Our Opinions
Losing weight
      "Get Lost in Jackson" turned out to be tremendously successful. A community weight loss program started last January concluded last week and the town lost a collective 10,000 pounds. Congratulations, folks. That's amazing! The program shows what people can do when they work collectively and with ...
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Our Opinions
Practical purchase
      Grove Hill town officials and firefighters are to be congratulated for making what appears to be a very practical purchase for the fire department. A 3,000 gallon pumper arrived last week. The new rig can carry more water than any of the other trucks in the department's fleet.
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Our Opinions
Man of Main Street
      Gerald Ford, the 38th president who died last week at the age of 93, has been lauded as a decent man who helped to stabilize the country and the presidency in the aftermath of Watergate. Many referenced his courage in pardoning President Nixon. It was unpopular at the time and it probably cost For...
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Our Opinions
A tyrant gone
      Iraq may have its problems but you can't say they don't have swift justice. Within days of rejecting a death sentence for former dictator Saddam Hussein, he was turned over to the Iraqis who promptly hanged him.
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Our Opinions
A new look
      Readers will notice that we have made some changes to the layout and design of the editorial page and broadened it to two pages. Its location has also been moved. The layout is more traditional, reflecting The Democrat's rich 151-year heritage.
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Political Cartoon
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Alabama Scene
Riley the 'Comeback Kid'
      I think it is required that at the end of the year and the beginning of another that those of us in my trade take a look back at the 12 months past…list the top stories…the offbeat stories…and yes, the biggest newsmakers of the year.
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Editor's Notes
New Orleans coming back, but still has a way to go
      The Cafe DuMonde on Decatur Street is serving mounds of white sugar-coated beignets and coffee au lait. Bourbon Street is pretty much back to its crazy, sleazy self and the white-haired jazz players thump out wonderful tunes around the corner at Preservation Hall on St. Peter Street.
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From Our Files
      100 years ago "Neal Caves, Dave Robinson, and John Dickinson were put in jail Sunday morning for striking the wife of Monroe Ezell on the head, inflicting considerable injury and pain. The jail is filling rapidly. Some are of opinions that a few hangings will be necessary to stop it.
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Pictures From The Past
      Then-Municipal Judge Bill Kimbrough swears in Grove Hill councilmen in October 1984. From left are Steve Kennedy, G. C. Paul, Coma Horton, A. J. Pritchett and S. P. Hudson. Pritchett was elected that year as the town's first black council member.
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Congress Reports
109th's accomplishments
      At this time of year, we all pause to reflect on the events of the past 12 months, and I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the legislative accomplishments of the 109th Congress. During this Congress, the House led the way with a number of important bills, many of which made it to t...
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From The Nethermost
Taking a trip to the woodshed
      When animals in the wild repeat behaviors characteristic of their species, biologists might explain that the behavior is imprinted in the animal's genetic makeup. Believing that we humans have free will, you and I might say that some of our behavior is caused by our choosing to follow family tradit...
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Inside the Statehouse
Polls amazingly accurate
      As the dust settles on the old year and we begin the new I will share a few political observations from the 2006 election year. First of all I was amazed at the accuracy of the polling data. In my years of following politics I have never seen such amazing prognostications on the Alabama political ...
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