By Juan Cole – The revelation that the Central Intelligence Agency provided the tip to the Apartheid South African government that led to Nelson Mandela’s arrest should come as no great shock, though the public confirmation is perhaps surprising. Nor is it unconnected to the popularity of Donald Trump, who is proposing a new Apartheid…
By Ethan Corey – A YEAR AGO, WHEN BERNIE SANDERS ANNOUNCED HIS RUN FOR PRESIDENT, few thought his bid would amount to more than a protest campaign. But today, after more than 2 million donors and 400,000 volunteers have helped Sanders build a highly effective political organization that has earned him victories in 18 states…
Can we please retire the notion that Donald Trump is hijacking someone else’s party? – By Frank Rich – In mid-July of 2015, a month after Donald Trump announced his presidential run, I joined a gaggle of political junkies in a clubby bar four blocks from the White House to hear a legendary campaign strategist…
Making Sense – By Michael Reagan – Now comes the hard part. Now comes the part where Donald Trump has to appeal to everyone in the U.S. Trump will rack up lots of easy votes in the fall with his rabid fan base — older grumpy white males and their spouses who want change but…
By John L. Micek – One of them is a free trade-wary millionaire and political neophyte who locked up the Republican presidential nomination with promises to make America great and get the economy firing on all cylinders. The other is Donald Trump. As he’s insulted, ranted and bullied his way through the 2016 primary season,…
Texas Senator Ted Cruz Drops Out of Republican Primary Race for President – The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – How is it possible that the mysterious assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 is still influencing presidential politics 53 years later? In an attempt to knock out his closest rival Ted Cruz…
What happens to the Bernie Sanders political “revolution” if Hillary Clinton wins the most delegates in the primary and becomes the Democratic Party’s nominee? Last week in Rome, Sanders was quick to tell ABC News that he would go back to his day job as a U.S. senator from Vermont if he is not the…
Watch this short video with an exchange between watchdog reporter Glynn Wilson and state Senator Trip Pittman – The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – MONTGOMERY, Ala. — This is an open letter to Alabama’s Republican Governor Robert Bentley asking him to please fully fund Medicaid. Dear Governor Bentley: I know times are tough.…
By David Underhill – MOBILE, Ala. – The fetus is the new Jerusalem. Medieval crusaders fancied they were on a divine mission when they marched toward the Holy City to save it from the Muslim infestation. The sanctity of this quest gave them permission to do whatever advanced toward the goal. Rape and plunder propelled…
By Glynn Wilson – Perry Oliver Hooper Sr., the “baby daddy” of Nixon’s racist “Dixie Strategy” in Alabama, died Sunday at his home in Montgomery. He was 91. While he is being honored by Republicans all over the state this week, it might also be a time to remember the damage he caused. Hooper is…
“I can see clearly now … I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. I think I can make it now, the pain is gone. All of the bad feelings have disappeared. Here is the rainbow I’ve been prayin’ for. It’s gonna be a bright, bright…
Critics Say More People Are Going to Die Needlessly Due to Legislative Inaction – Watch this shocking video to see what legislators are saying about the inevitability of many people dying due to the budget shortfall. – By Glynn Wilson – MONTGOMERY, Ala. — More sick babies, old folks and poor people are just going…
By Glynn Wilson – A number of people from across Alabama have indicated they will converge on Montgomery Wednesday, April 20, when a joint committee of the House and Senate will hold a hearing on the problems of funding Medicaid in the state. After Governor Robert Bentley refused for the past three years to accept…
By David Underhill – MOBILE, Ala – “He was his slave.†The man was casually describing the connection between a relative and “an old black man†who worked on an extended-family tract outside the city. They rode around together in the relative’s truck doing chores, he said, and the “slave†was allowed to live in…
ANALYSIS – By Glynn Wilson – A majority of Americans agree that rich people and big corporations pay too little in taxes, according to the latest Gallup poll on the subject, just as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is making that case as a contender for the Dempocratic nomination for president. Six in 10 Americans continue…
By Robert Reich – A crowning achievement of the historic March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his “I have a dream” speech, was pushing through the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Recognizing the history of racist attempts to prevent black people from voting, that federal law forced a number of southern…
Bernie Sanders and John Kasich Show Improvements – By Frank Newport and Glynn Wilson – The rough and tumble nature of the 2016 primary and caucus season is taking its toll on the public images of leading presidential candidates, according to the latest Gallup poll. The public images of Republican celebrity and business man Donald…
But For Killing Thousands of People, Not the Alleged Sex Scandal – The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — While the people and what passes for press now in my native state are all a Twitter over allegations that Governor Robert Bentley may have had sex with his chief adviser, Rebekah…
Note from Heather Gray of the Justice Initiative out of Atlanta: Welcome to the South, a region of intolerance, bigotry, racism, greed by the privileged white elites along with incredibly brave resistance to it all. Invoking the 1901 Alabama constitution that continues to destroy local democratic systems and control, the Republican governor of Alabama has…
By Glynn Wilson – President Barack Obama nominated veteran appeals court judge Merrick Garland of Illinois to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, a moderate intended to head off a political showdown with Senate Republicans who vow to block any nominee to the high court by this controversial Democratic president. Garland, 63, now serves as…
