A second civil war seems far-fetched. But do we ignore the possibility at our peril? Or do we turn it into a self-fulfilling prophecy by talking about it too much?

How do you know when a politician is lying? Answer: when his lips are moving. It’s an old joke, but it fits the Biden administration.

Since the start of the current legislative biennium, Alabama state government has seen record spending and revenue growth.

Pope Francis seems like a decent man whose humility and enlightened thinking sometimes put him at odds with more traditional segments of the Catholic Church. But good for him. I’ll like him even more when he raises women to equal status in the church, which they’ll never have until they can …

When I heard that Rep. Bobby Rush had decided to call it quits after an impressive three decades of service in Congress, I was reminded — to borrow my favorite line from the Grateful Dead — what a long, strange trip it’s been.

Courts often let suspects charged with violent c rimes out with little to no bail while their cases work through the slow gears of the criminal justice system, sometimes releasing known predators like Brooks to prey upon our communities for months, maybe even years before they face justice.

The conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell on five of six charges of recruiting and grooming teenage girls for sexual encounters with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein is not and should not be the end of the story. While Maxwell has been held accountable for her actions, the men who engaged in th…

Outside, millions of desperate people have been standing for hours in lines stretching around the corners of America’s city streets and suburban strip malls. Inside, others have been searching the internet — and getting kicked off by overloaded websites and ticked-off by under-informing ones.

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. — If you spend even a small amount of time scanning social media or watching cable news, the world still seems like a pretty grim place.

The business of state government is booming in Alabama. It is past time for the state to give some of its newfound wealth back to citizens.

Peace on Earth and goodwill to men this time of year seems increasingly absent in diverse places. In America the noble objective seems to have long ago left the U.S. Capitol where too many members of Congress are as divided and angry at each other as ever.

During a debate with George H.W. Bush in New Hampshire in 1980, the moderator asked that Ronald Reagan’s microphone be “turned off for the moment.” Reagan was angry and said something that might be applied to the failure of the Biden administration to use materials lying unused in Texas paid…

During a debate with George H.W. Bush in New Hampshire in 1980, the moderator asked that Ronald Reagan’s microphone be “turned off for the moment.” Reagan was angry and said something that might be applied to the failure of the Biden administration to use materials lying unused in Texas paid…

Major automobile manufacturers are going all-in on the transition to electric vehicles (EVs). Like all Americans, Alabamians are hearing more about EVs, seeing more models they’d actually want to drive, and assessing what actual benefits EVs could offer.

If Love means never having to say you’re sorry (it doesn’t), then being a member of the media means never having to admit you were wrong (it does).

President Joe Biden's virtual meeting Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin might be thought of as a final check-up before Russian troops invade Ukraine. Biden has displayed nothing but weakness since taking office. Even his threats of "consequences" sound weak. The president of Ukra…

Political campaign season may be over but battles against what increasingly is being called “critical race theory” are not.

The Biden administration’s proposal to require banks to report transactions exceeding $600 to the Internal Revenue Service is anything but good government. In fact, it’s un-American and an egregious invasion of privacy, and one that rocks the very foundation of individual freedom on which th…

As has been the case with so many other school shootings over several years, last week's murder spree at Oakland High School in suburban Detroit might have been avoided if actions had been taken in the face of several obvious warning signs.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments for and against a Mississippi law that would ban abortions after 15 weeks. The arguments — pro and con — are familiar, but there is a greater argument to be made for upholding the law and, should a majority of justices decide to do so, over…

Once there was a time when the very idea of suing a hate group like the Ku Klux Klan for damages sounded as plausible as punching out a thunderstorm, until some folks in Alabama did it in the 1980s and won.

The subtext of two prominent trials in recent weeks is vigilantism, the questionable notion that the institutions that we depend on — the police, especially — have declined into such impotence that ordinary citizens are called upon to maintain peace and order on their own.

If you’re 65 or over or eligible for Medicare due to disability, developing a detailed list of what you have spent on your health care this past year — including hospital expenses and prescriptions — and what you need to have in your health plan next year, is an important step.

The death of composer Stephen Sondheim at 91 is more than the end of an era. It is the end of a chain of great Broadway musicals dating back to the 1920s when Jerome Kern’s “Showboat” first dazzled theater audiences.

For some, this Thanksgiving — like last year — was a more difficult occasion than previous ones. Perhaps a loved one has died from COVID-19, or you feel isolated from relatives and friends due to lockdowns, quarantines, travel restrictions, vaccinations (or not), masks and "distancing" and m…

No, there is absolutely nothing funny about the horrors that abruptly ended Waukesha, Wisconsin’s Christmas parade. But Mary Lemanski gave it a try, for which she has received more brickbats than belly laughs.

Since March of 2020, nearly a million people in Alabama have been diagnosed with COVID, and at least a third of these people have continued to suffer with health issues after their initial bout.

Too many men are stuck in a cycle of “idleness and pornography and video games.”

When an industry proposes to locate to an area, nearby residents, businesses and community groups all have a vested interest in what that industry wants to do, and how those plans will affect them and their environment.

Hey, remember how Donald Trump collaborated with Russians to commit crimes enabling him to win the 2016 presidential election, provoking the two-and-a-half year Mueller investigation and inspiring a news story a day to keep trust in Trump away?

“Lawlessness is lawlessness. Anarchy is anarchy is anarchy. Neither race nor color nor frustration is an excuse for either lawlessness or anarchy.” — Thurgood Marshall

Recent elections show “Defund the police” to be what I expected all along, a slogan better suited for the streets than the ballot box.

Last week my brother and I were in an unexpected place: Section 132, field level, first base side, for Game Six of the 2021 World Series.

The significance of Virginia Lt. Governor-elect Winsome Sears’ victory cannot be overstated. But her victory is significant not only because she is a Black woman and the “first” of her race and gender to hold the office of lieutenant governor in Virginia, but also because she has been descri…

When I was a freshman at Coffee High School, we were required to take one semester of Alabama History and one semester of Civics. That was in 1960.

Forget Congress. It has become a joke. Trusting it with the American future is like trusting Donald Trump to retire from bombast. Perhaps I exaggerate, but a screech or two for help is needed because we are right now witnessing a degeneration that bodes poorly for all of us, even for leftist…

The annual “trick-or-treat” ritual is over. Not so the “tricks” perpetuated by congressional Democrats about their tax-and-spend ritual.

Now that fall is approaching not a week goes by that I don’t receive some kind of complaint regarding a homeless person downtown. Accordingly, the police department, as well as our downtown businesses and residents, have legitimate interest in understanding the long-range plans of the Shoals…

China recently launched a test missile that whirled around the entire planet traveling at five times the speed of sound and previewing hypersonic duplicates someday possibly threatening nuclear obliteration all over the place. Getting their adjectives mixed up, some say this could be the beg…

“They’re Coming to America” — Neil Diamond

I’ve been an educated woman for a good portion of the last two decades, working in circles where men made more money than I did and sometimes didn’t work nearly as hard as I did.

Dave Chappelle is in hot water again, testing the boundaries of public sensibilities so you don’t have to.