The World Around You

Well, the governor put an abrupt end to the “experiment” of Sunday alcohol sales by the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.

“I think the standard that ABC has operated on for decades is the best one for the state,” Riley told reporters at an appearance in Montgomery.

The governor’s decision put an end to what ABC administrator Emory Folmar described as plans to possibly open other state-owned liquor stores on future Sundays to coincide with major events like NASCAR races in Talladega or the Regions Charity Classic, a Champions Tour golf tournament played annually in suburban Birmingham.

Alabama governor: No more Sunday alcohol sales by state - NewsFlash - al.com

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Another State Finance Director will take a stab at the Supreme Court…after Drayton Nabors was unable to win his first election for Chief Justice after being appointed to the post from his seat as State Finance Director, now Jim Main wants to take a stab at it.

Finance director to seek Supreme Court seat- al.com

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Only in Alabama do we get these kind of gems for headlines:

Ken Mier, who described himself as an investigator for the Alabama Ku Klux Klan and the national office of the Ku Klux Klan LLC, said in an e-mail to The Cullman Times that his group is against the tactics of the National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, which held an anti-immigration protest last month in Athens.

“We are opposed to the ignorance and stupidity as displayed by the individuals that thumbed their nose at the area churches by continuing to use racial slurs, threats and avoided Christian deportment,” he said.

Yes, those Klan members over there are ignorant and stupid. Now us on the other hand…

Klan to protest Klan in Cullman - Breaking News from The Huntsville Times - al.com

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Mary Orndorff and Brett Blackledge at the Birmingham News continue to try to piece together an alternative theory on the Siegelman case and its root motivations.

Acting U.S. Attorney Louis Franklin,
the Montgomery prosecutor who managed the government’s case against Siegelman, said he assigned Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Feaga to the investigation in early 2004, and the two agreed to request a special grand jury that would hear evidence. But John W. Scott, a senior Justice Department trial lawyer who had been helping with the case at the request of Montgomery prosecutors, disagreed with the move to extend the investigation, Franklin said.

“We had to make a decision about whether or not a grand jury would help us in putting the case together, investigating further. It was not a popular decision, but I made it,” Franklin said. “John didn’t want to do that, so when he left Montgomery he didn’t come back.”

The contention is this offers “proof” that the case was not being driven from Washington. Proof, no, but another side of the story, yes.

Prosecutor says Montgomery led Siegelman case- al.com

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The whole concept of the state having a monopoly on certain types of alcohol was foreign to me when I first came to Alabama, but there are still eighteen states that do it. However, opening a state liquor store on a Sunday for the first time this weekend seems to have a lot of mystery around it.

Emory Folmar says it will only happen when promoters of a “big event” request it. The first “event” he chose happened yesterday and none of the major players recall asking Mr. Folmar to do it. Huh?

Emory is going to have to come up with a better explanation, because this one makes no sense at all.

montgomeryadvertiser.com ::  ABC store to open today amid debate

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Joel Stein is really onto something:

There’s no chance that harrumphing will return Halloween to the innocent and carefree days of threatening neighbors who don’t give you candy and vandalizing trees with toilet paper. So we need to invent a separate holiday when adults can get drunk and finally wear that pair of boots that seemed OK in the store but it turns out go up a little higher than you thought.

That’s why, after much research and consultation, I have founded our nation’s newest holiday: Slut Day.

H/T to Wonkette

A holiday for sluttiness - Los Angeles Times

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The water wars between Georgia, Alabama and Florida continue to intensify as the land in all these states continues to get drier and drier.

Perdue in a recent press conference called it “the single worst drought in Georgia’s history,” and Riley in a recent letter to President Bush called the drought “severe and unprecedented.”
Perdue wants the Army Corps of Engineers to release less water into the Chattahoochee River from Lake Lanier in north Georgia. The lake is the main source of drinking water for more than 4 million people in the Atlanta area.
Riley said he would fight any cuts in water releases that would hurt Alabama plants on the Chattahoochee downstream from Lake Lanier, such as the Farley nuclear plant in Houston County. It produces about 19 percent of the electricity generated by Alabama Power, which serves 1.4 million customers in Alabama.
Riley, Perdue and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist plan to meet Thursday in Washington to talk about the drought and water resources their states share, aides to Perdue and Riley said.
“I hope we can get a better understanding of what our positions are,” Riley said. “I think it’s much better to do it face-to-face than it is to continue this rhetoric that has become so heightened over the last few days.”

Federal officials to wade into water war- al.com

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As much as I love Artur Davis, he did cross the line yesterday by directly accusing Governor Riley of trying to ease his re-election by having the Justice Department prosecute Don Siegelman. Until the full facts of this case come to light, he needs to tread a little lighter in his accusations. Innuendo goes a long way in this case.

montgomeryadvertiser.com ::  Democratic chair defends Davis

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Even one of Scrushy’s attorneys says Jill Simpson is lying about the Rob Riley phone call, but he has another proposal.

“I personally think President Bush ought to pardon Scrushy and Siegelman and clear up the whole issue like he did with Libby,” Butts said.

Oh sure…because the President makes it a practice to pardon the leading Democratic figure in a very red state…that’ll be the day.

Butts denies Simpson claims, but says Siegelman, Scrushy innocent - NewsFlash - al.com

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…our leader is not very bright.

“I fully understand those who say you can’t win this thing militarily. That’s exactly what the United States military says, that you can’t win this military.”—on the need for political progress in Iraq, Washington, D.C., Oct. 17, 2007

Of course, this can be understood in light of the obvious need for political progress, but the President continues to explain how he can fully understand those of us who disagree and would advocate a different path (including many former generals who had to implement his way), yet he continues to go down the same one.

Bushism of the Day - By Jacob Weisberg - Slate Magazine

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The DUI law in Alabama has a huge loophole and wasn’t very strong even without it.

Riley is proposing legislation that would:

# double the minimum punishment for defendants convicted of driving with a blood alcohol level of .15 or higher;

# require an automatic one-year suspension for first-time offenders with a blood alcohol level of .15 or higher;

# eliminate the five-year limitation on considering prior convictions in the sentencing of habitual DUI offenders; and

# increase the minimum term of imprisonment for a fourth DUI from 10 days to 120 days.

Sen. Rusty Glover, R-Semmes, said Alabama has one of the 10 weakest DUI laws in the nation.

That is because legislators rewrote the law in 2006. Without apparently intending to do so, the rewrite created a loophole for habitual DUI defendants. The Legislature put a five-year limit on how far back prosecutors could go to bring up past DUI convictions at sentencing.

I disagree with Sen. Glover, that legislators didn’t know what they were doing. Some legislators knew exactly what they were doing by restricting the length of time back a previous DUI could be considered when sentencing. The quicker we close that loophole and make the other adjustments the governor is asking for, the better.

montgomeryadvertiser.com�::� Riley wants tougher DUI law

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Oral, Oral, Oral…(I mean honestly, with that first name, didn’t we suspect at some point there was going to be some funny business…)

His daughter-in-law is “courting” the students by text message. His son is spending the university’s money like it’s his own personal piggy bank and the devil is trying to steal his university? I think the devil is trying to steal his children and evidently succeeded.

Oral Roberts says devil won’t steal ORU - Yahoo! News

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George Wallace Jr. indicated yesterday he is not ready to re-enter politics just yet. Be assured he will be back, but he is doing the right thing by laying low after a defeat.

montgomeryadvertiser.com�::� Wallace not looking at political comeback — for now

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The Democratic field for US Senate may get a little bigger, if State Rep. Billy Beasley decides to join the race. Again, it’s going to take a lot of money to beat Sessions, but I’m encouraged there are people who want to try.

Billy Beasley may challenge Sessions for Senate seat - Breaking News from the Press-Register - al.com

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The Mobile Register does a great service on its opinion page today by highlighting the Pew study that was released last week:

Alabamians are well aware that the state usually ranks near the bottom in surveys of education and public health. But many state residents probably don’t realize that Alabama also brings up the rear on a key measure of political health.

The state’s campaign finance disclosure laws are among the weakest in the nation, according to a study funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts. That means it’s easy for politicians here to hide the sources of their campaign money from the public.

Our campaign finance laws are atrocious and must be changed for the better.

Alabama is a great place for corruption- al.com

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This is a great new music act I heard through Entertainment Weekly. They’re kind of a more latino version of the Blackeyed Peas. Check them out.

The DEY | The official The DEY site

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I have much the same take on ending parole as I do with abortion. If the anti-abortion folks want to end abortion then they need to be willing to care for the babies that are born.

I’m okay with ending parole too, if it means the new prisons we’re going to need are built in Troy’s neighborhood, or better yet we can house the inmates in his house. I’m sure he’s got room.

“When you go to truth in sentencing, it’s going to increase the (inmate) population. You’ve got to be ready for that, and we are not ready. We’ve got facilities with broken locks,” said Lynda Flynt, executive director of the Alabama Sentencing Commission.

On the other hand, Flynt knows it’s advantageous for politicians to criticize parole.

“I understand Troy King’s position from law and order and tough on crime and running for re-election,” she said.

King’s position is nothing new. Since Maine first abolished parole in 1975, a total of 15 states have ended the practice, but three have since instituted new methods of early release — usually because of prison overcrowding issues.

Alabama has struggled with prison overcrowding for more than 30 years. Some governors have built new lockups. Others have stepped up paroles. And one opened prison doors and let out inmates under orders from a federal judge.

al.com: Ala. Attorney General Says Abolish Parole

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Of course, the sale of stocks by the Sessions’ has nothing to do with the WSJ story that his ties to the industry are what led to his proposal in the Senate.

Between Mary Sessions’ individual holdings and a joint account, the couple owned between $115,002 and $300,000 in Compass Bancshares stock, the report shows.

In the Journal article, Sessions was quoted as saying that the couple’s bank holdings had “nothing to do” with the amendment, adding that it was intended to fix a legitimate problem.

But following the Journal’s inquiries, spokesman Stephen Boyd said the senator would seek counsel on what he might do to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.

“After speaking with advisers in the Senate, it is clear that the senator has acted in full accordance with the law,” Boyd said in an e-mail last week in response to follow-up questions from the Press-Register. He added, however, that Sessions “has taken steps that are above and beyond any legal or ethical requirement to remove even the appearance of a conflict of interest from his personal finances.”

On Friday, Sessions, who is up for re-election next year, declined to confirm that those steps were a reaction to the Journal article, but said that he and his wife made the decision during the week of Oct. 7, a few days after the story ran.

Sessions, wife selling stocks- al.com

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A big thank you to the Department of Forensic Sciences for now having the means to accurately count drug cases. This is the most accurate data we can get, because almost all drug cases have to send their evidence tot he department for analysis.

Now we know 30,891 drug cases were filed in Alabama in fiscal 2006, said Gary Wallace, chief of drug chemistry at the crime lab.

That’s one case for every 150 Alabama residents. It represents more defendants than the entire population of Bessemer, and at that rate in three years the number of people arrested could fill Bryant-Denny Stadium.

…

Boiled down, that means an illegal drug of some sort is seized on average every 15 minutes in Alabama, around the clock.

Drug problem worse, based on new data - al.com

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Frances Gilpin has an odd article in this morning’s Montgomery Advertiser. It basically sums up a lot of the controversies around Alabama AG Troy King and gives some standard responses from his defenders, with a bit of analysis by political experts thrown in for good measure.

In case you missed it, I am a King critic and believe we would be much better off with almost anyone else in that office.
montgomeryadvertiser.com�::� Attorney general incites critics with decisions

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I hate to hear about Gordon Watt and Keaton Grant getting into this kind of trouble, but I applaud Coach Painter for being quick and decisive in his response by removing Watt from the team and suspending Grant for three games.

Journal and Courier Online: Watt Arrested, Kicked Off Purdue Basketball Team

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Some people still think voting in races like the State Supreme Court doesn’t matter…but this case is a perfect example why it does.

A sharply divided Alabama Supreme Court turned back a group Friday that sought to end Alabama’s practice of giving the driver’s license exam in several foreign languages.

Attorneys for the ProEnglish organization had argued that giving the exam in multiple languages violated a constitutional amendment that designates English as Alabama’s official language.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court said the ProEnglish group presented no evidence that administering the test in multiple languages diminishes English as Alabama’s common language. The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling in favor of Gov. Bob Riley and other state officials.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb cited the governor’s argument that permitting people with limited English proficiency to take the written portion of the exam in their native language helped them get a license, and the license fostered their assimilation into the community by increasing their access to education, employment and shopping.

Four justices — Glenn Murdock, Lyn Stuart, Mike Bolin and Tom Parker — said the case should have gone in favor of the plaintiffs.

Sue Bell Cobb is bringing sanity to the court once again…we should all be thankful, and we all need to vote to keep her there next time around.

montgomeryadvertiser.com ::  Court allows driver’s exam in multiple languages

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