Alabama
updated
7:18 p.m.
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Keep Mobile Beautiful, which usually concerns itself with litter and recycling, has gotten its knickers in a twist over an outfit called the Oasis Foundation of America. These folks don’t have much of a web presence that I can find, although they are members of something called the National Emergency Management Association. But you thought [...]...
Birmingham Blues - 4:19 p.m.
Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb is making headway in her effort to bring research and results based practices to Alabama's courts. She has worked for years to find effective ways to keep non-violent juvenile offenders out of detention centers. The legislation finally passed the Alabama House and Senate and was signed into law by Gov. Riley just this week. The new law prohibits j...
Left in Alabama - 1:04 p.m. - 3 clicks 
The FISA bill, with immunity (or amnesty as I like to call it) for big telecom companies is not dead yet. Alabama's own Bud Cramer is one of the Blue Dogs who may be considering caving in on the immunity provision, so call or email and encourage him to stand strong for the rule of law. If AT&T and the others illegally spied on American citizens, those citizens should have ...
Left in Alabama - 10:18 a.m. - 5 clicks
Have you ever wondered what corruption looks like, live and in color? Have you ever wondered what it might feel like to be a regular citizen being cheated in George W. Bush's America, right here in 2008? Have you ever wondered what justice looks like in Karl Rove's Alabama, the state where Turd Blossom made his national reputation by turning our state courts into a corrupt Republican enclave. If ...
Legal Schnauzer - Wed 1:44 p.m. - 12 clicks
What's it like to be cheated in George W. Bush's America, in Karl Rove's Alabama? Come along for our little version of show and tell. We hope you find it educational. First, we have a clip that was filmed about 20 minutes before our house was to be unlawfully auctioned. Columbiana, Alabama, truly is in the middle of nowhere. But between wind gusts and motorcycles, and general traffic, and even a...
Legal Schnauzer - Wed 1:44 p.m. - 14 clicks
Doc's Political Parlor will represent Alabama as a member of the Democratic Convention's " State Blogger Corps ." Although Democrats included bloggers in the press pool for the 2004 Convention, I don't think any Alabama blogs were included. Republicans haven't decided how many independent bloggers they will credential for their convention, but there is no chance th...
Left in Alabama - Wed 1:44 p.m. - 10 clicks
I had a front row seat yesterday for corruption in George W. Bush's America, watching up close and personal as corrupt Republicans in Shelby County, Alabama, "auctioned" my house--or at least a portion of my interest in it. Under the law, they actually didn't do anything. You can't conduct a sheriff's sale without a judgment lien, and you can't get a judgment lien without filing a certificate of ...
Legal Schnauzer - Tue 4:13 p.m. - 19 clicks
Regular readers of Left in Alabama are aware of plans for the Downtown Rescue Mission to move from it's present location in Lowe Mill Village to Northwest Huntsville . Lately the residents and business owners in Northwest Huntsville have been the victims of a massive PR campaign in which to send the message "The Mission is coming, get over it". Check out how the residen...
Left in Alabama - Tue 4:13 p.m. - 14 clicks
The Anniston Star on grocery sales tax legislation: "At a time when food prices are soaring and gas prices are eating into everyone's monthly budgets, why did Republicans vote against a bill that would give the majority of Alabamians a tax cut and ease the burdens of senior citizens on a fixed income?" Parker Griffith wants to create a medical school in Huntsville. Legal Schna...
Left in Alabama - Tue 10:38 a.m. - 10 clicks
Of course Karl Rove declines to testify in person. Although he indicates he will testify in writing. What does that mean and will it be acceptable by the Judiciary Committe, we do not yet know. http://www.al.com/... I'm taking a bit of a different angle on this. I'm showing why this whole matter is really good for Democrats in Alabama. There have also been reports that Jeff Sessions and B...
DailyKos (Alabama) - Tue 10:38 a.m. - 12 clicks
The New GI Bill : The Bush Administration opposes it and many Republican legislators, including Alabama's own Sessions, Shelby, Aderholt, Bachus, Bonner, Everett and Mike Rogers, do not support it . Republican presidential nominee John McCain does not support it . Now the American Legion has released a statement strongly in favor of the bill sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb, D-V...
Left in Alabama - Mon 9:30 p.m. - 16 clicks
…to Dan at Daily Dixie, one of my favorite bloggers (and father to Spooky, who was once upon a time one of our foster kitties). He graduated from the University of Alabama on Saturday. Now it’s off to the real world. Best of luck to Dan and Sara! Don’t let the job keep you too [...]...
Birmingham Blues - Mon 7:56 p.m. - 18 clicks
Today was the day my (our) house was to be sold on the courthouse steps in Columbiana, Alabama. What happened? Well, I had the day off and was on the scene for what appeared to be a well-orchestrated charade. Shelby County Sheriff's Deputy Bubba Caudill conducted the sale, and Bill Swatek (my neighbor's slimy lawyer) made the only bid--of $2,700 something dollars. Probate records show there is no...
Legal Schnauzer - Mon 5:15 p.m. - 21 clicks
Wondering what to do on Tuesday night? You have two great opportunities: Kimble Forrister, Executive Director of Alabama Arise, speaks to the Ministers’ Caucus of the Over the Mountain Democrats, Homewood Library, 6:30 PM, FREE and open to the public The Magic City Choral Society Men’s Chorus presents its Spring Concert “For the Love of…”, Southside [...]...
Birmingham Blues - Mon 1:16 p.m. - 18 clicks
Over at Doc's Political Parlor Danny has an interesting post about the Alabama GOP's effort to " fertilize the grassroots " including a BCA move to enlist local Chambers of Commerce as part of the GOP grassroots: The BCA effort - initiated by BCA head Bill Canary - can “use the Chamber to communicate with the community and with legislators.” Don’t they meet some re...
Left in Alabama - Mon 7:42 a.m. - 15 clicks
The Anniston Star gets a gold star for a great pair of editorials last week on Alabama's do-little legislature: Decisions of our Senators : "The Alabama Senate does not have (or will not take) the time to pass legislation that will improve the lives of our citizens, but it has the time (or takes the time) to pass a resolution denouncing a movement that does not exist and a highwa...
Left in Alabama - Mon 7:42 a.m. - 14 clicks
Does that headline sound ridiculous to you? It should. But it pretty well sums up the basis for efforts by Alabama Republicans to unlawfully seize and auction my house. We noted in a recent post that the judgment against me was for a tort called conversion. A jury found that I unlawfully "converted" property belonging to my neighbor, and that's why there was a judgment against me in the amount o...
Legal Schnauzer - Sun 4:20 p.m. - 22 clicks
So I know that many of you that read this site probably thought Ron Sparks was our only chance to get rid of Jeff Sessions. Well, Sparks decided not to run and Vivian Davis Figures is our candidate. With Obama the eventual nominee, this race is certainly in play. Turnout will be high all over the state. Can you help raise $500 today that will be matched? Can I get 15 Contributors as well? WE...
DailyKos (Alabama) - Fri 5:16 p.m. - 25 clicks
Do the Shelby County authorities who are threatening to seize and auction my home have a legal leg to stand on? I'm pretty sure the answer is no. I say "pretty sure" because this kind of action is associated with an area of law that can get complex. The two legal steps that lead up to a sheriff's sale are called a writ of execution and a notice of levy. These actions often are associated with ba...
Legal Schnauzer - May 8 - 23 clicks
Regular readers know that I have nothing good to say about William E. Swatek, the Pelham, Alabama-based attorney who filed the fraudulent lawsuit against me that is at the heart of this blog. Swatek has an almost 30-year history of unethical behavior in the legal profession, so I am hardly alone in being harmed by this dirtbag. If I were threatened with waterboarding and forced to say something ...
Legal Schnauzer - May 8 - 20 clicks
My house is scheduled to be unlawfully seized and auctioned at noon on May 12 on the steps of the Shelby County Courthouse in Columbiana, Alabama. With that as a backdrop, we are going to spend quite a bit of time in the next few days, showing you exactly how corrupt this action is. And we will be naming names, showing you the public officials--all Republicans--who are behind it. The process of ...
Legal Schnauzer - May 6 - 17 clicks
I spoke at length about three weeks ago with a contributing editor for a major national magazine. He was interested in background material on the Don Siegelman prosecution, the Paul Minor case in Mississippi, and my own situation with Alabama Republican authorities threatening to unlawfully seize my house. My contact, we'll call him "CE" (short for contributing editor), said the magazine almost c...
Legal Schnauzer - May 5 - 26 clicks
Don Siegelman recently spent nine months in federal prison, so it is safe to say the former Alabama governor has had a few crummy days in the past year or so. But yesterday was not one of them. In fact, Siegelman--now released from prison pending appeal of his conviction on corruption-related charges--had a banner day. And in the Age of Rove, a good day for Don Siegelman almost certainly means a ...
Legal Schnauzer - May 3 - 19 clicks
Has someone been conducting a terror campaign in Alabama and Mississippi against victims of the Bush Justice Department? Raw Story presents a compelling article today that strongly suggests the answer to that question is yes. Reporters Larisa Alexandrovna, Muriel Kane, and Lindsay Beyerstein report that people connected to the Don Siegelman case in Alabama and the Paul Minor case in Mississipp...
Legal Schnauzer - May 1 - 21 clicks
Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman has been featured on recent radio interviews with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Thom Hartmann, and both conversations produced a number of quotes worth remembering. The Kennedy interview is about 30 minutes long and can be viewed here . The Hartmann interview can be heard, and a transcript read, through links posted here . I encourage readers to catch both inte...
Legal Schnauzer - May 1 - 22 clicks
Reading today about travel restrictions placed on former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman made this schnauzer want to scratch his beard and shake his head. It reminded me of so many events I've seen in my own story of dealing with a justice system controlled by Republicans. First, we learned that Siegelman has been classified a "special offender" for travel purposes and is no longer able to trav...
Legal Schnauzer - Apr 30 - 16 clicks
The Birmingham News is coming off one of the worst weeks in the history of American journalism. And that's saying something because the News has had a lot of bad weeks since connections started to form about a year ago between the Don Siegelman prosecution and the firings of U.S. attorneys by the Bush Justice Department. I didn't think the News could sink any lower after Brett Blackledge's...
Legal Schnauzer - Apr 30 - 18 clicks
I cringe every time I see one of these polls of Alabama voters regarding the 2008 presidential race. I like a lot of things about my adopted home state--I wouldn't have stayed here for almost 30 years if I didn't. In fact, I'm finishing up a post about some of the many things I like about Alabama in general and Birmingham in particular. But every time someone does a voter survey in Alabama, at le...
Legal Schnauzer - Apr 29 - 19 clicks
We now know that former Justice Department official Robert Coughlin has pled guilty to criminal conflict of interest for improperly assisting the lobbying team of disgraced Republican booster Jack Abramoff. What we don't know is this: Just how important will this story become and what light might it shine on the prosecutions of Don Siegelman in Alabama and Paul Minor in Mississippi? Much is still...
Legal Schnauzer - Apr 29 - 22 clicks
Let's return to the subject of WHNT reporter Greg Privett and his Sunday night report on coverage of the Don Siegelman case. Privett produced three solid, balanced pieces last week, all generated from a lecture by Harper's Scott Horton at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). Privett's Sunday night piece can be viewed here , by scrolling down to "NewsChannel 19 Special Report: Don Sie...
Legal Schnauzer - Apr 28 - 20 clicks
Does Republican presidential candidate John McCain have a hypocrisy problem? If you read the pages of Alabama newspapers last week, you saw the answer is yes. On page B1 of Thursday's Birmingham News , we learn that McCain remains opposed to spending federal tax dollars to repair Vulcan , the statue that sits atop Red Mountain and is perhaps Birmingham's most famed landmark. So McCain is oppose...
Legal Schnauzer - Apr 28 - 19 clicks
