By Glynn Wilson – The Obama administration is partnering with industry in the war against cyber threats and hackers, according to an address on Thursday by Robert S. Mueller, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to security professionals in San Francisco. The growing threat includes denial of service attacks, network intrusions and state-sponsored hackers…
Monthly Archives: February 2013
President Obama to Honor University of Alabama Crimson Tide at the White House
Lawrence Jackson/White House – President Obama will welcome the BCS National Champion University of Alabama Crimson Tide to the White House to honor their 15th championship and their exceptional 2012-2013 season on Wednesday, March 6, according to a press release from the White House. The President will also continue his tradition of honoring sports teams…
Senate Passes Bill to Allow Ten Commandments Display in Public Buildings, Including Schools
The Big Picture – by Glynn Wilson – Here we go again. Get ready to laugh, Jon Stewart and every other comic in America. Tea party Republicans in control of the Alabama Senate voted Tuesday to pass a proposed constitutional amendment to allow public display of the Ten Commandments in public buildings across the state,…
U.S. Economic Confidence Hangs in the Balance as Federal Sequester Approaches
By Glynn Wilson – Data from the Gallup Poll shows that the lack of an ability to compromise on the part of officials in Washington to avert automatic, across-the-board federal spending cuts by the sequestration deadline of March 1 is beginning to hurt the economic confidence of Americans. Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index was minus 13…
Reward of $5,000 Offered in Bald Eagle Shooting Death
This American bald eagle, with its tail submerged at the water’s edge, took refuge behind a log after it was shot down in Neshoba County. The wounds to the eagle’s wings, leg, and eye were too severe for survival, so this representative of our national symbol had to be euthanized. Photo by Paul Windham, Mississippi…
Environmental Trial of the Century Begins in New Orleans: Will BP Pay the Ultimate Price?
By Glynn Wilson – The historic trial of BP for the horrific Gulf Oil Spill of 2010 began in New Orleans on Monday, and Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange, liaison counsel for the Gulf States, made the case clear in his opening statement to the court about the economic and environmental devastation caused by the…
If Congress Doesn’t Act by March 1, Automatic Budget Cuts Will Hurt the Economy
The Projected Impact of Cuts on Middle Class Families, the Economy and Jobs in Alabama – Unless Congress acts by March 1, a series of automatic cuts will take effect, threatening hundreds of thousands of middle class jobs. Referred to in Washington Speak as “the sequester,” this could result in cuts to vital services for…
Vice President Joe Biden to Participate in Civil Rights Events in Selma This Year
By Glynn Wilson – Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Alabama to take part in a Civil Rights anniversary event in March, according to state Senator Hank Sanders, the Selma Democrat. Sanders made the announcement Saturday in an e-mail message to supporters. He said Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, would be coming…
Supreme Court to Consider the South’s Legacy On Voting Rights
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – How can one be fair and balanced in the face of blatant, retrograde racism? The Washington Post is just now figuring out that at the top of the steps of Alabama’s old Capitol, there’s a six-pointed bronze star marking the spot where Jefferson Davis was sworn in…
Gulf Coast Organizations Protest Obama Administration’s Settlement with BP
BP’s oil still pollutes Gulf Shores beaches – By Glynn Wilson – On the eve of a major portion of the trial against the oil and equipment companies responsible for the largest and worst environmental disaster in history in the Gulf of Mexico nearly three years ago, apparently the Obama Justice Department has entered into…
The Big Picture: We Can Save the Planet and the Economy Too
Who Needs Jobs on a Dead Planet? – Bill McKibben at the front of the march – The Big Picture – by Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following folks from all over the country willing to travel thousands of miles and brave freezing temperatures and a bone chilling wind to march from the Washington…
Photo Essay: Washington Monuments
By Glynn Wilson – I always love visiting this nation’s Capital City. What a place to photograph. [Click on the images for a larger view]… The Washington Monument after the Climate Change March – The Washington Monument before the Climate Change March – The Washington Monument during the Climate Change March – The White House…
About 35,000 March on Washington for Action on Climate Change
Watch the video here… Bill McKibben at the front of the march, with Sierra Club president Michael Brune behind him [click on the image for a larger view … more photos below]… By Glynn Wilson WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 17 – During President’s Day weekend and in freezing temperatures and against a brutal wind, more than…
Tens of Thousands of Activists to Storm Washington in ‘Forward on Climate Rally’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – From prominent scientists publicly opposing Keystone XL to President Obama promoting climate action in his inaugural address, there is momentum for strong climate action, “but it’s up to us to take advantage of it,” according to the Sierra Club. More than 130 different partner organizations and tens of thousands of activists are…
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley Speaks to Nurses Association on Valentines Day
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley spoke to the state Nurses Association on Valentine’s Day in front of the State House, announcing that he has declared 2013 “the year of the nurse.” Watch the video to see and hear his remarks.
Transocean Pleads Guilty in Gulf Deepwater Horizon Disaster
Sentenced to Pay $400 Million in Criminal Penalties, the Second-Largest Criminal Clean Water Act Fine in U.S. History – BP’s oil still pollutes Gulf Shores beaches – By Glynn Wilson – Transocean Deepwater Inc. pleaded guilty to a violation of the Clean Water Act Thursday for its illegal conduct leading to the BP Gulf Oil…
Conservation Groups Charge Colbert Fossil Plant With Illegally Discharging Toxic Coal Ash into Waterways
Citing ongoing coal waste contamination at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Colbert Fossil Plant, conservation groups have charged that the facility is violating the Clean Water Act and that failure to address these violations will result in a lawsuit. As outlined in the 60-day notice of intent to sue letter sent to TVA on Wednesday, violations at…
What Will the Alabama Super Tea Party Majority Do Next?
The Big Picture – by Glynn Wilson – CAMP GUNTER HILL, Ala. – The rain has finally stopped in Montgomery, after a February deluge that swelled creeks to overflowing and made for a soggy government tea party downtown. The boys of Agribusiness munched on shrimp and pimento cheese and crackers Tuesday night, giving legislators an…
Sierra Club Joins Civil Rights Activists in White House Protest
Forty Eight Arrested in Historic Act of Civil Disobedience – Forty eight environmental activists and civil rights leaders from across the country joined together for a historic display of civil disobedience at the White House Wednesday morning, where they demanded that President Obama deny the tar sands Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and address the…
Live Streaming Video: Joint Legislative Committee on Water Policy
By Glynn Wilson – CAMP GUNTER HILL, Ala. – We will be testing live streaming video via UStream Wednesday afternoon in a legislative hearing on Water Policy. There will be a meeting of the Permanent Joint Legislative Committee on Water Policy and Management Feb. 13 at 12:30 p.m., at the Alabama State House in Montgomery.…
