Bessemer Alabama

 There are reports that a huge data center---one of the largest in the U.S.---may be built on 700 acres in little Bessemer, a small city near Birmingham:

 

"...a 700-acre, wooded plot of land that soon may be transformed, through years of construction, into a 4.5-million-square-foot data processing center located just within the city limits of Bessemer, Alabama, a city of about 25,000 southwest of Birmingham. 

If built to planned capacity, the data center would be one of the largest in the United States and could become one of the largest single consumers of electricity in the state."

Source: HERE.

 

Ancient Alabama

 

Nearly 200 years ago, Cherokee gathered inside a cave in Alabama and, using their newly minted alphabet, wrote ceremonial messages onto the walls and ceiling, a new study finds. The writings included accounts of Cherokee ancestors and stickball, the predecessor of lacrosse.

Some of the religious messages were written backward, possibly so that spirits in this cave — which the Cherokee might have viewed as a portal to the spirit world — could read them, the researchers said.

Modern researchers have known about these writings since explorers found the markings in Manitou Cave in 2006, but now a group of archaeologists, including those from the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes, have worked together to translate the messages. [10 Things We Learned About the First Americans in 2018]

NY Times Headline

 

In Pope Leo, Some in MAGA Movement See an Antagonist

While President Trump welcomed the U.S.-born cardinal as the new pope, top Trump allies criticized Leo XIV for his similarities to Pope Francis.

 

(Which increases my like for the new Pope!)

Will he listen? Of Course Not.

 from an AL.COM story:

 "Americans are also adamant about Trump not seeking a third term.

Although the Constitution is clear that Trump cannot be elected president again, he has floated the idea of running.

Americans want him to stop thinking about it, according to the poll.

About three-fourths of respondents said they don’t want Trump seeking a third term.

A majority of Republicans -- 54% -- also said Trump should not run again."

New City Flag?

 A competition is underway to select a new Montgomery City Flag, but be ready to do some serious writing to win

The rules include this:

Participants will write a 250 page essay explaining their vision for a new flag to the best of their ability and submit a drawing to the city clerk.

250 pages? Let me add a new rule: EVERY current city council member and the mayor must do the same, or lose their position.

BTW there are 1,320 words in the declaration of independence.

(The organizers say they are requiring an essay of no more than 250 WORDS.)

WHITE Adveriser

 A Montgomery company has been running TV commercials for their products that includes on-video pictures of nine of their employees.

All nine are white.

Montgomery is a majority black city.

Seems to me you have to work hard to come up with that racial mix (or lack thereof!)

The company obviously approved the commercial, without anyone thinking "Hey...don't we have ANY black employees? Don't we have some black customers?

 Just asking.....

As Usual?

 

“Today’s decision is a testament to the persistence and resilience of Black voters in Alabama, including our clients,” said Deuel Ross, deputy director of litigation at the Legal Defense Fund. “Alabama’s unprecedented defiance of the Supreme Court and the lower court orders harkens back to the darkest days of American history.”

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office did not immediately issue a comment on the decision. The state is expected to appeal.

 

SOURCE: HERE

35 Years Ago Today

I arrived in Quang Tri, Vietnam, new, slightly muddy boots and all.

I was 19.

     One of the military/U.S. Army jobs I had was anchoring a nightly TV Newscast on The Armed Forces Vietnam-TV Network of stations. I originated those newscasts in a small basic studio that was connected to the transmission "truck" that I'm standing in front of in this photo. 

This photo shows most of the AFVN studio buildings. The sandbags were in place to prevent winds from blowing the roofs off.  Way in the background, on the right, you can see one of the observation towers that circled the base camp.

 Here's the view looking up the ladder used to reach the top of one of those observation towers. 

WTF?

 

“Subsequently, the foot pursuit led into a deadly force encounter between Hicks and the ALEA Trooper,” Burkett said.

“Over the course of the incident, Hicks was injured by gunfire and the trooper immediately rendered first aid.”

However, Burkett said, Hicks died on the scene.

No other details were released. 

 

FULL STORY is HERE.

J. Marion Sims

 

A statue of Sims in front of The Alabama Capitol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Statues Have Prompted Protest

J. Marion Sims continues to loom large in the medical field, celebrated as a medical trailblazer. Statues were erected to him in, among other places, New York City's Central Park, the South Carolina statehouse, outside his old medical school, Jefferson University, in Philadelphia and outside the Alabama Capitol in Montgomery (put there by The Medical Association of Alabama.)

He relocated to Montgomery, Alabama, seeking a fresh start, after the death of his first two patients.

After several years of activism, the Philadelphia statue was moved into storage and the statue in Central Park was removed on April 17, 2018. Its plaque was to be replaced by one that educates the public on the origins of the monument and the controversial, non-consensual medical experiments Sims used on women of color. The names (and histories) of the three known women “whose bodies were used in the name of medical and scientific advancement” by Sims, Lucy, Anarcha and Betsey, were to be recognized on the new plaque.

It's a recognition some see as overdue. In a 1941 paper titled “The Negro’s Contribution to Surgery,” published in the _Journal of the National Medical Associatio_n, Dr. John A. Kenney of the Tuskegee Institute, considered the dean of Black dermatology, wrote, “I suggest that a monument be raised and dedicated to the nameless Negroes who have contributed so much to surgery by the ‘guinea pig’ route.”

(SOURCE HERE.)

Thanks tRump! Great Job!

 

"For motorcycle lovers in Sweden, Harley-Davidson is the hottest brand on the road. Jack Daniel’s whiskey beckons from the bar at British pubs. In France, Levi’s jeans are all about chic.

But in the tumult of President Trump’s trade war with Europe, many European consumers are starting to avoid U.S. products and services in what appears to be a decisive and potentially long-term shift away from buying American, according to a new assessment by the European Central Bank."

What is new, the central bank said, is a “preference” among European consumers “to move away from U.S. products and brands altogether,” no matter what the cost. That was the case even for households that could bear the brunt of higher prices.

“Even though they could afford more expensive U.S. products and services, they consciously choose alternatives,” the bank said. “This suggests that consumers’ reactions may not just be a temporary response to tariff increases, but instead signal a possible long-term structural shift in consumer preferences away from U.S. products and brands.”

Full N.Y. Times story is HERE.

The NEW White House Briefing

 

The Guardian / Richard Luscombe

Maga media mob: meet the new rightwing faces in the White House briefing room →

“A disgraced ultra-conservative banjo player ousted from his Grammy-winning band; a far-right conspiracy theorist with alleged ties to Russia; a TikTokcreator known as ‘Maga Malfoy’ for his resemblance to the Harry Potter character; and an extremist social media ‘influencer’ once banned from Twitter for posting a video depicting sexual abuse of a child. These are just some of the ‘new media’ personalities courted by the White House to take part in a series of alternative briefings championed by Donald Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt.”

Only ONE U.S. City on Happiest List

 

The World’s Top 20 Happiest Cities

1.Copenhagen, Denmark

2. Zurich, Switzerland,

3. Singapore

4. Aarhus, Denmark

5. Antwerp, Belgium

6. Seoul, South Korea

7. Stockholm, Sweden

8. Taipei, Taiwan

9. Munich, Germany

10. Rotterdam, Netherlands

11. Vancouver, Canada

12. Vienna, Austrai

13. Paris, France

14. Helsinki, Finland

15. Aalborg, Denmark

16. Berlin, Germany

17. New York, United States

18. Dresden, Germany

19. Brussels, Belgium

20. Geneva, Switzerland

The flooded basketball courts below reminded me of a photo of mine (below) during Monsoon Season in Vietnam!

 

\

 

Help for Ukraine

Ukraine is getting more help in its war with Russia.

A Patriot air-defense system that was based in Israel will be sent to Ukraine after it is refurbished, four current and former U.S. officials said in recent days, and Western allies are discussing the logistics of Germany or Greece giving another one.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, declined to describe President Trump’s view of the decision to transfer more Patriot systems to Ukraine.

The White House’s National Security Council does not provide details on the strength and placement of defense systems, said James Hewitt, a spokesman for the council. “President Trump has been clear: he wants the war in Ukraine to end and the killing to stop,” he said.

A former White House official said that the Biden administration had secured the agreement with Israel in September, before the election won by Mr. Trump. The Defense Department said in a statement that “it continues to provide equipment to Ukraine from previously authorized” packages, referring to weaponry pulled from existing inventories and new purchases.

The delivery, which has not been previously reported, comes as Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine, including an April 24 missile strike on Kyiv that was the deadliest since last summer.

A year ago, allies struggled to answer a demand by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine for seven Patriot systems. Although Ukraine now has eight, only six are functioning. The other two are being refurbished, one of the U.S. officials said. With the one from Israel, and one from Germany or Greece, Ukraine would have 10 Patriot systems in total, largely to protect the capital, Kyiv.

Image

A rescue worker and another man at a two-story apartment building in Kyiv that was destroyed by a Russian ballistic missile, last Saturday.Credit...Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times

As Russia has intensified recent attacks, Mr. Trump’s recent public remarks on the war have softened in favor of Ukraine.

Mr. Trump had a cordial meeting with Mr. Zelensky at Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome last weekend, after a disastrous one in February in the Oval Office. He has dialed down his negative rhetoric about Mr. Zelensky and questioned whether Russia is serious about peace talks. A delayed minerals deal with Ukraine was signed on Wednesday, paving the way for more U.S. military aid.

On Saturday, Mr. Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv that the minerals deal could mean the United States would send more air-defense systems.

 

Question

 When will the tRump nightmare end?

Montgomery Made Hyundai Vehicles recalled

 

"Better safe than sorry. An urgent recall was issued for a specific model after the South Korean multinational automotive manufacturing company, Hyundai, acknowledged its ‘brake failure’ possibility. The urgent recall will also affect American motorists, as Hyundai Motor America recalled approximately 1,589 cars. Affected car owners are advised to take precautions and follow the instructions sent by Hyundai."

SOURCE:  HERE

UNEXPECTED PHOTOS

 The Wright Brothers in 1909

 

Source: HERE. 

Jefferson Davis 1861

OF COURSE....

 

Trump signs order seeking to end federal funding for NPR and PBS

The executive order also instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to halt indirect funding of NPR and PBS through grants to local stations.

May 2, 2025 at 2:35 a.m. EDTToday at 2:35 a.m. EDT

By Frances Vinall

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday evening seeking to prohibit federal funding for NPR and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The order, which could be subject to legal challenge, called the broadcasters’ news coverage “biased and partisan.”

It instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to cease providing direct funds to either broadcaster. It also orders CPB to cease indirect funding of the services through grants to local public radio and television stations.

CPB is the main distributor of federal funds to public media. It receives about $535 million in federal funds per fiscal year, which it mostly spends on grants to hundreds of stations nationwide. The stations spend the grants on making their own programming or on buying programming from services such as NPR and PBS.

CPB, created by an act of Congress in 1967, also sometimes provides direct grants to NPR and PBS to produce national programs.

Fewer Dolls

 

"President Trump has a message for the nation’s children: Prepare to sacrifice for your country.

He was taking questions at the end of one of his marathon cabinet meetings when he finally allowed that, yes, his tariff policies and the trade war he has set off with China may soon result in some emptier-than-usual shelves in stores. Specifically, toy stores.

“You know, somebody said, ‘Oh, the shelves are going to be open,’” Mr. Trump said. “Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know? And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.”

This, from the billionaire, crypto-salesman, golf-club-operating, Palm Beach-by-way-of-Fifth Avenue president with the golden office and the golden triplex apartment. There he sat, surrounded by the other billionaires with whom he has filled his cabinet, telling the boys and girls of America they’ll just have to make do with fewer toys this year for the greater good."

SOURCE: NY Times column HERE.

Oh, Really?

An online story reports: 

"Five men charged in largest seizure of machine gun conversion devices in Central Alabama history"

uh, but those devices have only existed for less than a decade...:

 

A TIME story

 

Photo by Tim Lennox, 1970

Apr 30, 2025 2:32 PM CT

How We Oversimplified the History of the Vietnam War

 At 7:53 a.m. on Wednesday, April 30, 1975, a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter ascended from the rooftop of the United States embassy in downtown Saigon carrying ten Marine Security Guards toward the waiting deck of the USS Okinawa. Its departure marked the final mission of the massive helicopter-borne evacuation that began less than 24 hours earlier and heralded the end of America’s once-mighty military presence in South Vietnam. Two hours later, North Vietnamese tanks carrying the flags of the southern revolutionary National Liberation Front smashed through the gates of the Republic of Vietnam’s presidential palace.

FULL Time story is HERE.

The Vietnam War Ended 50 Years Ago today......

  Quang Tri, Vietnam

Tim in 'Nam, early in my tour there. I turned 20 in Vietnam.

The war Vietnamese call it "The American War", and it started on 11/1/55. It ended on 4/30/1975.

I was there for just shy of a year in 1970. AFVN Detachment 5 in Quang Tri.
 

Me, at 19, in Quang Tri, Vietnam

 

Following the Pope Hunt?

 

Frances was as close to a gay-friendly Pope you'll likely find in your lifetime (remember "who am I to say?") And it is possible, even likely, the new post-Frances gathering will be less so:

 

"African bishops had made a remarkably united stand last year against Francis’ outreach to LGBTQ+ people, refusing to implement his declaration allowing priests to offer blessings to same-sex couples.* Given such a stand, there is some speculation that the 18 African cardinal electors could help block a progressive candidate from emerging."

*WWJD? Refuse to bless a loving relationship?

No Shock Here

 

The Friendliest Accents in the U.S.

The Southern accent is ranked as America’s friendliest accent. Over one in three people find this accent—most commonly associated with Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and South Carolina—‘friendly’. The Texan accent specifically was voted the third friendliest accent, with 31% of participants finding it pleasant. Since many people associate the South with hospitality and a quiet, simpler way of life, it’s easy to see why these accents claimed the top spots.

Hawaii is another place people associate with a more laid back lifestyle, so it’s no wonder the Hawaiian accent came in second place, with 34% of people considering it friendly. 

These three accents also came out as the most charming from our list, with the Hawaiian accent also being named the most soothing, highlighting its laid back and welcoming nature.

The Hawaiian accent also received some of the lowest votes for annoying accents. The Alaskan accent was voted as the least annoying, with only 3% of people finding it annoying.