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…
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.…
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…
By Glynn Wilson – MONTGOMERY, Ala. — 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…
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…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – What’s the point of celebrating Labor Day anymore? Like many things these days, people have forgotten the history and do not appreciate it beyond the day off to eat barbecue and jump in the water. There’s not much in the way of news to report about Amerian…
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…
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…
By Glynn Wilson – Tropical Depression Nine has formed near the Florida Keys with its center about 60 miles south of Key West with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph as of late Sunday afternoon and could pick up strength as it moves west into the Gulf of Mexico, according to the latest forecast from…
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…
By Glynn Wilson – The fools y’all elected to represent us in Montgomery have gone back home now on a paid vacation for a holiday they don’t even believe in, Labor Day. The fool of a governor y’all elected to represent us in the state capital is making excuses like the bad kid on the…
By Glynn Wilson – In a state where gambling is so loved yet feared, it must be torture for lawmakers stuck in Montgomery in the August heat to spend hours late into the night debating what Governor Robert Bentley says he wants, a state lottery to save Medicaid. With all of the big talk about…
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…
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…
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…
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…
By Robert Reich – The best argument for a single-payer health plan is the recent decision by giant health insurer Aetna to bail out next year from 11 of the 15 states where it sells Obamacare plans. Aetna’s decision follows similar moves by UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest health insurer, and by Humana, another one…
Governor Robert Bentley’s Lottery Bill Dies in the House – By Glynn Wilson – Never mind lottery fans and sick children who need Medicaid funding now. According to a plethora of reporting on Twitter late Tuesday afternoon, any hope of a lottery vote making it onto the November 8 ballot just went down in flames,…
By Glynn Wilson – Do mosquitoes seem to bug the crap out of you, but even more annoyingly, seem not to bother some of your friends and family? I’ve long wondered why the pesky critters love me so much. If women loved me as much as mosquitoes, I would have a harram. Since it is…
