Bessemer Opinions

State of the City is....Bright!

2012-01-31T09:47:00.002-06:00

Bessemer mayor Ken Gulley presented his State of the City address last night to an enthusiastic crowd at Bessemer Civic Center last night.

Council President Ron Marshall introduced the mayor, saying "He has a spirit of cooperation," something I have been pointing out about the current leadership since the mayor and council took office over a year ago. Because of this cooperative spirit, the mayor and council have been able to turn things around in this city.

Finances were the main issue addressed, and this was appropriate since the city's finances were known to be in disarray when Mayor Gulley took office.

During the past year, Bessemer put in place a 1 cent sales tax increase. 12.5% of this increased revenue is being set aside for a new recreation center. A new rec center has been on the agenda as long as I have lived in Bessemer, but this is the first time a mayor has developed a plan that could actually result in one. He said that they will assess the income,which is being collected in its own account, and once they have a clear idea of the income that is being generated they will go to the bond market to secure funding for a center.

The city also opened a new landfill which resulted in savings of over $475,000.

Education

Mr. Gulley spoke of education too. One cloud that has been hanging over Bessemer since before the last election is the money owed by the city to the school system, and the lawsuit regarding that. The mayor reported that there were meetings with the council and the school board, and that an amicable settlement was reached and the city is now meeting its obligations.

He also said that most of the city employees that were let go because of the financial condition of the city last year have been rehired. He admitted that the city had neglected its employees in the past, and hopes to give them a cost of living raise this year.

Crime

Crime is always a concern in Bessemer. Unfortunately homicides were a big concern last year, with 11 murders occurring in our city limits. Bessemer Opinions will share more information about these crimes (nothing groundbreaking) in a future post, but the mayor did report that 10 of the homicides have been solved and the suspects are being brought to justice.

He urged citizen participation in reporting suspicious activity and crimes. The most important thing revealed last night might have been the establishment of an anonymous tip line - 428-3541, where residents and others can call and report a crime or suspicious activity without revealing who they are. Keep this number handy, use it!

He also said the Bessemer Police Department has altered their shifts so that more officers are on patrol, and this is a good thing. I will repeat my suggestion for the umpteenth time. Have the officers park their cars in neighborhoods, and walk the streets for a little while each day. Let then meet and talk with the residents, establishing relationships and trust that is sorely needed. Also, much more can be seen when walking rather than driving along our streets.

He spoke of the jobs coming to our city. Dollar General will be opening their $100 million distribution center next month, providing 650 jobs. Bermco Aluminum is bringing a multi million dollar plant to Bessemer and Huntsville Wholesale Furniture (Ashley Furniture) is planning a distribution center here.

Here is an article that describes what this kind of activity means to our city and calls our city the "economic powerhouse" of the metro area.

Bessemer Utilities

The mayor acknowledged that there have been some problems at Bessemer Utilities with personnel. (I am reminded of a facebook status I posted last year about standing in line there while the woman behind the counter talked on her cell phone with a sign in front of her ordering customers to not use their cell phones). The mayor said "I will personally be spending time at Bessemer Utilities," to address these problems.

But the mayor also spoke highly of the utility in responding to outages during the storms in April and September of 2011, and their willingness and ability to help other communities that were in greater need than our own. And he spoke of the infrastructure improvements at the utility that will benefit all of its customers.

The mayor concluded with, "As I said in February 2011, the future of the city of Bessemer is bright."

This prediction was met with reserved enthusiasm last year, but repeating it this year is justified. With the financial situation under control and a recreation center on the horizon, the mayor and council can focus on even more positive steps for our city. Maybe some neighborhood revitalization? And this?

Success!

2012-01-27T09:17:00.000-06:00

Early this year I revealed my hope for Bessemer for 2012. My wish has already come true.

I thought that the city could show it cares by replacing the Dartmouth Avenue sign that had the street name spelled wrong. Within days there was action, and earlier this month the sign was replaced.

I apologize for the picture; this was taken on a foggy day.

I made city officials aware, but council woman Sherrina Rice-Franklin is the only one who replied and voiced her concern, so I give her credit.

State of the City

On Monday, January 30, 2012, Mayor Ken Gulley will give his State of the City Address. This will be interesting, because he has been in office over a year now, and has been doing all he can to get the city straightened out. I'm hoping he can reveal something about finances and budgets that will give us some hope.

I'm sure he will mention the new DHR building.

I'm sure he will mention Dollar General and hopefully will mention Norfolk Southern.

I'm hoping he will say something about crime. I've reviewed the increase in homicides from last year, and now we have had an attempted murder and a very disturbing murder downtown this week. I'll have more to say about crime in our city later.

And maybe he'll mention a letter he received this week from me. Or maybe he'll provide a personal response. He has my number.

In any case, I look forward to hearing what he has to say.

The State of the City Address takes place at the Bessemer Civic Center on Monday, January 30, 2012 at 6:00 PM.

Rich Cocoa Crinkle Cookies

2012-01-27T08:40:00.000-06:00

The Year of Bessemer Food

I had numerous requests for this recipe. I made these cookies for a couple of events this week and they were gobbled up quickly.

The recipe comes from a Hershey's cookbook.

Rich Cocoa Crinkle Cookies

Makes about 5 or 6 dozen cookies.

2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup Hershey's cocoa
4 eggs
2 t vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
Powdered sugar

Combine sugar and oil in large bowl; add cocoa, beating until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to cocoa mixture, beating well.

Cover; refrigerate until dough is firm enough to handle, at least 6 hours.

Heat oven to 350. Lightly grease baking sheet or line with parchment paper. Shape dough into 1-inch balls, roll in powdered sugar to coat. Place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes (I had to cook for about 15 minutes) or until almost no indentation remains when touched lightly and tops are cracked. Cool slightly and then remove from baking sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Enjoy!

Chicken Soup (not your grandma's)

2012-01-25T10:58:00.000-06:00

The Year of Bessemer Food

The Birmingham News printed some chicken soup recipes today so I thought I would throw mine into the mix. This chicken soup is good for the soul, but even better for the palate. It combines some flavors that you may not be accustomed to using together.

It might appear complicated at first, at least compared to opening a can of that brand name kind, but it's really not. Start the chicken. While it's in the oven, prepare the rice, and after the rice is on, slice the veggies. If you do not want to use wine in the recipe, substitute apple juice or diluted cider vinegar.

This soup will chase away the blues, clear your head, and make you feel all warm inside. Normally it would be cold outside this time of year and we would need something like this. It's described as the ultimate comfort food. But it is good on a warm January night as well, so try it.

Chicken Soup (not your grandma’s)

The chicken

3 chicken breasts, skinless*
½ cup olive oil
1 cup white wine
1 t sea salt
½ t fresh ground pepper
½ t allspice
½ t cinnamon
½ t garlic powder
1 ½ t smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix all ingredients except chicken in glass baking pan. Coatchicken in mixture and arrange in pan.

Bake for 35 minutes or until done.

Use fork or fingers to pull meat from bone, put in soup pot.

The veggies

2 carrots
2 celery stalks
2 small onions
½ t sea salt (or salt to taste)
2 – 3 cans chicken broth (or or use chicken bouillon and water)
pan drippings
prepared rice (recipe follows)

Peel and slice carrots, celery very thin (I use a mandolineto slice the veggies).

Quarter onions and slice very thin.

Add sliced veggies and salt to soup pot.

Add ½ cup or so of pan drippings to pot (try not to addgrease).

Bring to boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes orso (you be the judge as to when soup is done).

Add prepared rice to soup and cook for another 5 – 10minutes.

Prepared rice

1 cup water
½ cup rice
1 t crushed rosemary

Bring water to boil, add rice and rosemary, reduce heat andsimmer for 20 minutes.

*about the chicken. Some chicken breasts are huge these days. If so, filet themto make 2 pieces from each, cook all as directed, use half in soup and save therest for chicken sandwiches.

Variations

You can use any kind of cooked chicken and get different flavors. I've used left over hot wings (remove the meat from the bones) or left over Cajun chicken. It's all good.

Bessemer's new DHR building opens

2012-01-24T11:02:00.000-06:00

The deadly storms that rolled through our communities two nights ago brought quick reminders of the April 2011 storms that devastated large areas and killed so many people.

There is some degree of irony as the Alabama Department of Human Resources in Bessemer began operating out of their new building. Their former assistant director Nancy Wilson was killed during the April storms, and the building she worked so hard to bring to downtown Bessemer opened in the wake of the deadly tornadoes this week.

Soon a plaque will be installed in the building commemorating Nancy Wilson. The Bessemer Public Building Authority is dedicating the building in her name. There will be a grand opening soon.

The building sits on the corner of 1st Avenue and 20th Street, and is expected to bring new life to this area of downtown.

All of the services offered by DHR for the Bessemer Cutoff will now be accessible from this office.
The 20th Street entrance reflects the styles of historic buildings in Bessemer.

Here is a picture of the light fixture overhead as you exit (or enter) through these doors.

Here is a small portion of the electrical conduit in the mechanical area.

There is still some work to be done before all the DHR operations are running smoothly, as there are "birthing pains" that must be experienced when moving operations from three or four areas into one building takes place. One of the parking lots is still under construction, and employees are still adjusting to their new offices and a new phone system and such.

So be patient if you visit the new Department of Human Resources building in Bessemer. Having this building is definitely a plus for the area, and accessing their services will be easier once everything is running smoothly.

Sloss Furnaces

2012-01-23T11:14:00.000-06:00

On January 12, 2012, Heather Guy presented a program on the history of Sloss Furnaces at the Bessemer Public Library. Heather is the education coordinator at Sloss, and she brought photos and artifacts to complement her slide show.

In April, 1882, the furnaces went into blast and within a year had sold 24,000 tons of iron. read the story of Sloss here.

Sloss produced pig iron. This is pig iron, much smaller than the ones produced by the furnace back in the day.

Here is a picture of a group of workers at Sloss.

Here a lone iron worker is dwarfed by the hot furnace.

Sloss Furnaces is now a National Historic Landmark. A visit to Sloss Furnaces is worth the time. Information on hours, etc, can be found here.

Many community events are held at Sloss, including Stokin' the Fire Barbecue competition in the summer and Sloss Fright Furnace in October

One annual event at Sloss is sponsored by Central Alabama Pride; Pridefest is during the month of June. Read about Pridefest 2009 here.

Obama to win second term

2012-01-20T08:05:00.000-06:00

President Obama will win his second term in November.

That should be a sure thing after events of this week.

I'm not talking about the debate last night where the womanizer gained respect or where the front runner continued to fumble with the issue of his taxes and relating to the disappearing middle class.

I'm talking about the economy. Pundits keep telling us that the economy and jobs are the issues that are important to Americans. But we hear little about solutions to these problems from the candidates; in fact we hear lies. Mitt Romney says the president has no plan for jobs. Jobs bill, Mitt, was the president's plan.

The debates and the Republican primaries have turned into entertainment more than politics. We saw Newt Gingrich try to shift the focus from his indiscretions to the media.

We saw Ron Paul whining about being ignored on questions that should have been directed to him; questions about health care that the doctor feels qualified to answer. We saw Rick Santorum pleading for recognition after being declared the winner in Iowa and endorsed by evangelicals. And we saw Mitt Romney unable to make a connection with regular Americans over the issue of income taxes.

Seeing the potential Republican candidates in these debates is igniting a fire among the Democratic base and independents who care. So they will turn out in November.

Those antics are reported on the lead pages of newspapers. Buried deeper in the news (page B2 in the Birmingham News) is an article about the economy. Here are the highlights.

"The outlook for hiring has brightened."

"Business travel is up."

"Companies are hiring more."

"Consumer confidence is up."

"More people are buying cars."

"Factories are making more goods."

"Bank lending is on the rise."

"Fewer people sought unemployment benfits last week than at any time in nearly four years."

"Union Pacific...transported more cars, oil, industrial parts and chemicals in the final quarter of 2011."

"JPMorgan Chase...said its lending to businesses rose 12% in the October - December quarter."

These are all indicators of an economy taking off. And this growth will continue through the spring and summer, propelling Obama to a win, because the economy will still be perceived as fragile, and the risk of changing leadership will seem too great for voters to choose Romney or Gingrich or whoever the Republican nominee turns out to be.

So for the next few months we will continue to be entertained by the Republican candidates and their ex-wives and their tax returns. In late summer we will enjoy the grandiosity of the Democrat and Republican Conventions, seeing an outdoor acceptance speech which is already generating prayers for rain from conservatives (we've seen this before) and the possibility of a brokered (not broken) convention, with lots of history about such conventions of the past.

Then there will be some debates between Obama and someone, which will be a lot different from these clown shows we are watching now, regardless of who the candidate is.

But in November the voters will choose Obama to serve a second term.

Enjoy President Obama singing a little Al Green last night at the Apollo.

Creole White Beans and Pork

2012-01-18T09:33:00.000-06:00

The Year of Bessemer Food

Today I debut The Year of Bessemer Food. The Birmingham News is running weekly columns titled The Year of Alabama Food in "City Scene." I decided that Bessemer Opinions needed to promote cooking, so I will be sharing recipes, some original, some borrowed, that make my family and friends happy. My columns will be random, weekly at times, but not always.

It may seem odd introducing this so soon after Paula Deen has announced her Type 2 diabetes. Let me editorialize here just a bit, and say I support Paula Deen and that people have no right judging her for how she handled her diagnosis and her livelihood. "In moderation," she urges, regarding her casseroles and cakes.

I urge the same, as I begin this series with a type of comfort food; beans and cornbread.

Creole White Beans with Pork

1# dry white beans
1 – 1 ½ # thin cut pork chops or other pork
Creole seasoning*
1 medium onion, chopped
3 or 4 green onions, chopped, including tops
1 tsp Kosher salt
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
Water

Wash beans, then boil in 6-8 cups of water for 2 minutes,remove from heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour.

Coat pork chops with Creole seasoning.

Place seasoned pork in bottom of crock pot, with a fewchopped onions between pieces to allow for circulation of juices. Add remainderof onions, green onions, beans Kosher salt, 1 tsp of Creole seasoning andWorcestershire sauce and enough water to cover beans.

Cook on high for 3 ½ to 4 hours, then on low for 2 morehours. Crock pots vary so check doneness and adjust times accordingly.

*Note: You know your preferences. Adjust seasonings to taste. I make my own Creole seasoning mixture; I'll share that someday.

Serving suggestion: Garnish with shredded cheese (yourchoice) and fresh parsley and serve with hot cornbread.

A note about cornbread. I have several recipes that I use but one of the favorites is Cracklin' Cornbread by John Besh. (This is not the cornbread in the picture).

3 T bacon fat (I use pecan oil or other vegetable oil)

1 cup white cornmeal

1 cup all purpose flour

2 T sugar

1 t salt

2 T baking powder

Dash of cayenne pepper

2 eggs

1 1/4 cup milk

2 T butter, melted

1/2 cup pork cracklins

Put the oil in 9" cast iron skillet, preheat oven to 425 and slide skillet in.

Combine dry ingredients in large mixing bowl.

In another bowl, mix eggs, milk and melted butter. Stir into dry ingredients, fold in cracklins.

Carefully remove hot skillet, swirl to coat bottom and sides with oil, and pour batter into skillet.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes.

All power has been bestowed upon us

2012-01-10T11:05:00.000-06:00

All power has been bestowed upon the gay community.

I have written before about the Gay Mafia. The mafia does not equal power, but does have the ability to get things done. The same goes for the Gay Mafia.

No, this is real power, bestowed upon us by the Pope.

Speaking of marriage, and specifically same sex marriage, he said, "This is not a simple social convention, but rather the fundamental cell of every society. Consequently, policies which undermine the family threaten human dignity and the future of humanity itself."

Even though no one has come up with a reason that the marriage of two men (or two women) harms their (not so traditional) opposite sex marriage, now we all must fear the destruction of our species because across the world marriage equality is progressing. Forget climate change, nukes, and emerging diseases, queers are getting married!

The Pope is not the first to make this declaration. Pat Robertson said that marriage equality in New York will "destroy America." Not quite the demise of humanity, but still pretty severe. Click here to read how several marriage equality opponents reacted to the decision in New York to allow men to marry men and women to marry women.

The gay community needs to take this information seriously. We should wisely use our power to make this a better world. Any time two people fall in love and cement their feelings with the bonds of matrimony, it makes the world a better place.

Maybe the Pope was speaking of humanity as we know it today; humanity that considers our very being a sin, as proclaimed by University of Alabama history professor Larry Clayton in an editorial printed in the Tuscaloosa News. That type of humanity is certainly threatened as more people come to the realization that gay folk are just like straight folk and that our founding documents afford us "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," including the right to share our lives fully with the person we love.

Religious bigotry is so yesterday. But the Catholic Church has never been on the front line of progress. Let's hope the Catholic masses (of people) in our country disregard this hurtful language and instead embrace their LGBT neighbors and family members with full acceptance.

Enjoy Florence and the Machine, "You Got the Love."

My hope for 2012

2011-12-29T20:21:00.003-06:00

There are still a few days left in 2011, but this will be my final post for this year. I hope to be posting more frequently in 2012 than I have over the past few months, and as presidential politics heat up, I probably will.

But my number one hope as we enter 2012 is for the city of Bessemer. The Marvel City has its problems, and we have a mayor and council now that is working together to solve them.

We have seen economic development in 2011, highlighted by the completion (!) of the DHR building in downtown Bessemer, the groundbreaking for the Norfolk Southern intermodal facility, and the Dollar General distribution center being constructed on Lakeshore Drive.

We have heard economic analysts time and time again speak of the advantages Bessemer has as far as future development goes, including ample undeveloped land, the airport, the hospital, a theme park, developments at Academy Drive and at Tannehill Promenade.

But there is a sign of a symptom in Bessemer that I must be taken care of before our city can progress in perception.

"A sign of a symptom? What does that mean?"

It's a play on words. In my opinion, the fact that this has not been taken care of since it was first brought to the attention of the city, first on this blog in 2009 and soon after in the local newspaper, speaks volumes.

Are we really this "dumb downed" that it doesn't matter?

In case you don't see it, the correct spelling is "Dartmouth," not "Dartmouht."

This misspelling of a street name is a symptom in our city. A symptom of not caring. We hear a lot about people caring, especially as city elections approach. But if they really cared about our city, about the perception of our city, and of ourselves, they would do something about this.

I would hope that the Mayor is embarrassed by this. I would hope that the City Council is embarrassed; Sarah Belcher should be embarrassed (it's in her district); the School Board, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Street and Sanitation Department should as well. I would hope that parents of the children who live near this would be embarrassed. I am embarrassed.

And until this sign is corrected, we have no reason to believe that any of the people listed above (other than me) care about the education of our children, or what others think of our city.

Bessemer can soar, there is no doubt about that. But until we care enough to spell the names correctly on our street signs, or to correct them once the mistake is known, we will limp.

I hope that early in 2012 we will have a corrected street sign. My perception of Bessemer will then improve greatly.

Lowe's sinks to new lows

2011-12-13T08:15:00.000-06:00

Lowe's Home Improvement has succumbed to the pressures of right wing fringe groups and cancelled advertising on the TLC show "All American Muslim." The Florida Family Association (which obviously does not think much of Muslim families in their state) pressured the retail giant into pulling its ads and not re-instating them.

If you are not familiar with the show, here is a trailer.

The group said that the program was "propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda's clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values."

In other words, Lowe's fell victim to the same type of stereotyping and hate mongering that the show is trying to dispel. California Senator Ted Lieu stated,

"We want to raise awareness so that consumers will know during this holiday shopping season that Lowe's is engaging in religious discrimination."

"Lowe's is engaging in religious discrimination." Think about this when you need a piece of plywood or a new light fixture for your front porch.

And I say that the Florida Family Association is engaging in spreading the type of hatred and intolerance that gets people killed.

Lowe's is already on thin ice with progressives because of their lack of LGBT awareness. The Human Rights Campaign gives them a rating of 15 (on a scale of 0 to 100) compared to The Home Depot, which has an rating of 80. The rating is a measure of the level of support for LGBT persons in a company's policies.

I'll drive a little further to shop at Home Depot now, unless of course the toilet springs a leak and the bathroom is flooding and time is of the essence.

Here are some Home Depot employees from Sacramento at an event in Stockton, CA having some fun. Michael Jackson?

Honestly, I don't understand it

2011-12-08T13:42:00.001-06:00

I’m not sure I'm still in the country I was born in. Growing upin the heart of “the” civil rights struggle in Montgomery and later Birmingham,Alabama, I developed a sense of the good that the public can offer. I recognized that society was wrong and thatgood people were doing something about it.

Fast forward half a century and my views have broadened. Asa child, or even a teenager, I had a limited ability to understand the scope ofhistory. I totally ignored that it took over 100 years for black people to gaintheir freedom after winning it as a result of the Civil War. I missed out onunderstanding how segregation was put in place for the purpose of keeping blackpeople inferior, how interstates were built with the intent of destroying blackcommunities, how voter laws were passed that made it difficult or impossiblefor black people to vote, how industries targeted poor (mostly black)communities for their polluting plants.

Here it is 2011 and I have been observing politics foryears. I think politics brings out the worst in people (religion being a closesecond). When I hear the rhetoric of the (mostly) Republican presidentialcandidates, and (mostly) Republican members of Congress, and Republicangovernor Robert Bentley, and members of the Alabama legislature, I wonder whathas really changed in the last 50 years.

In the 21^st Century, with the technology we have,the ability to help others (especially overseas), the ability to develop greenresources and abilities, the ability to understand science, the increasing understandingthat we are not alone in this universe (and my personal disappointment that wewon’t meet the real aliens in my lifetime), the awareness that we are allpeople of worth and all deserve life liberty and the pursuit of happiness (andhealth insurance); with all of this, I can’t understand why politicians andothers are still arguing about the things they do.

How can people hold a belief that gay people are less worthyof equality than straight people? How can they not care that LGBT kids (or those perceived to be gay) are killing themselves? Honestly, I don’t understand it.

How can people not care about the environment, given theknowledge we have about dwindling resources and climate change? Honestly, I don’tunderstand it.

How can people not want everyone to have equal access tohealth care? Honestly, I don’t understand it.

How can people still demonize people because of their race,considering the history of our state? Honestly, I don’t understand it.

I do understand that people can have differing opinions, butthere are some things where opinions don’t count. Like equality, for example.It doesn’t matter if one’s opinion is that gays are not worthy, or that it’s OKthat teenage LGBT persons are still committing suicide. The fact is, in spiteof an individual’s opinion, equality should be the norm, gays should be treatedlike everyone else, gay kids should be encouraged to be who they are, everyindividual should be allowed to marry the person they love and there should beno debate. Yet we spend decades arguing about it.

Here is one of many posts from this blog on suicides of young LGBT people, Deaths.

Or take climate change and the environment. Scienceindicates that the activities of man are contributing to a general warming ofthe planet. Scientists tell us that the climate change resulting from this willbe expressed in various ways; that some areas may actually have colder temps,that weather extremes will be more common, that storms may be stronger. Yetothers, who are only interested in their own profits, or the profits of thecompanies that fund them, are willing to ignore this and use our resources atwhatever rate with no regard to preservation or the future.

Here is a post from the past about Contrarians, those pesky climate change deniers.And here is a post I wrote on April 28, the day after the tornadoes here, about why global warming may have been the cause.

Now let’s look at health care. All the debate about healthcare was really about insurance, which actually is a completely differentthing. Those who control insurance companies should have nothing to do withhealth care, and how it is administered or to what degree it is applied. Thereis no denying that thousands (or hundreds of thousands or millions) of peoplehave benefited under the advances in health care administration sincePresident Obama took office. Children can no longer be denied insurance becauseof pre-existing conditions, and in 2014 this will apply to adults as well.Young people can stay on their parent’s insurance until they turn 26. Over 24million Medicare patients have received free preventive care benefits, and over2.65 million have saved over $1.5 billion on prescription drugs. Alabama’s S-Chipprogram has been expanded and many more kids have insurance as a result.(S-Chip is not directly a part of Obamacare, but Republican president George W.Bush vetoed its reauthorization twice, while Obama expanded it after he cameinto office. Republican Tea Party member Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has eliminatedit in her state, giving us an idea of how Republicans feel about insuring thepoor).

What I don’t understand is how Republicans can spend so muchtime and energy trying to take insurance (and access to health care) away frompeople. What I do understand is that if you are a senior, or have a young adultchild, or a baby who is insured through All Kids (in Alabama), then there is noway you should vote for the Republicans in any office because they all want totake your insurance away.

Among my previous posts about health care are this one, Nurses, Doctors and "Real Christians" Support Health Care Reform; this one, Health Care Reform in Alabama - the facts; and this one, Is Health Care a Right.

As for immigration, everyone agrees that immigration reformis needed, and that border security needs to be enforced. But in Alabama, andin Georgia, Arizona and some other states, Republicans have passed legislationthat makes second class citizens out of Hispanic people. We’ve tried that before;it was called segregation and Jim Crow back then. Now it’s immigration and Juan Crow. The lawwas written by a racist legislator, Republican Scott Beason, and he stilldefends the entire law, even as the rest of the country and the world arelaughing at us while pitying us because of it. Because of the current andfuture economic damage resulting from HB 56 some Republicans in our state arecalling for changes to the law (recognize that this is because of money, nothuman dignity or worthiness).

And here is a post I wrote about immigration in Alabama, and a murder in our history related to it.

Anyway, I’ve been rambling, but what I really want to say,is that if you vote for a Republican (and some Democrats), then you:

Think it is OK to bully gay kids and others tothe point of suicide, and OK to deny gay people a life equal to your own.

Think it is OK to abuse the earth, to poison ourrivers and our air, and to do so to benefit the few at the expense of the many.

Think it is OK to deny health care benefits toseniors, and young adults, and babies, under certain circumstances.

Think it is OK to demean people because of therace, their color, their real or perceived immigration status, and OK to tearfamilies apart, deny kids an education and make people live in fear.

I have no respect for the GOP. Oh, you may say there are good Republicans. No, if they were good, they would leave that party and stand up for what is right.

And now I have to throw this in. Jennifer Parsons Champion and Benny Watson are two local elected officials who recently changed from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. I have no respect for either of these people, they have sold their soul to the devil as far as I'm concerned, and I will do what I can to see that they are defeated (after urging people to support them in the last election). If you don't understand why I said this, then refer to the bullet points above.

Now watch this video by Bon Iver. It will get you back intoa good place. Holocene: we are living in it.

Camellias

2011-12-05T11:07:00.001-06:00

I've written about camellias before, and since that time I still haven't learned much about them. I will reiterate that I love them because they open after roses and most annuals have ceased their blooming.

This year the weather was a little odd and those who have visited us this year noticed that fresh roses and fresh camellias were both on display in our home during the end of November. That's a consequence of climate change (and the unpredictable weather that results) that I can live with.

My attention is now turned toward the camellias. There will be one or more varieties in bloom in our yard until the azaleas bloom in the Spring, so Winter will not be without fresh flowers outdoors, some of which will make it into our home.

Here are some photos of the ones that are blooming now.

The plant that these pink flowers came from is in the back yard, and is covered with blooms. This simple arrangement was used on the altar at church.

This plant is in front of the house. It has the largest blooms of any camellia plant in the yard. It is doing very well this year.

These two blooms are the same variety, under natural indoor light. The photo above was taken with a flash.

Just for comparison, here is the scene above using a flash. I prefer the natural (artificial) light.

The plant that produces these blooms did not do well last year, but is covered in buds now. It traditionally blooms during Christmas time, and reminds me of peppermint.

This pretty pink blossom is actually from earlier this year. This one doesn't bloom until February, but I thought I would include it just to show how they bloom regardless of the weather.

Anyway, for those of us who enjoy gardens and natural beauty, the camellia is one of the things that keeps us going through winter.

Holiday Tour of Homes - Bessemer

2011-12-02T13:03:00.001-06:00

On Saturday, December 3 and Sunday, December 4 the Bessemer Historical Homeowners Association will present it's 2011 Lakewood Estates Holiday Tour of Homes.

Historic Lakewood Estates was established in 1925 by Mr. William Harper Lewis, a Bessemer banker and civic figure. The "Original Seven" homes were built between 1926 and 1929. Several of these are among the homes you will see on display.

Here are three of the Original Seven homes that will be on the tour.

I don't think there will be any snow this weekend, but the pictures of the homes in the snow are Christmasy.

Lakewood Estates is just off of 4th Avenue (Old Tuscaloosa Highway) in Bessemer. Google Lakewood Drive, Bessemer for a map.

The tour is from 1 pm to 5 pm on both Saturday and Sunday. Tickets $10 and are available at the tour.

The tour is sponsored by the Bessemer Historical Homeowners Association; Summer Classics; Milos; Brown Consulting, Inc; David Smith, Keller Williams Realty; and The Bright Star.

Suddenly things are better

2011-11-28T12:26:00.001-06:00

All we've heard form Republicans is gloom and doom for the last three years. The American public apparently bought into it, and elected a bunch of Tea Party Republicans in 2010. But anyone with any sense knew that the recovery from the GOP induced recession would be a slow process.

Things were bound to get worse because of the election of Barack Obama as president. During the last few weeks of his campaign in 2008 I remember hearing callers on radio shows like Rush Limbaugh saying they were employers and were letting people go (i.e. firing them) because Obama was going to be elected. In other words, they wanted things to look bad after his election. Limbaugh said he wanted president Obama to fail.

Apparently, they still feel that way. This sign is in Georgia.

I think Americans have opened their eyes to the Republican agenda (which is a spectrum of bad policy): do anything to keep Obama from getting re-elected (Mitch McConnell), even if it includes destroying the economy, and since it is no longer fashionable to hate black people, let's spread the hatred to brown people and gays, to point out a couple of things.

But of course all along we've been seeing signs of a recovering economy: stock market moving up, joblessness decreasing. Now, however, it's undeniable. Black Friday showed huge increases this year compared to last year, and predictions for cyber Monday (today) are the same.

Small business Saturday seemed to have good results also. Even the president went into a small DC bookstore with his kids shopping on Saturday, at (gay friendly) Kramer Books on Dupont Circle.

So, if sales around the Christmas holiday are any indication of the mood of the country and the willingness of the public to forget the GOP hype and resume normal living, then this season may just be a turning point.

It's hard to imagine any of the Republican presidential candidates actually winning the general election after the things they have said and done (or denied doing). Even so, Democrats must realize that they can't take anything for granted, but with these indications that things are improving the wind will be let out of the sails of the GOP ship of fools.

It's not even December yet, but I am predicting a happy holiday season, and success for the democrats in 2012.

Early Bessemer

2011-11-16T13:59:00.001-06:00

On Thursday, November 17, the Bessemer Hall of History will host Jason Burnett, author of "Early Bessemer," in celebration of the publication of the book.

Early Bessemer is a history of the city in pictures and should prove interesting to all of us in Bessemer. The pictures came from the Hall of History's collection, and date back to before the city was founded in 1887.

The celebration will last from 5 to 8 pm.

My soul has been restored

2011-10-27T11:15:00.001-06:00

I visited the loveliest village this week, and in spite of what I saw at Toomer's Corner, my soul has been restored.

I was in Auburn for a book signing at the Gnu's Room, for my novel, Those Others. While there, I visited the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, and saw an exhibit of Audubon works of birds and mammals, among other things. Oh, and this Dale Chihuly chandelier that hangs in the lobby.

At Toomer's corner, of course, I saw the once mighty oak trees now fighting for survival.

But while on campus I also discovered this tree.

Tucked in a corner of the campus Arboretum, (one of my favorite haunts when I was a student) is this tree, called the Founders Oak.

The plaque you see in the picture reads as follows.

This post oak started growth in 1850 and was 6 years old when East Alabama Male College was established. It was 33 years old when the Alabama Agricultural Station was established, 91 when the nation entered World War II, and over 100 when this site was made an arboretum. In 1975 Hurricane Eloise wreaked havoc in the arboretum but the Founder's Oak withstood the storm. It was 150 years old at the start of the twenty-first century and is expected to be here at the start of the next century.

Also in the arboretum I saw this beautiful Pond Cypress and observed its "knees" between it and the pond.

Beautiful flowers were blooming.

I spent some time in Samford Park, of which I have fond memories. Here is Samford Hall, behind a burst of fall color.

I enjoyed the most wonderful fresh squeezed lemonade on earth.

These were the places I went to regain my sanity when college life seemed to be overwhelming. I'm glad that they are mostly unchanged (other than the oak trees on the corner) and still there for unwinding by current students.

War Eagle.

Occupy Bessemer (actually Birmingham)

2011-10-14T09:24:00.000-06:00

Remember how when the Tea Party was being born...no, I'm sorry, I won't take you back to that time.

Now we have the Occupy Wall Street protests spreading around the country.

Picture credit Diane on Facebook

This is Diane and her three rescue dogs, on the tundra near Bethel, Alaska.

She said, "The day is chill. The sentiment is solid. Find your spot. Occupy it. Even if it is only your own mind. Keep this going."

Locally, the effort started last week with just a few people.

Picture credit Occupy Birmingham on Facebook

People in Birmingham (at least Birmingham people on Facebook) have been waiting for years for something like this.

Oh yeah, what I was going to say about the Tea Party; remember when they were forming and people complained that no one knew what they stood for? Well, I had my theory, but others determined it had to do with taxes.

People are saying the same thing about the 99% and Occupy; that they don't know what the movement stands for. Well, Rich has explained it in this Occupy Birmingham blog post.

Editorial: "What IS the 99%, Exactly?"

I’ve seen a significant amount of misunderstanding on the concept of the claim that “we are the 99%”. Most of the misunderstanding seems to come from skeptics as to the movement’s purpose and effectiveness (which is rather annoying, actually). So, to combat the confusion, I thought I’d take a little bit of time to explain the concept in a little bit of depth.

Simply put, the wealthiest 1% is placed on one end of the equation, and the remaining 99% is placed on the other. Why go after the top 1%? Why not the top 3% or the top 10%? The graph to the right shows that the top 1% is significantly different in terms of average household income (before and after taxes). Their income has risen dramatically over the last 30 years while everyone else’s (the 99%)…. hasn’t. As you can clearly see, the 1% is… special. In effect, they made themselves “the 1%”; not the occupation movements which have sprouted all over the planet in recent weeks.

The editorial continues

We function as individuals. Those that you see marching, protesting, and occupying have elected to do so on their own accord. Those who are against the protesters and disagree with the occupiers are still a part of the equation and therefore the movement. Their ideas are taken in and reviewed on the individual level and are considered just as important as everyone else’s.

Now I think that most of us understand that part of the problem lies in Washington. For example, recently Alabama Senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby both voted against President Obama's Jobs bill, thus voting against 18,800 jobs that would have been created in Alabama. Of course, the Republicans have their hands in the back pockets (where the wallet is) of corporate America, so it's all related.

Many of the occupiers have a problem with corporate funding of elections. The Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United in 2010 was the final straw for some of us. This case held that the First Amendment protects corporate funding of political ads (and films).

Justice John Paul Stevens dissent summed up the feelings of many. Here is the conclusion of his dissent.

At bottom, the Court's opinion is thus a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self government since the founding, and who have fought against the distinctive corrupting potential of corporate electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt. It is a strange time to repudiate that common sense. While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this Court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics.

Others are upset at the financial crisis and resulting unemployment caused by the financial industry. And that no one has been held accountable.

Now the media is more interested in covering things like the disagreement over moving protesters out of parks (in New York) for cleaning rather than focusing on the real issues.

Regardless, there will be a protest in Birmingham (not Bessemer) Saturday at 2:00, at Railroad Park. And more than just a few people are expected. Here is part of the crowd at another Occupy Birmingham event.

Picture credit Occupy Birmingham

If you don't like your government being bought and paid for by corporations, and if you are concerned about the state of the economy and unemployment, and even if you are just concerned about the injustice caused by HB56, you should be there. After all, you ARE part of the 99%

By the grace of God

2011-10-10T09:12:00.000-06:00

This morning I heard Joe Scarborough say, “Born Southern, bythe grace of God.”

Well, I fall under that grace, I guess, having been born inMontgomery, Alabama. A year later RosaParks refused to obey a bus driver and a movement was started in that city.

In 1959, we moved to Birmingham, actually to a suburb of theMagic City. A few years later, dogs and fire hoses were keeping black people atbay and churches were being bombed and little girls being killed.

And we are supposed to feel fortunate to having been bornhere?

“By the grace of God” is a phrase that has its modern rootsin the legitimization of Christian monarchs who through Divine Right ruled overtheir subjects. So the phrase as applied to Southerners might infer that wehave a Divine Right to the “rich heritage” and “way of life” that we Southernersenjoy.

That way of thinking is aristocratic; in fact, it’s offensive.

Did the young black men whose lives were documented by DouglasBlackmon in “Slavery by Another Name” feel that they were “born Southern, bythe grace of God?”

Picture credit Slavery by Another Name

Are the Hispanic middle school students who were born inMarshall County and now being withdrawn from public schools convinced thatthey, too, were “born Southern by the grace of God?”

Picture credit Huffington Post

Being born Southern might have some advantages, among themthe good food that we enjoy, but even that has left many of us obese. By thegrace of God, I guess.

Picture credit Joe

And what about the 522 infants who died during the firstyear of their life during 2010 in Alabama? Yes, our infant mortality rate hasimproved during the past few years, but still, for over 500 babies whose mothercould not access the resources to have a healthy pregnancy and child; it doesn’tseem that the grace of God was enough.

Picture credit WAAY

The 1901 Alabama Constitution begins by “invoking the favorand guidance of Almighty God.”

Is it God’s favor that has brought Alabama to where it istoday; ranking near the bottom ineducation, ranking among the most obese, ranking among the worst in toxic airpollution, ranks near the last in internet access. In fact, Alabama ranked 48^thin overall quality of life for children, which includes issues like healthcare, education and poverty.

No, it is not by the grace of God that we are born Southern.In fact, it is just by chance that any of us are born anywhere. There is nodivine guidance in the race of the sperm to the egg.

And that one’s place of birth should determine their chanceof making it through their first year of life, their chance of receiving a goodeducation, their chance of developing obesity (and all the health issues thatcome with it), the chance of living in an area with clean air and water; is unfortunate,if not immoral.

Don’t insult God by implying that what we have in the South,and in particular Alabama, is the best he has to offer. If that were the case, I would expect ourstate to rank highest in quality of life issues, and we are far from that.

Clown fest 3

2011-09-23T09:42:00.001-06:00

Republican presidential candidates held their third debate last night. I watched.

For those who missed it, here is the debate in 100 seconds.

Remember how President Obama was criticized for not holding his hand over his heart during the National Anthem? This picture was taken during last week's debate.

Can we assume that Rick Perry is un-American? Is his patriotism questionable?

And Joe My God points out what we've heard from the three debates.

CHEERS for the death penalty.
CHEERS for letting people die without insurance.
BOOS for active duty gay soldiers.

I cannot believe that Republicans would boo an active duty soldier who is putting his life on the line every day for our nation. Of course, last week I couldn't believe they cheered for letting an uninsured 30 year old man in a coma (hypothetical) die, or that they would cheer because Texas murders a lot of it's citizens.

Seriously, though, while the president is out promoting his jobs plan around the country, his foes are not offering any solutions to the problems the country faces. All they can do is bash the administration. And they can't even be honest while doing it.

Some statements from last night's debate; there are more from this source.

BACHMANN: "President Obama has the lowest public approval ratings of any president in modern time."

THE FACTS: That's true, if you leave out Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Gerald Ford. All of them at some point in their terms dipped lower than Obama's low point of 38 percent job approval, according to Gallup's comparison.

ROMNEY: "I don't support any particular program that he's describing," he said, disputing Perry's claim that Romney favors some of President Barack Obama's education initiatives, specifically the Race to the Top program.

THE FACTS: Romney was reluctant to tell Republican primary voters he doesn't hate every Obama policy. Romney does indeed support some of the specific policy changes encouraged by the Race to the Top program and said as much earlier in the week. Speaking in Miami on Wednesday, he praised the president's education secretary, Arne Duncan, for the program. And during the debate, Romney acknowledged supporting elements of the initiative, including teacher evaluations and charter schools.

BACHMANN: "I didn't make that claim nor did I make that statement," she said when asked by a moderator if she stood by her comment that the HPV vaccine against cervical cancer was "potentially dangerous."

THE FACTS: Bachmann can't escape the tape. Bachmann used that exact phrase during the last debate when she criticized Perry for trying to order pre-teen girls to get the vaccine in Texas. "Little girls who have a negative reaction to this potentially dangerous drug don't get a mulligan. They don't get a do-over," Bachmann said then. Bachmann has tried to distance herself from remarks she made after the debate linking the vaccine to mental retardation — a claim debunked by scientists. She said then and now she was relaying the story of another mother whose daughter had the shot.

PERRY: It's not the first time that Mitt has been wrong on some issues before. And the bottom line is, we never said that we were going to move this (Social Security) back to the states."

ROMNEY: "Well, it's different than what the governor put in his book just, what, six months (ago), and what you said in your interviews following the book. So I don't know. There's a Rick Perry out there (who) ... says that the federal government shouldn't be in the pension business, that it's unconstitutional. Unconstitutional and it should be returned to the states."

THE FACTS: In his book Perry heavily criticized Social Security, advocated states' rights and suggested federal entitlements were unconstitutional in general, but he never tied these beliefs together as succinctly as Romney claimed.

Even so, he danced close to branding Social Security as unconstitutional. He called Social Security the best example of a program that tosses "aside any respect for our founding principles of federalism." He also lamented: "If only the New Dealers had been kind enough to allow workers to make their own choice about whether to participate." And he said the program was introduced "at the expense of respect for the Constitution and limited government."

Republicans will have to choose one of these clowns as their candidate (or someone who has not entered the race yet). But American's will have the final choice, and surely we will not be fooled. We must re-elect President Obama.

Barbarians

2011-09-22T09:58:00.000-06:00

No, gays are not the barbarians, as Michele Bachman's husband infamously said.

State governments that continue to execute citizens are barbaric.The individuals that sanctioned these executions, and that did nothing to prevent them from happening (i.e. SCOTUS, governors, boards of pardon) are barbarians.

This is 2011. We live in an educated and supposedly civilized society, yet today, in the Birmingham News, are at least 4 stories that reflect our culture of government killing its own citizens.

The most heart wrenching story is the execution of Troy Davis by the state of Georgia, who by most accounts is not guilty of the crime for which he was killed, and by all accounts had reasonable doubt established as to his guilt.

In this country, in which a vocal segment of the population claims to be "pro-life," isn't it odd that many of those same people are "pro-death." And isn't it even odder, that so many of those same people claim to be Christians, yet their book of inspiration speaks of forgiveness and loving your enemies and commands us not to kill and not to seek retribution.

Last night in Texas white supremacist Lawrence Russell was killed for the dragging death of James Byrd Jr., an African American who, along with Matthew Shepard are recognized in the name of the Matthew Shepard James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act which strengthened the existing law and added LGBT protections. Governor Rick Perry, who gloats over his states record on killings to wild cheering from supporters, is probably dancing today.

In Alabama Derrick Mason is scheduled to die at 6:00 pm today. Mason apologized to his victim's family years ago and gave his life to God. The state (or an employee of the state) will insert a needle into his vein, and inject a liquid into his body that will kill him. How can a person do that? Are they any better than the person they are killing? Even if it is rigged so they don't actually push the plunger, or know who starts the process, whatever they do to try to absolve their role in killing another human, it fails.

Also in Alabama the lawyer for a man charged in Shelby county of killing 5 people is asking for the trial to be moved. This is a death penalty case, and the prosecutor will ask the jury and judge to let the state kill him.

It may be hard to imagine how one might feel if a loved one was murdered. But that doesn't matter. We need to take the emotion out of the picture, and step back. Look at the process. The state does not like a citizen, or what he did, so the state kills him. That is sick. Again, this is 2011, and we live in a society that claims to be civilized. It's hard to make that claim, however, today.

Rally for Alabama's Future: Photo Essay

2011-09-02T12:52:00.007-06:00

These photos were taken at the Rally for Alabama's Future: Repeal HB56. They are self explanatory.

Leviticus 19:33-34 - When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

Do you want the berms or don't you?

2011-08-26T06:09:00.005-06:00

Work has begun on the Norfolk Southern Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility near McCalla. One local resident (who was admittedly against the facility) is sounding alarm bells because "large equipment" is mesmerizing the kids on the playground. Pat Breeden is the PTA president for McAdory Elementary School, and she says the "dust, noise, traffic and distractions" are "harming the children."

On a radio talk show the other day she said children (more than one) are coming home with "nosebleeds" and respiratory problems.

If you remember, in the plans we saw a berm that would be landscaped and have fencing to hide the facility and cut down on noise.

However, current plans include barriers or earthen berms, which will provide a variety of mitigation benefits including aesthetic improvements, security, and noise suppression, along much of the access road and around part of the Automatic Gate System (AGS) area. These barriers or landscaped berms, combined with existing vegetation and the distance between the road and residents in the area are expected to reduce sounds from the trucks to near ambient levels for those residents.

Norolk Southern is not Disney. They cannot wave a magic wand and create the berms. Earth must be moved. This is August. It's 100 degrees. The ground is dry. Dust is going to fly.

Breeden is quoted in the Birmingham News, "reports from children being so curious that during P. E. when walking or running the track they stop and stare at the large equipment. Again, we were very concerned about the distractions and proximity in the playground and how it could and does affect the students."

The kids need to get out more. They apparently have never seen large equipment.

What a teaching opportunity this could be. Kids, especially the boys, love big yellow construction equipment and this could put their pretend play with Tonka toys into reality!

The classes could study methods of transportation and how our nations goods are moved. Some history could be included regarding trains and how they have progressed from steam engines to modern diesels. This is a cool video of a steam engine barking up a hill.

The importance of the environmental study that was completed could be taught in science class. Here is an example of elementary kids studying the environment. It would be so easy to incorporate the environmental work leading up to the railroad hub into an elementary school project.

That is how it could be.

Instead, the kids are hearing (and they do hear and know what goes on) that Norfolk Southern is evil and causing sickness and dirtyness. How sad.

End of the World...in Bessemer!

2011-08-17T16:04:00.002-06:00

In today's mail was a flier touting "End of World Prophesies" Coming to Bessemer. There is a picture of a winged lion and a five headed cheetah with wings a dragon and bear on the cover.

The event will be at the Bessemer Civic Center this weekend! There are daily meetings for 9 days.

"Beast from the bottomless pit"

"When a woman will rule" (this could actually be true if Michele Bachmann wins the presidency).

"The rise of the beast with the number 666"

"Born Half Dead"

"Prophecy of the Sundial"

OMG. I just looked at the back of the flier; this actually continues into September.

I want to know where in the bible it says a five headed cheetah with wings will usher in the end times.

What a crock.

I think I will just continue to live my life for good things, helping others, loving my neighbor, and take it as it comes. Nothing to get all hyped up about.

Rick Perry!!!

2011-08-15T10:47:00.003-06:00

All excited about Rick Perry? Here in Alabama he created a stir when he breezed in and made a speech and then won the straw pole for the state Republicans.

Of course, in many cases, serpent can come in, make a fancy presentation, and win over the hearts and minds. Look what happened in the Garden of Eden.

And you may not recognize him as such, but Rick Perry is a serpent as well. No offense to my slithering friends (I sort of like snakes), but lets look at some facts.

He has a horrible record on the environment, as this Washington Post article shows us.

He "prays daily" for the EPA to fail, and has filed a lawsuit against them. He (and many Republicans) don't give a rat's hiney about the environment. Not if it interferes with drilling and spilling. I mean, he did make the claim that the Gulf oil spill was "an act of God." In other words, hating the Environmental Protection Agency, and claiming that a man made disaster is an act of God gives license to call anything that happens an act of God and release his or his cronies from responsibility of what might happen under their leadership.

I'll highlight a few other things here that Perry might not be so proud of, from Think Progress.

Rick Perry wants to do away with Medicaid and Social Security, or at least let states drop out of the social programs.

Rick Perry wants to do away with Federal Income Tax (from his book).

Rick Perry cut child services by $10 billion even though 1 in 4 Texas children lives in poverty.

Rick Perry wants to re-criminalize sodomy and advocated keeping the law on the Texas books even after the US Supreme Court ("nine oligarchs in robes") struck it down.

Rick Perry is a (this is where the slithering comes in) hypocrite that accepted billions of dollars in Federal stimulus money to balance the budget in Texas and fund highway projects, while criticizing the recovery program, saying that "we (Texas) can take care of ourselves." Sneaky snake.

Rick Perry says Texas might need to secede from the Union.

Rick Perry lies (more snake like activity) saying that Texas has "the best health care in the country." Texas also has the nation's highest uninsured rate. More than 25% of Texans lack health insurance, as opposed to a national average of 15.4%. Is that the "best health care?"

Rick Perry has that "I'm better than you" type of handshake/greeting and smirk, that is too, too much reminiscent of George W. Bush.

Ugh! Texas smug.

But listen, Perry and several of the other Republican candidates for president want to turn our country into a theocracy, but the majority of Americans recognize the separation of church and state. Perry even believes that God has "anointed him" to run (and if he wins, God will have anointed him President too, I'm sure).

Let's hope the majority of Americans also recognize the danger of electing this man as president.

Repealing Obamacare

2011-08-13T14:17:00.005-06:00

I am so tired of hearing the phrase "repeal Obamacare." Every Republican presidential candidate seems to be stuck on this phrase.

Turning back the clock on health care reform will reverse the progress made regarding insuring kids who were previously denied insurance and other advances. I made a little list of some of the ways healthcare reform has benefited the people of Alabama. Most of the information comes from here.

The Department of Health and Human Services has so far awarded $16.7 million in grants to improve healthcare in our state.

57,533 Medicare part D rebate checks ($250) have been issued to close the donut hole coverage gap. Beneficiaries this year are receiving a 50% discount on their brand name prescription drugs.

77 uninsured Alabamians have enrolled in the pre-existing condition plan that provides a health coverage option for consumers who have been uninsured for at least six months, have a pre-existing condition or have been denied health coverage because of their health condition. In Alabama, this plan in managed by the Feds (because we didn't do it).

$1 million is being spent to crackdown on unreasonable insurance premium increases. You can read more about that here.

Another $1 million is being used to plan for a Health Insurance Exchange, and Alabama is working on this.

40 employers in Alabama have enrolled in the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program that provides financial relief to businesses, schools, state and local governments, and non-profits to help retirees and their families continue insurance coverage. So far these entities have enrolled.

Alabama Aircraft Industries, Inc- Birmingham
Alabama West Florida Conference*
American Cast Iron Pipe Company
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama
City of Dothan, Alabama
City of Huntsville General Activities
City of Huntsville Utilities
City of Mobile, Alabama
City of Montgomery
City of Phenix City
City of Tuscaloosa
Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc.
Council of the City of Anniston*
DCH Healthcare Authority
Decatur Utilities
Drummond Company, Inc.
Electric Cooperative Voluntary Employees Benefit A
Energen Corporation
IBEW-NECA Local 505 Health Plan
Jefferson County Commission
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Legacy Vulcan Corp.
Local 903 IBEW Health and Welfare Plan
Mechanical Contractors - U. A. Local 119 Welfare Plan
Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc.
Mobile County Commission
Montgomery County Commission
National Cement Co of Alabama
Pemco World Air Services
Phifer, Incorporated
PowerSouth Energy Cooperative
Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Plan
Regions Financial Corporation
Sheetmetal Workers Local 441 Health & Welfare Plan
State Employees' Insurance Board
The City of Auburn, Alabama, A Municipal Corporation
The Water Works Board of the City of Birmingham
The Westervelt Company
Tombigbee Healthcare Authority
Tuscaloosa County Office of Treasurer
Walter Energy, Inc.
Water Works and Sanitary Sewer Board of the City of Montgomery AL

$3.7 million in Therapeutic Discovery Project Program Tax Credits and Grants to find new therapies and finding cures for cancer and such. Here is a list of the grants and credits in Alabama. Look at these lists, and think of all the jobs that would be lost if Obamacare were overturned. And the research that would not be done.

$3.92 million in grants from the Prevention and Public Health fund, including $3,356,505 for community and clinical prevention activities, which will help Alabama and its partners prevent and manage costly conditions (and we have plenty of these) and $561,795 to support public health infrastructure. These grants strengthen state and local capacity to meet 21st century public health challenges.

$1.5 million for maternal, infant and early childhood home visitation programs.

$500,000 for medicare improvements for patients and providers.

$5.1 million for capital development improvements in Health Centers.

This is a partial list, but from it you can see that repealing Obamacare would cost our state millions of dollars, and decrease the opportunities to improve the health of our residents. It would also cost thousands of jobs, so GOP, keep your hands off my Obamacare!

Some thoughts on the debt

2011-07-29T13:19:00.004-06:00

Do you think the national debt is a new thing?

John Adams entered the presidency in 1797 with a national debt of $82,064,439. This equaled around $15 per person with a population of 5,308,483.

His son, John Quincy Adams began his presidency in 1825 with a debt of $83,788,433. The population had increased to 12,866,020, so the amount per person was $6.50. I wonder how many people in 1825 could afford $6.50.

By the time his successor, Andrew Jackson, left the office in 1837, the debt had decreased to $336,958, around two and a half cents per person (I don't know the population in 1837, this is based on the 1929 population.)

None of that has anything to do with today's debt; it's just to show that we have always run the country in the red.

What about our current debt?

This chart is from the New York Times.

It may be hard to see, you can see a larger pic at the link. But let me summarize.

All but 1 trillion of the $14.3 trillion that we owe comes from Reagan forward.

Republicans: Reagan (1.9 trillion), George HW Bush (1.5), and GW Bush (6.1) are responsible for 9.5 trillion of the debt.

Democrats: Clinton (1.4) and Obama (2.4) are responsible for 3.8 trillion.

In other words, Republicans are responsible for two and a half times as much of the national debt as Democrats.

The Tea Party house members are acting reckless in this "debate." They forgot that they came to Washington to govern. They do not realize that change is always slow in coming. Obama ran on a platform of change but could not come in and create all the change he wanted immediately. Likewise, extremist Republicans can't either.

We hear so much about those "freshman" legislators and their new found power.

But Alabama has a freshman legislator too, who speaks sensibly about the Boehner's bill.

Watch freshman legislator Terri Sewell speaking on the house floor yesterday.

As for the 14th Amendment and the possibility of the President invoking it to raise the debt ceiling...

Remember, this is the Amendment that allows persons born in this country to be citizens, and that contains the equal protection clause that will eventually be used to allow same sex couples to marry across the country. Right wingers already want to do away with the 14th amendment, and they will go crazy if the president uses this option.

Teaching your kids to hate

2011-07-28T08:29:00.005-06:00

I took these pictures off of this web site.

This drives me crazy.

Parents took their kids to protest the marriages in New York. It was pretty much a hate rally.

They are teaching their children to discriminate. And to hate.

It is no coincidence that most of the pictures on the web site are kids of color. The point is that their parents have faced discrimination, and now have some degree of protection from discrimination (although institutional discrimination still is prevalent), yet they think it is OK to teach bigotry to their kids?

Do you really want to teach your child that it is worse for me to love somebody and to commit my life to being with that person than it was for that man to murder the young Jewish boy and cut him up?

Do you realize that this is what makes people like Steve Mullins and Charles Butler think its OK to murder someone like Billy Jack Gaither in 1999 in Sylacauga, AL; or Chris Gaines and Robert Porter and Nichole Kelsay to murder Scotty Joe Weaver in 2004 in Baldwin county, AL.

Father, what if this child is gay?

These women took this child by the hand and are see nothing wrong with showing him how to discriminate.

Like I said, it just bothers the stew out of me to see people teaching their children to hate. This is 2011. We should love one another.

I've been busy

2011-07-27T06:43:00.002-06:00

You may think I've fallen off a cliff or something since I have not been posting on Bessemer Opinions lately. But my writing has taken me to different sites. If you have not been following, Here are some links.

Equality Alabama staged a "takeover" of Full Moon Bar-B-Que in Hoover earlier this month. I covered this for Examiner.

The Western Star printed an article about Bessemer pride that I wrote.

Then they printed a letter from Snuffy Garrett in response.

I spent some time writing responses to Garrett's ill-informed letter.

The Western Star printed my 1700 word response (here, on Scribd) to his challenge that I find support for my "lifestyle" in the Bible.

And I wrote another article for Examiner regarding the Human Rights Campaign bus tour that is coming to Alabama in October.

And all the while my thoughts on the debt ceiling crisis and the unwillingness of the Republicans to compromise are swirling around in my head. Coming soon.

Tears Dry On Their Own, by Amy Winehouse.

820

2011-07-16T11:37:00.005-06:00

In Alabama each year 820 lives are lost due to second hand smoke.

Bessemer has a weak anti-smoking law, passed in 2008 (that was largely ignored when first passed).

Fultondale has now passed the gold standard of smoking ordinances.

Bessemer needs to strengthen its smoking ordinance to prohibit smoking in all public places, and may be the city to watch, according to those who monitor such things.

They are wondering if public support is behind the move. Not sure, but the ones who vote are the city council members, and 5 of the 7, along with the mayor, were at today's Smokefree Bessemer Soul Walk.

There were 820 pairs of shoes, donated by individuals and representing other individuals who had died from second hand smoke.

Of course, some of the shoes were worthy of donation for other reasons, but I digress. (And actually, I think the shoes are kind of cool).

But seriously, this is an important issue and the Progressive Bessemer Coalition supports it. Now its up to the City Council.

"Everyone Has the Right to Breathe Smokefree Air"

Unfortunately, there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. The only way to protect yourself is to avoid it as much as possible. When out in public, choose to spend time at smokefree venues and try to stay away from those who are smoking. If you smoke, do so outdoors and in open areas away from others, especially children and other high risk people. Also, try quitting :-)

• Smoking kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined.

• There are 4,000 harmful chemicals in tobacco and 40+ known components that are responsible for causing cancer.

• Poisons in tobacco include arsenic, cyanide, formaldehyde (which is used to preserve dead bodies), and ammonia bromide (the main agent used in toilet cleaner).

• Approximately 7,400 Alabama adults die each year from their own smoking, and more than 820 Alabama adults nonsmokers die each year from secondhand smoke..

• Over time, being around secondhand smoke can cause chronic lung problems, lung cancer and heart disease in non-smoking adults and lung and ear infections, asthma and Sudden infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in children.

• People who use smokeless tobacco are 50 times more likely to get cancer of the cheek and gums.

• Secondhand smoke kills 40,000 people every year.

• 76.8% of Alabamians DON’T smoke

• Smokefree policies encourage smokers to quit and discourage youth from starting.

Mounds

2011-07-08T11:59:00.012-06:00

I absolutely love visiting places where early civilizations lived and transferring myself into their realm, dissolving any knowledge of science or modernity and imagining what I would think of stars, the moon, poison ivy, storms, my attraction to men, and other things. How would we deal with those things without our knowledge, amassed over thousands of years?

Moundville is not far from Bessemer, and I visited there this week. If you don't know, Moundville represents a Native American culture that inhabited the area hundreds of years ago. Much of what we understand about this "prehistoric" city is by representation of what has been learned with our modern idea of what was.

Photo Credit University of Alabama Museums

This is a reenactor in costume. This is what we suppose a man of ancient "Moundville" looked like. Nice. But I digress.

Moundville was occupied from around 1000AD to 1450 AD. It was a hubbub of activity, spreading over 325 acres with 29 earthen mounds and dwellings for thousands of people. It was a center of political and religious activity. The decline and eventual abandonment of the center remains a mystery.

What did these people believe about nature and cosmic forces? This three dimensional eagle emerging from the clouds in the museum makes me wonder.

In some areas we are more precise in our knowledge.

Known as the "Moundville Duck Bowl," in 1906 this carved piece was touted as the most remarkable piece of sculpture ever discovered north of Mexico on the American continent.

This painted ceramic bottle is typical of the type of vessels found at Moundville. Sorry my picture is not of good quality, but I will come back to this picture in a minute.

There are life size representations of daily life, also in the museum.

The museum at Moundville is world class. Take a day and go visit.

But, did you know, that even closer, even older Indian mounds have been found. The Bessemer Mounds were once located in what is now Bessemer city limits and were occupied as early as 800 AD.

There were three mounds; a ceremonial mound, a burial mound and a domiciliary mound. You can read about the discovery and excavation of these mounds here. You can also learn there that the mounds no longer exist.

The actual mounds were destroyed during the excavations. Recent development, including a theme park, an outlet mall, and the Jefferson County Sewer and Garbage Disposal Plant, have destroyed a large part of the Indian village site.

Future development threatens to totally destroy what is left.

It is sad that so much of the site has been destroyed, but what remains could still become an archaeological park that would be an asset to the city and state. This would require some common sense and foresight.

Here is a picture of a bowl and a bottle found at the Bessemer site.

Picture credit University of Alabama Museums

Compare these bottles with the one from Moundville, which was probably made hundreds of years later. The structure and the decoration both seem to be more primitive in these Bessemer bottles. That is a layman's observation based on nothing more than photographs, but it makes one think about progress.

It is a shame that forward thinking (or backward appreciating) people were not successful in preserving the sites around Bessemer. We might have had a nice historical attraction of our own.

Gay Pride in Bessemer!

2011-07-06T09:54:00.005-06:00

The following article appeared in this week's Western Star. This is evidence that equality events can and should take place in small communities as well as in large cities.

Jonesboro Community Garden turns into brightly colored beacon of equality

On Saturday, June 25th, Jonesboro Community Garden in Bessemer turned into a brightly colored beacon of equality, as Gay Pride was celebrated for the first time in Bessemer. The event was sponsored by Bessemer Equality, a Facebook group, and Equality Alabama, a statewide advocacy organization for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Several dozen people representing the racial and sexual diversity of Bessemer attended the event, and the park welcomed them with a rainbow of colors. Letters in the colors of the rainbow flag spelled out “Bessemer Pride!” and a rainbow flag and a historic U. S. flag flew from the gazebo.

Just like an old time church social, the event was pot luck. Those in attendance shared barbecue ribs, potato salad, fresh fruit, bacon cheese bread, pizza, cinnamon bread, cup cakes and more. Toddlers chased bubbles being produced by a bubble machine. Music played from a system set up in the gazebo. “New York, New York,” sung by Liza Minelli, was played several times to commemorate the approval of marriage equality in New York state, which had happened just hours earlier.

In addition to Equality Alabama, Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform, had a display. ACCR is a nonprofit group seeking to draft a new state constitution.

Bessemer Historical Homeowners Association also had a display, with large photos of historical homes in our areas, and promoted home ownership with displays and literature of homes that are for sale in the city.

Surprisingly, they also featured a photo display that portrayed economic development in Bessemer. The new DHR building, the Norfolk Southern railroad hub, and the Dollar General distribution center, were pictured.

One of their displays featured a poster sized reprint of an article from USA Today titled “Gay-tolerant societies prosper economically.”

An artist and jewelry maker rounded out the displays.

One of the aims of the event was to bring the gay community and the straight community together. An estimate reveals that two thirds of the people there were straight, so it certainly achieved that goal.

Thanks to all who helped put on this event, and to those who came. Bessemer is on the move, as evidenced by this recent article in the Birmingham News. As the article in USA today said, gay tolerant societies prosper, and here is the proof.

Pride - here and there

2011-06-27T09:51:00.004-06:00

Two historic Pride events took place this weekend.

One was in Bessemer, Alabama, where the first Gay Pride in the city's history was celebrated. Word is, this will be covered in this week's Western Star, so I won't upstage them. But if they print a story, I will copy it here. If they don't, I will report.

The other was in New York. This is my favorite picture of that event.

Photo credit Vivieene Gucwa flckr

The Pride in New York was historic in that they were celebrating marriage equality!

The following are reactions from crazy folk about the victory (all are from JoeMyGod over the last few days)

Pat Robertson says that God will destroy America because of this.

The Catholic League's Bill Donahue says it will lead to multiple husbands.

But unless there is a constitutional amendment, we will continue to have an uneven playing field, one that is ripe for further exploitation. Once marriage is separated from procreation, and Tom and Dick are allowed to marry, there is no principled reason why Tom, Dick and Harry can't do so. After all, wouldn't it be discrimination to say no to Harry?

Bryan Fischer, American Family Radio host, said we have fangs.

'The gay-rights groups have shown their fangs. They want to silence, yes, destroy those who don't agree with their agenda.' Homosexuals are rapidly cementing their position as the number one perpetrators of hate crimes in American today."

Linda Harvey, World New Daily writer, says

"This 'freedom' will include much more than a perpetual pansexual pagan party. It will, and already does, include libel, slander, intimidation, corruption of youth, revolt in congregations, suppression of parental rights, revision of language, disease, loss of employment and loss of life. Oh, and did I mention public sex, the porn explosion and public nudity? Welcome to entitlement sex."

Jason Adkins, Minnesota Marriage Coalition spokesperson, lied,

Marriage between one man and one woman has served mankind for all of recorded history...

Peter LaBarbera tweeted

Every homosexual activist victory (eg, same-sex *marriage* in NY) is a rebuke to our biblical heritage. Why should 'God Bless America'?

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council said

The so-called religious protections that were tacked on to the bill will ultimately do nothing to protect the religious rights of New York citizens.

On twitter, @almightygod tweeted

Gays will be getting married in NY, so I guess I'll need to send them some tornadoes. Hope I don't miss and hit Kansas

Maggie Gallagher, in the National Review said,

"The National Organization for Marriage has committed $2 million to persuading Republicans: Voting for gay marriage has consequences. Sad that the N.Y. GOP has caved. Consequences to be continued."

Matt Barber of Liberty Council tweeted

Gay "marriage" silliness: sad for NY. Sad for America. Yet not unexpected. We mock God & He obliges. Buckle in. Rough ride ahead.

But, here are the facts.

New York marriage more than doubles the number of Americans who live in states where marriage equality is. This chart comes from Box Turtle Bulletin.

In 50 years we have come from being a nation where homosexuality was criminal in every state, to where our relationships are recognized as equal in 6 states. But still only 11% of the country (by population) is treated with equality. We still have a ways to go. Maybe we can move faster now. More than half of Americans support marriage equality, and there is no good reason to believe otherwise. None.

Bessemer Pride

2011-06-24T09:04:00.005-06:00

On Saturday we will celebrate LGBT Pride in Bessemer for the first time!

The Western Star printed this announcement this week.

Bessemer Pride

Bessemer Pride will take place on Saturday, June 25, from 11:30 am to 2 pm, at Jonesboro Community Garden, corner of Owen Avenue and Wellington. Bessemer Pride is about highlighting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Bessemer and surrounding communities and uniting with the straight community to move Bessemer forward. This will be a pot-luck,community get together, so bring your favorite food and join us.

Among the displays at Bessemer Pride will be a suggestion box. Should we keep the June date? Or is fall a better time (October is Gay History month)? Have it on a Sunday afternoon rather than Saturday? Have live entertainment? Forget the food, or raise money and make it a cookout? Other suggestions?

Come and join us, be proud (gay or straight) if you are from Bessemer, or learn a little about our city if you are from elsewhere.

Jonesboro Community Garden is at the corner of Owen Avenue and Wellington in Bessemer, AL.

Won't you be my gaybor (part 2)?

2011-06-20T07:09:00.006-06:00

Earlier I posted "Won't you be my gaybor?" where I highlighted historic properties for sale in Bessemer. I can report that most of those homes were sold.

Of course there are always homes for sale, and there are always homes that need restored, and there is always a need for progressives and gays to move to Bessemer to make our city a better place.

Here are four homes of different styles and with different needs that are for sale. But I'm not going to reveal the location of these homes. They will be, along with several others, featured in a display at Bessemer Pride on Saturday. You can learn more about the homes then.

Bessemer Pride will take place Saturday, June 25, from 11:30 until 2:00, at Jonesboro Community Garden (corner of Owen Avenue and Wellington). It's pot luck, bring something to eat (and drink) and enough to share. Even if you don't live in Bessemer, this will be a chance to meet nice people, learn about opportunities and homes for sale, be gay, have fun.

According to the census, there are 53 same sex couples in Bessemer. This gives no indication of the number of single gays, but it must be substantial. Ya'll come on out!

Obama and the Gays

2011-06-18T17:25:00.004-06:00

So as the campaign season kicks off, and as some progressives are kicking the pres, not only do we need to think about what the alternative would have been had Obama not been elected, but also what the alternative is if he is not re-elected, and if we don't maintain at least one house of congress in 2012.

So, some of us were a little disenchanted when all things gay didn't happen soon after Obama's election in 2008. But when you look at the accomplishments in real time, they are monumental.

Not included in this list is the fact that I and several other LGBT leaders from Alabama will be involved in training at the White House in August, something that would never have happened under the past or future Republican president.

Hate Crimes

Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law. This helps protect on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

President Obama and other administration officials recorded "It Gets Better" videos to address the issue of bullying and suicide.

President and Mrs. Obama hosted a White House Conference on Bullying Prevention.

The Dept. of Education issued guidance in combating bullying.

LGBT Families

President Obama directed HHS to require all hospitals receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds to allow visitation rights for LGBT patients

HHS creates the National Resource Center for LGBT Elders.

Department of Labor clarifies that Family Medical Leave Act ensures LGBT parents can care for children in event of an illness.

State Dept clarifies that transgender applicants can obtain, under certain conditions, passports that accurately reflect their gender.

Justice Dept clarifies that persons with HIV or AIDS are covered by the Americans with Disability Act and can be included in occupational training and state licensing.

Justice Department issues a memo stating that federal prosecutors should enforce criminal provisions in the Violence Against Women Act in cases involving gay and lesbian relationships.

HHS issues a memo to ensure that LGBT and questioning youth in foster care are protected and supported.

US Interagency Council on Homelessness releases strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness, including LGBT homeless youth.

Obama administration works to ensure that the Census provides a fair and accurate count of all Americans, including LGBT couples.

Housing

HUD announces first ever study of discrimination in housing against LGBT persons.

HUD proposes new regulations to ensure that housing programs are open to all persons regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

HUD requires grant applicants to comply with state and local anti-discrimination laws.

LGBT Health

Obama releases first ever national HIV/AIDS Strategy.

Obama urges Americans to get tested for HIV.

Obama signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act.

HHS issues recommendations to improve the health and well-being of LGBT communities.

2012 Budget maintains and increases domestic HIV funding.

Job Creation

Dept of Commerce sings Memo of Understanding with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce to support federal contracting and exporting.

Hiring and Benefits

Office of Personnel Management announced that gender identity is a prohibited basis of discrimination in federal employment.

President Obama expands federal benefits for same-sex partners of federal employees.

Office of Personnel Management allows same-sex domestic partners to apply for long-term care insurance.

Obama sends executive branch official to testify in support of ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) before Congress.

Obama continues to appoint LGBT Americans to positions at every level throughout his Administration.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

President Obama signed the DADT Repeal Act of 2010!!!!!!!!!!

Global Leadership

US lifts entry ban on HIV individuals.

Obama and his adminstration play active role in Uganda, Honduras, Malawi and other countries re LGBT issues.

US leads effort at UN resulting in 85 countries supporting resolution to end violence realted to sexual orientation and gender identity.

White House announced major three year investment in combatting global AIDS, TB and malaria

LGBT History

Obama honors 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

Obama awards the Medal of Freedom to Harvey Milk and Billie Jean King.

LGBT Progress

Obama has called for the repeal of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act)

Obama supports ENDA and the Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act

Obama supports learning environments free of bullying and harassment; adoption rights for all couples and individuals, in immigration reform that ensures Americans with partners from other countries should not be faced with a painful choice between staying with their partner or staying in their country.

The Norfolk Southern OCS

2011-06-14T06:52:00.007-06:00

Even in li'l ole Bessemer sometimes there are two (or more) important things going on at one time. And I guess it depends on your consideration of what is important.

Last week I had the option of going to the groundbreaking for the Dollar General distribution center, or witnessing something that is rarely seen in this town. Only because of luck did I hear that the Norfolk Southern OCS would be rolling through Bessemer on Thursday.

The OCS is Norfolk Southern's Office Car Special and it carries the executives around. About a dozen people were gathered in the heat near the Hall of History. At least one of the rail fans had a radio from which periodic dispatch messages came through.

Disclaimer: I am not a true rail fan, I don't know all the jargon and may mis-state a fact or two. All I know is that this is the cleanest and shiniest train I have ever seen, and my one day train buddies were very excited about getting to see the OCS.

Here is a picture of the OCS approaching the Hall of History.

Here is big locomotive number 4271.

Originally built in 1952, this diesel conversion was rebuilt in 2007, and is rated at 1,750 hp.

There are a number of cars in the OCS fleet, and I can't tell you if NS 9, the Alabama, was part of this train or not. The train went by fast. I did get a picture of NS 13, the Georgia.

The final car on the train is NS 23 the Buena Vista, a theater car, and is said to be the most photographed car in the OCS. It has a large window at the rear, and several people were in the car watching where they had been.

Here you can see pictures of the entire fleet, from Altoona works.

While waiting we saw three freight trains and the Amtrak train come through. Maybe I'll post some of those pictures later this week.

Hey, we are not invisible

2011-06-13T13:28:00.011-06:00

Pride

Photo credit - Joe Openshaw

Central Alabama Pride just produced one of the most memorable Pride celebrations the city of Birmingham has ever seen. Did you see any coverage on the news or in the paper? No. Were they notified of the events? Yes. Did they cover the events in the past? Yes. Are they negligent in refusing to cover the events this year? Yes.

A comment on facebook: "Imagine the difference in the outcome of the civil rights era if MLK and Rosa Parks were swept under the rug and ignored...this is our time!"

Larry Kramer said it last night in his acceptance speech at the Tony Awards: "Dearest loving mother, Daryl Roth and generous Paul Boskind, thank you, and everyone, for this magnificent production. To gay people everywhere, whom I love so, The Normal Heart is our history. I could not have written it had not so many of us so needlessly died. Learn from it and carry on the fight. Let them know that we are a very special people, an exceptional people, and that our day will come."

Here is a column I wrote for Noise Magazine about Pride. Interspersed are pictures of Equality Alabama in the parade this year.

Pride artwork by Benjamin Faucher

June is the month that LGBT Pride is celebrated in Birmingham and many other communities across the country. This commemorates the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village that occurred on June 28, 1969 that many designate as the start of the modern gay rights movement.

Photo credit - Joe Openshaw

Pride means different things to different people. For some in the LGBT community the Pride celebration is a way to let others know that “we’re here, we’re queer, get used to it.” For others, it is a chance to blossom into a role that they don’t play every day. And for still others, it’s a chance to party. But for some, Pride celebrations are thought of as silly, unnecessary or even hurtful to our cause.

Photo credit - Chris Wilson

Definitions of pride include references to dignity and self esteem and self respect. None of these words; pride, dignity, self esteem, or self respect, mean the same thing to everyone.

We all come from a different place, physically and emotionally, in our journey. But most will agree that somewhere along the way, our pride suffered and our dignity, self respect and self esteem were low.

Photo Credit - Chris Wilson

Photo Credit- Joe Openshaw

Almost all injustices toward the LGBT community have a basis in religion. Whether one is a member of a particular church or denomination, we all still feel the effects of prejudices and misunderstandings that come from the pulpit. Even though many denominations and individual places of worship are becoming more friendly or affirming toward the gay community, the attitudes of the conservative religious sects continue to affect elections and laws and policies that affect us negatively.

Photo Credit - Joe Openshaw

Equality Alabama has compiled a list of “welcoming” places of worship in our state. The list is incomplete and is evolving. If you know of a place of worship that should be included but is not on the list, please let us know. What we have tried to do is create a database of places where an unsure person could go and seek comfort and be allowed to worship without fear that they would walk away feeling condemned. Because that is exactly what has happened to many of the LGBT people in our state.

Rejection by the church has led to feelings of not belonging, being un-loved and un-wanted, and the inability to accept one’s self. Dignity is lost. Self respect and self esteem are lost. Depression and its sometimes awful consequences are the result.

LGBT Pride is a chance to counter those feelings, whether one is experiencing them now, or has experienced them in the past. Show the world, and those who would seek to oppress you, that you are proud to be gay, proud to be lesbian, proud to be bisexual, proud to be transgender, or proud to be a straight ally.

It is not a coincidence that Equality Alabama has compiled their list at this particular time. The list should be posted on Equality Alabama's site by the time Pride takes place in Birmingham. It is Equality Alabama’s offering in the spirit of Pride, that the LGBT community is not going to let religion inspired prejudice take away the opportunity for us to worship in peace, should we choose to do so.

Celebrate Pride in June, but have pride all year long. Because you are who you are; you were created, or made this way; and it does get better. We have made tremendous strides toward equality in this country over the last few years; in part because of the visibility and message that we send by showing we are proud of ourselves. And by continuing to show our Pride, we will push the arc of justice a little further along.

Central Alabama Pride is celebrated in Birmingham June 3-June 12, and Bessemer Pride is on June 25.

Photo Credit Joe Openshaw

Photo Credit - Joe Openshaw

Norfolk Southern, McCalla's new neighbor

2011-06-06T11:22:00.007-06:00

This morning McCalla's new neighbor moved in. Norfolk Southern held a groundbreaking for the $97 million (of which $52 million is federal stimulus money*), CO2 decreasing (193,000 fewer tons annually), fuel saving (17.4 million fewer gallons consumed annually), job creating (8,600 over the next decade, 13,000 by 2030), congestion relieving (saving $59.1 million in savings annually), first reported here (July 2009), Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility.

Here is the rail line, looking west from McAshan Drive, that will be part of the facility.

Here are dignitary pictures.

Governor Robert Bentley flanked by Senators Priscilla Dunn and Cam Ward.

Bessemer leaders Council members Cleo King and Sherrina Rice-Franklin and
Mayor Kenneth Gulley

Representative Allen Farley, Senator Priscilla Dunn, Eloise Rosser and
Governor Robert Bentley

Eloise Rosser is the former owner of the property on which the groundbreaking occurred. She and her husband ran a farm here for decades.

Mayor Kenneth Gulley, Senator Priscilla Dunn and Governor Robert Bentley

Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman and Governor Robert Bentley

Here is a picture of the proposed facility.

The general consensus among the elected officials and others who spoke is that Norfolk Southern will be a good neighbor, as they have been at other locations where they have completed projects.

NS CEO Wick Moorman said "We will be a positive addition to the community."

Governor Bentley said, "This is a perfect example of cooperation between local, state and federal governments."

The project is expected to be completed during the 4th quarter of 2012.

*I include this because the McCalla residents (the overly vocal ones, not all of them) said they didn't want the federal money and didn't want the hub. Of course, they are mostly tea party types that don't want any federal money. Unless its their Medicare. Or their VA benefits. Or their farm subsidies. Or their Social Security. Or anything else that directly benefits them.

Hey Sarah Palin...read this

2011-06-05T12:43:00.004-06:00

Listen my friends and you'll hear a review
Of the politician who has not a clue...

I'm sure they have quality education in Alaska, but Sarah Palin has made it this far without a good understanding of our nation's history. This week she said that Paul Revere rang bells and fired warning shots to warn the British that Americans would not give up their arms.

In elementary school we read many poems and memorized some or parts of some.

Ever heard this? We learned this poem. I couldn't recite it now, but I did then.

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."

Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.

Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.

Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,--
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.

Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,--
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.

Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.

A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.

It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.

It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.

You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,---
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,---
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

I realize this is a poem, and not out of a history text, but Longfellow was probably pretty accurate in his telling of the story. No bell ringing by Revere, no warning shots by Revere.

And no accurate portrayal of history by Sarah Palin.

Yes!, Oprah, and ...

2011-05-31T14:49:00.007-06:00

Well I'm trying to 2 plus 2 together and come up with 4, and can't do it.

The other day, I read an article in Yes! magazine about stress and emotional baggage. We all have it to some degree, but for some it is overwhelming.

Yesterday I watched the final Oprah show that I had recorded. Oprah spoke of each person being worthy, if for no other reason than that you are born.

She said she had spoken with over 30,000 people on her show, and that everyone of them had one thing in common. They all wanted validation.

She said every person you ever meet shares the same questions.

Do you see me?

Do you hear me?

Does what I say mean anything to you?

She said to try it with your husband, your wife, your partner, your children, your friends.

Validate them.

So, with that in mind, I get a call this morning and am told that a good friend had taken his own life.

This friend had walked with me at the Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention walk last November.

We had seen this sign.

And this one.

And we saw this one.

My friend had been down that road before. We had talked about that.

He took one more journey down that road. This time he reached the end.

Memorial Day tribute - 2011

2011-05-29T17:43:00.011-06:00

This is the only unofficial historical flag display in Bessemer.

Each year on particular patriotic holidays we display our historic flag collection. You will see these for 3 or 4 days, then in June, another flag goes up. The historic flags may be displayed again in July.

Memorial Day was first observed following the Civil War, and there are multiple stories regarding its origin. However, a Memorial Day web site says this:

It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.

And even though the holiday was first observed in 1866 or so, I honor all of those who died in service to our country from every war. I add flags that were flown during wars, and this collection is not complete, I guess.

The first flag represented the 13 colonies, thus had 13 stars. There were several versions, and the Betsy Ross flag is the most popular. This flag was sewn in 1776 (well, not this one, but one of the same design). I fly this flag to honor the Revolutionary War dead.

The "Star Spangled Banner" with 15 stars, inspired our National Anthem. It flew over Ft. McHenry during the War of 1812. This flags honors those who died during that war.

This flag is new to our collection. It has 20 stars, aligned in the shape of a star. By 1818 there were 20 states, and several designs with 20 stars were considered. It was called the Grand Star flag.

The U. S. was not at war during that time, but I do know that the U. S. Navy naval units were raiding slave traffic pursuant to the 1819 Act of Congress. I don't know that any seamen were killed during those raids, so let's let this flag honor all servicemen and women who died during non-war skirmishes and battles and such.

Next we fly a flag that was flown during the Civil War. This flag has 34 stars, that is the number of states including those which thought they could leave the union. This flag honors all, Northern and Southern, soldiers who died during that was.

Here is a flag with 48 stars that flew during World War II, when my dad fought in both Europe and the Pacific. This flag honors those who died during the Great War, as well as WWI and the Spanish American War since I don't have flags representing those wars yet.

And this is our current flag, with 50 stars. This flag flew during the Vietnam War, and the Iraq Wars and the Afghanistan War. I think we've had enough wars under this flag. This flag honors the dead from Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The black mourning ribbon hanging from the flag mast is in place of flying a flag like this at half staff, since that is impossible.

This flag is out of order. It is the Bennington Flag, and could have been flown in 1777, but most historians date this flag between 1820 and 1830. Since we don't know, I placed it at the end, to represent those who will die in future wars while protecting our freedom. It is a fairly recognizable flag to have such an unsure past.

I also like having an unusual flag at the end, since that is the flag many will see as they drive by.

Remember those who have died securing and protecting our freedom.

End of the earth

2011-05-23T06:09:00.005-06:00

When I went outside to get the paper yesterday morning I found this on my front door.

Then I went over to my friend's house and found this.

Later I realized my friend was still here. In fact, we are all still here (except for those who passed away of natural or unnatural causes over the last two days).

So now these billboards are showing up.

I think I'm going to do another quick study of the Bible and come up with a theology.

.........
.........

OK, done.

Now we have to worry about December 12, 2012. That's the day the Mayan calendar predicts the earth will end.

And when that doesn't happen, they will say December 21, 2012 (because I find predictions for both dates based on the same gobbledygook).

My thoughts are this. Let's just live like decent people, treat each other nice, love your neighbor, stop war, let gay people marry, take care of the earth, and nurture your children. Then, if and when the earth ends, we will have done the right thing.

How to make money

2011-05-19T08:16:00.005-06:00

Become a charlatan.

First, pick a date in the future. Any date, just be sure to allow time for publishing a book and publicizing it.

Second, write a book promoting that date as the end of the world, or Armageddon, or the rapture. Come up with a convoluted formula to support your prediction. Using references of unicorns and aliens is allowed, but not mandatory.

"Virgin and Unicorn" by Domenichino, 1605. Fresco, Farnese palace, Rome.

Third, begin a radio talk show. Until recently, AM radio was best. Now, more people can be reached by FM, thus more money can be taken in.

Fourth, blame the end of the world on the gays. People love to blame the problems of the world on the gays. Just listen to Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. Oh yeah, Falwell's dead.

This is Harold Camping. This is his second big fund raising event based on the end of the world. He published a book, 1994?, in which he suggested the end would begin with Jesus' return on September 6 of that year. He was wrong. People with out a lot of sense continue to believe him, even though he has been wrong before.

In that video he says the gays, especially the ones in the "cesspool" called San Francisco, are responsible for the rapture which he is predicting to occur Saturday at 6:00. He says that "God says that there will come a time when he will give up the world to homosexuality and lesbianism." He says this is in Romans 1. I have read Romans 1 and I don't find the word "lesbianism" in the text, but of course I don't find the term homosexuality as it is understood today in the text either.

What this is, is a man creating anxiety among the uninformed and easily swayed, and profiting off of their fear. He is no better than the scum that are looting or profiting off of the tornado victims in Alabama. And he is bastardizing the Bible to benefit himself.

To Mr. Camping, I say, "Mark 13:32. But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

In the meantime, Equality Alabama is composing a list of places of worship (of any denomination or religion) in Alabama that is welcoming to all, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender. If you know of such a place of worship, especially in the smaller towns and in south Alabama, please let me know. Email me or post a comment. (You can find an email link over to the left.)

"At Least It's Not The End Of The World" by Larassa Kabel, (Oil on canvas).

Here's what's going on

2011-05-18T06:58:00.005-06:00

Camp Bessemer

The Bessemer City Council is running at full speed trying to make sure that Camp Bessemer takes place this year. A "hiccup" has caused a re-do in the process of awarding Camp Bessemer to an entity that will carry out the program. At both the City Council meeting and a Camp Bessemer committee meeting yesterday, new dates were discussed for submitting proposals and those are expected to be approved by the full council in a special called meeting.

Expect the RFP to be re-issued later this week...and the process begins again.

Here's a neat article about one aspect of 2010 Camp Bessemer.

Photo from that article

Bessemer Health Center

According to the Birmingham News (not yet online) the Bessemer Health Center, located at 2201 Arlington Avenue, will close. Services offered there will be relocated to a new clinic in Midfield. The consolidated clinic will take the place of the Ensley, West End and Bessemer clinics.

Construction of the new clinic, to be located on Bessemer Super Highway, won't start until 2012, so the Bessemer Clinic will not close anytime soon. Hopefully Jefferson County, or Bessemer, can come up with a use for the facility and it won't become just another vacant building.

After all, the south side of Bessemer is becoming a hot spot, what with new restaurants and a new DHR building in the business section, and a new push for Historic Neighborhood status for the residential section, and a somewhat renewed hope for saving Arlington School. (That link it to an old article with pics of the school, not the new info.)

Crime

As reported here earlier, Bessemer Police are implementing a new "zero policy" policy on crime. Residents might notice increased patrols and jailers might notice more mouths to feed.

Police Captain Mike Roper said, "We will fill the jail to capacity."

Police have already increased their presence in the city's parks, and we look forward to seeing more cops in the neighborhoods.

My only wish is that police in our area would park their car and walk around the block on occasion. From experience, I can tell them that you see a lot more when you are walking down the street than you do when you are driving down the street. This is something we have suggested for the past five years (since I ran for city council). Someday...

PetSmart

Shoppers at Colonial Promenade Tannehill may have noticed some construction going on. PetSmart will be opening a store later this summer.

Still on the wish list: a book store (Books-A-Million or Barnes and Noble), an office supply store, and an electronics store.

Historic Homes

Keep you calendar open for a home tour in historic Lakewood in late November. Details will be coming soon. Here's info from the 2006 tour of the area.

Healing the community

2011-05-16T06:42:00.010-06:00

Healing can take place on several levels. There is physical healing, as when one has a broken bone or a kidney infection. There is emotional healing, as when one has been hurt by the actions of their lover. And there is community healing, something Birmingham has been struggling with since the 1960's. But more recently, since the April 27 storms, communities are broken in a different way and are in need of a different kind of healing.

On Sunday our pastor delivered a sermon titled "Building a Healing Community." (Her May sermon series was developed before the storms.) She based her sermon on the story of Jesus healing the paralytic (Mark 2: 1-12) and she spoke of the different types of healing mentioned above, including community healing.

Also on Sunday the Birmingham News published "A Special Report" titled Reinventing Our Community, stating "...metro Birmingham just might be ready to move beyond a decade of division, disparity and corruption." Almost every section of the paper had articles outlining the broken history of our city, the huge opportunity that has been laid out in front of us, and ideas for moving forward, with urgency, toward meaningful change. Everyone in Jefferson County should read Sunday's paper. Click here for the entire Special Report. There is a lot to read, plan to spend some time there.

The storms of April 27 may have been the spark that ignites a movement. Relief and recovery efforts have ignored real or perceived boundaries without regard to race or religion or sexual orientation or football affiliation, and there is a common call for the rebuilt communities to be better than the ones that are no more.

The Bessemer Cutoff OFA Team (Bessemer's 2012 Obama team), sent volunteers on Saturday to work at the Pratt City Resource Center. (Bessemer Cutoff OFA on Facebook)

The Resource Center is staffed by dozens of officials from various agencies and scores of volunteers. Residents who have been affected by the storm can pick up supplies such as tarps or cleaning supplies as well as household items, water and food. Services offered by FEMA and the Red Cross could be accessed, and internet access and some health services were offered for residents who needed it.

In addition, donations of water and food and other items were constantly being dropped off.

In other words, hundred of people created a steady stream of cars coming into the facility, which had to be directed to the proper areas in order to avoid confusion. And with hundreds of residents coming in, and volunteers that were working for hours, food needed to be provided. Arby's was there feeding folk, as was Jim & Nicks Barbecue. Several church groups were there cooking; Christ Way Church of God members grilled hamburgers for volunteers and residents, who shared tables set up near the grills.

You can volunteer for the Pratt City Resource Center through Hands on Birmingham.

Among the religious groups helping were people from Mennonite Disaster Services.

They were in Pratt City after storms in 1998, and are back again. "This will be a long-term project," Disaster Response Coordinator Jerry Klassen said.

ICNA Relief had volunteers there also.

Islamic Circle of North America is a Muslim organization that recognizes their call to help and support the needy as a religious responsibility. The man I spoke with was also an Auburn fan and an Obama supporter, but his work there had nothing to do with either of those choices. They were there to help, just like the rest of us.

Presbyterians were there. Catholic groups were there. There were Baptist and evangelical groups there. All were there to help a community get back on their feet again.

Reinventing Birmingham is sort of like reinventing the Black Belt region of Alabama. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk...people easily tire of hearing about their problems and not seeing any action to make improvements. Things are slowly, and finally, changing in the Black Belt, thanks in part to Bob Riley's Black Belt Action Team and Congresswoman Terri Sewell. But change there is not happening there overnight, nor will it in Birmingham.

In fact, if won't happen at all if people don't leave behind the thing that divides us the most - religion.

I don't mean people need to give up their faith, far from it. Just don't let your faith get in the way of doing what is right for our community. Of course, your faith may dictate that you help your community by providing educational services or assisting in health care education or restoring neighborhoods.

But if your faith says you are better than someone else, or that you are closer to God than someone else, or that you have better access to God than somebody else, and you come in with that kind of attitude, then you are part of the problem that has been holding Birmingham back for decades.

We just ask that you get out of the way while we carry our city into the future.

Boateng's - now open

2011-05-14T14:46:00.008-06:00

I wasn't there on opening night, but I was told by the owner that it wasn't the Grand Opening which is still to come. Boateng's Cajun Creations has opened in Bessemer. Finally; (for those who remember, I wrote a post in anticipation quite a while back).

Boateng's joins a couple of other restaurants, Nukes and Courtyard Cafe, in the area of the new DHR building which will open in September, bringing over 100 workers to the area. (I know of another potential project in the area that would be a boost for the city, too, but my lips are sealed for now).

Friday night the family dined at Boateng's and we did not come away disappointed. OK, what did everybody have? I can't remember everything, but two in the party had fried gator, and another had fried shrimp. I had grilled grouper. Another had a grilled shrimp salad. And among the side orders the group sampled were seafood gumbo, chicken-n-sausage gumbo, jambalaya, and fried okra.

Before the meal a serving of fruit was brought to the table for each guest. Strawberries, grapes and a slice of orange whet the appetite for what was to come.

The Boatengs have roots in Ghana, California and New Jersey.

Not the flag of Ghana alongside the US flag on their sign.

None of those places are known for their Cajun cuisine, but the Boatengs have developed a bill of fare equal to any in the Bayou State (or Bessemer, meaning they rival my own Cajun cooking - ha!).

It's really impossible to share all of the menu items, and of course, some items are out of season (or just coming into season), but there are po' boys or platters of your favorites; shrimp, catfish, grouper, gator, crawfish or several other things. And of course there's red beans and rice, jambalaya, gumbo, crab-n-shrimp bisque, fried green tomatoes, shrimp-n-grits and more. Here's a picture of their low boiled shrimp. I'm ready to go back.

Sometime toward the latter part of next week guests may get to enjoy a slice of orange pecan pie or tearoom lemon cake. You get one guess as to where those may be coming from.

Now, should I share my hit Christmas party favorites - crawfish etouffee and gator jambalaya - recipes?

Find Boateng's Cajun Creations Restaurant on Facebook, where you can see more pictures of their food.

Boateng's is open 7 days a week, 11:00 am to 9:00 pm Monday through Saturday, and 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Sunday. They are located at 2 - 19th Street N in Bessemer, next to the railroad tracks. Tell them you heard about it on Bessemer Opinions.

North Smithfield tornado relief

2011-05-07T15:50:00.008-06:00

I went on another tornado relief jaunt yesterday. A group, through Hands on Birmingham, went to North Smithfield (Birmingham) and helped remove some downed trees.

At the first stop we cut up and removed most of two huge oak trees, a hackberry, and a Bradford pear that they had crushed. One of the oaks had mistletoe growing in it, and the base of the mistletoe was at least four inches in diameter. That's a big mistletoe. I wish I had taken a picture of the parasite, but I didn't.

But I did get a picture of my friend Wayne, who I had not seen since I sold my practice, in action with the chainsaw. Funny how you run into people you know when out doing volunteer work.

Look at that guy carrying that huge section by himself. We had some strong guys out there, but there were plenty of strong women too.

Here's another shot of a different saw operator. You can really see that it was a huge tree.

Our next stop, after being fed at the fire station by the Red Cross, was on another street, where a large pine tree had fallen.

Here the chain saw guys went to work like a team of beavers.

There is nothing too exciting about this blog post. It's just here to get you interested in joining up with a group of folks and helping the community. Hands on Birmingham is the place to do it; go to that web site and click in disaster relief. You will find several opportunities. Check late in the day, each day, because new opportunities are added daily. And all of the volunteer work does not involve physical labor; answering phones and helping residents who come to the resource centers are other ways you can contribute.

My next day to volunteer will be Tuesday. So to join up with whatever group I will in, check the web site Monday. If there is a Concord group, I will probably be in that one. Otherwise, who knows. Email me to find out.

Railroad blues

2011-05-06T05:58:00.006-06:00

I wonder how many Bessemer residents and visitors were frustrated yesterday as a train sat on the tracks blocking 14th St (Highway 150), and every street up to and past 23rd. Usually this is not a big problem (unless your house is on fire) but yesterday this happened at 5:00 pm and the roads were blocked for more than 20 minutes. Five o'clock is rush hour, and yes, Bessemer has one.

That photo was taken at 5:04. I had sat in traffic, and gone into the convenience store, made a purchase, before taking this picture, so I know the train had been there at least 5 minutes.

I have been told that state law says a train can only block a road for 10 minutes. I was told the railroad can be fined. I wonder if they can be fined for each road they block. The city needs some money.

This picture was taken from the intersection in front of my house, after I got home. Train still sitting there at 5:15.

I called the police non-emergency number and asked what the law said. The person who answered the phone said she was on the phone with the railroad at the same time trying to find out what was going on. From that, I assume they know which railroad it was.

I heard a train whistle a couple of minutes later. I went outside and took another picture.

This picture shows another train, moving in the opposite direction, passing the stalled train. This photo was taken at 5:20.

If you remember, when Glenn Shadix's house in Bessemer burned, trains blocked some of the fire trucks and they were delayed in their response (Glenn told me this).

I understand that trains sometimes have to stop where there are double tracks to allow another train to pass.

What I don't understand is why an overpass has never been build so that heavily traveled Highway 150 will not be blocked like this. City officials in the past have from time to time suggested such an improvement, but no one has taken it to the state and gotten it approved, I guess.

It's time to work on that.

Now, let's talk about trains stopping in Bessemer with the engine in front of Church's Chicken and the train engineer getting out and walking over to get his chicken. His lunch break sure does inconvenience a lot of people.

Bessemer Ketchup

2011-05-04T08:28:00.006-06:00

Actually, it's Bessemer catch up, but I thought the title was cute.

City Council

It's been a while since I've been to a city council meeting. We've been out of town so much, and other obligations have just made it difficult to go.

Last night I went.

The council, always moving forward since this session started, seemed a little out of sync last night. A resolution that were expected to pass, did not, and the council then heard from a property owner, and figured out how to do a re-vote, did it and passed the resolution.

Then, a motion to introduce the ordinance that would raise the lodging tax from 3% to 6% came up. As a vote neared, nervous hotel owners were on the edge of their seats wanting to speak. Finally, they were allowed, and they argued that raising the tax would send guests to the new hotels near the Galleria, and also that the last time the tax was raised, they had to lower their rate so the amount charged to guests was still competitive. They will have to do that again, one said, and when they lower their rates, and when their business falls, the tax collected goes down too.

The council decided to take the matter up in a planning session at which the owners will be allowed to make a presentation. The session will be May 10 at 9:00 am.

News

Here is some news out of the meeting. The Bessemer Super Highway Bridge will be replaced by ALDOT. This will be an 18-24 month project. A start date had not been set, and a decision on whether to replace two lanes at a time, allowing reduced traffic flow to continue on the other two lanes, or to close the entire bridge and do it all at once, but finishing the project about 6 months quicker, has not been made.

Also, repaving of a section of I-20/59 is imminent. This includes a section from Bessemer to Fairfield, and includes the exits and entrances and streets underneath, such at 18th and 19th streets that are so rough and bumpy.

E-Waste recycling

There will be an E-waste recycling day at the Bessemer Civic Center on Saturday, May 7, from 8 am to 1 pm, for electronics and computers. They will take desktop, laptops, empty inkjet cartridges, laser toner cartridges, cell phones, some pagers and blackberries. They will not be taking used printer ribbons, fax ribbons or empty toner bottles.

This will be a fundraiser for Bessemer City Schools. For every three computers recycled, one refurbished computer will be donated to the school system.

Zero!

Here is some more news from the meeting. The Bessemer Police Department is implementing a Zero Tolerance policy in Bessemer regarding crime. More on this later. But maybe it will lead to less of this type of graffiti, seen recently in downtown Bessemer.

Let's see. A racial slur toward Hispanics, a Nazi symbol, then some Hispanic graffiti. Lot's of hatred going around.

Opportunities

I spoke to the council about the opposite; the outpouring of love as evidenced by the local response to the tornado. Specifically I spoke about Hands on Birmingham, and urged anyone who wanted to volunteer to go the web site and register and check back often for updated opportunities. The recovery will be a marathon, not a sprint, so there will be plenty of opportunity in the coming months. But the need is great right now.

I also spoke about a way to honor my friend, Bessemer DHR Director Nancy Wilson, who was killed by the tornado. More about this later.

A rec center!

Bessemer will finally be getting a rec center, according to the Birmingham News. This came about at one of the meetings I missed. A 1 cent sales tax was passed, and part of this money will go toward a rec center. Plans are not finalized, in fact, they are not even under way.

We certainly hope a swimming pool will be a part of the new rec center. Council member Sherrina Rice thinks so too. The last public pools in Bessemer were closed during the 1960's so little black boys and girls and little white boys and girls wouldn't be able to swim together. Isn't that just tacky? And embarrassing, that our ancestors (not that long ago) thought that way?

Council president Jesse Matthews thinks Roosevelt Park would be a good location. One of the pools that was filled in was at Roosevelt Park. Good central location.

A suggestion

Planning is in the early stages. I have a suggestion for the mayor and council. The Public Building Authority is bringing a top notch DHR building to the city. Why not give the PBA the job of bringing a rec center to the city? Just a thought, from a PBA member that wants to continue to make Bessemer a better place.

Osama bin Laden - dead

2011-05-02T19:12:00.002-06:00

Quick post.

Obama on bin Laden, during his campaign.

George W. Bush on bin Laden, in 2002.

'Nuff said.

Hands on...Concord

2011-04-30T15:33:00.012-06:00

This morning Bobby and I took part in a volunteer effort to assist victims of the tornado in Concord, AL. Concord had not gotten a lot of attention, but they probably will now. It was reported that at least 3 people were found alive today, having survived in their basement, trapped after the storm. Fox News had a reporter in Concord today, as did Canadian TV and others. That turned out to be a false report, but there is still hope.

The house we were working at had a basement, and the owner's family was there looking through debris. They said that 8 people rode out the storm in the basement, and all are OK. That is almost miraculous, considering this is the house today.

But we peered down into the basement and could see the way that they got out after the storm.

But imagine huddling in the basement of a substantial brick house, and it crashing down above you. Fear.

Then cautiously emerging, in the dark, or near dark, to find every home and almost every tree in the neighborhood gone. Then, having to walk out among twisted and downed trees, power lines, vehicles and house parts.

But they were alive. A woman who lived across the street was not so fortunate, we were told.

I looked at the house on Google Earth, and while I won't reveal its exact location out of privacy, it reminded me of the home I grew up in, fully brick, two car garage. It was not a home you would expect to come down easily.

Today was the first day that residents were able to return in this area. It was very emotional, to say the least, for people to come into the area, and see this.

Notice this is a Hoover police vehicle. Multiple agencies are contributing to the effort. Thanks to all.

What you are seeing here is after partial recovery. The streets have been cleared and some of the rubble pushed to the side.

But at the house we worked at alongside family members, we searched and salvaged what we could. Some baby and children's clothes, a few Christmas ornaments, some handmade by one of the children, and a few pictures. At least they have those things.

We talked with a crew from Canadian TV. The reporter was a bit miffed at the (other) media, for focusing on The Wedding, rather than this, the greatest natural disaster since Katrina, he said. Of course, I didn't see a story by him (yet) on their web site, or I would have linked to it. But he did say he hoped "we" (meaning Canadians, I assume) would not forget the disaster. I told him I hoped we (Americans) would not either.

Many of the people we talked with were affiliated with Concord Highland Baptist Church. The church was heavily damaged, but we helped the minister of music retrieve some of his audio equipment.

Up the street a bit was Steve's Grocery. One of the owners, Ernie Mundi, Jr., died in the storm. He was also a realtor in Hoover, former owner of the Baskin-Robbins in Bessemer, and a bus driver for the Hoover School system. He had a family.

The people of Concord, at least those we talked to, still have their faith and their love of country.

This is not the only American flag we saw.

And let me say this right here. At a time of tragedy there is no place for airing differences of opinion or to let petty things come between a person and those that need help. This is about America, its people and doing what is right.

Here are a couple of more shots of the total devastation of a neighborhood.

There will be plenty of opportunity to volunteer to help our neighbors in the coming weeks. This recovery will not take place over the next few days. It will take months. Hands on Birmingham is coordinating much of the volunteer effort. Please visit their web site and sign up, and click on tornado relief to see what the opportunities are. Visit often, as new opportunities will be added daily as the EMA concludes search efforts and changes to recovery efforts.

This is one of the "free food" stations (as the sign said) where residents were waiting to enter the area this morning. So many people who would find and have to quickly accept that their stuff is gone. What they knew in their heart is confirmed.

And life goes on.

Now we ask why?

2011-04-28T07:40:00.005-06:00

Anyone who watched the events of yesterday will agree that this was one massive storm that chewed its way across our state. Because of better technology, including tower cameras that recorded the wicked looking tornado in Cullman and the mile wide tornado that devastated Tuscaloosa and parts of Birmingham many people watched in horror as they realized the debris they were seeing in the air were pieces of homes and businesses and who knows what else.

Watch the Cullman tornado, which some people describes as a "demon, reaching down." Watch the entire thing. Evil.

One thing that had people on edge, but probably saved many lives in the Bessemer and Birmingham area, is that as we watched the tornado tearing up Tuscaloosa, we knew that we were in its path. We knew to prepare. Again, watch the entire video.

So why did this happen?

Here are some descriptions from the ABC33/40 weather blog prior to these storms. (I've put in bold the most important phrases as they relate to this discussion).

April 27, 2011

Dr. Tim Coleman 9:31 AM

Sunshine will warm temperatures quickly this morning through the 70s, and it will reach the lower 80s by afternoon. However, the morning balloon data from NWS Birmingham showed very cold air aloft. And, even though dewpoints dropped to the upper 50s as the thunderstorms mixed up the atmosphere, they are already rising, and will rise throughout the day. As the sun continues to heat the atmosphere up, the 70 mph winds at 3,000 feet will start to get mixed with the surface layer winds, so gradient winds will get very gusty by late morning, probably 30 mph at times. And those winds will be out of the south, bringing in Gulf moisture (dewpoints in SW Alabama are in the 70s). Once we get warm, humid air back in place at the surface by noon or so, with cold air aloft, the air will be very unstable. CAPE values (atmospheric potential energy) will reach 3,000 to 5,000 J/kg, supporting strong updrafts and intense storms this afternoon.

The other problem is the wind shear. The main upper-level system will approach by late afternoon. Winds will increase in speed and change direction with height, creating spin about a horizontal axis. Storm updrafts will tilt this rotation into the vertical (like a spiraling football getting tipped at the line of scrimmage), producing rotating storms. The helicity, or a measure of this wind shear, will also be very high, between 300 and 600 m2/s2. It is rare to see this much wind shear in an almost summerlike environment with warm, humid air like this.

The combination of extreme instability (like we see on summer afternoons) and extreme wind shear (like we see often in winter) will create a very dangerous setup over Alabama this afternoon. The energy-helicity index (a combo of CAPE and wind shear) measures the overall tornado potential well. Anything over 2 means tornadoes are possible, and over 5 tornadoes are likely. On April 8, 1998, the EHI was around 6. Today, as you can see on the maps below for 3, 5, and 7 pm, we expect EHI values of 8-10 over much of north and central Alabama, some of the highest I’ve ever seen.

Bill Murray 11:00 am

I don’t think I have ever heard a tornado watch referred to as a long lead time, long duration, particularly dangerous situation tornado watch before. But I have now in the latest mesoscale discussion from SPC.
That sounds bad…and it is bad. It will be issued for much of North and Central Mississippi, possibly into West Central Alabama.

James Spann 1:29 pm

A major severe weather outbreak is likely anytime from now until midnight. See the high STP (Significant Tornado Parameter) values from the RUC at 1:00… remember, anything over 2 is very significant. These are about as high as they get.

So let's look at the possible reasons for this severe weather outbreak. Remember, I am one who does not like to use anecdotal evidence to prove a position, but I will use it to support one.

God did it. Nope. God does not micromanage our lives or the world around us. But God probably does like to see how we respond to crisis, and there is opportunity for good to come out of any situation, including this one.

Random event. For weather or any other measurable thing there is a range of values for normal occurrences and sometimes results fall outside of that range. Records will be broken. This could just be a huge event, an outlier, that will now be the record that someday will be broken.

Result of global warming. Hmmm. With climate change, experts agree that there will be more extreme weather events. This could mean more frequent snowstorms (oddly enough) and more powerful hurricanes (Katrina). But tornadoes?

According to a 2007 report NASA scientists have developed a weather model that predicts that really violent storms may become more common due to global warming. Read it.

Their model simulates the strength of updrafts in storms, and estimates how the strength will increase with a warming climate. They explain this in the article, then conclude with:

The central and eastern areas of the United States are especially prone to severe storms and thunderstorms that arise when strong updrafts combine with horizontal winds that become stronger at higher altitudes. This combination produces damaging horizontal and vertical winds and is a major source of weather-related casualties. In the warmer climate simulation there is a small class of the most extreme storms with both strong updrafts and strong horizontal winds at higher levels that occur more often, and thus the model suggests that the most violent severe storms and tornadoes may become more common with warming.

The prediction of stronger continental storms and more lightning in a warmer climate is a natural consequence of the tendency of land surfaces to warm more than oceans and for the freezing level to rise with warming to an altitude where lightning-producing updrafts are stronger. These features of global warming are common to all models, but this is the first climate model to explore the ramifications of the warming for thunderstorms.

So there is evidence that climate change, aka global warming, makes this type of monster storm more possible because it creates an atmosphere where updrafts are stronger and horizontal winds are stronger. Together that provides the recipe for disaster.

Rolling into Bessemer

2011-04-27T06:58:00.007-06:00

One line of storms has already rolled through, and more are on the way today.

That scene is a block from our house. Across 14th Street, near Davis Middle School, I came across this.

The weather should be better on Saturday for the BBQ and Blues Festival in Bessemer, sponsored by Bob Sykes BarBQ.

The event begins at noon and last into the evening. Here is an article from the Birmingham News about the event.

Here is the info about the event from Bob Sykes web site.

Here is Mikey Junior and the Stone Cold Blues Band, one of the headliners.

Also on tap to preform are Kenny Brown, The Pounders, Blackberry and Mr. Boo-Hoo and others. Blackberry and Mr. Boo Hoo are from France, but they have that Mississippi thing down.

Come to Bessemer on Saturday for good music and great food!

Potluck in the Garden

2011-04-22T11:17:00.005-06:00

This is Earth Day and in celebration the Jonesboro Community Garden in Bessemer is having a Potluck dinner beginning at 5:00 on Saturday. This will also be an Easter Celebration. It's all about rebirth so the two make a good combination.

You are welcome to come, just bring a covered dish. You can get an idea about what others are bringing and get more information, and post what you will bring, on the Potluck in the Garden Facebook page (where these photos came from).

You will meet some great people who want to improve Bessemer, and are doing so. And there will be Easter Egg hunting for kids, and maybe volleyball for those who are interested.

Also you can pick up some helpful information about making Bessemer and your home a greener environment.

Come and join us and celebrate our Earth and Easter.

Clearing the air...or not

2011-04-13T15:10:00.010-06:00

One of the purposes of this blog is to make Bessemer a better place by promoting things that will improve this community and pointing out things that will not. Of course, Bessemer is not an island, so often I write about things on a state level or national level that might influence Bessemer one way or another. That includes the environment and congress and...

Indulge me for a moment. Off the subject a bit, yesterday a rerun of Glee was shown, in which the cute new guy, Sam, was introduced to the group.

He was asked to perform a duet with Kurt, who is gay, and Finn advises him not to because he will get labeled as gay, even though he is not.

The same thing can happen in congress. Let's say a Democrat votes alongside the Republicans who proclaim that global warming is junk science. Then she stands to be labeled a contrarian, or someone who is ignoring science, and she certainly wouldn't want that.

Terri Sewell voted in favor of HR 910, the so called Energy Tax Prevention Act (which mentions "tax" zero times in the bill, by the way) which could have been called any number of things more accurately.

Jared Polis of Colorado submitted an amendment to change the title to "The Dirty Air Act of 2011." Gerry Connolly of Virginia was somewhat more industrious. He submitted eight amendments including "The Koch Brothers Appreciation Act," "The Protecting Americans from Polar Bears Act," and "The Head in the Sand Act."

Anyway, the bill's purpose is "To amend the Clean Air Act to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from promulgating any regulation concerning, taking action relating to, or taking into consideration the emission of a greenhouse gas to address climate change, and for other purposes.

The bill goes on to name water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and several other gases as "greenhouse gases."

In other words, the bill prohibits the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from protecting the environment.

In effect, the bill would gut the EPA in its attempts to guarantee clean air. Fortunately the Senate will not pass it.

I spoke with someone in Ms. Sewell's office at length about the bill. He told me they had spoken to people in the scientific community and the manufacturing community before deciding how to vote. I asked him to name the scientists, but as it turns out there weren't any, just the "science committee members." (Terri sits on the "Science, Space and Technology Committee, by the way). The committee, like all committees in the house, is chaired by and controlled by Republicans.

They could have spoken to some real scientists at EPA, where they could have learned this. Pay particular attention to figures 1 and 2. You can click on them to enlarge them.

He also made a statement that the gases listed were not the ones causing climate change. And that there are two sides to the issue. And that they wanted the facts from both sides.

No credible scientist would say that carbon dioxide and methane do not contribute to climate change. Specifically, these gases do just that.
There are not two truthful sides to the issue. The contrarians are only interested in profits for the big companies and not in protecting the environment.
There are no facts on the other side regarding climate change, or, if there are some facts they are buried under fake headlines and crazy talk.

Ms. Sewell's office told me that she was concerned about jobs in the area. There is an assumption made that if the greenhouse gases are regulated that jobs would be lost. But maybe, just maybe, new job opportunities would open up with green technology being developed!!! And let's not get into how many jobs will be lost and lives affected if greenhouse gases are not regulated.

Air pollution and restrictive injunctions are not new to Birmingham and Jefferson County. This report tells of the 1971 use (the very first use) of the injunctive authority of the Federal Clean Air Act. Jefferson County is still feeling the effects, having been prevented from allowing certain manufacturing and industrial development because of our non-attainment status related to limitations on emissions.

Those were different pollutants, not greenhouse gases, but my point is that threats to our atmosphere need to be taken seriously, and that there are health risks, known and unknown, that are amplified when those threats are ignored.

Complicating the atmosphere (in a good way) the Obama administration recently reversed a Bush policy that allowed more industrial pollution. Again, these are not greenhouse gases, but other pollutants. But it shows that we do have a president who cares about the environment (at least on this issue).

The ruling is a victory for cleaner air across Alabama and especially in areas such as heavily-polluted Birmingham and Jefferson County, which has failed to meet federal air quality standards for dangerous fine particulates for many years, according to Michael Churchman, executive director of the Alabama Environmental Council.

“What happened here is that some of Alabama’s polluters convinced regulators to relax a rule that had been on the books for 30 years – only after citizens sued to enforce that rule. Today, the EPA recognized that was the wrong decision,” Churchman said in reacting to the news locally. “Technology is used all over the country to better control emissions and should be required to operate continuously in Alabama.”

The Birmingham area has been failing to meet minimum federal air quality standards for fine particles (soot) for seven years. These airborne, microscopic solids and liquid droplets (made up of acids, organic chemicals, metals, and other matter) can lodge deeply in the lungs and bloodstream, aggravating a number of cardiopulmonary diseases.

“There is a demonstrated link between fine particle pollution and asthma in children,” said Tiffany Schauer, Executive Director of Our Children’s Earth Foundation. “Thanks to today’s action, every family in Alabama can breathe a little easier.”

So, as one whose life and livelihood has been dramatically affected by asthma, I would like to have a clean atmosphere. And as one who has studied climate change, I would like to have responsible politicians that take our environment seriously. This is not buyer's remorse, but I do hope that Terri learns from this experience, and that when environmental issues come up in the future, that she can show a little more concern.

Obama 2012 meeting in Bessemer

2011-04-13T07:21:00.005-06:00

I'm going to fast forward past the president's speech today because regardless of what he says or how satisfied little ole me is with his vision and his budget proposal, more important is that he gets elected to a second term in 2012.

There is an organizational meeting of the Bessemer Cutoff - OFA Team on Thursday at 6:15 at the Bessemer Library.

I can't imagine Obama winning Alabama in 2012 (although I do believe in miracles). But in 2008, he carried Jefferson County, and I want to make sure he does the same in 2012. And I do expect him to carry more counties in the state than he did two years ago, because the Republicans and their potential candidates are making fools of themselves with their medicaid slashing budget proposals and their birther rhetoric.

There is a clear danger to our country in allowing Republicans to gain more power in Washington, and that includes the White House and Congress.

If you don't live in the Bessemer Cutoff, you can find an organizing event in your area of the state by going here. There are 5 groups in Jefferson County (they may not all be on the web site yet).

Obama won 13 Alabama counties in 2008.

Obama carried Jefferson, Sumter, Greene, Hale, Perry, Marengo, Dallas, Wilcox, Lowndes, Montgomery, Macon, Bullock and Russell counties in 2008. Let's add a few more counties; Mobile, Conecuh, Barbour, Chambers, Pickens...maybe even Tuscaloosa.

Here is how the Europeans are viewing the president entering the race.

Come join us Thursday night - 6:15 at the Bessemer Library. I may be a few minutes late, I have another meeting prior to this one that I have to attend.

Wrong, wrong, wrong

2011-04-12T16:31:00.004-06:00

The budget being proposed by the Republicans is wrong. Wrong for America. Wrong for our people. Wrong for the future.

It seems all they care about is the wealthy. Yet they can't get enough of it. Republican congressman Sean Duffy can't seem to make it on his $174,000 a year salary.

I am not wealthy by American standards. Certainly not by his standard, I guess.

The Republican budget will never pass. The Senate will have nothing of it, and the President certainly would not sign it.

But it lets us know how they really feel.

At least 30,000 people are fasting as a way to bring attention to the fact that the Republican proposal will leave children hungry and veterans homeless.

On Sunday MSNBC aired A Stronger America - The Black Agenda. During the show host Ed Shultz and Rev. Al Sharpton and others reminded us several times of the disparities that people of color face in our country, and how so much has not changed in the last 40 years, since civil rights were enacted.

Princeton professor Cornell West pointed out that the budget of Paul Ryan is an escalation of intense class warfare against poor people and people of color.

Velma Hart pointed out that the budget presents a challenge to poor and working people.

While the unemployment rate in the nation is 8.8% overall, among blacks it is 15.5%. Even when unemployment dropped to around 4% during the Clinton administration, it was pointed out that unemployment for blacks was almost double that. The disparity has always existed.

The Ryan budget would cut 700,000 jobs, they said on the show. This report says the cuts to Medicaid alone will cost 2 million jobs. Republicans would love to see the unemployment rate go up during the Obama administration.

Education is another area where disparities exist. As it turns out, there is a correlation within zip codes between high incarceration rates and poor performing schools. Many factors may contribute to that, but among them is unfair sentencing leaving children without fathers at home, and a lack of equity in school funding. The Ryan budget would turn education back, reducing funding. More disparity.

I find it hard to understand how the American people put these people into office. Have you ever woke up after a drunken night and thought to yourself, "What was I thinking?"

America was drunk with anti-Obama Kool-Aid in 2010.

Now America is waking up, finally asking itself, "What was I thinking."

A rose story

2011-04-05T20:08:00.005-06:00

Those of you in the Bessemer Historical Homeowners Association have heard this story, but since many who read this blog are not, I will repeat it here.

This past weekend we had a workday to Jonesboro Community Garden and among the new plantings were four Peggy Martin roses donated by the BHHA president.

I was told the roses had come from Petals from the Past. Being a friend of Jason Powell, who owns Petals, and knowing how he feels about antique roses, I decided to do some research on this one.

Come to find out, it's not an old rose, at least under this name. But Jason played an important role in its recent history.

The story

Peggy Martin was a resident of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana,when hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. Her house and gardens were covered with 20 feet of water, and she lost her parents in the flood as well. When she was able to return two weeks later, the only plants remaining in her garden were this climbing rose and a lily.

In 2003, Bill Welch, a landscape horticulturist at Texas A&M, had taken some cuttings from Peggy Martin's rose and rose enthusiasts, including Jason, took cuttings from his and propagated the rose. After the tragedy of Katrina it was decided to let this rose become a fundraiser for the Zone IX Horticulture Restoration Fund and it is now available commercially at select nurseries, with some of the proceeds going to the Greater Houston Community Foundation, with the purpose of assisting in the task of garden restoration projects in New Orleans, Beaumont and other Gulf Coast locations.

Peggy Martin rose from the garden of Bill Welch

"Since then, it has been introduced into commerce in the United States and has become a symbol among gardeners and rose lovers of a tenacious plant associated with a spirit of renewal and regrowth in the aftermath of a devastating blow of Nature against those living and gardening in the Gulf Coast area."

The Peggy Martin rose is available at Petals from the Past and other nurseries, listed on the web site.

The Jonesboro Community Garden is open to the public. Two couples have exchanged vows in the Garden, political campaign events have been held, and this year the Garden will host an Earth Day celebration this month with a potluck dinner and get together on April 23. I hear that an Easter Egg hunt may be part of the celebration.

I'm in

2011-04-04T12:33:00.005-06:00

Barack Obama is the first candidate of either party to make it official.

I'm like Ed. I don't agree with everything Obama has done. In fact, some of my important issues got brushed aside while the president dealt with the mess he inherited.

I'm already convinced that Obama will be next to impossible to beat in 2012, and shared poll results in January to back me up.

But since January, as we have seen what the Republicans in congress want to do, it is absolutely necessary that Obama keeps the White House. And along with this, Democrats need to regain the house. But this is about the presidency.

There will be plenty of time to look at the issues (environment, energy, LGBT rights, wars, economy) over the next year and a half. But right now, it's just about the candidates.

Let's look at some of the competition, even though none of these potential candidates has made it official.

Donald Trump has only one issue - being top birther. In 2009 we all saw Obama's birth certificate and I wrote a newspaper column about it. Surely Trump does not really believe that Obama was not born in the United States. He needs to pay more attention to Bessemer Opinions.

Newt Gingrich has had too many wives and too many affairs.

Sarah Palin can see Alaska from her porch, (and Canada).

Michele Bachmann has made so many crazy statements and come up with so many goofy ideas that only the most far out Americans would ever want her to lead the country.

Mitt Romney is a Mormon and even though that in itself should not make a difference, Americans might be wary of a president that is against coffee and hot tea (among other things).

Mike Huckabee is a dominionist, and that alone should scare the wits out of you.

But even if the Republicans could come up with a decent conservative candidate, I think after seeing the agenda of the Republicans in congress that most Americans will reject their slash and burn type of government and will want to remain with the cool and calm Obama that has guided us through the storm.

So I'm in. Are you? Visit the Obama 2012 web site.

As I said before, this campaign season is going to be enjoyable and entertaining.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens

2011-03-31T14:11:00.007-06:00

Even without sunshine and with cool temperatures the Birmingham Botanical Gardens are wonderful. A friend took Bobby and I on a personal (although short) tour of the Kaul Wildflower Garden, where nature is at its best. I say that, because the plants are in a natural setting, and nature is showing us what she can do.*

I will post a few pictures here, but soon expect to see some of these pics and others with some science behind them on the science blog, where It's been almost a year since I wrote anything. But I'm itching to get back into science.

I'm not going to name any of these plants here. But you will see several species of Trillium, and some other early spring bloomers.

If I were an ant, and had human eyes, this is what I would see. I got down on the ground and took this picture looking up toward the sky, which you can see a bit of in the background.

Stepping out of the wildflower garden (and for one of these pictures, out of the state) here are some roses.

Early blooming Lady Banks rose is currently blooming. This one was spotted in Charleston, South Carolina last week.

This one is in our backyard.

And this one is at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

This is a pretty rose that's in bloom at the gardens as well.

I don't think there is ever a bad time to visit the botanical gardens - something is always in bloom. Even if not much is blooming, there are interesting plants and barks and ferns and mosses, a couple of bee hives, and more.

*There are volunteers and staff members who assist nature in maintaining the garden.

Speaking of flowers, here is Brandon Flowers singing Crossfire. He's about as pretty as any of the flowers pictured here. Another example of nature at its best.

Racists. Who knew? (We did)

2011-03-29T16:33:00.003-06:00

Often I have made to connection between the Tea Party and racists. Most of the time I get criticized for assuming all teabaggers are racists when the evidence is there for a few.
Example 1. Example 2. Example 3.

Now the Tea Party Nation has emailed its followers warning that whites are headed for extinction. If that isn't a page from the KKK, I don't know what is.

Here is a teabagger from a rally in Birmingham.

This is the same group that denounced the United Methodist Church for being Marxist, by the way. Here is where I wrote about that.

From the email sent today from Tea Party Nation:

What is keeping America's fertility rate up are immigrants - both legal and illegal.

and:

The White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) population in America is headed for extinction and with it our economy, well-being and survival as a uniquely America culture.

Racism can be against Latinos, of course, and that is what is going on here, but trust me, they feel the same way about African Americans. And gays:

There are those in America who are continuously attacking the family, bent on redefining marriage and have established anti-family government programs.

"Redefining marriage" is connected to the same-sex marriage movement, of course.

This is your Tea party, your Republican base, the congress members you elected in 2010; the group that invited Sarah Palin to speak, and Roy Moore as well. Roy Moore has indicated he might run for the GOP presidential nomination, incidentally. He couldn't win the GOP nomination for Alabama Governor, but believes he can win the GOP nomination for president. LOL.

Anyway, if you are a Tea Party member, you are suspect, I guess. In fact, if you are a Republican these days, you are suspect.

Terri Sewell announces Copper Tube plant in Alabama

2011-03-28T18:16:00.002-06:00

Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell Announces That a Copper Tube Manufacturing Plant Will Be Built in Thomasville

Project to create 200 manufacturing jobs in the Black Belt

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (AL-7) announced that Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group will build a copper tube plant in Thomasville.

The plant will employ more than 200 people, and will be the first U.S. plant for this company, which makes copper pipes and tubes used in plumbing, air conditioning and automobiles. Rep. Sewell joined with Governor Bentley and other state and local officials and executives from Golden Dragon to make the announcement earlier today. Rep. Sewell wrote a letter of support in favor of the project.

“By building this copper tube production facility right here in Thomasville, we will create good-paying, cutting-edge jobs,” said Rep. Sewell. “Each manufacturing job has a multiplier effect of four additional jobs. Today, we are demonstrating that manufacturing is not just part of our past, but also an important part of our future. By making products like copper tubing, we will position Clarke County as a global leader in this industry and increase our number of exports across the world.”

“We’re very excited,” said Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day. “This project opens up huge opportunities for the future of this area, and will be a welcome relief for so many people who are currently looking for jobs. I want to thank Congresswoman Sewell for everything she has done to help make this project a reality. This has been a true partnership between state, local and federal government.”

“I appreciate Congresswoman Sewell’s support and I am very happy to be here in Alabama,” said Li Changjie, Chairman of Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group, Inc.

“Congresswoman Sewell has been really great,” said Raymond Cheng, CEO of SoZo Group, Ltd, an investment advisory company which matches investors with businesses and causes. “Everyone I have worked with on this project is really committed to helping this community.”

The plant is expected to be built on a 40-acre site in a city industrial park south of Thomasville High School.

Golden Dragon is based in Xinxiang, a city of 5.5 million people in China's second-most populous province, Founded in 1987, the company indicates that it generates more than $2 billion a year in sales and makes more than 15 percent of all copper tube used in air conditioning and refrigeration worldwide.