U.S. Representative Terri Sewell of Alabama’s 7th District, which includes Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and the state’s Black Belt, was honored at a fund raiser Wednesday night at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 136 Union Hall. She answered questions from labor leaders from around the region, and from Locust Fork News-Journal Editor and Publisher Glynn Wilson. This is just a short snippet of what was asked and answered.
Watch the video to see some discussion of the hot political issues going on in Washington now that effect workers, including what’s going on with the current national budget and debt crisis.
Alabama Democrats Commend Chief Justice Cobb for Years of Service
by Glynn Wilson
Alabama’s Supreme Court Chief Justice, the only Democrat on the court, announced this morning in a press conference in Montgomery that she is stepping down August 1 and will not seek reelection. The reason she gave was to spend more time with her family.
“Beginning the first day of August, I will be able to dedicate the bulk of my time to being a better wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, church member and friend,” Cobb said.
The task will now fall to Alabama’s new Republican Governor, Robert Bentley, to name her replacement.
The polls show a majority of Americans favor the rich and corporations paying more taxes. The Republicans say that’s “off the table?” If the tea party Republicans would go along with letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire, that could accomplish their goal of reducing the deficit. Will they do it? Of course not. It would not serve their selfish, political agenda.
Poor But Proud: Twenty Years Later
Auburn History Professor Wayne Flynt Answers the Central Political Question of Our Time
by Glynn Wilson
AUBURN, Ala. — In a state where intellectuals are generally scorned as “elitists” — or as former governor and presidential candidate George Wallace liked to call them for his own opportunistic political reasons, “pointy-headed liberals” — retired Auburn History professor Wayne Flynt is one expert who is widely known around Alabama. He is someone who people seem to listen to, at least those who pay attention.
Since moving back to my home state and city a few years ago after many years of chasing a journalism career and then an academic career elsewhere, and struggling to figure out what’s wrong with this place, a key question comes up over and over again in conversation. No one seem to have a simple, satisfying answer.
Why do working class people in the South so frequently vote against their own economic self-interest?
As a historian and author, Dr. Flynt tackled this question in great detail a little more than 20 years ago in a book called Poor But Proud: Alabama’s Poor Whites.
Ocean lovers around the world will join hands on beaches and in cities beginning at 12 noon local time Saturday, June 25, for the second annual “Hands Across the Sand” event, a demonstration of opposition to expanding offshore drilling and support for cleaner energy choices.
With the oil industry pushing for a dramatic expansion of offshore drilling in U.S. waters, “Hands Across the Sand” participants will show leaders like President Obama the breadth of opposition to new drilling and support for a clean energy future rooted in energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy solutions, such as wind, solar and geothermal.
“Offshore drilling will never be safe. Expanding offshore oil drilling is not the answer; embracing clean energy is,” said Dave Rauschkolb, a Florida restaurateur who founded Hands Across the Sand. “We’re here to say NO to offshore drilling, and YES to clean energy.”
A computer hacker who helped write the malicious code behind a breach of ATnT’s computer servers admitted to conspiring to hack into the servers, steal information regarding iPad subscribers, and publicize the crime, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced Thursday.
Daniel Spitler, 26, of San Francisco, Calif., pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with one count of conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to computers connected to the Internet and one count of identity theft. Spitler surrendered to FBI agents on January 18, 2011, and was originally charged with the conspiracy. Spitler entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton this afternoon in Newark federal court.
“Computer hackers are exacting an increasing toll on our society, damaging individuals and organizations to gain notoriety for themselves,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman. “Hacks have serious implications – from the personal devastation of a stolen identity to danger to our national security. In the wake of other recent hacking attacks by loose-knit organizations like Anonymous and LulzSec, Daniel Spitler’s guilty plea is a timely reminder of the consequences of treating criminal activity as a competitive sport.”
More than $100 million in federal disaster assistance has been approved for survivors of the spring storms and tornadoes that swept across Alabama in late April.
The amount includes funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration to assist survivors who had storm-related losses between April 15 and May 31.
There is still time for survivors to register for possible federal disaster assistance. The deadline to register is Monday, June 27. People can register by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), TTY 800-462-7585, or by visiting DisasterAssistance.gov.
“The funding that FEMA has approved so far is an incredible asset to assist survivors in our state,” said Alabama Emergency Management Agency Director Art Faulkner. “I strongly encourage all Alabamians who had storm damages to register with FEMA and return their SBA applications before next Monday’s deadline so we can be better assured of a full recovery.”
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.
