Category: Editorial

Ben Smith 2020 finally came to a close. Many welcome the turning of the calendar in hopes of better fortune in the year ahead. My family’s year didn’t go how we planned, but how many years do? While I do not make New Year’s resolutions, I do try and take the lessons learned and apply them in the future. The first lesson of 2020 is to never take things for…

Bradley Bryne U.S. Congressman This is my last weekly report as your Congressman. Serving you in Washington these last seven years has been a great honor and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity you have given me. I never once walked out on the floor of the House of Representatives when I wasn’t in awe that I was there to speak and vote for you. I leave Congress…

Bradley Bryne U.S. Congressman It’s Christmas week so let’s talk about some Christmas miracles. No, I’m not talking about that monster hit John Metchie put on Florida’s Trey Dean in the SEC Championship game Saturday. We’ve come to expect plays like that from the Alabama football team this year. I’m talking about some truly surprising big deal things. First, look at the very good news on Alabama’s unemployment rate. At…

Bradley Bryne U.S. Congressman When the members of the Constitutional Convention in 1787 debated how to pick the executive, several options were considered. Some wanted the people to directly elect the president, while others distrusted the people to know enough about the candidates to make that important decision on their own. After all, the election would be held across the entire nation, and with the problems of communication in 18th…

Bradley Bryne U.S. Congressman Last Friday the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly jobs report covering November. It contained some good news, some bad news and some downright ugly news. First, let’s look at the good news. The economy added 245,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate dropped to 6.7 percent from a high of 14.7 percent in April. We have gained back 12.3 million jobs since the…