Monthly Archives: August 2003

Holy War Rages On




	Judge Roy Moore announces to his followers that Kool-Aid is now being served in the rotunda.

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has continued to defy a federal judge’s order to remove the Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building. In a ruling that has galvanized Christians across the nation, U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson threatened to fine the state $5,000 for each day the granite icon remains.

On Saturday, August 16, thousands of religious zealots rallied at the State Capitol in Montgomery in support of Moore. An hour before the rally began, a Jewish supporter of the 5,300-pound monument attempted to parade around the block of the Capitol while blowing a shofar (a trumpet made from a ram’s horn). “Just like Joshua did when he blew down the walls of Jericho,” an elderly woman filling water coolers explained. Montgomery police put an end to the piercing, horn-blowing call to arms when they told the man he was in violation of a city noise ordinance. A five-foot Styrofoam replica of the Ten Commandments tablets stood nearby as protestors leaned against parking meters, praying. A giant Liberty Bell sat on the back of a flatbed truck like a parade float. A homemade sign read IRS: Stop Defrauding America, while another noted Stop ACLU Tyranny, the “C” drawn like the old Soviet hammer and sickle. A teenager with a T-shirt that read Body-piercing saved my life below a rendering of a hand nailed to a cross passed out anti-abortion pamphlets containing photos of aborted fetuses. A man in a NASCAR cap handed out Southern heritage newspapers. It was showtime at the State Capitol, and summer temperatures made the streets hotter than a tent revival.

Reverend Jerry Falwell and former presidential candidate Alan Keyes were among the notables who journeyed to Montgomery to address the crowd. “If God be for you, who can be against you?” Falwell asked as he opened his address. The reverend compared Judge Moore to Jesse Helms, “It was such a tragedy when the U.S. Senate lost Jesse Helms, ’cause he was one of the few men you could count on every time to say the right thing in the right way about the right subject . . . Roy Moore is one of the few judges in our land with the courage to stand against the tide of secularism.” Falwell condemned “the American Civil Liberties Union, the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, People for the American Way, Hollywood, liberal politicians, Bill and Hillary Clinton . . . and the many, many, many others, in my opinion, who are enemies of the Cross and enemies of America!” Concluding his speech with words from “the first freely elected” governor of Virginia, Falwell quoted Patrick Henry: “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religions, not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.” The Jewish man with the shofar, who had been blowing his horn intermittently to acknowledge support for Falwell, remained silent.

With the flair of a faith healer, Alan Keyes followed Falwell, explaining that religious belief was a viable way by which to govern. Keyes, who looks like civil rights activist Dick Gregory from a distance, was apparently confused about the kind of religious symbol he was endorsing, however. “Here we stand in the midst of a crisis. A federal judge has threatened the chief justice of the state of Alabama,” barked Keyes with evangelistic fervor. “And the judge has told him he’s got to take the Ten Commandments off the wall of the courthouse!” The crowd erupted, as one supporter waved a sign that read I’m a raw-boned, redneck, deer-hunting, devil-hating, Communist-stomping Alabama farm boy and I’m here to say no to the United States federal courts of atheism. Another sign suggested that violence was in order: BOMBard the SOUTHERN PERVERTED (abortionist, homosexuals, anti-God) LAW CENTER with prayer. SEND down the fire on the heathen.

Judge Roy Moore surprised everyone with an unannounced visit to the rally, whipping the crowd into a frenzy with his entrance. He thanked the organizers of the rally and the Foundation for Moral Law for raising money to pay legal fees. “It’s very important, because at this time we have a lot of attorneys’ fees,” he noted with a grin. Moore thanked a rabbi “friend” from New York City who was present, repeatedly attempting to pronounce the Rabbi’s name correctly. “I’ll say it right in a minute,” Moore laughed. Noting that the Ten Commandments controversy is about the “inalienable right to acknowledge God,” Moore, who is fond of writing poetry and posting it on the Internet, explained the importance of his monument. “It’s not about me. I will pass away, as every politician and every pastor will. But the laws of God will remain forever! If this ruling is allowed to stand, it will reverberate from state to state to state to the nation’s capital. And the acknowledgement of God will be taken from us. If we sit quietly by while this inalienable right is taken, even the rocks and the trees and the stones that you see will cry out for judgement! If I should fail to do my duty in this case, for fear of giving offense, I would consider myself guilty of treason toward my country and an act of disloyalty toward the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings!”

American Idols Idolized

Leave a reply

American Idols Idolized

By Ed Reynolds

write the author




	The Odd Couple: American Idols Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard.

Arriving with low expectations at the thought of sitting through all of the August 15 American Idols Live concert at the BJCC arena, I began to perk up after the third of the evening’s nine Idols left the stage, because it appeared that each would be limited to one song. Deafening screams from the sold-out audience, encompassing every demographic imaginable, greeted images of the current batch of Idols as they appeared on a huge oval video screen at the rear of the stage. A cloud of fog crept across the stage floor as one of four “American Idol Dancers” bounded on stage and shouted: “What’s up, Birmingham! . . . home of ’205′ and booty stomp!” Over the next couple of hours, short skirts, tight pants, and stiletto heels adorning the five female Idols punched a few holes in my boredom. Despite the sexy outfits, the performances were about as exciting as a high school talent show. There was no shortage of sophomore spirit; the Idols took turns gushing about the “close friendships” and everlasting love they’d developed for one another on the tour.

Eighteen-year-old Idol Carmen Rasmussen, the Britney Spears of the bunch, was introduced by Idol Kimberly Caldwell (also a “special correspondent” for FOX Sports Net’s extreme sports show “54321″) as “the most innocent and lovable of us all.” Trenyce, attired in a seductively short black skirt with jagged cave-girl hemline (Tina Turner as Wilma Flintstone) delivered a steamy version of “Proud Mary.”

Because the show moved along at a mercifully rapid pace, geeky American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken appeared in no time at all, strolling on stage with his trademark odd gait (imagine Dick Van Dyke’s penguin imitation in Mary Poppins) and protruding ears. Aiken immediately acknowledged the real reason the arena was sold out, shouting, “What’s up, Ruben City?” “American Idol” champ Ruben Studdard finally entered from the side of the stage, eschewing both the tall staircase at the rear of the stage and the center stage trap door elevator used by the other Idols. Opening with a version of The Carpenters’ “Superstar,” Ruben also performed an uninspired version of “Sweet Home Alabama” as the crowd roared—and I do mean roared—its approval.

An intermission prompted fans young and old to literally run to the merchandising booths as the pair of huge video screens flanking the stage ran commercials. “Brace yourself, it’s a commercial about your period,” boomed a female voice in an advertisement for sanitary napkins. Resisting the temptation to go home, I stayed just to see what the American Idols would try to sell me next (pink Gillette razors for women and Pop Tarts). I stuck around for the second half, where Ruben put to rest any notions that the aforementioned fancy staircase couldn’t support his mass. Studdard and the skinny Clay Aiken climbed to the top of the stairs and sang Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney’s “The Girl Is Mine,” matching one another step for step in a weird song and dance routine. They may have been aiming for Frank and Sammy, but they came a lot closer to Abbott and Costello.

I’m glad I didn’t leave, because I would have missed the four male Idols singing “The Lady Is a Tramp” as the lady Idols answered with Destiny’s Child’s “Bootylicious” between verses. I also would have missed the beaming face of Birmingham City Councilor Bert Miller on the big screen (a moment that Miller proudly noted at the council meeting the following Tuesday). But most of all, I would have missed the awestruck three-year-old sitting in her father’s lap, confidently singing the chorus of “Nights on Broadway” during the Idols’ Bee Gees medley, just like the star she’ll no doubt one day be

Six Flags Over Birmingham?

Leave a reply

Six Flags Over Birmingham?

By Ed Reynolds

write the author

August 14, 2003

It may be hard to fathom, but In its earliest days Birmingham was an entertainment magnet attracting seekers of frivolity. “Developers were eager to cash in,” explains Regina Ammon, assistant archivist at the Birmingham Public Library, as she previews her August 20 Brown Bag Lunch Series lecture, “Birmingham’s Turn-of-the-Century Resorts” at the downtown library. “It seemed the way developers worked then was that they found some sort of scenic spot and made that the core of the new neighborhood.” As a result, such fancy retreats sparked a population boom, as Birmingham’s resident count jumped from 3,000 in 1880 to more than 26,000 by 1890. Ammon will include an in-depth presentation of 50 slide images as she recounts the glory days when posh resorts dominated Avondale, East Lake, West Lake, and Lakeview Parks.




	A turn-of-the-century photograph of of a young girl enjjoying a swim at East Lake Park. This former resort area and others will be discussed at the Birmingham Public Library’s lecture, “Birmingham’s Turn-of-the-Century Lake Resorts,” on August 20.

Today, Highland Golf Course occupies what was once Lakeview Park. By damming up springs in the area, a lake was formed that included an island where operas were staged. The dam is still visible directly behind the water hazard at the top of the course. The resort’s centerpiece was the Lakeview Pavilion, featuring a swimming pool in the basement beneath a dance floor, skating rink, and bowling alley. A 72-room, two-story hotel was built in 1887, and visited by Presidents Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison. Later, the hotel began to lose patrons when visitors started flocking to East Lake Park. It eventually closed and became the Southern Female Institute, which burned to the ground a year later. The pavilion was finally torn down in 1900 to make way for the golf course.




	The Lakeview Trolley

East Lake Park’s growing popularity centered around its proud billing as “Dixie’s Most Popular Playground.” A 34-acre lake, originally dubbed Lake Como, was added in 1887. Between the late 1880s and early 1950s, East Lake Park offered a zoo, a hotel, a roller coaster, a miniature railroad, and an amusement ride called the “human roulette wheel,” which featured giant cup-and-saucer seats.

Located on the Bessemer Superhighway, West Lake Park was reportedly an early 1900s gambling mecca. It included the Pineview Resort Beach, which is said to have been as breathtaking as anything along the Gulf Coast. Avondale Park was the site of Birmingham’s first zoo, which included an elephant named Miss Fancy that reportedly escaped from her cage occasionally. Legend has it that Miss Fancy could be found hanging around Avondale School as thrilled children fed her their lunches.

The lecture is free and begins at noon. Call 226-3610 for details. —Ed Reynolds

Six Flags Over Birmingham?

Leave a reply

2003-08-14 Features

Six Flags Over Birmingham?

By Ed Reynolds

It may be hard to fathom, but in its earliest days Birmingham was an entertainment magnet attracting seekers of frivolity. “Developers were eager to cash in,” explains Regina Ammon, assistant archivist at the Birmingham Public Library, as she previews her August 20 Brown Bag Lunch Series lecture, “Birmingham’s Turn-of-the-Century Resorts” at the downtown library. “It seemed the way developers worked then was that they found some sort of scenic spot and made that the core of the new neighborhood.” As a result, such fancy retreats sparked a population boom, as Birmingham’s resident count jumped from 3,000 in 1880 to more than 26,000 by 1890. Ammon will include an in-depth presentation of 50 slide images as she recounts the glory days when posh resorts dominated Avondale, East Lake, West Lake, and Lakeview Parks.




	A turn-of-the-century photograph of of a young girl enjjoying a swim at East Lake Park. This former resort area and others will be discussed at the Birmingham Public Library’s lecture, “Birmingham’s Turn-of-the-Century Lake Resorts,” on August 20.




	The Lakeview Trolley

The lecture is free and begins at noon. Call 226-3610 for details. —Ed Reynolds

Hatfields and McCoys Redux

Leave a reply

The series of duels that have characterized the gradual split between the city council and Mayor Bernard Kincaid continued to dominate headlines the past several weeks. On July 16, the Council voted 6 to 3 [Council President Lee Loder and Councilors Bert Miller and Gwen Sykes sided with Kincaid] to keep the mayor’s limit on spending without council approval at $10,000. Kincaid had requested a $50,000 limit. The former council shackled Kincaid with the spending restriction 12 days after he took office, a move that was seen by many as revenge for then-Council President William Bell’s loss to Kincaid in the mayoral election. Former Mayor Richard Arrington had no such restraints during his tenure.Ironically, giving Kincaid more financial leeway to award city contracts was a campaign mantra for many of the present councilors. The virtual clean sweep of the council eight months ago signaled a new spirit of cooperation at City Hall, which had been plagued by councilors who refused to work with Kincaid during his first two years. But over the past two months the political honeymoon has slowly ended. And with Council Pro Tem Carole Smitherman’s announcement (within months of being elected councilor) that she was interested in Kincaid’s job, there may be some on the Council only too happy to see the political marriage end in a bitter divorce.

Controversy over the mayor’s spending ceiling first came to a head in May when Kincaid played a voice-mail recording for a reporter in which Councilor Carol Reynolds offered to vote for his spending increase in exchange for an appointment to the Airport Authority Board. Councilors condemned Kincaid for playing the telephone message. In June, approval of the 2002-2003 budget was threatened when Kincaid said the council would be in violation of the law by passing an unbalanced budget that Kincaid called “zany.” The council argued that the budget was indeed balanced. The threat of a third straight budget veto prodded the Council to compromise with the mayor, but councilors were outraged two weeks later when Kincaid gave raises totaling $100,000 to 19 members of his administrative staff. The raises were retroactive, prompting Councilor Smitherman to label them “government waste.” Other councilors expressed surprise at discovering how difficult it is to work with the mayor. Councilor Reynolds was especially disappointed, noting that she at one time considered Kincaid “my mentor.” Councilor Roderick Royal criticized Kincaid’s request for a $50,000 spending limit as “making someone emperor,” emphasizing that the raise would “damage what little communication we have” between the mayor and council. Councilor Valerie Abbott said that decisions made by “nine independent [councilors]” are better than those made by a single person. “If two heads are better than one, then nine heads are four and one-half times better than that,” Abbott surmised.

Now one of the old battles between the former council and Kincaid threatens to become a divisive element in 2002: the Roosevelt City fire station. It’s been more than a decade since residents of Roosevelt City were promised a fire station by former Mayor Richard Arrington. Two years ago, action was finally taken to fulfill that pledge. Led by former Councilor Sandra Little, who was defeated by Bert Miller in District Seven in October 2001, residents demanded that the fire station be built on Wintergreen Avenue in Roosevelt City. Kincaid refused, explaining that the poor quality of the building site would require as much as $850,000 in additional construction costs. The mayor’s choice of locations is the Bessemer Super Highway, which he supports because it reduces emergency response time to four minutes in Roosevelt City and Dolomite. There are also concerns that students at A.G. Gaston elementary school will be distracted by the constant sound of sirens responding to emergencies. The former council overrode Kincaid’s veto of the Wintergreen site, prompting an ongoing feud between Kincaid and Little.

Property for the Bessemer Super Highway site must still be acquired by the city, which owns all of the Wintergreen property. Two million dollars has been budgeted for the fire station, though land preparation costs could drive total spending for the Wintergreen locale to $2.2 million.

Wintergreen proponents staunchly remain committed to their site despite the land preparation hurdles, maintaining that its central location in the Roosevelt community is a plus. Kincaid argues that not having to make similar land preparation on Bessemer Super Highway means there is enough money left over to attach a police substation to the fire station, with another $300,000 remaining for a possible Roosevelt City library.

Meanwhile, angry residents continue to appear almost weekly to protest that construction has not begun anywhere in Roosevelt City. “We have been humiliated, ignored, and jerked around long enough about building our fire station,” said Calvin Elder, president of the Roosevelt City neighborhood. “The 6,000 residents of Roosevelt City are living daily unprotected with inadequate fire protection and medical rescue because of petty politics and selfish reasons.” Roosevelt City resident Brenda Jennings told the council at the July 23 meeting that residents have died while waiting for city paramedics to arrive. Jennings noted that money and land have already been secured [at the Wintergreen location], “so what is the problem with the fire station?” Angrily chastising city hall officials, she admonished: “If you have a personal favor you need to deliver to someone, you need to promise them something else besides our lives!”

Led by Bert Miller, the city council has finally begun to respond to residents’ concerns. Miller supports Kincaid’s choice of sites on the Bessemer Super Highway, and is urging Wintergreen proponents to forget their egos. “We’re not talking politics, we’re talking about saving people’s lives,” said Miller. Councilor Roderick Royal, however, isn’t buying Kincaid’s police substation caveat, which he defines as “a carrot.” Royal, who has said he “has no dog in the fight” [even though the Dolomite community that would be serviced by the fire station is in his district], doubts that a substation would do much to raise police presence in the area.

If the Birmingham City Council decides to build a fire station on the Wintergreen site, it will be one more move closer to the days when Kincaid and the former city council staged a weekly duel. That Sandra Little’s Wintergreen fire station is poised to once again become a wedge between Kincaid and the council must remind the Mayor how stifling a city council can be. &