10 Things you didn't know about the history of Halloween

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.

  It wasn't until the Victorian era that the idea of dressing up really went mainstream, and a lot of that started with the Robert Burns' poem "Halloween." Originally, the best costumes were the ones that were creepy, which isn't entirely surprising. The Victorians were obsessed with the idea of spirituality and the afterlife, so pioneering the ghost costume made a lot of sense.

'We won't be erased': Transgender people's existence not up for debate

  The existence of transgender people is not up for debate.

  But the Trump administration seems to be proposing that our country do just that. The New York Times reported that the Department of Health and Human Services is planning to change the definition of sex encoded in federal civil rights law to one in which sex would be determined by a person’s genitalia at birth.

  That would exclude transgender Americans from civil rights protections — and effectively write them out of legal existence. 

You think bombs will deter, discourage and destroy freedom? Think again.

  We — all of us, Americans and others around the world — will not be silenced by bombs, bombast or even murder.

  The lowlife behind the spate of pipe bombs sent to prominent critics of President Trump and his administration was engaged in a futile, juvenile attempt to punish a group of former public servants and private citizens, while trying to send a chilling message to all of us: “Speak out ‘the wrong way’ and you will die.”

  Message back: No luck, pal. Free expression in its many forms wins out every time. You’ve already failed.

Conservative lawmakers are suppressing voters—Here’s what you can do to fight back

  Another election year, more voter suppression. Every election, eligible Americans—particularly people of color, young people, and Americans with disabilities—are forced to fight for their fundamental right to vote.

  For years, conservative lawmakers have systematically excluded and actively prevented these groups from making their voices heard in the democratic process. Suppressing the vote of people of color, for example, dates to the origins of America, when voting was reserved for white male property owners. Even with the 15th Amendment, racially motivated disenfranchisement—such as poll taxes, felon disenfranchisement laws, issuance of English-only voting materials, and discriminatory voter purges—has become a horrific and shameful electoral tradition in the United States. Young Americans and Americans with disabilities have also historically been targeted by voter suppression measures, such as strict voter ID laws that exclude student IDs as acceptable forms of identification and polling places that are noncompliant with requirements in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Hank Sanders: Senate Sketches #1637 - Take what we have and make what we need

  “How is the election coming?” I hear this question with increasing frequency, growing concern, and snapping urgency as the November 6th Alabama General Election draws nigh. My usual response is, “It is not just uphill; it is up-mountain. However, the real question is whether we are mountain climbers.” But that is just an initial part of my response. The complete response emerges only when there is a real conversation.

  My most profound and complete response commences with the sentence, "Take what we have and make what we need." As I was growing up, my mother imprinted this life lesson on my mind, my emotions, my heart, my spirit, and my life. I have shared it widely over the years. I helped make it the motto of the Black Belt Community Foundation in its formation. It’s my life motto. Take what we have and make what we need.

Winter is coming, and fuel costs will hit the poor the hardest

  Winter is coming, and it’s going to be colder for some than others.

  “Starting junior year,” recalls Alexis Stewart, a West Virginia-based writer and musician, “my mom said we couldn’t afford heat and I had to ‘suck it up.’ I don’t know if we didn’t qualify for [the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program] those years or if the funding ran out before they got to us. I bought a space heater with money from my part-time job, but because of the poor insulation, I’d still wake up to a stiff, frozen blanket.”

The benefit to Republicans in losing the House

  If Republicans lose control over the U.S House of Representatives in the mid-term elections, they don’t have to be totally depressed. The reason? They will then be able, once again, to campaign in the 2020 elections on the promise that if control over the House is restored to the Republicans, they will be able to rein in the out-of-control federal spending and debt that is threatening to take our country down.

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 first hand. Most of the crusades and struggles occurred here in Alabama, especially 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. Johnson, who served as Federal Judge in the Middle District of Alabama for 24 years from 1955 through 1979.

Craig Ford: The future of education is at stake on Election Day

  Do you believe money should be taken out of our local public schools so that kids in Birmingham, Montgomery and other parts of the state can go to a private school?

  That is what’s at stake when you go to vote in two weeks.

  In 2013, the Alabama Legislature passed a bill called the “Accountability Act.” The idea behind it was that money that would otherwise go to our public schools would instead be used to fund private school scholarships for kids who attend “failing schools.”

Michael Josephson: Unkind words are weapons

  With four teenage daughters, I frequently find myself correcting, disciplining, or simply protesting unnecessary and unkind comments certain to anger or wound a sister and evoke counterattacks that fill the air with nastiness.

  Hoping to get them to think before they speak in the future, I often ask, “What did you expect to accomplish by that remark?” and “Did it make things better or worse?” It rarely makes a difference.

  It’s as if their instinct to express anger or utter sarcasm, accusations, and complaints is too strong to allow for wise strategies like “Think before you speak” to operate.