Guest Column – By Stephen Cooper – The last time Alabama Governor Bentley penned a column for al.com, I wrote in The Alabama Political Reporter that his op-ed proved he was delusional. But this time, as it concerns his May 29 open letter to all Alabamians (Governor Bentley wants to hear from you), I can’t…
By Dick Polman – Predictably, America’s Troll is still attacking the federal judge who’s handling the lawsuit against Trump University. On Memorial Day, Donald Trump twice tweeted that the judge he derided last week as “Mexican” (Gonzalo Curiel was born, raised, and educated in Indiana) is “totally biased” against the inherent greatness of Der Leader.…
Raging Moderate – By Will Durst – A hearty congratulations to conservatives for a seamless transition from party-wide disgust to near unanimous endorsement of a gorilla as their presidential nominee. Considering the tortuous undulations required, this metamorphosis seems to have occurred with shockingly few chiropractic adjustments. Having indulged in the kind of convoluted contortions that…
Making Sense – By Michael Reagan – Look which party is blowing itself up now and struggling to unify behind a single candidate. Hint: It’s not the Republicans. After all those months of worrying and complaining about having too many candidates, the GOP finally found its 2016 presidential candidate, for good and bad. A couple…
By Robert Reich – With the Democratic primaries grinding to a bitter end, I have suggestions for both Clinton and Sanders supporters that neither will like. First, my advice to Clinton supporters: Don’t try to drum Bernie Sanders out of the race before Hillary Clinton officially gets the nomination (if she in fact does get…
By Robert Reich – A new Washington Post/ABC News poll released Sunday finds Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in a statistical tie, with Trump leading Clinton 46 percent to 44 percent among registered voters. That’s an 11 percent swing against Clinton since March. A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, also released Sunday, shows Clinton…
By Stephen Cooper – Guest Column – Instead of wrapping an $800 million dollar ($1.5 billion over 30 years) albatross around the necks of Alabamians to build four new super-prisons, here are eight $100 million dollar ideas, each of which, I respectfully submit, are more efficient and morally sound ways to tackle Alabama’s prison problems:…
By James Rhodes – Special to the New American Journal – HANOI, Vietnam — Political pundit Bill Maher frequents laments over the stupidity and ignorance of the voting electorate in the United States. What amazes me is how grossly understated this phenomena actually happens to be. The most recent case in point is President Obama’s…
By Phil Kerpen – A Conservative View – Many conservatives are waving off concerns about Facebook manipulating its Trending News feature because it’s a private company. In addition to legal concerns related to the fact the feature was deceptively misrepresented, there is a bigger reason Facebook’s conduct should set off alarm bells: the company has…
By Michael Shannon – A Conservative View – Donald Trump has upended presidential campaign conventional wisdom yet again. In past years, it was traditional for candidates to wait until after inauguration to break campaign promises. Trump isn’t even waiting until he’s the nominee. Before last week’s startling announcement, two of Trump’s biggest applause lines were…
By John L. Micek – We already know Donald Trump thinks the presidency of the United States is “the ultimate reality show.” So is it really any surprise that the real estate magnate spent years posing as his own spokesman as he tried to plant favorable stories among the New York reporters who covered him…
By Juan Cole – The revelation that the Central Intelligence Agency provided the tip to the Apartheid South African government that led to Nelson Mandela’s arrest should come as no great shock, though the public confirmation is perhaps surprising. Nor is it unconnected to the popularity of Donald Trump, who is proposing a new Apartheid…
By Bob Wells – One of the more confusing parts of being a Nomad is, if you have no permanent home, what state should you live in, what do you use for an address and how do you get mail? That’s always been fairly difficult but after 911 the heightened security around identification has made…
“By giving people the power to share, we are starting to see people make their voices heard on a different scale from what has historically been possible. These voices will increase in number and volume. They cannot be ignored. Over time, we expect governments will become more responsive to issues and concerns raised directly by…
By James Rhodes – HANOI, Vietnam – When I taught economics at the college level, my students learned that our capitalistic system which included production, industry, distribution and delivery systems under private ownership operated for profit. All decisions regarding supply, demand, price, distribution, and investments were made by the market and never by the government.…
By Dick Polman – Here’s the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln: “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds….” And here’s the presumptive 2016 Republican…
Can we please retire the notion that Donald Trump is hijacking someone else’s party? – By Frank Rich – In mid-July of 2015, a month after Donald Trump announced his presidential run, I joined a gaggle of political junkies in a clubby bar four blocks from the White House to hear a legendary campaign strategist…
Making Sense – By Michael Reagan – Now comes the hard part. Now comes the part where Donald Trump has to appeal to everyone in the U.S. Trump will rack up lots of easy votes in the fall with his rabid fan base — older grumpy white males and their spouses who want change but…
By John L. Micek – One of them is a free trade-wary millionaire and political neophyte who locked up the Republican presidential nomination with promises to make America great and get the economy firing on all cylinders. The other is Donald Trump. As he’s insulted, ranted and bullied his way through the 2016 primary season,…
Back bone connected to the shoulder bone, 
Shoulder bone connected to the neck bone, 
Neck bone connected to the head bone
, And that’s the way it goes — Dem Bones – By Pippa Abston, MD – You probably recognize that verse — you may have sung this more recent secular version or the original by…
