The Rep. Bobby Bright Pharmacy Connection

The Montgomery Advertiser has connected the dots--or at least some of the dots-- regarding the pro-Rep. Bobby Bright advertising campaign I blogged about on Wednesday. Sebastian Kitchen reports the ads, in print and on TV, are supporting Bright, even though Bright has take some stands the drug companies oppose. But the story also quotes a Bright spokesman: "PhRMA (the lobbing group running the ads) is doing this completely on their own and without our knowledge." I'm slightly less confused, but only slightly. If Bobby Bright really wants Americans to be able to buy drugs from Canada, and he really believes the Federal Government should be able to negotiate for the price of drugs for it's huge Medicaid and Medicare programs, and the drug companies oppose both. Why are they trying to get Bright re-elected?And does anyone really believe the Pharmacy companies would support someone who will vote against their interests?

NewSverse Resumes By Tim Lennox Off they go, carted away by UPS or USPS or digital 1&0 bursts, traveling to their target. But it's a leisure journey for sure. And arriving, they Plop down in the PILE Pile pile pile soon covered by more or their breed. HELP! I'm drowning here!

We have Seen The Enemy...

Public Relations nightmares can come from outside of a corporation...or from inside. The 1982 tampering with Tylenol that resulted in murder charges is an extreme example of the former. The recent video shot by Pizza-Hut workers showing them goofing around and contaminating the food is an example of the latter. But sometimes it's an action by a corporation itself that causes the damage. And that bring us to the story of the Krispy Kreme Donuts and the sewers story. How is it nobody at he corporate level saw where the story was going and pulled the cord? Somehow they didn't, and then next thing you know there was a lawsuit, news coverage, and the inevitable mind's eye picture of their product corroding their customer's innards....

Maybe it was even worse...maybe the corporate PR types did get wind of it and tried to intervene without success. One way or the other, it's a good example as any of the importance of a good public relations department. And yet they are frequently the first to be let go when the economy sours.

Web Radio IN THE CAR

(Thanks to Bill Thomas in Birmingham for pointing this article out!) The development of technology to make web-radio stations portable should give cold sweats to anybody in the radio business. Just why would anyone listen to your broadcast station (with its dumbed down programming and music and corporate formatting) OR your satellite station (and its expensive fees) when I can select from thousands, maybe tens of thousands of stations in the online world. You'd better come up with a good answer to that question, because net radio is going for a drive.

The Clinton-Bush "Brothers"

The two U.S. presidents before President Obama shared a stage in Canada last night, joking and refusing to offer criticism of each other or of the Obama Administration. Bush went so far as to describe Clinton as his "brother". Excuse me? How nice that the two exes can perform on stage and collect nice healthy speaking fees. But what happened to all of the significant policy differences? Was all of that debate over the wars (and the war dead!) and social programs and AIDS and foreign relations...was all that just stagecraft of some kind? And now that y'all are out of office it time for back-patting and singing kum-ba-ya? Wink Wink Nod Nod: "Hey let's collect more money for our libraries, wasn't that a cool way to spend eight years???" Honest: they stood on that stage and joked about cleaning up after their White House dogs. What about us? We had to clean up after you! I don't know who will be angrier about the vaudeville act...Bush supporters or Clinton supporters. Civility is one thing. Doing stand-up comedy for cash with someone you taught us to despise is despicable.

"Just A Minute" Commentary

home values dropping...

Another New Montgomery Mall Owner

The Atlanta-based company that has bought the vacant property has a list of other equally distressed and empty properties offered for sale or rent...including a former Food World site in Selma with an active CVS store for $695,000, and the Demopolis Towne Center for almost $2.4 Million. The purchase of the Montgomery property is a "done-deal" Blue Ridge Capital says. They've also purchased a Firestone Store and a BP Gas Station near the mall. They don't say how much they paid for the properties. The Mall was purchased in July of 1998 by Glimcher Realty Trust for $70-Million. Jim Wilson, former owner of the Mall once told me he heard Gimcher purchased the mall sight unseen. I don't know how much they got for it when they sold to a Dothan investor a couple of years ago, but I guarantee it wasn't $70-Million.

According to WSFA-TV, the new owners will be in town on Wednesday to discuss their plans for the property. In an interview with the station, Mayor Todd Strange listed a number of possible uses for the mall, virtually of them government projects, which don't bring in any tax revenue. He mentioned some food court or other retail being located in the building once the government entities move in. Strange uses the word "revitalization" to describe the events.

The beginning of the end for the Mall, in my opinion, was the night the management called police to encircle the property in a huge roadblocking operation. All drivers were required to show proof of insurance and licenses. No matter what the problems at the mall were, it was about the dumbest decision since New Coke and the Edsel.The final straw might have been an appearance by rapper Ludacris in December of 2004. He was forced to leave after fighting broke out and police couldn't control the crowd.

After that, the Montgomery Mall deserved to die. [UPATE: Saturday 5/30/09 Good Montgomery Advertiser story here.] [UPDATE: 6/2/2009 The NY Times has an interesting story on the mall of the future.] [UPDAYE: 6/3/2009 WVTM Birmingham reports on the closing of Century Plaza.]

Sen. Shelby and The Socialists

It's good to see that this time around the reports about Alabama's own Richard Shelby and the auto industry are including the fact that Shelby and the state have a pack of very big dogs in the fight. You may recall that the first time there was a bailout proposed for the car makers, Shelby was out there expressing outrage with barely a mention of the fact that he just might be protecting all of the "foreign" car makers that have plopped down in union-free Alabama. This morning Shelby was on the CBS Early Show and was expressing more outrage over the GM bailout (Socialist America!!! "We should have let the market forces work because there is no end in sight," is what he actually said), but at least the reports resulting from his appearance mention Hyundai in Montgomery and Mercedes in Vance and Honda in Lincoln (where they are reducing the size of their workforce) and Toyota in Huntsville. And wouldn't it be nice for some major media entity to go back and see exactly where Sen. Shelby was as Chair of the Senate Banking Committee during the time the banks were driving off a cliff?

A Movie Recommendation

I'm a movie critic just like many of you are. No special credentials. I just know what I like! Let me recommend one I just finished: Frozen River. I was riveted by Melissa Leo's performance as a poor woman trying her hardest to keep her family together near the U.S. Canadian border. The movie was nominated for two Oscars, including Leo for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. She earned the nomination completely, but (obviously) didn't win the Oscar.

Comparative Journalism

I first heard that Bobby Lowder was "retiring" from the bank he founded from a local TV report tonight at 6:00pm. Then several hours later, I went looking for a better story. From watching that first TV report, you would never know that Colonial Bank stock sold for .28 a share at one point this year, and that the company lost $88-Million in 2008. The Opelika-Auburn News had a somewhat better story (though not great, considering Lowder's importance to the Auburn University community. He remains on the Board of Trustees at AU til 2011.). The Wall Street Journal (calling Lowder "combative") had a better story (which you have to subscribe to in order to read from my link), but as of this posting, it was the Birmingham Business Journal that had (for me anyway) the right combination of facts to put the story in perspective. There was no significant blogger activity that I could find as of this posting. Of course it was a late in the day story, and I'm sure by morning there will be much more analysis.

Just A Minute - May 28, 2009 MACHO men

The Robert Trent Jones/Judge Sotomayor/Hugs connection, Really.

Licencia de conducir

Check out this quote from Kentucky's Governor Steve Beshear this morning:

"Kentucky has a long standing tradition of being a very welcoming state. We're seeking foreign investment in our state. We want people to come here from other countries to do business, and Gov. Beshear doesn't want to detract from that."

Sounds like boilerplate political language... till you consider that Beshear is explaining why he reversed a decision by the Kentucky State Troopers to offer the drivers license exam only in English. The Troopers said they did it as a way to save money. Multiple-language exams have been a flash point for anti-immigrant sentiment in many states--Alabama very much included-- for many years. Compare the Democratic Kentucky Governor's comment to this, from Alabama State Senator Scott Beason (R- Gardendale) last year, quoted by Dave White in his Birmingham News story:

"It's good for the people of Alabama to use English as the official language in a unifying factor so that we can all get along," he said. "I see down the road us getting to the place where we end up with two or three groups of people who speak different languages and have a difficult time working with each other. "I'm trying to avoid that situation."

Beason was defending his bill (which failed) to go back to an English-only driving test, and to require English in all other state government actions. But Alabama's license wars go back a decade. Through the 1990's, the state went to court repeatedly, fighting for the right to offer the exams only in English. Finally, in 1998, a Federal Court ordered the state to offer the multiple language exams, finding in favor of a Southern Poverty Law Center lawsuit. This morning, the Governor of Kentucky decided his state was not going down that road.

Hugs. OH NO! HUGS!

Here's the quote from a High School Principal in the NY Time story about students hugging: “Touching and physical contact is very dangerous territory.” Dangerous? Wow. Read it. Now parents have something else to worry about! Forget drugs and guns and gangs and stuff. Leo Buscaglia is turning over in his grave.

[NOTE: OK, that is a Father-Daughter hug in the photo, but the principle in the same! Only in the most perverse mind is a hug a bad thing!]

Between the Lines

The comments about Postsecondary chancellor Byrne leaving his two-year college position "sooner than expected" to run for governor are interesting...the Press-Register story quotes two Republican SBOE members as urging Bryne to step aside because holding a state job while running for another would give the appearance of double-dipping (surely a sore point in Postsecondary!). Byrne did a state fly-around to announce his candidacy today. But the real target of the comments may be on the other side of the aisle. Can you say Democrats Agriculture Commissioner Sparks and Congressman Artur Davis? Unless they quit their day jobs, they'll both receive government paychecks till election day. Not that it's only Democrats: Robert Bentley is a Republican state Representative and Kay Ivey (if she runs) is Treasurer. Also, Charles Bishop(OW) is a State Senator who says he's not running for re-election. All this raises the question about an incumbent running for re-election, all that time on the public dole spent on the road trying to keep his/her job instead of doing his/her job! [UPDATE: Thursday May 28, 2009 State Treasurer Ivey will run. She doesn't say if she'll leave the Treasurer's job, but she does say: "I've been absolutely devoted to finding solutions to the PACT problems, and not trying to make political hay out of a very bad situation for Alabama students and their parents," Ivey said. Uh, does that mean she won't use her failed program against her opponents?]

The Sotomayor Code?

Judge Sonia Sotomayor would be the sixth Roman Catholic on the current court. Of course Roman Catholicism is the largest religion practiced in the U.S, so perhaps that's not unexpected? Does that endanger Roe v Wade? And the gay-marriage question that will surely go before the short at some point? Of course not, since we're all being assured that justices should ONLY consider the written law, not their own feelings and beliefs, right? The linked Boston Globe story suggests she goes to church for special and family events. Last I recall, Mass on Sundays is not an optional activity for Catholics. So just what kind of a Catholic is she?

[UPDATE: N.Y. Times article on Sotomayor and abortion rights.] [UPDATE: N.Y. Times article on Sotomayor and Catholicism.]

Health Care Ads

Democratic Rep. Bobby Bright has scheduled a "Health Care Summit" tomorrow afternoon in Dothan. In advance, residents of his district have been pummeled with ads from the drug industry. I received this glossy two-page mailing encouraging me to "Call Bobby Bright and ask him to keep fighting for better health care in Alabama" (emphasis mine). So what's up with this? The mailing (and the matching TV ad campaign) are from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, for Healthcare Leadership Council. Hmmm. The wording makes it appears to be a campaign piece for Bright's 18-months from now re-election bid: BB "is working", BB's "highest priority is...", and BB "will fight". Yet you have to wonder when the people who are in the business of selling drugs and health care services are seemingly supporting the former Montgomery Mayor, who's looking out for the consumers of those products and services? Yet if Bright's already in their favor, why the ad campaign? Do they see him as in danger of falling off the drug company waggon, and the ads are an intervention of sorts??

"Just a Minute" - Sessions& Shellby & Sotomayor

For some reason, the usual method of placing a Youtube Video on a Google Blog isn't working, and believe me I have tried two dozen times tonight. So HERE is the link. If any other bloggers have had the same trouble...being told the video will be your blog shortly and then it never appears...let me know if you found a solution! Thanks.

Protected from Bullies

Bullies come in all forms and sizes. All of us have worked with 'em. As children, many of us put up with them in school. Bullies harass, though we didn't call it that when I was in elementary school. And their targets are frequently kids who are different. Maybe they are the only white student in a mostly black school, or vice-versa. Maybe they stutter or have a lisp. Maybe they are short or tall or fat or of a different religion. Their difference becomes a bullseye for the class bully. This week, The Alabama Department of Eduction will begin implementing a freshly approved state law designed to protect Alabama children from that kind of harassment. Act 2009-571 was titled The Student Harassment Prevention Act, and Governor Bob Riley signed it without fanfare last week. As with virtually all legislation, it is the product of much political wrangling and emotional hand- wringing. HB 216* was designed to protect students with certain characteristics and students who hang with students with those characteristics. The harassment must be more than a one-time incident, and it must be reported by the student or the student with his or her parent or guardian, but not by a teacher. It specifically avoids harassment between a teacher and a student, so bully coaches or math teachers are home safe: this act apply only to student against student harassment, intimidation, violence, and threats of violence in the public schools of Alabama, grades prekindergarten through 12 Free speech is reasserted in Section 7...a graduated system of punishments is proposed...and $10,000 (of a $6.2 Billion budget) is earmarked to pay for implementation by the SBOE. There's no money provided on the local level. and on perhaps the toughest issue, the new law passes the buck, first to the State Board of Education, and later to local school boards. It requires the SBOE to draw up a model policy that will help determine when words or acts that are reasonably perceived as being motivated by any characteristic of a student, or by the association of a student with an individual who has a particular characteristic, if the characteristic falls into one of the categories of personal characteristics contained in the model policy adopted by the department or by a local board. So now the torch...or the hot potato...has been passed from lawmakers to the SBOE, which will develop a model and then pass it to local school boards. Will the SBOE's list of characteristics include physical handicaps? Mental impairments? Identifiable religious traits? Race or perceived race? Accents? Nationality or perceived nationality? Sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation? The law allows local boards to add to, but not subtract from the SBOE characteristic list. The reality is that the list the SBOE draws up will become the gold standard. What's the likelihood the local school board in Mobile or Pell City or Cullman or Lowndes County have a broader view than the state? The big decision for the SBOE won't involve handicapped kids, or those who are fat, or short, or from other countries. There won't be much debate about including race and gender on that SBOE list of characteristics. The big decision in Red-State Alabama will be whether the board agrees to protect gay kids and those who the bullies think are gay. The State Department of Education will be holding hearings to obtain public opinion on the list. The bill goes into effect on October 1, 2009. Local boards will have till July of 2010 to implement the policies.

[NOTE: You can read the bill online. Make sure you select Regular 2009 Session by clicking on the top left panel, then click on bills and status. Then insert HB216 in the window that opens.]

Just a Minute - Video Commentary

a new series of video commentaries..yes, Tim back on the tube! (-:

Rememomorialday

MMMM # 43- the Search Continues...

...the search for a business model that will allow newspapers to survive. Here's one of the more interesting columns on the subject that I've come across recently, inEditor and Publisher

an industry publication.

Will sites like Huffington or Slate replace the daily papers? One of the best arguments against that proposal comes from newspaper veterans who say they'll believe it the day they see a reporter from one of those sites sitting next to them, covering the local school board meeting.

The strange part is that the potential replacement for the papers already exists in virtually every city and town in the country: the local TV stations. They have the time set aside for news, the basic setup of a news gathering organization, and a presence online. But instead of embracing that journalistic challenge, they continue down tabloid road, doing flashy "special series" that just repeat the same information from the last time the topic was a "special series". "Meth is the cause of 90% of the crime in your neighborhood" blared one. Uh, maybe property crime, but certainly not all crime.

Imagine if a local station swore off the self-promoting stories designed to make them look good and hired some real newspaper reporters, actual journalists, and then allowed them the time (time to cover and research, and time on-air) to do the stories right. Not cheap, but TV News viewership is down, so what they're doing now isn't working especially well. Think 60-Minutes on the Statehouse level.

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this blog.] [UPDATE: And maybe Flyp if the future of magazines?]

NewSverse

To wit? by Tim Lennox I twitter away, trying to say something, anything, others might. (digital Haiku) give me my pencil! [NewSverse is a regular Sunday feature on this blog that explores the changing universe of mass media.]

The Press-Register on PACT

The Mobile newspaper is editorializing today about the state's "promise" to PACT parents. They say it will be difficult to do but we must pay for the tuition for PACT students. I wish the paper's editorial board would watch the "For The Record" video from October 25,2006 that I linked to earlier, in which Republican State Treasurer (then Republican incumbent) Kay Ivey plainly says [at 15:32 into the program] there is NO guarantee...no promise, if you will, with the program. PACT was an investment program with risks, not a savings account with low simple interest. I hate it for the folks who tried to prepare for their kid's college, but--again--welcome to the economy of 2009 club! Anybody with any investment on Wall Street lost their shirt. You are not alone.

Really, Really Smart. No, Really!

I'm a sucker for some movies. If I stumble across Crimson Tide or My Cousin Vinny in my channel voyages on cable, I'm sure to stop and watch some, if not all, of the flick. "Good stories well told" is my definition of a good flick to kill time before the show you're really waiting for begins (and in the case of those two, not especially draining on the brain). The other day I spotted 2001: a Space Odyssey on Encore and TiVo'd it. It's also one of my will-watch-anytime flicks, even though there's nothing mindless about it. Remember, this is a movie that starts out with a black screen and classical music for two minutes and doesn't have a word of dialogue for almost half-an-hour! I believe Kubrick and Clarke created a great morality play, almost Shakespearean in scope, with the supercomputer HAL as the conflicted father figure. (I'm perfect, so how can I have made a mistake? I must kill the children!) Combine that classic with a NY Times story about increases in computing intelligence that ran this week, and I got thinking about thinking, and intelligence. Aren't we all the top experts in our own ignorance? I mean, don't we individually know more about what we don't know than anyone? And part of our lives is spent either hiding, or at least diverting attention away from, those black holes in our knowledge. There's talk about the development of computers that can read minds, measuring the electrical codes sent during any given thinking process and translating them into words on paper. That certainly would change interrogations! Who needs waterboarding? Has anyone ever researched the level of actual intelligence vs the self-perceived intelligence? Do the people you consider smart know they are smart? And the not-so-smart folks? Do they think they are smart? In My Cousin Vinny, the character played by Marisa Tomei comes off as a rather dumb Brooklyn High School dropout, but get her talking about the mechanics of car engines and whoa! The judge (Fred Gwynne) wears robes and occupies a position of importance, but can't see through obvious witness lies. Who's smart? I have some old 8mm film of a birthday party for my sister. I'm about 3 or 4 years old in it and sitting at the table with the usual cone-shaped birthday hat on. There are maybe a dozen children attending, but if you look at just me and carefully watch my eyes, I swear it appears as if I have a developmental problem of some kind! I'm unfocused, smiling but kinda late, kinda disengaged. But how could that be? I'm smart...really really smart! Honest! [NOTE: Readers who are prompted to comment that they "knew that all along" are asked to be kind. I'm in a vulnerable place right now..(-: ]

Happy 71st Birthday

May 24, 1938: a patent granted for the first parking meter. The first one was installed in Oklahoma City the following July 16th. I'm not sure they scheduled it with that patent date in mind, but last week was the annual meeting of the 1,500 member International Parking Institute in Denver. I've come across several references that claim the first meters were the targets of vigilantes in Alabama. Why does that not surprise me? Yet I've been unable to find an original source for that information. I did find a story in the Wall Street Journal that put the state's courts in the middle of the battle: ...in 1937, the Alabama Supreme Court declared Birmingham's parking meters to be an unauthorized exercise of the city's taxing power, and ordered them removed. Other state courts allowed parking meters, but only if their primary purpose was to regulate traffic, not to raise revenue, a distinction that quickly faded in the lean days of the Depression." When the meters were installed in Paris, the good citizens of that city burned the building where the traffic authority was located. Or so says a widespread reference online...which I also have not been able to track down. Oh, and by the way, it was a professional violinist who invented the "boot" used in some cities to enforce traffic laws.

U.W. Clemon on Siegelman

Retired Federal Judge U.W. Clemon wants the U.S. Attorney General to investigate the prosecution of Don Siegelman, just as a group of 75 former U.S. Attorneys does. It appears The Daily Kos was first with the story, and the web report has all the background (including, obviously, Clemon's dealings with a previous federal prosecution of Siegelman that landed in his courtroom and ended with the charges being dismissed.) Sieglelman is free on bond as he awaits a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on his appeal. [UPDATE: Also read Scott Horton in Harper's on the same subject.]

“It’s just a tradition.”

That's a quote from a student in a story about segregated High School Proms (focusing on Georgia, thank you!) in the NY Times Magazine. The story suggests that they have been a "tradition" in many parts of the South since integration. How about here in Alabama? Remember Principal Hulond Humphries? In the Spring of 1994 he brought the eyes of the national media on Wedowee in Randolph County when he defended a ban on interracial dating at the Randolph County High School prom. That Fall an arson fire destroyed the school. Humphries was eventually removed and put to work in a county office in charge of rebuilding the burned school. The next year a 25 year old black man, the son of one of the protest leaders, was charged with setting the blaze, though defense attorneys continued to point to Humphries as the arsonist. A jury acquitted the suspect, and no other charges were filed. On the right is the cover of the 2009 High School graduation section of the Randolph County Leader newspaper.

Are here still racially divided proms anywhere in Alabama?

[UPDATE: I had forgotten, but in 1997, Humphries was elected Randolph County School Superintendent. He retired in January 2000.]

Siegelman Ruling

Birmingham News reports the former Governor likely to remain out of jail till at least August...

When did THAT happen?

Secretary of Defense Gates says the very word Guantanamo has become a "taint" on America. Mr. Secretary, did that happen in the last four months, since President Obama took office? If not, did you so advise the previous administration to close the prison there?

Why Web Polls are WORTHLESS

To state the obvious first, any poll in which the person answering the question makes the decision to become a part of the poll (i.e. "self-selected") is bogus. It immediately becomes "unscientific" and therefore meaningless, at least in terms of helping anyone understand anything. There's a Washington Post story today about how inventive people with time on their hands can manipulate the whole "user rating" system on a web site. This T-shirt photo shows the item that became the best selling piece of clothing on Amazon.com because of manipulation by users. The next time you see a TV station using a poll from their web site remember this story. Is candidate "X" really ahead...or just ahead in convincing supporters to click on his name? Do Alabama residents really believe in UFOs? Or is a local UFO group supporting its avocation by manipulating the system. At the very least, TV stations should include a disclaimer...though I understand why they don't. How dumb does it sound for an anchor to use a poll as a"news story" and then tell viewers the poll results are "not scientific"..i.e., essentially meaningless?

PACT Questions

A few PACT questions:

1) If the PACT program has sufficient funding for the Fall of '09 and the Spring of '10, why do we need to have a special session to "save it"...why not wait till he '10 Regular Session---the last minute---as usual? Seriously though,, those sessions cost money...couldn't it wait till the RSA study is done and options are laid out?

2) Why is there no investigation by The Alabama Securities Commission or the SEC into the way PACT was marketed to Alabama parents? There are regulations you know, Madam Treasurer.

3) And why are taxpayers going to be required to "save" the PACT parents from their losses while the those of us with 401k plans simply have to sit back and live with it. As I've asked before, did the PACT parents really think they had no risk exposure at all?

[UPDATE: Out of curiosity, I searched through the available online "For The Record" programs for guest appearances by Treasurer Kay Ivey...and if you listen to the one that aired October 25, 2006, at about 15:32 into the show, you'll hear her say quite explicitly that not only is there no guarantee with the PACT program, the Alabama Constitution prohibits any such guarantee. ]

Help me understand...

So the former GOP Presidential ticket of McCain/Palin now agree with bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ? AND in Texas, where Governor Perry has fought against the stimulus package, the legislature is using $11-Million of it to rebuild the burned Governor's Mansion? On top of that, President Obama reverses his position on the military tribunals at Guantanamo... Does ANYONE say what they mean in politics? Or if they do, does that assure defeat? One well known Birmingham resident I know was considering a run for state office, but told me this week that he decided against it because he would have to bend his principals to win.

Understatement of the day

From the Birmingham News: "Riley said he saw video of the police beating on a national newscast this morning. ''I think anyone that saw it thought there was an over-reaction,'' he said. ''You have to give police officers some latitude, to go through what they go through every day, and the adrenaline's pumping and everything is moving very quickly, but you should never tolerate that type of reaction from any segment of law enforcement,'' Riley said. So what's the story here? Is it a simple "over-reaction" that's kind of understandable because of the stress in police work? Governor: since when do five officers get fired and the FBI joins in a criminal investigation because of an "over-reaction"? And what about the cover-up part...was that an "over-reaction" too? [UPDATE: the lawyer for the five fired officers says they were following training.]

The Economist on Artur

The British magazine's blog has an article about the possibility that Alabama voters might elect an African-American candidate...i.e., Artur Davis...as Governor 2010. "Shocking" is the way they put it. Somehow I get the feeling the esteemed publication thinks the fire-hoses are still at work here. I've said for years that we pay the "Wallace Tax" in Alabama...having to work that much harder because of the stain on our reputation...but come on! Perhaps the Economist would like to send a correspondent to Alabama for a month or so? If Davis has a chance, it's because he has so far managed to ride the same center rail---against hate crime legislation, against gay marriage (but kinda OK with "civil partnerships")---an even more center center rail that President Obama took to the White House. A Poll conducted by Davis pollster John Anzalone shows him winning not only the Primary a year from now, but even a General Election against possible GOP nominee Bradley Byrne. But November 2010 is eighteen months away. The first TV spot hasn't run. I understand the strategy, seize the high ground and make yourself a candidate to beat. But let's get some definitive answers from the dozen or so folks who are likely candidates before any crowns are passed out.

[UPDATE: There's an interview with Davis on a South Alabama website (Ligniappe. com) in which he's asked about party identification.."Alabama Democrats run from a different place" is his comment, a version of the "I didn't leave the party, the party left me" line that you hear from Republicans all the time. Here Davis tries to distance himself from the DNC. Wonder if that means he'll reject any monetary or other assistance from the national party. If I get a chance to interview him again, I want to ask him to name four specific ways Democrats in Alabama are different from Republicans in Alabama, without mentioning any national party issues.]

No Tim Lennox Biographical Films Allowed

I know the children of Rev. and Mrs. Martin Luther King have a history of fighting for the rights (and profits) from anything dealing with their parents. But can someone explain to me how they can possible expect to get a legal ruling blocking someone from making a documentary because they have not given their permission???? Here's the story.

Birmingham police beating video

Five officers fired this morning as a result of the beating of an unconscious suspect following a police chase. Senior officers who failed to report the incident will be disciplined. Lawyer for beaten man has filed a claim.

90% Substandard Work

How do we treat a company that does such poor work installing power lines in new building for the troops in Iraq that one inspector says 90% of the work did not meet building codes? We'll see, perhaps, after that inspector testifies today in Congress. But complaints against Houston based KBR go way back...as do allegations that the only reason they got the Iraq contract in the first place is their political friendship with the Bush family. Several American troops have died from poorly installed electrical lines, though KBR denies the allegations they did substandard work. So how do we treat a company that does poor work? Do we really support the troops? We'll see. [UPDATE: According to a new NY Times story, the company was also awarded tens of millions in bonuses for it's electrical work!]

Alleged Birmingham Police Beating

The bruises have long healed on the victim's face, but there are allegations this morning that it was Birmingham police that caused them in 2007...and not the wreck that knocked him unconscious before the alleged police assault. The Birmingham news has the story. If the video is online anywhere, I have not been able to find it. There's no question the victim of the beating was a less than honorable citizen of Birmingham, especially now, post-conviction. But the allegation is that these were veteran officers beating an unconscious man. [UPDATE: Video is posted up top]

Irish Eyes Are Smiling [NOT]

The Irish are preparing for a double-barrelled insult to their reputation for raising big, poor, but happy families. An editorial in The Irish Examiner uses words like shock and horror about the dual reports on the abuse of children that are about to be released, but concludes by asking if children are really all that important in Ireland. Being of dual nationality, I treat all of this with more than a passing interest. There are my people. My Grandparents and our more distant ancestors were part of the society in which this occurred. I have no reason to believe that any of my family was victim or victimizer, either by the priests at the Catholic Parishes or those religious figures at the state institutions where children were mistreated. But who knows? Thousands of people testified before the commissions that produced the reports. Many thousands more no doubt kept their silence to protect the "good family name", because they believed their priests more than their own children, or because they have passed on and their bones will not speak for them. It's a shame these reports are being released now, in this time of economic stress. Because it will make it easier to file them away. Later. We'll do something later. Or never.

[UPDATE: Wednesday 5/20/09 The first of the two reports has been released. NOT pretty.]

[UPDATE: Friday 5/22/09 Catholic Church in Ireland resisteing pressure to pay more toward compensation.]

[UPDATE: Read this commentary by a writer who lived in Ireland in the midst of it all.]

Huntsville Times

Another daily Alabama newspaper is making changes. There's a new look to The Huntsville Times. Unlike the Star in Anniston, the Times isn't going tabloid one day a week, but they are making design changes to emphasise the only franchise newspapers really have left: local news. Read about it here. No secret that The Times and virtually every other paper in America has been slammed by the recession and the net. The race is on to see which big American city will be the first to go without a daily paper.

Paying for THEIR Bad Choices

The 50-Million or so Americans who pay their credit card bills on time about to be punished. From a story in the N.Y. Times this morning: "Banks are expected to look at reviving annual fees, curtailing cash-back and other rewards programs and charging interest immediately on a purchase instead of allowing a grace period of weeks, according to bank officials and trade groups." Of course the fast paying crowd has been living off those with lesser credit for a long time, getting awards and rewards while paying no annual fee and often no interest, so maybe turnabout is fair play? Is this a good morning for services like Paypal? [UPDATE: Here's what the new credit cards rules from Congress look like.]

Radio Ratings

For virtually the entire time I've been a broadcaster, I've heard complaints from the owners and employees of radio stations with "minority" or Urban formats that they aren't treated fairly by the giant ratings service "Arbitron". Now apparently the FCC is going to take an in-depth look at those allegations, but with a modern twist. The complaints I heard were about the old way of measuring radio listening...getting people to keep a written diary of their listening for a week or two. According to a story in the Washington Post, the agency will look into allegations that the "people-meters" that replaced the paper diary method are also unfair to minority media. I don't know if the meters are better or not, but I've always felt the methods of measuring radio listening are flawed and too subject to manipulation by station owners. Put up enough billboards and a diary keeper will think your call-letters even if they hadn't really listened. And it's a given that many diary keepers wait till the end of the week and then fill in--from memory!--what they listened to that week. Perhaps the meters have similer problems.

Byrne & Siegelman & Layoffs & Little

I picked a busy news day to be preoccupied with the job hunt, no? 1) Not a huge surprise, but Postsecondary Chancellor Byrne has resigned, presumably to run for Governor on the GOP ticket. Byrne was always impressive as a guest on FTR, and seems like the candidate to beat in the primary (IF he has enough money behind him!) I've been saying how much I would like to see a debate between him and Democrat Artur Davis. 2) Also: Don Siegelman's lawyers want to delay another sentencing hearing. 3) Plus: Over the weekend there was a prediction of 1,500 layoffs in Jefferson County, and possible bankruptcy, over the sewer mess. On top of the 1,000 US Steel layoffs, that's a mess for the Greater Birmingham area. 4) State Senate Majority Leader, Democrat Zeb Little, pleads guilty to drunk driving. But what happened to the leaving the scene of an accident charge? 5) And finally, word that some of the jobs at the new Hyundai plant near Montgomery may be crossing the state line to the new Kia plant in Georgia.

MMMM # 42 - Selma, Lord, Selma

John King produced a segment of the CNN "State of The Union" program by traveling to Selma last week, and as I watched the resulting story Sunday morning, I was astounded to see three Selma residents sitting in The Downtowner restaurant, two white women and a black man, rehashing the "outsiders came here and caused the racial troubles" routine. "Busloads!" said one of the women. They said it was all about money, the TV Networks wanted to show the discord because it would make them money. But at some point, doesn't the State of Alabama and its people have to accept responsibilities for what happened? George Wallace wasn't an outsider. Nor were the Klansmen that bombed the churches and killed the children. Nor were the state troopers that bashed the peaceful marchers on the Edmund Pettis Bridge. Yet if you read the official history of the Department of Public Safety online, there's barely a mention of their role: Gov. Wallace chose Albert J. Lingo, a longtime member of the Highway Patrol, to direct the Department of Public Safety during the turbulent early '60s. These years were marked by marches and demonstrations that characterized the civil rights movement in the South. The names Birmingham and Selma were in the press daily and were known not only in Alabama, but also across America and throughout the world. Public Safety was called on time and time again in response to the demonstrations, and its officers sought to maintain order amid strife. Were there "outsider reporters" here for the story? Sure, it was an International story! But they didn't create the story any more than reporters created a police brutality story in Manhattan or a war in Iraq. Were "outsider protesters" here to take a stand? Of course. But the conditions that caused the Civil Rights Rebellion in Alabama were anything but an outside job. When we suggest they were, we shame the good homegrown people who were brave enough to do the right thing.

[ALSO: Howard Kurtz in yesterday's Post on the "new" Newsweek. A magazine seeking fewer readers.]

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regualr feature of this blog]

Truth

Pressure is mounting on The Obama Administration to find the truth about who knew what when during the eight years of the Bush/Cheney White House. Though he's certainly been no friend of Bush/Cheney, today's Frank Rich column in the NY Times presents a powerful argument for the establishment of some kind of official sanctioned investigation. If nothing else, how can you justify spending $40-Million on the Starr Investigation of Bill Clinton sex life and bogus claims about a fake suicide, and at the same time say we don't need to at least look into allegations that the U.S. was led to war by official lies. If you read no other column today, read Rich. Can we handle the truth? Can we afford not to?

Do Dah Day 2009 Birmingham

another from the parade

NewSverse

MUST SHOOT, EDIT, ANCHOR By Tim Lennox They want you to do it all, a 1-man-band it's called. Think of the original: a clownish figure with horns on his hat and cymbals on his knees and a harmonica on his wrist and a billion chores in his head. The quality of his sound isn't important, it's the fact that he can do it at all. Ditto. [NewSverse is a regular feature of this blog. All of the poetry is original verse by the blogger.]

Do Dah Day Birmingham 2009 - Parade 2

Real and cute AND fake and scary dogs.

Do Dah Day 2009 Birmingham - A Katrina Dog

One of the parade dogs, a "Katrina" dog in tutu. Really.

Do Dah Day Birmingham 2009 - The parade

Pups and Cars and Pups in Cars

Do Dah Day Birmingham 2009 -early rain

A rather wet Caldwell Park in advance of the parade

drip DO DAH DAY drip

OK, so it rained a bit....in fact it poured so much in Shelby County as I drove through on I-65 that it was almost a pull-over-to-the-side deluge. It left it's mark on Caldwell Park too, as you can see. But the rain ended about fifteen minutes before parade time, and it was still holding off when I drove back to Montgomery this afternoon. I Hope to upload a couple of video clips in a while.

Do Dah Morning

Happy Do Dah Day! I'll be headed to up to Birmingham this morning to fulfill my duties as a Judge For Life in the annual fundraiser for the Greater Birmingham Humane Society. Is there rain forecast? Sure, but we won't let a little rain stop us, will we? Come by the Northeast corner of Rhodes Park at the reviewing stand and say hi!

A-S-U

So the Governor vetoed a Legislative resolution this afternoon, one that asked Alabama State University to put Joe Reed's name back up on the "Acadome" on campus. Asked. Resolutions have no power behind 'em, They merely express the will of the Legislature. And since it passed, everyone knows a majority of the lawmakers wanted Reed's name put back up. And since the resolution has no power, the Governor's veto also has no real power, other than to let people know Bob Riley does not want Reed's name on the building, right? No, wait. Riley says he vetoed it because he believes Boards of Trustees should have control over the working of their institutions without interference from the Legislature. Kind of absurd objection though, since the legislature decides how much money Universities and Colleges get, their very lifeblood. But they're not supposed to have the right to say how they think that money should be spent? Too late, They said it by voting on the resolution, veto or no veto. He's been governor seven years. When is the last time he vetoed a mere resolution?

Bad Friday for Alabama Democrats

Not only did the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reject a full hearing to Former Governor Don Siegelman and Healthsouth Founder Richard Scrushy, but former Democratic State Senator E.B. McClain is about to be sentenced for his conviction on charges of funneling state grant money to a on-profit agency that then turned around and hired him to work for them. And there may be other developments for Democrats to look forward to. According to The Birmingham News: McClain faced a 19- to 24-year sentence, but prosecutors are seeking a shorter sentence because McClain provided "certain information" after his conviction. Don't you wonder what he might have told them about who? [NOTE: A Runoff election will be held on June 30th to select a replacement for McClain in State Senate District 19. The candidates in the runoff are State Representatives Merika Coleman of Hueytown and Priscilla Dunn of Bessemer, both Democrats. No matter who wins, that will create a vacancy in the House.] [UPDATE: Birmingham News reports McClain sentenced to almost 6 years.]

Swine Flu & Worthless Cleaning.

Just when New York students thought it was safe to go back into the classroom, large clusters of Swine Flu have cropped up in several schools, including one where an Assistant Principal is in critical condition. Those schools are closed, yet according to The New York Times story, "At I.S. 5, masked workers could be seen wiping down cafeteria tables on Friday, following a day in which the nurse’s office was flooded with pupils complaining of feeling ill. The problem with that is that it is a waste of time. According to The Centers For Disease Control: Studies have shown that influenza virus can survive on environmental surfaces and can infect a person for up to 2-8 hours after being deposited on the surface. So if the school is even closed for normal overnight hours, the flu is gone from the surfaces and the workers are wasting their time and money "cleaning" the surfaces. One Alabama State Agency I know spent thousands of dollars paying a crew to clean their entire building after a worker was diagnosed with the MRSA virus. The worker had been gone from the building for at least a week when the cleaning crew made its useless and expensive rounds. But I'm sure some of the "leadership" felt much better about themselves for showing they were doing something.

No list from GM

Unlike yesterday's relatively easy to digest announcement from Chrysler that it is severing ties with some 800 dealers, assembling a list from GM's action in eliminating 1,100 dealers will be a herculean task. "GM spokeswoman Susan Garontakos said the company will not make public a list of dealers to be cut, leaving the decision to release information to individual business owners." I'm sure AP and Reuters etc will get members to report on the status of individual dealerships, but it will be a while before any hard numbers come through. Unless, of course, a list is filed with Treasury or the courts.... [UPDATE: The New York Times is using its website to ask GM dealers to contact them!]

Prisons

I was happy, but somewhat amazed, to hear Governor Riley defend the state's responsibility toward prisoners yesterday:

"I'm disappointed the budget they passed makes funding for what many would call 'pork projects' a higher priority than funding for essential government responsibilities like keeping prisoners locked up"

...but the few million legislators diverted from a proposed Corrections budget increase to instead fund various festivals in their districts won't really make much of a difference. Alabama taxpayers will spend $366 million for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 to lock inmates up. That's about $4 million less than Riley wanted to spend. Alabama already spends less per-prisoner than any state in the Union. The prisons hold twice the number of inmates they were built for. Alabama Government has been so cheap with corrections that the Feds have taken control of the entire system before, and it could happen again. The situation is so bad that prison guards have filed briefs in support of inmates who filed suit recently because of the conditions. If Mr. Riley really believes what he says, he should support raising sufficient revenue to replace the state's oldest prisons with larger facilities to handle the crowds. But the last time Mr. Riley took that route, supported raising taxes to pay for prisons and the rest of state government, voters said no and Riley barely escaped with is job. The only other solution is to lock up fewer people. To truly get out in front of sentencing reform and stop locking up people for minor drug offenses. (Instead, every time the Legislature meets they create new felony crimes, adding to the prison population). But neither raising taxes nor arresting fewer people is a very attractive option for someone who wants to win an Alabama popularity contest on election day.

"Free The Hops" Bill

Senate passes this for-some-reason controversial bill. Oh yea, it has to do with sinnin', that's why it's controversial. Even Teatotlin' Republican State Senator Hank Erwin ended up voting for it after being a lead opponent. Think his announcement that he's running for Lt. Gov has something to do with it? Anyway, you should soon be allowed by your government to drink specialty beers. Wow. Those Hops taste like freedom...and in my lifetime I think I may have consumed a six-pack of beer. (-:

Shelby County Liquor Sales

State Senate this afternoon overrode Governor's veto of that Shelby County Sunday liquor sales bill. The vote was 18 - 11. Riley argued the legislation was unconstitutional. Thanks to the Senate, he now has a chance to go to court to prove it.

Protecting Alabama's 1851 Capitol Building

"I am astonished!" That was the reaction today from the Alabama Historical Commission's Senior Architectural Historian, Bob Gamble, when I told him that the Legislature wants a proposed new statehouse building to connect to the historic state capitol building, to be a "wing" of that building. The legislation allowing all this is Senate Bill 550, and it is still pending in the Senate. The legislation creates a building authority, and gives that body the power "to extend and connect buildings to the State Capitol" and to close several streets in the area. Senator Roger Bedford is the sponsor.

Gamble had been out of town, and my conversation with him was the first word he's had about the potential connection of a new structure to the 1851 Capitol building. Gamble has reason to be concerned. He worked on the 1980's renovation of the Capitol Building, a project that resulted in the Legislature moving into their current building "temporarily", till the restoration was finished. When the restoration project was done, everyone seemed to realize it would not be suitable for modern legislative meetings, so they stayed in the old office building that they now want to replace. Gamble says it was bad enough when the rear extension was added to the historic structure in 1992. That project was already a done-deal when he arrived in Montgomery, so he learned to live with it. But Gable is a preservationist, and is anxious to hear more about just what legislators have in mind for what may be the state's most historic structure. The only public opposition I've heard till now is financial. Newspapers have editorialized against spending money on a new Statehouse during this terrible recession. Now there may be another argument forming against the construction, if it calls for the new building to actually connect to the Capitol. A "wacko" idea, says Gamble. Fortunately for Mr. Gamble, the bill was introduced in a year with no money, with state elections approaching, and with the 2009 Regular Session running out of time. And those factors may be enough to sink it, despite complaints about the flooding in the Statehouse last week.

[UPDATE: (Friday 5/15/09) HB802, the companion bill, had already been approved by the House. Today is the last day of the session, a rare Friday conclusion, and with the budgets already approved, there's a lot of hanky-panky that can occur. Watch this space]

[UPDATE: AT 1:15PM, HB 802 was amended and is under disussion in the Senate, with Senator Trip Pittman (R- Baldwin County) opposing the measure. The bill been put aside for the moment but is far from dead.]

[UPDATE: (Friday 5/15/09) The Seate adjourned "sine die" at 3:15 this afternoon, ending the 2009 Regular Session. I never heard SB550/HB802 come up for a final vote, but honestly I was away from the computer for a while this afternoon. If you know the status, would you point me in that direction? Thanks.]

[UPDATE: The legislation was never voted on, so the issue is dead till either a special session or next January.]

Fourteen Alabama Dealerships on List

There are fourteen Alabama Chrysler dealerships on the list ending their Chrysler affiliation the automaker presented to the bankruptcy court this morning. They span the state, from Cloverleaf Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep in Decatur to Bondy's Jeep in Dothan. If the dealers sell more than one make of auto, they can continue to sell the other non-Chrysler makes, of course. GM is also expected to close its relationship with an even larger number of dealerships...some 1,200...and that list is expected tomorrow. A two-day punch in the gut of the American automobile business that will change it forever. Here's the list: Anderson Motor Company-------------Lanett Bondy's Jeep-------------------------- Dothan Classic Automotive-------------------- Cullman Drennen Chrysler-Jeep----------------Hoover Glynn Smith Jeep----------------------Opelika Greater B'ham Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep---Birmingham Greenville Motor Co.-------------------Greenville Superior Jeep-Chrysler-Plymouth-----Anniston Miller Sutherlin Auto ------------------Pell City Pierson Jeep---------------------------Gadsden Cloverleaf Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep--------Decatur Susan Schein Chrysler-Dodge-----------Pelham Terry Sligh Auto-----------------------Oneonta Victory Motor Company--------------- Prattville (this dealer closed on Friday, in advance of the list.) [UPDATE: Wall Street Journal story includes quotes from a Wetumpka, Alabama dealer] [NOTE: My original count was off, the Total of 14 is correct.]

Psssst? Wanna Buy A Prison?

Alabama's Department of Corrections has already raised operating cash by selling surplus acres of land. Now perhaps they'll hear what California is proposing for the next logical step. Sell a prison. According to today's L.A. Times, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to sell San Quentin, which sits on some very valuable waterfront property. The Guv also says the L.A. Coliseum should be put on the block to raise money, prompting one outraged L.A. County Commissioner to compare that sports facility to the Statue of Liberty and the Washington Monument. They really do think differently out there, don't they? California is in deep deep debt. They have a 15.4 Billion dollar deficit. California prison officials would have to find a new place for executions, right as they spend hundreds of millions to build a new death row there.

Obituary

Our sympathy to former Alabama Treasurer and PSC Commissioner George Wallace Jr. His son, the grandson of former Governor Wallace, has died in his Pensacola, Florida home of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. George Corley “Corey” Wallace IV was 25. [UPDATE: The obituary, which includes information about the funeral: WALLACE, George Corley, IV, affectionately known as Corey Wallace passed away on May 12, 2009. Corey, the son of Kelly Wnuk and George C. Wallace, Jr., was born in Montgomery on January 10, 1984. Corey is survived by his parents, his brother Robert Kelly Wallace, and his grandparents Col. and Mrs. Donald Cagle. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Governors Lurleen and George C. Wallace. Corey had a warm and caring spirit and was loved by all who knew him. He had a strong faith that guided him to help construct churches in North Carolina and South America. Corey was employed in Pensacola, Florida, where he was also completing his college degree in business administration. He found his church home in Pensacola. Corey had many friends whom he cherished. He was devoted to his family and friends and was a blessing to each of them. Our lives are richer for having loved him, and having been loved by him. Visitation will be 10:00 am, followed by funeral services at 11:00 am, on Friday, May 15, 2009, at Leak Memory Chapel, 945 Lincoln Road, Montgomery, Alabama 36109. Burial will be at Greenwood Cemetery. Leak-Memory Chapel Directing

The (Un)Sanctity of Marriage

The New York Times reports the percentage of unwed births in America is skyrocketing, and it's not just teen-aged mothers. You can see the CDC information online. While Alabama's 38% rate will concern some Alabamians, it's TGFM&DC time...our neighbors to the West has the second highest rate in the country...54%, while the nation's capitol had an astounding 59% unwed birth rate.

All of the figures are for 2007.

Should the rate of unwed births necessarily be of concern? If the children are healthy and loved, does the marital status of the mother truly matter?

Coal Ash for Perry County

While none of the stimulus projects announced so far are going to Perry County Alabama, residents of that Black Belt County are receiving another out-of-state shipment: coal-ash from that horrible spill in Kingston Tennessee. According for the Institute for Southern Studies website:

"Alabama Department of Environmental Management's chief of solid waste, Phillip Davis, said a municipal waste landfill in Perry County in west central Alabama (also) will receive ash shipments."

Coal ash is nasty stuff...full of toxins. Perry County is one of the poorest counties in the state. It lost 10% of its population between 2000 and 2008. The population is almost 70% black. And the TVA is sending the coal ash to a municipal waste dump 275 miles away in that poor Alabama County? Like Tennessee doesn't have any dumps?

[UPDATE: Pennsylvania had already said no thanks. Where is the Alabama Congressional Delegation on this???]

Wanna buy a parking lot?

I was shocked to hear last night that some three thousand GM and Chrysler dealerships will be closing, with the list expected this week. America is a big place, but that's a lot of empty asphalt with plastic flags flying from light poles. In Prattville, just north of Montgomery, one Chrysler dealer decided not to wait. Victory Chrysler Jeep Dodge pulled the plug on Friday and gave staff a last paycheck. The Advertiser reports this morning that at least a part of that business will rise from the financial ashes soon. GM officials say the process of closing the dealerships will be much slower, taking a year or so to complete. But if you know a dealership is closing, how comfortable will you be buying a car from them?

Speaking of Coincidences...

Is it a just case of good (or bad) timing, or just a coincidence, that this morning's Birmingham News features a big Charles Dean story about Federal subpoenas issued for Attorney General Troy King regarding gifts he received and travel he made, on the same morning that lobbyist Luther Strange will announce his candidacy against King in the Republican Primary? Strange's announcement will come via the net at 10:00am, as King and his staff gather records of gifts King received during his time in office, and trips he took..like the one to a skybox in Turner Field courtesy Alabama Power. Just a case of good (or bad) timing? Right. Sure. Just a coincidence. Oh, gotta run, The Easter Bunny is on the other line. [UPDATE: a video of Strange announcing is up already, just before 10:00am, on his website. He says his first goal, "once elected, will be to restore excellence, integrity and the highest ethical standards to the office." A shot across the bow, no doubt.]

Siegelman

Prosecutors want a longer prison sentence for Siegelman? After some of the counts were tossed? And where's new AG Holder on this anyway? He's received a letter from 75 former AG's suggesting he review the case. Here's AP on the Birmingham News site today.

Paving as a Stimulus

Two stories in recent days make you wonder just who's getting the benefit of stimulus money arriving from the Feds. There's an AP story in this morning's Montgomery Advertiser that reports only one of the road projects approved by the State Department of Transportation is in a county with a high unemployment rate. Alabama's unemployment rate is above the national rate. The county with the most unemployment is Wilcox County's 21.5% jobless rate. The story quotes a spokesman for the Transportation Department as saying they selected projects based on how much the repair work was needed. He cited the repaving of I-59 in Etowah County as an example. But on Sunday, USA Today published a story about that very stretch of Interstate, reporting the work would go to a Tennessee Company because the specs require it to be a concrete job as opposed to an asphalt repaving. Some stimulus so far!

Torture Balance

Maybe that's what the Philadelphia Enquirer was seeking when it signed a contract with John Yoo to write a regular column for them. How offensive is that? Not only printing the deep legal thoughts of the man who gave the Bush Administration judicial thumbs up on torture, but paying him to do so? Read this column by Philadelphia Daily News Columnist Will Bunch. [The News and The Inquirer have editorial independence, but are printed on the same presses and share the same building. Like many other newspapers, they are also equally in bankruptcy court.]

Of course not everyone is upset with the hiring of Yoo. The now ubiquitous "comments" section following the column includes this gem: "The mere pleasure of seeing Muslim terrorists suffer under torture is enough to justify it. If they get some good info out of it, great. If not, well, the infliction of pain on these maggots is good enough." So maybe the Inquirer has found a tool to help them dig out from bankruptcy. Columns by the great thinkers of the world. Reprint Goebbels writings. Feature weekly "Bulls" from Pope Innocent III (who wasn't). And perhaps there are some Gestapo experts they can provide a voice to. It'll be huge hit. And sell papers too.

There's an (Steele) App for that

Someone in the GOP Upper Echelons (see Cheney and Co.) needs to install an "App" in the iPhone of the Party PR Head that adds the phrase "Chairman Steele regrets the way his comments have been interpreted" into any news release issued under the Chairman's name. Once again Mr. Steele has managed to be a divider in an already very divided party. According to Huffington Post, while filling in on a talk-radio program, he commented that "... it was the base that rejected Mitt (Romney) because of his switch on pro-life, from pro-choice to pro-life," Steele told a caller. "It was the base that rejected Mitt because it had issues with Mormonism..." I'm not sure how those comments could be misinterpreted, but hey! Maybe "the base has" (great anxiety and wants to discuss) issues with the Mormon" (ism) Church.

Fragging

I suppose the previous post on Vietnam combined with news today that five American military personnel were killed by one of their own in Iraq to get me thinking about 'Nam and "fragging". I remember hearing about a supposed fragging incident on my base in Quang Tri. The story was that one soldier was using drugs and his dealer wouldn't provide any more till he paid what was owed, so the "user" pulled out a grenade and tossed it across the room. Like everything in 'Nam it sounds a touch suspect, and I never saw any bodies, so who knows if it really happened. Lots of BS during all that time waiting, you know. It's hard enough in civilian life to secure a building against a crazy current or former employee. But the Iraq incident happened at a mental health center designed to treat PTSD and combat stress. Soldiers showing up there are, of course, armed. Take stress, add ready access to very deadly weapons, and...those poor five families. Bad enough to lose a loved one to the enemy, but to a supposed co-warrior? [UPDATE: Spotted this item this morning (5/12) about a big increase in the number of Vietnam Vets reporting health problems.]