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…
Public Trust in American Press Falls to New Low
Can the Red Wolf Survive in the Wild?
By Glynn Wilson – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced it will begin implementing a series of new actions based on the latest scientific information to save the endangered red wolf from extinction. The best science now available shows the captive population is not secure for the foreseeable future. With only 29 breeding…
How to Remember the Fifteenth Anniversary of 9/11? Stop the Damn Bombing
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – As an alternative, independent web publisher with no mandatory space to fill like newspapers or exacting air time to sell like television news stations, I normally shun the obligatory anniversary stories and leave that to the mainstream media. But as I sit here Sunday morning on the…
After Protest Reaction Turns Violent, Obama Administration Halts North Dakota Oil Pipeline Near Tribal Lands
By Glynn Wilson – After protests turned violent in North Dokota with a private company using pepper spray and attack dogs on Native Americans, the Obama administration intervened on Friday and blocked the construction of an oil pipeline on federal land. The prospect of a $3.7 billion pipeline crossing four states bordering on native lands…
Compared to Clinton, Trump Seems Lost at Sea
By John L. Micek – So who’s winning the Commander-in-Chief Election? In their first proximate — but not joint –appearance of the fall campaign, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump each made the case for their foreign policy chops this week. Their backdrop: The retired aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Intrepid, in New York City.…
One Big Unfinished Bill Clinton Promise Hillary Should Embrace
Bar corporations from deducting all executive pay in excess of $1 million – By Robert Reich – What can be done to deter pharmaceutical companies from jacking up prices of critical drugs? To prevent Wall Street banks from excessive gambling? To nudge CEOs into taking a longer-term view? To restrain runaway CEO pay? Answer to…
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…
Standing Rock Sioux Secure Limited Victory With Temporary Halt of Dakota Access Pipeline
By Lauren McCauley – A federal judge reportedly denied an emergency request on Tuesday for a restraining order filed by the Standing Rock Sioux in the fight over the Dakota Access Pipeline. But supporters of the Native American protest heralded the ruling as a partial victory anyway due to a stop work agreement on the…
Labor Day Pains: No ‘Golden Age’ for Public Service
Tropical Storm Hermine Barrels Toward Florida Coast, Upgraded to Hurricane
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — Gulf Coast residents woke up Thursday morning to the news that Tropical Storm Hermine was following the track scientists had been predicting for days, barreling toward the northern Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico and expected to strengthen into a hurricane by the time it makes landfall…
What Happens After Trump Loses?
By Robert Reich – I recently got a call from a political analyst in Washington. “Trump is dropping like a stone,” he said, convincingly. “After Election Day, he’s history.” I think Trump will lose the election, but I doubt he’ll be “history.” Defeated presidential candidates typically disappear from public view. Think Mitt Romney or Michael…
Tropical Depression Nine Forms Near Florida Keys, Heading for the Gulf
Fox News Talking Head Sean Hannity Is Donald Trump’s Puppeteer
By Peter Funt – November’s biggest loser might not be Donald Trump — even if he gets clobbered at the polls. The person with the most to lose is Sean Hannity, the Fox News Channel host from Alabama, who isn’t just hitching his wagon to Trump’s campaign, he’s almost single-handily building the wagon on his…
Alabama Lottery Stopgap Medicaid Plan Dies in Failure for Governor Bentley
Alabama House Passes Lottery Bill at Midnight, Senate Must Approve in Conference
What the National Press and the Park Service Won’t Tell You on the 100th Anniversary of NPS
By Glynn Wilson – Reading the national press coverage on the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, even listening to the reporting on National Public Radio, you would think the biggest problem the parks face is a lack of visitors. The entire story is framed as if the parks were just another capitalist tourist…
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…
Gulf Coast Assesses Damage After Louisiana Flood, Prepares for Hurricane Hermine
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — It’s August on the Gulf Coast. Watch out for hurricanes. Just as the residents of Louisiana are beginning to clean up and recover from record floods, a weather event the American Red Cross is calling the worst disaster in the United States since Super Storm Sandy hit the…
President Obama Bypasses Republican Congress, Creates National Monument in Maine’s North Woods
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, President Obama bypassed the inaction of the Republican Congress and used the power of the presidential pen to create the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, the first national monument to preserve the landscape and honor…