The World Around You

The latest Washington Post-ABC News Poll reveals the following interesting tidbit:

The survey also suggests that the fog of war extended far beyond the Iraq battlefield. About one in four Americans incorrectly believes Iraq used chemical or biological weapons against U.S. forces during the conflict. Slightly more than six in 10 said Iraq had not, while the remainder weren’t sure.

This is extremely disturbing, but not surprising. Where do these people get their information? Is someone actually peddling the idea that chemical and biological weapons were used? I would hope that someone will investigate this further and determine from where this belief derives.

James summarizes his take on the U of M decisions based on my challenge of his opinion.

James at OTB says,

Yep: States can discriminate on account of race as long as they are well intentioned and don’t use numbers to do it. Essentially, this is just a restatement of Powell’s murky lone opinion in Bakke but one that gives a stamp of approval to a specific program.

That’s exactly the point of this decision. The majority clarified and upheld Bakke and gave approval to the Michigan program as presented. It is a muddled standard, but certainly less muddled than Bakke. In that respect, this was a very good decision by the Court, removing some of the ambiguity on affirmative action and giving guidance to those who desire legal affirmative action programs.

Bill Barrow reports in the Mobile Register this morning:

In a sign of continuing discord among Alabama Republicans, former state party Chairman Roger McConnell of Mobile has called a public meeting for Saturday to organize grass-roots opposition to Gov. Bob Riley’s $1.2 billion tax and education reform plan.

“This tax, the largest tax increase in history, is diametrically opposed, it’s on the other end of the spectrum, from what we try to promote: less taxes, less regulation, less government,” McConnell told the Mobile Register in a telephone interview Monday.

“We’re going to do everything we can to try to defeat it” Sept. 9, when a statewide referendum will be held, he added.

McConnell said he is footing the bill to rent a ballroom at Montgomery’s Embassy Suites Hotel from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday. The meeting is open to “anyone in the state” and will feature a host of speakers opposed to the plan. Among them: John Giles, president of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, and a tax lawyer and a certified public accountant, both of whom McConnell declined to name.

The Mobile businessman did not say how much he planned to spend, though he promised the meeting will be the first of “many” similar events.

The involvement of the state Republican Party in this “grassroots” effort is also something that needs to be monitored.

McConnell is one of several past state party chairmen to publicly oppose the plan, and local party committees in Mobile, Blount and Madison counties, among others, have adopted resolutions against the idea.

McConnell said Saturday’s meeting is not an official party function. But it was announced in a June 22 e-mail newsletter distributed by Hugh McInnish of Madison County, a member of the state GOP executive committee, to local and state Republican Party leaders and elected officials around Alabama. The gathering, McInnish wrote, will be held “to discuss plans to counter the $1.2 billion tax plan the liberal wing of the Party is attempting to pass.”

State GOP Chairman Marty Connors confirmed Monday that he was familiar with McInnish’s newsletter, but said he had not read the June 22 edition.

The supporters of the plan need to be at this meeting to have their voices heard as well. John Giles and Roger McConnell need to know that this is not going to be an easy road. I plan on at least stopping by on Saturday. Who’s with me?

The Birmingham News reports this morning:

A former top aide to Gov. Don Siegelman will plead guilty in federal court today to charges that he accepted bribes in exchange for state business, including a failed state warehouse project, his attorney said.

Nick Bailey, a member of Siegelman’s cabinet, will plead guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery, one count of failure to report $19,000 in income and one count of violating state ethics law, his attorney, George Beck, said Monday.

The charges stem from the warehouse project and other state deals between 1996 and 2002. Federal charges also have been filed against two other central figures in the warehouse project, Montgomery businessman and lobbyist Lanny Young and Montgomery architect Curtis Kirsch.

Kirsch also will plead guilty today to one count of violating the federal bribery law by conspiring to give money or a thing of value to Bailey and of violating the state ethics law, said Kirsch’s lawyer, David Byrne.

Efforts to reach Young’s lawyer about whether he will enter a plea were unsuccessful.

Charges against the three men resulted from a state-federal investigation of contracts awarded to GH Construction, a fledging company that was politically connected during the Siegelman administration, to build two warehouses in Montgomery.

Prosecutors accuse Bailey of accepting cash and loans from Kirsch and Young.

“They allege that over a period of years that Nick Bailey performed services and used his influence in government to help Lanny Young get favored treatment from the state of Alabama and Curtis Kirsch to get architectural service fee contracts with the state of Alabama,” Beck said.

“In entering this plea, Mr. Bailey intends to fully cooperate with law enforcement authorities and that he’s pleading guilty because he feels like he is guilty, he used bad errors of judgment, and he crossed the line. … He is going to place himself at the mercy of the court and work to get this part of his life behind him,” Beck said.

This was probably the worst kept secret in the state. Everyone was expecting this to come down soon after the Siegelman administration left office. What is interesting is the “full cooperation”. Could the former Governor be the next be indicted? Stay tuned.