On the day of the winter solstice, many Native American communities hold religious ceremonies or community events.
The winter solstice is the day of the year when the Northern Hemisphere has the fewest hours of sunlight and the Southern Hemisphere has the most. For indigenous peoples, it has been a time to honor their ancient sun deity. They passed their knowledge down to successive generations through complex stories and ritual practices.
By far the most legendary restaurant in Alabama is The Bright Star in Bessemer. The famous establishment is iconic for not only its fabulous food but also for its hospitality.
It is a landmark of Alabama's history. The Bright Star is the place to see and be seen. Anybody who is famous and well-connected in Alabama politics eats at The Bright Star when they are in Birmingham. It is a regular place to gather for Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, and Walker County politicos.
I wish Alabamians could speak plainly to our legislators.
I mean, you can do that, but blunt language won’t get your problems fixed.
That’s why the folks who oversee education in this state measure their words about the challenges facing Alabama public schools.
Poverty? Sure, they’ll discuss that. Low national assessment test scores? Lawmakers bring that up on their own.
In a society preoccupied with the quest for material possessions, it’s easy to overlook the fact that our most valuable possessions are our best memories.
Good memories are a form of wealth. They are not simply something we own, they become part of who we are. Through our memories, we can literally re-live and re-experience past pleasures.
As President-elect Donald J. Trump prepares to implement sweeping policy changes affecting American immigration and immigrants, one of the issues under scrutiny by his allies appears to be birthright citizenship – the declaration in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution that anyone born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen, regardless of their parents’ nationalities or immigration status.
Some prospective members of Trump’s team, including anti-immigration advisers Stephen Miller and Thomas Homan, have said they intend to stop issuing federal identification documents such as Social Security cards and passports to infants born in the U.S. to undocumented migrant parents, according to The New York Times.
If you talked to friends or family about politics over Thanksgiving, you might not have changed each other’s minds. But don’t be discouraged – and consider talking with them again as the holiday season continues.
As a scholar of political dialogue, for the past decade I have been studying conversations between people who disagree about politics. What I have found is that people rarely change their minds about political issues as a direct result of these discussions. But they frequently feel much better about the people with whom they disagree.
In her role as former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment, Linda McMahon oversaw an enterprise that popularized the “takedown” for millions of wrestling fans. But as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of education, the Trump loyalist may be tasked with taking down the very department Trump has asked her to lead.
If Trump does dismantle the Department of Education as he has promised to do, he will have succeeded at something that President Ronald Reagan vowed to do in 1980. Just like Trump, Reagan campaigned on abolishing the department, which at the time was only a year old. Since then, the Republican Party platform has repeatedly called for eliminating the Education Department, which oversees a range of programs and initiatives. These include special funding for schools in low-income communities – known as Title I – and safeguarding the rights of students with disabilities.
The holiday season is meant to be filled with joy, connection, and celebration of rituals. Many people, however, are starkly reminded of their grief this time of year and of whom – or what – they have lost.
The added stress of the holiday season doesn’t help. Studies show that the holidays negatively affect many people’s mental health.
Back on the morning of Jan. 26, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall praised the state’s prison officials for a “textbook” nitrogen gas execution.
“The [Alabama Department of Corrections] deserve a great deal of thanks and credit for being willing to be the one to step up, first in the country to do so,” Marshall said, adding that he suspected “many states will follow.”
This is what happened. Kenneth Eugene Smith convulsed for two minutes and gasped for at least seven more as he choked to death.
An Alabama state representative has filed a bill that would make Election Day a holiday for major state and federal elections.
HB 64, sponsored by Rep. Ontario Tillman (D-Bessemer), would apply to gubernatorial and presidential election contests, making Election Day a holiday every two years.
Should a job applicant properly withhold information about a criminal record or termination from a previous job? Should a woman starting a new relationship say nothing about a previous marriage or abortion? These are problems of candor: When does an ethical person have a duty to reveal negative information about his or her past?
Have you ever hesitated at the register, uncomfortable as an employee watched you choose a tip? It’s not just you. The rise of digital tipping systems – from point-of-sale devices held by employees to countertop screens that clearly display your selection – is changing the dynamics of tipping, often in ways that make customers feel scrutinized.
Donald Trump has picked former football player Scott Turner to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. While not much is known about Turner’s positions as he awaits confirmation by the Senate, Trump’s selection draws attention to the incoming administration’s housing policies.
Those policies, evident in both the first Trump presidency and in comments made during the campaign, suggest an abiding faith in the private sector and local government. And they are likely to include deregulation and tax breaks for investment in distressed areas.
They also show a disdain for federal fair housing programs. These programs, Trump said on the campaign trail in 2020, are “bringing who knows into your suburbs, so your communities will be unsafe and your housing values will go down.”
I want to believe that Alabama lawmakers want to help disadvantaged students.
Really, I do.
The vehicle for this would be a significant change to the state’s distribution of public school money. Instead of linking funding to daily attendance, the state would try to match resources with needs.
Just as the shift to shorter days and colder weather can bring with it mood swings and other emotional challenges, the holiday season can also bring about somewhat predictable changes in mood and behavior.
Around this time of year, many of us experience more stress, anxiety, and frustration than usual. These stressors have been linked to higher levels of heart failure and alcohol poisoning and an increase in deaths from stroke.
Learning how to recognize what brings about stress and what parts of the brain are actively involved can help with managing the stress response.
As a neuroscientist, I am often curious about the dynamic connection between behavior and the brain. I’ve learned that, biologically speaking, there are ways to manage your responses to holiday stressors through awareness of why they happen.
Harnessing the hypothalamus
Delays in itineraries, crowded airports, and congested highways can easily lead to frustrations for those traveling to spend time with family or friends.
One region of the brain involved in your response to these types of stresses is the hypothalamus, a structure deep in the brain that is involved in trying to keep the body in a stable state, known as homeostasis. The hypothalamus works to regulate the autonomic nervous system, a system that coordinates involuntary responses such as heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration. It is the key component of the fight-or-flight response to real or perceived threats.
When you are under stress, such as when you learn that your flight has been delayed or even canceled, your hypothalamus stimulates the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine. These hormones in turn trigger physiological responses like increased heart rate, perspiration, and feelings of irritation and frustration.
When you experience these stressors, deep breathing exercises can help stimulate the body’s parasympathetic nervous system. This is known as the “rest and digest” system because it is responsible for helping your body relax and recover from stress. By taking slow, deep breaths, you can engage the parasympathetic nervous system, which can in turn calm your nerves and reduce frustrations.
Family dynamics and interactions
Getting together with family during the holidays can bring about complicated emotions when there are conflicting personalities, unresolved issues, or awkward family dynamics.
Frustrating or aggravating conversations with relatives often trigger a region of the brain known as the anterior cingulate cortex. The anterior cingulate cortex has a unique position in the brain, establishing connections with both the “emotional” limbic system and the “cognitive” prefrontal cortex.
This brain region is involved in monitoring and regulating cognitive processes, conflict resolution, and error detection. It plays a role in processing frustration by signaling when there is a conflict between expectations and outcomes. The anterior cingulate cortex is also involved in what’s known as action-outcome learning, where you evaluate the consequence of an action and adjust your behavior based on feedback.
When you are feeling overwhelmed or frustrated, taking short breaks to step away from the situation can provide a fresh perspective and allow you to return with a clearer mindset. This break will allow you to reinforce this action-outcome learning, helping you learn to associate an action – a short break – with the outcome of the action, which is more relaxed breathing and a clearer mind.
Financial worries
The holiday season can put an unnecessary burden on those who are experiencing economic or financial hardship. The cost of hosting a holiday meal, buying gifts, or traveling can contribute additional financial strain during an already stressful time.
The brain region primarily associated with memory and learning is the hippocampus. When you recall past experiences, such as how much you spent last year during the holidays or remember that the credit card bill is coming soon, you activate your hippocampus. The hippocampus is critical in the interplay of memory formation and recall and retrieval of individual episodic memories.
Some ways to reduce stress may be to make gifts for friends and family instead of purchasing them. To help cut down on travel costs, perhaps take a virtual holiday visit now, followed by an in-person visit later when it is less expensive or when financial strains have eased. When reminded of stressful experiences, the hippocampus sends signals to the hypothalamus and other brain regions to help restore balance in your mind. The hippocampus also aids in your adaptation to these stressors by helping you learn how to adjust your expectations. In the end, you have to remind yourself that it truly is the thought that counts most.
Loneliness and isolation
Feelings of isolation and loneliness can arise for those of us who may not have family or friends to celebrate with, or perhaps are unable to travel to see those we love.
This is where the “default network” of the brain plays a role. This network, made up of brain regions including the amygdala, is involved in thoughts of future planning, reminiscing, and imagining. The amygdala is a part of the limbic system and is associated with processing of negative emotions to stimuli, such as the irritation from not being able to travel, and how you react.
Studies have shown that you can help improve your mood and reduce feelings of frustration and irritation by having a regular exercise routine. Physical activity can be an effective outlet for releasing built-up tension and stress. Aerobic exercise can also modulate connections between and within the amygdala and help reduce feelings of depression. As an added bonus, if you work out in a gym or park, you have an opportunity to be around others, which can help you feel more connected with communities of people with similar interests.
Political discussions
Family gatherings can lead to discussions about current events or politics, which can result in heated debates and disagreements among family members. These conversations can be very frustrating and even upsetting, especially in today’s polarized world.
The prefrontal cortex is an area of the brain involved in impulse control, decision-making, and emotional regulation. It plays a crucial role in assessing certain situations, such as supercharged conversations, and it helps you evaluate and consider your potential actions and temper your emotional responses. Understanding what triggers your frustration in these situations is crucial to developing proactive strategies to manage or avoid them.
For instance, this might take the form of empathizing with the opposing side, or perhaps stepping away from the table when voices start to rise, or you feel your emotions building. The prefrontal cortex plays a dual role in regulating the relationship of your initial emotional reaction and the shift to your empathetic emotion. Your ability to build empathetic perspectives and increase cognitive control helps to further develop your prefrontal cortex, potentially making it easier to de-escalate the next time around.
One step at a time
Reducing frustration is a gradual process, and different strategies work for different people.
It is important to identify the root cause of your stress and frustration so that you can develop your own targeted coping strategies. Some examples include engaging in a hobby, listening to music, going on a walk or run, or simply practicing relaxation techniques. It is essential to experiment with various techniques and not be afraid to move away from ones that don’t work and toward ones that do.
The most important thing to remember is that retraining your brain is more of a marathon and not a sprint. It will include trial and error and open-mindedness, but if you focus on identifying your triggers and adapting your own coping strategies, it will almost certainly get better with time.
This article was published by The Conversation.
People are not at their best in crowds. It’s as if every survival-of-the-fittest primordial instinct comes out to obliterate thousands of years of civilization. Pre- and post-holiday shopping, and the inevitable lines, test our character.
My wife’s a professional shopper. She has strategies on where to park and how to find the fastest moving line (which I’ve discovered is not always the shortest). But what I admire most is her resolve not to let it get her down. In fact, this is her "good attitude Olympics."
Hanukkah may be the best known Jewish holiday in the United States. But despite its popularity in the U.S., Hanukkah is ranked one of Judaism’s minor festivals, and nowhere else does it garner such attention. The holiday is mostly a domestic celebration, although special holiday prayers also expand synagogue worship.
So how did Hanukkah attain its special place in America?
It’s a common dieter’s lament: “Ugh, my metabolism is so slow, I’m never going to lose any weight.”
When people talk about a fast or slow metabolism, what they’re really getting at is how many calories their body burns as they go about their day. The idea is that someone with a slow metabolism just won’t use up the same amount of energy to do the same task as does someone with a fast metabolism.
Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time consulting with large companies concerned with strengthening their ethical culture.
Although I’m sure the leaders I work with care about ethics and virtue for their own sake, I know the driving force to seek outside assistance is self-interest. The risk of reputation-damaging and resource-draining charges resulting from improper conduct is so high that it’s a matter of prudence and responsible stewardship to stress ethical values and moral principles.
The holiday season is upon us, and with it, opportunities to indulge in festive treats. The proverbial saying “you eat with your eyes first” seems particularly relevant at this time of year.
The science behind eating behavior, however, reveals that the process of deciding what, when, and how much to eat is far more complex than just consuming calories when your body needs fuel. Hunger cues are only part of why people choose to eat. As a scientist interested in the psychology and biology that drives eating behavior, I’m fascinated with how the brain’s experiences with food shape eating decisions.
After a workshop, a fellow came up to me and complained that I had made him feel uncomfortable. “I’m not perfect,” he said, “But I’m basically honest.” His implication was that it’s unfair to expect people to be honest all the time.
His comment reminded me of a cartoon where one fellow confided to another, “I admire Webster’s honesty, but his insistence on being scrupulously honest is really annoying.”
At the end of “Over the River and Through the Wood” – Lydia Maria Child’s classic Thanksgiving poem – the narrator finally gets to his grandfather’s house for Thanksgiving dinner and settles down to eat.
“Hurrah for the fun!” the small boy exclaims. “Is the pudding done? Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!”
Pumpkin pie sounds familiar, but pudding? It seems like an odd choice to headline a description of a Thanksgiving dinner. Why was pudding the first dish on the boy’s mind and not turkey or stuffing?
2020 marked the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving in New England. Remembered and retold as an allegory for perseverance and cooperation, the story of that first Thanksgiving has become an important part of how Americans think about the founding of their country.
But what happened four months later, starting in March 1622 about 600 miles south of Plymouth, is, I believe, far more reflective of the country’s origins – a story not of peaceful coexistence but of distrust, displacement, and repression.
Anticipatory obedience, a term we will all be familiar with by Jan. 20, describes how major figures and institutions appease an authoritarian before he takes power.
It’s hard to maintain a straight posture against threats and coercion, particularly if you think no one else will stand with you.
So they bow and scrape, hoping it will spare them pain or punishment. They pull punches. They accommodate. They hope to maintain what used to be normal life.
Too often, K-12 social studies classes in the U.S. teach a mostly glossed-over story of U.S. settlement. Textbooks tell the stories of adventurous European explorers founding colonies in the “New World,” and stories of the “first Thanksgiving” frequently portray happy colonists and Native Americans feasting together. Accounts of the colonies’ battle for independence frame it as a righteous victory. Native American removal might be mentioned as a sad footnote, but the triumph of the pioneer spirit takes center stage.
I realize that not everyone lives in a Norman Rockwell world where family gatherings are sources of warmth and good memories. For some, the prospect of holiday get-togethers generates dread and anxiety; they are something to endure, not enjoy.
One reason is that family members can be tactless and downright cruel when expressing their opinions about perceived foibles, flaws, and failures of their relatives, especially in-laws. Often comments are so laden with negative judgment that they could make the Grinch wince. Whether motivated by well-intentioned, but misdirected, love and concern, or by malice, insensitive or unkind words are like spears to the heart.
I am genuinely elated to report that I have survived another Thanksgiving… or rather what remains of this rapidly deteriorating national holiday. I ate, I watched football, I napped. God ordained back in the Plymouth Rock days that we adhere to this sacred ritual, right? And doing so enables me to show my Turkey Day pride, get my festive gobble-gobble swerve thing on, but mostly just suffer from indigestion as a result of all that sweet, blessed gluttony.
But increasingly each year, something else is ominously creeping into the view from my yam-tinted glasses, vulgarly tinkling on my Thanksgiving joy and ruthlessly pushing all the pilgrim imagery to the side - its name: Christmas.
1) Because it is unclear that the Pilgrims ate turkey at their inaugural Thanksgiving meal in the 1620s, the writer Calvin Trillin mock-campaigned for years to have the national Thanksgiving dish changed from turkey to spaghetti carbonara.
The fear that digital distractions are ruining our lives and friendships is widespread.
To be sure, digital addiction is real. Consider the 2,600 times we touch our phones every day, our panic when we temporarily misplace a device, the experience of “phantom vibration syndrome,” and how merely seeing a message alert can be as distracting as checking the message itself.
Fossil fuels are the leading driver of climate change, yet they are still heavily subsidized by governments around the world.
Although many countries have explicitly promised to reduce fossil fuel subsidies to combat climate change, this has proven difficult to accomplish. As a result, fossil fuels remain relatively inexpensive, and their use and greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow.
This is the existential problem for the Alabama Democratic Party: their voters aren’t showing up.
And it’s not an issue because we’re on the brink of some political revolution in the state. Alabama is not about to tip blue. The Republican supermajority in the legislature is not on the brink of collapse.
No, we’re talking about threats to the few sandbars of power Democrats still occupy.
Most people agree that actual facts matter – in such activities as debate, discussion, and reporting. Once facts are gathered, verified, and distributed, informed decision-making can proceed in such important exercises as voting.
But what happens when important, verified facts are published and broadcast widely, yet the resulting impact proves underwhelming – or even meaningless? If vital facts fail to affect the news audiences they intend to inform?
This is the conundrum facing American journalism after Nov. 5, 2024.
Over the past year, I have been on a speaking tour throughout the state – especially leading up to the General Election. The reason for visiting and speaking to civic organizations was to discuss the national presidential race and its evolvement, as well as how the race for the White House affects Alabamians.
It was one of the most unusual, interesting, topsy-turvy presidential contests I can remember. It was entertaining to say the least. After my talks, I left time for questions from the audiences. You would think that the first, and most important questions, would pertain to the presidential contest. However, that was not the most prevalent inquiry. In almost all 30 venues, the most asked question was who will follow Kay Ivey as governor and who is running for governor in 2026.
What will the diets of the future look like? The answer depends in part on what foods Westerners can be persuaded to eat.
These consumers are increasingly being told their diets need to change. Current eating habits are unsustainable, and the global demand for meat is growing.
Signing up for a subscription to a streaming service or newspaper has never been easier.
Canceling it, on the other hand, can be a cumbersome journey involving phone calls, letters, or finding the option to cancel buried in a remote menu on an app.
And that’s if you remember to cancel in the first place.
Each year on the fourth Thursday of November, when many people start to take stock of the marathon day of cooking ahead, Indigenous people from diverse tribes and nations gather at sunrise in San Francisco Bay.
Their gathering is meant to mark a different occasion – the Indigenous People’s Thanksgiving Sunrise Ceremony, an annual celebration that spotlights 500 years of Native resistance to colonialism in what was dubbed the “New World.” Held on the traditional lands of the Ohlone people, the gathering is a call for remembrance and for future action for Indigenous people and their allies.
Life in the digital world can be rewarding. It’s convenient to order groceries for pickup, share photographs or music, and keep in touch with family and friends, no matter the distance. However, it can also be draining. The feeling of being constantly “on” and productive has driven people to reconsider their balance in the saturated digital world.
More than 70% of American adults are concerned about how technology affects their mental health and personal relationships. This worry is reinforced through media that point to people’s unhealthy habits with social media and phones.
Why are negative management practices so prevalent?
They include yelling, cursing, insults (sometimes masked in sarcasm or masquerading as jokes), criticizing subordinates in front of others, threatening demotion or termination, and talking to adults as if they were children.
Sixty-five percent.
That’s the percentage of votes Donald Trump got in Alabama on Election Day.
And that’s how democracy works. The person with the most ballots wins. Even if a single voter shows up.
But as we move into this man’s second term and steel ourselves for what’s ahead, remember this number: 63%.
That’s the share of Alabama’s nearly 4 million adults — 2.5 million people, to be precise — who did not opt for this. Either because they voted for Kamala Harris or a third-party candidate, or because they didn’t vote.
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy, invoked my generation to “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”
We are fortunate to live in a free and democratic society where millions of civilians and soldiers serve their fellow citizens. Today is Veteran’s Day and the weekend provided the nation a special opportunity to honor and express gratitude to the millions of living military veterans and thousands of active-duty men and women who have or are serving our country.
Alabama has some of the nation’s highest percentages of households struggling to afford everyday expenses, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Household Pulse Survey, which collected data from Aug. 20 to Sept. 16, 2024, shows 41% of households in Alabama said they had a somewhat difficult or very difficult time in the week leading up to the survey. Only Kentucky and Wyoming ranked worse than Alabama, at 43% each.
My family and I stopped at Buffalo Wild Wings in Georgia a few weekends ago after watching one of our kids take part in a marching band competition. Surrounding us in the restaurant were wall-mounted televisions. Most showed sports, repeatedly punctuated by political ads.
At least half of them attacked transgender people. And I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anything more rancid on a TV broadcast.
One image after another of smiling human beings, framed as a monstrous threat.
Like many of my friends, this election was tough, for many reasons. And as the pundits and amateur politicos continue their arguing and hand-wringing about the supposed lessons, my thoughts have been more focused on what, to me, is a deeper issue, and one I’ve struggled to understand for many years.
See, it started as a child. I went to a Christian school for all of elementary and junior high school. Specifically a Southern Baptist school, although the churches I attended ranged from Southern Baptist to Pentecostal to the non-denominational variety that fall under the broad “Evangelical” umbrella. And in those churches, as elections were getting close, I would see these voter guides in the back, provided by the Christian Coalition.
It’s not every day that the name of a mountain is restored to the one used by Indigenous peoples for centuries.
But after nearly two years of trying, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians finally convinced the U.S. Board on Geographic Names on Sept. 18, 2024 to formally agree to rename the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Tennessee to Kuwohi (koo-whoa-hee).
You probably know what a rage room is. People fork over cash and spend time destroying household items like dishes and furniture cabinets.
They’re marketed as stress relief. But getting violent isn’t a path toward tranquility. It just encourages you to be violent.
Smash a plate or a teacup or a TV as much as you want. It might feel like you’ve released something. But that’s not calm. It’s a fleeting sense of power, easily confused with catharsis.
In 1968, when Kent M. Keith was a 19-year-old sophomore at Harvard University, he wrote “The Paradoxical Commandments” as part of a booklet for student leaders. He describes the Commandments as guidelines for finding personal meaning in the face of adversity:
Donald Trump has vowed to deport millions of immigrants if he is elected to a second term, claiming that, among other things, foreign-born workers take jobs from others. His running mate JD Vance has echoed those anti-immigrant views.
Researchers, however, generally agree that massive deportations would hurt the U.S. economy, perhaps even triggering a recession.
Abortion is on the agenda not just in the United States but worldwide.
A majority of people in developed democracies increasingly favor abortion rights and self-determination. And, in most places, laws are shifting to reflect public opinion. Since 2020, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico, among others, have legalized abortion. In 2024, France adopted the right to an abortion as a “guaranteed freedom” in its constitution.
On the campaign trail, former President Donald Trump has declared there are serious threats to the United States. First, he said, there is “the outside enemy, and then we have the enemy from within, and the enemy from within, in my opinion, is more dangerous,” as he told Fox News in an Oct. 13, 2024 interview.
He went on to say that “the bigger problem are the people from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think. And it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard or, if really necessary, by the military.”
The U.S. election system features checks at every step of the process to ensure only lawfully cast ballots are counted. From the poll workers checking in voters at polling locations, to poll observers reviewing the process, to the trained election officials who verify the validity of each ballot cast, every step helps ensure our elections are accurate and secure.
This column explains one less-understood aspect of the postelection process: election certification.
Many Latinos regularly declare: “Día de los Muertos is not Mexican Halloween.” The declaration is increasingly repeated by non-Latinos too.
Drawing a clear line between the two holidays is a rhetorical strategy to protect Day of the Dead’s integrity as Mexican cultural heritage and separate it from American popular culture. However, as a Mexican-American who celebrates Día de los Muertos and as a scholar of culture and performance, I believe it’s time to fully acknowledge the cultural intermixing that’s happening between the two holidays.
Halloween these days calls pumpkins to mind, cackling witches, teenagers pulling pranks, and scream masks. You probably know that all this derives from All Hallows’ Eve, the night before the Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day, the time when the dead are remembered.
But Christianity itself appropriated the tradition from pagan ancestors. And so the night which is, in the secular and commercial world, Halloween and in the Christian calendar, All Hallows’ Eve, has its roots in the pagan Wheel of the Year and the festival of Samhain.
Halloween is a time to embrace all that is disgusting, from bloody slasher films to haunted houses full of fake guts and gore.
But the attraction to stuff that grosses us out goes beyond this annual holiday.
Imagine a grand house on a hill, after dark on an autumn night. As the door opens, an organ pierces through the thick silence and echoes through the cavernous halls.
The tune that comes to many minds will be Johann Sebastian Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, an organ work composed in the early 18th century. Most people today recognize it as a sonic icon of a certain type of fear: haunting and archaic, the kind of thing likely to be manufactured by someone – a ghost, perhaps – wearing a tuxedo and lurking in an abandoned mansion.
When a pessimist is told there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, he’s likely to assume it’s an onrushing train. According to journalist Sydney Harris, “A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past; he’s prematurely disappointed in the future.”
Pessimism and cynicism are fashionable these days, but it’s the people who see and celebrate the positive aspects of life who live best.
In an era of bitter partisanship, political infighting, and ostracization of those with unpopular views, Americans actually agree on one thing: 85% say political discourse has gotten worse over the last several years according to Pew Research.
The polarization plays out everywhere in society, from private holiday gatherings to very public conversations on social media, where debate is particularly toxic and aggressive.
Polls show that LGBTQ rights will likely factor into most Americans’ pick for president this November as they choose between former Republican President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat.
A March 2024 survey by independent pollster PRRI found that 68% of voters will take LGBTQ rights into consideration at the polls. Fully 30% stated that they would vote only for a candidate who shares their views on the issue.
It is no coincidence, then, that LGBTQ rights issues feature prominently in the party platforms.
I don’t know what constituency supports gouging prisoners’ families.
Is there a well-adjusted person whose vote depends on making prison phone calls as expensive as shame will allow? Or in restricting contact between the incarcerated and their loved ones, making it more likely they’ll re-offend?
But there’s Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s name on a petition to the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, next to 13 other Republican attorneys general outraged that the federal government would try to stop an unnecessary cost.
Donald Trump has a particular formula he uses to convey messages to his supporters and opponents alike: He highlights others’ wrongdoings even though he has committed similar acts himself.
On Oct. 3, 2024, Trump accused the Biden administration of spending Federal Emergency Management Agency funds − money meant for disaster relief − on services for immigrants. Biden did no such thing, but Trump did during his time in the White House, including to pay for additional detention space.
Abortion is a critical, if not the most important, issue for many voters – especially women, according to polls – ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.
Since Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee in August 2024, she has been vocal about her support for abortion rights. Specifically, she supports Congress passing a federal law that would protect abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court in 2022 overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which recognized a constitutional right to abortion.
10) While today's costumes channel an inner fantasy, they started with a much more solemn purpose.
One of the earliest examples we have of people donning costumes comes from Hallow Mass, a ceremonial mass dedicated to prayers for the dead. People appealed to their ancestors for everything from happy marriages to fertility, and costumes were a part of that.
If you’ve ever seen a ghost, you have something in common with 18 percent of Americans.
But while there’s evidence that our brains are hardwired to see ghosts, the apparitions we see tend to vary.
Historians who study and catalog ghostly encounters across time will tell you that ghosts come in a range of shapes and forms. Some haunt individuals, appearing in dreams or popping up at unexpected times. Others haunt a specific location and are prepared to spook any passersby. Some are the spitting images of what were once real humans. And then there are the noisy and troublesome poltergeists that appear as uncontrollable supernatural forces instead of people.
What does it take to make you happy? How much do you have to have to be grateful?
To the barefoot man, happiness is a pair of old shoes. To the man with old shoes, it’s a pair of new shoes. To the man with new shoes, it’s more stylish shoes. And, of course, the fellow with no feet would be happy to be barefoot.
All politics is now nationally party-driven in most of the country and definitely in Alabama. Alabama is a one-party state when it comes to national and state general elections. For about 80 years, we were a one-party Democratic state. For the past 60 years, we have become a one-party Republican state in presidential elections.
Republican candidates are always going to win state offices in Alabama, and the Republican nominee is always going to carry Alabama. It is because of the philosophy of the two parties regarding national affairs. All politics are national.
If you’ve ever heard of the press critic A.J. Liebling, it’s probably because you’ve heard this sentence of his: “Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.”
Liebling penned that for a 1960 dispatch from a publishers’ convention. The New Yorker correspondent had spent days watching newspaper publishers vigorously slap each others’ back over the purported strength of their industry.
There has been a lot of research on the types of people who believe conspiracy theories and their reasons for doing so. But there’s a wrinkle: My colleagues and I have found that there are a number of people sharing conspiracies online who don’t believe their own content.
They are opportunists. These people share conspiracy theories to promote conflict, cause chaos, recruit and radicalize potential followers, make money, harass, or even just to get attention.
There are several types of this sort of conspiracy-spreader trying to influence you.
“I’m sorry.”
These are powerful words. Authentic apologies can work like a healing ointment on old wounds, dissolve bitter grudges, and repair damaged relationships. They encourage both parties to let go of toxic emotions like anger and guilt and provide a fresh foundation of mutual respect.
Since this is Alabama vs. Tennessee week, allow me to share the story of Shorty Price.
Alabama has had its share of what I call “run for the fun of it” gubernatorial candidates. The most colorful of all these perennial “also ran” candidates was Ralph “Shorty” Price. He ran for governor every time. His slogan was “Smoke Tampa Nugget cigars, drink Budweiser beer, and vote for Shorty Price.”
Books have always had the power to cast a spell over their readers – figuratively.
But one book that was quite popular from the 15th to 17th centuries, and infamously so, is literally about spells: what witches do, how to identify them, how to get them to confess, and how to bring them to swift punishment.
Christopher Columbus was a narcissist.
He believed he was personally chosen by God for a mission that no one else could achieve. After 1493, he signed his name “xpo ferens” – “the Christbearer.” His stated goal was to accumulate enough wealth to recapture Jerusalem. His arrogance led to his downfall, that of millions of Native Americans – and eventually fostered his resurrection as the most enduring icon of the Americas.
Is the adage “calories in, calories out” true? The short answer is yes, but the full story is more nuanced.
From the moment food touches your tongue to the time it leaves your body, your digestive system and gut microbiome work to extract its nutrients. Enzymes in your mouth, stomach, and small intestine break down food for absorption, while microbes in your large intestine digest the leftovers.
For the past 20 years, Yelp has been providing a platform for people to share their experiences at businesses ranging from bars to barbershops. According to the company, in that time, the platform has published 287 million user reviews of over 600,000 businesses.
There’s a reason review sites like Yelp are so popular. No one wants to spend their hard-earned money on a dud product, or fork over cash for a bad meal. So we’ll seek advice from strangers and use various clues to judge if a particular review is authentic and reliable.
Donald Trump’s appearance in Tuscaloosa last month was less a campaign stop than an extended cameo. He appeared before thousands of Crimson Tide fans in a tie with the red of the University of Georgia; he left before halftime. As far as I can tell, he said nothing public about the campaign or plans for Alabama.
That’s what happens in our state during presidential elections. We’re lucky to get a hand wave from the national campaigns.
But there was one exception.
As the presidential election approaches, the race is ramping up – including on social media. Although Meta reported in 2022 that only about 3% of the content on Facebook is political, Americans have already begun bracing themselves for a deluge of political news stories, ads, AI deepfakes, and arguments on their feeds over the next few weeks.
Elections are stressful, and they tend to exacerbate Americans’ adverse mental health symptoms. For some people, social media can amplify political stressors.
Project 2025, officially titled Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, is an extremist blueprint crafted by the Heritage Foundation to guide a far-right presidential administration. This 900-page manifesto outlines sweeping policy proposals that would upend nearly every aspect of American life. At its core, Project 2025 seeks to unravel the system of checks and balances that has been foundational to American democracy for nearly 250 years.
A successful man known for his philanthropy was driving his new car through a poor part of town. He’d driven the route hundreds of times before on his way home.
A young boy tried to flag him down. The man was in a hurry and didn’t want to get involved, so he pretended he didn’t see him. The traffic signal turned red, though. As he slowed for it, he heard a loud thud. The boy had thrown a brick at his car!
The “marketplace of ideas” embodies a simple First Amendment concept: If everyone can speak freely, then the best ideas will rise to the top and be implemented, to the benefit of all of society.
The marketplace concept — which today could be termed the “digital town square” — goes hand in hand with the discussion, debate, and decisions that are the hallmark of a self-governing democratic republic even as it requires all five First Amendment freedoms to fully function.
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?
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?
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.”
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?
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.
The death of James Earl Jones has forced me to consider the end of an era.
Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, and Jones were giants in my industry. They were Black performers whose ascents to stardom occurred in the tumultuous 1960s, when I was an infant. All three were politically active, although each operated in a significantly different way.
In 1964, a young woman named Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death outside her apartment building in Queens, New York. She was attacked repeatedly over the course of an hour and despite her screams, none of the 38 neighbors intervened or called for help. Some were afraid. Some didn’t want to get involved. Some thought someone else would do it.
When modern Americans call themselves patriots, they are evoking a sentiment that is 250 years old.
In September 1774, nearly two years before the Declaration of Independence, delegates from 12 of the 13 Colonies gathered for the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. They quickly hammered out a political, economic, and cultural program to unify the so-called “Patriot” movement against British rule.
Over the past four years, Congress and state governments have worked hard to prevent the aftermath of the 2024 election from descending into the chaos and threats to democracy that occurred around the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
A new federal law cleaned up ambiguities that could allow for election subversion. New state laws have been enacted across the country to protect election workers from threats and harassment. Technology experts are working to confront misinformation campaigns and vulnerabilities in election systems.
Tragedy seldom unifies Americans today.
Every year, horrific crises induce tremendous suffering. Most are privately tragic, affecting only those directly harmed and their immediate relations.
A small number, though, become politically notorious and, therefore, publicly tragic.
Project 2025, the far-right extremist agenda developed by the Heritage Foundation, would increase the power of corporations at the expense of Americans’ health and well-being. It would give more control to health care companies—including some of the most profitable companies in the world—by jeopardizing protections that help many patients access and afford the care they need. Project 2025 would also take us back to a time when corporations were free to pump dangerous toxins into the air we breathe and the water we drink. If Project 2025’s plan for a far-right administration takes effect, corporations will profit while patients are saddled with high bills, less accessible health care, more exposure to toxins, and more harmful health conditions.
An old legend tells of a monastery in France well-known throughout Europe because of the extraordinary leadership of a man known only as Brother Leo. Several monks began a pilgrimage to visit Brother Leo to learn from him. Almost immediately the monks began to bicker over who should do various chores.
The end of American democracy won’t be a man declaring himself dictator for life or crowning himself king.
It will come incrementally. Through a rapid narrowing of the electorate that can vote without facing state intimidation.
The forms and rituals of the republic will remain in place. But the spirit will be entirely gone.
Women have been running for president of the United States since 1872, and for almost that long, people have been asking what women need to do in order to break what Hillary Clinton has called the “highest, hardest glass ceiling” left in American culture.
Almost no one has asked what men need to do in order to remedy the problem that the job has been off-limits to more than 50% of the talent pool since … forever.
School is often a safe haven for marginalized youth, including LGBTQI+ students. The Trevor Project reports in a large-scale 2024 survey that LGBTQI+ students who find their schools to be affirming experience lower suicidality. Even one supportive adult—such as a teacher—can decrease suicide risks for an LGBTQI+ young person by as much as 43 percent.
But in 2023, lawmakers who support anti-LGBTQI+ legislation introduced hundreds of bills that, if passed, would significantly disrupt access to a safe and quality education for LGBTQI+ students. Importantly, the legislation considered in 2023 is part of a larger trend; the number of anti-LGBTQI+ school policy bills considered across the country has steadily and dramatically increased in recent years, and this year, state legislatures have continued to introduce and consider a plethora of similar harmful bills. From censoring LGBTQI+ curricula, to restricting bathroom access for transgender students, the far right has introduced dozens of policies that inflict educational harm, with many becoming state law.
Recently I came across a copy of an old congressional directory from 1942. It is always fun for me to read about this era in American political history.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was first elected in 1932 in the depths of the Great Depression. He would go on to be reelected in 1936, 1940, and 1944 and would have been reelected into perpetuity. However, he died in Warm Springs, Georgia in April of 1945, only four months into his fourth term. He was the closest thing we Americans have ever had to having a king. Nobody has or ever will serve four terms as president. After FDR's omnipotent reign, the U.S. Constitution was changed to limit our presidents to two four-year terms.
I’ve talked before about the ethical obligation to treat others with respect by attentive listening. Today, I want to talk about the flip side of respect: the duty to back off and accept the fact that while others should listen to us, we can’t demand that they agree with us.
Such unreasonable demands are especially prevalent when someone in authority (boss or parent) lectures, criticizes, sermonizes, or berates an employee or child well past the point of legitimate communication. But it isn’t just people of authority who seek to impose their ideas through bulldozer tactics.
Presidential candidates talk about national decline while campaigning. A lot. This was front and center during the June 2024 debate between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
“Throughout the entire world, we’re no longer respected as a country,” Trump said, as he has repeatedly.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down federal abortion rights affects much more than reproductive health.
Exhibit A: the battle over Alabama’s ban on gender-affirming medical care.
Here’s some background. Gov. Kay Ivey signed the law, which prohibits the prescription of puberty blockers and hormones to transgender youth under the age of 19, in April 2022. U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke blocked it the following month. The judge wrote that the statute burdened parents’ ability to make decisions for their children.
As the U.S. becomes increasingly polarized, diversity, equity, and inclusion – also known as DEI – efforts have been touted as a way to bridge social divides and promote a sense of belonging for everyone, especially for those who have been traditionally excluded or marginalized.
But in recent years, a backlash has set in, with many institutions defunding their diversity and inclusion efforts in response to pressure from workers, lawsuits, and even state governments.
It was 23 years ago on September 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked our country. It was a day in infamy and a wake-up call for America. Allow me to share some memories from that day from famous Alabama political figures.
Toxic leaders are a widespread issue plaguing employees and organizations across various industries. A 2023 survey found that 87 percent of professionals have had at least one toxic boss during their careers, with 30 percent encountering more than one. Another survey found that 24 percent of employees are currently working under the worst boss they’ve ever had.
These individuals can be found at all levels of leadership, from first-time supervisors to CEOs.
Project 2025 is a plan to gut America’s system of checks and balances in order to enact an extreme, far-right agenda that would hurt all Americans. The plan proposes taking power away from everyday people to give politicians, judges, and corporations more control over Americans’ lives. Here are specific ways that Project 2025 harms veterans in America.
Why is persuasion so hard, even when you have facts on your side?
As a philosopher, I’m especially interested in persuasion – not just how to convince someone, but how to do it ethically, without manipulation. I’ve found that one of the deepest insights comes from the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, a focus of my research, who was born 300 years ago: April 22, 1724.
In his final book on ethics, “The Doctrine of Virtue,” Kant writes that each of us has a certain duty when we try to correct others’ beliefs. If we think they’re mistaken, we shouldn’t dismiss them as “absurdities” or “poor judgment,” he says, but must suppose that their views “contain some truth.”
Few constitutional principles are more familiar to the average American than the separation of church and state.
According to the Pew Research Center, 73% of adults agree that religion should be kept separate from government policies. To be sure, support varies by political or religious affiliation – with Democrats supporting the principle in much higher numbers – and depending on the specific issue, such as prayer in public schools or displays of the Ten Commandments monuments. Yet only 19% of Americans say the United States should abandon the principle of church-state separation.
That said, criticism appears to be on the rise, particularly among political and religious conservatives. And such criticism comes from the top.
Imagine there’s a leak in your bathroom. You can’t figure out the cause, so you call a plumber and give a detailed description of the flooding before you.
“Yeah, I know what’s causing the problem,” the voice on the other end replies. “It’s clearly the woke agenda.”
You’d likely call a different plumber.
Alabama faces something similar with our Public Service Commission.
As a former law professor, I know all about loopholes.
I trained students to find omissions and ambiguities in wording — a perfectly legal way to evade the clear intent of laws and agreements. After all, that’s what lawyers are paid to do. And despite commonly expressed disdain when lawyers do this, that’s precisely what most clients want and expect when they hire a lawyer.
Country music’s origin story has been heavily influenced by a romanticized notion of authenticity. Today, celebrations of the genre’s origins tend to focus on one event: recording sessions in late July and early August 1927 in the small Appalachian city of Bristol, located on the Tennessee-Virginia border.
The musicians were working-class Southerners, and depictions of the sessions often portray a savvy record company producer discovering talented but unknown performers.
There have been massive gains in productivity over the past century.
So why are people still working so hard for so long?
Output per worker increased by almost 300% between 1950 and 2018 in the U.S. The standard American workweek, meanwhile, has remained unchanged, at about 40 hours.
Unions are more popular now than at any time since 1965, and the U.S. is in the midst of a new upsurge of union organizing. Is a Hollywood drama about angry Starbucks baristas or frustrated Amazon warehouse workers far behind?
Hollywood studios and independent producers have long depicted the collective efforts of working people to improve their lives and gain a voice in their workplaces and the larger society.
Labor Day is, first and foremost, a day off from work to do something you enjoy or to catch up on domestic tasks awaiting your attention.
It’s also an ideal time to think about the role that work plays in your life.
The Nutrition Facts label, that black and white information box found on nearly every packaged food product in the U.S. since 1994, has recently become an icon for consumer transparency.
From Apple’s “Privacy Nutrition Labels” that disclose how smartphone apps handle user data, to a “Garment Facts” label that standardizes ethical disclosures on clothing, policy advocates across industries invoke “Nutrition Facts” as a model for empowering consumers and enabling socially responsible markets. They argue that intuitive information fixes could solve a wide range of market-driven social ills.
Yet this familiar, everyday product label actually has a complicated legacy.
Hand-wringing over American politics commonly focuses on the sharp and growing divisions between Democrats and Republicans.
Accumulating evidence indicates that voters are less likely than ever to split their ticket or vote for candidates from different parties in presidential or congressional races. Polarization over hot-button issues has spiked, as has animosity toward members of the opposite party.
Rep. Kenyatté Hassell’s bill requiring permits for assault weapons stopped me.
Not because there’s anything unusual or objectionable about the legislation. Instead, it was how it laid out the damage a modern, legal firearm can do.
Take the bill’s definition of “assault rifle.” At base, it’s a semi-automatic gun that can accept a detachable magazine. We should all be familiar with that. AR-15-type rifles can fire at least 30 rounds a minute. With training or weapon modifications, that number can go higher.
Scientific theory has had a rough time in America’s public schools.
Almost 100 years ago, science teacher John Scopes was convicted of violating a Tennessee law that prohibited teaching the theory of evolution. Although his conviction was overturned on a technicality in 1927, laws banning classes on Darwin’s theory stuck around for another 40 years. They were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1968.
In the competitive arena of global technology, China’s ambitions in artificial intelligence stand out – not just for their scale but for their distinct strategic approach.
In 2017, the Chinese Communist Party declared its intent to surpass the United States to become the world leader in AI by 2030. This plan, however, is less about pioneering novel technologies and more about strategically adapting existing ones to serve state economic, political, and social objectives.
