Glynn Wilson

While working on the new bluebird house out back, I noticed the mockingbirds going a bit crazy out on the side by the bush covering the gas meter. I figured they must have eggs in a nest there. I had noticed them building the nest for the past few weeks.

Sure enough, it looks like four eggs, so the mockingbird population is about to go up around here too — as if we needed more of their noise in the hood.

If you’ve been hearing an endless string of 10 or 15 different birds singing outside your house, you might have a Northern Mockingbird [mimus polyglottos] in your yard. These slender-bodied gray birds apparently pour all their color into their personalities. They sing almost endlessly, even sometimes at night, and they flagrantly harass birds that intrude on their territories, flying slowly around them or prancing toward them, legs extended, flaunting their bright white wing patches, according to the recently redesigned All About Birds Guide from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

It just so happens I have several shots of these very birds in my yard, the same one’s who now have eggs in the bush.

A Clean, Happy Mockingbird

The American Civil Liberties Union, Alabama chapter, will hold a series of town hall meetings around the state in May to discuss the state of our constitutional rights.

With President Barack Obama now in the White House and with a Democratic Party majority in Congress, do you believe enough is being done to restore our rights so abused by the Bush administration? Here’s your chance to voice your opinion in public for the record.

The questions highlighted in the press release for the events are:

What are President Obama and Congress doing to reclaim our country and restore our rights?

What is the ACLU doing?

How can you help make a difference?

According to Nikki Cox, a spokesperson for the group, a town hall conversation with Michael Macleod-Ball, Chief Legislative and Policy Counsel for the ACLU, will take place around the state in May “to discuss the challenges and outline the steps our elected leaders must take to begin restoring our rights and the Constitution.”

“You’ll be given concrete actions you can take to start making positive change on these issues,” she said. “Our government’s response to 9/11 has left us with a disastrous legacy of bad policies, abuses of power, and civil liberties violations. Attacks have included politicization of the Justice Department, spying on innocent Americans, excessive government secrecy, top-down torture policies, and undermining the civil rights of all Americans.”

The president and Congress need to work together to reverse the damage that has been done to our Constitution, and develop a long-term positive civil rights agenda, she said.

“The Obama Administration and Congress cannot repeat the mistakes of the past the time has come to act and restore our rights, starting now,” she said. “Stand up. Make your voice heard.”

The town hall is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided.

“We’re giving you two opportunities to join us,” she said. “Depending on your calendar and location, please RSVP to either event below:”

The town hall in Huntsville is Monday, May 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Huntsville (2222 Governors Dr SE).

RSVP now at Huntsville.

The town hall in Birmingham is Tuesday, May 12, at 6:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham (4300 Hampton Heights Drive).

RSVP now at Birmingham.

We’ll be there to cover it and will be taking comments on these issues here. These are important issues and we applaud the ACLU for holding these public events.

President Obama addressed members of the National Academy of Sciences on April 27, announcing a renewed commitment to science, technology, engineering, and medicine after eight years of neglect by the Bush administration.

Topics included America’s energy future, revitalizing our health care system, science and math education, and allocating funding and implementing policies to ensure that America reclaims a position of world leadership in scientific innovation.

Watch the video here