The World Around You

Opinions are being formed in the 2006 race for Alabama governor. Buried in this piece on former Gov. Siegelman’s indictment is a statement by William Stewart that Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley must get her footing by articulating her vision, not presenting herself as the “clean candidate”.

He is absolutely correct. She may feel like it’s too early to get specific, but she needs to do it immediately. What does she stand for and what does she stand against? I want to believe in and support her candidacy, but I haven’t heard enough yet to know whether she deserves my support.

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Everyone in Alabama knew Eddie Curran wasn’t going to miss a court appearance by former Gov. Don Siegelman. Eddie is largely responsible for the attention that has been paid to the former governor by prosecuters. Please don’t misunderstand me, Siegelman is not the victim he claims to be. Eddie Curran is an extremely competent and diligent investigative reporter. Siegelman doesn’t seem to grasp that when you do shady things your going to be investigated. It doesn’t matter whether they are technically legal or not, it’s all about the appearance and the appearance was created by him.

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Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy were indicted today on charges that included racketeering. It sounds like the prosecutors may finally have put all the pieces together, connecting the donations that Siegelman sought to favors done for his donors. Everyone in Alabama knows this is the core of how his administration operated, but whether or not the prosecutors could find the evidence to prove was up for debate. For their sake, I hope their case is as strong as they imply.

**Crossposted on Polstate.com

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It is time to say goodbye to Ms. Parks. I’m glad that the people of Montgomery will have the opportunity to pay proper tribute as her body lies in state at St. Paul AME Church on Saturday and Sunday. I strongly encourage everyone who can to come and pay tribute to a woman who deserves the highest praise.

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Rosa Parks died of natural causes at her home this evening. Ms. Parks was a tremendous wom and a tremendous leader in the civil rights movement. She will be missed.

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My sincerest congratulations to Prattville mayor Jim Byard on his new son James III.

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It seems like only in Alabama do we get headlines this good.

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As someone who works in the field of prevention, I can wholeheartedly endorse a candidate for Attorney General who believes in the power of prevention. John Tyson will make a very strong challenger to current Attorney General Troy “The Boy” King. He is well-respected in Mobile and across the state.

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New poll numbers for the Alabama gubernatorial race indicate that the incumbent governor may be in a stronger position than many believe.

The Mobile Register-University of South Alabama poll shows Riley topping former Gov. Don Siegelman 46 percent to 31 percent, a gap far wider than the quarter of a percentage point that separated the men in the 2002 gubernatorial race.

Riley leads Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley 44 percent to 33 percent in the poll conducted last week.

Both Democrats performed much better against the other Republican candidate, ousted state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. Baxley collected 44 percent support to Moore’s 37 percent, while Siegelman and Moore finished in a tie, each with 40 percent, according to the poll.

The results suggest that Riley’s standing among Alabama voters has improved significantly since a similar Register-USA poll in February showed him trailing Baxley by 4 percentage points and leading Siegelman by 7 points.

This is very good news for Riley, though we are more than eight months out from the primaries. I still believe that campaign fundraising will make all the difference in this race.

**Crossposted at Polstate.com

**Submitted to OTB’s Beltway Sunday Drive

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The Birmingham News has a great piece this morning on the upcoming adoption of science textbooks for the state and the continued use of a disclaimer in regards to evolution. This section of the article is particularly illuminating:

Leslie J. Rissler, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama, said she was startled by students’ lack of understanding of the theory of evolution.

Rissler was hired three years ago to teach an expanded, in-depth course on evolutionary biology to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students majoring in biology.

“The first time I taught the class I assigned a paper on the view of evolution by the scientific community versus the general public and the misconceptions between the two,” Rissler said. “Those papers showed me that many of the students had come from backgrounds, from schools where evolution was clearly misunderstood and mistaught. And what was shocking to me was these are students who chose to go to college, have been in college a few years and are majoring in biology.”

It should be shocking and sad to all Alabamians that we are continuing to short our youth the best science education possible because of fear it may actually cause them to think about their beliefs.

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If “prayer is the adhesive that holds us together”, as Governor Riley suggests, we are in deep trouble. If prayer is all we have we are walking on real thin ice.

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Unreal, and we treat a few hundred deaths in Louisiana as if its the end of the world… I hope the outpouring of support we received from around the world will be reciprocated to the people of Pakistan.

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Who knew our new candidate for Governor of Alabama is also a poet?

Babies piled in Dumpsters,
Abortion on demand,
Oh, sweet land of liberty;
your house is on the sand.

We’ve voted in a government
that’s rotting at the core,
Appointing Godless Judges
who throw reason out the door.

Too soft to place a killer
in a well-deserved tomb,
But brave enough to kill a baby
before he leaves the womb.

You think that God’s not angry,
that our land’s a moral slum?
How much longer will He wait
before His judgment comes?

After reading this you really do have to wonder if the man is just plain old crazy. It’s also clear that he believes in the same vengeful God in which those who said Katrina was well-deserved punishment believe.

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The latest poll has Alabama Governor Bob Riley well ahead of Roy Moore. This is certainly a positive sign, but it is way too early to declare Roy’s candidacy dead. It is, however, clear that he is working from behind.

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