The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — The national press is making fun of my native state of Alabama, again. How should I react? Jump on the funny bandwagon and agree? Or attack the national press and defend “my people?” Let’s look at the facts, first, before we take a stand…
Guest Column – By Stephen Cooper – The last time Alabama Governor Bentley penned a column for al.com, I wrote in The Alabama Political Reporter that his op-ed proved he was delusional. But this time, as it concerns his May 29 open letter to all Alabamians (Governor Bentley wants to hear from you), I can’t…
Will the Country Really Go Along with the Alabamification of America? – By Glynn Wilson – Mainstream news organizations, conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats alike keep trying to make an issue of the fact that Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump refuses to release his tax returns. Do they simply do not realize that antipathy…
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 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…
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…
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…
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 – MOBILE, Ala. — When voters go to the polls in Alabama on Super Tuesday, not only will they be voting either Republican or Democrat for their favorite candidate, Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump or one of the others. There is an amendment to the state constitution on the ballot which is…
By Glynn Wilson and Walter Simon – MOBILE, Ala. — About 100 people rallied and marched downtown on Saturday, taking to the streets along with 70 other local groups nationwide in support of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, the Senator from Vermont. Speakers and chanters called for economic equality, demanding an increase in the minimum…
By Steve Holland – CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) – Before Donald Trump’s put-downs and the stumbles in presidential debates, and before the profound frustration of voters became so unmistakably apparent, Jeb Bush appeared to be best positioned to win back the White House for Republicans in 2016. He amassed a $150 million war chest in 2015,…
By Glynn Wilson – Why would Congressman and Civil Rights Icon John Lewis of Georgia lie and taint his own reputation and legacy just to help Hillary Clinton beat progressive Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Primary race for President? At a press conference announcing the Congressional Black Caucus PAC’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton, Lewis told…
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.†— William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2 – The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — It’s Joe Cain Day, the Sunday before Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras Day, when some people on the Gulf Coast feast before some Christians observe a…
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — A federal judge grilled lawyers here Tuesday about the questionable legality of a plan put forward by the administration of Alabama Governor Robert Bentley to use BP oil spill environmental restoration money for economic development to build a hotel and convention center on the state park beach in…
Will they build them in Mobile? How will state and local officials and the local media respond? – By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — When Alabama officials celebrated the news that Airbus would open a plant to build planes and provide jobs here, little did they know one of the biggest customers would turn…
By Walter Simon – BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The last time I was in the vicinity of the Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham was in the winter of 2012 at the occupy camp we set up, wrapping around the corner sidewalk of 20th and 5th avenue north in front of the entrance to Regions bank. The bus…
Environmental Group Pushes for Expedited Oral Arguments – By Glynn Wilson – The Bentley administration is stalling in federal court by opposing expedited oral arguments in a lawsuit filed against the proposed use of $58 million in BP oil settlement money — designated to restore the Gulf eco-system — to build a hotel and convention…
