legislature has voted to give a tax credit to parents who take their children our of "failing" public schools and put them in private schools. They sort of did it in a sneaky way. Big shock. Check it out on the brouhaha link if you want to know more. This legislative session is swiftly moving along. Lots of education, guns, abortion, predatory lending, taxes, and other bills being considered. Surely you have one thing you would like your state government to do for you. What is it?
#5 A common theme, not very subtle, in this session of the Alabama Legislature, has been disdain for the United States. Do you think this disdain for our country is justified?
#6 I believe Alabama and Auburn will both win the rest of their games in the SEC Men's basketball season this year, and one of them will win the SEC Tournament. I believe that Congress and the President will come together, hold hands and settle the sequester stand-off. I believe the traffic on 280 will flow freely from now on. No one else will be killed off on Downton Abbey. Frank Underwood will donate his House of Cards for a homeless shelter. Privet and kudzu will become cash crops. I am intentionally being overly optimistic because maybe we need to be a little optimism. What will you be willing to be optimistic about, against all odds . . . and reason?
#7 How do you get rid of Privet?
#8 What question do you want answered this week?
Hank Williams, no doubt.
ReplyDeleteVoting should be fair. It worked. Should be extended to whole country. It's a joke to think just a few states are worse than others now. Did you pay attention to the last couple elections?
Sequestration? Pass the wine.
Legislature? Get GED's.
Disdain for U.S. by Ala. Legislature? Not the country, just the government?
Optimistic things won't be as bad as the could be. Okay, specifically, optimistic that bacon cheeseburgers will be found to be full of only good cholesterol.
I don't get rid of Privet.
What is Privet?
DL
Civil Wars
ReplyDeleteNecessary after Civil Wars, still necessary
Uncivil war
Volunteer for the front lines.
Civil War re-enactment
Wish the Civil War would end, instead of Civil Wars
Privet just like the legislature in Alabama seems to be unstoppable.
ReplyDelete1. Don't know. I don't listen to music much anyway, especially live.
ReplyDelete2. No longer needed. Do away with it everywhere.
3. Only in the federal gov't can an increase in budget be a "sky is falling" cut. I've been in sequestration in my family budget for the past few years. I have to spend what I have and no more. They can do the same. I was for going off of the "cliff" the first chance we had with the pedal to the metal.
4. Pass the firearms bills.
5. They don't have disdain for the US. They have, as I do, disdain for this un-American administration that is trying to take this country in a direction that is the complete opposite of what this country was founded on. The disdain is absolutely justified. (Nice wording, by the way, framing them as America haters instead of people who want America headed in the right direction.)
6. That America will be the America I grew up in when my children are my age. That my children and grandchildren won't be paying the bills for the drunken-sailor spending going on right now by the gov't.
7. Sweat. A lot. Maybe Round Up too.
8. ?
Where is that optimism? Anything is stoppable with persistence and enough people paying attention. Problem is we don't have enough people paying attention and we can't sustain a fight long enough to fix things. Don't forget...next year is election year. Let's take on that privet!
ReplyDelete1. Bob Bentley. The man in genius!
ReplyDelete2. I am for any and every law, act, motion, nod of the head, wink of the eye that leads to every state in our nation having a more informed electorate. That's really what I'm concerned about when it comes to voting. And these are the things that have helped the USA develop a far "more informed electorate" so far. . . . oh wait I was thinking of the things that helped McDonalds increase the # of supersize orders last year.
Sequestration: I tried taking a course in this field sophomore year in college, but kept falling off the horse.
4. "Brouhaha" now there is a word I dearly love to use, and one, unfortunately, that has come to be closely associated with the goings-on in the halls, hallways, and backrooms of our state government offices. If I could ask one thing of my state government it would be this: could we leave the "cursing and shouting and accusations of sleaziness" for the "bubbas in the barrooms" and start acting like statesmen? But, being the greedy person I am, I would also ask this: Could we also ban any elected official (and there are some) who are unable to speak clearly from all television interviews?? I would like to see us allow only those who are able to speak the english language with some degree of proficiency near reporters from this point forward? We've hidden our "crazy kin" in backrooms for years...is the same not possible for our elected officials??
5. Distain for America. Howabout "distain for our leaders who distain our America"? Someone must take the high road here and I will, because when good men and women do nothing, folks become President who have absolutely no consideration at all for the US Constitution and morans become Veep! However, we are called to pray for our leaders...no matter how we may feel about them. I'm going to follow the highest law in the land. I've read the last chapter of The Book and know Who wins in the end! I'd rather do right, and be on His side when it all comes down at the closing bell. So..no to distain..yes to prayer.
6. Hope is a good thing and (to borrow a line from a favorite movie), a good thing never dies. I'm with you on the optimism thing! So, let's see here, I believe that no matter how hard the winds may blow, no matter how long we have to wait, Krispy Kreme will always rebuild and there will always be a place to see that wonderful crimson "Hot Now" sign shine! Reason: Sugar is a good thing!
7. Getting rid of privet...well...and I'm guessing here...antibiotics?
8. Why, oh why have they added yet another shade of buff between #493 Early Morning Mist and #495 Soft Cream Egg Shell on the color wheel at the paint store? Didn't we have enough decisions with the 25 shades of cream/buff available to us last year???