MONTGOMERY – The Alabama Democratic Party closed qualifying for those people who intend to run as a candidate for delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver Friday night at 5 p.m.
"Democrats in Alabama and across the country are excited about taking back the White House in the next presidential election, and that excitement is reflected by the number of people who signed up to support their candidate at next year's convention," party chair Joe Turnham said in a press release.
More than 360 Alabama voters qualified with the Democratic Party before the deadline today, compared to about 300 for the Republican Party. The roster of Democrats is diverse not only in terms of race and gender, accordin to the release, but also in the mixture of political veterans and first-time candidates. Every congressional district is represented on the list.
Though the majority of those who qualified did so as Clinton, Edwards, or Obama delegate candidates, in fact all Democratic candidates on the ballot in Alabama received some measure of support. Many uncommitted candidates also made the deadline. Thirty-four pledged district-level delegates and seven pledged alternates will be elected during the February 5 presidential preference primary.
Birmingham Union Leaders To Expose Human Rights Violations
Officers of the Central Alabama Labor Federation, AFL-CIO and leaders of local unions in Birmingham and Jefferson County will join with community and religious leaders and elected officials Monday, Dec. 10, at 2 p.m. for a community forum and press conference at CWA Union Hall, 210 Summit Pkwy, in Birmingham.
This press conference, one of hundreds of events being held across America on Monday, International Human Rights Day, is designed to expose the loss by American workers of a fundamental and internationally recognized right, freedom of association and the right to join and form labor unions, according to a press release.
The right to form a union is one of the basic human rights proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ratified by the United Nations on December 10, 1948. U.S. labor law has recognized the right of American workers to organize since the National Labor Relations Act passed by Congress in 1935.
"But routine and massive violation by employers of the legal rights of workers has essentially nullified the law and workers attempting to exercise those rights are harassed, coerced, intimidated and fired with impunity," union spokesman Stewart Burkhalter said. "The result is that U.S. workers have fewer rights than workers in any other industrialized nation."
Research shows that 60 million Americans say they would join a union tomorrow if given a fair chance. Union workers make on the average 26 percent more than workers without a union and are far more likely to have health and pension benefits, according to government statistics.
Speakers will include Stewart Burkhalter, President of Alabama AFL-CIO; Jim Spearman, Executive Director of the Alabama Democratic Party; Ron Sparks, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries;
Lucy Baxley, former Lieutenant Governor; Senator E.B. McLain and Representative Merika Coleman.
For more information, contact Stewart Burkhalter at (334) 462-5434.
A pardon for former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman could be on the presidential agenda if the Democrats take back the White House in 2008, according to Pam Miles, a member of the Alabama Democratic Party executive committee who was in Washington, D.C. this weekend for the Democratic National Committee's fall meeting.
She talked with a number of the presidential candidates at the meeting in addition to party chair Howard Dean and members of Congress, she said, pressing the issue of doing something about the political prosecution of Siegelman.
"The investigation and the possibility of a pardon would be on the agenda," she said. "It came up in every conversation."
Siegelman's case was received well by Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, she said, in addition to Dean and a number of members of Congress, including Mike Honda of California, and a staff member for Dave Obey of Wisconsin, the chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
Senator Hillary Clinton was the only presidential candidate who failed to attend the fall meeting because of the bomb threat in her New Hampshire office last Friday, according to Miles and a New York Times blog.
Ms. Miles presented a personal eight-page letter to Howard Dean from Don Siegelman on her trip, although the contents of the letter are not yet being made public for the media.
What struck Ms. Miles the most on her trip was the extent to which people from other countries seemed to know more about Seigelman's case than people in the United States, which may be a statement on the American media.
She talked to people from China, the Philippines and Africa who seemed to know more about the story than people form North Carolina, she said, and they had learned about the case from blogs, not mainstream media coverage.
She also talked at length to Washington Post columnist David Broder about Siegelman's story. If he were to write about it, it would be a first for the Post, which has so far only run AP stories about the case and even the Washington Post-owned Salon.com has yet to do a lengthy story.
Ms. Miles has worked for the Democratic Party and for Don Siegelman's campaigns at least since 1998. She is known as the administrator of perhaps the biggest Democrat e-mail list in Alabama run out of Huntsville.
She also ran for a state House seat a few years back, but lost to the Republican in District 25, a district where Republicans make up about 76 percent of voters. Mac McCutcheon now holds the seat as a Republican but votes with Democrats in the Legislature much of the time.
Which brings up another interesting point. When the Republicans were trying to gain a foothold in Alabama back in the 1980s, they recruited Democrats to change parties. Now that there is such a backlash against Republicans with the failings of the Bush administration and Republican scandals dominating the news, is it time for Democrats to now go back after some of that talent in the Republican Party and recruit people to switch back?
"Absolutely," Ms. Miles said. "That is already under discussion."
Bill Clinton has talked about it, she said.
And now that the Republican Party is coming to be seen as "the party of the pervs," she said, with gay Republicans ensconced in scandal such as Sen. Larry Craig from Idaho, is it possible we will be seeing more candidates switch back to the Democratic Party in the near future?
General Clark Calls Siegelman Prosecution Political, Bush Presidency 'The Worst'
Photo by Glynn Wilson
General Wesley Clark says Siegalman's prosecution was "politicized" and called "W" the "worst ever."
by Glynn Wilson
General Wesley Clark received standing ovations from Democrats Friday night when he called former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman "a great American" and an "honest man" who was "unjustly confined" by a rogue Justice Department "politicized" by a corrupt Republican administration, and for his criticism of Bush's war in Iraq.
The keynote speaker at the annual Jefferson-Jackson fund raising dinner at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center ballroom, Clark said America is "a nation at war" at home on many fronts as well as abroad.
He made the case why the Democratic Party is the party to bring the nation together again after seven long years of rule by crass corporate capitalist Republican neo-cons who have trashed the Constitution on many fronts.
"We're seeing a 20 year campaign to polarize and partisanize this country and take away the basic fundamentals that we fought so hard to put in place," he said. "It's the use of executive power to put in wiretaps and other spying on the American people to take away our fundamental liberties...
"It's the wholesale politicization of the Department of Justice," he said. "It's a stench of corruption that has run from the White House, through Jack Abramoff..."
The past seven years have been wasted by one lost opportunity after another, he said, on health care, education, civil rights, energy and the environment, including global warming.
"We didn't have to fight that war in Iraq" he said, adding that George "W" Bush is "the worst" president ever.
Clark, a four star general, led U.S. and NATO forces in Kosovo during the administration of Bill Clinton. He has endorsed Hillary Clinton's campaign for the Democratic Party's nomination for president.
Leading up to Clark's address, other speakers included state Supreme Court Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb, Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr., Congressman Artur Davis, Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, state Senator Vivian Davis Figures, party chair Joe Turnham, vice chair and former Secretary of State Nancy Worley and Joe Reed, president of the Alabama Democratic Conference.
Photo by Glynn Wilson
Congressman Artur Davis from Birmingham is a rising star in the Democratic Party...
Reed, who has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, called on Democrats to work hard and "win" elections in 2008, because winning is more important than anything else.
If the Democrats had won the White House and other races in 2000 and 2004, he said, "Don Siegelman wouldn't be behind bars today."
Congressman Davis was praised by many of the speakers for his work on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, which is investigating Siegelman's prosecution as part of a probe into the politization of justice by the Bush administration.
Siegelman is awaiting word on his appeal in a Louisiana federal prison after being sentenced to seven years and four months by a Republican activist judge for allegedly taking a bribe from HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy, who is also serving time in the case awaiting his appeal. Both of them have filed motions demanding release from jail pending appeal, but the appeals process is being held up due to the death of a court reporter who never finished the transcript of the trial from last year.
Prosecutors from the U.S. attorneys office in Montgomery have denied politics played a role in the case. But they have been noticeably silent of late since the Senate confirmed Michael Mukasy as Attorney General to replace Alberto Gonzales, who resigned under a dark cloud of suspicion in August.
There is no word yet on whether Gonzales will be prosecuted in Congress or the courts for his malfeasance in office, although Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy ruled against president Bush's claims of executive privilege this week for his long-time political fixer Karl Rove.
Alabama Democrats Hold Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Birmingham
Photo by Glynn Wilson
Alabama Democrats listen to Gen. Wesley Clark, the keynote speaker, at the Jefferson-Jackson annual fund raising dinner Friday night at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Ballroom
Birmingham Obama Headquarters Grand Opening Nov. 28
Alabama is one of the key states in the Super Duper Tuesday presidential primary Feb 5, 2008.
So on Wed., Nov. 28, the Obama campaign will hold a grand opening of it's Birmingham headquaters at 1813 4th Ave North on the second floor beginning at 6.30 p.m. There will be food, a bar and dancing, along with a conference call from Michelle Obama and an address from Rep. Artur Davis,
More information at BarackObama.Com. To volunteer, e-mail: Volunteer@alabamaobamateam.com.
John Edwards leads the presidential race in Alabama among Democrats, according to an ongoing poll on the Alabama Democratic Party's Website.
Edwards is polling 29 percent compared to 27 percent for Hillary Clinton, 21 percent for Dennis Kucinich and 12 percent for Barack Obama. Joe Biden and Bill Richardson pull 4 percent each, with 1 percent for Chris Dodd and Mike Gravel.
Alabama Governor Bob Riley has once again gone against the wishes of local government officials and appointed George F. Bowman, a retired two-star Army general, to replace former Jefferson County Commissioner Larry Langford who was elected recently as Birmingham's new mayor.
The announcement was immediately attacked by Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Joe Turnham, who said in a press release that he will join outraged Jefferson County voters who were ready to elect a replacement for Langford. The bipartisan Jefferson County Election Commission had already scheduled an election for February 5, 2008.
Governor Bob Riley made this same mistake in a majority Democratic Mobile County Commission district after the election of Sam Jones as mayor. A lawsuit was filed in that case and the governor was forced to call a special election, which was subsequently won by a Democrat.
A three-judge panel from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta ruled that Department of Justice preclearance must be sought prior to such appointments.
"Clearly Governor Riley is thwarting the democratic process here and denying the voters of Jefferson County their right to elect a representative to the county commission," Turnham said. "This action is clearly contradictory to the ruling of the 11 th Circuit Court, it violates the Voting Rights Act, and it flies in the face of a bipartisan decision by an official election commission to hold an election for this seat."
Turnham said the Democratic Party and citizens of the county will exhaust every legal and political remedy to ensure that voters, not the governor, choose their representation on the Jefferson County Commission - as prescribed by law.
Presidential Nominations Could Be Nailed Down by Feb. 5
by Glynn Wilson
The people of Alabama need to start paying attention to the race for the White House now that the state's presidential primary vote has been moved to Feb. 5, according Nancy Worley, vice chair of the Democratic Party and former secretary of state.
"It's possible we will know who the presidential nominees will be on Feb. 5," she said, since so many states have also moved their primary votes for president to that early date.
She is not saying who she will support personally in that vote, but she said, "I would put any one of the eight Democrats up against any of the Republicans."
Ms. Worley was in Birmingham Monday night meeting with the Greater Birmingham Chapter of Democracy for America and the Progressive Democrats of America. She discussed a number of election issues with the group.
She could not say much about her ongoing court battle with state Attorney General Troy King, except to point out that he was appointed by Gov. Bob Riley and, like many of president Bush's appointments at the Department of Justice, he had never tried a case in court.
And, King's state indictment of her came along at the same time and for the same reason the Bush Justice Department brought it's case against former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, she said, "Because we were both doing well in the polls."
Ms. Worley is a former high school teacher from Decatur who always wanted to be involved in public service to help her state and country. For many years, she volunteered her services to the Alabama Education Association and educated herself on the election process.
When she retired from teaching and got the opportunity to run for office, it took a lot of hard work and traveling all over the state since she did not have a lot of money. But the hard work paid off in 2002 and she was elected, only to see her reelection chances fade in 2006 because of the partisan fights that erupted in the courts.
When updating the voter rolls became a heated issue in the news because of King's intervention at the behest of Riley, Ms. Worley said that she could get the job done by the fall of 2007. Riley had the court place him in charge of that process, and he failed to meet the federal deadline as well.
But you would not know that from reading the corporate newspapers and watching the local television news in this state.
As a matter of full disclosure, I have known Ms. Worley since the late 1980s when she proved to be a tireless and invaluable source on a coastal erosion story I covered for a chain of newspapers on the Gulf Coast.
After spending so many years learning the system in Alabama, and after four years of running the election system as secretary of state, she is now a knowledgeable source on what is right and wrong about the system today.
And she happens to agree with me that many of the problems we face in Alabama are holdovers of the era of George C. Wallace, the powerful little governor who ran the state like his own fiefdom and tried to translate his populist appeal into presidential power.
"George Wallace held power for so long," she said, that many of the systemic problems we face can be traced to his legacy.
There is no doubt, she said, that the governor of Alabama "is one of the most powerful governor's in the country" because he is largely accountable to no one.
Even President Bush must face the Washington press corps and answer questions on occasion. The prime minister of Britain is required to face members of Parliament and answer questions on a regular basis.
But not one single media company in Alabama has ever bothered to examine why the governor here has so much power and so little accountability.
Ms. Worley's main advice for the group, in the interest of providing accurate and fail safe elections for the people of the state, is to push and make sure that every polling machine is tested prior to each election. That is not being done as the law requires, she said.
Also, many probate judges and poll workers are not adequately educated on the issues, which could open the door to election fraud from the technically competent crook - like what apparently happened in Bay Minette in 2002.
As the Democrats get ready to debate tonight in Las Vegas, it might be a good time to look at the latest public opinion data out of Alabama.
Alabama may be a red state in national politics in the voting booth, and to read most of the Alabama press and watch local television news, you would think everybody in Alabama is a pro-Bush, religious conservative.
But when asked their opinions by survey researchers, that's not what you find at all.
According to the Alabama Education Association's Capital Survey Research Center out of Montgomery, when asked whether or not they had confidence in the abilities of President George W. Bush, only 12 percent of respondents said they had confidence in Bush.
Another 47 percent said they had lost confidence in the president and another 31 percent said they had "doubts" about his ability.
The survey also showed that the people of Alabama, like the vast majority of Americans, have turned against the Iraq war. A majority, 53 percent, say the war is "not worth it."
Furthermore, 61 percent of Alabama citizens say the country is "on the wrong track."
If the voting for president were held today in Alabama, the numbers show Fred Thompson leading Republicans at about 34 percent to 20 percent for Rudy Giuliani and 11 percent for John McCain.
Among likely voters for the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton leads with the support of about 33 percent, with Barack Obama holding the support of about 29 percent, and 10 percent going to John Edwards.
For another perspective complete with pie charts, check out Tommy Stevenson's blog on the Tuscaloosa News Website.
Alabama Democratic Party Jefferson-Jackson Dinner Nov. 30
The Alabama Democratic Party will hold its annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center with keynote speaker General Wes Clark on Friday, Nov. 30, with a reception starting at 5:30 and dinner at 6:30 p.m.
The Greater Birmingham Chapter of Democracy for America-Progressive Democrats of America will host former Secretary of State and Alabama Democratic party vice chair Nancy Worley as a special guest speaker at a meeting on the 2008 elections on Nov. 19 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Cafe Ciao in English Village.
Ms. Worley will discuss voter fraud, election recounts and other issues, including her ongoing court case in which Alabama Attorney General Troy King is trying to put her in jail like the feds jailed Don Siegelman.
Joe Reed, chairman of the Alabama Democratic Conference, announced today that Congressman Jess Jackson, Jr. of Chicago, Illinois, will keynote the ADC Annual Convention Luncheon on Saturday, May 12, 2007, at 12:30 p.m.
Congressman Jess Jackson, Jr.
His visit will continue Alabama's strong ties to Illinois Democrats who have addressed ADC conventions in the past. The list includes: former United States Senators Paul Simon and Carol Mosley-Braun; Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr.; and Roland Burris, the former Secretary of State in Illinois.
Jesse Jackson, Jr. has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1994. Although he is one of the younger members of the House, he sits on the powerful Appropriations Committee. He is also the second most senior Democrat on the Sub-Committee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.
As a young policy-maker Jackson is proudest of the legislation he crafted that led to the creation of the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health in 2001.
Jackson's visit kicks off ADC's organizational campaign to take back Alabama for Democrats in 2008. "Taking Back Alabama: Some Democratic Strategies for Success," is the theme of the upcoming convention.
Since the convention falls on Mother's Day weekend, ADC will pay tribute to all mothers present during the welcome reception on Friday, May 11, from 7 to 9 p.m., and at the prayer breakfast on Saturday, morning, May 12, at 8 a.m.
As usual an impressive group of grassroots leaders and elected officials from across Alabama is expected to attend the annual convention. Reverend Eric Richardson, pastor of King Hill Missionary Baptist Church of Montgomery, will be the speaker for the Saturday morning Q.D. Adams Prayer Breakfast honoring mothers at 8 a.m.
The convention honorees and recipients of ADC's annual awards are: Sam Jones, mayor of Mobile – the Martin Luther King Jr. American Dream Award; Katie Walton, former member of the Chambers County Board of Registrars – the Lyndon Baines Johnson Political Freedom Award; and Chester Mallory, founder/CEO of Mallory Realty Company in Montgomery – the A.G. Gaston Black Enterprise Award.
Tickets to the convention prayer breakfast and luncheon are available and can be purchased by calling the ADC state office. For more information call: (334) 263-4040.
The Alabama College Democrats will be holding their annual convention this weekend to receive campaign skills training, hear from Democratic leaders and set their agenda for the upcoming year, according to a press release.
The convention runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the hall of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local Union No 52, 5563 Wares Ferry Road, Montgomery.
Bill Clinton Pushes Global Warming, Health Care in Birmingham
by Glynn Wilson
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., April 20- Former President Bill Clinton fired up a record turnout of Democrats at the annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner Friday night and urged them to "get back in the solution business" by pushing for national health care and new technology jobs in the fight to reverse global warming.
Photo by Glynn Wilson
Bill Clinton urges Democrats to get back in the "solution business" on health care, global warming and affordable education.
While Clinton is seen as the most effective president in modern American history for overseeing the reinvention the Democratic Party and changing how the federal government influences the economy in a positive way, he was more modest himself, saying he wished he could take credit for the longest peace time period of economic prosperity in the country's history.
But he does not deserve all the credit, he said. It goes to the confluence of how information technology changed just about every job in the country before the dot com bubble burst and resulted in a hyper period of increased productivity.
While the economy is still showing signs of growth under president Bush, he said, jobs are not being created because all the money is being spent on war - and the issues of global warming and health care are not being addressed.
"It's crazy," he said. "We are crazy if we keep denying climate change rather than embracing it."
He indicated that a national change in priorities toward solving the global warming problem and the national health care crisis are the keys to getting the economy growing again in a way that would create high paying jobs. Coupled with re-writing the No Child Left Behind Act and making education affordable by giving incentives to women and minorities to study math, science and engineering, the technology jobs in health care and alternative energy could create an unprecedented period of economic growth that lifts all boats, not just the rich, he indicated.
"We've got to deal with the income disparity issue," Clinton said, something that was apparent in the rants of the Virginia Tech student who went on a killing rampage this week, and part of the reason for suicide bombers attacking the West from the Muslim world.
Clinton has long talked about the growing divide between the rich and poor in the U.S., but not as vocally as former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, who is expected to give Hillary Clinton a run for all her money in the Democratic Party nomination race for president in 2008.
The Alabama press corps was not allowed to ask Clinton questions at the event. If I were to ask a question, it would have been whether he truly believes his wife would make the best president at this time.
But he answered it on CNN's "Larry King Live" Thursday night.
He said she would "no doubt" make the best president "for a variety of reasons."
But it remains to be seen whether Ms. Clinton can hang onto the front runner spot throughout the long campaign with other top notch candidates such as Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in the race, who may garner a lot of African-American money and support.
Edwards and former Vice President Al Gore are hanging tough in third and fourth in the campaign, which started very early this time due to the fact that Bush can't run again and has no heir apparent on the Republican side of the aisle. Vice President Dick Cheney is seen as too old, sick and unpopular to even consider a run for president.
Guests paid $150 per person and $5,000 for a table for 10 at the dinner, which organizers said drew record numbers due to Clinton's post-presidential popularity.
Democratic Party spokesman Zac McCrary said the party should raise about $350,000 after expenses, an amount which would help fund the party's planned spending through the 2008 presidential election cycle.
Sen. Hillary Clinton did not come along on the trip. She remained in New York speaking to the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network convention. Clinton did not campaign directly for her in his presentation, although he dropped in a few hints about who he supports.
Paying recognition to Alabama's first female chief justice, Sue Bell Cobb, who spoke first at the dinner, Clinton joked, "I've about decided women ought to run everything."
Whether Bill Clinton's appearance will help his wife's chances in the state's presidential primary on Feb. 5 remains to be seen.
"He's a superstar in the party and in the nation. It's got to help," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Marcel Black, D-Tuscumbia, told the Associated Press.
David Lanoue, chairman of the political science department at the University of Alabama, said Democrats view President Clinton's two terms as a "golden period" for the party. "Any time Bill Clinton shows up, it's better for Hillary."
Lanoue said it's especially important in Alabama because the state's Democratic presidential primary will be an early test of whether Hillary Clinton will enjoy the strong African-American support her husband had - or whether Illinois Sen. Barack Obama will draw it instead.
Gerald Johnson, pollster for the Alabama Education Association, is conducting a statewide presidential poll and said preliminary indications are the race will end up much like that last poll in February, which had Hillary Clinton leading, Obama second, and John Edwards and Al Gore about tied for third.
Bill Clinton to Headline Birmingham Fund Raising Dinner April 20
Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Joe Turnham announced today that former President Bill Clinton will headline a spring Jefferson-Jackson Celebration on behalf of the state party on Friday, April 20 in Birmingham.
As the only two-term Democratic President since Franklin Roosevelt, President Bill Clinton remains a highly popular former president with over 59 percent of Americans saying they still hold him in high regard. Clinton is one of the world's most sought after speakers having addressed dozens of groups in every corner of the world since leaving office and is one of the world's most recognizable figures.
"The Alabama Democratic Party is deeply honored and appreciative to President Clinton for giving us this opportunity to celebrate together, raise funds, and build our party infrastructure in order to help build a better Alabama," Turnham said. "When President Clinton left office we were at relative peace in the world, our economy was strong and budget surpluses were projected for the next decade.
"Yet President Clinton's work as a private citizen since leaving office is equally impressive as his Clinton Foundation has helped millions suffering in the HIV/AIDS epidemic through afforable drug availability in places like sub-Saharan-Africa," Turnham said. "He also has joined with former President George H.W. Bush in raising funds worldwide to assist the tsunami-stricken people of Asia."
This will be former President Clinton's first appearance at at a party-sponsored event since leaving office in 2001.
The evening event will feature a private kickoff reception at 5:30 p.m. with President Clinton of the "New Alabamans," a group of special donors that pledge $1,000 annually to underwrite party activities. The reception will be followed by a dinner 6:30 p.m. Clinton will deliver the keynote address.
Tickets for this event are $150 each. Space is limited so interested parties should contact the party office in Montgomery at 334-262-2221 or order online at AlaDems.Org.
The Birmingham Young Democrats, a chartered organization of the Alabama Democratic Future, will hold its third-annual community cookout at Homewood Park, Sunday, Sept. 24, at 2 p.m. It is an opportunity to meet Alabama Democratic Party candidates in the Birmingham and surrounding area before the next election.
The event is free to the public, although a $1 donation is recommended. For more information, e-mail: William Barns at birminghamyoungdemocrats@yahoo.com.
The Jefferson County Democratic Party is holding a 2006 Blue Dot Ball Thursday, Sept. 14, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the SoHo Square Ballroom in Homewood, Alabama. The evening’s special guest will be Civil Rights pioneer Autherine Lucy Foster, the First African-American enrolled at the University of Alabama.
Food, drink and live entertainment will be provided for $75 per person, business attire Make Checks Payable to The Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee, P.O. Box 10522, Birmingham, AL 35202. Or purchase tickets on-line here.
Iowa Governor Tells Alabama Democrats How To Reduce Medicaid Costs
Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack was in Birmingham this week, speaking to members of the Alabama Democratic Party. One thing this great Democratic Governor is doing is seeking a way to reduce the outrageous Medicaid drug costs in Iowa. Alabama should follow his lead.
Under Vilsack's leadership, Iowa is joining with Maine and Vermont to negotiate lower prices for the drugs they buy for Medicaid recipients.
Vilsack said Iowa and the federal government would save about $11 million a year under the new pool. The governments spend about $391 million annually on medicine for Iowa's 300,000 Medicaid recipients, with the state footing about a third of the bill.
"Together, our group of states will achieve pharmaceutical rebates that will far exceed the amount that each," Vilsack said. Other, unidentified states are talking about joining the purchasing pool.
As reported in the De Moines media, Roger Munns, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Human Services, said any savings would be used to run the Medicaid program, whose costs are constantly increasing.
Under the new pool, participating states would retain their power to determine which drugs are covered by their Medicaid plans.
The federal government approved the arrangement.
Alabama needs to do the same, which will lower the costs of Medicaid to the state and strenghten the Mediciad program for Alabama's seniors, according to the Rev. Jack Zylman of Birmingham. "Will Alabama Governor Bob Riley step and do the same, or will he just sit around getting Dick Cheney to raise money for him?"
Just as things were looking up for the Democrats and bad for Bush, it comes to our attention that there's another candidate for public office in Alabama going for the George Wallace vote.
According to an AP story out this morning, one of the Democratic Party candidates for attorney general in Alabama says he doesn't believe the Holocaust occurred and announced he will be speaking this weekend to a "pro-white" organization in New Jersey.
Larry Darby said he will speak to the National Vanguard in Newark, N.J., and told the AP: "It's time to stop pushing down the white man. We've been discriminated against too long."
Darby concedes his views are radical, but he said they should help him win wide support among Alabama voters as he tries to "reawaken white racial awareness" with his campaign against Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson.
State Democratic Party Chairman Joe Turnham said the party became aware of some of Darby's views only a few days ago and was considering what to do about his candidacy.
Darby is the founder of the Atheist Law Center and is a longtime supporter of separation of church and state.
I interviewed him across the street from the state Supreme Court building in Montgomery in August 2003 and actually quoted him in a story for the Christian Science Monitor.
But I had no idea his views were so out of whack with reality until recently when he e-mailed me about his campaign.
Excerpts:
Which religion or tribe is preeminent in the ownership of media for the masses?
Which is the only nation-state that benefits from the current US mercenary actions in the Middle East?
You would reach the hearts and minds of more people with your work if you begin to address what more and more European-Americans are realizing.
***
What's wrong with being called anti-semitic? Do you fear jewry?
Give up your fear. Jew supremacists (tribalists) control the minds of Americans by way of semantic terrorism or hate-based name calling when they call Free Thinkers "anti-semitic" or "holocaust deniers" or "anti-jew".
Be proud to be independent and buck the hatred and tyranny of jewry and the lap dogs they call goy or "righteous gentiles."
***
I've been out on the campaign trail. There are more candidates than me now talking about the global jewish problem and black supremacism in Alabama politics, especially the Democratic party. Audiences are listening and awakening.
Just what we need about now. Another George Wallace wantabe...
Joe Turnham: Republican Activities of Late Absolutely Bizarre
Democrats Must Tell the People
In the past week I have seen revelations of bizarre behavior that even astound the most observant pundits, writes Democratic Party Chair Joe Turnham on the Alabama Democrats blog.
On the state level, a cadre of Republicans in the House stopped a bi-partisan effort to have Alabama become the first Early Presidential Primary State after New Hampshire. This bill has widespread support from both Republicans and Democrats and could cement Alabama as the state that determines the next presidential frontrunners in the respective parties.
Even Republican party leadership supports this effort supposedly...can they not get their act together to help Alabama? Republicans said they did it because they were mad they were 'set up' to vote against the bible.
That same week, the entire republican House Caucus killed a bill for a constitutionally allowable Bible Literacy Course that is optional for school systems and elective to any student. The curriculum, "The Bible and Its Influence" has widespread support from conservatives and liberals and is the only course of its kind that the First Amendment Center approves. Over 71 percent of Alabama voters polled last week want House Bill 58 passed. Pastors and evangelicals are thanking Democrats and criticizing Republicans all while scratching their heads at this sudden and bizarre behavior.
The Republican led ALDOT is now set to cut down trees in Vestavia Alabama's median (and other places too) that were planted as erosion and beautification projects by town planners because...'cars might hit them' and the state does not want to become liable. 'Outrage' is the word and republican leaders are finding out republican and democratic voters actually like to see trees on the medians of highways! They provide shade, beauty, and even clean the air!
On the national scene, the White House is criticizing evangelical leaders like Pastor Rick Warren, pastor of the nation's largest church and seller of best selling books and others because they have brought to light the fact that Christians care about global warming and don't think republican leaders are doing anything about it. Republicans say their science is faulty after Bush fired a PR man at NASA for forging his resume. This same PR guy attempted to silence a career NASA scientist for speaking out on global warming. The NASA scientist said we had passed the 'tipping point' and was told by the young, plagarized Republican operative to be quiet.
The head of Homeland Security is mad because he is being criticized for the billions of wasted dollars in FEMA money after Katrina...like the 15,000 mobile homes being parked in Arkansas at a small town airport at a cost of $25,000 per month rent. FEMA says people need housing but is kicking folks out of motels this week but says the mobile homes are not practical for them.
President Bush announced this week that he intends to 'sell' parts of the Talladega and Bankhead National Forests. Alabama already has less public land than almost any other state and public land represents less than 2 percent of our state's forests, but he is going to sell parts of them. Is he doing this because someone might crash into a tree in a national forest?
To make matters worse, Bush plans to give away $65 billion in oil and gas on public lands to energy companies with no royalty, yet wants to open up the last wildlife preserve in Alaska to do the same. The $35 billion in lost royalties on federal lands is the same amount republicans cut from Medicaid and Student Loans in Congress last week.
On the state level, the republicans want to take half of the 'surplus' of state money for education and give it away in a tax cut that averages $55 per family and admit that it will cost the Special Educational Trust Fund $233 million. Super majorities of Republican voters polled last week say that plan is a loser. It is the Democrats saving money for a rainy day and offsetting tax relief by reducing tax breaks for those making over $100,000 dollars and not taking one cent from education. Even in the face of their own polls, they persist.
Exxon reports the highest corporate profit in the history of the planet last quarter and republican judges in Alabama that are funded by giant corporations in their reelection campaigns are stalling on making that same Exxon pay billions that juries in Alabama say they owe. Most were endorsed by business organizations in Alabama before the democrats even formally opened qualifying and before qualifying closes on April 7. How can you endorse someone when you don't even know who is going to qualify?
The more I observe politics the more it amazes me. Alabama Democrats and citizens everywhere need to tell folks that our state and country is being fleeced and we must tell them now. Evil prevails when good men and women do nothing!
I think we just told them, Joe. We have certanly been telling them. They just don't listen.
Maybe if you repeat the truth often and loud enough they will listen eventually, especially when the crisis starts to hit home like it is in a lot of places, according to the polls. As you know, the truth always takes longer to trickle down South.
Siegelman, Scrushy Trial Date Should Be Set Friday
Just when you think it's safe to take a break from the news for a few hours, things start popping again.
According to highly placed and reliable sources, a scheduling hearing in federal court has been set for 8:30 a.m. in Montgomery Friday in what could be the "conspiracy" show trial of former Gov. Don Siegelman and deposed HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy.
The primary purpose of the hearing before Justice Mark E. Fuller, appointed to the court by President George W. Bush in 2002, is to set a trial date and rule on pending motions in the case, including one to try Siegelman and Scrushy separately and one for a dismissal of the case for "prosecutorial misconduct."
The judge may also consider and rule on whether there should be a change of venue if there is a trial and other procedural motions relating to jury selection and the admissibility of certain expert witness testimony, and whether or not there was an "actual conspiracy" in the case.
The trial date in the case is critical, especially to the Democratic Party, since the primary vote in the upcoming governor's race is set for June 6. If the trial is scheduled for March or even April, the Siegelman camp feels that would allow plenty of time for a determination in the case and time for a full campaign in the primary - if the case is dropped along the way or results in a not guilty verdict.
A later trial date could put a real crimp in the party's plans, according to party officials and other experts.
One insider in the Siegelman camp - who expressed concerns about delays on the part of the prosecution already - said they have a full realization about the political realities if the hearing on Friday goes badly. A guilty verdict, of course, would certainly knock Siegelman out of the race.
"If it goes badly Friday," according to one highly placed source, "Siegelman's dance in this show may be over."
Joseph Jackson, aka Blue Believer, says on the Alabama Democratic Party blog today that he's always wondered what real types of research takes place at the Alabama Policy Institute.
"From what I've been able to tell, they're just a bunch of Republican shills," he says. "Today, I got confirmation of my suspicion."
Gary Palmer has a piece in the Montgomery Advertiser, and it's Grade A hackery. For a second, I thought he was channeling Michelle Maulkin or Jonah Goldberg, but then I realized he's just a poor man's Ann Coulter.
In vain, he tries to link Democrats to Islamic radicals in hopes of confusing the issue at hand: whether the president and vice president of the United States misled to public and manipulated intelligence to justify the Iraq war. I would provide excerpts to the piece, but I'm not sure I have high enough wading boots to give to our readers so they can get through all it.
The evidence regarding manipulated intelligence is overwhelming. Palmer and his ilk are simply trying to avoid the issue by attacking critics, rather than answering their charges. Alabama and America deserve better than his baseless and dangerous smear.
If you would like evidence that rebuts the administration talking points and shows a clear pattern of evidence, go to the ADP Blog and read the stories linked there.
