By the time I got to know Gordon Rodgers, it was unthinkable to imagine him as an incendiary young radical. He was urbane, sophisticated, and his handsome wife, Agnes, had a certain stylish flair. They were a couple who would be unremarkable at a table in the Rainbow Room in New York. As time went on, it seemed to me that Gordon developed a kind of weary wisdom, the knowledge of a man who has seen a world of folly.The Star's editorial board also is looking at the comments made across Alabama following the arrest of three white teenagers for the defacing of the Confederate monument in Montgomery earlier this fall:
And that’s the thing about Gordon Rodgers and men like him in those days before the Old South died and sank to the bottom of history, not unremembered but dead. He was from a good family; his father was a doctor. He was educated, a graduate of elite Talladega College, where black professionals of the time sent their sons and daughters, an institution which turned out doctors and lawyers in assembly-line numbers.
John Napier, who was identified as “a historian and former member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans,” summed it up quite well. The vandals “must have learned something in school even though they applied it rather poorly.”We'll also have our daily dose of letters to the editor and syndicated columnists.
True enough. And it is the application, not the education, that society must now address.
We've got Brad Pitt -- yes, BRAD PITT!!! -- on The Star's op-ed page on Friday morning.
We’ll let the Texas editorial pages get to the heart of the problem there. As for punishment in Alabama, it is not dished out fairly, especially when it comes to the death penalty.We're also commenting on the Joint Powers Authority's hiring of Angelou Economics to lead the search for McClellan's CEO:
The quicker we come to that realization — and admit that this is as much a political issue as it is an issue of justice — the better off all of us will be.
It’s no secret that it’s been a frustrating year on the McClellan CEO front. Dan Cleckler resigned as executive director in January, and months were wasted due to what appeared to be miscommunication between the JPA and the Angelou firm. Like many others, this page wishes the CEO search was further along than it is.
Imagine one of these guys walking down Noble Street.
I grew up among folks who didn’t have much. Today, people look back through rose-tinted glasses and talk about being poor but not knowing it. These children knew it. They were the ones who spent the year collecting the tinfoil from discarded cigarette packages to make shiny balls to decorate their Christmas tree because they could not afford the store-bought kind. It was all their parents could do to buy a Christmas gift for their own children, much less someone else’s. Name-drawing reminded them, and us, of their situation.
Taddy’s family fell into that category.
Huckabee's name is no longer a mystery to Iowa's Republican voters, in large part because of an extensive network of home-schoolers ... who have helped lift his underfunded campaign from obscurity to the front of a crowded field. ...
While early attention focused on Romney and other better-known and better-funded opponents, home-schoolers rallied to Huckabee's cause, attracted by his faith, his politics and his decision to appoint a home-school proponent to the Arkansas board of education. They tapped a web of community and church groups that share common conservative interests, blasting them with e-mails and passing along the word about Huckabee in social settings.
"These students are impacting political organizations all over the country," said home-school mother Jean Whatley, 55, whose four children have worked a combined total of 20 political campaigns. "They want to transform the culture for Christ."
It’s one more black eye, one more example of how the nation has strayed from its bedrock values under Dick Cheney’s and George W. Bush’s guidance. As difficult as it is to reconcile, the United States has become a torturer nation. Despite all the denials and word games, the United States has joined the ranks of countries we once looked down upon, spots in Latin America, North Africa and Eastern Europe where suspects were “disappeared,” tortured and otherwise denied due process.We're also considering the upcoming water-war meeting between the governors of Alabama, Florida and Georgia -- and if the meeting will accomplish anything:
It comes down to this: Unless a court or Congress or president is able to impose or broker a deal, the path of water-war litigation that goes far into our past promises to stretch into our future. As long as the states involved look to a court, Congress or president for a solution, they will not work out a deal themselves.We'll also have an op-ed column written by Paul Hubbert of the Alabama Education Association and our usual fare of letters and syndicated columnists.
The Clearing House is a work of art, really. People’s lives, wants and wishes are pored over, filed and matched with big-hearted folks who agree to step up. They accept the challenge and privilege put before a community to provide for all.
The stories come through the Clearing House each year. The families’ names are different — most have never asked for help before — but their circumstances are familiar to those among the “haves” who’ve cared to notice the "have nots."
... for a brief time, Alabama fans gleefully considered the prospect of the coach who left them behind resigning in disgrace and the Auburn coach who has beaten them six years in a row abandoning the Tigers for the Aggies.
And, yes, it's sadly telling and rather pitiful that Alabama football fans are reduced to schadenfreude -- taking glee in others' misfortune -- as a way of bringing cheer to a disappointing 6-6 record.
TCU's record in the years since Franchione departed Fort Worth for Tuscaloosa in late 2000 is 60-25 -- that's 11 more wins than Coach Fran amassed during his time in College Station and Tuscaloosa.
Within that stat is an admission that many are loathe to make in Alabama: Before A&M stole Fran from Alabama, the Crimson Tide lured him away from the Horned Frogs. Alabama fans are not innocents in this game -- as my wife, the TCU alumna, reminds me. They loudly cheered when inviting a promising coach to leave Cowtown. Little consideration -- most likely no consideration -- was given to the fate of TCU. Could it be that the Alabama faithful are paying for these sins with back-to-back 6-6 seasons?
Maybe karma comes clad in purple.
We could, and should, chide administrations present and past for neglecting to push for a comprehensive water-usage plan, but the fact remains that Alabama does not have one. Until one is developed we will be at a disadvantage when we negotiate with our sister states.We're also wondering if the Retirement System of Alabama's good fortune in raising money for state workers will continue:
All is not lost, however.
However, as any economist will tell you, one good year is not a trend. And with an unsteady housing market, a credit crunch, a nervous Wall Street and serious talk of a recession, those in charge of these funds will have their hands full trying to match or exceed what they accomplished this year.Finally, on Tuesday we're talking socks, both in Alabama and internationally:
It certainly is more complicated, but as internationalism replaces nationalism in the world of commerce, as corporate interests transcend the borders of the countries where their companies are located, managers and employees from the boardrooms to the mills are going to have to think and rethink their situation.
- Political crisis in Pakistan: Musharraf declares state of emergency
- China's export industry buffeted by cases of tainted toys, toothpaste, other products
- U.S. housing and home-lending sectors battered by slump; stocks volatile
- Wildfires ravage Southern California; hundreds of thousands evacuate homes
- Tony Blair departs after 10 years as British prime minister; Gordon Brown takes over
- Alberto Gonzales quits as attorney general after string of controversies
- U.S. dollar falls; Canadian currency more valuable for first time in decades
- Anna Nicole Smith dies; fight over her burial and baby ensue
- Severe drought wracks Southeastern states
- Bangladesh devastated by cyclone; more than 3,000 killed
- Bush administration assailed over torture, Guantanamo detentions
- Attempt to forge compromise on illegal immigration collapses in Congress
- Scientists create equivalent of embryonic stem cells from ordinary skin cells
- Intense campaigning in both major parties for 2008 presidential nominations
- Nicolas Sarkozy elected president of France, vows to strengthen ties with U.S.
- Iran spars with international community over its nuclear program
- Afghan war: deadliest year since 2001
- Death penalty under scrutiny as painlessness of lethal injection questioned
- Supreme Court bans a controversial abortion procedure
- Military regime in Myanmar cracks down harshly on protest movement
- Under pressure from critics, Paul Wolfowitz resigns as president of World Bank
- Methane blast kills 110 workers at Russian coal mine
- U.S. troop surge in Iraq takes effect: violence drops but does not halt
- Palestinians feud among themselves heading toward peace talks with Israel
- Russian President Putin signals he intends to maintain power even after term ends
- Tropical Storm Noel kills more than 100 people in Caribbean
- Darfur: Attempts at peace talks falter as violence continues
- President Bush, Democratic-led Congress at odds over health coverage, Iraq, spending
- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez moves to consolidate power, extend rule
- Oil prices soar worldwide
- Global warming: new warnings from experts, Al Gore wins Nobel Prize for his advocacy
- NASA astronaut accused of trying to kidnap rival for affections of space shuttle pilot
- Duke lacrosse rape case collapses; district attorney ousted in disgrace
- Gunman kills 32 people at Virginia Tech; deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history
- Massive wildfires in southern Greece kill at least 65 people
- Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby convicted in CIA leak case
- Nancy Pelosi elected first female speaker of the House
- Revelations of shoddy conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
- CBS fires Don Imus from his radio show for demeaning remarks about Rutgers athletes
- Highway bridge collapses in Minneapolis, killing 13, injuring about 100
- Barry Bonds breaks all-time home run record, then indicted in steroid investigation
- Six miners, three rescue workers die at Utah coal mine
- Earthquake in Peru kills more than 500, wrecks at least 40,000 homes
- Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick pleads guilty to dogfighting charges
- Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho refuses to quit despite guilty plea in airport vice sting
- FBI investigates role of Blackwater USA security firm in killings of Iraqis
- Plane skids off wet runway, killing 199 in Brazil's worst aviation accident
- Koreas: North moves to scrap nuclear program, signs reconciliation pact with South
"State rewrites Constitution"
"Last mile of Eastern Parkway paved"
Although the tougher bankruptcy law was passed to help credit-card companies recover debts owed to them, the companies continued to offer deals and options to entice more customers. As a result, many who should not have been issued cards got them, used them and now cannot pay what they owe. Consumer debt is higher than ever. In many cases, the credit-card industry has no one to blame but itself.Here's also a peak at a Star editorial on evangelical Christians and their role in politics:
The result (of the popularity of famous and influential televangelists) was the rise of the Moral Majority and other similar organizations that told the faithful that through concerted political action religious goals could be reached. The primary beneficiary was the Republican Party.
During the Thanksgiving holidays, some 200 additional state troopers, plus increased numbers of local law-enforcement personnel — in cooperation with similar increases in Mississippi and Tennessee — took to the highways and byways of their respective states, just as they did last year.Our editorial, as you can read on Saturday, goes on to give statistics proving how well the state trooper's program worked during the Thanksgiving holiday.
The results were the same. Only this time, they were better.
Wanted: Local heroes
Scores of citizens regularly do good deeds in our community. They quietly volunteer their time, money and other resources, and good cheer to worthwhile causes. We¹d like to know about these unsung heroes, and share some of their stories during this holiday season.
If you would like to nominate someone who deserves recognition as a local unsung hero, please let us know. Send in a short note telling us why your nominee should be honored. Be sure to include your name and contact information. The deadline for entries is Dec. 7. Send your nominations to:
The commission also passed a resolution about the need for a statewide dam safety program, saying they hope planned legislation will rid Alabama of the shameful designation of being the only state that doesn’t inspect its dams.
A recent study showed there are approximately 10,100 dams in Alabama, said Leslie Durham, a branch chief at the Alabama Office of Water Resources.
The story so far
The Anniston Star has reported since January that the condition of Alabama's dams — even the number of them — is unknown because the state has no inspection program. Alabama is the only state in the nation without a Safe Dams program. The stories below followed the issue from Anniston to Montgomery to Washington.
Jan. 28 — State Office of Water Resources officials said they were pursuing legislative options to better monitor dam conditions.
March 4 — The last time Alabama counted the dams on its rivers, streams and ponds was in 1981. Critics say the lack of information could leave nearby residents vulnerable to loss of life or property.
Aug. 15 — The state Office of Water Resources and the Natural Resource Conservation Service in Montgomery began a random sampling to get an inventory of how many dams are in the state.
Sept. 23 — Lawmakers say creating legislation that regulates dam safety and maintenance is not a priority.
Oct. 5 — The lack of a dam safety program could cost Alabama $200 million in federal money under the National Dam Safety bill moving through Congress.
Since The Times moved in June from its longtime home on West 43rd Street in Manhattan to its new, almost completed tower designed by Renzo Piano on Eighth Avenue between 40th and 41st Streets, two men — an artist, Ben Rubin, and a statistician, Mark Hansen — have all but taken up residence in the building’s cavernous lobby, huddled most days around laptops and coffee cups on a folding table. Flanking them on two high walls are 560 small screens, 280 a wall, suspended in a grid pattern that looks at first glance like some kind of minimalist sculpture.
But then the screens, simple vacuum fluorescent displays of the kind used in alarm clocks and cash registers, come to life, spewing out along the walls streams of orphaned sentences and phrases that have appeared in The Times or, in many cases, that are appearing on the paper’s Web site at that instant.
They are fished from The Times databases by computerized algorithms that Mr. Rubin and Mr. Hansen have designed that parse the paper in strange ways, selecting, for example, only sentences from quotations that start with "you" or "I." Or sentences ending in question marks. Or just the first, tightly choreographed sentences of obituaries.
The content of the permanent installation, called "Moveable Type," is drawn not only from the words that The Times reports but also, in real time, from the search terms and Web commentary pouring in from thousands of readers around the world, capturing what Mr. Rubin called "both the push and the pull" of the newspaper.
For his many successes, and others, the governor should be commended.The Star also is looking again at the cost of the America's wars, and how we're paying for them:
However, the 21st century is a different era, thanks in no small part to the Internet. And all governments — from small-town city halls all the way to D.C. — should use the Web to communicate with residents and conduct much of its business.
The Bush administration continues to neglect the pay-as-you-go principle of war. Every major U.S. war has required a tax to fund the guns, ammo and troops needed. Not this one. The White House gave huge tax cuts to the richest 1 percent of Americans and left the bill to future generations. Through bad and worse in Iraq, this position has not wavered.And this from Star columnist Hardy Jackson on last Saturday's Auburn-Alabama football game:
Now, friends — and you are my friends — I seriously doubt if you will ever find a group of more dedicated football fans than those assembled around Daddy’s TV between Thanksgiving Thursday and time-to-go-home Sunday to watch game after game after game, college and pro, waiting all the while for Auburn and Alabama to go at it.
But what we thought would be prelude and would set us up for the big night wore us out instead.
Twenty-five years ago this month, a group of high school seniors and two adults commenced a rafting trip down the Sipsey River in west Alabama. Before it was over, some members of the party would abandon the effort, seeking warmth and comfort in the arms of their sweethearts. The rest would struggle on without food and adequate shelter. Heck, my sleeping bag caught on fire.Reflecting on that wild trip a quarter century later, there are few redeeming lessons. But there are lots of amusing stories
Susan,
Thought the Page 1 holiday travel story and chart was great.
We admired it so much we're attempting our own version.
Just thought I should come clean lest you visit your in-laws in Anniston this Thanksgiving and notice it
Guess that makes me a full-disclosure thief, right?
Democratic Supreme Court candidate Deborah Bell Paseur kicked off her campaign Tuesday standing in front of a supporter holding an "8-1" sign criticizing the Supreme Court's Exxon Mobil decision.
November 16, 2007
Dear Editor,
Last week, I announced my candidacy for justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, which resulted in your Nov. 15 editorial, “The Case of Partisan Justice.”
I agree with much of what was said, especially your final conclusion that Alabama needs laws that require “interest groups to report every dime they contribute to political campaigns and candidates.”
One small, but very important detail, however, was not accurate. I never stood in front of a sign that said “8-1.” I had my campaign review the video footage to make certain of this.
Before my announcement, there was a crowd of people assembled at the Supreme Court building, and some of them arrived with signs. Apparently one of those signs referred to the recent Supreme Court ruling in the Exxon case and the fact that eight Republicans ruled one way with the lone Democrat on the other side. Before I came out of the building, however, one of my campaign workers saw the sign in question and had it removed. I do not know who brought it, but, again, it was not behind me when I announced.
Whoever brought that sign did not know why I am running for the Alabama Supreme Court, or they would not have done so. Put simply and in words from your editorial, it is to try and change what you accurately described as a “decade of partisan wrangling.”
I am not partisan. I don’t consider myself a politician. I’m a judge. I have been a judge for almost 28 years and have never faced opposition in my re-election campaigns. I am known for being fair and for treating everyone equally. I first ran for office, because a judge was abusing his position and mistreating people, and as a former police officer, I felt compelled to defend the integrity of the court. If I had lost, my ability to practice law in my county would have been hampered, but my first concern was for the court.
Now, I am running for our Supreme Court for similar reasons. The contentiousness, the unseemly spending, and the advertising by special interest groups undermines the integrity of our courts and is eroding public trust in our judicial system. Running under the “8-1” banner might highlight that anxiety. It might even win votes. But it is a partisan message that does not help restore the dignity deserving of the office I seek. I am not a politician. I am a judge.
Respectfully Submitted,
Deborah Bell Paseur
Florence
A decade of partisan wrangling has left Alabama with a judicial system where justices are inclined to interpret the law according to legal standards and philosophies that reflect the interests and attitudes of the groups that paid for the campaigns that got the justices elected in the first place. And there is not much to suggest that special interests will support legislation to change this.
On a serious note, we should make it clear that vanity plates are big business — big business, especially for a state whose bank account isn’t the union’s most bountiful. This summer, a Florence TimesDaily study revealed that vanity-plate fees in Alabama brought in more than $29 million in the previous 12-month period, with the revenue going to the state’s General Fund. Silly phrases or not, that’s too much cash for the state to turn down.
