The World Around You

June 1st is Primary Day in Alabama. Please go out and vote. I also urge you to consider voting for the following judges in the Republican primary:

Supreme Court Place 1: Justice Jean Brown

Supreme Court Place 2: Judge Patti Smith

Supreme Court Place 3: Judge Peggy Givhan

It will be a sad day in Alabama if good judges are pushed aside by those who deny the rule of law.

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My friend and frequent commenter to this side, Michael Bowen, is back. He has a new blog where he pledges to only post when he’s drunk. We’ll see how long that lasts.

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Choose Wisely at the Ballot Box
By Kristopher
Prattville Progress

We are just a few short days from a primary for state and county offices. I see the yard signs everywhere in our area. Vote for me! Many of these primary races will decide who will serve in the post. Many offices will not be contested in the general election, which means this week is our only chance to make a choice.

A number of the races on the ballot are for statewide and district judicial seats. The discussion of the statewide races in particular has been extensive, and exhausting. What do we really want in a judge? I know what I want. I want someone who can be fair to both sides; who understands the law and is able to follow the precedents that have been established, the constitutions of Alabama and the United States of America in rendering the correct legal rulings. Yet, all I seem to hear from the commercials and coverage of the judicial elections is judicial candidates sparring over which of them is the most godly. Who can determine the depth of a person’s faith? Who would want to? If I have a choice between someone who claims they will make decisions based on their personal faith and one who will follow the law; I’m taking the person who will follow the law every time. Sometimes, I feel like I am in the minority in this.

The reason behind this discussion of faith is obviously Roy Moore. The former Chief Justice is casting a huge shadow over the judicial elections this year. There are many candidates who have ties to him and cite them as key credentials for their candidacy. Some have few credentials beyond these ties. It would be unfortunate if they were to win a prestigious elected office only because of some people’s anger with a decision that was so clearly legally correct.

It has gone so far, that one state Supreme Court justice saw fit to publish a dissertation on his personal disagreement with the law, while at the same time justifying the decision that he helped make based on that law. He should not have to make this justification. He and the other justices did their jobs well! Judge Myron Thompson and the justices of the Alabama Supreme Court made the right decisions. How do we know? Because Roy Moore couldn’t get four justices on the US Supreme Court (including such stalwart strict constructionists as Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas and Rehnquist) to agree to even hear his arguments.

So, when you go to the ballot box on June 1st and vote on the judicial races, think about what you really want from a judge. When you walk into a courtroom, do you expect the judge to decide your case based on whether your attorney makes the argument that comes closest to his personal beliefs or based on the established rule of law? I’m ashamed for all of us that I even have to pose the question. We will live under the system that we have established or we will pay the consequences for destroying it.

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The indictment of former Governor Don Siegelman is obviously all over the news today:

** The Birmingham News makes the connection between this indictment and the previous conviction of Siegelman aide Nick Bailey.

** The US Attorney has now posted the indictment on its website.

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We’ve been waiting for this shoe to drop for a LONG time. Today it did.

A federal grand jury indicted former Gov. Don Siegelman and two others in a bid-rigging scheme, prosecutors announced Thursday.

The charges accused Siegelman and former Chief of Staff Paul Hamrick of helping Tuscaloosa physician Phillip Bobo rig bids for a maternity care program while Siegelman was governor.

More to come…

UPDATE: More from the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer:

Siegelman and Hamrick are accused of moving $550,000 from the state education budget to the State Fire College in Tuscaloosa so Bobo could use the money to pay off a competitor for a state contract.

Siegelman’s attorney, Doug Jones, said he was still trying to learn details of the indictment and had no immediate comment.

The indictment refers to numerous unindicted co-conspirators, who were identified not by name but by positions, including members of Siegelman’s transition team, lobbyists and the acting commissioner at the time of the Alabama Medicaid Agency.

UPDATE: Here is the press release from the US Attorney’s office.

UPDATE: WSFA has video of Governor Siegelman’s response to the charges and the press conference held by US Attorney Alice Martin.

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Taking the legislature to court for overstepping its constitutional bounds? This ought to be interesting.

Chief Deputy Attorney General Richard Allen said the attorney general’s office has the suit under review. He said the courts generally view acts of the Legislature to be constitutional, “and that’s our working presumption also.”

The education budget approved by the Legislature for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 includes $11.7 million for what legislators call “community service grants.” Each House member gets a minimum of $46,800 and each senator a minimum of $140,400 to distribute to education projects of their choosing in their districts. Their choices have to be reviewed by a legislative committee.

I am as upset about these monies as the plaintiffs in the case, but I don’t think they have a case. I would not be surprised to see it thrown out, but I give those who brought the suit credit for shining a light on these monies.

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The rumblings about Sen. Jeff Sessions as a candidate for Governor of Alabama in 2006 got so bad yesterday that the Senator released a statement denying any interest at this time. A battle within the Republican party would be the best case scenario for the Alabama Democrats, so I’m sure they are excited about the possibility. On the flip side, I’m not so sure that Governor Riley will run for a second term. He’s only been in office for 1 and 1/2 years, but I’m sure it feels like a lifetime. Keep that rumor mill going, it’s one of the few interesting things going on in Alabama politics at the moment.

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Tom Parker, a close associate of Roy Moore, should be disqualified from the race for not even understanding the most basic function of a judge.

Supreme Court candidate Tom Parker called Tuesday for his opponent in next week’s Republican primary, incumbent Justice Jean Brown, to “oppose and resist” homosexual marriages in Alabama even if a federal judge orders that they be allowed.
“It is highly likely that federal judges will endorse some form of gay marriage in the near future and order state judges to enforce their orders,” Parker said. “It is extremely important that judicial candidates in Alabama let voters know where they stand.”

A spokesman for the Brown campaign pointed out that same-sex marriages are illegal in Alabama and said “Justice Brown will continue to vigorously apply the laws of the state of Alabama, as she always has.”

This is another of the problems with partisan political elections for seats on the bench. A judge should not have positions on the issues that will come before them in the future. They should be decided on a case-by-case basis in the context of the rule of law that has been estabished at that time. It is downright frightening that we could end up with another person on the highest bench in Alabama who thinks the most important law is their own sense of right and wrong.

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Stephanie Bell seems a little perturbed that so many candidates are opposing her in the primary for State School Board, District 3. She shouldn’t be surprised. It is not just about her vocal opposition to Amendment One, as she assumes. It is about her supposed advocacy for public education when she sends her children to private school. The piece by AP this morning does a good job of getting everyone’s reasons for running. As I have said before, I have a keen interest in this race because I do want to see Stephanie Bell defeated and because I do know both John Draper and Mary Anne Martin professionally.

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I neglected to post my column from last week’s Wednesday (Prattville) Progress. Enjoy!

Murphy’s Law Rules
Wednesday (Prattville) Progress

Murphy’s Law applies, even in Prattville, Alabama. For those of you that don’t know our good friend Mr. Murphy, he once said, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” Last Friday was one of those days for me. The day itself actually went fairly smoothly, but on my way home, my car decided it didn’t want to run anymore. I had put off some repairs because of the vehicle’s age, so I knew its demise was near. It began with a loss of power and a lot of hoping and praying that it would get me to the next exit. I made it to the exit ramp and noticed the power steering was gone. Then, as I eased down the ramp off Interstate 65, onto Highway 14, I found the brakes had been lost as well. Thank goodness I was able to get off the roadway and ease to a stop. So if you were driving east on Highway 14 around 5:00 last Friday afternoon you might have seen me in my black sedan waiting on the tow truck driver. Perhaps I should say, what was my black sedan. It’s now kaput, may it rest in peace.

So, after waiting for over an hour, the car was finally towed. Okay, now I’m in the market for a new car. My wife and I decide to take Friday evening and browse some of the dealerships here and in Montgomery. On the way back from Montgomery the “Check Engine” light in my wife’s car cheerfully illuminates. Please keep in mind that we also have a baby due at any moment. Isn’t live grand?

Needless to say Mr. Murphy’s law crossed my mind more than once, given the amount of time I had for personal reflection. Why do bad things always happen together? My wife and I finally settled down for the evening on Friday night, exhausted and hopeful that the new day would bring better tidings.

It did. Perhaps Murphy’s Law should have corollary; if anything can go right, it will usually follow something going wrong. Saturday was a much better day. We started by taking my wife’s vehicle to a local repair shop and determined that the light did not result from a pressing problem. We followed that with finding a vehicle that fit our needs and was in our price range. Then, I received the title to the non-functioning vehicle currently stationed in front of my house; which I thought still required one additional payment.
We also purchased our infant car seat for the bundle of joy to come, all in all not a bad day.

There is a balance to life. Some people call it karma, but we all recognize the balance. Good is followed by bad, and vice versa. Looking back at my up and down weekend, that’s what I see, the balance. I hope the next time the highs come; I can savor them more, knowing that the lows will follow.

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Congratulations to Michael Moore for being the first political documentary to win the top honor at the Cannes Film Festival. I always enjoy Michael’s films and I’m really looking forward to this one

Moore said after the ceremony that he expected right-wing media outlets in the United States to characterize his prize as an award from the French, whose government opposed the U.S.-led war on Iraq. He noted that the nine-person Cannes jury that awarded prizes had only one French member and four Americans, including jury president Quentin Tarantino and actress Kathleen Turner.

Many Americans now realize the French are “good friends of America who tried to do the right thing and tell us this was the wrong road,” Moore said. “We owe the people of this country an apology for the way they were debased and treated in our media.”

He’s right about how it will be portrayed by some in the media, but I actually watched the awards ceremony on IFC and was impressed with the graciousness with which he accepted his award. He did exhibit honest shock at being given the prize.

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Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) let loose on the Bush administration during a commencement speech today,

Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the nation must prevent terrorism from taking root around the world by “repairing and building alliances,” increasing trade, supporting democracy, addressing regional conflicts and controlling weapons of mass destruction.

Unless the country commits itself to such measures, “we are likely to experience acts of catastrophic terrorism that would undermine our economy, damage our society and kill hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people,” the Indiana senator said during an appearance at the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Lugar said military might alone isn’t enough to eradicate terrorism.

“To win the war against terrorism, the United States must assign U.S. economic and diplomatic capabilities the same strategic priority that we assign to military capabilities,” he said.

He later added, “Military action is necessary to defeat serious and immediate threats to our national security. But the war on terrorism will not be won through attrition — particularly since military action will often breed more terrorists and more resentment of the United States.”

We could only hope to have someone with this much intelligence residing in the White House. I’m sure Colin Powell believes much the same thing, but has been constantly rebuffed by others in the administration. This administration cannot change course, only a new administration will bring the needed changes to truly keep America safe.

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The Montgomery Advertiser editorial board largely agrees with me on yesterday’s story out of Minor High School in Birmingham.

Phillips says he respects the constitutional rights of students for whom voter registration would conflict with religious beliefs. For example, several students in Minor’s graduating class are Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose faith precludes their participation in the political process through registration and voting.

However, every student deserves to be free from anything even faintly resembling coercion or undue pressure on such matters. Ultimately, political participation is a personal choice, not something to be pressed on an individual.

As they also state, encourage YES, coerce NO.

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This is a really tragic story. Who flushes a fetus down the toilet?

Resident Sharanea Oliver said the man opened a manhole cover along the sewer line and discovered the fetus Wednesday.

“I’ve lived here six years, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” she said. “It’s sad, real sad.”

The fetus had probably been in the sewer line for about 24 hours, Selma Police Chief Robert Green said.

I would certainly hope she had never seen anything like this. I hope she never sees anything like it again.

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