American Pillar

I am not writing about a pillar of society, rather I am promoting a vigorous rambling rose. I believe this rose is American Pillar, introduced in 1902. It is aggressive, growing very rapidly, and when I moved here it was just spread all over the place. I built this "pillar" for it to climb on, but I can't keep it contained, and it has grown up into an oak tree and over to and along the fence.



But its blooms are a wonderful shade of deep pink with many bright yellow stamens, occuring in bunches. Unfortunately it only blooms once a year, and last year had no blooms as the entire plant was afflicted by powdery mildew.




One thing I like is the timing of its show, because as most of the other old roses are past their peak, this one takes over, and is visible from the street as well as from the yard.

In a different light, the blooms take on a slighly different hue, leading some to think this might be a different variety.
If anyone thinks this might be something other than American Pillar, let me know.

And if anyone needs a good laugh, just watch this clip from "Whose Line is it Anyway" with Richard Simmons. Careful, if you are at work, your co-workers will wonder why you are rolling in the floor.

Stay in Hillary, and Signs in Bessemer

Hillary should stay in the race


Barack Obama will be the nominee of the Democrats, I have no doubt. But Hillary's presence in the race, and the discourse between the two candidates brings countless new people into the process in every state when a primary occurs. I can not remember an election in which voters in every state felt as though they were having a say in who the nominee would be.


These new voters might not have seen the light had it not been for the opportunity to make a choice and express it through voting, many of them for the first time. Since the Democrats will need every vote in November to defeat McBush, the primaries should continue. Then, as Hillary has already indicated, we will all come together and support Obama. Kumbaya.


Signs in Bessemer


Sometimes a sign looks like this:

The sign pictured is at the Red Rock Convenience Store located at Arlington Avenue and 19th Street in Bessemer's Historic Southside. That is a business that many in the area would like to see closed down, but there are some in the area who want it to remain open because (as some suspect) it gives them a place to gather and sell their drugs (conveniently). This sign has been in its current position for years, and when I walk to town on the city sidewalk, I have to leave the sidewalk and either walk in the street or walk through the parking lot. I don't think an entity can place a sign across a sidewalk, so I will ask our council person to look in to this.

Across the street is this sign:

In front of this building.

I have written about this historic property before, but that was when I thought the school board would use common sense and sell the property to a nearby developer who was going to restore the building. Then they got greedy, and want to use the property to make money by selling it for more than anyone would pay for it, while it continues to decline at an exponential rate.


Then there is this sign:

and I only include it here because I featured another sign here on this post last year.

Sometimes signs are more subtle, such as a sign that Bessemer might actually be moving forward on issues that have been overlooked for years. Council president Jesse Matthews said "We're going to take some aggressive moves out in the districts," in an interview reported in the Western Tribune.

"He cited problems in the older neighborhoods topping the priority list" according to the paper, including getting rid of old burned out houses and repaving of roads. That's kind of ironic, as we approach the first anniversary of my columns in The Western Tribune. My first column was titled "Three things that Bessemer needs now" and while not in my original list, the column ended with "...let's see...Re-paving streets?"

Where are the streets worse, Bessemer or Birmingham? I drive in both cities every day, and it's close. On Birmingham's southside, 2oth street driving south just past the fountain is about the worst road I drive on. Or there is the railroad crossing in Powderly or the streets I take in West Birmingham on the way to UAB. I don't know, they are all bad, especially when you drive a bouncy little pick up truck.

But in Bessemer, where potholes and crummy repairs are spread all around the city, at least the council president is talking about paving. And improvements in our communities, something we haven't heard from council leadership in years. Let's see if he can follow through.

Alabama Hate Crimes law update, and Stonewall Findings

The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill to add crimes against people because of their sexual orientation to the hate crimes law. Now the bill goes to the Senate, but with only a couple of days left in the current session, it is unlikely to be considered, what with things like stimulus check exemptions and the education budget. Plus they have to consider whether to change the name of Troy State University to Troy University. Is there a sense of urgency there?

But the passage of the bill in the House is progress. At least one Republican, Pat Moore, changed her vote and voted with the majority. Change comes slowly. Progress continues.

The Stonewall Democrats conducted a census during December 2007 and January 2008 to gauge the feelings of GLBT Democrats across the nation. While not a scientific study, the results do provide a snapshot of the opinions of the community. Respondents were from all 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico.

Here are some highlights. On whether ENDA, the Employment Non Discrimination Act should be an inclusive bill, meaning protections based on gender identity should be a part, along with sexual orientation, 85% said passing an inclusive ENDA should have a high priority level, and 70% said even if that means delayed passage. I agree strongly.

Here are the top 5 issues of importance to the GLBT community (although with the economy tanking priorities may have changed since this survey was taken).

1. Civil liberties. You know, things like freedom of speech and separation of church and state.
2. Affordable Health care.
3. GLBT Equality. Among GLBT issues, Non-discrimination, relationship recognition, HIV/AIDS and Repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell received the highest priorities.
4. Ending the War in Iraq.
5. Improving Education and the Environment. (tie)

13% reported that they have served in the military. This is higher than the national average. This tells me that GLBT community is interested in serving the country and willing to fight for the liberties and rights that many of us do not have yet. And it is gives credence to the effort to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." DADT doesn't really make sense anyway, as detractors say keep the ban because military personnel don't want a gay or lesbian in the foxhole or the tent with them. But DADT allows them to be there, and they are there, fighting right beside you.

24% of respondents have children. This tells me that GLBT reproduce, something I already knew. But that is a lot of kids who would like to see their parents treated equally and their relationships recognized.

Again, these results were not scientific, but they give an idea of what Democrats who are members of the GLBT community (the ones most likely to vote and who are involved in policy and priority determination) feel.

As for the Alabama Stonewall Democrat Chapter the next meeting is Thursday, May 15 at Logan's Roadhouse in Crestwood (7724 Ludington Ln.) at 5:30. We will be holding a candidate screening, during which we will try to determine the qualifications and priorities of the candidates and how they relate to the community. We will be voting in June for candidates for judgeships, tax assessors and other offices for which we often don't know a lot about the candidates, so this is an opportunity to meet and hear some of them. Put this on your calendar now, and if you are not involved this would be a good time to show up and become a part of this progressive grassroots organization.

Lies, Distortions, and Gangsta Rap

On Sirius Left yesterday evening, talk show host Mark Thompson was "Making it Plain" (the title of his show) that he doesn't mind supporting false statements made by callers as long as they support his position that Barack Obama deserves the nomination and Hillary Clinton does not.

A caller yesterday who identified himself as a truck driver said that he spends $10,000 a month on fuel, and that "$30" is not going to help him one bit.

I remember when I was a little kid we used to play connect the dots. After doing so, hopefully with straight lines and in the correct order, I could see the picture that has been drawn. This driver must have had a really hard time with connect the dots because the $30 that some are claiming average drivers would benefit does not connect to the amount that would be saved on $10,000 of diesel fuel.

Let's see, estimating, at $4 a gallon that would be 2500 gallons and at 24.4 cents a gallon federal tax on diesel it looks like he might save $610. Why, that is more than the stimulus rebate he might be getting in the mail. I wonder if he would notice if he only got $30 back from the IRS?

And Thompson just went right along with him, they were both so hyped up on berating Hillary he didn't even notice. No, they "made it plain" that facts and accuracy are not important as long as they turn people against Hillary and further divide the democratic party in the process.

OK, enough about that. Now I may slip up on occasion and get a fact wrong, but Mary Kate Rush really goofed in a letter to the Birmingham News this morning. She is complaining about the Jefferson County Commission considering charging non-users of the sewer system a fee, and she wrote the following,

Reading Commissioner Shelia Smoot's recommendation that the nonuser fee be called a "Clean Water Act fee, " I recall that Hamlet said, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." A nonuser fee by any other name will stink just as bad.

Well, Hamlet was not worried about Romeo's family name, but two young lovers were.

JULIET:
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.

While her point is well taken, Mary Kate needs to brush up on her Shakespeare before she uses it beside her lessons from history, because as people recognize her lack of knowledge of literature they might discredit her recall of history as well.

And I have to comment on Cynthia Tucker's column which also appeared in the Opinions section of today's paper.

She writes about resume inflation, but not the kind that gets football coaches jobs or ladder-climbers executive positions, but the ones that get gangsta rap musicians their cred.

Atlanta star Akon, who claimed to spend three years the fed for running a "notorious" car theft operation, as it turns out, just spent a few months in the DeKalb county jail on charges that were later dropped. Akon, whose real name is Aliaune Thiam, "made up a criminal history claiming he was a carjacker who owned chop shops but was finally brought down because he was ratted out by jealous underlings."

Tucker points out "You gain respect in thug culture - and millions of dollars in record and ring-tone sales - only if you're a bona fide thug."

The impression is that by abandoning one's middle-class suburban upbringing, which is how Akon was raised, and inventing a thug life history, one can do better than by becoming a "teacher or a chemist or an accountant" or becoming "a responsible father and husband."

And indeed, Akon did do better, after titling his cd "Konvicted" which apparently he never was.

And in an enlightening moment for those of us in Birmingham (area) where droopy pants and poor taste in underwear has been on the city council agenda comes this, from Tucker's oped.

Indeed, the baggy britches that are now de rigeur in hip-hop circles grew out of jail rituals. when men are arrested, their belts are confiscated, so their trousers tend to droop. It's from that unfortunate facet of ghetto life that the ubiquitous sagging pants were launched.

So kids want to be like their prison dwelling role models. We'd better listen to Cynthia Tucker, Bill Cosby and others who have seen the reality of what is and has been happening in our culture over the last several decades. A generation is being destoyed.

The Ever Changing Gardens

For the benefit of those who have not seen our garden, or don't realize how much it changes from day to day, here's a look see. This is my second post of the day, so you may be here looking for something about chickens...if so, scroll down. But take a look at the flowers on the way.

This is a Rugosa, old thorny roses that produce really interesting flowers and often have a nice fragrance reminding one of old Victorian gardens.




Peonies are sort of like fragile roses. Their stems don't want to hold up the heavy blossoms, and rain really gets them.





Over at the pergola one has to look up to see the variety. this is Climbing Clotide Soupert, introduced in 1902, with over 100 petals per blossom and an outstanding fragrance. the blossoms are heavy, so letting it climb gives an opportunity to see them, otherwise they hang and face the ground sometimes.



Directly under the pergola one sees mainly red. I still don't know the name of this one, though I have been told it might be Will Scarlett.



This area of the garden actually is ruled by this mockingbird, and she was very glad to see the garden return to her rule the other day.

She doesn't even like me in the area, and often flies at my head. I know she must have a nest nearby, but have not found it yet.



And even higher, growing up through a magnolia tree, is Mermaid, an old climber from 1918, and this one may be that old. The 30 foot canes are huge, and the white blooms with their bright yellow stamens are wonderful, best seen from the bathroom window actually.



Ballerina has been around since 1937, and has a slight musky smell. But what is striking is how the flowers are bunched in hydrangea fashion (technically not so, but only in appearance).

There will be more to come in the following days. If you haven't seen the garden and want to, now is the time. Give me a call or email.

Chickens Coming Home to Roost

Prevailing winds usually blow from west to east, but there is a smell of chicken litter in Birmingham that could drift westward over to Bessemer. Crazy Larry...wait...let me stop right there. Larry Langford, who once called himself “crazy,” and the nickname sort of stuck, today was quoted in the Birmingham News,

“Now I understand why it’s so difficult to get stuff done in this city. It’s like the inmates running the asylum, and we can’t have that.”

You are running the city, Larry (even though he was actually referring to David Hill, executive director of the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority, who made a not so crazy move of delaying free bus service because they don’t have the money to pay for it).

Anyway, one of Langford’s co-defendants in the SEC case against them is Bill Blount, chairman of Blount Parrish & Company, a muni bond broker and dealer. Blount has a history of dealing with Bessemer and happens to be Mayor Ed May’s favorite go to guy.

Blount has had millions and millions of bond deals with the city of Bessemer, and rumors have been swirling for months that everything has not been on the up and up.

This quote from the Birmingham News interested me. The lawsuit states

“Langford quickly made sure Blount and Blount Parrish benefited from Blount’s financial assistance to him.”

Langford arranged for Blount’s firm to be involved “in every county bond offering and swap agreement in 2003 and 2004,” the SEC complaint states.

Both the mayor (of Bessemer) and the council have a loud and strong history of at least trying to arrange for their favorite bond company (that’s Gardnyr Michael Capital and Walter Lewis for the council) to be involved in every deal (rather than looking for the best deal for the city) and those who are looking more closely at things say the citizens of Bessemer have been screwed more than once because of it.

And if Blount has made swarmy deals with one municipality, I wonder if he would do so with another.

So the chickens have come home to roost for Larry Langford. That strange wind coming out of the east is dropping a few feathers in Bessemer, but only time will tell us if the birds will land here as well.

In and Out of Step With Jesus

The title of an opinion column in the Birmingham News certainly caught my eye this morning. "Modern Christianity out of step with Jesus' teachings."

Ok, many of us have recognized this for years. Many of us have been driven away from churches or denominations for this reason. Many of us are appalled at the modern "church's" influence on society and politics. Many of us have found Jesus' teachings to be inspirational, along with the teachings of other spiritual leaders, and have learned to use them to guide our lives without the need to be controlled by a man pretending to be God (whether that is what many pastors and priests claim or not).

So this column by Leonard Pitts Jr. was a must read.

Pitts starts out by quoting Rev. Hayes Wicker of (no surprise) First Baptist Church of Naples, Florida, who called same sex marriage a "tremendous social crisis, greater even than the issue of slavery." Who is more insulted there? American blacks for whom our history is tainted with their sweat and blood, and without whom this country would never have reached the status that it did, or gays whose inequality is championed as being even worse?

Pitts says that remark is in step with much of modern Christianity, and I agree. One does not have to look far to find a preacher demonizing gays; local television one Sunday morning recently had a local church broadcast where a black pastor was sending gays to hell right and left.

Pitts quotes James Lawson, an icon of the civil rights movement, who supports gay rights, "The human rights issue is not a single issue. It is about all humankind. And all humankind has been endowed with certain inalienable rights." Responding to the Wicker quote, Lawson said "Obviously he does not know anything about 250 years of slavery or the 143 years since slavery as the nation has largely failed to deal with the issue of slavery and its consequences...And he knows even less about the gospel of Jesus."

I will continue to quote Lawson. "Much of Christianity in the United States has been more influenced by violence and sexism and racism and greed than by the teachings of Jesus."

Amen.

Pitts closes with "Lawson is out of step with modern Christianity. Thank God someone is."

OK. But Lawson is not getting the headlines, Jeremiah Wright is. Gee, if we study the teachings of Jesus and begin to apply them to America, we might just realize that Wright's sermons irritate us not because they are so radically anti-American, but because they expose the truth. America is embarrassed by much of its history (as well it should be) and we have a strong desire to ignore that which pains or embarrasses us.

I for one am glad Rev. Wright has begun to explain his statements. Listen and learn, America.