Tag Archives: Birmingham

So goes Birmingham…so goes America

The presidential election is over.

Many people felt this election would make or break America.

When discussing the ramifications of the U.S. going broke or being driven into socialism, this small blog about metro Birmingham seems inconsequential.

Then I ran into this piece written by Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO of Gallup, and he reinforced the importance of our efforts to make our metro Birmingham great. Continue reading So goes Birmingham…so goes America

What if Moses was Mayor of Birmingham?

Moses was a remarkable guy.

He parted the Red Sea, brought us the Ten Commandments, and delivered the Israelites to the Promised Land.

If you need someone to accomplish a task, Moses’ resume looks pretty good.

However, even if you could convince Moses to run for political office in metro Birmingham, he would be unable to make us competitive. Continue reading What if Moses was Mayor of Birmingham?

A modest idea to end balkanization of Birmingham School System

 

Scotty Colson

Comebacktown published by David Sher & Phyllis Neill to begin a discussion on creating better government for metro Birmingham.

Today’s guest blogger is Scotty Colson.

When the School Board went to an elected board is when my family pretty much gave up on quality changes in our system. At that time I asked anyone who would listen how adding 9 more politicians did anything to make our system better. Since then we have seen an exodus from our schools and a consistent descent into failure culminated in recent events. Continue reading A modest idea to end balkanization of Birmingham School System

Metro Birmingham should secede from Alabama

As you may have heard a petition filed by a Chuncula resident seeking Alabama’s withdrawal from the U.S. reached 25,000 signatures and now requires a response from the White House.

The petition asks the administration to “peacefully grant the state of Alabama to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own new government.”

Well, if this is a good idea, I’ve got an even better one. Continue reading Metro Birmingham should secede from Alabama

Black folks are moving into your neighborhoods

Nothing makes me angrier than to see anti-Birmingham; anti-black comments following my blog.

The racial comments are usually insinuated, but they are there—none the less.

There’s a community of people in our region who accuse Birmingham of failing and blame African-Americans for it. Continue reading Black folks are moving into your neighborhoods

The real problem with our Birmingham Board of Education

 

Michael Calvert

Comebacktown published by David Sher & Phyllis Neill to begin a discussion on creating better government for our region.

Today’s guest blogger is Michael Calvert.

The fundamental problem with the Birmingham Board of Education is the election of board members from the nine City Council districts. This structure explains much of the poor performance of board members. Continue reading The real problem with our Birmingham Board of Education

Birmingham sues Jefferson County–na na na na na na

 

ComebackTown:  To create a discussion on creating better government for our region.

According to an article on al.com on October 11, “A rift developed between the city and county after Birmingham filed a lawsuit to keep open the inpatient care unit at the county owned hospital for the poor. The county responded by withholding chairs and tables for the city’s referendum…”

I only know what I read on-line, so I don’t know the real story, but I have three and four year old grandchildren who get along better than our politicians. Continue reading Birmingham sues Jefferson County–na na na na na na

Why many are criticizing David Sher

Ever since I began posting blogs with the intent to begin a community conversation on better government, I’ve received my share of criticism.

I was probably a little bit naive, but it came as a surprise.

I have a passion for our Birmingham region and I thought I was doing a good deed.

I’m not running for office and as best I can tell, I’m not benefiting financially. If anyone has any money making ideas, please let me know.  🙂 Continue reading Why many are criticizing David Sher