By Eugene Robinson – The South Carolina Republican primary may well be Jeb Bush’s last stand. He described the situation — polls show him trailing badly, following weak performances in Iowa and New Hampshire — in typical Bushian syntax: “It’s all been decided, apparently,” he harrumphed this week in Summerville, a town near Charleston. “The…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – The political left in America is being misled by a Presbyterian minister named Chris Hedges, who writes for the leftist blog Truthdig. In a column published on Valentines Day, this self-described socialist attacks Vermont Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Why? Because Sanders had the gall to…
By Glynn Wilson – Why would Congressman and Civil Rights Icon John Lewis of Georgia lie and taint his own reputation and legacy just to help Hillary Clinton beat progressive Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Primary race for President? At a press conference announcing the Congressional Black Caucus PAC’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton, Lewis told…
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.†— William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2 – The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — It’s Joe Cain Day, the Sunday before Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras Day, when some people on the Gulf Coast feast before some Christians observe a…
By Frank Newport and Glynn Wilson – As New Hampshire takes over in the national spotlight this week as the presidential candidates focus on next Tuesday’s primary, Gallup released its latest survey showing the least and most religious states in the country. New Hampshire now tops the list as the least religious state, followed closely…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – It looks like the insurgent occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon is winding down. While it could be viewed as more tragic than funny, especially for the wildlife, it strikes me as bordering on hilarious that the remaining cowardly cowboys who are ready to…
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — A federal judge grilled lawyers here Tuesday about the questionable legality of a plan put forward by the administration of Alabama Governor Robert Bentley to use BP oil spill environmental restoration money for economic development to build a hotel and convention center on the state park beach in…
Will they build them in Mobile? How will state and local officials and the local media respond? – By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — When Alabama officials celebrated the news that Airbus would open a plant to build planes and provide jobs here, little did they know one of the biggest customers would turn…
By Rebecca Riffkin and Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — A large majority of Americans, 63 percent, say they are dissatisfied with the size and influence of major corporations, according to the latest Gallup poll on the subject. “Americans have long been suspicious of the power of big corporations, but they have not been supportive…
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…
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…
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 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 – When we were young and naive, back in the day before the Bush Years, we consumed the government and American history text books that told us how the judicial branch of government is supposed to be above politics. When I first set foot in a newsroom across the street from a…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – It seems old stories never die. They just keep going round and around, circling further from the truth as time goes by. I just got off the phone with a producer in New York who wants to interview me, again, about the political prosecution of former Alabama…
