The Alabama Environmental Council will hold it’s 13th annual Green Tie Affair Thursday, April 2, at the Flower Stems Loft, in Birmingham, 213 Arrington Blvd. South. The affair will begin at 6:30 p.m. with cocktails. A silent auction will be held along with music from the Blue Galaxy String Project. A live auction will follow.…
Monthly Archives: March 2009
Ron Sparks to Announce Candidacy for Governor
Updated Sources say Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks will announce his plans to run for Governor of Alabama at 3:30 p.m. Friday, April 3, on the steps of the Madison County Courthouse in Huntsville. He has the beginnings of a campaign Website up here. Apparently, Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr. has decided not to run for…
Does Rob Riley Engage in Fraud While He 'Fights' Fraud?
Editor’s Note: In any other state in the country with a functioning watchdog press, this story would have generated howls about a conflict of interest on the part of the governor’s son. Yet not one word about this has been published in a single Alabama newspaper. We are now pursuing funding from investigative journalism sources…
The Last American Jaguar Euthanized?
Investigators Say Macho B’s Death Was Unnecessary Arizona Game and Fish Department Macho B collared Guest Column Kierán Suckling Executive Director Center for Biological Diversity Two weeks ago the last known American jaguar died. Not in the wild. Not by mistake. He was euthanized on a stainless-steel table in Phoenix. When the state-sanctioned vet said…
Blue Birds Nesting in Roebuck Springs
Kenny Walters A couple of blue birds have adopted this cedar house in Roebuck Springs, Alabama. Sorry to brag, but it was a creation of Yellow Hammer Studios, a partner company, and was just placed in this yard last year. In other words, it worked the first nesting season. Our designs have improved since then,…
DNC Releases New Ad Attacking Karl Rove
Karl “Turd Blossom” Rove had the gall to call President Obama arrogant because he doesn’t stay in his place? What about the arrogance of some in the previous administration, including this political animal who should be in a cage by now?
Must Reading From William Greider
William Greider, on Bill Moyers’ Journal on PBS, wants Americans to start shaking things up His new book, COME HOME AMERICA: THE RISE AND FALL (AND REDEEMING PROMISE) OF OUR COUNTRY, doesn’t mince words from the very first sentence: “I have some hard things to say about our country.” And he does. After outlining many…
New York Times Papers Reduce Staff, Salaries
by Glynn Wilson The New York Times newspaper company is in such financial dire straights that it has announced a 2.5 percent salary reduction at its regional newspapers, which now includes The Tuscaloosa News and The Gadsden Times in Alabama since the company announced the sale of The Florence Times Daily last week. This letter…
Siegelman Asks 11th Circuit to Rehear Case
by Glynn Wilson Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy are asking the full 12-judge Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to rehear the appeal in their political prosecution primarily on the basis that the alleged quid pro quo bribery claimed in the case was based on evidence of an…
Legendary Smokies Moonshiner Dead at 62
The Smokies get a little less wild with this sad news out of tiny Parrottsville, Tennessee, located just north of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee National Forest. This just in from Backpacker Magazine: Moonshine and Star Charts: Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton, 62, a famous moonshiner known for his premium “booger” style of corn…
Hope in the Mountains
Obama Administration Suspends Coal Dumping Permits in Appalachia Guest Column by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Yesterday was a great day for the people of Appalachia and for all of America. In a bold departure from Bush-era energy policy, the Obama administration suspended a coal company’s permit to dump debris from its proposed mountaintop mining operation…
We Must Not Forget Our Political Prisoners
Guest Column by Roger Shuler When commentators call for investigations of possible wrongdoing by members of the Bush administration, the discussions usually have an international focus. Subjects such as torture, illegal detentions, and spying tend to carry the day. But a recent Gallup poll shows Americans are concerned more with domestic wrongdoing, such as politicization…
Cedar Waxwings Descend On Backyard Birdbath
Glynn Wilson A family of migrating cedar waxwings [bombycilla cedrorum] descend on this birdbath in Northeast Jefferson County, Alabama, another sign that the spring 2009 bird migration is fully underway. Watch the slide show here…
Colombia Miners' Union Sues Drummond, Again
Murders Alleged by Paramilitary Forces on Drummond’s Payroll by Stephen Flanagan Jackson BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A Colombia coal miners’ union — already two-time losers in US Courts — filed another civil lawsuit March 20 in federal court charging Drummond Coal Company and its top Colombia employees with hiring AUC paramilitary forces to assassinate three union…
Luna Moth Makes Spring Appearance
Glynn Wilson A luna moth [actias luna] makes a spring appearance in Northeast Jefferson County just as we began working on the Victory Garden. The luna moth, a wild silk moth called luna after the moon because it is nocturnal, is fairly common in North America and ranges from central Florida and along the Gulf…
Spring Cleaning Comes Slowly to Alabama Justice System
And the Alabama press is still sound asleep Breaking News by Glynn Wilson Democratic activists have been putting pressure on the new Obama administration for months to move forward with eliminating the taint of politics from the U.S. Justice Department, corrupted beyond measure during the Bush years. Sources now tell the Locust Fork News-Journal that…
Purple Martins Return to William's Orchard
Glynn Wilson The purple martins return to William’s Orchard on Highway 11 near Springville, Alabama every spring. It’s that time of year again, with blue skies and high temperatures in the 70s in the afternoon and lows in the 40s at night. This is a female purple martin, progne subis, the largest of the North…
Will Ferrell: A Final Night with George W. Bush
One of the funniest things on cable TV in a long time… Comedian Will Ferrell stars in his first HBO special, a live, 90-minute performance of his limited-run Broadway show, “You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush.”
State of the Union: Democracy and the Web Press
Connecting the Dots by Glynn Wilson I almost lost my breakfast in my plate as I watched CNN’s John King interview Dick Cheney on his “State of the Union” show this Sunday. It made me want to get rid of my television set, reinforcing an idea that seems to be growing among the American population.…
Fir Trees in the Clouds at Newfound Gap
Glynn Wilson Looking back at the photos from our 12 day camping trip to East Tennessee, I couldn’t help but be struck by this one of the fir trees high in the Great Smoky Mountains all surrounded by the clouds at Newfound Gap, 5,046 feet in elevation.
