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HavenWorks.com/alabama Alabama News |
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Alabama State News, Alabama capital: Montgomery, AL News |
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 US
States
Alabama capital: Montgomery, Alabama US
Capitals
Alabama State Postal Code: AL: Alabama State Abbreviation: Ala. State
Abbr.
Alabama Archive Alabama state is bordered by the states of Tennessee (north), Georgia (east), Florida (south), and Mississippi (west). 
Alabama state also borders the Gulf of Mexico, part of the Atlantic Ocean (south). AL News |
 Alabama
ALABAMA News:
 Karl
Rove -  Don
Siegelman - US
Attorney -  Politics
- Alabama
"House Judiciary chair subpoenas Karl Rove." ... "The House Judiciary Committee chairman subpoenaed former White House adviser Karl Rove on Monday to testify about the Bush administration's firing of U.S. attorneys and prosecution of a former Democratic governor [Don Siegelman of Alabama]." -AP via -MSNBC 
 John
Boehner
-  Government
-  Economic
-  Legislation
- Politics
-  History
- Poor
-  Family
-  Women's
-  Medical
- Abortion
- AL.
-  FL
-  MS
-  SC
-  CA
-  LA
-  MN
-  RI
-  MO
-  Ohio
-  Wisconsin
"Republicans Irate Over Expansion of Republican-Approved Program." ... "[T]he family-planning program that [California Democratic Representative and House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi supports expanding in the stimulus bill was created in 1972 under the leadership of Republican president Richard Nixon." ... "What's being proposed is an expansion in the number of states that can use Medicaid money, with a federal match, to help low-income women prevent unwanted pregnancies. Of the 26 states that already have Medicaid waivers for family planning, eight are led by Republican governors (AL [Alabama], FL [Florida], MS [Mississippi], SC [South Carolina], CA [California], LA [Louisiana], MN [Minnesota] and RI [Rhode Island] -- a ninth, MO [Missouri], had a GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] governor until this past November). If this policy is truly a taxpayer gift to "the abortion industry," as [Ohio Republican Representative] John Boehner and House Republicans claim, where are the GOP governors promising to end the program in their states?" ... "Additionally, the process of obtaining a waiver for Medicaid family-planning coverage is extremely cumbersome. A letter written by Wisconsin health regulators in 2007 noted that some states have had to wait for as long as two years before their request was approved. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that eliminating the waiver requirement would save states $400 million over 10 years." -By Elana Schor -TPMDC .TalkingPointsMemo 
 Jim
DeMint -  Bob
Corker -  Richard
Shelby -  Mitch
McConnell -  Foreign
- Money
- Politics
-  Construction
-  Auto
-  Makers
- Government
- Emergency
- Legislation
-  Labor
-  Michigan
- California
- South
Carolina - Alabama
-  Tennessee
-  Kentucky
-  German
-  Japanese
-  South
Korean
"Foreign Auto Makers Won Billions in Government Subsidies: Southern States Gave [Foreign] Auto Companies Tax-breaks and Cash for Training." ... "To hear Southern Republicans tell the story, the financial burdens facing Detroit’s automakers are self-made troubles to be settled by the laws of Adam-Smith capitalism." ... "“We don’t think it is the role of government to intervene,” [South Carolina Republican Senator] Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C. [Republican-South Carolina]) told the Fox Business Network last week. “We need to let the market and the laws work the way they are already in place.”" ... "Yet this argument — that the government has no business interfering in free markets — ignores an increasingly frequent tradition among Southern states, which have fronted billions in local taxpayer dollars in the past two decades to attract foreign auto plants. Those incentives, arriving in the form of tax breaks, training for new employees and even land, have enticed [German automaker Bayerische Motoren Werke] BMW to South Carolina, [German automaker] Mercedes to Alabama and [Japanese automaker] Nissan to Tennessee. The result of the government subsidies has been the steady emergence of the South as an auto-manufacturing powerhouse. Some are dubbing it the “New Detroit” – a region where real estate is cheap and the labor’s not unionized." ... "Not coincidentally, these Southern states are represented by the same coalition of GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] senators who led the fight against the recent Detroit [Michigan] bailout proposal. That legislation would have provided $14 billion in emergency bridge loans to General Motors and Chrysler, both of which say they lack the finances to survive the month. Rallying behind the animated opposition of GOP [Republican Senators] Sens. Bob Corker (Tenn.[Tennessee]), Richard Shelby (Ala.[Alabama]), Mitch McConnell (Ky.[Kentucky) and South Carolina’s DeMint, Senate Republicans killed the legislation." ... "On Friday, the day following the Senate vote, Shelby told CNBC that if the Big Three had only managed their business operations as well as the foreign companies, known as transplants, they wouldn’t be scrambling now for a taxpayer-funded bailout." ... "“You look at the South,” Shelby said. “You take — not just Mercedes in my hometown — but BMW, Honda and all of them. These companies are flourishing with American workers made in America.”" ... "But the flourishing of the transplants didn’t come without significant taxpayer help. Shelby’s Alabama, for example, secured construction of a [German automaker] Mercedes-Benz plant in 1993 by offering $253 million in state and local tax breaks, worker training and land improvement. For [Japanese automaker] Honda, the state’s sweetener surrounding a 1999 deal to build a mini-van plant was $158 million in similar perks, adding $90 million in enticements when the company expanded the plant three years later. A 2001 deal with [Japanese automaker] Toyota left the company with $29 million in taxpayer gifts." ... "Alabama is hardly alone. Corker’s Tennessee recently lured [German automaker] Volkswagen to build a manufacturing plant in Chattanooga [Tennessee], offering the German automaker tax breaks, training and land preparation that could total $577 million. In 2005, the state inspired Nissan to relocate its headquarters from southern California by offering $197 million in incentives, including $20 million in utility savings." ... "In 1992, South Carolina snagged a BMW plant for $150 million in giveaways. In Mississippi in 2003, Nissan was lured with $363 million. In Georgia, a still-under-construction [South Korean automaker] Kia plant received breaks estimated to be $415 million. The list goes on." -By Mike Lillis -WashingtonIndependent.com
Mitch
McConnell - Bob
Corker - Richard
Shelby - Foreign
- Money
- Government
- Politics
- Auto
- Makers
- Working
-  People
- Kentucky
- Tennessee
- Alabama
- Michigan
-  US
"Do Southern Senators Really Want to Start a New War Between the States?" ... "When my Southern pals used to say "The South is gonna rise again," I doubt this is what they had in mind: A cadre of Southern [Republican] Senators, heavily financed by foreign automakers and special interests, declaring war on the American Dream of good wages and decent benefits. When did they decide that hard-working people trying to make a better life for themselves are the enemy?" ... "These Senators may want to think twice. Southern states have been benefiting from Northern taxes for years. If they start another War Between the States, the Federal gravy train might suddenly stop at the Mason-Dixon line." ... "Studies by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation have consistently shown that these Senators' states receive far more from the Federal government than they pay back in taxes. That's an irony that could lead to some Blue State bitterness: They love to preach about fiscal responsibility and lower taxes, but they keep dipping their beak into the Federal trough." ... "I believe the applicable Southern phrase is "a handful of gimme and a mouthful of much obliged."" ... "The numbers in [PDF] the Foundation's most recent study (warning: pdf) speak for themselves: [Kentucky Republican Senator] Mitch McConnell's Kentucky took in $1.45 from the Feds for every dollar it paid in taxes. That's a 45 cent free ride. [Tennessee Republican Senator] Bob Corker's Tennessee received at 30-cent Federal giveaway. And [Alabama Republican Senator] Richard Shelby's Alabama extracted a whopping 71-cent subsidy from Northern taxpayers." ... "What about Michigan? They lost 31 cents for every dollar they paid. In other words, McConnell, Shelby, and Corker have been skimming a percentage off these autoworkers' taxes for years on behalf of their constituents. Now, when the same Michigan taxpayers need help, these Senators are telling them to get lost." -By RJ Eskow -HuffingtonPost.com
Bob
Corker - Richard
Shelby - Jim
DeMint - Mitch
McConnell - Foreign
- Money
- Politicians
- Auto
- Makers
- Michigan
-US
- Workers
- Emergency
- Law
- Tennessee
- Alabama
- Kentucky
- South
Carolina -  Georgia
- Japanese
- German
- South
Korean
"Meet the GOP's [Republican's] wrecking crew: Why did a small group of Southern Republicans turn the auto bailout into a demolition derby? Introducing the senators who hate unions and love foreign cars." ... "On July 15, [Tennessee Republican Senator] Bob Corker was a happy man." ... ""I cannot think of a more exciting day, even more so than Election Night, for me," the Republican senator from Tennessee said in a conference call that day. The reason for his elation was the announcement that [German automaker] Volkswagen, lured by up to $500 million worth of incentives from the state government, had agreed to build a $1 billion plant near Chattanooga, Tenn. [Tennessee.] That is, not just in his home state, but in the suburbs of the city he once served as mayor." ... "Add VW [Volkwagen] to [Japan automaker] Nissan, which already has two plants and its North American headquarters in Tennessee, and you begin to see why Corker was so aggressive this month about trying to block -- or at least dramatically rewrite -- a proposal to float billions of dollars in emergency loans to domestic automakers. Most of the focus during this debate has been on lawmakers who represent Michigan, the home of the Big Three -- Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. But Corker represents the other side of the coin: Tennessee and other Southern states have recently come to depend on foreign automakers and their non-union factories. If you're from those parts, what's good for American car companies may no longer be what's good for the country -- because your economy now depends on their foreign competitors instead." ... "Expect to hear more not just from the very vocal Bob Corker, but from the rest of a core group of Southern senators whose bread is buttered by the Japanese, Germans and Koreans. Here's a guide to the major players."
"As mayor of Chattanooga, he [Corker] reportedly conceived the idea for the site that will soon become home to the [German automaker] Volkswagen plant, and was instrumental in its development. He organized efforts to lure [Japanese automaker] Toyota to the area, and when that failed, he had VW execs [executives] and other top state politicians over to his house for dinner." ... "Georgia's two Republican senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isaakson, both voted against the plan as well. Their state has a big [South Korean automaker] Kia factory coming in soon." (1, 2) -By Alex Koppelman and Mike Madden with contributions by Vincent Rossmeier and Gabriel Winant -Salon 
Bob
Corker - Richard
Shelby - Foreign
- Money
-Auto
- Makers
- Michigan
- Workers
- US
- Japan
- Germany
- Alabama
- Tennessee
"Anger Grips Auto Workers: Critic of a Rescue, [Tennessee Republican Senator] Sen. Corker Faces Backlash at Home." ... "As the workers and residents of this small town [Spring Hill, Tennessee] that launched the Saturn automobile see it, there are several villains in the collapse of the automakers' rescue plan." ... "But what stuns many in this place defined by the General Motors auto plant and its 4,200 workers is that no person played a larger role in the demise of autoworker hopes than their own Sen. Bob Corker (R[Republican]), who is now regarded by some here with the kind of disdain reserved for traitors." ... "Corker emerged as one of the leading critics of the rescue plan passed by the House. He lashed into the carmaker chief executives when they came to Washington looking for help. And it was Corker's alternative proposal, which was a plan that would have been tougher on union workers, that ultimately failed." ... "In a dozen interviews with workers here, many suspected that he only feigned interest in rescuing Detroit's Big Three. Instead, they say, he wants to crush GM [General Motors] and its union to benefit foreign automakers, such [Japan's] Nissan and [Germany's] Volkswagen, who have opened or are opening nonunionized plants in the state." ... ""We're deeply disappointed in Senator Corker -- that's the official statement," said Mike Herron, union chief at the GM plant here. "But actually my members want to choke him."" ... "The anger of the workers and the harshness of their words reflect the larger tension between the old [Michigan] Detroit-based domestic auto industry, with its unionized workforce, and the new [foreign] transplant industry in the nonunion South. Emotions were stoked by the fact that GM, citing the economic downturn, had just announced that it will halt production at the plant for January and the first week of February." ... "Corker "has somehow ignored the fact that there's a major GM plant in his own state," said Ben McFarlane, who retired from the plant this summer and opened a local bar where many workers go. "And if this plant goes, then my business goes, this whole town goes, and the effects cascade across the country."" ... "At a news conference and in interviews yesterday, Corker, a millionaire real estate developer, took pains to depict himself as sympathetic to workers and responsive to his state's interests." ... "But Herron, like many here, pressed the idea that the foreign automakers had been involved in stalling the plan." ... ""It's in their best interest to see us not succeed," Herron said. "Who were the two biggest critics of the rescue? [Republican] Senator Shelby from Alabama and Corker -- and both preside over states that have given hundreds of millions to have foreign automakers to open shop here."" (1, 2) -By Peter Whoriskey with contributions by Julie Tate and Lucy Shackelford -WashingtonPost |
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Bob
Corker - 
David
Vitter - Richard
Shelby - Foreign
- Money
- Auto
- Makers
-Michigan
- Working
- People
- US
- 
Military
- Japan
- Tenn
- La
- Germany
- Korea
- Ala
Mitch
McConnell - Bob
Corker - Richard
Shelby - Auto
- Makers
- Workers
- Lawmakers
- Politics
- Kentucky
- Alabama
- Tennessee
Jeff
Sessions - Bob
Corker - 
George
Voinovich - Corporate
- Government
- Law
- Auto
- Workers
- 
Thanksgiving
- Manufacturer
- Michigan
- Tenn
- Ala
- Ohio
- 
2010
Election - US
- Japan
- South
Korea
Jeff
Sessions - Auto
- Makers
- Workers
- Health
Care - 
Pension
- Politics
- Federal
- Economy
- 2010
Election - Michigan
- Ohio
- US
- Foreign
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Japan
- South
Korea
Political
- Corporate
- 
Television
- 
Media
- Michigan
- 
Massachusetts
- 
New
York - 
Arizona
- Georgia
- Louisiana
- Alabama
"Here is something progressives really need to address. On Sunday morning political shows, three Democrats are confirmed as guests: [Michigan Democratic Senator] Carl Levin, [Massachusetts Democratic Representative] Barney Frank, and [New York Democratic Representative] Charlie Rangel. It's as if Democrats didn't just win huge electoral advances in the Presidential, House, and Senate elections. So we get the same thing we've had the past 8 years--republican hegemony on Sunday. [Arizona Republican Senator Jon] Kyl? Check. [former Georgia Republican Representative Newt] Gingrich? Check. [Republican Michael] Steele? Check. [Louisiana Republican Governor Bobby] Jindal and [Alabama Republican Senator Richard] Shelby? Check and check? Just look at The Page for the whole list. When is the "liberal media" going to give some of the oxygen to Democrats?""This is unquestionably true. The bookers and producers of the Sunday shows are committed to the continuing dominance of conservative/Republican marquee guests. No question about it. And this is going to be one part of the rewiring of Washington that will take longer and face more resistance than possibly any other. The big interests and institutions that go to Washington to buy influence are quickly reacting to the changing political complexion of the city. The TV bookers and opinion act like nothing's happened." -By Josh Marshall .TalkingPointsMemo
Don
E Siegelman - Karl
Rove - 
Michael
Mukasey - 
Leura
G Canary - 
Bob
Riley - 
Criminal
- US
Attorney - Politics
- Federal
- Law
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Michigan
Racist
- Marketing
- 
Fashion
- Politics
- 
Terrorism
- Crime
- Illegal
- Immigration
- Economy
- 
Pennsylvania
- Alabama
- Fla
Karl
Rove - Don
Siegelman - US
Attorney - Politics
- Investigation
- Alabama
- California
Richard
Shelby - Corporate
- Government
- Politics
- 
Housing
- Law
- Ala
Richard
Shelby - Government
- Housing
- Legislation
- Politics
-Alabama
John
McCain - Prison
- Labor
- Alabama
- Police
- Politics
- 2008
Election - "McCain
campaign gets almost 80% off on Homewood gathering space, plus free labor
from Homewood Jail inmates." ... "[2008 Election]
Republican presidential candidate John McCain got a deal when his campaign
rented gathering space from the city of Homewood [Alabama] for a private
fundraiser earlier this week." ... "His campaign was given a discount of
about 80 percent off the standard booking rate for Rosewood Hall. In September,
Jefferson County Democrats rented the same facility and were charged the
full rate." ... "The McCain campaign was charged $250 to use two rooms
in the hall, which normally would book for $1,200 on a weeknight. The campaign
also was given free labor from Homewood City Jail inmates to set up tables
and chairs for the event, avoiding a $100 set-up fee, but did pay a standard
$50 cleaning fee." ... "Homewood Mayor Barry McCulley said the rental rate
was discounted because the event was on Monday, a slow day for business.
City Council members say they always vote on such discounts but didn't
get a say in this deal. They're upset, as are local Democrats." ... "Homewood
police Chief Phil Dodd said city jail inmates had never before set up at
Rosewood Hall, but did so at the mayor's request." (1, 2)
-By
Kim Bryan with contributions by Hannah Wolfson
-al.com
Don
Siegelman - 
Karl
Rove
- 
Leura
Garrett Canary
- Alabama
- US
Attorney - Politics
- Investigation
- 2002
Election - La
- Federal
- Prison
- "Freed
Ex-Governor of Alabama Talks of Abuse of Power."
... "Former [Democratic Governor] Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama, released
from prison Friday on bond in a bribery and corruption case, said he was
as convinced as ever that politics had played a leading role in his prosecution."
... "Speaking by telephone in his first post-prison interview, shortly
after he had left the federal penitentiary at Oakdale, La. [Louisiana],
Mr. Siegelman said there had been “abuse of power” in his case, and repeatedly
cited Karl Rove, the former [Republican President Bush] White House political
director." ... "“His fingerprints are smeared all over the case,” Mr. Siegelman
said, a day after a federal appeals court ordered him released on bond
and said there were legitimate questions about his case. He was sentenced
to serve seven years last June after a guilty verdict on bribery and corruption
charges a year earlier." ... "The investigation, trial and conviction of
Mr. Siegelman, a veteran politician, has become a flash point for broader
Democratic contentions that politics has influenced decisions by the Justice
Department under [Republican] President Bush, including the firings of
several United States attorneys, and other federal prosecutions besides
Mr. Siegelman’s." ... "In a sworn statement, a Republican lawyer and political
operative, Jill Simpson, told of hearing one of Mr. Rove’s allies here,
William Canary, discussing Mr. Siegelman during the 2002 governor’s race,
and saying “that he had already gotten it worked out with Karl and Karl
had spoken with the Department of Justice and the Department of Justice
was already pursuing Don Siegelman.” The United States attorney here, Leura
G. Canary, is married to Mr. Canary." -By Adam
Nossiter -NYTimes
Barack
Obama
- 
Hillary
Clinton - 2008
Election - Lawmakers
- 
Illinois
- New
York
- South
Carolina - Mississippi
- Georgia
- 
Virginia
- 
North
Carolina - Tennessee
- Alabama
- 
North
Dakota - 
South
Dakota - Kentucky
- 
West
Virginia - "Eyeing
Obama coattails." ... "Democratic lawmakers are becoming
persuaded that [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois
Senator] Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.[Democratic-Illinois]) would have a more
positive impact on other Democrats on the November ballot than [2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton (D-N.Y.[Democratic-New York])." ... "Obama’s advantage over Clinton
would be most pronounced in the Southern and Western states President Bush
carried in 2000 and 2004, say lawmakers interviewed by The Hill. In total,
32 members of Congress from these “red states” have endorsed Obama. Twenty-two
lawmakers from those states have backed Clinton." ... "Obama will “bring
new people into the process in Southern states, there’s no question about
it,” said Rep. James Clyburn, the House Democratic whip from South Carolina.
“In these Southern states he’s bringing out more people, young people,
African-Americans. They’re being energized by him.”" ... "Clyburn, who
has stayed neutral in the primary, said Obama at the top of the ticket
would “certainly” do more to help other Democratic candidates, citing South
Carolina and Mississippi specifically." ... "Obama has picked up congressional
endorsements from Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama,
North and South Dakota, Mississippi, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Clinton
has not collected congressional endorsements from any of these states,
according to a tally kept by The Hill." -By Alexander
Bolton with contributions by Sam Youngman -TheHill.com
John
McCain
- Bob
Riley
- 
European
- 
Plane
- Maker
- Politics
- US
- Military
- Arizona
- Alabama
- 2008
Election - "McCain
Received Defense Firm Cash After Backing Its Contract."
... "Critics on Tuesday questioned whether [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain catered to special interests
when he aggressively threw his support behind a $35 billion Pentagon contract
for a European plane maker." ... "McCain, the presumptive GOP [GOP=Grand
Old Party=Republican] presidential nominee, played a crucial role in blocking
the deal to build air tankers from going to U.S.[United States]-based Boeing,
instead
paving the path for EADS [European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company]
to score the loot. He framed his decision as an example of political integrity;
Boeing has previously been exposed of contract abuse. But a review of campaign
finance donations and lobbying records suggests that money and personal
lobbying may have also been in play." ... "On January 15, 2007, McCain
appeared at Alabama [Republican Governor] Gov. Bob Riley's gubernatorial
swearing in ceremony and formally called for multiple bidders in the tanker
deal. The push for an open process had only one true beneficiary, however,
and that was the Northrop Grumman/EADS consortium, which was poised to
be Boeing's sole competitor." ... "A day after McCain made his proclamation,
the contributions began to flow. John Green, a lobbyist for EADS donated
$2,100 to the senator's presidential campaign. Ten days after that, Michelle
Lammers, the "Chief of Staff" for EADS North America, gave $250 to the
McCain campaign. It was her first political contribution ever. Less than
a month later, the long-time head of EADS' government affairs program,
Samuel Adcock, made a $2,100 donation to McCain. And eleven days later,
Ralph Crosby, the head of EADS North America, donated $2,300 himself."
... "All told, as documented earlier by CQ PoliticalMoneyline, McCain received
more than $15,000 from EADS and its subsidiary, Airbus North America. Not
only was this the highest amount received by any federal candidate, but
prior to 2006, not a single employee from EADS had ever contributed to
McCain. Two Airbus employees did donate nearly $4,000 for his 2000 run
at the White House." -By
Sam
Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
John
McCain
- 
Jack
Abramoff
- Bob
Riley
- 
Tom
DeLay
- 
Bob
Ney
- Money
- Politics
- Investigation
- Law
- 
EMail
- Alabama
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Arizona- 
Texas
- Ohio
- History
- 2002
Election - 2006
Election - 2008
Election - "McCain
Withheld Controversial Abramoff Email." ... "In the
2006 Senate report concerning [Republican Lobbyist Jack] Abramoff's activities,
which [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain spearheaded,
the Arizona Republican conspicuously left out information detailing how
Alabama [Republican Governor] Gov. Bob Riley was targeted by Abramoff's
influence peddling scheme. Riley, a Republican, won election in November
2002, and was reelected in 2006." ... "In a December 2002 email
[PDF] obtained by the Huffington Post -- which McCain and his staff
had access to prior to the issuance of his report -- Abramoff explains
to an aide what he would like to see Riley do in return for the "help"
he received from Abramoff's tribal clients." ... "An official with the
Mississippi Choctaws "definitely wants Riley to shut down the Poarch Creek
operation," Abramoff wrote, "including his announcing that anyone caught
gambling there can't qualify for a state contract or something like that.""
... "The note showed not only the reach of Abramoff, but raised questions
about Riley's victory in what was the closest gubernatorial election in
Alabama history." ... "And yet, despite the implications of the information,
McCain and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee sat on the controversial
portion of the email. According to an official familiar with the investigation,
McCain also subsequently refused to make the email public after the report
was released." ... "There was a brief footnote in the report that quoted
William Worfel, former vice chairman of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana,
saying that Abramoff told the chief of a Mississippi tribe to spend $13
million "to get the governor of Alabama elected to keep gaming out of Alabama
so it wouldn't hurt ... his market in Mississippi."" ... "But Riley's name
and the details of what was being asked of him were not mentioned once
in the 373-page document." ... "Indeed, as the Associated Press noted
in 2006, McCain stayed deliberately agnostic as to Riley's involvement."
... ""Although Sen. McCain has long bragged of his role in the Abramoff
investigation, he let [former Texas Republican Representative] Tom DeLay
and the other members of Congress who were doing Abramoff's bidding completely
off the hook. The sole exception was [former Ohio Republican Representative]
Rep. Bob Ney, who served time in prison," Melanie Sloan, Executive Director
of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics In Washington told the Huffington
Post recently. "Sen. McCain knew what his colleagues were up to, he chose
to take the easier path and give them a free pass.""
-By
Sam
Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
Don
Siegelman - Karl
Rove
- Criminal
- US
Attorneys - Law
- Politics
- Secret
- 
Spying
- 
Intelligence
- 2002
Election - 2006
Election - Prison
- "Did
Ex-Alabama Governor [Don Siegelman] Get A Raw Deal? 60
Minutes Reports On Bribery Conviction Of [former Alabama Democratic Governor]
Don Siegelman In A Case Criticized by Democrats And Republicans."
[
WATCH:
"The Prosecution of Siegelman."
via 60
Minutes] ... "Is Don Siegelman in prison because he’s a criminal
or because he belonged to the wrong political party in Alabama? Siegelman
is the former governor of Alabama, and he was the most successful Democrat
in that Republican state. But while he was governor, the U.S. Justice Department
launched multiple investigations that went on year after year until, finally,
a jury convicted Siegelman of bribery." ... "Now, many Democrats and Republicans
have become suspicious of the Justice Department’s motivations. As correspondent
Scott Pelley reports, 52 former state attorneys-general have asked
Congress to investigate whether the prosecution of Siegelman was pursued
not because of a crime but because of politics." ... "“I haven't seen a
case with this many red flags on it that pointed towards a real injustice
being done,” says Grant Woods, the former Republican attorney general of
Arizona." ... "“I personally believe that what happened here is that they
targeted Don Siegelman because they could not beat him fair and square.
This was a Republican state and he was the one Democrat they could never
get rid of,” Woods says." ...
TV: [WATCH:
"The Prosecution of Siegelman."
via 60
Minutes]
Emergency
- Tennessee
- Alabama
- Kentucky
- 
Arkansas
- People
- Homes
- History
- "Tornadoes
in South Kill 50 in Rare Winter Strike (Update10)."
... "The deadliest tornado outbreak in almost a decade tore across the
southern U.S. [United States] late yesterday, killing at least 50 people,
sparking a pipeline explosion in Tennessee and destroying homes from Alabama
to Kentucky." ... "The ``extremely dangerous'' tornadoes, spawned by unseasonably
warm temperatures, prompted the first high-risk weather alert issued in
February in 10 years, AccuWeather.com said." ... "``Tornadoes in February,
especially this many and this strong, is a rare event,'' Buddy Rogers,
spokesman for the Kentucky Emergency Management Office, said by phone."
... "The twisters first struck in the late afternoon, killing 26 people
in Tennessee, 13 in Arkansas, seven in Kentucky and four in Alabama, the
Associated Press reported, citing emergency officials." -By
Demian McLean -Bloomberg
Water
- Emergency
- 
Weather
- 
Environment
- History
- Farm
- Animals
- 
Food
- Georgia
- Alabama
- North
Carolina - Tennessee
- Kentucky
- "Southeast
drought hits crisis point." ... "Outdoor watering
bans already cover the northern third of Georgia and dozens of cities,
counties and towns in surrounding states. Farmers are selling cattle because
pastures have dried up. Alabama's Elmore County had to bring in floating
pumps and barges to extend its water intake pipe farther out into shrinking
Lake Martin. Georgia might have to do the same at Lake Lanier, Atlanta's
main water source." ... "Although rain is due today across parts of the
region, it will barely dampen the 16-month drought. Through September,
it is the region's driest year in 113 years of record-keeping. In five
of the six worst-hit states, rain totals this year are close to a foot
below normal." ... "It is the driest year on record for North Carolina
and Tennessee, second-driest in Alabama and third-driest in Kentucky. A
tree-ring study this summer of Tennessee's rainfall history shows this
is the third-driest year for the state in at least 350 years, behind only
1839 and 1708." -By Patrick O'Driscoll and Larry Copeland
with contributions by Jordan Schrader, Marty Roney, Leon Alligood, Ron
Barnett, Jessie Halladay, Matt Reed, and Jennie Coughlin
-USATODAY
Georgia
- Alabama
- Florida
- History
- "Southeast
withers from 16 months of drought woes." ... "Atlanta
[Georgia] has long relied on 38,000-acre Lake Lanier north of the city
to supply its tap water. But as Georgia became one of the nation's fastest-growing
states, its capital grew to more than 4.5 million people, and the '50s-era
reservoir simply could not keep up." ... ""Atlanta is one of the largest
metropolitan areas on one of the smallest watersheds in the country," says
Jill Johnson of Georgia Conservation Voters. "As we've continued to grow,
our demand has increased. So there are more people using more water than
ever before. But the amount of water available to us in the watershed didn't
change."" ... "Atlanta [Georgia's capital] sought to increase its water
draw from Lake Lanier in 1989. The state unveiled a plan for 12 new reservoirs
on the Chattahoochee River to supply future needs. After years of eyeing
Atlanta's increasing thirst, neighboring Alabama and Florida sued to protect
their own water needs downstream." ... "The "Tri-State Water War" has been
winding through the courts ever since." -By Larry
Copeland and Patrick O'Driscoll with contributions by Jordan Schrader,
Marty Roney, Leon Alligood, Ron Barnett, Jessie Halladay, Matt Reed, Jennie
Coughlin -USATODAY
Karl
Rove
- 
Alberto
Gonzales - Alabama
- US
Attorneys - Criminal
- Politics
- "Rove
Linked to Alabama Case." ... "A Republican lawyer
claims she was told that Karl Rove — while serving as [Republican] President
Bush's top political adviser — had intervened in the Justice Department's
prosecution of Alabama's most prominent Democrat. Longtime Alabama G.O.P.
activist Dana Jill Simpson first made the allegation in June, but has now
provided new details in a lengthy sworn statement to the House Judiciary
Committee. The Committee is expected to hold public hearings on the Alabama
case next week as part of its investigation of possible political interference
by the Bush Administration in the activities of the Department of Justice."
... "Simpson said in June that she heard a close associate of Rove say
that the White House political adviser "had spoken with the Department
of Justice" about "pursuing" Don Siegelman, a former Democratic governor
of Alabama, with help from two of Alabama's U.S. attorneys. Siegelman was
later indicted on 32 counts of corruption, convicted on seven of them,
and is currently serving an 88-month sentence in Federal prison." ... "If
Simpson's version of events is accurate, it would show direct political
involvement by the White House in federal prosecutions — a charge leveled
by Administration critics in connection with the U.S. attorney scandal
that led to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales." ...
"She [Simpson] recalls conversations in early 2005 with Rob Riley, Jr.,
son of Alabama's current Republican governor, over his father's coming
gubernatorial race, in which Siegelman appeared to be the top Democratic
challenger. The younger Riley, she says, told her that his father and Bill
Canary, the state's top Republican political operative and a longtime friend
of Rove, contacted Rove in late 2004, after which he intervened with the
Justice Department's Public Integrity section to push for criminal prosecution
of Siegelman." -By Adam Zagorin-TIME.com
Jeff
Sessions
- Karl
Rove
- Ala
- US
Attorneys - Money
- Political
- Enforcement
- "Selective
Justice in Alabama?" ... "On may 8, 2002, Clayton
Lamar (Lanny) Young Jr., a lobbyist and landfill developer described by
acquaintances as a hard-drinking "good ole boy," was in an expansive mood.
In the downtown offices of the U.S. Attorney in Montgomery, Ala. [Alabama],
Young settled into his chair, personal lawyer at his side, and proceeded
to tell a group of seasoned prosecutors and investigators that he had paid
tens of thousands of dollars in apparently illegal campaign contributions
to some of the biggest names in Alabama Republican politics. According
to Young, among the recipients of his largesse were the state's former
attorney general [Alabama Republican Senator] Jeff Sessions, now a U.S.
Senator, and [Republican] William Pryor Jr., Sessions' successor as attorney
general and now a federal judge. Young, whose detailed statements are described
in documents obtained by TIME, became a key witness in a major case in
Alabama that brought down a high-profile politician and landed him in federal
prison with an 88-month sentence. As it happened, however, that official
was the top Democrat named by Young in a series of interviews, and none
of the Republicans whose campaigns he fingered were investigated in the
case, let alone prosecuted." ... "The case of Don Siegelman, the Democratic
former Governor of Alabama who was convicted last year on corruption charges,
has become a flash point in the debate over the politicization of the [Republican
President] Bush Administration's Justice Department. Forty-four former
state attorneys general — Republicans and Democrats — have cited "irregularities"
in the investigation and prosecution, saying they "call into question the
basic fairness that is the linchpin of our system of justice."" ... "[Republican]
Leura Canary, the U.S. Attorney whose office drove Siegelman's prosecution,
is married to Bill Canary, Alabama's most prominent political operative
and a longtime friend of [Republican] Karl Rove's. In May an Alabama lawyer
and Republican activist named Dana Jill Simpson gave a notarized statement
that she heard Canary say Rove "had spoken with the Department of Justice"
about "pursuing" Siegelman, with help from two of Alabama's U.S. Attorneys."
... "Young testified that he had furnished Siegelman with an all-terrain
vehicle and a motorcycle, lavishing money on the Governor and his aides.
But he was an equal-opportunity influence monger. Early in the investigation,
in November 2001, Young announced that five years earlier, he "personally
provided Sessions with cash campaign contributions," according to an FBI
memo of the interview. Prosecutors didn't follow up that surprising statement
with questions, but Young volunteered more. The memo adds that "on one
occasion he [Young] provided Session [sic] with $5,000 to $7,000 using
two intermediaries," one of whom held a senior position with Sessions'
campaign. On another occasion, the FBI records show, Young talked about
providing "$10,000 to $15,000 to Session [sic]. Young had his secretaries
and friends write checks to the Sessions campaign and Young reimbursed
the secretaries and friends for their contributions."" ... "If true, Young's
statements describe political money laundering that would be a clear violation
of federal law. In 1996, when Young said he had made the contributions,
it was illegal to give a candidate more than $1,000 for a primary or general
campaign." (1, 2,
3)
-By Adam Zagorin -TIME.com
Tennessee
- Alabama
- History
- "Summer
Heat Wave Death Toll Reaches 49." ... "Authorities
in Memphis [Tennessee] and Alabama reported more heat-related deaths Saturday,
bringing the toll in the Southeast and Midwest to at least 49 since oppressive
triple-digit temperatures settled over the region last week." ... "Health
officials in Alabama announced Friday that eight people there had died
of heat-related causes this week and last week. The state has had 11 straight
days with triple-digit temperatures, breaking records that dated back to
1881 in some areas." (1, 2)
-By Kristin M. Hall with contributions by Bob Johnson
-AP via -ABCNEWS.com
Hurricane
Katrina - Real
Estate - Disaster
- Politics
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Government
-Construction
- Legislation
- "Katrina
aid goes toward luxury condos." ... "With large swaths
of the Gulf Coast still in ruins from Hurricane Katrina, rich federal tax
breaks designed to spur rebuilding are flowing hundreds of miles inland
to investors who are buying up luxury condos near the University of Alabama's
football stadium [in Tuscaloosa, Alabama]." ... "About 10 condominium projects
are going up in and around Tuscaloosa [Alabama], and builders are asking
up to $1 million for units with granite countertops, king-size bathtubs
and 'Bama decor, including crimson couches and Bear Bryant wall art." ...
"And they intend to take full advantage of the generous tax benefits available
to investors under the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005, or GO Zone, according
to Associated Press interviews with buyers and real estate officials."
... "The GO Zone contains a variety of tax breaks designed to stimulate
construction in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama." ... "The GO Zone was
drawn to include the Tuscaloosa area even though it is about 200 miles
from the coast and got only heavy rain and scattered wind damage from Katrina."
... "Locals say Tuscaloosa was included in the GO Zone through the efforts
of Republican [Alabama Senator] Sen. Richard Shelby, who is from Tuscaloosa,
graduated from Alabama and sits on the powerful Appropriations Committee.
But Shelby aides said Tuscaloosa made the cut because it was classified
as a disaster area by the government after Katrina, not because of the
senator's influence." -By Jay Reeves -AP
via -USATODAY
David
Vitter - Trent
Lott
- Racism
- Politics
- Immigration
- Legislation
- Civil
Rights - History
- Mass
- La
- Ky
- Miss
- SC
- Ala
- 2008
Election - "Senate
immigration bill fails; issue "is going to have to wait."
... "The political battles that helped bring down sweeping immigration
legislation in the Senate are sure to rage on, although the bill is all
but dead until after the 2008 elections." ... "[Massachusetts Democratic
Senator] Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., one of the bill's architects, compared
the fight with the Senate's long struggle for civil-rights legislation
against segregationist opponents." ... ""You cannot stop the march for
progress in the United States," he declared." ... "To that, [Louisiana
Republican Senator] Sen. David Vitter, R-La., among the bill's most aggressive
foes, snapped: "To suggest this was about racism is the height of ugliness
and arrogance."" ... "Republicans on both sides acknowledged the immigration
fight had riven the GOP. Republican Senate aides, speaking on condition
of anonymity, said Senate Minority Whip [Mississippi Republican Senator]
Trent Lott, R-Miss., was furious with Minority Leader [Kentucky Republican
Senator] Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., over the leader's refusal to confront
the bill's most implacable opponents, who had virtually commandeered the
Senate floor, blocking introduction of amendments, refusing to offer amendments
of their own, then complaining that an unfair process was preventing them
from improving the bill." ... "Lott told McConnell that Sens. Vitter, [South
Carolina Republican Senator] Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and [Alabama Republican
Senator] Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., were becoming the uncompromising faces
of the Republican Party, a prospect that could set them back for years
as the Latino vote grows in power." -SeattleTimes.NWsource
Karl
Rove
- Alabama
- Political
- US
Attorneys - 2002
Election - "Rove
Linked to Prosecution of Ex-Alabama Governor." ...
"In the rough and tumble of Alabama politics, the scramble for power is
often a blood sport. At the moment, the state's former Democratic governor,
Don Siegelman, stands convicted of bribery and conspiracy charges and faces
a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Siegelman has long claimed that
his prosecution was driven by politically motivated, Republican-appointed
U.S. attorneys." ... "Now Karl Rove, the President's top political strategist,
has been implicated in the controversy. A longtime Republican lawyer in
Alabama swears she heard a top G.O.P. operative in the state say that Rove
"had spoken with the Department of Justice" about "pursuing" Siegelman,
with help from two of Alabama's U.S. attorneys." ... "The allegation was
made by Dana Jill Simpson, a lifelong Republican and lawyer who practices
in Alabama. She made the charges in a May 21 affidavit, obtained by TIME,
in which she describes a conference call on November 18, 2002, which involved
a group of senior aides to Bob Riley, who had just narrowly defeated Siegelman
in a bitterly contested election for governor. Though Republican Riley,
a former Congressman, initially found himself behind by several thousand
votes, he had pulled ahead at the last minute when disputed ballots were
tallied in his favor. After the abrupt vote turnaround, Siegelman sought
a recount. The Simpson affidavit says the conference call focused on how
the Riley campaign could get Siegelman to withdraw his challenge." ...
"According to Simpson's statement, William Canary, a senior G.O.P. political
operative and Riley adviser who was on the conference call, said "not to
worry about Don Siegelman" because "'his girls' would take care of" the
governor. Canary then made clear that "his girls" was a reference to his
wife, Leura Canary, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Alabama,
and Alice Martin, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama."
-By Adam Zagorin
-TIME.com
