Happy Easter, Councilman Montgomery

Happy Easter everyone. Of course, Easter isn't about chocolate bunnies any more than Christmas is about reindeer, but marketing in the U. S. would have us believe otherwise. It's about Jesus' death on a cross for your sins. But it's also about rebirth, and renewal, and forgiveness.








Joel Montgomery should be thinking about forgiveness this Easter morning. This homophobe, one of the Birmingham Council Members who does not believe in inclusion, was arrested Saturday for public intoxication. His bloodied face was featured on page 13A of the Birmingham News, and on the local tv news. Take a look, this is the face of intolerance in the Magic City. I hope the people of District 1 have someone in mind to replace him. He claims innocence. The gay community (and the fair minded straights) might forgive him if he reverses his stand on the Resolution of Inclusion. (Unlike Jesus, we are human and we can put conditions on forgiveness). Hey, maybe Joel won't be attending the council meeting this week. Might be a good time to re-introduce the resolution.







Our representative Artur Davis spoke to the Downtown Democratic Club on Friday, and he said Dick Cheney was way off base when he spoke at the luncheon that raised a half million dollars for Jeff Sessions 2008 re-election campaign. Cheney was critical of the Democrats for threatening funding and calling for withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Artur pointed out that during the Clinton presidency in 1998 several resolutions sought to require the president to either limit funding for the U.S. military peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia or bring the troops home. Also, congress called for troop withdrawal in 1993 from Somalia when 18 soldiers were killed there while on a peacekeeping mission. Davis also noted that in 1983 after 241 marines were killed in Beirut, Congress called for withdrawal. Davis said "When all of that happened, not one person said Newt Gingrich and the Republicans weren't supporting our troops. Nobody said if your don't agree with us on the war, you're being un-American like the Bush asminstration is saying now."
He also said he is bothered by this "mindset that the president is always right and everyone else is wrong when it comes to the war in Iraq." You tell 'em, Artur.

Readers will notice that I have added a list of links to other blogs over to the left. Sack Sessions has lots to say about the Cheney visit. Just click on those links to read others progressive opinions.

Flowers and A Baby Wren

It's cold today and tonight will be really cold, so bye bye flowers. I cut some to bring into the house before they freeze.

Here are some azaleas.

These roses and lilacs remind me of the flowers in this antique floral print I picked up at an estate sale recently.

This baby wren was checking out the site of our future vegetable garden yesterday. Hope his little feathers keep him warm tonight. He could sort of fly, so I think he will be OK.

To protect your tender outdoor plants covering them sometimes helps. Make the covering material go all the way to the ground, and use bricks or rocks to keep it in place. This helps trap heat from the ground to provide some warmth to the tender leaves and buds. Also, this information from the University of Florida Extension Service:

WHAT TO DO DURING A FREEZE

Ornamental plants can be protected during a freeze by sprinkling the plants with water. Sprinkling for cold protection helps keep leaf surface temperatures near 32°F (0°C) because sprinkling utilizes latent heat released when water changes from a liquid to a solid state. Sprinkling must begin as freezing temperatures are reached and continue until thawing is completed. Water must be evenly distributed and supplied in ample quantity to maintain a film of liquid water on the foliage surfaces. Irrigation for several days may water soak the soil resulting in damaged root systems and/or plant breakage due to ice build up. Consult Extension Circular 348, Sprinkler Irrigation for Cold Protection, for more technical information on this subject.

WHAT TO DO AFTER THE FREEZE
Water Needs. Plant water needs should be checked after a freeze. The foliage could be transpiring (losing water vapor) on a sunny day after a freeze while water in the soil or container medium is frozen. Apply water to thaw the soil and provide available water for the plant. Soils or media with high soluble salts should not be allowed to dry because salts would be concentrated into a small volume of water and can burn plant roots.

Anderson Cooper examining spirtuality, and the Trevor Helpline

Anderson Cooper on CNN is currently doing a series on spirituality, and on Wednesday night the discussion inlcuded science and global warming. He showed a clip of Jerry Falwell,saying that global warming is "phony baloney." "It is Satan's attempt to redirect the church's primary focus," he said in a videoclip. Does he mean that Satan is causing global warming, maybe by cracking open the gates of Hell and letting some heat out? Or does he mean Satan is making up the science of global warming. Falwell needs to get his head out of the sand and ...well.



This is Auguste Rodin's Gates of Hell. Commissioned in 1880, the Gates were largely complete by 1900, but were not cast in bronze until after the artist's death in 1917. Photo link: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/rodin/rodin.html. See the "thinker" sitting there? I wonder what he is thinking about. "Maybe he's contemplating how not taking care of God's creation landed him here at the gates of hell.



Rev. Joel Hunter is an evangelical, who was once considered to lead the Christian Coalition, has seen the light, and since proclaiming that humans have a responsibility for taking care of the earth, he has been virtually demonized by other evangelicals.



On last nights show they talked about homosexuality, and had this liar on there saying that all homosexual males were that way because of a bad relationship with their father, or because of abuse of some kind, and that all homosexual males could escape homosexuality and become heterosexual. Of course, he is ignoring all that is known about homoseuxality from a scientific, medical and psychological perspective. Think of the damage people like this are doing to people struggling to accept themselves. No wonder kids who are questioning their sexuality are more likely to attempt suicide. A government study found that homosexual youth are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide than other young people. Several researchers suggest that bisexual and youth uncertain of their sexual orientation may be at higher risk for suicidal behavior than self-proclaimed homosexual teenagers. Instead of confusing them with misinformation that may cause them to kill themselves, why not teach them to embrace themselves and accept them for who they are. The blood of these adolescents who kill themselves is on the hands of preachers like this who drive them to it.




The Trevor Helpline was established in 1998 to coincide with the HBO airing of the award winning short film Trevor, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The Trevor Helpline is the only national 24-hour, toll-free suicide prevention hot line aimed at gay and questioning youth. http://www.thetrevorproject.org/staging/helpline.aspx (this picture comes from their site so I am not "outing" anyone)


And I will not even get into the irony of Anderson Cooper interviewing a preacher about the evils of homosexuality and whether or not its a sin.


Today is Good Friday and this Sunday is Easter, and maybe I should be writing about how jesus died for all of us, not just the straight ones. But you probably already know that. The ones who need to hear it are unlikely to be reading this blog anyway. Happy Easter!

Are You Prepared? Is Birmingham losing ground?

Remember: This is National Public Health Week. And I have been promising something about disaster preparedness. Well here goes.

Disaster can happen at any moment. We can be forewarned, or it can occur without warning. We each need to have an Emergency Supply Kit. This is recommended by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and brought to you by the UAB School of Public Health, at which I am a student.

Items to Include in a Basic Emergency Supply Kit

Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days.

Food, at least a three day supply of non-perishable food.

Battery powered or hand crank radio and a battery powered NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both.

Flashlight and extra batteries.

First Aid Kit.

Whistle to signal for help.

Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place.

Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation.

Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities.

Can opener for food.

Local Maps.

To this I would add:

Pet Food for at least three days.

Chewing gum.

Paper towels.

A disaster can be a hurricane, for which you might think you are prepared, but they don't always behave as predicted. A tornado or storm that disrupts your utilities, for which you might have just a few minutes warning. A terrorist attack, for which there would be no warning. A fire...grab the kit as you are leaving. A blizzard that disrupts power, not likely, but remember 1993?

For more information visit:
Alabama Department of Public Health www.adph.org/CEP

Alabama Homeland Security www.homelandsecurity.alabama.gov

American Red Cross www.redcross.org/services/disaster

Department of Homeland Security www.ready.gov

Birmingham, The Shrinking City

Today’s Birmingham News reports that the Birmingham areas population growth is trailing other cities in the south, and we rank 27th among the Southeast’s 30 largest metro areas. Don Bogie, director of the Center for Demographic Research at Auburn Montgomery, said these census numbers represent a weakness in the Birmingham economy. It’s not always the economy, you know. There is the issue of image, and Birmingham just showed the nation of relocating businesses and employees that this is not where they want to be by refusing to pass the resolution of inclusiveness (see “Birmingham Falls Flat on its Face”). Maybe it is the economy, indirectly. If people are leaving to a more inclusive area (and don’t say they don’t. I get emails from such people every time I publish something about it), they are taking their skills and earning their high wages in other places. That affects the economy. If businesses decide not to locate in our city because they want their employees to feel safe and to have a voice in the city, then that affects the economy. Birmingham had better wake up, or they will continue to move down the scale in this category and many others.

Local film artist Alex Traywick has an episode of Stranger Things TV viewable online at http://strangerthings.tv/. It last about 13 minutes, and is titled “Discontent.” Scroll down to Episode 2A by that title and enjoy. Don’t play it in front of your kids, the f word is used in part of the dialogue. Haven’t heard of Stranger Things TV? Well, if you like your world the way it is, stop now. Stranger Things is about ordinary people stumbling into the secret worlds of the demons, aliens, shamans, and angels. The stories expose the bizarre and the extraordinary things happening all around us, everyday. Good job, Alex.

The Big Easy: Destined for a repeat?

Not if Ivor van Heerdon can help it.

This picture and the one that follows are of the Lower 9th ward in New Orleans. Bobby and I travelled to New Orleans in May 2006 and took these pictures and spoke with several residents. These homes appear to be standing but upon closer inspection were uninhabitable. The second picture shows a home with a cross and a heart placed on it as a memorial, most likely for residents that died in the house.


Yesterday I attended a lecture by Ivor van Heerdon, author of The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina, deputy director of the LSU Hurricane Center, and LSU professor. He was featured on numerous interviews and news shows following Katrina, you may have seen him. He knows why the levees failed, why New Orleans flooded. It wasn’t just the strong storm; it was the failure of man, of the Army Corp of Engineers. And the repairs that have been done will not protect the city.

Interestingly, he explained that they determined the rate of rising waters in various areas by finding stopped battery powered or pendulum clocks, and from cell phone records of people calling others telling them where the water was at certain times.

I am not going to re-hash his whole lecture here, but will just say that the various reasons for the failure of the levees have been well documented, and in his lecture and in his book he outlines solutions that must be implemented if we are to save the Louisiana coast and coastal cities. One thing he mentioned was that he is advocating the creation of an 8-29 commission, fashioned after the 9-11 commission that investigated the attack of that day. He neglected to say this in the lecture, but asked me afterwards to publicize the site http://levees.org/ where you can sign a petition to help create such a commission. Also at this site is lots of good information about the levees and their failure.

A lot needs to be done to prevent another catastrophe, and the ball is definitely in man’s court now, as we know the nature of the problem and what must be done to prevent it. But one thing that we, as consumers can do is quit buying cypress mulch. Cypress mulch is produced by grinding up cypress trees, and the trees of the cypress swamp are the best protection against storm surge, as the waves and water have to get past tree after tree. Cypress trees are mined from the Louisiana swamps, leaving vast expanses of water with a few tree stumps in them, perfect for a storm and its surge to move across. He told us that they had shown the areas to Walmart executives, and explained the problem to them, and that Walmart has agreed NOT to purchase Louisiana cypress mulch. Chalk one up for Walmart!

He showed us a photo of a hand lettered sign at a makeshift memorial for Katrina victims in the Lower 9th Ward. The sign, surrounded by white crosses, most with strands of beads draped over them, read: “If we had the will and one month’s money from Iraq we could restore all the levees and restore the coast.”

He also mentioned this site to see storm surge models and imagery. http://www.publichealth.hurricane.lsu.edu/ Lots of good info there.

He closed his talk with “If we ignore the science, we do so at our peril.”

The current administration has a history of ignoring science. From global warming to stem cell research and more. Please, please let’s elect someone with some intelligence in 2008.




I want to stress that homes and businesses in the French Quarter fared much better, and for tourists, New Orleans is up and running again. Here is a photo of a house and one of "tourist Joe" in the Quarter. Please visit, they need your dollars.

















I am not ignoring the national scene, as Bush slams Nancy Pelosi for visiting Syria, but totally ignores the fact that republican congressmen had also visited. Alabama’s own Robert Aderholt was one of them. An unscientific aol poll has 55% saying Nancy was right to visit, 37% agree with Bush.

Bessemer briefs from the Birmingham News:

Circuit Judge Dan King was indicted yesterday on 56 counts related to misuse of campaign funds. He is suspended from the bench with pay, and claims innocence.

Bessemer utilities will be passing on a rate increase from TVA so our electric bills will go up an average of 91 cents a month.

And the School Board wants to double the size of the planned 750 seat auditorium in the new high school. I believe that a high school auditorium should be large enough to hold all the students and more. Build it big.

My roses, which usually bloom at the end of April or the first of May, are beginning to bloom. Maybe I will have some pictures in a day or so.

Clean Air and Climate

The U. S. Supreme Court showed it has some sense too, just like the U. S. congress did last week. The high court ruled against the Bush administration by telling the government to look at regulating carbon emissions from automobiles. Who thought that this conservative supreme court could be progressive?

The court had three questions before it. -- Do states have the right to sue the EPA to challenge its decision? -- Does the Clean Air Act give EPA the authority to regulate tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases? -- Does EPA have the discretion not to regulate those emissions? The court said yes to the first two questions. On the third, it ordered EPA to re-evaluate its contention it has the discretion not to regulate tailpipe emissions. The court said the agency has so far provided a "laundry list" of reasons that include foreign policy considerations.

Global warming is a HUGE public health issue. What I don’t understand from those who say global warming is not a result of human activity is this. If “natural” activity is causing the temperature to rise, resulting in melting of glaciers and rising sea levels that may result in areas of Florida and Manhattan and Bangladesh (and elsewhere) to become inundated, and resulting in formerly cool areas on mountainsides to be warm enough now to bring malaria carrying mosquitoes to villages that were originally built above the supposed mosquito line…even if all this (and more) is being caused by “natural cycles”…if we have the ability (and we do) and the knowledge (and we do) to reverse the trend or slow it down…shouldn’t we? I mean, aren’t things climate wise pretty neat the way it is now? Why not try to keep it this way and prevent millions of people from having to be displaced? Why not work to improve our air in ways that would decrease emissions, and would also allow those of us with asthma to breathe a little easier. Don’t just deny anything is happening or ignore it so that oil companies and your Texas buddies and Saudi buddies can make a few billion more.

No, this ruling is great. Congress can work on this, the EPA can work on this, and the Bush administration can continue to ignore it because they are being reduced to a non-player anyway.

In a related note, Blues artist Tab Benoit who stars in the IMAX movie Hurricane on the Bayou (http://www.mcwane.org/subpages/IMAX_Movies.asp) will be at McWane Thursday from 4 to 6 to speak about making the movie, saving the wetlands, and sing a few songs. The movie will be shown at 6. All profits benefit Voice of the Wetlands, and you can learn about their efforts here: http://www.voiceofthewetlands.com/mainpage.html.

Bobby and I went to a Voice of the Wetlands event in Louisiana last year, held at Southdown Plantation in Houma, LA (http://www.southdownmuseum.org/). We ate authentic cajun food and listened to foot stomping music, and learned a little about the Louisiana wetlands and what is and isn’t being done to save them. Here’s a picture of the sugar plantation home on that day.

Here is one of the bands playing at the festival.

The 2007 hurricane prediction just came out the experts are predicting an active season, maybe 17 named storms. El nino caused Atlantic hurricane activity to be less than expected in 2006, but in 2007 la nina is developing, and la nina usually causes and increase in Atlantic storm activity. We will just have to wait and see. Read about la nina development here: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2007/s2805.htm Will you be prepared? You know these storms affect us here in north central Alabama. Remember Ivan? More on preparations later in the week.

Go Bessemer!

WOW! What a terrific article on Bessemer, AL on the front page of the Birmingham News on Sunday. In case you missed it, here’s the link: http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1175417806273310.xml&coll=2.
There is a picture of Adam Young on the front page working on a house, and a picture of Ron and Latasha Cook and their family and house on page 8. Too bad you don’t get the pictures from the online version. I believe this article will do as much to bring Bessemer Back as anything anyone else has done. Thank you Robert Gordon, and thank you Adam and Erica, Ron and Latasha, and Sunny Lippert for contributing to this article and for contributing to the revival of Bessemer.

Bessemer is a diverse community and this article points that out. Many of our residents celebrate this diversity and realize that in part our strength comes from drawing on the attributes of everyone rather than marginalizing one group or another.

This week is Public Health Week and all week I will be trying to pass on some Public Health knowledge and tips. This year we are focusing on Disaster Preparedness, more on that later in the week.

Here is a Public Health Fact. During the years from 1900 to 2000 the health of our nation improved greatly. We saw the development of life saving antibiotics, disease preventing vaccines, a greater understanding of sanitation and hygiene, and medical advances that help every one of us. The average life span during that period increased by 30 years. Did you know that 25 of those years are attributable to Public Health and just 5 years to medicine? In 1900 the most common cause of death was infectious diseases. Now it’s heart disease, followed by cancer and stroke.
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Here is your public heath tip for the day, from the Birmingham News and the Center for Disease Control. Your toothbrush is nasty. Even if you rinse it well, it will have bacteria all over it the next time you put it in your mouth. The VIOlight Toothbrush Sanitizer can help by using ultraviolet light to kill the bugs, and leaves your toothbrush almost sterile. There is a home version and a travel version. Check http://www.violight.com/ or, beginning April 15 VIOlight will be available at Target Stores







A poll recently released by the Capital Survey Research Center shows some interesting results for Alabama. Since 1999 confidence in Local School Boards has declined from 70% to 62%. But confidence in Local Private Schools has declined even more, from 79% to 61%, more than twice as big a drop. I have always been a supporter of public schools, and think local boards, especially in Bessemer, must find a way to increase public confidence in their systems. But I am curious why the decline in confidence of private schools. It’s no secret that some of them were formed to avoid integration under the pretence of better academics (I’m being just a little bit cynical) and maybe now that many of these schools are becoming more diverse in their student populations they are no longer the answer to some parent’s concerns.

The poll also shows that confidence in Local Newspapers has declined 8%, from 77% to 69%. I suspect The Western Star has lost even more confidence than that. We need a good, reliable newspaper that we can trust, and that presents various sides of issues, and that will keep us informed on local issues in a timely fashion. Are you listening out there?