Sunday, October 6, 2024

Why home insurance rates are rising so fast across the US – climate change plays a big role

  Millions of Americans have been watching with growing alarm as their homeowners insurance premiums rise and their coverage shrinks. Nationwide, premiums rose 34%  between 2017 and 2023, and they continued to rise in 2024 across much of the country.

  To add insult to injury, those rates go even higher if you make a claim – as much as 25% if you claim a total loss of your home.

  Why is this happening?

Saturday, October 5, 2024

If you love competition, you never lose

  Suppose you’re an Olympic athlete and you hear that the only person who has a chance to beat you is ill and may have to withdraw. Are you overjoyed at your good luck or disappointed that you will not be able to compete against the very best?

Friday, October 4, 2024

Immigration is good, actually

  I’m tired of the hateful nonsense directed at immigrants.

  I’m disappointed that hardly any elected officials — either in Alabama or in our federal government — defend immigration as a vital, constructive force in our country.

  I’m done with the idea that I have to treat people waving signs saying “Mass Deportation Now” and cheering bloody-minded attacks on peaceful communities as good-faith political actors.

  And I despise the fact that we allow the most paranoid people in the country to set the terms of the immigration “debate.”

Thursday, October 3, 2024

How sheriffs define law and order for their counties depends a lot on their views − and most are white Republican men

  Many Americans will find on their November 2024 ballot a space to vote for an important office: local sheriff. While there are exceptions, sheriffs have a long history of using their power to maintain a particular, unequal balance of power in society, often along racial and class lines.

  A recent example of this arose on Sept. 13, 2024, when Bruce Zuchowski, sheriff of Portage County, Ohio, posted a message on a Facebook page headed by a graphic that included his official portrait and which was labeled with his official title. Zuchowski called for the public to write down the addresses of people who have campaign signs supporting Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in their yards.

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

The pursuit of human perfection

  Jews all over the world are in the midst of a 10-day period called the High Holy Days. It starts with Rosh Hashanah, a celebration of a new year, and ends with Yom Kippur, a solemn day of atonement.

  The overriding theme is the pursuit of human perfection and the obligation of each person to continually assess and improve his or her character, or as Mordecai Kaplan put it, “to seek reconstruction of our personalities in accordance with the highest ethical possibilities of human nature.”

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Frank Johnson and the legend of the Free State of Winston

  Those of us who are Baby Boomers remember the tumultuous times of the 1960s. We lived through the Civil Rights revolution. Those of us who grew up here in the Heart of Dixie witnessed the transpiring of racial integration firsthand. Most of the crusades and struggles occurred here in Alabama, especially in Montgomery.

  A good many of the landmark Civil Rights court decisions were handed down in the Federal Court in Montgomery. The author and renderer of these epic rulings was Frank M. Johnson, Jr., who served as the federal judge in the Middle District of Alabama for 24 years from 1955 through 1979.

Monday, September 30, 2024

Forgiving without condoning or forgetting

  I suspect all of us have been hurt in deep and lasting ways by the words or acts of another. It’s normal in such situations to feel hostility toward, be angry with, and make negative judgments about the person who hurt us. If we continue to think we’re right to be offended, the tendency is to carry the hurt and resentment in the form of a grudge. Usually this causes far more unhappiness for us than the person we’re mad at.

Sunday, September 29, 2024

What is 'catch and kill' journalism?

  The First Amendment protects the freedom of press, meaning the government cannot interfere with journalists’ work or punish them for what they report.

  However, the First Amendment doesn’t shield journalists and news outlets in all cases. Libel, defamation, and plagiarism, among other things, are not protected.

  Even with free press protections, journalists could be prevented from reporting a story, though not by government officials legally stopping them or threatening them with jail. Another way some stories do not get reported is “catch and kill journalism.”

Saturday, September 28, 2024

Preventive care is free by law, but many Americans get incorrectly billed − especially if you’re poor, a person of color or don’t have a college degree

  Even though preventive care is supposed to be free by law for millions of Americans thanks to the Affordable Care Act, many don’t receive recommended preventive services, especially racial and ethnic minorities, and other at-risk patient groups.

  The Affordable Care Act exempted preventive services from patient cost-sharing for large chunks of the population. This means that if you receive preventive screening and have private insurance, including through the ACA Marketplace, there should be no copay at time of service, and you shouldn’t get a bill later on. Easy enough, right?

Friday, September 27, 2024

Montgomery is trying to do something about guns that the state hasn’t

  Back in July, I wrote about a prefiled bill that would allow the governor and attorney general to appoint interim police chiefs for cities,  effectively allowing the state to take over their police departments.

  The bill from Sen. Will Barfoot (R-Pike Road) doesn’t name Montgomery explicitly. But lawmakers have signaled that’s who they have in mind.