PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Is the Mobile Watershed Oil Pipeline A Done Deal?

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By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. – Is an oil pipeline through the watershed of Mobile Alabama’s sole source for fresh drinking water a done deal? One local paper says so. I made the trek to Mobile for the final week of Mardi Gras and to get the latest on the pipeline. I interviewed Larry…

Comic Cowboys Satirize Mobile Establishment on Fat Tuesday

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MOBILE, Ala. – The Comic Cowboys poked jabbing fun at the establishment in the rain on Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras Day. Big Oil pipelines came under fire, as well as the new Chamber of Commerce Republican Mayor and the cops. Alabama’s Nick Saban and Auburn’s Toomer Oaks were also the subject of the cowboy’s wit,…

Obama Administration Releases Cleaner Fuel and Auto Emissions Standards

Slashing Air Pollution and Providing Health Benefits to ThousandsBy Glynn Wilson – The Obama administration issued the final emission standards for cars and gasoline Monday to improve fuel efficiency in cars and trucks, significantly reduce harmful pollution and prevent thousands of premature deaths and illnesses every year. Based on extensive input from the public and…

President Obama Will Ask Congress for $300 Billion to Rebuild Roads and Railways to Put Americans to Work

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By Glynn Wilson – President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that he will ask Congress for $300 billion to begin rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure starting with aging roads and railways, making the argument that the taxpayer investment is a worthy cause that will pay huge dividends by attracting businesses and helping get unemployed people back to…

UAW Files Appeal of Volkswagen Union Election Claiming Outside Interference

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Company Officials Now Consider Closing the Chattanooga Plant – By Glynn Wilson – The United Auto Workers union has filed an appeal with the National Labor Relations Board claiming outside political interference by special interest groups in Chattanooga, Tennessee, when Volkswagen workers narrowly voted against union representation by 44 votes. Inside sources say now instead…

Climate Change Regulations Hit Supreme Court Docket

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By Glynn Wilson – How the federal government fights climate change will be on the docket of the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday in a rare 90 minute oral argument session, an indication that the court thinks cases against the Environmental Protection Agency filed by chemical industry groups, conservative states and the U.S. Chamber of…

Obama Justice Department Revises Rules for Spying on the News Media

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By Glynn Wilson – The U.S. Justice Department has revised its rules for spying on news organizations in leak investigations, promising that in most cases the federal government will notify news outlets in advance of spying on them, according to the Associated Press. Attorney General Eric Holder, who came under criticism last year when it…

Lessons from the VW-UAW Union Defeat in Tennessee

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By Chris Kromm – Facing South – Forty-four votes. If 44 workers at Volkwagen’s factory in Chattanooga, Tenn. — less than 3 percent of the plant’s 1,560 hourly employees — had voted “yes” instead of “no” in last week’s closely-followed union election, the United Auto Workers and labor would be celebrating a “historic” victory in…

How Fear Beat the UAW in Tennessee

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Connecting the Dots – By Joshua Holland – A three-day election process ended on Friday when Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., voted against joining the United Auto Workers union 712 to 626. Coming into the vote, both sides knew what was at stake — the union drive was a direct threat to the low-wage economy…

Obama Administration Responds to Pressure on Fracking, Revises Permitting Rules on Using Diesel Fuel in Gas Drilling

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EPA to Decide Legality of Mines on a ‘Case-by-Case Basis’By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON. D.C. — To clear up a legal controversy about diesel fuel in methane gas mining, the Obama administration released revised rules on underground injection wells that use diesel fuels in hydraulic fracturing operations, commonly referred to as the controversial method of…

EPA’s Gina McCarthy Delivers Obama Administration Position on Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure With Green Jobs

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The EPA’s Gina McCarthy, a teacher from Boston, delivered one of the keynote addresses on repairing America’s infrastructure with green jobs Monday afternoon at the Good Jobs, Green Jobs annual conference, delivering the Obama administrations position before a new and powerful coalition of unions and environmentalists under the umbrella of the Blue…

Sierra Club’s Michael Brune Delivers Keynote Address at Green Jobs Conference

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Sierra Club’s Michael Brune delivered one of the keynote addresses on repairing America’s infrastructure with green jobs Monday afternoon at the Good Jobs, Green Jobs annual conference, put on by the Blue Green Alliance, a coalition of unions and environmental non-profit groups. With more than 15 million members through 14 affiliated…

Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference Kicks off at the Washington Hilton

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By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – The opening session of the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference for 2014 kicked off Sunday night with a dynamic panel of speakers who are at the forefront of the national discussion about how to address the country’s crumbling infrastructure, while at the same time beginning to deal with…

Wyoming Replaces Alabama as the Most Conservative State in the U.S.

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The Word ‘Liberal’ is Experiencing a Resurgence in American Life – By Glynn Wilson – Could it be that the people of my home state are finally starting to get their news online and waking up to the ravages of run amok corporate capitalism and the do-nothing nature of conservative Republicans who don’t know how…

Americans of All Stripes Show Dissatisfaction With Distribution of Wealth

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Democrats and Independents More Dissatisfied Than Republicans – By Glynn Wilson – Two out of three Americans are dissatisfied with the way income and wealth are distributed in the United States, according to Gallup’s Mood of the Nation poll. This should come as no surprise considering all the news stories over the past decade or…

Washington Federal Court Strikes Blow Against Internet Neutrality

By Glynn Wilson – A three-judge panel of federal judges all appointed to the court before there was an open Internet or a Web Press has struck down a complicated set of rules set forth by the Federal Communications Commission to preserve competition on the Web in what critics call a major blow to what’s…

Republican Party Favorability Rating Sinks to Record Low

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By Glynn Wilson – While the Republican-controlled House of Representatives is engaged in a tense, government-shuttering budgetary standoff against a Democratic president and Senate, the Republican Party is now viewed favorably by only 28 percent of Americans, down from 38 percent in September, the lowest favorable rating measured for either party since Gallup began asking…