Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Will 2018 be the year of the woman in Alabama politics?

  This political year of 2018 may very well be the year of the woman in Alabama politics. In Alabama’s 200-year history, only one woman has been elected governor. Lurleen Wallace won in 1966. Only two women have served as governor, Wallace, and our current governor, Kay Ivey. It may be a historic year.

  Sue Bell Cobb, the former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice, and the first woman to hold that position, is hoping to be the Democratic standard-bearer. She was elected Chief Justice in 2006, in a very expensive, high-profile battle with Republican Drayton Nabors. She had been a District Court Judge in her native Conecuh County for a long time before running statewide. She was elected to a six-year term as Chief Justice in 2006 but quit after four years.

Jacob G. Hornberger: Trump’s dictatorial and destructive tariffs

  It’s amazing that it is still necessary to instruct U.S. presidents on the damage that tariffs do to people. You would think that by the time a person becomes a president of a country, he would be wise enough to know this. Even many progressives and conservatives have finally joined up with us libertarians in opposition to tariffs.

  The subject arises with President Trump’s unilateral decision to impose tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines. The targeted countries are China and South Korea (yes, the country that Trump and the U.S. national-security state say that they’re interested in protecting from North Korea).

Gene Policinski: Demand truth, not junk news: Lessons of ‘PizzaGate,’ ‘IdiotGate’

  First we had “PizzaGate,” in which a misguided — but heavily armed — young man chasing a ridiculous conspiracy theory fired shots inside a Washington, D.C., pizza parlor in 2016.

  Now, we have what can only be called “IdiotGate,” in which a 19-year old Michigan man has been charged with threatening to gun down CNN staff and on-air journalists after claiming to be upset over “fake news.”

Taylor’s Top Six: Alabama Legislative review for Week 3

  We’re back with another recap!

  In this week’s Taylor’s Top Six, we’ve got a few updates on things we discussed in the last installment, as well as some new bills that were introduced last week. Let us know what you think of what’s going on in Montgomery!

1. My two favorite words in the English language: tax break.

  There must be something in the water. First a tax break from Washington and now one in Alabama? Under a bill by Sen. Del Marsh (R-Anniston), the standard deduction brackets for lower-income taxpayers would change. Certain taxpayers, depending on how they file their taxes, could see an income tax decrease if they accept the standard deduction and do not itemize. Some folks are saying any tax decrease is good for the taxpayer. Others are concerned with tax dollars leaving the state budget. The bill unanimously passed the senate.

Hank Sanders: Senate Sketches #1598: Let’s make King celebrations as Dr. King lived

  Sometimes Martin Luther King, Jr. celebrations make me sad. No, I am not sad because there are celebrations. In fact, I am very glad that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is celebrated on the third Monday of each January. I remember firsthand the very difficult 15-year struggle from the date of his death to create a national holiday celebrating Dr. King. As we celebrate his birth in the 50th year of his death, sometimes the King celebrations make me sad.

  First, the celebrations make me sad because most do not deal with Dr. King’s dedicated life, sterling example, and continuous struggle. The most we deal with is the last sentence in the last paragraph of his memorable speech spoken during the gigantic march on Washington in 1963. If we dealt with the whole speech, we would make some progress, but we don’t.

Would you believe me if I said I was starving?

  Two weeks ago, I was reading a food blog with instructions on how to throw better dinner parties. In the grand tradition of lifestyle bloggers, the author promised me that everything would be much better if I just stopped trying so hard. He included a recipe for baked ham and suggested that hosts everywhere should just chill out and let guests slice their own sandwiches. Play it right, and everyone would be so happy and full that Ina Garten and her sweet husband Jeffrey would moan with a mix of pleasure and jealousy.

Scott McPherson: Our heritage of open immigration from s***hole countries

  The history of open immigration in this country makes a favorable case for poor and uneducated immigrants. It might just be the huddled masses we need most.

  From the end of the Mexican War, in 1848, until the 1920s, the only obstacle to travel across the southern border was terrain. Usually poor and uneducated, people crossed and traded across this line without restriction and helped to settle the American West. Hispanic Americans today are known for their strong work ethic and commitment to family, religion, and community.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Can a Democrat replicate the Doug Jones miracle in next year's gubernatorial race?

  As the 2018 state elections begin, let’s take one last look at the 2017 Special Election to fill the remaining three years of Jeff Sessions’ six-year term which, by the way, comes up in two years in 2020.

  It is assumed by most astute political observers that the winner, Democrat Doug Jones, cannot win election to a full term in 2020, simply because he is a Democrat. I am not ready to write Doug Jones off so quickly. I would contend that Jones would not be a cupcake to take on after two to three years on the job. Doug Jones knows what he is doing. He is a seasoned political veteran that will hit the ground running in Washington. I believe that he will be a far superior Senator for Alabama than Roy Moore.

Discrimination prevents LGBTQ people from accessing health care

  All people who need medical care should be able to see their doctor without worrying about being mistreated, harassed, or denied service outright. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) helped address this issue by prohibiting health care providers and insurance companies from engaging in discrimination. As a result of several court rulings and an Obama administration rule, LGBTQ people are explicitly protected against discrimination in health care on the basis of gender identity and sex stereotypes. However, conservative forces and the Trump-Pence administration are seeking to make it easier for health care providers to discriminate against LGBTQ people and women.

Gene Policinski: Let’s focus on real journalism — not so-called “fake news”

  President Trump’s “Fake News Awards,” posted late Wednesday, were more gimmick than “gotcha” — worth a moment’s attention, perhaps, but not much more.

  Unsurprisingly, the “winners” were CNN, The New York Times, ABC News, The Washington Post, Time and Newsweek. The announcement began by calling out a Times columnist who predicted the economy would sag under Trump and ended with yet another CAPITAL LETTER-laced rant about the ongoing investigation into Russian interference with U.S. elections.