Jefferson County Line Up

Information in this post comes from these stories in the Birmingham News.

We live in a county that has elected criminals to its County Commission. Well, maybe they weren't criminals before they ran for office. Maybe. But Jeff Germany, Chris McNair, Mary Buckelew, Gary White and now Larry Langford were all commissioners between 1986 and 2006.
Jeff Germany, convicted in 2006 of using social service programs to get taxpayer money for personal gain.

Chris McNair, convicted in 2006 of bribery and conspiracy tied to the sewer rebuilding program.

Mary Buckelew, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in sewer deal, after receiving Salvatore Ferragamo shoes and a handbag worth $1500, a $1400 spa treatment and $1119 more in items from the Italian designer store.

Gary White, convicted in 2008 of conspiracy and bribery tied to sewer program. His conviction was set aside and he is awaiting new trial.*

Larry Langford, indicted for bribery, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and filing false income tax returns in 2008.

* I personally think White's charges were politically motivated (Why Gary White Was Prosecuted). But still, five former County Commissioners, one of which is now the Mayor of the largest shrinking city in the state.

Why do the people of this county elect so many crooks? Or do they elect good people who can not resist the temptations set before them after they enter public life?

Various city and state officials have commented about what effect this will have on Birmingham's near and distant future. Can a county teetering on bankruptcy and stacking up felons like cordwood attract entrepreneurs and business investors to locate in its largest city?

Many writers in Jefferson County, including me, find it difficult to avoid cynicism about this because we pay for the Rolexes and Ferragamo shoes every time we flush the toilet. To accept bribes at the expense of the people who elected you shows what you really think of those people.
Langford is such a hypocrite, urging inner city parents not to buy expensive clothes for their kids, and wearing a Rolex watch to his "Sackcloth and Ashes" show. He said he learned a lesson as a child after being beat with an electric cord by his mother and taken to juvy by his stepfather to be shown what happens to boys that steal after he was caught stealing money to buy oatmeal cookies.

Maybe its time for a few more lashes with the electric cord.

And maybe its time we look for different leadership qualities in those we elect to public office.

Langford in the Pokey

Update: Alice Martin held a press conference regarding the Larry Langford arrest, where she named conspiracy, bribery, fraud, money laundering and filing false income tax returns as the charges. 101 counts.

Langford, Al LaPierre and Bill Blount of Blount Parrish were indicted.

Expensive clothes, an $11,000 Rolex watch, having your loans/personal debts paid off.

Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford had been arrested and is being held at the Federal Courthouse. Story

We knew that the chickens would come home to roost for Larry , maybe others will be charged as well. Oh, Al Lapierre has also been indicted and will be surrendering today, but I mean others...in...uh...well, let's just wait and see.

The indictments are sealed, so no details of the charges have been released.

Langford already has this case in Federal court to be concerned about. He was sued by Central Alabama Pride over the rainbow flag flap after the 2008 Pride celebration.

Do you think the mayor is dancing now? (The weather forecast in this video is not for today).

Queen Rania of Jordan

Be sure to scroll down to read my Thanksgiving column from the Western Tribune, to see what I think we should all be thankful for.

Queen Rania of Jordan has her own YouTube channel.

Here are her top 10 reasons for starting a YouTube channel, as expressed in her video acceptance of YouTube's Visionary Award.




"Suspicion, intolerance and mistrust are driving us apart," was her number one reason. She wants to change that, and this is her way. She's not your average Queen.

Congratulations on the Award, Queen Rania, and thanks for taking this on.

Western Tribune Column November 26 2008

Today is Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy some time with your family, have lots of good desserts with your turkey dinner, and get in a good nap afterwards. Like so many columnists, I wrote a Thanksgiving column for the Western tribune this week. Here it is.

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This week we ponder what we are thankful for and across the country and in our own city people seem to be thankful of the change they see coming. In spite of the crumbling economy, about 70 per cent are optimistic about the future. This includes a number of people who did not vote for Barack Obama, but who see better things ahead knowing that he will be their leader.

We should be thankful that we live in a country where democracy works, and that so many people were engaged in the political process this year. This shows us that a great majority of the people really care about our country.

We should be thankful that we will soon have a president that wants to end the war in Iraq. Americans are war weary, and are tired of seeing their sons and daughters returning from serving their country with physical or mental problems, or worse. We should be thankful that our new president has pledged to improve mental health treatment for our veterans and to rebuild the Veterans Administration’s broken benefits system.

We should also be thankful for the food on our table. Improvements in agriculture, food storage and preservation over the last few decades, along with the giving spirit of our people, should mean that everyone can enjoy a good Thanksgiving meal, and hopefully, continue to have adequate food on a daily basis. The economic crisis could mean that more will be required of some of us to ensure that no one goes hungry during the holidays.

Let’s also be thankful that science and research will regain credibility as the new administration takes over. Although a lot of money will be necessary to solve the energy crisis, good science is the key to progress. It has been clear for years that the green that is pocketed was more important to automakers than the green that represents our planet’s health, but now we see that the future of the economy and the environment are tied to the auto industry and a big, necessary, shift in their operations and policies would help to solve both problems.

There is much more to be thankful for: our families, our faith, our freedom. Take a minute and tell those around you that you are thankful for them. We will all benefit.

Jesus and Marriage

First, though, why do people not stop at red lights? This happened at our corner yesterday.
No serious injuries, but a really p-o'ed young man and a shook up woman (who ran the light in the white pick up).

Pay attention when you are driving. I don't know why the woman didn't stop, but don't text or read emails when driving. In fact, don't use your phone. Watch the road, and pay attention to the traffic lights. Don't screw up your holidays with a wreck.

Jesus and Marriage

In response to Kristi's comment yesterday in which she wrote "Marriage, and the guide for marriage is laid out in the Bible. And clearly it is for a man and a woman. There is no question about that. So let's recognize the true unity of marriage, which is two people of opposite sex."

(Anonymous...this is not an attack on Kristi. I respect her and her right to have her beliefs. I just disagree.)

Like Dianne said, Christians did not invent marriage. But Jesus did speak about marriage. In response to Kristi’s comment yesterday, let’s consider what Jesus had to say about it. I will turn to a good resource, which I have quoted from before: The Children Are Free by Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley.

Beginning on page 44:

Some Christians confidently assert that God did not create homosexual people “that way.” This is important because they realize that if God did create gays “that way,” rejecting them would be tantamount to rejecting God’s work in creation. In pressing their “creation order” argument, some Christians are fond of saying, “God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!” To bolster their position, they often cite Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:4-5, where he responds to a question about whether divorce is permissible:

“Jesus answered, “have you not read that the One who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh”? Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.’”

From these words, some Christians draw the conclusion that heterosexuality is the creation norm and, thus, heterosexual marriage is the only legitimate way for people to form romantic relationships. Ironically, Jesus’ own words in this very same passage refute these conclusions.

As the dialogue continues, Jesus’ disciples are disturbed by his strict teaching on divorce. The disciples say that if a divorce is not a ready option, perhaps it would be best for a man not to marry a woman. Jesus responds:

“Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. For there are enough eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.” (Matthew 19:11)

Here Jesus identifies three classes of men who should not marry woman. Taking his categories in reverse order, first, there are those who have made themselves “eunuchs” for the kingdom of heaven, i.e., those who forswear marriage to better serve God. Second, he mentions those who have been “made eunuchs by others,” an apparent reference to castrated males. But Jesus mentions a third category – eunuchs who were born that way. Some might argue that Jesus was referring to males born without testicles, but this would be extremely rare. Moreover, this interpretation ignores how the term “born eunuchs” was used in other literature of the time.

As we have already seen(there is an interesting discussion on this in the book), in the ancient world, including ancient Jewish culture (as reflected in the Talmud), “natural” or “born” eunuchs were not associated with missing testicles. Rather, they were associated with stereotypically effeminate characteristics and behavior (just like modern gay men, and were thought by Rabbi Eliezer to be subject to “cure” (just like modern gays). Moreover, as we have also seen, eunuchs were commonly associated with homosexual desire. As a reasonable informed person of his time, Jesus would have been aware of this common view of eunuchs. Yet he very matter-of-factly asserts that some people are simply born that way. The implication of his statement is profound – God created gay people the way they are! Jesus says so.

Unlike Rabbi Eliezer, Jesus feels no need to “cure” these born eunuchs. He speaks no words of condemnation. Rather he lists people born gay alongside another honored class (eunuchs for the kingdom), and accepts them as a natural part of God’s creation order.

Thus, when Matthew 19 is read as a whole, we see Jesus teaches that most people are created for heterosexual marriage. (We too accept this as God’s predominant creation paradigm.) But, unlike some modern Christians, Jesus does not see this as the only honorable way to live. He acknowledges that some human beings have been created by God to follow a less common, but equally legitimate path. There are some who have been eunuchs from birth – made that way by God.

But we’re not quite done. In fact, we’ve saved the best for last.

From here to book continues with the story of Jesus and the Gay Centurion, which I have previously posted and recently referred to. (I hope I don't end up publishing their whole book here).

Of course this does not say gays should marry gays. But when you factor in the centurion's story, David and Jonathon, Ruth and Naomi (Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people; and your God my God.) Ruth's words of love and devotion for another woman are used in countless straight marriages (and gay ones) and their love is further exemplified when the passages that follow focus on their relationship, and not the convenience marriage of Ruth to a man.

David expressed his love for Jonathon in a song after Jonathon's death, "Greatly beloved you were to me; your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women." This is not "male bonding" with a beer and a football game.

So, same sex relationships are legitimate according to the Old and New Testaments. But while same sex marriage is not specifically drawn out in the Bible, what does the Bible have to do with civil marriage anyway? I mean, marriage as a sacrament, by the church, certainly should be decided on by that church. But marriage as a contract, recognized by the government, should be based on our constitution, including the equal protection clause. The constitution is the "sacred" document of our country, not the Bible.

Here's a little video of Mikey and Jaz's wedding (music, No One by Alicia Keys). This dispels the rumor that there are no black gays, and that all blacks are against same sex marriage.

Tom's Marriage Manifesto

If you are looking for the owls, just scroll on down.


Let's just not recognize anyone's marriage, until we can recognize all marriages.

This comic by Mar Bennett:

...expresses what this blog by Tom Ackerman: A Marriage Manifesto...of sorts
proposes we do. Thanks John for sending this.

I no longer recognize marriage. It’s a new thing I’m trying.

Turns out it’s fun.

Yesterday I called a woman’s spouse her boyfriend.
She says, correcting me, “He’s my husband,”

“Oh,” I say, “I no longer recognize marriage.”

....Suddenly the majority gets to feel what the minority feels. ... (Read the post)

So, we can take this away. We can refuse to recognize marriage in the cultural sense. It is totally within our rights, as Americans, to follow our beliefs and recognize or not recognize what we like.

I guess this is a call out to all Americans with beliefs similar to mine.

If you believe that all people should have equal rights, and if you believe that marriage is one of the greatest destinations of a relationship, then perhaps you believe that nobody should have marriage until everybody does.

That’s what I believe.

Seems like a harmless way to make a point.

Who - hoo knew?

Have you sent your postcard to President elect Obama urging him to ask congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act? We sent 2, one says "Alabama" and the other "Birmingham Civil Rights Institute." You can get souvenir postcards like these at Petro (exit 100 on I-20/59) and probably at Flying J and Cracker Barrel too, in and around Bessemer.


Who-Hoo-hoo knew? Northern saw-whet owls live in Alabama. Birders previously thought the little owl lived only in Canada and Northern US.

Photo credit Wikipedia

Bob Sargent and his wife Martha have caught nine of them near their home in Clay. They are bird experts and worked on this project for three years before capturing any this year. Jackpot. They document, photograph and put an ID band around its leg. They only weigh 3.5 ounces. Cute, huh?

In Bessemer, no owls, but lots of turkeys. 400 turkeys were given out by Earl Cochran Jr and DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans players from Bessemer.