Bama Blues

04/25/2026

One of the most famous concepts in Game Theory is the Prisoner's Dilemma. Two people have a choice, either cooperate for a fair outcome, or betray the other person for a bigger personal reward. The catch is that if both people betray each other, they both end up worse off.

Over time, researchers found that the most successful strategy in this “game” is something called tit-for-tat. You start by cooperating. After that, you simply mirror the other person’s last move. If they cooperate, you cooperate. If they betray you, you respond in kind. And if they return to cooperation, so do you.

It’s simple, it’s fair, and it works because it rewards good behavior while making it clear that bad behavior will have a proportional punishment.

I want to talk about how this can apply to politics.

Take redistricting. Republicans have spent years aggressively gerrymandering states to lock in power. Democrats, for a long time, mostly held back or tried to play by higher standards. The result? A structural disadvantage that has shaped elections for years. Most red states have extremely lopsided state and federal representation.

Recently, Democrats suddenly decided to fight back. In Virginia, Democrats just approved a congressional map that will likely see all but one of the State's congressional seats be held by a Democrat.

Republicans are crying foul, saying it's hypocrisy. That’s not hypocrisy. That’s strategy. Democrats just employed the tit-for-tat program. Republicans did it first, Democrats have no responded proportionally.

You see, if one side is going to exploit the system, the worst thing the other side can do is pretend the system is still fair. That just guarantees losing ground. But if both sides know that every aggressive move will be met with an equally aggressive response, the incentive to push things to the extreme starts to weaken.

That’s the core idea behind tit-for-tat. You don’t start the fight. But you don't let the other side get away with bad behavior. You punish it by giving as much hell back as you get.

Democrats, especially those in deep red states like the Alabama Democratic Party, need to think long and hard about this. Republicans have shown us for a long time that they cannot be trusted to cooperate and play a fair game. And Democrats simply can't afford to keep taking the high road and pretending that they're above it.

Start punching back, guys.

04/18/2026

When I'm discharged from the hospital, I may need to update my two Tommy Tuberville articles.

04/16/2026

I neglected to post this here on the Bama Blues page, but I was admitted to the hospital on Monday morning.

Unfortunately, this means that Bama Blues will be taking an extended break while I recover.

Thank you for your understanding.

04/10/2026

One of the biggest problems that Alabama is facing is the lack of access to healthcare in the state.

I have, unfortunately, been a victim of this issue multiple times since 2020. I am currently uninsured, after losing access to Medicaid earlier this year.

This means that whatever sort of infection that I've been fighting off has been done without seeing a doctor and without antibiotics.

So my recovery has been quite a bit slower than I had hoped for.

But with that said, I've been working on my next -and final- Gubernatorial Candidate profile and am happy to announce that it will be posted Monday morning.

So please check back Monday to learn all about Dr. Will Boyd and what he wants for Alabama.

04/07/2026

Trump posting on social media that "a whole civilization will die tonight" is the single-most chilling statement I have heard from a world leader in my lifetime.

We have moved from threats of destroying civilian infrastructure to threats of erasing an entire people.

I am calling on my Senators and Congressman to immediately and strongly condemn further escalation in Iran. This has very clearly crossed a line.

Senator Tommy Tuberville
Senator Katie Boyd Britt
Congressman Mike D. Rogers

04/01/2026

Alabama is going back to the Moon. And this time, a lot of that story runs straight through Huntsville.

At NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, engineers and scientists have spent years developing and testing the Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever built by NASA. Marshall has also played a key role in propulsion systems, structural testing, and mission support for the Orion spacecraft that will carry astronauts on Artemis II.

If that sounds familiar, it should.
Huntsville earned the nickname “Rocket City” during the Apollo program, when Marshall led the development of the Saturn V rocket. That vehicle made the first Moon landing possible. The same city that helped launch Apollo is now helping launch Artemis.

Artemis II will be the first crewed mission of the Artemis program, sending astronauts around the Moon and back. It is the next step toward landing humans on the lunar surface again and eventually going even farther.

This is what Alabama looks like when we invest in science, education, and big ideas. This is our history. And it is still being written.

Watch the launch live:

We're sending astronauts around the Moon for the first time in 50 years. Come watch with us.NASA's Artemis II mission is scheduled to lift off from Kennedy S...

03/30/2026

I wanted to apologize to everyone for the lack of updates over the past week. My son and I have both been sick.

I will be back to writing soon!

03/25/2026

Due to Internet issues and me fighting off a bad stomach bug, this article will be delayed a day.

I apologize to anyone who was looking forward to it! But I will try to have it up tomorrow after getting my son to school.

Thank you for reading Bama Blues.

03/24/2026

Tomorrow, on Bama Blues, we're going to take a break from our Governor Campaign coverage to talk about another important topic.

The SAVE Act has been getting a lot of national attention and there is a lot of misinformation out there about the bill.

We're going to break down the actual text of this piece of legislation, take a look at what our Senators are saying about it, and tell you in plain terms what it will mean for you and those you may know.

And then on Friday, we will be back to covering our candidates with a deep dive into Dr. Will Boyd for Alabama.