Former Presidential Candidate Insists Every High School Senior Should Register and Vote
by Glynn Wilson
SELMA, Ala. — The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a former candidate for president and founder of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, said while he was there to help provide inspiration for demonstrators in town to commemorate civil rights and fight for immigrant rights, labor rights and women’s rights, he insisted that “information” is a necessary ingredient for “inspiration.”
Without the meat of information, he said, the inspiration “gravy” is “just water and grease.”
He went through a long list of facts about the inequities in society, from the percentage of minorities in jail to the growing economic divide between the rich and poor.
Watch the video for a snippet of Jackson’s presentation to the human rights marchers in Selma Tuesday night.
SELMA, Ala. — The biggest crowd to ever attend the Selma-to-Montgomery March crossed the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge on Sunday on the 47th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Labor unions, Hispanics and women swelled the crowd this year to protest anti-union legislation, controversial anti-immigration laws and anti-choice laws proposed by corporate and religious Republicans in Alabama and across the nation. Watch the video and get the feeling you are right in the middle of the march as it crosses the historic bridge over the Alabama river on the way from Selma to Montgomery, the state capital.
SELMA, Ala. — Official estimates are not in yet, but it appears the 47th Anniversary of the historic Civil Rights march from Selma-to-Montgomery could be the largest ever, in part due to the involvement of organized labor incensed at the anti-union activities of Republicans across the country, as well as Latinos taken aback by controversial anti-immigration laws passed in Alabama and other states, and even women now fired up due to the anti-choice measures being proposed nationally and in the states. The march was led by officers of the group that started it all, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
British Petroleum company has reached a tentative settlement agreement with a large number of people along the Gulf of Mexico coast who are suing for damages from the largest and most devastating environmental disaster in U.S. history. If the plaintiffs agree to the final settlement and it is approved by the court and the government, it will prevent a prolonged court trial and members of the public who suffered damages may receive compensation much sooner, although the amount they receive would be reduced.
According to the Associated Press, BP expects to pay out $7.8 billion to 100,000 victims. The settlement calls for ending the separate claims fund run by Ken Feinberg, who was hired by the Obama administration to handle paying out $20 billion the administration seized from BP.
Questions remain, however, about whether all of those damaged by the spill will agree to the settlement. Those waiting for money from Feinberg’s Gulf Coast Claims Facility can take what the settlement vehicles offer or opt out and make a claim directly to a BP-run entity. Or they can file separate lawsuits and hold out for more, but that could take many years to work its way through the courts and then there is no guarantee the amounts won’t be thrown out of court by conservative judges in the South.
According to a press release put out by BP Saturday morning, the company has reached a settlement with the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee (PSC), subject to final written agreement, to resolve the substantial majority of legitimate economic loss and medical claims stemming from the Deepwater Horizon accident and oil spill. The PSC acts on behalf of individual and business plaintiffs in the Multi-District Litigation proceedings pending in New Orleans.
“From the beginning, BP stepped up to meet our obligations to the communities in the Gulf Coast region, and we’ve worked hard to deliver on that commitment for nearly two years,” Bob Dudley, BP Group CEO, said in the press release. “The proposed settlement represents significant progress toward resolving issues from the Deepwater Horizon accident and contributing further to economic and environmental restoration efforts along the Gulf Coast.”
One of the most conservative municipalities in Alabama has determined that human rights should trump all other parochial issues and public officials are about to state that publicly and unanimously, according to a source who would rather not be identified. Never mind that it was probably a federal lawsuit that led to the change of heart in Hoover City Hall.
The City of Hoover will issue a Proclamation on Monday that was approved unanimously by the City Council at its most recent “working session,” according to the source. There will apparently be a little ceremony at Monday’s council meeting presenting a framed copy of it to the Principal of Gwin Elementary School, “a handy occasion to make a rather sweeping announcement of the city’s (new) position on human rights.”
“Keeping in mind Tip O’Neill’s statement that all politics is local, this Proclamation reflects the consensus of the City Council and appears to eviscerate and excoriate much of the jingoistic, xenophobic extremism contained in (Alabama’s anti-immigration law) HB56 and in whatever upcoming bastardization the extremists in the Alabama Senate might seek to introduce,” the source says. “For a municipality with as questionable a track record as Hoover has in observance of anti-discrimination policy to adopt something so ‘humane’ represents a reflection of a new direction in that city’s official thinking. It should certainly eliminate much of the racial and ethnical demonization that characterized the political races the last time around.”
The Bill Goes to the Senate, but Voters Will Have a Chance to Defeat it at the Polls in November
by Glynn Wilson
The Republican controlled House of Representatives in Alabama voted 65-22 this week to pass a bill dubbed “The Goodyear Bill” that is being billed by Republicans and the mainstream media as “Gov. Robert Bentley’s jobs plan,” another amendment to be tacked onto an already overburdened constitution that would authorize new and expanding corporations to keep the income taxes of their employees rather than paying them to the state.
No where in the Republican rhetoric or the news coverage does anybody address the fact that the state can’t afford to give away more tax money to corporations which already pay no corporate taxes, because the state is already too broke to continue funding many state agencies and programs. They state can’t afford to continue maintaining some roads. There is all kinds of hand-wringing going on over continued funding for the state retirement system.
While Governor Bentley pledged to raise no taxes yet continue fully funding law enforcement in his State of the State Address, it has become obvious that the state does not have the money to continue paying for an already over-crowded prison system.
The bill now moves over to the 35-member Senate. It will need 21 votes to pass. If approved there and signed by the governor, opponents would have a chance to raise a campaign to stop its approval at the polls. The voters would have a shot at defeating it in a referendum vote during the general election in November.
A scheme to privatize Florida’s prisons failed in the state Senate this week by a vote of 19-21 after a huge public outcry led by Florida working families, community and civil rights groups.
The plan was backed by Republican Gov. Rick Scott, private prison companies and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), one of the key players in the drive to privatize prisons throughout the nation. The corporate takeover would have cost 3,800 workers their jobs, and Florida AFL-CIO President Mike Williams says it would have “devastated small communities, working families’ economic stability and safety.”
The privatization bill was one of the largest efforts so far to give private corporations control of a state’s prison system. It would have turned over control of 27 state prisons and work camps in 18 south Florida counties to the GEO Group—formerly Wackenhut Corrections.
St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken J. Mascara says prison privatization puts the public’s safety at risk.
“In the continued race to the bottom, private prison contractors reduce pay, benefits and quality of personnel in the interest of slashing budgets; but as in most other areas of life, you get what you pay for,” Mascara said in a letter to state Senate President Mike Haridopolos, a Republican. “I know when protecting our families from the most heinous individuals in our society, I don’t want the guard who will work for the least pay—I want a professional who receives proper training, a reasonable wage and benefits and the security of knowing that the people of Florida, and its elected leaders, appreciate the value of the often thankless job they do.”
The Alabama Democratic Party Also Opposes This Legislation
by Glynn Wilson
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama branch of the AFL-CIO is mounting an opposition campaign to try and stop passage of bills in the state Legislature that would create another amendment to the state’s already overburdened constitution that would allow corporations to keep their employees income tax withholdings.
“The Alabama AFL-CIO is very much in favor of job creation in the state, even if incentives are required to get them,” state AFL-CIO president Al Henley said. “But we believe taking money from the Education Trust Fund and denying our children as good an education as possible to get the jobs is a horrible idea.”
If passed by both houses and signed into law by the governor, House Bills 159 and 160 would have to be approved by voters at the polls in November to become law.
“It is a sorry state of affairs when Alabama taxpayers have to give the wealthiest corporations in the world money to stay in the state,” Henley said.
Opponents Say Unfair Anti-Immigration Law Must by Repealed
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Several hundred protesters filled the courtyard outside Alabama’s Statehouse on Valentine’s Day in a “One Heart One Alabama” rally aimed at convincing lawmakers to love one another rather than hate their Latin brother. Opponents don’t want the controversial anti-immigration law “tweaked” as legislators have promised since alleged “unintended consequences” drove away new industry from creating jobs in the state. They want the law repealed, as the Obama Justice Department is still suing to have it overturned in federal court.
Protesters delivered lollipops and Valentines to lawmakers, urging them to strike down the law. They carried signs with messages such as “Gov. Bentley, don’t you have a heart?” and “No Juan Crow,” along with “Una Familia, Una Alabama,” all while chanting in English and Spanish, “no more HB56″ and “one family, one Alabama.”
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.
