Governor Bentley of Alabama Holds his State Up as a Paragon of Republican Ideals

Governor Bentley, in his state of the state address on Tuesday night continued to reject Obamacare, Medicaid expansion, and federal government intervention. Instead, he showed the nation what Republican ideals of low taxes and small government can do for a state. After all, Alabama was practicing low taxes, small government and resistance to federal programs long before it was Republican cool, way before there were Tea Party rallies – and it has really paid off. “The poorest county in the United States of America is located just 73 miles from where we sit tonight," the governor proclaimed. "If we were to drive a little over an hour from this historic hall we would find ourselves in Wilcox County where the median household income is below that of any other county in this nation.” 

To the governor’s credit, he has refused to accept a salary until his state achieves full employment. According to the official Alabama Governor website, “To date, Governor Bentley has never accepted a salary as Governor.” Many Alabama citizens are of the opinion that Gov. Bentley is worth every cent they pay him. In 2012, Alabama ranked 39th in the nation in job growth. 2013 saw a dramatic change as the state moved to 49th in job growth (wait a minute – a larger number is not really better in this case is it?).

Finding the Right Government Is the Key

The governor expressed pride in refusing Medicaid expansion and the jobs and benefits that would come with it. Dependence upon the federal government is no way to improve our state, Governor Bentley maintains. Instead, he would rather depend upon the Japanese government, stating that, “There are over 60 Japanese companies in Alabama. Two months ago I had the opportunity to travel there to recruit more jobs and strengthen relationships with Japan's biotech industry.” In other words, Governor Bentley would much rather his state be a vassal of an Asian economic power than to be beholden to what he sees as an increasingly socialist Democratic regime centered in Washington, D.C.

Would it be possible for our own government to invest in Alabama? There was actually one Democrat still on hand in Alabama who took issue with Governor Bentley's aversion to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion. The Democrat, a businessman who wished to remain anonymous stated that Governor Bentley is passing up an opportunity to give Alabama a number one ranking. Currently, Alabama ranks among the top ten states that receive more in federal aid than they pay in taxes, which amounts to a positive return in federal tax investment. Currently, however, the state ranks number nine in the country. If the Governor would accept Medicaid expansion and buy into Obamacare, then Alabama would have a chance to be number one in something besides football. It could be number one in substantial economic returns on taxes paid into the federal government. 

The Democratic businessman went on to explain that Alabama should think of Medicaid expansion and The Affordable Care Act as an investment strategy. Since the demise of the iron and steel industry, healthcare is actually the state's largest industry, already employing more people than any other single industry. Furthermore, it has been estimated that Medicaid expansion would bring an influx of 35,000 additional new jobs. It could be such a boon that the Governor might actually be able to allow himself a salary and could take credit for achieving full employment in the state (which by the state's own definition would be equal to 5.2% unemployment rather than the current 6.2%).   

Campaigning for Tomorrow

The Governor expressed pride in the hard-working people of Alabama who are privileged to live in a state that espouses better than any other state the Republican ideals of low taxes, small government, and state’s rights (Gov. Bentley made sure to emphasize the Tenth Amendment in affirming state’s rights and rejecting federal government intervention). These are the principles that will bring true pride and prosperity to the people. When asked why Alabama remained at the bottom in terms of jobs, income and education, the Governor responded that if the problems of unemployment and education were solved today, there would be nothing to campaign against tomorrow.

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The Vidalia Onion Grants Prestigious Queen Victoria Award to Mississippi Native Sons

(Disassociated Press Release)

On November 31, 2013, The Vidalia Onion gave this year’s Queen Victoria Award to Jim High and Don Manning-Miller for their efforts in taking religious dialogue back to the 19^th Century.  Concerning the award, The Vidalia Onion’s Lawrence Brainbalm said, “Some of us here in Georgia really hated to see the 19^th century go – that’s why we honor something 19^th century each year with the Queen Victoria Award.”

The editorial staff of The Vidalia Onion stated that High and Manning-Miller, both residents of the state of Mississippi, have demonstrated that “we can still have good old-fashioned division over religious details.” Brainbalm elaborated that “in the 19^th century religious division was at its height.  Protestants were utterly fragmented. If any group began to feel any sense of unity, division would erupt. Church congregations split over which side of the aisle to put the piano; new denominations arose over the question of whether there should even be a piano. They all sang virtually the same hymns, but their real identity was in their differences. ”

Division over differences what not just a Protestant phenomenon. While Baptists and the Church of Christ argued over who was the true church, the Roman Catholics made it clear that everyone else was heretical. While Protestant zeal was generating a worldwide missionary movement, Catholics were doubling down on the Council of Trent, condemning the errors of the Reformation.

“The beauty of the 19^th century was that you could tell the differences between groups,” Brainbalm explained. “And I’m not just talking about Unitarian and Methodist – that distinction was easy. With most Christian denominations, however, disagreement had to be elevated to an art form. That way, everyone knew each other’s tribe, so to speak. It was not like what we saw in the 20^th century with everybody talking butterflies and moonbeams until you couldn’t tell a Nazarene from a Lutheran.”

The Vidalia Onion found renewed hope in the art of disagreement in the online discussions between Jim High and Don Manning-Miller. “They have brought 19^th century ideals of difference all the way into the 21^st century,” Brainbalm exclaimed. “They are adept at modern communication and the latest in scientific discovery, but they have not forgotten the religious differences that have been the lifeblood of so many congregations.  Just when we thought that modern faith would be condemned to boring platitudes of harmony, High and Manning-Miller have emerged as true masters of distinction.”

One participant in the theological discussions of High and Manning-Miller, Charlie Kinnaird, was contacted for a statement about the two online debaters. “It is certainly not like they are worlds apart,” Kinnaird observed. “In fact, there are usually many points of agreement, but you never heard such vituperous agreement as from these two.” One of the theological points on which High and Manning-Miller definitely agree concerns the existence of Hell – neither gentleman believes that there is an actual Hell even if there is an afterlife. “We’re both from Mississippi,” Manning-Miller calmly stated, “and we believe that’s Hell enough for anybody.”

The Queen Victoria Award is not confined to theological areas. Past recipients include band leader Mitch Miller who orchestrated a revival of Gay Nineties music with his sing-along TV program (and his 19^th century use of the term “gay”); song-writer Stephen Sondheim for making song and dance out of macabre 19^th century retribution with “Sweeny Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street;” and actor Robert Conrad for his role in the TV series, “The Wild, Wild, West,” which demonstrated that 19^th century steam is really all the power you need.