The Senate voted 60 to 39 (party line, with Voinovich(R, OH) absent) to begin debate on a health care reform bill.
"Ted would be happy," [Majority Leader Harry] Reid said at the press conference afterward, in reference to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's (D-Mass.) efforts to push health reform.
"We have" [...]
Kennett, Missouri (CNN) -- A woman accused of cutting in line at a Wal-Mart, shoving merchandise and assaulting police officers will plead guilty to disturbing the peace and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors. Under the agreement -- reached after the jury received the case for deliberations -- Heather Ellis will plead [...]
On November 12, Mooncat and I were pleased to sit down with Agriculture Commissioner, Ron Sparks, and discuss his campaign for governor, the Department of Agriculture, and other state issues like education, gambling, health care and more.
Commissioner Sparks spent more than an [...]
The Quitta' from Wassila, Part 2:
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin was in Indiana yesterday for a book-signing at a Borders store. One thousand lucky fans with wristbands to meet Palin stood in the rain all day waiting for her to arrive. However, Palin quit the event before she [...]
Here are the FDL Action health care reform highlights for Friday, November 20.
1. Jon Walker asks, "Is Harry Reid Laying The Ground Work To Betray Progressives For Snowe's Vote?" In the end, Walker concludes, "Reid does have the power to get a public option passed, there is" [...]
Last night was the opening night for the play advertised on the right side of this column. (and a big "THANK YOU to mooncat for the plug). It was a wonderful experience, as most, but certainly not all, opening nights are. We had a respectable size audience and they were" [...]
Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks may be close to President Obama on health care, but when it comes to charter schools, it's a whole different ballgame. Sparks has scheduled a press conference this afternoon and is expected to further highlight his opposition to a charter school law in Alabama, an [...]
Democratic Rep. Alvin Holmes has prefiled a bill to give subpoena power to the Alabama Ethics Commission, an entity that currently resembles an elderly chihuahua that lost it's dentures -- an annoying bark, but no bite whatsoever.
This is the strongest bill that has been introduced in the state," he" [...]
and the ACLU lawyers call it inconclusive.
I offer no comments but suggest that you view it several times and observe the actions of ALL the players. From Ms. Ellis' arm sweeping the items off the conveyor to the cashier picking up the phone to Ms. Ellis and her nephew being [...]
Just over 24 hours ago Rev. Jesse Jackson lambasted Artur Davis with "you can't vote against health care and call yourself a black man," but he sees things a bit differently tonight. Here is Rev. Jesse Jackson's most recent statement, via the Rainbow [...]
The following is from a reader who is distinctly agitated by this tactic, and not afraid to do some digging and phone calling:
The quotes below are from the Alabama Election Handbook, Twelfth Edition (2006), emphasis added.
Chapter 6 - Voter Registration
[...]
This is not unexpected, but Michel Nicrosi is making it official today -- she's running for Attorney General as a Democrat. So far, the Republican side of the AG race has garnered the most attention as Luther Strange and Troy King traded high profile endorsements [...]
The website of Alabama Secretary of State Beth Chapman (she's a Republican) carries this notice at the top of the page, emphasis mine:
IMPORTANT VOTER REGISTRATION INFORMATION
The Secretary of State’s Office has recently learned that a voter registration form has [...]
The disaster in New Orleans had a big assist from the Corps of Engineers:
Hurricane Katrina victims were awarded $719,698 in damages by a judge in a lawsuit claiming a canal dredged by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico [...]
At last, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled the Senate version of the health care reform bill today. CBO estimates it will cost $849 billion over 10 years and cover an additional 31 million legal residents.
The bill would cut the deficit by $127 billion over the next [...]
Bradley Byrne finally rolled out his ethics reform plan for Alabama state government yesterday and -- surprise, surprise, surprise! -- it not only isn't "the most sweeping reform ever offered in Alabama," it's considerably less sweeping than the one offered seven months ago by Democrat Artur Davis. So [...]
A new CNN poll suggests Republicans value purity in a candidate while Democrats are more pragmatic -- we want someone who can win.
The poll indicates that a slight majority, 51 percent, of Republicans would prefer to see the GOP in their area nominate candidates who agree with them [...]
Not even close. Jeff Sessions' little exercise in hypocrisy was crushed 70 to 29.
The vote emphatically warned Republicans that with only 40 senators, they're too outnumbered to prevent Obama from making major inroads into a judiciary that was populated over eight years with conservative judges chosen by [...]
I live in Prattville and I am, on very rare occassions, not all that troubled with calling Bobby Bright my Congressman.
In his defense, he voted to deny Presidents (former, sitting, and their families) the power to block release of public White House records. On the other hand, he's voted [...]
Last Friday the Alabama Supreme Court released a bingo decision. What makes this one different is that the Court for the first time set out criteria for what is "bingo"
They are:
" Based on the foregoing, we must conclude that the term "bingo" as used in Amendment No. 674 was" [...]
Last month the Artur Davis 2010 campaign gave away tickets to the Magic City Classic and it worked out so well they're doing it again -- this time for a pair of tickets to the Iron Bowl (Alabama v. [...]
Washington Times editor emeritus Wesley Pruden shows why some "professional" writers really should save their ravings for their own personal blogs. I know, I know -- it's the Times, what do I expect? Something better than this gobsmackingly ugly paragraph, part of a column bemoaning Obama's bow when greeting [...]
Jeff Sessions, 7/25/2003: "Of the many reasons why we shouldn't have a filibuster, an important one is the Article I of the Constitution. It says the Senate shall advise and consent on treaties by a two-thirds vote, and simply "shall advise and consent"" [...]
Birmingham gets all the good stuff ... Tea Bag Parties, Focus on the Family, and now something truly worth attending, via Natalie Davis:
NOTE: Gwen Ifill, host of PBS’s “Washington Week” will speak at Birmingham-Southern College next week. Her topic is “American Politics in the Age [...]
The appearance of wrongdoing stupidity incredible hubris. This is such a turn-off to voters:
In spring 2006, the Alabama Legislature approved a bill that took part of the state's coal severance tax revenue and dedicated $100,000 a year to the Marion County Community Development Association Inc. and the West [...]
Well, well, well - Judge Roy Moore, candidate for the GOP nomination for Alabama governor, has gone all Liberal on us - according to al.com, he thinks a variety of religious displays in government buildings is fine.
...Moore, [who] said the key question is not what religion the display represents [...]
Charter Schools. All the gubernatorial candidates but one support them. Republican legislators are busily writing legislation that would allow Alabama to get federal dollars (from a Democratic administration) for them. State Superintendent Joe Morton says Alabama can't afford to ignore this opportunity.
Morton said the dollars available through the federal [...]
Agriculture and Industries Commissioner Ron Sparks spoke before an audience of about 75 at the Madison County Democratic Women's luncheon last Thursday. He reminded them he won re-election decisively in 2006 and has been elected Agriculture Commissioner twice, touted his accomplishments in that role [...]
Start planning for the highlight of the holiday season - the Left in Alabama meetup/holiday gathering in Montgomery on Saturday, December 12th.
We'll get together in the afternoon - about 3pm - to eat, drink, be merry, and talk about politics, animals, gardening, or [...]
Republican senators are somehow surprised by negative publicity over their vote endorsing Halliburton's gang rape cover-up. Both of my senators have attempted damage control. In response to my email, Senator Jeff Sessions has sent a letter that is a scandal in its own right.
Thank you for [...]
A progressive speculates on what single-payer health care would look like under the administration of a right wing conservative like Sarah Palin or Jeb Bush:
With such an administration in power, social conservatives might move to exert pressure on health-care decisions beyond abortion. For example, could women be told that [...]
I think they might be. I think at the beginning of this year the ADP took the big election seriously and really wanted to win it. Since then there have been several bad defeats (though Laura Hall was all race and nothing else), convictions, retirements (including Hammett's seat which is in [...]
So goes Alabama?
Thursday evening Artur Davis told Madison County Democrats they're on the front lines and can expect to see a lot more of him before election day 2010, likening MadCo's importance to that of Virginia, Ohio and Florida in the 2008 presidential election.
"We kept saying if Barack Obama" [...]
Here are the FDL Action health care reform highlights for Friday, November 13.
1. Jane Hamsher writes about a Goldman Sachs evaluation that says the House version of the public option would cause insurance stocks to drop 36% by 2019. Jane concludes, "It's hard to look at" [...]
Today, Jefferson County filed a lawsuit against Larry Langford, JP Morgan, Bill Blount, Al LaPierre, [...]
Bad news for Nancy Worley.
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals ruled 3-1 Friday that a lower court erred when it threw out five felony charges against Worley.
The charges, stemming from Worley's 2006 re-election effort, were dismissed by a Circuit Court Judge in 2007. Her trial on the [...]
This morning on WBHM radio, Autur Davis answered questions about constitutional reform and a constitutional convention. Listen to it here.
All progressives owe Davis a debt of thanks for making constitutional reform a major issue in his campaign. By doing so he is elivating the discussion well beyond where it [...]
There was a great crowd last night at the Countdown to Victory 2010 fundraiser in Madison County and a good chunk of the local legislative delegation was there. In a quiet moment I asked one legislator what would likely happen to gubernatorial candidate Robert Bentley's anti-abortion proposals next session. [...]
What happens when you get a lot of angry Democratic activists, ministers, and health care reform proponents into a room with Congressman Parker Griffith? I can just smell the BBQ smoke.....
Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the meeting that Congressman Parker Griffith held today with local NAACP members and health insurance [...]
Maybe many of you guys already saw this...by 4 pm I imagine this is already old news. Last night on his show Lou Dobbs announced that he was leaving CNN.
See here...
"Over the past six months, it has become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffeting this country" [...]
The new Winthrop poll of 11 Southern states, including Alabama, finds that the economy is the number one concern here, and people favor government help to create jobs, support state governments and help homeowners. However, they don't see the stimulus plan as wildly successful -- 38% said it had [...]
