I'm sorry I've played hooky from blogging, as it seems to have been a crazy, mixed up week to where I didn't post anything on my own blog. Someone actually asked what happened to me, somewhat worried. Well, life happened. You almost wish it had been the flu (which people seem to be getting around me left and right).
Seems like in this blog/Facebook/Twitter/Web site/e-mail/cell phone world of ours, we are demanded to communicate in five different directions at once. There were reports of President Obama's speech to the Congress being a focal point among members of Congress, who eagerly spent part of the time in the chamber Twittering others on their whereabouts, obviously to score points. (In the old days they only lined the aisle to be seen with the president. Now they can just sit in their seats and tell constituents by cell phone what the constituents can clearly see on TV.)
I guess as I try to sort out some things in my life -- and, no, it ain't all sorted out in my mind to yet -- I just didn't make time for some things. I also ignored by Bible study. I've missed that, too. However, until I see enough advertising for the radio show or income from other freelance work or **something** that can look truthfully long-term, then I will relax. I was happy with one job, one steady paycheck, health insurance, the whole ball of wax. Well, that has ended, at least for now. I'm either out of my comfort zone or out of my mind. Thankfully, I'm not out of money, as I am getting some of that, but changing the course of one's life after 27 years is not easy. It is especially difficult when you are changing course and the ocean that you were used to sailing is drying up around you, as evidenced by the sad collapse of the newspaper in Denver. We may see some big and small names vanish or shrink to yet. Reporter jobs are hard to come by in newspapers, and I am concerned the newspapers may be just as hard to come by in days down the road.
In my case, that means you try radio, which means you try selling ads for your own radio show, too. Most have been receptive to what I said, although the old days of making up your mind are gone. Now they have committees to go through. I've been referred to so many committees recently I feel like a constitution convention bill in the Alabama Legislature, passed on to be passed on until I pass on myself. I'm told I have a good product and to be patient on the economy. And every day I watch the stocks drop another 100 points. It's like betting on the Detroit Lions to win the Super Bowl by five touchdowns.
Then, there is freelancing. You write to magazines and you never hear back. You bid for work on Web sites like Elance, and a dozen people have already bid for projects...and some greedy person has underbid $100 and $200 offers with a $50 offer.
Oh, my. Selling cars sounds better, except that's not so hot these days. It's tough all around. I ordered pizza the other day, and the guy who brought it looked older than I was.
Anyway, I'll try to be a good boy and get back to blogging more in the next few days. I still won't be making any more money, but at least I know you're paying attention. Unless you're Twittering someone that you're reading my blog.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Quick Review: "Changling"
When I was a boy, I would watch the reruns of "Dragnet," leading me to think the Los Angeles Police Department was the most by-the-book, professional police department ever. The department would repay Jack Webb by lowering its flag at half-mast when he died. Yeah, they owed him big time, because history has now taught me that the department has had problems long before Rodney King.
Director Clint Eastwood cements his reputation further on this movie, now on DVD, by revisiting a sensational case that exposed how corrupt and above-the-law the department was in the 1920s. Angelina Jolie puts in a marvelous performance (as does everyone in this movie) as the real-life mother of a boy who went missing in 1928. When the police, eager for good publicity, announced they had found the boy, she was horrified to learn it was not her boy -- and even more horrified to find out the police not only wanted it behind them, but would stoop to playing mind games with her to pretend it was her boy and that the mother was crazy -- and I mean literally crazy. It is a story with so many twists and turns I don't dare reveal more, but it certainly is safe to say this was an historic case with major ramifications for the police department. It is a great movie that grips you with its story and holds you in suspense, tears and astonishment to the end, with every detail handled expertly.
In this day of Amber Alerts and media concentration, parents will be horrified to find out what happened to this mother and this child. One will be stunned how, in the United States of America, we can discover how authority, when too eager to get good publicity and easy rides at the risk of actually doing a good cop's job, can stoop to Gestapo-like tactics to get their way. It is a morality lesson for us all, and one every law enforcement agency, every military and every citizen's action group in these post-9/11 days should all but force their ranks to watch. Action in the sake of cleaning up society can soon spiral out of control be at the expense of a free society only wanting the basics done, such as finding a missing child. It happened in the "good ol' days" of 1928, in California, in an age of front porches and trust. Heaven help us what could happen today, and "Changeling" is our warning bell in the night.
Director Clint Eastwood cements his reputation further on this movie, now on DVD, by revisiting a sensational case that exposed how corrupt and above-the-law the department was in the 1920s. Angelina Jolie puts in a marvelous performance (as does everyone in this movie) as the real-life mother of a boy who went missing in 1928. When the police, eager for good publicity, announced they had found the boy, she was horrified to learn it was not her boy -- and even more horrified to find out the police not only wanted it behind them, but would stoop to playing mind games with her to pretend it was her boy and that the mother was crazy -- and I mean literally crazy. It is a story with so many twists and turns I don't dare reveal more, but it certainly is safe to say this was an historic case with major ramifications for the police department. It is a great movie that grips you with its story and holds you in suspense, tears and astonishment to the end, with every detail handled expertly.
In this day of Amber Alerts and media concentration, parents will be horrified to find out what happened to this mother and this child. One will be stunned how, in the United States of America, we can discover how authority, when too eager to get good publicity and easy rides at the risk of actually doing a good cop's job, can stoop to Gestapo-like tactics to get their way. It is a morality lesson for us all, and one every law enforcement agency, every military and every citizen's action group in these post-9/11 days should all but force their ranks to watch. Action in the sake of cleaning up society can soon spiral out of control be at the expense of a free society only wanting the basics done, such as finding a missing child. It happened in the "good ol' days" of 1928, in California, in an age of front porches and trust. Heaven help us what could happen today, and "Changeling" is our warning bell in the night.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Friday's show: Parrish debate at BOE meeting
I've decided that because of the bitter school board debate over the hiring of teachers at Parrish High School, which occurred late Thursday afternoon, we will air a large portion of that debate on our show Friday, provided there are no technical glitches. We will still have Cordova Mayor Jack Scott as our guest, but the bulk of the first half of the show will be devoted to this debate, which got rather angry toward the end. This will air Friday, Feb. 20, at 2 p.m.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Quick Review: Time Magazine special on Lincoln
To mark President's Day and the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, there are probably lots of thick books you can buy. But the neatest bargain I've seen recently is probably in your grocery store's magazine area. Time Magazine has put out one of its special paperback books, this one running 122 color pages and called, "Abraham Lincoln: An Illustrated History of His Life and Times," costing only $11.99. For someone who doesn't want to spend a month reading the subject, this edition is full of rare photos (Lincoln in a white suit, for example) and great illustrations, matched by some great research and writing that made me sit up and take notice. A number of facts come out, such as Lincoln's skills as a legislator (which were used with others to move the Illinois capital to Springfield and get a major state construction package, although the latter failed because of a national economic collapse). There are early insights into what may have formed his views on slavery and how his love life caused him to fall into two major depressions. It also explains how someone from Lincoln's background could become a lawyer without going to law school and just how well he became at the profession. And, forget all the movies you saw...he had a high squeaky voice. For the armchair historian on a budget, or for anyone wanting an photo/text source that makes Lincoln human and accessible, this is a great way to mark the occasion on a quick read. As a fan of these Time/Life special projects, this is also one of the best they've put out in quite some time.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Quick Review: "W."
To me an Oliver Stone film usually is a sign of trouble. I thought "Platoon" was great, but he crossed a terrible historical line with "J.F.K." in that it completely warped what are the more common historical findings of the 1963 Kennedy assassination, and an entire generation bought it. I haven't quite forgiven him to yet.
Needless to say, we all know "W." will not be a film the Bush family will want to screen for family gatherings. We know the liberal director will be making his jabs at the former president. Here we get to see the long-rumored family split between son and father which may have had an impact on how W. governs. We also see presidential discussions that show how the war was built on faulty evidence and visions of regional domination. It is not pretty. Surprised?
However, first, actor Josh Brolin's portrayal of George W. Bush is so on the mark that it is worth the price of a rental to see it. Second, Stone, perhaps maturing a bit, has admitted and says again on extras here that it may not be completely accurate, as some conversations had to be constructed, but it is what he feels may be a close representation of what Bush's life was like. He is quick to admit in the commentary and other materials when literary license has been taken for the sake of better storytelling (leaving out a number of advisers in meetings to par down the number of people, re-arranging time, etc).
Most astounding is a supplementary DVD-ROM segment that you use on your computer to get articles and book quotes to back up incidents depicted in the movie, and there are a number of them. Stone has obviously read up well on his subject, and I have to admit to hearing about some of these incidents myself. I've never seen a movie on DVD that has been backed up with footnotes and sources like this, and I have to admit it is most refreshing. Movies and true history shall never completely meet thanks to the problem of storytelling or prejudices. Even though Stone once went so over the line that even I couldn't ignore it, he seems to set a standard here that would be refreshing if followed by other directors of historical films. Moreover, the reading in these articles even without the film are interesting, such as depictions of Bush's youthful arrests and his near-fight with his father.
Finally, Stone appears to have mellowed somewhat. Sure, he notes that he doesn't not agree with the Bush policies -- and gets in a few jabs on the commentary at Reagan and, of course, mentions Vietnam in passing, showing some of the old anger still there. Still, Oliver notes Bush as a personality is likeable and seems to like Laura Bush's influence on the man. He notes Bush did overcome problems and finally proved a success in his father's eyes in the form of a campaign advisor, and you can't help but be happy for him, even with the Willie Horton ads thrown in for emphasis.
Stone does not seem to doubt that Bush had some type of spiritual awakening and reformed himself on booze and other youthful problems. He seems to admire that. He even admires other Christians he has met, even though he did not appear to be a convert to private pleadings. But he tries to give some respect to those moments, although he seems bewildered by the president's constant praying at staff meetings. (Granted, though, that is unusual as a custom.)
Stone finds Bush somewhat a problem in general, one not really qualified, scarred emotionally, unable to empathize with others. Then again, you do seem to take some joy when Bush gives comeuppance to Vice President Dick Chaney and others who served the president poorly at times or who wanted to be in charge. Stone thinks others, such as Collin Powell, deserve some blame, according to his commentary. Bush is not really an evil man in Stone's hands, as he is one who was not equipped to be in place, becoming a victim of a final, belated success which unraveled into a failure of policy.
"W." will always be seen as a hit at Bush by a liberal director, but if the history books confirm many of these details...and, I fear, they may...then we may see this in the future as quite a record of a Shakespearean tragedy gone awry on the world stage. Only time will tell. For his part, Stone has done his best to give us an early peak at history and to back up his story. No matter how it ends, though, we know it ends in tragedy, for the man depicted has made his mark in history. It is a sad story, and any historical redemption, Harry Truman-style, may be very late in coming, indeed.
Needless to say, we all know "W." will not be a film the Bush family will want to screen for family gatherings. We know the liberal director will be making his jabs at the former president. Here we get to see the long-rumored family split between son and father which may have had an impact on how W. governs. We also see presidential discussions that show how the war was built on faulty evidence and visions of regional domination. It is not pretty. Surprised?
However, first, actor Josh Brolin's portrayal of George W. Bush is so on the mark that it is worth the price of a rental to see it. Second, Stone, perhaps maturing a bit, has admitted and says again on extras here that it may not be completely accurate, as some conversations had to be constructed, but it is what he feels may be a close representation of what Bush's life was like. He is quick to admit in the commentary and other materials when literary license has been taken for the sake of better storytelling (leaving out a number of advisers in meetings to par down the number of people, re-arranging time, etc).
Most astounding is a supplementary DVD-ROM segment that you use on your computer to get articles and book quotes to back up incidents depicted in the movie, and there are a number of them. Stone has obviously read up well on his subject, and I have to admit to hearing about some of these incidents myself. I've never seen a movie on DVD that has been backed up with footnotes and sources like this, and I have to admit it is most refreshing. Movies and true history shall never completely meet thanks to the problem of storytelling or prejudices. Even though Stone once went so over the line that even I couldn't ignore it, he seems to set a standard here that would be refreshing if followed by other directors of historical films. Moreover, the reading in these articles even without the film are interesting, such as depictions of Bush's youthful arrests and his near-fight with his father.
Finally, Stone appears to have mellowed somewhat. Sure, he notes that he doesn't not agree with the Bush policies -- and gets in a few jabs on the commentary at Reagan and, of course, mentions Vietnam in passing, showing some of the old anger still there. Still, Oliver notes Bush as a personality is likeable and seems to like Laura Bush's influence on the man. He notes Bush did overcome problems and finally proved a success in his father's eyes in the form of a campaign advisor, and you can't help but be happy for him, even with the Willie Horton ads thrown in for emphasis.
Stone does not seem to doubt that Bush had some type of spiritual awakening and reformed himself on booze and other youthful problems. He seems to admire that. He even admires other Christians he has met, even though he did not appear to be a convert to private pleadings. But he tries to give some respect to those moments, although he seems bewildered by the president's constant praying at staff meetings. (Granted, though, that is unusual as a custom.)
Stone finds Bush somewhat a problem in general, one not really qualified, scarred emotionally, unable to empathize with others. Then again, you do seem to take some joy when Bush gives comeuppance to Vice President Dick Chaney and others who served the president poorly at times or who wanted to be in charge. Stone thinks others, such as Collin Powell, deserve some blame, according to his commentary. Bush is not really an evil man in Stone's hands, as he is one who was not equipped to be in place, becoming a victim of a final, belated success which unraveled into a failure of policy.
"W." will always be seen as a hit at Bush by a liberal director, but if the history books confirm many of these details...and, I fear, they may...then we may see this in the future as quite a record of a Shakespearean tragedy gone awry on the world stage. Only time will tell. For his part, Stone has done his best to give us an early peak at history and to back up his story. No matter how it ends, though, we know it ends in tragedy, for the man depicted has made his mark in history. It is a sad story, and any historical redemption, Harry Truman-style, may be very late in coming, indeed.
This week's Talk of the Town, Feb. 16-20
This week's shows have been reshuffled a little. Monday we will still have Paul Kennedy to tell us about the community garden proposal and his work at the Walker Area Community Foundaton. Congressman Robert Aderholt, who was coming on Monday for a segment, will now be on Tuesday's show, joining Cordova Police Chief Kenneth Bobo. Wednesday we will Jennifer Williams Smith talk about the "Dream Time" non-competitive baseball team and Lora Courington will discuss her work at the Walker County office of the American Red Cross. David Jones will appear concerning the Capstone Rural Medical Clinic in Parrish on Thursday, and Cordova Mayor Jack Scott will appear on Friday to discuss developments in the city. The schedule is subject to change.
Talk of the Town, which includes news summaries and breaking news, is heard Monday through Friday at 2 p.m. on WJLX, 1240 AM, in Jasper, Alabama. Remember you can now hear a live stream of the broadcast anywhere at www.walkercountyradio.com, or you can download the show for up to a week afterward. The show should be ready within an hour after the broadcast. You can pass along news or comments in a call or text to 205-522-2986 or e-mail me at byedhowell@aol.com or byedhowell@yahoo.com. I would appreciate to know if you are hearing the broadcast and what we can do to make it better. We also are asking for commercial support of the show and welcome anyone who would like to take out commercial time on it.
Talk of the Town, which includes news summaries and breaking news, is heard Monday through Friday at 2 p.m. on WJLX, 1240 AM, in Jasper, Alabama. Remember you can now hear a live stream of the broadcast anywhere at www.walkercountyradio.com, or you can download the show for up to a week afterward. The show should be ready within an hour after the broadcast. You can pass along news or comments in a call or text to 205-522-2986 or e-mail me at byedhowell@aol.com or byedhowell@yahoo.com. I would appreciate to know if you are hearing the broadcast and what we can do to make it better. We also are asking for commercial support of the show and welcome anyone who would like to take out commercial time on it.
A matter of ethics
Somehow the word "ethics" and Alabama government have not gone well together in recent years. We have had a number of situations that gave given pause to state and local residents. We've had questions about a county commissioner and a mayor to go before the Ethics Commission. We've had one legislator, a state legislator who was House majority leader, who had contracts with two state community colleges for work that became a spark for statewide debate. That is not to mention all of the other allegations concerning legislators over the past couple of years. We have had governors on both sides of the aisle to be tangled by ethics, losing their jobs in the process.
Some will argue fine points over certain cases, and that's fine. The individual cases are not what I am concerned about. I am concerned about a lingering pattern of problems in a state where the good ol' boy system continues to get the best of us. We know there are problems. How many and how much of it relates to Walker County, well, who knows? The fact is, this is going on statewide at such a clip that it is bound to happen here sooner or latter, if it hasn't already happened, and something has got to be done about it.
Gov. Bob Riley stepped forward this year to make ethics reform a big part of his legislative platform. Elsewhere on his Web site, he mentions that "in Alabama, a lobbyist can spend up to $91,000 per year on a single legislator without being required to report it. That’s $250 a day that special interests are able to spend entertaining officials without the public’s knowledge. Also, under current law, those who lobby the executive branch for state grants or contracts are not required to register with the Ethics Commission."
He mentioned his proposal in his State of the State address:
"It gives citizens a clearer picture of the money being spent to influence public policy and public officials," Riley said. "No longer will there be unlimited wining and dining by the special interests. This reform ends that. And it requires full disclosure of everything spent by lobbyists on elected officials.
"It ensures that all potential conflicts of interests are also fully disclosed. Public officials will have to divulge any ownership they have in, or contracts with, an entity that receives any state funds. It also requires this same level of disclosure for their spouses. The Ethics Commission will – for the first time – have subpoena power to carry out its mission. And an attorney general or district attorney will be given a reasonable amount of time to either prosecute an ethics case or decline it."
According to the Birmingham News, Alabama is the only state with an ethics agency that does not have the power to subpoena.
Of course, this may fall on deaf ears again. Stars may literally have to fall on Alabama before reform can come. The Birmingham News noted in an editorial Sunday that Alabama is one of only six states left in the union that have not passed ethics reform in the past four years. As usual, we are gearing up to be last.
Moreover, legislators did not rush across town to an ethics seminar available to all legislators one day last week in Montgomery. Even though they were in town, the governor had made an issue of state ethics, the two-year college system had its share of state headlines and the event was arranged not to conflict with legislative duties, only one out of five state legislators showed up.
Appropriately, the seminar took place the day that state Rep. Sue Schmitz saw her retrial start on federal fraud charges.
Perhaps I shouldn't be so cynical. There was good news in that a House committee did approve giving the subpoena power, the first time a legislative committee has done that. Perhaps we should have hope, but passing a committee is still small potatoes compared to getting it through the House and the Senate in general.
Citizens should demand action on the bills. They should demand that legislators, many of whom have been dragged through the mud themselves, pass these bills as a means of bringing reform to our state. Legislators should be lining up to bring these types of reform.
I should be hopeful. I am not. Let's all hope I'm proven wrong.
Some will argue fine points over certain cases, and that's fine. The individual cases are not what I am concerned about. I am concerned about a lingering pattern of problems in a state where the good ol' boy system continues to get the best of us. We know there are problems. How many and how much of it relates to Walker County, well, who knows? The fact is, this is going on statewide at such a clip that it is bound to happen here sooner or latter, if it hasn't already happened, and something has got to be done about it.
Gov. Bob Riley stepped forward this year to make ethics reform a big part of his legislative platform. Elsewhere on his Web site, he mentions that "in Alabama, a lobbyist can spend up to $91,000 per year on a single legislator without being required to report it. That’s $250 a day that special interests are able to spend entertaining officials without the public’s knowledge. Also, under current law, those who lobby the executive branch for state grants or contracts are not required to register with the Ethics Commission."
He mentioned his proposal in his State of the State address:
"It gives citizens a clearer picture of the money being spent to influence public policy and public officials," Riley said. "No longer will there be unlimited wining and dining by the special interests. This reform ends that. And it requires full disclosure of everything spent by lobbyists on elected officials.
"It ensures that all potential conflicts of interests are also fully disclosed. Public officials will have to divulge any ownership they have in, or contracts with, an entity that receives any state funds. It also requires this same level of disclosure for their spouses. The Ethics Commission will – for the first time – have subpoena power to carry out its mission. And an attorney general or district attorney will be given a reasonable amount of time to either prosecute an ethics case or decline it."
According to the Birmingham News, Alabama is the only state with an ethics agency that does not have the power to subpoena.
Of course, this may fall on deaf ears again. Stars may literally have to fall on Alabama before reform can come. The Birmingham News noted in an editorial Sunday that Alabama is one of only six states left in the union that have not passed ethics reform in the past four years. As usual, we are gearing up to be last.
Moreover, legislators did not rush across town to an ethics seminar available to all legislators one day last week in Montgomery. Even though they were in town, the governor had made an issue of state ethics, the two-year college system had its share of state headlines and the event was arranged not to conflict with legislative duties, only one out of five state legislators showed up.
Appropriately, the seminar took place the day that state Rep. Sue Schmitz saw her retrial start on federal fraud charges.
Perhaps I shouldn't be so cynical. There was good news in that a House committee did approve giving the subpoena power, the first time a legislative committee has done that. Perhaps we should have hope, but passing a committee is still small potatoes compared to getting it through the House and the Senate in general.
Citizens should demand action on the bills. They should demand that legislators, many of whom have been dragged through the mud themselves, pass these bills as a means of bringing reform to our state. Legislators should be lining up to bring these types of reform.
I should be hopeful. I am not. Let's all hope I'm proven wrong.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
A funny way to budget
Sometimes the world of budgeting is something to behold in government, where the slight of hand is sometimes more agile than on a Las Vegas stage. Many times it becomes a matter of whose projections do you believe or whether some funds are included or not.
I am not prone to agree with U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby every day of the week, but he was certainly right this week to warn the Alabama Legislature not to base its budgets this year on what is coming from Washington. But of course, that is what is happening. Last year, there were rosy projections in time for the election, and some say that the governor was the one making the rosy projections that time. At any rate, the Legislature signed on to it as well, and we wound up with a shortfall. Now we have school proration and we are already digging out of the rainy day accounts.
But the byword from any number of cities, counties and states is to wait for the stimulus package. It has been described in such terms that, depending on the version you like, it will fund everything your heart desires, and that includes the hearts of career politicians who want to cover up their losses and hand out the pork. The real effect was to help out the economy, and you can see by Tuesday's near 400 point drop there are a few skeptics in that arena.
Of course, things get more diverse in Walker County. The Jasper City Council appears to be headed down the right path as it meets at noon Thursday to consider ways to trim items and as it has already passed a three month freeze on non-budgeted spending items. If it does get stimulus money, it will likely be used for projects that are already engineered and are ready to go. No one can blame the city and they are good projects. We just hope from the federal standpoint that these projects can create some construction or other jobs. It does not appear the city, at this point, is plugging leaks with stimulus money. That cannot be said of Montgomery, where two new Democratic congressman from Alabama have already been publicly blasted by the AEA for voting against the stimulus, taking away their precious education budget funding.
Then there is the Walker County Commission, which is getting just under $2 million in funds just from the license fees for bingo halls. And the best part is we have no plan on how to use the money in the wake of the commission got rid of the rules and we have to keep in mind the court still has to rule on whether electronic bingo is legal. It has its own stimulus package, but all it really stands to stimulate is illegal gambling rather than any set need. At the very least it may at least help out the county’s General Fund for a while, and the county has plugged up that borrowing that got it in trouble a while back and seems not to be in dire shape. But we would feel better if the commission held a meeting like the one Jasper is holding. We would feel better if all local governments had such a meeting to review their current budgets rather than depend on pie-in-the-sky bailouts that may not last forever.
In short, government finds funny ways to fund itself these days. How funny it remains a year from now when these budgets get executed and there is no more free lunches to fill the lunch pail.
I am not prone to agree with U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby every day of the week, but he was certainly right this week to warn the Alabama Legislature not to base its budgets this year on what is coming from Washington. But of course, that is what is happening. Last year, there were rosy projections in time for the election, and some say that the governor was the one making the rosy projections that time. At any rate, the Legislature signed on to it as well, and we wound up with a shortfall. Now we have school proration and we are already digging out of the rainy day accounts.
But the byword from any number of cities, counties and states is to wait for the stimulus package. It has been described in such terms that, depending on the version you like, it will fund everything your heart desires, and that includes the hearts of career politicians who want to cover up their losses and hand out the pork. The real effect was to help out the economy, and you can see by Tuesday's near 400 point drop there are a few skeptics in that arena.
Of course, things get more diverse in Walker County. The Jasper City Council appears to be headed down the right path as it meets at noon Thursday to consider ways to trim items and as it has already passed a three month freeze on non-budgeted spending items. If it does get stimulus money, it will likely be used for projects that are already engineered and are ready to go. No one can blame the city and they are good projects. We just hope from the federal standpoint that these projects can create some construction or other jobs. It does not appear the city, at this point, is plugging leaks with stimulus money. That cannot be said of Montgomery, where two new Democratic congressman from Alabama have already been publicly blasted by the AEA for voting against the stimulus, taking away their precious education budget funding.
Then there is the Walker County Commission, which is getting just under $2 million in funds just from the license fees for bingo halls. And the best part is we have no plan on how to use the money in the wake of the commission got rid of the rules and we have to keep in mind the court still has to rule on whether electronic bingo is legal. It has its own stimulus package, but all it really stands to stimulate is illegal gambling rather than any set need. At the very least it may at least help out the county’s General Fund for a while, and the county has plugged up that borrowing that got it in trouble a while back and seems not to be in dire shape. But we would feel better if the commission held a meeting like the one Jasper is holding. We would feel better if all local governments had such a meeting to review their current budgets rather than depend on pie-in-the-sky bailouts that may not last forever.
In short, government finds funny ways to fund itself these days. How funny it remains a year from now when these budgets get executed and there is no more free lunches to fill the lunch pail.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
several shows archived
We have still had some problems learning the saving mechanism for putting shows in the archive section of www.walkercountyradio.com, but we think we are overcoming it today. WJLX station manager Brett Elmore tells me it should be easier now (I saw a little conferencing today about where to save what computer file). On Tuesday afternoon the shows for Friday, Monday and Tuesday were posted on the Web site. You should also still be able to stream the broadcasts live by way of the Web site. I'm sorry about the confusion, but we're getting there. Enjoy.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Vote yes in the referendum
Tuesday Jasper voters will go to the polls...well, at least a small number of them. There is not expected to be a large turnout for the Jasper City Schools tax referendum.
It was be easy to roll over and do other things, but Jasper residents have to realize that the schools have a tough enough situation as it is, with proration and budget cuts. As things stand, Gov. Bob Riley may empty out the rainy day fund and take some from a stimulus package to make do this year, but if the economy worsens, it could be a disaster in the coming school year. School administrators across the state are counting every penny they can.
As it would turn out, the 2.5-mill tax which was put on years ago is coming up for renewal to keep for the next three decades. It raises $338,000 a year for the purpose of maintenance and construction. Already, the school system is shelving plans for now to build a new Walker High until the economy improves. The only reason voters are now seeing improvements at local elementary schools is because of a state bond issue that was approved a couple of years ago that did not require any payback by the local authorities.
In other words, under tight times, the tax will likely be used more for maintenance (painting, etc.), small construction projects and emergencies which could occur. Don't wish for them not to occur, because we've seen fires, tornadoes and other problems. If something happens in the current economic mess, we would be in a real pickle.
No taxes would be increased under this proposal and the millage is needed anyway to keep the minimum required in each county under state law. Turning down this millage would be a disaster on top of a disaster.
Please, if you live in the city of Jasper and are a registered voter, go to your normal voting place for about five minutes and vote yes for the continuation of the 2.5-mill tax.
It was be easy to roll over and do other things, but Jasper residents have to realize that the schools have a tough enough situation as it is, with proration and budget cuts. As things stand, Gov. Bob Riley may empty out the rainy day fund and take some from a stimulus package to make do this year, but if the economy worsens, it could be a disaster in the coming school year. School administrators across the state are counting every penny they can.
As it would turn out, the 2.5-mill tax which was put on years ago is coming up for renewal to keep for the next three decades. It raises $338,000 a year for the purpose of maintenance and construction. Already, the school system is shelving plans for now to build a new Walker High until the economy improves. The only reason voters are now seeing improvements at local elementary schools is because of a state bond issue that was approved a couple of years ago that did not require any payback by the local authorities.
In other words, under tight times, the tax will likely be used more for maintenance (painting, etc.), small construction projects and emergencies which could occur. Don't wish for them not to occur, because we've seen fires, tornadoes and other problems. If something happens in the current economic mess, we would be in a real pickle.
No taxes would be increased under this proposal and the millage is needed anyway to keep the minimum required in each county under state law. Turning down this millage would be a disaster on top of a disaster.
Please, if you live in the city of Jasper and are a registered voter, go to your normal voting place for about five minutes and vote yes for the continuation of the 2.5-mill tax.
Quick Review: Taken
I was going to see a comedy Monday at the Cobb Movies 4, but I was talked into seeing "Taken" instead, with Liam Neeson as a retired and divorced government agent who tries to get close to his teenage daughter. She takes an overseas trip to Paris, and, Natalie Holloway style, things go wrong when she and her girl friend are kidnapped. Daddy is overseas in a flash to find her. Frankly, you do need to leave some of your brains at home on this one, as bodies fall like the autumn leaves and no one ever gets arrested, even Neeson, who takes revenge at such turns that Interpol would be kept busy for a year with hardly a scratch on him. (Some of international bad-guy cliches and the fact an American can essentially be a cowboy and kill half of Europe probably won't win fans overseas. However, the basic premise of kidnapping for the result of human trafficking and prostitution is a very real problem.) But the situation is set up where you care about the girl and the father, and what parent would not want revenge and have the skills that this father has? It is a satisfying thriller that, warts and all, will please audiences and scare parents into NEVER letting their underage children go overseas.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Ed's scheduled guests for February
Sorry I have not been very faithful about blogging this past week as much of my time was devoted to getting adjusted to the new 2 p.m. show on WJLX, AM 1240, that aired its first week. I will try to do better in the near future.
For now, here is the current list of guests that we have lined up over February...
Monday, Feb. 9: Dr. Robert Sparkman, superintendent of Jasper City School's will discuss the school system's citywide vote on Tuesday to extend property mills for school construction projects.
Tuesday, Feb. 10: Todd Hunter, Bucky Rizzo and Johnny Sims will discuss their roles as chaplains in local hospices, which involves ministering to the dying.
Wednesday, Feb. 11: Circuit Clerk Susie Odom talks about improvements made in her office in recent months.
Thursday, Feb. 12: County engineer David Edgil discusses the state of the county's roads and bridges.
Friday, Feb. 13: Greg Williams, the head of the Walker County Bar Association, will discuss the legal profession.
Monday, Feb. 16: Congressman Robert Aderholt will join us again by phone to discuss news out of Washington. Paul Kennedy, the executive director of the Walker Area Community Foundation, will discuss local projects, including a personal project to start a community garden at the old airport in Jasper.
Tuesday, Feb. 17: Kenneth Bobo, the new police chief of Cordova, will be our guest.
Wednesday, Feb. 18: Lona Courington of the Walker County Red Cross will discuss various projects in advance of Red Cross Month in March, including plans for a homeless shelter. Jennifer Williams Smith will also discuss her project for a Dream Team baseball project to create a countywide non-competitive baseball team for challenged young players.
Thursday, Feb. 19: David Jones of the Capstone medical clinic in Parrish will discuss that facility's services.
Friday, Feb. 20: Open
Monday: Feb. 23: Financial consultant Hal Holland of the Red Mountain Bank in Birmingham will discuss dealing with the stock market and investing in these turbulent times.
Tuesday, Feb. 24: Open.
Wednesday, Feb. 25: Parrish Mayor Wayne Gross will discuss what has been going on in the city since his new administration took over in November.
Thursday, Feb. 26: Open.
Friday, Feb. 27: Ezekiel Nichols, an economics instructor at the University of Alabama and Shelton State Community College, will make a return visit to discuss the local, state and national economic situation.
For now, here is the current list of guests that we have lined up over February...
Monday, Feb. 9: Dr. Robert Sparkman, superintendent of Jasper City School's will discuss the school system's citywide vote on Tuesday to extend property mills for school construction projects.
Tuesday, Feb. 10: Todd Hunter, Bucky Rizzo and Johnny Sims will discuss their roles as chaplains in local hospices, which involves ministering to the dying.
Wednesday, Feb. 11: Circuit Clerk Susie Odom talks about improvements made in her office in recent months.
Thursday, Feb. 12: County engineer David Edgil discusses the state of the county's roads and bridges.
Friday, Feb. 13: Greg Williams, the head of the Walker County Bar Association, will discuss the legal profession.
Monday, Feb. 16: Congressman Robert Aderholt will join us again by phone to discuss news out of Washington. Paul Kennedy, the executive director of the Walker Area Community Foundation, will discuss local projects, including a personal project to start a community garden at the old airport in Jasper.
Tuesday, Feb. 17: Kenneth Bobo, the new police chief of Cordova, will be our guest.
Wednesday, Feb. 18: Lona Courington of the Walker County Red Cross will discuss various projects in advance of Red Cross Month in March, including plans for a homeless shelter. Jennifer Williams Smith will also discuss her project for a Dream Team baseball project to create a countywide non-competitive baseball team for challenged young players.
Thursday, Feb. 19: David Jones of the Capstone medical clinic in Parrish will discuss that facility's services.
Friday, Feb. 20: Open
Monday: Feb. 23: Financial consultant Hal Holland of the Red Mountain Bank in Birmingham will discuss dealing with the stock market and investing in these turbulent times.
Tuesday, Feb. 24: Open.
Wednesday, Feb. 25: Parrish Mayor Wayne Gross will discuss what has been going on in the city since his new administration took over in November.
Thursday, Feb. 26: Open.
Friday, Feb. 27: Ezekiel Nichols, an economics instructor at the University of Alabama and Shelton State Community College, will make a return visit to discuss the local, state and national economic situation.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Ed's broadcast now streamed, archived
Just a quick post to confirm that "Talk of the Town" on WJLX has worked out the bugs. The show can now be streamed live off the Internet off www.walkercountyradio.com, and it can be listened to later in the day or for several more days in the archive section. Amanda Blackwood tonight confirmed she was able to stream it off the Internet, and I checked out the archive myself tonight. (Of course, that meant I paid the price by listening to that voice of mine that seems like it can't quite get itself out of my lungs.) Anyway, my thanks to WJLX and Brett Elmore for attending to this quickly. Also, my thanks to a number of people who have had kind words to say about the broadcast and who recognize what we are trying to do for the county.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
State of the State Address
Well, things at Alabama Public Television were so bad this year that a satellite hookup went awry and we lost the entire speech this year. APT filled in time until 7 p.m. and then plugged a live economic summit they were hosting later in the evening...and then one of the anchors signed off forgetting one of the four main guests as he was ticking off the list. Considering we pay a lot in pledges for this service, it was not a good night for us, the consumer and taxpayer.
You can read the full address at this link, by the way:
http://www.governorpress.state.al.us/pr/sp-2009-02-03-sos2009.asp. But here is the shortened Readers Digest version, the Gospel According to Ed:
It is interesting to not that out of five pages of address I printed out, one-fifth of the speech addressed gambling and gambling taxes, a subject we deal with in Walker County a lot. With calls out for a tax on gambling to help pay education, Riley said that the current proposals would only bring in less than 1 percent of the $12 billion in state and federal money that Alabama spends on education. Moreover, he pointed out that other states that do have gambling are cutting their education budget, so he labeled as bogus the claim that expanding gambling and taxation would result in not having to reduce education funding.
"The real question is: are we willing to invite more misery, more corruption and more crime in our state just to get less than 1 percent? I know I'm not and the people aren't either. Ladies and gentlemen, gambling is not the answer," Riley said.
"The Legislature has been polarized and paralyzed by the issue for years. And yet again, the most power special interests have gotten together and they are determined to make this the number one issue for this session. But you shouldn't waste another minute trying to expand gambling. Certainly not when more important issues demand your attention, like creating jobs, making government more honest, and protecting educational achievements."
Likely the Legislature won't do anything, but some will try. It is good that Riley is taking the stand to prevent a terrible official link to gambling. I once thought the state should try to get what they can, but I now feel it would only justify something that probably is not legal in the first place, and for something that would not really give a reasonable amount of funds. I frankly don't see the bingo halls giving their fair share to charities, and a small state tax won't make up for that shortcoming, nor for all the social ills that they bring. (Then again, I don't suspect we'll see many full-page ads in local papers asking for a state tax on themselves...and if they do, it will be confirmation that the revenue would be a drop in the bucket to what they are currently raking in.)
Riley opened the speech telling Alabamians their state government took steps so that the state is weathering the economic storm much better than other states. He recited a number of statistics about the state: business climate ranked in the top 3, ranked fourth for people moving into the state, seventh lowest in foreclosure rates, 383 new and expanding industry announcements in the past 12 months, more than 14,000 announced new jobs in the past 12 months, and so on. He said last month a panel of economists said Alabama "is poised to come out ahead of the nation as the broken economy mends."
He said the state could not wait on Congress to pass a stimulus plan. (I imagine legislators will disagree as some have talked about postponing the budgets until a special session later this year.) He shocked no one by not calling for higher taxes but for fiscal discipline. He called for a back-to-work tax credit of $500 to encourage companies to hire unemployed workers. He wants a targeted job creation tax credit of $1,500 over three years for each new job created in counties with the highest unemployment levels, citing the Black Belt and rural counties in general. (He didn't mention what the cut off point would be.) Frankly, every little bit helps -- and why aren't such measures already on the books?
As expected, he made a pitch to protect some of his cherished education initiatives, including the Alabama Reading Initiative and some involving math and science and distance learning. Those programs are popular and effective, but that could be difficult in proration. Most salaries are protected, after all. If we start protecting programs, even popular ones, I have an awful feeling that toilet paper in schools will be replaced by sales catalogs. (More appropriate would be pages from some of these bureaucratic reports that bog down educators every year.)
He asked for "a complete overhaul" of the state's ethics laws, the first major rewrite since 1973. He did not link it to any scandals, but there have been plenty to go around in the state to warrant such action.
"It gives citizens a clearer picture of the money being spent to influence public policy and public officials. No longer will there be unlimited wining and dining by the special interests," Riley said. "This reform ends that. And it requires full disclosure of everything spent by lobbyists on elected officials."
He said conflicts of interests are disclosed and public officials will have to disclose ownership or contacts with any entity that gets state funds, and the same would go for their spouses. Moreover, the Ethics Commission for the first time would have subpoena power, with the attorney general or district attorneys given a reasonable amount of time to prosecute or to state they decline to prosecute.
In the end, it was modest by the number of items asked for (or in the case of gambling, not asked for), but it amounted to a good request in a year where there is not much money to go around.
Then again, I have an awful feeling APT is going to request more funds. I don't even know what to say about that.
You can read the full address at this link, by the way:
http://www.governorpress.state.al.us/pr/sp-2009-02-03-sos2009.asp. But here is the shortened Readers Digest version, the Gospel According to Ed:
It is interesting to not that out of five pages of address I printed out, one-fifth of the speech addressed gambling and gambling taxes, a subject we deal with in Walker County a lot. With calls out for a tax on gambling to help pay education, Riley said that the current proposals would only bring in less than 1 percent of the $12 billion in state and federal money that Alabama spends on education. Moreover, he pointed out that other states that do have gambling are cutting their education budget, so he labeled as bogus the claim that expanding gambling and taxation would result in not having to reduce education funding.
"The real question is: are we willing to invite more misery, more corruption and more crime in our state just to get less than 1 percent? I know I'm not and the people aren't either. Ladies and gentlemen, gambling is not the answer," Riley said.
"The Legislature has been polarized and paralyzed by the issue for years. And yet again, the most power special interests have gotten together and they are determined to make this the number one issue for this session. But you shouldn't waste another minute trying to expand gambling. Certainly not when more important issues demand your attention, like creating jobs, making government more honest, and protecting educational achievements."
Likely the Legislature won't do anything, but some will try. It is good that Riley is taking the stand to prevent a terrible official link to gambling. I once thought the state should try to get what they can, but I now feel it would only justify something that probably is not legal in the first place, and for something that would not really give a reasonable amount of funds. I frankly don't see the bingo halls giving their fair share to charities, and a small state tax won't make up for that shortcoming, nor for all the social ills that they bring. (Then again, I don't suspect we'll see many full-page ads in local papers asking for a state tax on themselves...and if they do, it will be confirmation that the revenue would be a drop in the bucket to what they are currently raking in.)
Riley opened the speech telling Alabamians their state government took steps so that the state is weathering the economic storm much better than other states. He recited a number of statistics about the state: business climate ranked in the top 3, ranked fourth for people moving into the state, seventh lowest in foreclosure rates, 383 new and expanding industry announcements in the past 12 months, more than 14,000 announced new jobs in the past 12 months, and so on. He said last month a panel of economists said Alabama "is poised to come out ahead of the nation as the broken economy mends."
He said the state could not wait on Congress to pass a stimulus plan. (I imagine legislators will disagree as some have talked about postponing the budgets until a special session later this year.) He shocked no one by not calling for higher taxes but for fiscal discipline. He called for a back-to-work tax credit of $500 to encourage companies to hire unemployed workers. He wants a targeted job creation tax credit of $1,500 over three years for each new job created in counties with the highest unemployment levels, citing the Black Belt and rural counties in general. (He didn't mention what the cut off point would be.) Frankly, every little bit helps -- and why aren't such measures already on the books?
As expected, he made a pitch to protect some of his cherished education initiatives, including the Alabama Reading Initiative and some involving math and science and distance learning. Those programs are popular and effective, but that could be difficult in proration. Most salaries are protected, after all. If we start protecting programs, even popular ones, I have an awful feeling that toilet paper in schools will be replaced by sales catalogs. (More appropriate would be pages from some of these bureaucratic reports that bog down educators every year.)
He asked for "a complete overhaul" of the state's ethics laws, the first major rewrite since 1973. He did not link it to any scandals, but there have been plenty to go around in the state to warrant such action.
"It gives citizens a clearer picture of the money being spent to influence public policy and public officials. No longer will there be unlimited wining and dining by the special interests," Riley said. "This reform ends that. And it requires full disclosure of everything spent by lobbyists on elected officials."
He said conflicts of interests are disclosed and public officials will have to disclose ownership or contacts with any entity that gets state funds, and the same would go for their spouses. Moreover, the Ethics Commission for the first time would have subpoena power, with the attorney general or district attorneys given a reasonable amount of time to prosecute or to state they decline to prosecute.
In the end, it was modest by the number of items asked for (or in the case of gambling, not asked for), but it amounted to a good request in a year where there is not much money to go around.
Then again, I have an awful feeling APT is going to request more funds. I don't even know what to say about that.
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