Group seeks arguments over Alabama’s use of BP oil spill funds
An environmental group has asked a judge to hear oral arguments in its lawsuit challenging Alabama’s plans to use oil spill settlement funds to build a 350-room beach hotel and conference center. The Gulf Restoration Network filed the request earlier this month in federal court. The group asked for expedited arguments, citing Alabama’s continued work on the project. The Louisiana-based group argues a hotel development isn’t a proper use of funds meant to restore the coast after the largest oil spill in United States history. The state contends that the hotel and conference center, designed to handle gatherings of up to 1,500 people, will help bring people to the coast. Alabama Conservation Commissioner Gunter Guy, a defendant in the case, opposed the request for oral arguments. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Kenneth Paschal: Should the church community encourage their members to register to vote?
It is our civic duty to register to vote and participate in elections, but many religious leaders hesitate to offer their opinion on the position of the candidates; many won’t allow the church to become involved. Considering pastors preach about gambling, abortion, homosexuality, and other societal issues, it seems necessary that they speak about the direction some candidates wish to take our state and country. As a concerned Christian and single dad wishing to help move our nation towards love and forgiveness in divorce situations, I have done the research and found nothing that would restrict a church from registering voters or supporting legislation that safeguard parental rights from government intrusion. As Paul wrote to the Romans: “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1). We can also look back upon Paul’s letter, and other portions of Scripture, such as; Mark 12:17, I Timothy 2:1-3, Acts 5:29 to determine our own relationship to government. God offers Biblical provision for our modern situation, and I have applied the principles He has given in Hosea 8:4, Exodus 18:21, Proverbs 29:7, Proverbs 21:1, 1 Samuel 16:7, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Matthew 7:15, Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 18:6, and 1 John 4:7 in an effort to protect our children from governmental laws that would preclude them from sharing love with both their biological parents. Every day I fight ‘the good fight,’ I bring God’s values to a system that only holds law as valuable. How can love survive, let alone thrive through that without Him? During the Founding Era, the pulpits were one of the primary sources for voting information. Churches were at the center of the political community, not on the periphery. It would make sense to believe the Church is the only way to bring Christian beliefs into focus… going back to an old method so we can step forward into our future with goodness and love. Let’s help each congregation member be a contributor in 2016! Church can make the difference. For more information about registering to vote you can visit the Secretary of State website at alabamavotes.gov and click on “Register to Vote” or contact me at kenneth.paschal@alfra.org. Kenneth Paschal is a child activist, a fit parent, and an advocate for protecting parents’ fundamental rights.
Email insights: State Auditor Jim Zeigler’s “unusual and interesting” 2015 Year In Review
The office of Alabama State Auditor Jim Zeigler sent out a 2015 “Year in Review” email Monday morning about the auditor’s first 11 months in office, claiming it may be “the most unusual and interesting ‘year in review’ report ever released by a secondary state official.” Read the entire “year in review” below: JANUARY Gov. Bentley cancels the traditional inaugural prayer service, saying “there was not time.” Auditor-elect Jim Zeigler quickly steps up and hosts the prayer service himself. Inaugurated Jan. 19. Inauguration Day is historically cold and bitter. Zeigler says he becomes auditor as “the sun shines bright in Montgomery.” Declines his taxpayer subsidized state car, credit card, insurance, laptop, cell phone, Wi-Fi, and marble desk plate. Requests that auditor’s office itself be audited by the Examiners of Public Accounts and also the Historical Commission which has 46 historic furnishings in his office. Both audits came back perfect – all accounted for. Files request to return portraits of Governors George and Lurleen Wallace to their historical place in the capitol rotunda after their recent removal by the Director of Historic Sites. Zeigler discovers scandal – auditor’s office has been operating without coffee. He quickly spends his own money to provide both staff and public visitors with fresh coffee. FEBRUARY Operated office without a receptionist, secretary, investigator or attorney (the state budget does not fund any of these positions). Sits as a “Judge Judy” for the Board of Adjustment, hearing dozens of cases from citizens claiming money owed to them by the state. Board of Adjustment hearings continue through November. Completes first new property inventories. 89 agencies audited through November. MARCH Requests that the Attorney General investigate and halt spending of taxpayers’ money by Baldwin County School system in campaigning for a tax increase. The AG took no action to protect taxpayers in this situation. APRIL Filed suit to stop local school boards from spending taxpayers’ money on elections for tax increases. Also plans to seek legislation to halt this problem in February 2016. Led the effort to prevent the closure of state parks threatened by Gov. Bentley. Developed a plan to keep the parks open without a tax increase. Participated in the 100th anniversary of the University of Alabama’s Student Government Association – where he was SGA President in 1971. MAY Began a study of safeguards to assure that only U.S. citizens register to vote in Alabama. Made his presentation “Only U.S. Citizens Should Vote in U.S. Elections” to the annual statewide conference of voter registrars in Eufaula. JUNE Kicked off his “All-Volunteer Army” plan to recruit citizens to assist in investigating reports of government waste and overreach. Citizens wishing to volunteer can contact Assistant State Auditor at: Hope.Curry@auditor.alabama.gov Led the effort to return Confederate mementos removed from the capitol museum gift shop. They were returned. Began accepting job applications for voter registrars in 66 of Alabama’s 67 counties – all but Jefferson County. He made 63 registrar hires by Oct. 1. Attended the National Association of State Auditors conference in Little Rock AR, paying his own expenses plus winning a $1,000 national scholarship. JULY Began a study of Alabama’s $2 billion worth of state property and how it could be reduced. Began a study of Alabama’s $50 million in surplus property and how it could be reduced. Cut his office budget request by 8%. AUGUST Developed the first step in a two phase plan to recover state property reported as missing. Obtained a study worth $100,000, at no expense to taxpayers, through Auburn University at Montgomery. The study covered options to enforce the findings of state audits, and recover missing property from those responsible. SEPTEMBER Organized citizens to fight a 63% cut in the state auditor’s budget that was passed by the State House of Representatives. The budget was partially restored to a 25% cut, which was still more than twice that of any other agency. OCTOBER Began process of slicing expenses in State Auditor’s office due to budget cut. Cut 30% of employees. Cut office overhead to below the bare minimum. Prepared budget for fiscal year 2017. NOVEMBER Began preparing legislation for February, 2016 regular session. DECEMBER Finished the year having charged no reimbursements to the state. Zeigler personally paid all his own expenses. Finished the last of 89 state agency audits. Zeigler confronted and will continue to lead opposition to United Nations intrusion into the state of Alabama. Zeigler led opposition to the Governor’s spending $1.5 million to restore the dilapidated “Governor’s Mansion on the Gulf” after Bentley lost his personal Gulf property in his divorce.
‘Tis the season for dreams of brokered political convention
‘Tis the season — no, not THAT season. It’s that point in the presidential election cycle when speculation starts swirling that the primaries won’t produce a clear winner and one of the parties’ big nominating conventions will dissolve in chaos. This time, it’s the Republican side of the race that’s looking particularly unsettled. After a crazy year in which Donald Trump‘s ability to stay on top in a supersized pack has repeatedly confounded the conventional wisdom, the what-if chatter is wilder and louder than usual. What if no one gets a majority of delegates in the primaries and caucuses? What if Trump leads the delegate count but party elites want to derail his route to the nomination? What if delegates to the Cleveland convention deadlock on multiple votes and then try to turn to someone completely new, perhaps House Speaker Paul Ryan?!? Ridiculous, says Ryan. Silly, says Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus. “I don’t think that’s going to happen,” says Trump. Veteran politicos agree such scenarios are unlikely. The outlook will clarify once people start voting in February, they insist. But they also acknowledge that the chances of an unsettled outcome are higher than usual in the current unconventional political environment. Ben Ginsberg, the lawyer who was counsel for the Mitt Romney and George W. Bush presidential campaigns, says that because this GOP election cycle offers three lanes of candidates instead of two — a “Trump” lane in addition to the traditional “establishment” and “conservative” lanes — “it becomes more likely that no one will have a majority of delegates.” “The odds are still really small,” Ginsberg continues, then offers this caveat: “I did say on the day before the 2000 election that there would never be another presidential recount.” This from the man who went on to play a central role in the Florida recount at the heart of the Bush v. Gore battle for the presidency. The large field of GOP candidates and Trump’s wildcard candidacy aren’t the only factors at play in speculation that the 2016 primaries could end in uncertainty. The GOP in recent years has been shifting to a more proportional way of allocating delegates from each state than the old winner-take-all approach. And that means the momentum Romney achieved after winning a couple of big states in 2012 “is just not going to be as likely” this time, says Mark Stephenson, a Republican consultant who handled delegate strategy for Scott Walker‘s short-lived presidential campaign and worked on the Romney campaign in 2008. Even if the field of candidates has been winnowed to three or four after the first four states award 130 delegates in February, the winner in the big Super Tuesday round of voting on March 1 still might come up with just 300-400 delegates of the 600-plus to be awarded that day, says Stephenson. That’s a far cry from the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination. Stephenson agrees that a contested convention is unlikely, but says that between the unusual campaign dynamics at play this year and the proportional delegate allocation rules, “as people start playing with the math, it’s certainly an interesting exercise to come up with scenarios” under which nobody gets to a majority before the convention. This, then, is the time of joy for delegate geeks who love to nerd out on the fine print of presidential politics and speculate on the what-ifs of a divided convention. “We do this every four years,” says Joshua Putnam, a political science lecturer at the University of Georgia whose frontloading.blogspot.com wallows in the intricacies of the primaries. “We want it to happen just for the sheer excitement of it all,” Putnam says of a contested convention. “But the chances of it happening are pretty slim.” The idea of a brokered convention harks way back to when power brokers in smoke-filled rooms could twist arms and party bosses could steer their preferred candidate toward the nomination. More likely these days, if still a longshot, is a contested or deadlocked convention that opens without a presumptive nominee. The last time a Republican convention opened without a clear nominee was 1976, when Gerald Ford led in delegates but lacked a majority coming into the convention. There was plenty of drama as Ford beat back a challenge from Ronald Reagan and eked out the nomination on the first vote. You have to go all the way back to 1952 for a true brokered convention at which delegates turned to someone new. Democrats drafted Adlai Stevenson, who won on the third ballot. Putnam says a rule approved at the GOP convention in Tampa in 2012 could add intrigue in 2016. It requires a candidate to have a majority of delegates in eight states to win the nomination, up from the previous requirement of a plurality of delegates in five states. In a large field, this higher hurdle to the nomination could be daunting. But it’s also a temporary rule that the party can change if the outlook is muddled coming out of the last round of primaries in June. Talk that party elites might try to derail a Trump presidency at the convention runs into all sorts of pushback against the idea of disregarding the will of GOP voters. “I’m an ANTI-Trump guy, but if the GOP elites (of whom I might be one) attempt to smother the will of Republican primary voters, I will spring to Trump’s defense,” GOP consultant Rich Galen said in an email. As for the Paul Ryan scenario, the House speaker declares it “dumb speculation” that should stop. Of course, it was just two months ago that Ryan was pooh-poohing pleas that he become speaker after John Boehner resigned. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
On Jeb Bush and bare loins in art
FloridaPolitics.com and Context Florida contributor Florence Snyder adds a “funny Jeb” anecdote in light of The New York Times story on Bush’s dry sense of humor. “As his campaign has struggled to rejuvenate a languishing bid, some close to him have suggested the existence of a (very) secret weapon: It is at least possible that Jeb Bush is funny,” Matt Flegenheimer writes. “He is a candidate so dry that flights of wit can become indistinguishable from a sober default setting,” Flegenheimer adds. ” ‘Irony doesn’t work,’ he said last month aboard his bus in New Hampshire, ‘in the world of digitized campaigning.’ “ In a Monday email, Snyder writes, “I cast my vote with those who say he has one.” She recalls attending a 1996 Nelson Poynter Award Dinner, given by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. Bush was also in attendance. “That was the year the ACLU went to bat for a kid at (Fort Lauderdale’s) Dillard High who was not allowed to exhibit her 8-foot-tall statue of a naked man – with a (male body part) befitting an 8-foot-tall man,” Snyder writes. “I nearly fainted when I saw the programs at the table: The statue was on the cover,” she says. “Jeb was unfazed; he did not miss a beat.” ” ‘… So that’s what liberals look like,’ he said.”
Gay marriage fight named top state news story of 2015
Alabama’s uneven response to court rulings allowing same-sex marriages is the top state news story of 2015. Gay marriage became a reality nationwide this year, but the issue took on special significance in Alabama as officials in a conservative Deep South state grappled with how to respond to court rulings allowing same-sex weddings. Some counties complied with court decisions immediately and issued same-sex marriage licenses, prompting joyous ceremonies on courthouse lawns. Others delayed or quit issuing marriage licenses altogether, forcing both gay and straight couples to go elsewhere to get married. More court battles are possible. Here is a look at Alabama’s Top 10 news stories of 2015 as selected by The Associated Press: GAY MARRIAGE A federal judge in Mobile overrules Alabama’s ban on gay marriage and the U.S. Supreme Court then legalizes same-sex marriage nationally, decisions that spark both celebrations and opposition across the state. The fallout from the rulings is Alabama’s No. 1 news story of 2015, and the reverberation could continue into 2016 as gay marriage supporters consider whether to sue counties that quit issuing marriage licenses altogether rather than grant any to same-sex couples. HARPER LEE NOVEL Author Harper Lee of Monroeville releases her second novel, “Go Set a Watchman,” in July, topping best-seller lists. Reviews are mixed for “Watchman,” which was written in 1957 and depicts fictional lawyer Atticus Finch as a racist rather than the noble lawyer of her classic “To Kill a Mockingbird.” A state elder abuse probe is closed after determining the 89-year-old Lee wanted to publish the book. BUDGET CRISIS Two Special Sessions are required before the Republican-controlled Legislature agrees to $1.7 billion state operating budget that includes both spending cuts and tax increases to plug a $200 million gap. POLICE CONFRONTATION Madison police Officer Eric Parker is arrested on state and federal charges after his videotaped takedown of Indian national Sureshbhai Patel, a grandfather, in a suburban neighborhood. Two federal trials end in hung juries, but prosecutors say they want a third trial. BENTLEY DIVORCE First lady Dianne Bentley unexpectedly files for divorce from Gov. Robert Bentley citing an “irretrievable breakdown” of their marriage of 50 years. The case, filed in Tuscaloosa the same day the couple made a joint appearance, is sealed and then settled within weeks. DEATH PENALTY With executions still on hold because of a shortage of drugs needed for lethal injections, three prisoners once sentenced to death — Anthony Ray Hinton, William Ziegler and Montez Spradley — are released from prison after claiming they were wrongly convicted. A fourth death row inmate claiming innocence dies of cancer while fighting his conviction. RUN TO DEATH In Etowah County, Joyce Hardin Garrard is convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life without parole in the running death of her 9-year-old granddaughter, Savannah Hardin. Prosecutors claimed the child was forced to run for hours as punishment for a lie about candy. OBAMA VISIT President Barack Obama is joined on stage by former President George W. Bush in Selma during the 50th anniversary commemoration of the “Bloody Sunday” confrontation where voting rights demonstrators were beaten while attempting to march to Montgomery. POLARIS FACTORY Polaris Industries says it is planning an ATV manufacturing plant that will bring as many as 2,000 jobs to north Alabama. Production is scheduled to begin in 2016 at the 600,000-square-foot plant, located in Limestone County. WINTER WEATHER A record winter storm dumps a foot of snow on north Alabama in February, leaving roads coated with an icy slush that complicates travel. The storm comes only weeks after an arctic blast that sent temperatures plunging and broke records dating to the 1880s as far south as Mobile. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Presidential Primary Brief: 315 days until Election Day
112 days until AL Presidential Primary 315 days until Election Day Convention Dates: Republican July 18-21, 2016, Democratic July 25-28, 2016 Weekly Headlines: Lindsey Graham drops out of presidential race Poll: Clinton strengthens national lead over Sanders Huckabee says he’ll drop out if he doesn’t place in top 3 in Iowa Press Clips: Bernie Sanders in ‘negotiations’ with DNC over data breach (Politico 12/27/16) Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Sunday he’s in “negotiations” with the Democratic National Committee following an ugly spat that led to the firing of a Sanders campaign staffer accused of accessing voter data belonging to the Hillary Clinton campaign. “We’re trying to work with the DNC to put this whole thing behind us,” Sanders said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Frankly,” the Vermont senator added, “I think for the American people there are far more important issues having to do with the disappearance of the American middle class and huge income and wealth inequality and climate change.” Ben Carson tries to explain his campaign’s decline (CBS News 12/27/15) Ben Carson said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday that he is prepared to makes changes or tweaks to his struggling presidential campaign, including being more aggressive about responding to negative stories. “I want to make sure that we’re doing everything that we can do — to make sure that the American people absolutely recognize the choice that they have,” Carson said on “Face the Nation.” “If there are some things that need to be changed or tweaked, we certainly are going to be open to doing those things. Last week he said in an interview with the Associated Press that he plans to shake up his strategy or staff now that his poll numbers have slipped so badly. Jeb Bush shows signs of life in New Hampshire (Politico 12/22/15) No candidate can be happier to say goodbye to 2015 than Jeb Bush, whose months of futility in the face of Donald Trump’s attacks relegated him to an afterthought in a wild and unpredictable Republican primary. And yet, at year’s end, there are signs that people in New Hampshire, the state that could key an unlikely comeback, still take him seriously. Take the 200-person crowds showing up at his four Saturday town halls. Take the current polls in New Hampshire that put him within striking distance of every GOP rival but Trump. Clinton announces plan to battle Alzheimer’s (Reuters 12/22/15) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Tuesday announced a slate of proposals to battle Alzheimer’s disease and seek a cure by 2025, including an increase in funding for research on the disease and related disorders. Clinton called for a decade-long investment of $2 billion per year for research, which her campaign called a fourfold increase over last year’s $586 million. Clinton’s campaign scheduled a conference call with reporters on Tuesday to discuss details of the proposal. Clinton, the front-runner for her party’s nomination for the November 2016 presidential election, will discuss it later in the day in an appearance in Fair field, Iowa. Trump’s attacks on Clinton get very, very personal (Politico 12/21/15) Donald Trump is taking his criticism of Hillary Clinton into new territory. The Republican front-runner mocked his Democratic counterpart for a “disgusting” bathroom trip she made during Saturday night’s debate, and said Barack Obama “schlonged” her in the 2008 primaries at a raucous rally here on Monday night. How Marco Rubio could lose all the key early states and still win (New York Times 12/22/15) People who make bets on the presidential election give Marco Rubio a slight edge for the Republican nomination. But there’s a catch: The same betting markets show that he’s an underdog in all of the early states, and not favored in any of the Super Tuesday states. It’s not clear even the Rubio team disagrees. My colleague Jeremy W. Peters reported that the campaign doesn’t have a plan to focus on any early state. That has supporters concerned. And with good reason. Mr. Rubio would have a much surer path to the nomination if he led in an early state. His difficulty finding a place to break through is a result of what has always been his biggest problem: carving out a niche in a deeply factionalized party. 29 craziest things that came out of candidates’ mouths in 2015 (Politico 12/26/15) The presidential campaign in 2015 generated no shortage of head-scratching quotes, zingers, one-liners and out-of-left-field remarks from candidates in both parties. From Hillary Clinton’s self-professed ignorance about how servers work, to Ted Cruz’s vow to find out “if sand can glow in the dark,” to practically everything that has come out of Donald Trump’s mouth, voters have a lot to chew on as they consider their choices less than two months before the first primaries and caucuses. Jeb Bush burns through campaign cash, slides in polls (Washington Times 12/24/15) After starting 2015 as the presumptive front-runner with a huge bankroll, Jeb Bush has to be ending the year wondering what went wrong with his presidential campaign, what happened to his Republican Party and where all his money went. Mr. Bush and his super PAC burned through more than half of the $133 million they raised in the first three quarters this year. The return on that investment has been a drop in polls from about 15 percent when he entered the race in June to about 4 percent in recent surveys. Christie sharpens attacks on Rubio in New Hampshire (Politico 12/22/15) Chris Christie slammed Marco Rubio on Tuesday for missing last week’s vote on the omnibus spending bill, arguing that it highlights a distinct difference between the two candidates vying for the Republican nomination. Christie, who is betting big on New Hampshire, has been sharpening his attacks on Rubio — a ripe target for Christie considering that the Florida senator holds only a slight edge over Christie in the state. Trump beats Republicans, not Clinton, in one-on-one matchups (Reuters 12/21/15) Donald Trump would win a hypothetical head-to-head
