By Walter Simon – BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The last time I was in the vicinity of the Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham was in the winter of 2012 at the occupy camp we set up, wrapping around the corner sidewalk of 20th and 5th avenue north in front of the entrance to Regions bank. The bus…
Private Company Sues Park Service for $50 Million Claiming Ownership of Park Names, Including Yosemite – By Glynn Wilson – A private contractor running many of the operations in America’s national parks is now suing the federal government claiming it owns the intellectual property rights of famous names like Yosemite National Park, along with the…
By Jim Norman and Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Television viewing was once so beloved by Americans that nearly half said it was their favorite thing to do at night. The latest public opinion survey shows night time TV is now less popular than ever, even with all the new choices between the major…
WASHINGTON (NAJ) – The Obama administration filed its civil case in federal court against Volkswagen and its subsidiaries on Monday documenting multiple, willful violations of the Clean Air Act due to the company blatantly faking clean emissions tests and high gas mileage in its diesel automobiles sold to the public as clean and fuel efficient…
Following in the footsteps of his father, who made headlines in 2014 by leading an armed standoff between ranchers and the federal government over grazing rights in Nevada, Ammon Bundy and his fellow protesters are occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Burns Oregon demanding that the government surrender public control of a habitat preserve…
By Eugene Robinson – You probably noticed that 2015 was pretty weird. But hey, it’s a brand new year — a fresh start, a blank slate, an unwritten script. In 2016, what could possibly go wrong? Uh, where to begin? My fingers balk at typing the words “President-elect Trump” because I don’t think such a…
Environmental Group Pushes for Expedited Oral Arguments – By Glynn Wilson – The Bentley administration is stalling in federal court by opposing expedited oral arguments in a lawsuit filed against the proposed use of $58 million in BP oil settlement money — designated to restore the Gulf eco-system — to build a hotel and convention…
By David Underhill – MOBILE, Ala. – You must have been naughty children. Although you didn’t get a lump of coal in your stocking, you got a wad of glop. It’s your present from Alabama governor Robert Bentley, often confused with creepy Mr Burns in The Simpsons show. But that’s only because of their eerily…
By Art Swift and Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — The year 2015 was an “intriguing, complex and turbulent year,” according to Gallup. A politically independent Vermont senator surged in the Democratic presidential race. Same-sex marriage became law in all 50 states. Russia’s leadership received the lowest approval ratings worldwide for the eighth consecutive year.…
By Paul Brown – LONDON — After a decade of aggressive growth in demand, the market for coal has stalled and is unlikely to recover, according to the International Energy Agency. Its report on the medium-term coal market says that demand in China — which uses 50 percent of the world’s coal — has begun…
Nearly 200 countries agreed to save the planet, but the Republicans have a different idea. By Ben Adler – Republicans didn’t even wait for a global climate change deal to be struck in Paris to start trying to undermine it. Last month, congressional Republicans were loudly discouraging other nations from signing onto any agreement, arguing…
By Marjorie Cohn – The war in Vietnam resulted in the deaths of more than 58,000 Americans and more than 3 million Vietnamese. Twenty years ago, the United States and Vietnam normalized diplomatic relations in an effort to put the terrible legacy of the war behind them. But for the survivors—both Vietnamese and American—the war…
By David Underhill – MOBILE, Ala. – If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, the Paris climate conference just built an eight-lane freeway to Hades. Leaders and nerds from 195 countries sifted through separate plans for saving the species from itself and tried to meld them into an agreed text about shrinking…
By Glynn Wilson – Finally, the despised and unworkable George W. Bush-Republican Congress “No Child Left Behind Act” is history. President Obama on Thursday signed a new law, which passed the House and Senate with rare bipartisan support, called the “Every Student Succeeds Act,” which gives state governments the power to evaluate schools and determine…
By Glynn Wilson – MONTGOMERY. Ala. – Governor Robert Bentley issued a statement on Wednesday in response to the Obama administration’s announcement of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Transportation into the proposed closure of state driver license offices in mostly poor counties populated by minorities. Bentley claimed there were no offices closed and…
By Bill Boyarsky – Watching Donald Trump on television Monday urging that Muslims be banned from entering the United States was like listening to Hitler on the radio in the early 1930s. As was the case with Hitler, Trump appeals to a substantial number of angry people who cheer his call for making outcasts of…
By Eugene Robinson – “A cancer that has no immediate cure” was not the most soothing metaphor President Obama could have chosen, but it was the most honest. He has no idea how to prevent another terrorist attack like the one in San Bernardino – and neither does anyone else, including his Republican critics. The…
US Department of Agriculture warns of danger of ‘business as usual’ approach – Rising temperatures to hit poor and those in tropics hardest – WASHINGTON, D.C., THE GUARDIAN – Unchecked climate change risks plunging a further 175 million people into hunger and undernourishment worldwide, undermining progress in reducing food insecurity, a U.S. government report warns.…
While the Poorest Half Only Produce Ten Percent – LONDON (Reuters) – The richest tenth of the world’s people produce half of all carbon emissions, while the poorest half – most threatened by droughts and super storms linked to climate change – produce only one tenth, according to Oxfam, an international confederation of 17 organizations…
By Glynn Wilson – MOBIlE, Ala. – While the national news is rife with stories about the death of the Keystone XL Pipeline out west, the ongoing climate talks in Paris and the low price of oil internationally, a local petroleum industry front group and the politicians and media they are trying to buy seem…
