Bessemer's future lights up

An indication of the good things to come in Bessemer is the announcement by Dollar General that they are building a distribution center in Bessemer, just a bit from our house.

We've been noticing some site work at the property on Lakeshore Drive at Highway 150. Years ago the site was cleared, something awful was found there during that work, and the property sat unused until a few weeks ago, when some access work began to be done.

Correction: the new facility is not at the site that has been prepared. I misunderstood the newspaper article, which stated "at Alabama 150 and Lakeshore." Turns out, the Dollar General site is a little further down Lakeshore. Anyway, it's good news for our part of Bessemer. And, inquiring minds are still curious about the previously prepared site.

The facility will bring about 550 warehouse jobs and 100 dedicated trucker jobs to Bessemer.

This development would not have taken place without the new council and mayor working together to land it. Other sites were in the running, but quick and heavy action beginning on day one of the new administration sealed the deal. Council president Jesse Matthews praised the council and mayor's actions, saying it took the "newly elected officials to bring this center to the city."

City attorney Shan Paden said that he had heard positive comments from county and state officials about how the council and mayor had worked together on the project. This is in contrast to the way things worked under the previous administration.

Thank you Mayor Gulley and the Bessemer City Council for working since day one to make this a better place to live. There's a lot of work still to be done, but we are moving in the right direction and this gives us hope for the future.

Also, the Bessemer School System has fixed some problems, and won't be losing $1.7 million in state funding as previously feared. Still, you need to return phone calls and emails!!!

Enjoy Shawn Mullins - Light You Up.

DADT fright

President Obama's stock has gone up, as his "promise" to get Don't Ask, Don't Tell repealed on his watch is taking place.

Whenever progress by an oppressed group takes place, those who oppose such actions ramp up their rhetoric, and that is certainly happening now.

American Family Association radio host Bryan Fisher said that other countries that allowed gays to serve openly in their armies only did so because they knew they could depend on the might and the strength and the power of our military. He said they could depend on us to intervene and "wherever necessary to pull their fannies out of the fire and squash the forces of tyranny wherever they raised their ugly heads around the world."

Now, he says, "Those days are now gone. We will no longer be able to bail out these other emasculated armies because ours will now be feminized and neutered beyond repair, and there is no one left to bail us out. We have been permanently weakened as a military and as a nation by these misguided and treasonous Republican senators, and the world is now a more dangerous place for us all."

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council was just as bad. "Today is a tragic day for our armed forces. The American military exists for only one purpose - to fight and win wars. Yet it has now been hijacked and turned into a tool for imposing on the country a radical social agenda. This may advance the cause of reshaping social attitudes regarding human sexuality, but it will only do harm to the military's ability to fulfill its mission"

The Alliance Defense Fund has released a statement, " "The Senate's cave-in to pressure from activists to impose homosexual behavior on our military will place our troops' religious liberties in unprecedented jeopardy. Indeed, the first official casualty of this hurried vote may well be the religious freedom of chaplains and Service members."

This is all just hype with a purpose of raising money from those easily frightened.

"Impose homosexual behavior on our military?" Who in their right mind thinks this repeal imposes any sexual behavior on anyone? What it imposes is a sense of fairness, and justice. And it takes away the requirement that someone who swears to integrity must lie in order to serve.

My idea of a (male) Marine is a tough, well disciplined guy, for whom thoughts of sex are far from the front of their mind. I have a friend, gay, who is a former Marine, who is 6 foot 5 inches tall and weighs 230 pounds. He is solid muscle, and tough as a rock. He served in Iraq. He was a leader among the men he served with (and they knew he was gay). I would put my money on this man against any straight Marine you can find.

I have another friend, straight, who is a former marine. Oddly enough, he and my other friend share the same first name. He is tough also, not quite as big, but just as tough and disciplined. He also served in Iraq. He told me it makes not an ounce of difference who is next to him in combat, as long as he could shoot straight. He is sure he served with people who are gay, and it doesn't bother him. Every Marine, by definition, should feel this way. If not, maybe he doesn't have any business being a Marine.

The crybabies are concerned about troops in combat, but here is the deal. Since there are already gay men in the military, how does this policy change make any difference? A gay Marine is not going to suddenly declare, "I'm gay," in the foxhole and make advances on his fellow fighters.

And they worry about the showers. Well listen, and listen closely. Straight men have showered with gay men at the gym, in the NFL locker room, at work places, in high school, in coal mines, in the MLB locker room, in the barracks, at the YMCA, in the doctor's lounge, at the pool, at the auto plant, in middle school, in the NBA locker room, and at the Country Club, and while the gay men might take a look at the straight men, in all honesty, the straight men are looking too. And I know this because straight men compare themselves to others. That's just a fact. So if a straight man, military or not, is being looked at by an unknown gay guy, what difference does it make if it is a known gay guy? Grow up.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, my idea of a military man is someone who is disciplined enough, and mature enough, and secure enough, to not be bothered by this. And those who are, maybe they should step back and examine their own sexuality and insecurities, and they might be surprised with what they discover.

And for someone like me, a citizen who depends on the military for my freedom, I am just thankful that we have men, and women, who are willing to step up to the task of serving this way, and I don't mind of they are straight. Or gay.

Bessemer schools deficient

I had a little confidence in the Bessemer School System even though they don't return phone calls and they don't respond to emails and they don't reply to written letters and they avoid people who enter their hallowed domain. Oh, and they ignore state laws about anti-bullying policies.

But all confidence has now left as they have ignored the State Department of Education's directive for bringing the system's vocational school up to standards.

Now the state is threatening to cut $1.7 million of the system's state funding for ignoring them.

I guess I could have told state schools Superintendent Joe Morton to expect to be ignored. I'm not ready to name names, but there is certain individuals in that brick building that have ignored every thing I have sent to them, and this article has reminded me of that.

Because of their ineptness the system has closed their hospitality and tourism program, and their automotive technology program. Students in these programs would have been prepared to enter the workforce, or to continue their education in those fields.

Now the business management and administration program; the family studies and community services program; and the cosmetology program are in danger, each program having specific deficiencies that the system has chosen to ignore, thus putting more Bessemer students at risk of not being prepared when they graduate from high school.

Photo credit Michelle Williams Birmingham News

The Bessemer School board is blaming Superintendent Michael Foster (who has not once responded to my attempts to communicate with him over the last several months) for all of this. Certainly he is to be held accountable, but the board has been watching all this happen too.

The board has reprimanded Foster. I say let the citizens of Bessemer reprimand the Board both for allowing this to happen, but also for ignoring the bullying that goes on at Bessemer City High School and at Davis Middle School.

Too bad we didn't know about all of this before our city elections, maybe we could have had some changes there too.

Don't Ask Don't Tell Haiku

I admit it. I follow the Washington stories a little too closely. Often if I am working at home I have the TV on in the next room and can hear MSNBC so when a critical vote is taking place or a particularly interesting comment coming from a legislator I can run in there and watch. I'm a political wonk, or at least I would be if I were younger (by definition a wonk is a young person).

If I must deliver myself from the world of politics and social progress, I change the channel to Adult Alternative music and have in the background music by such artists as Dave Barnes (Little Lies):




or T J Moss Band (It's Over):



Anyway,last year I made it a point to be in front of the TV on Christmas Eve to watch the Senate vote on Health Care Reform.

Tomorrow the Senate is supposed to vote on the Dream Act and on Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal.

Supposedly Reid has 61 votes for DADT repeal, but not for the Dream Act.

The votes are being scheduled for Saturday because a Democrat Senator's prostate gland has got to go next week. He's having pre-surgery testing done today, but will be on the Senate floor on Saturday, and out next week.

Only mean spirited Republicans would think that denying legal status to someone who has laid their life on the line for our freedom is cool.

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act would give conditional legal status to qualifying undocumented youths who attend at least two years of college or join the military, provided they arrived here under age 16 and meet several other strict criteria.

But recall, most Republican Senators also think it is cool to have those fighting for you to lie about themselves if they are gay or lesbian. I wrote a poem.

Don't Ask Don't Tell Haiku

We serve with honor
Life on line and we could die
For this we must lie

Anyway, there is so much going on tomorrow that I can't sit around waiting for the Senate to act. Santa's got some shopping to do.

But I will have my Android with me, so I will be able to follow what is going on and at least give a shout out on Facebook if something good happens.



And on Sunday, don't forget "Hollywood Holidays: Songs from the Silver Screen," a collection of seasonal songs from the cinema by the Magic City Choral Society, at 6:00, at the Alys Stephens Center. It's Free!!!

Lame ducks

I usually don't write the title to my post before I know what I'm going to say, so this could go anywhere.

I mean, I could write a post about the Oregon football team, and from there pile accolades on Auburn and Cam Newton and Nick Fairley and Gene Chizik.

No one expected Auburn to be in the position they are in today; a number one ranking in the BCS and a confirmed date to play for the national championship in January.

But we watched them win their first game against Arkansas State, and felt good. Then we watched them win their second game, an SEC game against Mississippi State, and felt good. Against Clemson, we felt some good fortune was being bestowed on the team, with an overtime win. Against South Carolina, (the first time), we knew there was some magic. And so on.

My point is, our confidence in our team developed over a period of several weeks, until we had no doubt we could win our final regular season game against Alabama, and follow that with a huge win over South Carolina in the SEC championship game.

Now we face the Ducks. But these are not lame ducks, they are fast paced offense, high flying, high scoring ducks. Auburn is favored by 3 points.

So if I am to write about lame ducks, I guess it will be the ones in Washington.

And because Democrat senators, led by majority leader Harry Reid, want to pass several important pieces of legislation before this congress adjourns, they may have to limp right up until Christmas Eve.



Oh horrors, Republicans scream. "Disrespecting" of one of the "holiest holidays" said Republican minority whip Jon Kyl and "sacrilegious" said Republican Senator Jim DeMint.

But our troops can fight for us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and our loved ones (or ourselves) can work on Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day (nurses, doctors, police, firefighters, convenience store attendants and others).

Harry Reid does not take such insults sitting down.

I don’t need to hear the sanctimonious lectures of Senator Kyl and DeMint to remind me of what Christmas means. . . . Some of my Republican colleagues have the nerve to whine about having to stay and actually do the work that the American people pay us to do. We make large salaries . . . we could work as most Americans do during the holidays. . . . It’s offensive to me and millions of working Americans across this country for any Senator to suggest that working through the Christmas holidays is somehow sacrilegious or disrespectful.

And remember, it's because of the Republicans' purposeful slowdown of the legislative process that these bills have not been passed already.

And because of the Republicans, the American people have not developed a confidence that the lame duck session will pass meaningful legislation. Every day is a surprise.

But look. We've given the Republicans every thing they asked for in the Tax bill, (which was not a compromise by any stretch of the imagination). If we don't at least get the arms control treaty passed, and Don't Ask Don't Tell repealed, and get the DREAM act passed, Democrats, and most Americans, will be hugely disappointed.

So come on Harry, get moving. Give us something to celebrate this Christmas. Even if we have to wait until Christmas Eve. The rest of America is working. We see nothing wrong with you all continuing your work as well.

Nativity

Right wing radio talk show host Heidi Harris has posted her version of the 12 Days of Christmas.




Nativity scenes belong in the home, not in schools. There are also live Nativity scenes in front of churches in the Birmingham area.

Most Nativity scenes are sort of off a bit anyway. The wise men didn't arrive when Jesus was an infant, and certainly not at the same time the shepherd was there with his sheep.

Anyway, we have a collection of Nativity scenes. I started collecting these years ago, and am mainly interested in old traditional types or in artistic interpretations of the "event." Here are
some of our Nativities.

This was the first Nativity scene I owned. I received it as a gift from my brother and sister in law.

That was the brother who often hid baby Jesus from the Nativity that we had in the living room each year when we were growing up, until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day when the baby would appear! When this set arrived back in the 1980's prior to Christmas, Jesus was in the box.

This one we bought at the Mikasa store at Watermark, a store that is no longer there.

Like many of our Nativities, this one came from an estate sale. Why is Mary so often portrayed wearing blue, and Joseph wearing purple and brown?

This piece was created by a local artist (whose name I don't know) from clay.

This is an unusual and modernistic crafted piece. I have no idea who made it.

Very traditional, except this piece is only about 5 inches square and 3 inches tall. The figures are an inch to an inch and a half tall. Mary in blue, Joseph in purple.

This folk art type piece came from Peru (via Ebay).

This is traditional and has the stable created out of bark and moss. We have a couple of these. Mary in blue, Joseph in purple.

A much simpler bark and moss scene. Mary in blue, Joseph in purple and brown.

This tiny Nativity is about 2 inches tall and came from a dollar store. Glitter in biblical times?

These figures were purchased in New Orleans at a flea market type junk store in the Marigny district. I think they survived a fire.

This cast metal set is odd in that the animals are GIANTS.

This was sculpted by my artist friend Phyllis Gibson. Her works on canvas and in clay can be found at several galleries around town. Baby Jesus was missing for a few hours after Phyllis gave me this and I had it on display at the cat clinic. As it turns out, Jesus had been knocked off the shelf and had fallen into the mop bucket. Now we know how those sins got washed away, I guess. These pieces are tiny. The nickel gives you an idea.



These pieces were carved by local furniture maker Bobby Michelson.


We have others, but there just isn't room to display all of them. If parents such as the talk show host (assuming she is a parent) would instruct their kids at home and not depend on the schools to teach them about the birth of Jesus, then we wouldn't need this argument about where the scenes should be displayed.

Making a Red Velvet Cake

Bessemer Opinions hasn't been the same since the demise of radio station 100.5, but now we have a link to Birmingham's Mountain Radio over to the left, so you can listen to good music while cruising the site.

I'm still not back into the political sphere full fledged yet, so I'm not going to comment on Montgomery or Washington today. Instead, I'm treating you to some Red Velvet Cake.

I came across a new recipe by Keri Fisher in Cook's Illustrated Holiday Baking edition.

Did you know, that in spite of the massive amounts of red food coloring used today, the base red color comes from a chemical reaction between the acidic ingredients (vinegar and buttermilk) and the natural cocoa powder? (Don't use Dutch processed cocoa, it won't rise properly in this cake). The acid allows the anthocyanin in the cocoa to be released in its red form. This is the same reaction that makes hydrangea blooms pink when in an acid environment (as opposed to blue in an alkaline environment). Could we make a blue velvet cake? I might do some experimenting.

Buttermilk powder and natural cocoa

I made one slight change to Keri's recipe. Instead of using fresh buttermilk, I used Saco Cultured Buttermilk Blend powder, after being convinced that powdered buttermilk is just as good to use in recipes, with no reduction in quality; assured. It's easier to have buttermilk on hand this way, for biscuits, cakes, pancakes.

In this recipe you combine the dry ingredients (which for me included the buttermilk powder), the liquid ingredients (which for me included an extra cup of water to replace the liquid buttermilk), and the cocoa and red food color in separate bowls. I also learned that weighing my flour and sugar (when weights are given in the recipe) yields more accurate measurement than measuring by cups.

Flour, baking soda, salt, buttermilk powder


Eggs, water, vinegar, vanilla


Cocoa and food coloring

Cream the butter and sugar and then add the other ingredients like you would for any cake, alternating dry and liquid, and ending with dry. Then mix in the red cocoa mixture.





In the past my Red Velvet Cakes have been either 3 layer or a bundt type with a glaze. this recipe calls for two layers but could easily be made a three or 4 layer (many recipes call for splitting the two cooked layers and making 4 that way).




Whip up a fluffy batch of cream cheese frosting and you have a product that Keri describes as living up to both the "red" and the "velvet" in its name.

Cook's Illustrated doesn't have this recipe up on its site yet. After I've tasted this cake and decided whether further changes are needed, I'll post the recipe on here.

The finished product


If you are in the right place at the right time this evening, you can have a slice of this cake.