grouper fish

Dear Editor, Those of you who voted for Trump for President will surely be celebrating this Thanksgiving day. And so you should. You have gotten what you want, or at least you have gotten what you think you want. I hope that you are right and that things will get better. But I have my doubts. Look at Project 2025 (go to 25and.me) to get a sense of what’s coming. It’s not a pretty picture. Trump is now embracing this program that he denounced last summer after it was met with severe criticism from both sides. It eliminates climate initiatives, the Inflation Reduction Acts drug price negotiation program, the Department of Education, Head Start and the free school lunch program, it reforms the Affordable Care Act, further restricts women’s access to healthcare, reduces Social Security benefits, etc. Look at the Rural Issues category and the Taxes category. Please pay attention to what he is doing. Look beyond the right wing media to see what is really happening. They won’t tell you on FOX or TikTok or X. This fact hit home for me when Sorrel Jenkins called me out in his letter to the editor (HJ 11/9/24) calling my accusations of Trump supporters (HJ 10/31/24) “falsehoods”. Which of those statements are false? I am not offended that he is calling me a liar. In fact it just helped me to understand why some are Trump supporters. It occurred to me that people are not asking of their news sources: “What are they NOT telling me?” A recent example: I was listening to Hannity. He was railing against the Affordable Care Act. He did NOT mention that 45 million people are covered, that the uninsured rate dropped from 14.5% to 8%, that people with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage, that kids are covered under their parents until age 26. (BTW It’s not just Trump supporters who are guilty of this. Both sides need to look at other perspectives. It just appears to me that the consequences of not doing that are particularly dire this time around.) That said, I truly believe that we have more in common than not. We all want peace, harmony, respect, dignity and a better world. If you voted for Trump you think we are on the right track. If you didn’t then, like me, you are worried about what the next presidential term will bring our country’s way. Take a deep breath, embrace the small joys of everyday life, spend time with friends, enjoy the sunsets. Hold on. And pay attention. Linda Bettinger, North Logangrouper fish 。

The only sport that Alabamians enjoy more than Alabama politics is college football. We especially love the Alabama vs. Auburn football game – one of the fiercest of college football rivalries. It is the game of the year. It is a state civil war that divides friends and families. It is bragging rights for the entire year. The loser must live with his boasting next-door neighbor for 364 days. You must choose a side even if you despise college football and could not care less who wins. Newcomers to our state are bewildered on this fall day each year. They cannot comprehend the madness that surrounds this epic war. Steve Flowers Young boys all over Alabama grow up playing football in their front yards and dream of playing in this big game. It is often said that when these two rivals meet one can throw out the record books. However, this is not true. In 90% of the meetings the favorite has won. A lot of SEC championships and bowl games have been decided in this game. It has made many Alabamians’ Thanksgiving holiday either joyous or sad. The game was not played for 40 years between 1908 and 1948. Myth has it that the game was halted because of the intense rivalry. However, that is not the case. The history is that after the 1907 game, the schools could not agree on the terms of the contract. The dispute involved meal money, lodging, officials, and how many players each side could bring. Football was not the passion it is today, so the two schools let the matter rest and the fans did not seem to care. That began to change as college football grew to a major sport in the 1940s. When the series resumed, a popular rumor is the Alabama legislature called a special meeting and forced the teams to play. That never happened, but the House of Representatives did pass a resolution in 1947 to encourage, not force, the schools to meet in football, and officials at Alabama and Auburn agreed. The presidents of Auburn and Alabama simply decided it would be in the best interest of the schools to start playing again. A contract was drawn up, papers signed, and the rivals literally buried the hatchet. On the morning of December 4, 1948, the presidents of each school’s student body dug a hole in Birmingham’s Woodrow Wilson Park, tossed a hatchet in, and buried it. The series resumed in 1948 with a 55-0 Alabama victory and the teams have squared off every season since. Many of you have seen signs and car tags that simply say, “A house divided,” with half the tag emblem being Auburn and the other symbolic of the Alabama Crimson Tide. There are many families in our state where one spouse went to Auburn and the other attended Alabama. The family that epitomizes this “house divided” adage of my generation is Joe and Katie Espy of Montgomery. Joe is an Alabama man through and through. Espy is one of our state’s most gifted and successful attorneys. He grew up in Abbeville and journeyed onto the University of Alabama where he began his meteoric legal/political career. He was President of the SGA at the Capstone, then graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law. Many expected Joe to enter politics and probably become governor. However, he has lived a better life as one of the state’s top lawyers. Katie Espy was born and raised in Eufaula. She was “Miss Everything” at Eufaula High School, including head cheerleader. She went straight to Auburn where she became a cheerleader for the Auburn Tigers. Joe and Katie have been married for 54 years. Every Auburn vs. Alabama game, Katie dons her orange and blue attire and Joe dresses in crimson and white. As stated earlier, Joe Espy is from Abbeville. Guess who grew up around the corner from him? None other than Jimmy Rane, the Yella Fella. Espy and Rane are both 78 and were born only three months apart and grew up as best friends and neighbors. Joe has probably been the most ardent Alabama alumnus and fan in history. He was a University of Alabama trustee for over a decade. Jimmy Rane is the most devoted Auburn man in Auburn history. He has been one of the largest benefactors of Auburn for 50 years and a member of the Auburn University Board of Trustees for 25 years. These two outstanding gentlemen epitomize loyalty to their alma maters and grew up together in Abbeville – a town of 2,000, which is probably evenly divided on Iron Bowl Day. As I have said many times in the past, Alabama is one big front porch. WAR EAGLE and ROLL TIDE! See you next week. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steve@steveflowers.us . Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!Tiny Homes Market to Grow by USD 4.82 Billion from 2023-2028, Report Explores AI-Driven Transformation Across Segments by Technavio - Technavio

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NoneHave you ever wished there was a smart ring that's a little less "smart" and a lot more "watch"? You probably haven't, but Casio is offering an answer for those who have. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of its iconic digital watch, the company is releasing a tiny, ring-sized version that fits around your finger. The $120 device might seem like a smart ring at first, but it certainly doesn't look the part, and it doesn't do the things most smart rings do. Also: The best smart rings It features the 1970s classic square face, a stainless steel band, an LCD screen that shows the time and date, and three physical (and functional) buttons. It will have an alarm feature, but instead of sounding an actual alarm, the device's backlight will flash. The watch is waterproof and has a battery that Casio says should last two years and is easily replaceable when it dies. What it doesn't have is fitness tracking , heart rate monitoring , or, well, any other "smart" feature. It's literally a scaled-down digital watch. It's hard to imagine this device appealing to people looking for the functionality of a smart ring, but it will certainly appeal to fans of retro technology (and fans of pretending you're a giant who wears a wristwatch around their finger). Also: The best smartwatches Unfortunately, despite the appearance of a flexible, linked band, the watch is available in one size -- 10.5. Casio is offering spacers to make the fit a little more snug for smaller fingers (sizes 9 and 6), but there's no alternative for larger fingers. Where to buy Casio's CRW-001 Ring Watch Casio's press release didn't give a specific time but said the watch would be for sale in the US at casio.com on Dec. 26. The landing page for the watch on Casio's site currently offers a "Notify me" button and eBay has confirmed orders listed for nearly $500. Since some people were able to order, it appears stock may already be gone. Casio has already released the watch in Mexico and Japan, where it sold out quickly in both markets. If you're interested, your options seem to be either paying a premium to scalpers or signing up to be notified of a restock. ZDNET's product of the year: Why Oura Ring 4 bested Samsung, Apple, and others in 2024 15 surprising ways I used AI to save me weeks of work in 2024 If your Windows 10 PC can't be upgraded, you have 5 options before time runs out I test wearable tech for a living. These are my favorite products of 2024

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