Attorney General Jeff Sessions News Conference Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in a news conference he would recuse himself from any investigations involving President Trumpâs campaign and potential connections to Russia. He did so in response to reports he failed to disclose at his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing his contacts with the Russian ambassador…
Southern Politics
President Trump’s Liar-in-Chief Shock and Awe Continues
Freshman Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz Faces Protesters
Republican Defends Bill to Abolish the EPA By Glynn Wilson – MILTON, Fla. — Freshman Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz faced protesters and supporters at his first day of town hall events since the election, defending a bill he put forward with three cosigners in the House to abolish the EPA. The Florida Panhandle Progressives, local…
New Alabama Attorney General Announces Special Prosecutor to Investigate Governor Robert Bentley
By Glynn Wilson – A special district attorney has been appointed by Alabama’s new attorney general to investigate allegations of misconduct by Governor Robert Bentley. Steven T. Marshall, appointed by the governor as state attorney general to replace Luther Strange, who will assume the U.S. Senate seat of Jeff Sessions recently confirmed as President Donald…
How Jeff Sessions Helped Kill Equitable School Funding in Alabama
A lawsuit in the 1990s had Alabama poised to fund poor black school districts as fairly as wealthy white schools. As state attorney general, Sessions fought the effort passionately. – By Ryan Gabrielson – ProPublica – In the early 1990s, children across Alabama’s large rural stretches still attended faltering public schools, some with exposed wiring…
Federal Court Strikes Down Race-Based Alabama Legislative Districts
By Glynn Wilson – The gerrymandering plan rammed through the state legislature by Alabama Republicans after they took control in 2010 has now been thrown out by a three-judge panel of federal judges in Montgomery as an unconstitutionaly overtly race-based map. A three-judge panel of the Federal District Court in Montgomery unanimously agreed that in…
Senate Democrats Delay Jeff Sessions’ Confirmation as Trump’s Attorney General
UPDATE: After this story was published, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Tuesday to confirm Senator Jeff Sessions as attorney general of the United States, sending President Donald Trump’s pick to be the nation’s top law enforcement officer to the full Senate for a final vote. By Lauren McCauley – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democrats…
Senate Democrats Delay Judiciary Committee Vote on Jeff Sessions Nomination as Attorney General
By Glynn Wilson – U.S. Senate Democrats are delaying a key vote on Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions’s nomination as President Donald Trump’s attorney general, according The Hill and other news outlets. They say Senators need more time to review the candidate. “As we have done for most nominees … I’m asking that the vote for…
Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions to Face Confirmation Hearing as Attorney General
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — The first time I saw Jeff Sessions in court and then interviewed him in person 27 years ago, my human instincts and reporting acumen led me to conclude that there was something horribly wrong about this little man’s character. I never figured he would…
President-Elect Donald Trump Ends ‘Thank You’ Tour in Mobile
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — Television celebrity president-elect Donald J. Trump ended his “victory tour” or “thank you tour” where his campaign took off 16 months ago, before an adoring crowd of average, working class “conservative” Republicans at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in the home town of Senator Jeff Sessions. When Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home…
President-Elect Donald Trump to Bring ‘Victory Tour’ to Mobile
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — President-elect Donald J. Trump is planning to bring his “victory tour” or “thank you tour” to Mobile on Saturday, Dec. 17. The event will take place at âLaddâPeebles Stadium beginning at 3 p.m. You can obtain tickets here. This was first reported by the local CBS News affiliate…
Colonial Pipeline Explosion and Fire Under Investigation
By Glynn Wilson – The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation into the Colonial Pipeline explosion and fire in Helena, Alabama, which killed one worker and seriously injured four others. The major gasoline pipeline, built in 1963, that had already busted in September and was leaking, causing fears of a gas shortage in…
Vote No on Amendment 2: Stop the Republicans from Privatizing Alabama’s State Parks
By Glynn Wilson – The poor people of Alabama are being hoodwinked by their government, again. And it seems every conservation and environmental group in the state and a few decent newspapers are being taken in too. The issue is Amendment 2 up for a vote to change the Alabama Constitution, again, on the Nov.…
Supply Emergencies Declared in Alabama, Georgia Over Gas Pipeline Spill
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — A major gas pipeline that was discovered broken and leaking at least 250,000 gallons last week in rural Shelby County, south of Birmingham near Helena, has government and industry officials hopping to contain the leak, shore up any impact on the price of gas, and assure the public…
Alabama Legislature Bends: Finds Last Minute Compromise to Save Medicaid
By Glynn Wilson – MONTGOMERY, Ala. â After all the pressure from the Watchdog Press, all the hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth by every special interest group all over the state and their favorite legislators convened to get what they want — and maybe in the process help the sick and poor just a little…
A Prayer for Alabama Legislature: Bless Us With Disaster, Sweet Jesus
By David Underhill – MOBILE, Ala. – A prayer for the Alabama legislature as it reconvenes in a special session, following another special session that failed to find funding enough to allow the state’s Medicaid services to function at a level keeping the needy alive. Schemes to finance the services with a lottery, or with…
Alabama Lottery Stopgap Medicaid Plan Dies in Failure for Governor Bentley
Alabama House Passes Lottery Bill at Midnight, Senate Must Approve in Conference
Montgomery Ranks Number One City in America for Sexually Transmitted Disease
Alabama House Committee Approves Lottery Bill – By Glynn Wilson – Sorry y’all. I can’t resist the irony, especially in the wake of the governor’s sex scandal. Just as stories were making the rounds that the Alabama House Economic Development and Tourism committee voted to approve a lottery bill, a day late to be in…
Alabama Lottery and Medicaid Funding Hopes Dashed Again
Governor Robert Bentley’s Lottery Bill Dies in the House – By Glynn Wilson – Never mind lottery fans and sick children who need Medicaid funding now. According to a plethora of reporting on Twitter late Tuesday afternoon, any hope of a lottery vote making it onto the November 8 ballot just went down in flames,…