Last week at the Baton Rouge Press Club, Dr. Michael Robicheaux spoke in-depth about the large number of sick people that he has been treating since the BP oil disaster occurred. The sick include workers who worked on the response to the disaster as well as divers, fishermen and coastal residents.
Since the BP disaster began we have been receiving an unsettling number of calls from people dealing with unusual health problems, said Paul Orr of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network.
“Dr. Robicheaux is an old friend and ally and we feel extremely grateful that he has enthusiastically stepped forward to help these sick Gulf Coast citizens who have had difficulties finding help elsewhere,” he said in a press release.
Watch the video of Dr. Robicheaux’s speech about what seems to be a growing health crisis in our Gulf Coast communities.
President Barack Obama nominated George L. Beck to Replace Laura Canary as U.S. Attorney in Montgomery today, according to an announcement from the White House.
“For his diligence and relentless pursuit of justice, I have named George L. Beck to serve as a U.S. Attorney,” President Obama said in a statement. “I am confident he will serve the people of Alabama with distinction.”
According to the backgrounder put out by the White House, Beck has been a shareholder of Capell and Howard, P.C. since 2004. He was a sole practitioner from 1986 to 2003 and from 1979 to 1982, and was a partner at Baxley, Beck, Dillard & Dauphin from 1982 to 1986. From 1971 to 1979, he served as Deputy Attorney General for the State of Alabama.
Prior to that, Mr. Beck worked as an associate at St. John and St. John from 1966 to 1971.
“Mr. Beck has served our country honorably, enlisting in the Alabama Army National Guard in 1966 and rising through the ranks to be honorably discharged as a Colonel in 2001,” the president said.
Dr. Paul Hubbert of the Alabama Education Association issued a video statement today saying the worst law ever proposed in the Alabama Legislature for teachers is on the table now, and urges everyone to rise up and stop it. It will take massive public involvement, or it will have to be reversed after a sea change in the next election cycle. Better to stop it now.
“That can be stopped,” he says. “But in order to do it, you must get active now. Call, riot, e-mail your legislator now and tell him to vote NO on the budget.”
It will severely increase class sizes, and abolish tenure.
“It’s not a change in the tenure law,” he says. “It’s an abolition of the tenure law and the fair dismissal law.”
New York Times columnist and Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman lectures on the facts about the creation of a middle class in the United States and the income disparities up to the 1930s — and today. Notice the role of unions in the creation of the middle class.
Rick Santorum blames Social Security troubles on abortion; Haley Barbour wants to reinstate “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and Donald Trump calls for Obama’s birth certificate.
Forty-three years ago, a struggle by 1,300 city sanitation, member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, workers who were being denied the fundamental right of collective bargaining, brought Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis, Tennessee. After marching with these workers, King declared: “Work that serves humanity… It has dignity and it has worth.”
Just a few hours later, Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
On April 4 this year, hundreds of thousands Americans will stand up, say “enough is enough,” and fight for the same rights for which Dr. King fought, according to a press release from the union. The theme for these nationwide events is “We Are One.”
“Across the country, well-funded, right-wing corporate politicians are trying to take away the rights Dr. King gave his life for: the freedom to bargain, to vote, to afford a college education and justice for all workers,” AFSCME president Gerald W. McEntee said. “Officials in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Maine, and a series of other states want to balance the budget on the backs of working people, instead of creating good jobs and asking the wealthiest citizens and large corporations to pay their fair share.”
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission are investigating the shooting death of a mature bald eagle near Wise in Warren County, North Carolina. A reward of up to $2,500 is being offered for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible.
The eagle was discovered injured on March 20 and examined by Dr. David Conde of the West Hills Veterinary Clinic in Henderson, North Carolina. He determined that the eagle had been shot and had a broken wing. Despite being treated for its injuries, the eagle died on March 28.
“Because the eagle was found along a traveled roadway, someone may have seen or heard something that will help in our investigation. We are hoping that anyone with information on who is responsible for shooting the eagle will step forward and provide information that will help us solve this case,” said Sandra Allred, a special agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service based in Raleigh, North Carolina. “As with many instances regarding the conservation and use of our natural resources, the illegal actions of one selfish individual can have the potential to hurt the interests of the majority of people who respect our resources. The bald eagle is a symbol of our country, and we will vigorously pursue those who kill or injure our Nation’s symbol.”
Anyone with information concerning the shooting of this eagle is asked to call Special Agent Allred at 919-856-4786, or North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Officer Richard Creech at 252-886-3614 or 252-438-3428.
During the Bush years, we specialized in covering the politicization of the U.S. justice system as much as any news organization. Our archives are about the most comprehensive for anyone researching the prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, and the original case against Richard Scrushy, which Glynn Wilson covered for The New York Times.
