The Alabama Legislature’s late Gothic period

  I can’t go to Goat Hill lately without feeling déjà vu.

  It started with Gov. Kay Ivey’s State of the State address on Feb. 6. There was the trite invocation of the “Gulf of America.” The vicious attacks on transgender Alabamians. And the constant talk about job creation and business investment that never seems to dent Alabama’s high rates of poverty or low rates of workforce participation.

  Go after immigrants. Back The Blue. Make vague commitments to broaden a potentially catastrophic voucher program in the Education Trust Fund.

  It’s all been done.

3 ways Trump is acting like a king and bypassing the Constitution’s checks and balances on presidential authority

  I learned basic civics in my public school. But mostly, because it was more interesting, I also learned civics after school while watching the animated series “Schoolhouse Rock,” often with my abuela – my grandmother – who took care of me.

  Back then, “Schoolhouse Rock” had a wonderful episode, “Three Ring Government.” In singing narration, the characters explained “about the government, and how it’s arranged, divided in three, like a three-ring circus.”

Educators calculate their risks in class as states escalate anti-DEI pressure

  At Miami Norland Senior High School in Miami Gardens, Florida, Renee O’Connor continues to teach students about Ida B. Wells, James Baldwin, and The 1619 Project in her African American history class.  

  She does this despite the ban on teaching the Pulitzer Prize-winning reexamination of African American enslavement and legacy in the state’s public schools, in a state regulation implementing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2022 “Stop WOKE Act.” The law aims to restrict educating children and others about the U.S. legacy of racism in schools and workplaces. 

  O’Connor isn’t defiant. She cites an obligation to her students.  

  “I teach a factual education based on documented proof,” O’Connor said.   

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Legislator votes to abolish his own county

  Our Alabama Constitution is very antiquated. One of the flaws inherent in the document is that it does not allow local county governments much authority or power.

  Therefore, the county governments must channel most changes or actions into local acts, which must be advertised in their local paper for four weeks and then taken to the Alabama Legislature to be enacted.  Thus, the entire state legislature has to act on a local bill for Fayette County that might involve something as mundane as whether to pave a road or buy a tractor.

Vitamin deficiency may be why you’re so tired – a nutritional neuroscientist explains how to kickstart your energy by getting essential nutrients in a well-rounded diet, along with more sleep and exercise

  Feeling drained and lethargic is common: A 2022 national survey found that 13.5% of U.S. adults said they felt “very tired” or “exhausted” most days or every day over a three-month period.

  Women ages 18 to 44 had the highest rate of fatigue – just over 20%.

  Being tired is linked to something deeper than just overwork or a sign of the times. I’m a registered dietitian and nutritional neuroscientist. My research, along with the work of others in the field, shows that your diet and lifestyle choices may contribute to your struggles. These two factors are closely interconnected and could be the key to understanding what’s holding you back.